Disclaimer: See Chapter 1
Chapter 10: The Stone Circle
Two weeks later...
Marguerite was nervous. She was standing in front of a huge white manor house, which was isolated from the centre of the village. Although the house itself was lovely it looked rather dreary in the scenery. But she assumed that the weather and the season had a great influence on that. And it was in the middle of March, cold, cloudy and rainy, all things the house didn't really benefit from.
She had been to Avebury before, although she couldn't remember when exactly it had been. She must have been about nine or ten years old. It had always been so quiet here, that's why she used to like it as a young girl. She had liked being on her own back then. It was strange, that was exactly what she disliked now.
"Are you coming?" John asked. He and Alasdair had already gone halfway to the house. She nodded.
After two exhausting weeks attending several meetings and giving interviews they had decided to take a break or another challenge. That depended on the way you looked at it.
That was the reason they were in Avebury. They couldn't put off visiting Roxton's mother any longer. She certainly was aware that they had returned and not visiting her would be -to put it mildly- unfriendly. And although Marguerite knew that John wasn't on particularly good terms with his mother, she still was his mother. Marguerite just hoped that she wouldn't kick her out right away. According to John she was very moody and conservative. Standing in front of the door not knowing what was going to happen next made her very unsure, but she tried to hide it. John, as if he had read her thoughts, took her hand and squeezed it reassuringly.
Then he knocked on the door. Silence. He knocked again.
"Yes, I'm coming." The sound of steps could be heard. A grey-haired woman, who was about sixty years old, opened the door. The annoyance, which was showing on her face at first, disappeared when she saw John. She clapped her hands and let out a joyful cry.
"You've come home!" she said through tears of joy and hugged him. Marguerite started to feel uneasy.
"We were so worried about you." That was when she became aware of Marguerite's and especially Alasdair's presence. Well, Alasdair didn't really try not to be seen ;on the contrary. He was jumping up and down in front of the woman, trying to show her what he was holding in his hand: Sunny. The woman looked from Alasdair to Marguerite and finally to John. All she did was raise an eyebrow.
"Oh, I'm sorry, Suzanne, I forgot to introduce you to Marguerite and Alasdair. Marguerite, this is Suzanne, our housemaid." John pointed at each of them, when he said their names.
Marguerite didn't really know what to do now, but Suzanne did. She hugged her, too. That took her by surprise.
"Nice to meet you, Suzanne." Though Marguerite was totally overwhelmed by the whole situation, she smiled.
"And you must be Alasdair." Suzanne kneeled down in front of the little boy. He held out Sunny so she could see him.
"Oh, that's a very nice rabbit you got there. May I?" Alasdair smiled and handed his toy over to the woman.
"Sunny!" Alasdair explained to her. She nodded and gave the animal back.
"A very nice name for a rabbit." Suzanne stood up again and turned to John.
"I guess you've come to visit your mother. But I'm sorry to tell you that the Lady is not at home. She decided to spend the cold and rather unpleasant winter in more comfortable surroundings. She is in Southern France together with a friend." John said nothing. On the one hand the news brought him relief, on the other hand he was disappointed. He'd been away for more than five years, nobody knew whether he was alive or not and she didn't even bother to come home. It was so typical for her to distance herself from him. She wouldn't even forgive him if she was on her death-bed.
**********
"Marguerite?" Suzanne said, listening attentively to the sound of her own voice.
"That is French, isn't it?" Marguerite nodded while she was taking a sip from her tea.
"The name yes. But I'm not from France." She answered. At least I think I'm not, she thought afterwards.
Marguerite looked at the clock hanging on the wall. It was almost half past six. Alasdair was already in bed. Suzanne had made them some tea and now they were sitting around the kitchen table drinking it.
"So where are you from?" Marguerite's uneasy feeling instantly returned, at the same time a wave of nausea overcame her.
"Excuse me." Was all she said, before she ran outside to empty her stomach.
**********
"Are you okay, my dear?" John had followed her. Marguerite was leaning against the wall gasping for breath. Her face was pale and she was trembling all over.
"It's better now. Fresh air helps a lot." She assured him, but there was still a worried expression on his face. He took her hand in his and they walked away from the house towards the village.
It was already dark, but once their eyes got used to the darkness it wasn't too hard to see something, because everything was bathed in moonlight.
They reached a hilltop from which they could have a view over the whole village. It wasn't very big, granted, but that made it even more beautiful. There was still light in some of the few houses. Marguerite started shivering, because it wasn't particularly warm and she didn't have a jacket. John put his arms around her shoulders and pulled her closer. She looked at him and smiled. For the first time in weeks it was a really contended smile.
"I'm so glad you're here with me." She said and their eyes met.
"I'm glad you let me be with you."
"John, listen, this isn't easy for me... . I've never been so..." She stopped for a moment, searching for the right words.
"What I'm trying to tell you is, that I've never felt so secure and happy in my whole life than I do right now. I mean with you, Alasdair and her." She touched her belly.
"How do you know it's going to be a girl?" John asked in surprise.
"Trust me, a mother knows everything. But, John, you have to promise something to me."
"Anything."
