One of My Short Stories

[Southern Breeze]

After reading the stories being posted I've decided to toss one of mine in the ring. It's one of the first ones I wrote, back in early 2000, and currently the only one set in Scotland. As such it predates my wearing the kilt or finding X Marks. It's short, around 7,000 words so I'll post it in two parts.

Immortals- part one.

Ann awoke and after dressing went to awaken her friend Cristy. The two of them were the same age, they had grown up together and were best friends. When Cristy had made her first film at age seventeen and started making public appearances, Ann and her other best friend Amy had started working for Cristy as bodyguards and personal assistants. Later they had dropped being guards and were just assistants.
The day before Cristy had been honored with a lifetime achievement award. She had made nearly two hundred films during her long career. Cristy had been awarded eighteen Oscars for best Actress and six for best Supporting Actress in her lifetime, a record no one had beaten.
Cristy had said she was tired the night before and went to bed early. When Ann went in to wake her, she noticed Cristy had gone downstairs and gotten the first Oscar she had been awarded. She was laying on her side with her hand resting on it.
When Ann saw her she knew what was wrong, and putting her hand on Cristy confirmed she had died. Ann made a few calls and sat beside her. Amy came in the room and joined her while they awaited the people Ann had summoned. The world would soon know that Cristy Larson, considered the worlds greatest actress had died in her sleep. She was one hundred and one years old.
After Cristy's death at age 101, her personal assistants Ann and Amy, who were the same age settled her affairs. They then disappeared into the quiet seclusion available to the wealthy. News of their deaths two years later and a month apart surprised no one.

