Chapter 21

Earth, 1881

After eating a full meal, Guinan had fallen asleep in the alleyway of a building adjacent to the bar. Just after dawn she stretched her sore muscles and stepped cautiously out into the empty street looking around her. Only a few horses stood tied loosely to posts lining the street. There were two beautiful chestnut colored horses standing together near the bar she had been in last evening. Cautiously she walked over and reached out her hand to one of them. He turned his giant head toward her and looked at her with a big gentle eye. She watched him for a moment and then began speaking softly to him.

Just then there was a commotion from the bar. "I said get outta here! You've been cut off for good." A man came stumbling out of the door, followed by the bartender who leveled a kick at the man's backside, shoving him into a mud puddle. The man, the same one who had come to her rescue the night before landed face first with a graceless thud on the ground. The bartender spat on the ground next to the man. "Not so tough now are ya, Pritchard? You dirty drunk…." The bartender didn't seem to see her, as he turned and walked back in to his fine establishment slamming the door behind him.

Guinan continued to pet the horse while watching the man out of the corner of her eye. The man coughed and grunted, pushing himself to a sitting position. He took off his hat and wacked it on his knee as caked mud sprayed everywhere. He was almost completely bald, with an interesting nose and strong jaw. He plopped the muddy hat back on his head and looked up at her. "You speak horse, huh?"

She looked at him. "Apparently, yes."

He squinted up at her as the sun began to make an appearance in the sky. Soon it would be too hot to think, but for now, it was quite pleasant. He rose to a crouching position. "Oh yeah? So what's the horse got to say?"

She raised her non-existent eyebrow at him. "You really want to know?"

He shrugged so she told him. "He says his human smells bad. He wonders if all humans smell as bad as his human."

Pritchard got to his feet and took his hat off pointing it at her. "Now look here, that's my horse—"

"I figured," she said mildly.

He snorted, which turned into a deep laugh. He put the hat back on his head still watching her. She whispered into the horse's ear again, an old El-Aurian poem of good luck. She figured if the horse was traveling with this human, he would need some luck. As the man listened to her speak, his expression changed suddenly, and she could tell that it was one of shock and recognition. She stopped speaking immediately. Did he understand her?

She moved away from the horse and folded her hands in front of her. "I owe you for what you did for me last night. Thank you," she said sincerely.

He blinked, somehow surprised to have heard such a sentiment. "Don't matter," he said. "I've got plenty of money. You wouldn't know it to look at me," he added with a half grin.

"No I wouldn't," she said, returning his smile. "But that's not what I meant. It wasn't the money. You helped me out, Mr. Pritchard, and I am in your debt."

He reached into a small satchel at his side and pulled out a small plug of tobacco which he stuck in his mouth and began to chew, still watching her. After a few moments he spit a disgusting stream of brown liquid onto the ground. "I don't believe in holding a debt over no one's head," he said slowly, as though he had thought about this subject for a long time.

She shifted her feet. She wasn't sure if she should push her luck or not. "I'm trying to get somewhere," she said.

"Oh? It's always good to have a place to go," he said absently, adjusting a bag attached to the saddle of his horse.

"Maybe you know it…it's called the Black Hills."

He turned his head sharply to look at her. "Know of it? Yep, I spent a good deal of time there. Where I made my fortune, in fact," he added.

She broke into a relieved smile. "Can you give me directions to get there?"

He looked at her like she was crazy. "Now this territory ain't safe traveling for a woman on her own. Come to think of it, it ain't safe for no one."

"Trust me, Pritchard, I know how to travel," she said.

He laughed. "Sure…listen the Black Hills are nearly 400 miles away from here." He looked her up and down. "So you don't exactly have the means now, do you?"

"How long on horseback?" she asked, not even too sure how long a mile was.

He laughed and then spit again leaning against his horse. "Depends on how far you are able to ride each day. With a good horse, you could do 20-30 miles a day if you are willing, and that'd take you just shy of three weeks."

She was crestfallen, for she had a pretty good idea how long a week was.

"Of course," he added, seeing her expression. "You would need a good guide to get you from here to there."

She brightened. "Are you offering your services?"

He shrugged. "Got nothing better to do, I suppose. Sure…on the condition that you tell me why you're goin' out that way. And your name," he added.