"Promise me that you'll never leave me."
"I promise."
They were just about to kiss each other, when Marguerite started shivering again. But this time it wasn't caused by the weather. It was more like the cold wind rushing through her, which she had felt before and then suddenly there was a void inside of her. John looked at her with obvious concern. She held him tight for fear of fainting.
"John, I think something is happening to the baby."
"What?! How do you know that?" He was really confused now. He didn't know whether he should be shocked, surprised, worried... but what he definitely was at that moment, was at a complete loss. Marguerite on the other hand knew exactly what to feel: Fear and anger. She wasn't sure what was happening and that scared her, but she was absolutely aware that it wasn't good and that made her angry. She couldn't do anything as if she was paralysed. And then just like that it was gone.
Marguerite took a deep breath and tried to calm herself.
"It's better now." She said to John so he wouldn't worry too much. He just shook his head.
"This is giving me the creeps."
**********
They stood there for a few more minutes. Not really knowing what to say when suddenly a strange feeling came over Marguerite again. But this time it was neither menacing nor scary. It felt like a great power, which had always been there, unleashing. Similar to the Sleeping Beauty awaking after a hundred years sleep. But it all happened within a few seconds.
"What was that?" Marguerite asked more out of surprise than out of curiosity.
"What was what?" John asked. But at the moment he did this the feeling lost its intensity. Marguerite shrugged.
"Probably nothing." She answered. But she instantly changed her mind, when she looked towards the village. Everything was shrouded in a dazzling white light. She couldn't make out the source of the light at first. But then she saw that it was coming from the standing stones that surrounded the village. They looked like fountains of light spreading brightness throughout the country. She tapped on John's shoulder.
"Do you see that?" She pointed her finger at the stones.
"That's the Stone Ring of Avebury. A megalithic monument. Probably the largest known stone ring in the world. But for me they were always just stones."
"No, there is much more to them. Can't you see the light?" Marguerite asked without turning her eyes away from the stones.
"What are you talking about?" He starred into the darkness to see what she was referring to, but there was nothing. Marguerite didn't answer his question. Her look was focused on the stones and it seemed as if she didn't realize what was going on around her anymore. The light somehow drew her. She didn't know why but she felt that it was familiar and that -whatever was awaiting her behind this façade of light- could help her to find the answers to questions she had been trying to solve for years.
"I have to go down there." She whispered and started to go down the hill. John grasped her arm.
"Wait! Would you mind telling me what this is all about?" Marguerite didn't look at him.
"You wouldn't understand." Those words were worst Marguerite could possibly have chosen. John's worry mixed with anger, hurt and a lot of disappointment. He let go of her arm. Now that they'd finally reached a point where they could really trust each other and tell each other honestly about feelings and so on, her answer was like a slap right into his face.
"What?" He asked to make sure she really meant it. But she was already halfway down the hill. That can't be her, he thought and followed her slowly.
**********
"Why did you do that, Morrigan?"
"I'm sorry, Maggie, but there are some really dangerous things going on in this world. It's necessary that you learn about your destiny. Otherwise you can't save the ones you love."
"What do you mean?"
"Rhianne will tell you everything you need to know. And don't worry about your mate and your offspring. They are save, at least for now. But Dierdre will come back and she won't show mercy. That's why I have to go now."
"What do I have to do?"
"Just step into the stone circle, my dear. And don't be afraid."
**********
Marguerite looked back to John.
"I love you." She whispered before she stepped into the light.
End Chapter Ten...
This must be a bit confusing now. I hope you like it anyway. If you have questions concerning this or the other chapters feel free to ask. I have difficulties to see that some things might be difficult to understand, because I know the whole story. It's all in my head. And it could be that I forget telling something really important simply because I take it for granted. So please R&R
And as always:
Thanks to the people, who took the time to read this Chapter and special thanks to the ones, who left a review:
pandagal: Thanks for your review! Sorry that it took me so long to update, but I had a lot of things to do… And as I promised before, you'll get your hint whether it's a boy or a girl:)
TheChosenOne3: Hey! Thanks for the really long review. I'm glad you like the story, because what you think means a lot to me *hugs*…
Alexpat1: I think I'm going to continue it, because I cannot leave you hanging in the middle of the story. That would be evil, wouldn't it? Anyway a real big Thank you for your review!!! And I'm going to watch out for your story!
zeusfluff: Thanks very much for the review. I didn't have the time to continue reading your story, because I was just so busy the last week. So sorry about that! But I'm going to do that soon…
keys3303: Well I didn't really want Roxton's mother to show up now, but she will, I promise! Thank you so much for your review. It means a lot to me…
Angel LeeAnn: So this was chapter 10. I'm sorry it took me so long to update. Anyway, THANK YOU so much for your review! I hope to read a new chapter of your story soon:)
A.Windsor: I wouldn't let anything happen to Aly, would I? :) Well thanks a lot for the review! I hope you also liked this chapter…
Spirita: Thanks a lot for liking and reviewing my story. And I'm trying to do better on the "Who-said-what"-issue.
Lexie: Well I got the same problem: Don't know what to write! But thanks again for reading my story although your not a TLW- fan…