TWO

Many years later two women sat together on their patio, reminiscing on the past. They appeared to be in their early forties but were much older.
"Tomorrows your birthday" Amy told Ann.
"I thought we agreed to stop having them” Ann replied with a smile.
"This ones special" Amy said "It's not every day you turn two hundred."
"Remember how Cristy would tease us about being too incompetent to grow old?" Ann asked.
"Do I ever" Amy said.
"There was a long period of time when I thought you and I both were nuts" Ann went on to say.” Realizing we had not only stopped aging and discovering we could change our fingerprints and DNA profile at will was a major shock."
"Tell me about it" laughed Amy. "I thought I was going insane."
While in their fifties they had discovered that bruises and scrapes disappeared almost instantly and cuts and extreme injuries healed in about ten seconds. Both of them had thought they were having mental problems at first and slowly found out different. They had spoken of this to no one but each other, keeping it a secret even from their best friend Cristy. Several years later they made another shocking discovery, they could change their fingerprints and DNA profiles at will. Later finding out they had stopped ageing was another shock.
"I still wonder, almost daily at times if we're the first of our kind or if there are others like us out there" Amy replied thoughtfully after a while.
"You and me both" Ann replied quietly.
The next day they celebrated Ann’s birthday together in private. Later that day they traveled to the Cristy Larson Heritage Museum. They were in fact the owners of it, via a private corporation and under other names. They were known by the staff but by assumed names.
Afterwards they visited the private mausoleums where Cristy and her family were buried and the one where their parents and family were interred.
Two years later Amy and Ann were in Britain ,visiting a crafts show near York, and discovered another person with their ability.
They arrived early and were walking around while the vendors were setting up. As they were walking past a woman setting pots and vases on a shelf they saw her slip and drop a vase on her hand, shattering it and cutting her hand badly. They hurried over and arrived in time to see the blood dripping down her fingers disappear.
"Are you ok?" they asked her.
"I'm fine. See, not even a scratch" the woman replied holding up her hand.
"We saw what happened to your hand" Ann replied.
"You only thought you did" the lady replied.
She then started cleaning up the broken pieces and dismissing them.
Amy and Ann knew what they had seen. After looking around Amy stood watch while Ann spoke with the woman.
"We saw what really happened" Ann told her quietly.
The lady opened her mouth to speak but Ann pulled a penknife from her purse and sliced deeply into her own arm before she could say anything. The cut healed almost instantly with no scarring or bloodstains.
"I don't think I'll ever get used to that" Ann told her.
Samantha was the woman’s name, and Ann and Amy let her cut them herself before she was convinced it wasn't a trick.
"I'll speak with you, but not here" she told them.
Ann and Amy helped her pack up and they left for a private talk.
Samantha talked to them all day, they exchanged their stories and established they were being honest with one another. Samantha had been born in 1701 in Virginia and in her long life had found only four others like herself. Ann and Amy were the fifth and sixth.
The next day they visited Samantha and her husband George at their home in Scotland. George was the oldest of the people Samantha had found who were like them. He had been born around 1060 in Scotland. He'd met Samantha in 1823 and they had married in 1881.
He was delighted to meet them, greeting them with enormous hugs and they instantly bonded.
Over drinks in the library Samantha and George told them about the others they had found. Joan he said, was the second oldest, born in 1412 in France and had once been burned at the stake.
"Was she accused of witchcraft?" asked Ann.
George laughed and explained she was in fact a famous person and saint.
"I don't get it" said Amy.
"Ever hear of Joan of Arc?" Samantha said with a laugh.
Over the course of Ann and Amy's lives they had learned to discern the truth and they knew right away Samantha and George were being honest with them.
Earl, he said, had been born around 1620 in England and had spent most of his life wandering the globe.
"Earl jokingly calls himself the poster child for wanderlust" Samantha said.
"Kate was, until you two showed up, the youngest of our clan" George told them.
Samantha explained that Kate had been born in 1901. She had spent almost all her years since as a nun and doing charitable work worldwide. She considered her long life a blessing from God and used it to help others.
"Kate’s the only one like us known to outsiders and that one person is the Pope. He's the only one who knows of her gift." he continued.
"Take a look at this" George said, pointing out an autographed picture on the wall.
The photo was of George standing beside a young Cristy. Amy and Ann could be seen clearly close by.
"If I remember correctly that was in Denver, six days after she won her first two Oscars" Amy said.
"It was" George said. “I’ve always been a fan of hers."
"It's sobering to realize that was 183 years ago" Ann replied softly as she walked over to the window and started weeping silently.
"I'm sorry” Ann said as George came over and gently put his hand on her shoulder.
"It's okay, I still do the same at times, thinking of my parents, and it's been over a thousand years since they died" George told her softly.
Amy and Samantha joined them at the window and stood staring out also.
"Welcome home" George softly said to Ann and Amy after several minutes.
The four of them stood quietly together at the window for over an hour. Ann and Amy felt the same thing and didn't have to say anything, George and Samantha were family.
Two days later Amy and Ann returned and met the others. George greeted them at the door and they followed him into the library.
"Kate, Earl, Joan, this is Ann and Amy" George told the three people sitting and talking with Samantha.
The next several moments were a blur of hugs and greetings. After Ann and Amy had met everyone, George poured them all a drink and Kate stood and made the first toast.
"To our sisters, Amy and Ann" Kate said, raising her glass. "Welcome home!"
"Welcome home Ann and Amy!" everyone shouted.
Hearing the love in their voices reduced Amy and Ann to tears and they were unable to raise their glasses for several moments. A bond was formed at that instant that would last forever.
Later that evening they were at dinner and when Ann and Amy broke down and started crying.
"What's wrong?" Joan asked them as she came and knelt beside them.
After several minutes Ann was finally able to speak.
"We're not alone anymore" she said softly.
When they regained their composure they realized everyone was standing or kneeling silently around them with a hand on their arm or shoulder.
It was eighty years before another like them was found.

I'll post part two in about a week.

Cheers, Jesse Ward.

[Pleater]

You were obviously fated to write here.

Anne is my real name, I was born in York, I used to do craft fairs, I heal faster than the average, I look younger than my years....

Anne the Pleater

[Southern Breeze]

You were obviously fated to write here.

Anne is my real name, I was born in York, I used to do craft fairs, I heal faster than the average, I look younger than my years....

Anne the Pleater

The X Marks multiverse strikes again!

[Wompet]

And again - my mother would occasionally call me George (running joke) before we named the one cat that, I heal faster than average, and I look younger than my years (I still get carded every once in a while).

[Southern Breeze]

I was going to wait a few days or perhaps a week before posting part 2. I've decided to go ahead though, and post the rest of it.

