CHAPTER 58
Back at the house, Amanda, Richie and Claudia were cleaning up the kitchen as Cassandra sat
staring into the fireplace, seemingly lost in her own world. But she was more than aware of what
they were doing, and when Claudia's back was turned at the sink and Richie was helping
Amanda put the leftovers in the shop cooler, Cassandra seized her opportunity.
Slipping quietly up the stairs, Cassandra listened at the door to Beth's room and heard her
stirring. She knocked lightly before inviting herself in.
Beth was sitting in the window seat, staring out into the late afternoon sky.
"I didn't think you would be able to sleep." Cassandra said as Beth turned to see who had just
come in. "And I thought the waiting would be easier if you had some company."
Beth was a little surprised, but thought maybe she had misjudged Cassandra.
"It's worth a try I suppose." Beth replied nodding toward the chair and inviting Cassandra to take
it.
They made small talk for a few minutes before Cassandra lead the conversation in the direction
she'd intended.
"I'm curious. How did you meet Methos … I mean … Adam?"
"I met him at Joe's. I'd already gotten to know Joe and Richie and Duncan, but if you are
wondering if it was love at first site … it wasn't." Beth laughed a little. "He didn't really make the
best first impression."
"He makes a habit of that I'm afraid." Cassandra replied lightly, hoping Beth would give her the
opening she'd been looking for.
"He insulted me before we'd even been introduced." Beth chuckled as she told her. "What did he
do to impress you the first time you met?"
And the trap was sprung.
"He and his friends raided my village, murdered my people, drove a knife through my heart and
took me captive." Cassandra said matter of factly.
All the color drained from Beth's face as she covered her mouth and stared at the woman, not
believing what she had just heard.
"Methos was a part of the Four Horsemen, a band of immortals who murdered, pillaged and
raped their way across three continents 2,500 years ago. I was his personal captive. I lived as
long as I served and pleased him … until I managed to escape."
Cassandra thought her revenge on Methos was perfect as she looked at the shocked young
woman's face.
"I thought before you allowed him close to your child, you should know the truth. I'm sorry."
Cassandra said, trying to put a hand on Beth's shoulder.
"Get out." Beth whispered, and when Cassandra didn't immediately move, she repeated her
request even louder.
"Please leave."
Cassandra left, closing the door behind her.
She was just coming down the stairs with a smile on her face when Methos and Duncan came in
the front door, followed by Joe.
It only took one look at her face to see she was quite pleased with herself.
"What have you done?" Methos raised his voice. "Where is Beth?"
She stopped a few steps from the bottom and nodded toward the closed door. "She's in there,
but I don't think she wants to see you." Cassandra gloated when he tried to move past her.
Duncan had to pull him back to keep him from literally throwing Cassandra down the stairs and
out of his way.
"What have you done?" Methos repeated, the commotion bringing Amanda, Richie and Claudia
into the hallway to see what was happening.
"We had a nice little chat."
"Methos, think about what you are doing. Think about Beth upstairs before you say or do
anything else." Duncan reminded him, even as he himself wanted to wring Cassandra's neck …
or worse.
"What did you tell her?" Methos asked with a shaky intake of breath, somehow managing to hold
onto the last bit of control.
"She told me how you two met and I did the same." She replied, carefully stepping down the
stairs and putting her back toward the door in case she needed to make a hasty retreat.
Methos felt like he'd been gutted. Looking up at her closed door, he knew Beth would never open
it to him again. Cassandra had taken what they'd shared and there was no way she could forgive
him. She had been right about he and Asher Devan. The only difference was that his corpses
were now particles of dust and the blood on Devan's hands was still fresh.
Amanda had heard enough to know that Beth didn't need to be alone. She slipped past them and
up the stairs, not bothering to knock when she got to the door.
"You bitch!" Richie didn't really know about Methos past, but he could figure that whatever
Cassandra had told Beth, it was cruel.
"Richie stay out of it." Duncan warned. Cassandra hadn't survived all these centuries by being
an easy mark.
"I promised you I would give you the answer to that question after dinner." Cassandra taunted.
"And the answer Methos is yes. Yes, the stories in the manuscripts are real, but they only record
two occurrences. There have been four."