So far she hadn't told anyone her real name, but for some reason now she felt compelled to. "My name is Guinan," she said. "And I'm looking for something," she paused. "It's very precious."

"Precious? Like a gem? Like gold? Because I can find those," he said confidently.

Guinan had no idea what either of those things were so she said no.

Pritchard frowned. "Well, what's it look like?"

She smiled. "It looks like…what you want most in the world at the moment you first see it—and to every person that is a different thing."

A deeply remorseful expression passed over the man's face at that moment. He looked down and scuffed his boots. "I'd like to see somethin' like that," he said, his voice suddenly full of emotion. "Very much."

She stuck out her hand for him to shake. "So is it a deal then?"

He took her hand and shook it once firmly. "It is."

Enterprise

"You know, Captain, if I didn't know you better, I would think you were hiding," said Guinan. Picard sat inside her quarters. Before this evening he hadn't even considered that she had quarters. It was just easier somehow to picture her living within the confines of Ten Forward.

His hands gripped a hot cup of tea. He looked up at her. "Hiding? From who?"

"You tell me," she suggested, adjusting her hat. He didn't say anything, but sipped his tea slowly. "How was dinner?" she asked casually.

"Well aside from me threatening Chancellor K'mpec with a knife, and a brawl breaking out while everyone was eating, I'm sure that something could have been worse."

Guinan smiled slightly. "Captain you and I both know that a brawl at a Klingon dinner is almost to be expected."

He looked at her. "Yes, but we started the brawl, Guinan. Ensign Barnes attacked one of the Romulan officers for no apparent reason."

"And why did you threaten the Chancellor?"

He reddened with embarrassment. "He was being rather rude and flirtatious with Beverly and for some reason I let it get the better of me. For his part, he took it well."

"And Beverly?"

He shook his head. "She's not talking to me," he admitted.

"And you seem kind of glad about that," she commented.

He frowned. "What?"

"You're keeping your distance. You're afraid of hurting her," she said.

He covered his face with his palms briefly and then looked back up at her. "And why shouldn't I be? Look at what is happening to me? It's as though all of my control is slipping away."

"Captain I think that this…acting out that you are doing is just one symptom of your connection with the Other. And my friend, it is only going to get worse if you let it."

He looked at her with growing desperation. "What should I do? What must I do to break free of this?"

She sat forward. "Captain, he's only been defeated once before. We have to find Orla, and bring the piece to her. She is the only one who will know what to do. Until then my best advice is to fight him with everything you have. And…to strengthen the ties with the people you care about. Love and friendship are concepts that offend his very nature."

He put down the cup and took a slow breath. "Orla is your god figure," he said flatly.

"One of them, yes," she said. "But more importantly she is our protector. In times of trouble we have always looked to her."

"And has she always helped you?"

Guinan shook her head without hesitation. "No."

"But you have seen her?" he asked skeptically. "She's actually real?"

"Oh yes. The problem is that in order to find her she must give us a sign that she is willing to see us."

Picard got up and began pacing. He shook his hands. "A sign! This is maddening. I don't even know how far this will go—what will happen to me. And I don't appreciate having to rely on some—some ancient religion to save me. No offense," he added apologetically.

She watched him curiously. "None taken," she said mildly.

They both turned toward the door at the sound of the chime. "Come in" Guinan said, getting to her feet next to Picard. The door slid open to reveal Beverly Crusher leaning against the doorframe.

"Beverly," he said, sounding and looking surprised.

"I thought I would find you here," she said half accusingly to Picard. "Guinan," she said nodding to the bartender by way of greeting.

Guinan smiled. "Doctor, can I get you something? Some tea perhaps?"

Crusher shook her head, still staring at Picard. "When are you going to stop avoiding me?"

He put his hands up. "I wouldn't, Beverly honestly, if I could just trust myself."

"Jean-Luc, no one knows exactly what is happening to you. But if you don't allow us to help you, it's only going to be worse." She looked to Guinan. "Am I right?"

Guinan looked at Picard. "Yes, she is."

Beverly walked to him and took his hands. "Even when you were in a trance last night you were still trying to protect me. I don't believe that you would hurt me, Jean-Luc. And as long as I trust you, you have to continue to trust yourself. If you don't you will just be giving the Other the things that Guinan says he feeds off. So please continue to remember who you really are…the person that I love."

He attempted a brave smile. "I will," he said moving into her embrace.