Immortals -part 2

Ann and Amy, along with Samantha, Joan, Earl and Kate were in the study of their home in Scotland when George introduced their newest sister. Before he brought her in, George entered alone with a huge smile on his face. He told everyone not to be alarmed at Amy and Ann’s reaction and left before anyone could reply. Everyone was puzzled and looked at them, wondering what he meant.
"I have no idea what that was supposed to mean" said Amy, and Ann agreed with her.
The woman entered with George and stood staring at Ann and Amy, who were staring at her in shocked disbelief. It was Cristy.
"Cristy?" asked Ann with a quavering voice.
"Ann? Amy?!" came back the shocked and quiet inquiry.
Hearing one another’s voices was enough and the three met in the middle of the room in a silent tearful hug that lasted over an hour.
A day earlier, George had been sitting alone in a park on the outskirts of Brussels. A lady walking by had slipped on some wet leaves. Her outstretched arm had snapped on hitting the ground and bent back at a severe angle. He helped her to the bench and was surprised to find no injury to her arm. She said she was fine and started to leave. George told her to wait a second, drawing a small knife and slicing his hand, which instantly healed, before she could respond.
"I thought I was the only who could do that" the surprised woman said.
"My names George" he said taking her hand, "and there are a few others like us."
"I'm Angie" was the quiet reply.
George offered to let her cut his hand again to show it was real and she did so. They sat and talked for over an hour then went to dinner. They resumed their conversation in her home that night and she told him her real name was Cristy Larson. She had discovered that her aging had stopped and started reversing while in her nineties. After several years of quiet planning she had faked her death so convincingly that even her best friends were fooled.
" Six years later I looked like I was in my forties, it shocked me to see that." she said. “Over the next century I learned I could change my DNA profile and fingerprints at will."
"I, and the other ones like us, can do the same" he told her.
"I recognized you back in the park but left your privacy alone" he added.
George then invited her to meet everyone and she accepted. They left on the first available flight that night.
He had kept quiet about Amy and Ann. Cristy knew that was the names of two of the others she was going to meet, but not that they were the ones who had been her lifelong companions.
Kate, Earl, Samantha, George and Joan sat quietly together while Amy, Cristy and Ann embraced and held one another. They all knew of the three women’s lifelong relationship and tearfully rejoiced at their reunion.
After everyone had introduced themselves to Cristy, George started to make the first toast, but was startled when Kate let loose with a spine tingling war-whoop and shouted "Lets party!!"
Every one shouted their agreement and George then made the toast.
"To our sister Cristy" George said raising his glass. "Welcome home!"
"Welcome home Cristy!" everyone then shouted.
The celebration lasted well into the night and everyone called it a day.
Not long after they had gone to bed, Amy and Ann were awakened when Earl and George carried a bed into their room and pushed it against theirs.
"What are you two lunatics doing?" Ann laughed.
"Cristy keeps getting up and looking in on you two every five minutes or so" Earl replied. "Putting her in here is the only way she'll be able to sleep."
"Put me down you crazy highlander!" a laughing Cristy said as she was carried in slung over Georges shoulder.


It turns out that I'm going to have to limit the size of the posts. More to come.
Cheers, Jesse Ward.

[Southern Breeze]