"Damn you." Methos whispered, Beth's presence upstairs the only thing keeping him from tearing
Cassandra apart where she stood. Beth might hate him for what he had been, but he would be
damned if this witch would taunt him into showing his precious love that side of him now.
"Isn't it a pity?" she continued. "It requires a love that is true, a love based on complete trust.
She may have loved you before. And she may have trusted you then. But now that she knows
the truth … how could she? I did her a favor. She'll thank me one day."
"MacLeod, get her out of here." Methos gritted as every muscle in his body tensed and flexed
with the strain of his control.
"How could you do this Cassandra?" Duncan asked as he tried to force her out the door. "I know
of your hatred for Methos, but did you not like Beth even a little? Did you not see what a kind,
caring person she was? Did you care so little that she is carrying a child she almost lost a few
weeks ago that you could do this to her?"
Cassandra refused to hear what he was saying. Duncan was trying to turn this on her, but it was
Methos who deserved the blame. He'd dared to try and take love for himself. He'd dared try to
deny who he was and what he'd done.
"I promised you I wouldn't take his head Duncan after he kept Silas and Kronos from taking mine.
He deserved to die just as they did, but because you wished it, I spared him. I swore to you I
would not take his head, so I tore out his heart instead." She spat.
The door at the top of the stairs opened, and everyone was surprised to see an eerily calm Beth,
step out of it followed by Amanda. Slowly and carefully she walked down the stairs, her eyes
locked on the woman.
Methos held his breath, not believing she'd come out, almost wishing he could take his eyes off of
her because he knew when he looked into her eyes again, the love she'd had for him would be
gone. Thankfully for him, it appeared that she didn't see anyone but Cassandra as she reached
the last stair.
"I don't recall giving you that power." Beth said in a steady voice. Her eyes were moist, but she'd
wiped away the tears she'd already shed. One of her hands held the filigree heart she wore
around her neck, tracing the edges as she spoke.
Cassandra didn't understand what she was saying, so Beth replied more specifically.
"You said you tore out his heart. But his heart is mine, and I'm not about to let you or anyone
else try to take or hurt what is mine." Beth said, her eyes glaring at Cassandra defiantly. "I may
be just a mortal to you, but you don't frighten me … and you don't decide for me."
Taking a deep breath, she found the strength to look over at Methos, and when she saw the
devastated look on his face, her heart melted for him and the anger she felt toward Cassandra
doubled.
"You came into my home, and sat at my table, and ate the meal I'd prepared for my friends."
Beth accused her. "And all the while you were planning to do this, trying to hurt us. Where I
come from, that is considered despicable."
Cassandra opened her mouth to reply, but Beth wouldn't let her.
"As much as I don't want to believe it, I know that what you told me is true." She looked briefly
over at Methos, her eyes reflecting the pain that knowledge gave her. "And maybe I'm supposed
to be repulsed. Maybe I am supposed to feel such rage that I shut my heart to him." She paused
and looked back at Cassandra. "But I can't."
Methos felt the life rush back into his body at her words.
"I wept bitterly after you said what you did, and for a few minutes I thought I knew what I had to
do. But when I heard his voice when he came through that door … all I felt was relief. He'd
promised to return and he had." Beth's eyes again locked with Methos'
"He's kept every promise he's ever made to me. He loves me, and he's pledged to protect and
love our daughter." She placed her hand over the baby. "I'm not the same person I was a year
ago when this whole nightmare with Devan started, and Adam … Methos … is not the same
person he was 2,500 years ago. Things change, people change."
"The pain of what I lost hasn't changed." Cassandra replied bitterly, completely shocked by this
young woman's response.
"Then I am sorry for you. Because as much as I loved Craig, and as much as it hurt to lose him
so violently, time does heal. I'll always feel the loss, but my heart won't stop feeling or caring or
loving because he is gone. I may not have lived even a fraction of the time you have, but I've
learned something that you have obviously missed. The ability to love and forgive is the greatest
healer of all. And more times than not, revenge leaves you emptier than before."
Having said all she intended to say to Cassandra, Beth reached her hand out to Adam and quietly
led him upstairs to her room, never looking back at the woman who had tried to crush their love
… and failed.