FOUR

At breakfast the next morning everyone was still laughing over Earl and Georges moving of Cristy.
"I'm supposed to be the crazy one" Joan told them with a smile.
This brought a wave of laughter from everyone but Cristy.
"What am I missing? she asked.
This sent everyone into further hysterics.
After everyone calmed down Ann filled an amazed Cristy in on Joan’s early life.
"I can't believe I'm sharing breakfast with Joan of Arc" Cristy finally said.
Later that morning Cristy sat quietly alone on the poolside patio at Ann and Amy's house. Her mind was still coming to terms with first meeting George and learning there were other people like her and the shock of being reunited with Amy and Ann.
The French doors leading into the study were open and she could hear Earl spinning a tale of how he had once saved a damsel in distress from a dragon in China.
"Earl! You should be ashamed of yourself for telling a tale like that" she heard Kate say.
"I'm sorry Sister, I won't do it again" Earl replied.
"Everyone knows that damsels don't exist" Kate then said to everyone’s laughter.
Kate then came outside and sat beside Cristy. Her head was uncovered and she was dressed in a light blue habit. They sat together in silence for a while and then Kate spoke.
"It can be a bit overwhelming at times" she said softly.
" How did you learn you were different?" Cristy asked her.
Kate told her that she had been in a convent in Belgium when the Germans invaded at the start of WWII.
" I was at a nearby refugee camp when several SS soldiers arrived and seized several teens. They stood them up against the wall and I ran over and stood between them and the soldiers. One of the soldiers shot me and I fell down. I got up and all of them emptied their machine guns into me. When I got back up unharmed they were afraid and ran away. The only evidence I had been shot were the holes in the front and back of my habit. The boys who had been arrested ran away also."
"Did anyone else see what happened?" asked Cristy.
"Almost everyone there, several of my fellow Sisters and our Mother Superior saw what happened" replied Kate. "Everyone was too frightened to say anything."
"Later in the war" Kate went on, "I would go out in the midst of the fighting and help the wounded. Almost everyone who saw me thought I was a hallucination. On several occasions I returned to the convent with my clothing shot into tatters. All of my fellow sisters were afraid and wouldn't speak to me. I left when the fighting was over and traveled around Europe, helping where I could. I later learned that my Mother Superior had reported the incidents to Rome. The Vatican did an investigation and I was later quietly named a Saint. The Church supports me and keeps my gift a secret. Only the Pope has access to the file on me."
"That's amazing" Cristy told her as they sat together.
"You haven't heard anyone else's stories " smiled Kate. “They make mine sound boring."
"I met Earl during the war" Kate continued. "He was a combat correspondent and witnessed my being struck with bullets and remaining unharmed while tending the wounded. He introduced himself and told me about his self and the others like us." A year later I was able to meet Joan, Samantha and George in Scotland. We've been family ever since."
"Are you still a practicing nun?" Cristy then asked her.
"I am" Kate replied "I'm sort of a free agent though. I spend much of my time managing relief operations and charitable organizations."
Joan came and joined them, she handed Cristy a drink then sat beside her.
"Feeling a little culture shocked?" she asked with a smile.
"Now that's the understatement of the year" replied Cristy with a laugh.
"I'll let you two talk by yourselves" Kate said as she stood up.
"During times like these" said Joan, "I think of a line from the movie Animal House- 'My advice to you, start drinking heavily!' "
Both of them laughed heartily and when they calmed down Joan told how she learned she was different.
"Several years after I had the visions I was with the army at the siege of Orleans" Joan said. "We had a brief skirmish outside the walls and I was sitting on my horse catching my breath. One of the Knights rode up to me and said he'd sent for the surgeon. I told him I was not hurt, then realized from the expression on his face that I was. I looked down and there was a bolt buried in my thigh and an arrow embedded so deeply in my chest the head was protruding from my back. I knew then I was going to die and I grew angry at what had happened. I then reached down and ripped the bolt from my leg and snapped the arrow off behind my back. I pulled it from my chest and felt lightheaded. One of the knights helped me from my horse and I lay back on the ground. I never felt any pain and when the surgeon arrived he could find no marks on me. He got angry at having his time wasted and stormed off. I then got back on my horse as if nothing had happened. Only a handful of soldiers had seen what happened, they said it was a miracle and never spoke of it to anyone."
"What happened when you were burned at the stake?" Cristy asked her.
Joan sat quietly for a moment and Cristy sensed it was difficult for her to talk about.
"I never felt any pain or received any injury from the fire" she spoke softly. My clothes and the cord binding me to the post burnt away. After nearly fifteen minutes had passed I realized I was alive and unharmed. I stepped out of the flames and walked through the silent crowd, they parted and let me pass. After taking some clothing from a nearby inn I walked out of town. The next day I was meet by a company of monks and their Abbot. They were returning to England from a pilgrimage to Notre Dame. They had seen what had happened the day before and thought it a miracle. The Abbot invited me to accompany them to England and I went with them. It was several months before I really accepted the fact I was still alive."
While Joan had been speaking Amy had joined them and sat listening.

It turns out that posts are limited to 10000 characters.
Cheers, Jesse Ward.

[Southern Breeze]

Chapter 4 cont.