Back at the house, Amanda, Richie and Claudia were cleaning up the kitchen as Cassandra sat
staring into the fireplace, seemingly lost in her own world. But she was more than aware of what
they were doing, and when Claudia's back was turned at the sink and Richie was helping
Amanda put the leftovers in the shop cooler, Cassandra seized her opportunity.
Slipping quietly up the stairs, Cassandra listened at the door to Beth's room and heard her
stirring. She knocked lightly before inviting herself in.
Beth was sitting in the window seat, staring out into the late afternoon sky.
"I didn't think you would be able to sleep." Cassandra said as Beth turned to see who had just
come in. "And I thought the waiting would be easier if you had some company."
Beth was a little surprised, but thought maybe she had misjudged Cassandra.
"It's worth a try I suppose." Beth replied nodding toward the chair and inviting Cassandra to take
it.
They made small talk for a few minutes before Cassandra lead the conversation in the direction
she'd intended.
"I'm curious. How did you meet Methos … I mean … Adam?"
"I met him at Joe's. I'd already gotten to know Joe and Richie and Duncan, but if you are
wondering if it was love at first site … it wasn't." Beth laughed a little. "He didn't really make the
best first impression."
"He makes a habit of that I'm afraid." Cassandra replied lightly, hoping Beth would give her the
opening she'd been looking for.
"He insulted me before we'd even been introduced." Beth chuckled as she told her. "What did he
do to impress you the first time you met?"
And the trap was sprung.
"He and his friends raided my village, murdered my people, drove a knife through my heart and
took me captive." Cassandra said matter of factly.
All the color drained from Beth's face as she covered her mouth and stared at the woman, not
believing what she had just heard.
"Methos was a part of the Four Horsemen, a band of immortals who murdered, pillaged and
raped their way across three continents 2,500 years ago. I was his personal captive. I lived as
long as I served and pleased him … until I managed to escape."
Cassandra thought her revenge on Methos was perfect as she looked at the shocked young
woman's face.
"I thought before you allowed him close to your child, you should know the truth. I'm sorry."
Cassandra said, trying to put a hand on Beth's shoulder.
"Get out." Beth whispered, and when Cassandra didn't immediately move, she repeated her
request even louder.
"Please leave."
Cassandra left, closing the door behind her.
She was just coming down the stairs with a smile on her face when Methos and Duncan came in
the front door, followed by Joe.
It only took one look at her face to see she was quite pleased with herself.
"What have you done?" Methos raised his voice. "Where is Beth?"
She stopped a few steps from the bottom and nodded toward the closed door. "She's in there,
but I don't think she wants to see you." Cassandra gloated when he tried to move past her.
Duncan had to pull him back to keep him from literally throwing Cassandra down the stairs and
out of his way.
"What have you done?" Methos repeated, the commotion bringing Amanda, Richie and Claudia
into the hallway to see what was happening.
"We had a nice little chat."
"Methos, think about what you are doing. Think about Beth upstairs before you say or do
anything else." Duncan reminded him, even as he himself wanted to wring Cassandra's neck …
or worse.
"What did you tell her?" Methos asked with a shaky intake of breath, somehow managing to hold
onto the last bit of control.
"She told me how you two met and I did the same." She replied, carefully stepping down the
stairs and putting her back toward the door in case she needed to make a hasty retreat.
Methos felt like he'd been gutted. Looking up at her closed door, he knew Beth would never open
it to him again. Cassandra had taken what they'd shared and there was no way she could forgive
him. She had been right about he and Asher Devan. The only difference was that his corpses
were now particles of dust and the blood on Devan's hands was still fresh.
Amanda had heard enough to know that Beth didn't need to be alone. She slipped past them and
up the stairs, not bothering to knock when she got to the door.
"You bitch!" Richie didn't really know about Methos past, but he could figure that whatever
Cassandra had told Beth, it was cruel.
"Richie stay out of it." Duncan warned. Cassandra hadn't survived all these centuries by being
an easy mark.
"I promised you I would give you the answer to that question after dinner." Cassandra taunted.
"And the answer Methos is yes. Yes, the stories in the manuscripts are real, but they only record
two occurrences. There have been four."
"Damn you." Methos whispered, Beth's presence upstairs the only thing keeping him from tearing
Cassandra apart where she stood. Beth might hate him for what he had been, but he would be
damned if this witch would taunt him into showing his precious love that side of him now.
"Isn't it a pity?" she continued. "It requires a love that is true, a love based on complete trust.
She may have loved you before. And she may have trusted you then. But now that she knows
the truth … how could she? I did her a favor. She'll thank me one day."
"MacLeod, get her out of here." Methos gritted as every muscle in his body tensed and flexed
with the strain of his control.
"How could you do this Cassandra?" Duncan asked as he tried to force her out the door. "I know
of your hatred for Methos, but did you not like Beth even a little? Did you not see what a kind,
caring person she was? Did you care so little that she is carrying a child she almost lost a few
weeks ago that you could do this to her?"
Cassandra refused to hear what he was saying. Duncan was trying to turn this on her, but it was
Methos who deserved the blame. He'd dared to try and take love for himself. He'd dared try to
deny who he was and what he'd done.
"I promised you I wouldn't take his head Duncan after he kept Silas and Kronos from taking mine.
He deserved to die just as they did, but because you wished it, I spared him. I swore to you I
would not take his head, so I tore out his heart instead." She spat.
The door at the top of the stairs opened, and everyone was surprised to see an eerily calm Beth,
step out of it followed by Amanda. Slowly and carefully she walked down the stairs, her eyes
locked on the woman.
Methos held his breath, not believing she'd come out, almost wishing he could take his eyes off of
her because he knew when he looked into her eyes again, the love she'd had for him would be
gone. Thankfully for him, it appeared that she didn't see anyone but Cassandra as she reached
the last stair.
"I don't recall giving you that power." Beth said in a steady voice. Her eyes were moist, but she'd
wiped away the tears she'd already shed. One of her hands held the filigree heart she wore
around her neck, tracing the edges as she spoke.
Cassandra didn't understand what she was saying, so Beth replied more specifically.
"You said you tore out his heart. But his heart is mine, and I'm not about to let you or anyone
else try to take or hurt what is mine." Beth said, her eyes glaring at Cassandra defiantly. "I may
be just a mortal to you, but you don't frighten me … and you don't decide for me."
Taking a deep breath, she found the strength to look over at Methos, and when she saw the
devastated look on his face, her heart melted for him and the anger she felt toward Cassandra
doubled.
"You came into my home, and sat at my table, and ate the meal I'd prepared for my friends."
Beth accused her. "And all the while you were planning to do this, trying to hurt us. Where I
come from, that is considered despicable."
Cassandra opened her mouth to reply, but Beth wouldn't let her.
"As much as I don't want to believe it, I know that what you told me is true." She looked briefly
over at Methos, her eyes reflecting the pain that knowledge gave her. "And maybe I'm supposed
to be repulsed. Maybe I am supposed to feel such rage that I shut my heart to him." She paused
and looked back at Cassandra. "But I can't."
Methos felt the life rush back into his body at her words.
"I wept bitterly after you said what you did, and for a few minutes I thought I knew what I had to
do. But when I heard his voice when he came through that door … all I felt was relief. He'd
promised to return and he had." Beth's eyes again locked with Methos'
"He's kept every promise he's ever made to me. He loves me, and he's pledged to protect and
love our daughter." She placed her hand over the baby. "I'm not the same person I was a year
ago when this whole nightmare with Devan started, and Adam … Methos … is not the same
person he was 2,500 years ago. Things change, people change."
"The pain of what I lost hasn't changed." Cassandra replied bitterly, completely shocked by this
young woman's response.
"Then I am sorry for you. Because as much as I loved Craig, and as much as it hurt to lose him
so violently, time does heal. I'll always feel the loss, but my heart won't stop feeling or caring or
loving because he is gone. I may not have lived even a fraction of the time you have, but I've
learned something that you have obviously missed. The ability to love and forgive is the greatest
healer of all. And more times than not, revenge leaves you emptier than before."
Having said all she intended to say to Cassandra, Beth reached her hand out to Adam and quietly
led him upstairs to her room, never looking back at the woman who had tried to crush their love
… and failed.