While Joan had been speaking Amy had joined them and sat listening.
"Thinking about what you, George and Earl have seen and done still fills me with a sense of wonder" she said.
"It's been interesting so far" Joan replied, "and I can't wait to see what’s ahead."
"George" Joan continued, "is over 300 years older than me, he's really been there and done that. He was the first person I met with our gift."
"How'd you meet him?" asked Cristy.
"Would you believe the first time we met he cut off my head?" Joan told an astonished Cristy.
"Go ahead and tell the story" said Amy. "I still get a chuckle from it."
"It was in 1612, I believe" Joan said. "I was an archer in the English army. About fifty of us were in an outpost on the border with Scotland when one of the clans raided the town. We confronted them and they attacked us head on. They charged our line and I dropped over two dozen of them before they reached us. One of them I saw had at least three arrows in him and I put another in him as they reached our line. As I reached down for my sword, his sword hit me in the neck and I fell with my head hanging by the skin on the back of my neck. It almost instantly healed and I got up and finished drawing it. By then all my companions were dead and I was surrounded by close to a hundred heavily armed Scotsmen. The one who had wounded me stepped out of the crowd with a look of astonishment on his face. He stared at me for a long moment and silently pulled a knife from his belt and sliced into his arm which healed instantly. I immediately pulled my own knife and sliced myself in answer. Neither of us had seen another person like us before and the surprise was mutual. We've been friends ever since."
"And I thought my life was eventful" Cristy smiled.
"Would you believe she speaks 12 languages and has a History Doctorate from Oxford?" Amy said.
"I learned to read while in the monastery in England and time has given me a love of history" Joan said.
"And to further embarrass her I'll also let you know she has multiple Doctorates in Mathematics, Physics, History and Astronomy. She's also a professor of Medieval History at Glasgow University." Amy added with a smile.
"You and Ann both have Doctorates in History also so there" Joan said with a grin.
Joan went inside and Amy and Cristy were alone.
"After she met George she accompanied him to Scotland. She lived for nearly 200 years in the highlands. Joan told me that was the longest she had been in one place up to then and there she found the peace she needed." Amy said quietly
"During those years" Amy went on, " She spent her time teaching people to read, write and do basic math. She also filled her time recording Scottish history and culture plus learn to play the pipes."
"Three days ago I woke up feeling alone and slightly depressed" Cristy said. "After lunch I went for a walk and met George. Finding out I wasn't alone came as a surprise."
"When you walked in I almost fainted" Amy told her with a smile. “Seeing you again was a bigger shock to me and Ann than learning about our abilities."
Ann joined them and she and Amy spent time explaining how they had learned they were different.
"If either of you try to apologize for not telling me I will personally kick both your butts. I would have done the exact same thing." Cristy told them.
"We feel the same towards you" they told her with a smile.
George had joined them and had been listening quietly.
" Finding Ann and Amy, two people who had grown up together and both having our gift was a surprise" he said. "Then your appearing really surprised me."
"Do you think are many more like us out there? Cristy asked him.
"Definitely, and I think there are quiet a few far older than me. Being able to change ones DNA profile and fingerprints makes a person impossible to track down. We've got time, we'll keep looking."
"How long have you been playing the pipes?" Cristy asked Joan as she walked up to them carrying a set of bagpipes.
" Joan has been playing since the mid 1600's and is a master piper" George told them.
"Any requests?" she asked them.
"How about playing far, far away" George said with a laugh.
Joan stuck her tongue out at him and moved to the far side of the pool. She played for an hour and everyone was moved by the beauty of the music.
"I first heard her in the early 1700's" said Earl. "She played nonstop for nearly four hours."
After lunch Earl and Cristy sat together and he told her about his self.
" I was born near London some time around 1620, I'm not sure of the year." Earl told her. "My father was a merchantman and ships captain. By my mid twenties I was master of my own ship and had been all around the coasts of Europe and the Mediterranean sea. I knew I was different when I was around sixty and appeared to be around forty. Seeing my injuries heal almost instantly frightened me. I traveled around England and Europe in the late sixteen and early seventeen hundreds, never settling down in one place. It was in Glasgow Scotland in 1710 that I met Joan. I had been in a tavern brawl the night before and unbeknownst to me Joan had been there. She had noticed the way my injuries disappeared. I was listening to a piper the next day and when she finished playing the crowd left. I was alone and was surprised when the piper walked up to me and cut her hand with a knife. It healed instantly, the way I did. After I got over my surprise she introduced herself and we spent the rest of the day together sharing our stories. We then traveled to a small town in the central highlands where I meet George."
"Don't worry, it took Amy and I several years to get used to being around people who are centuries older than us." Ann told her, noticing she looked a little tired.
"You're doing fine" Earl smiled. "A fair amount of culture shock is par for the course."

More to come.
Cheers, Jesse Ward.

[Southern Breeze]

A bit more.

FIVE


Cristy spent the rest of the day alone, walking around the estate and sitting in thought. Everyone had been through the same thing and respected her privacy. After dinner she sat quietly in the study and went to bed early.
She awoke before dawn and dressed silently without waking Ann and Amy. After sitting by the pool for about five minutes she was startled by George.
"Care for some company? he asked, making her jump in fright. George could, like everyone else, move like a ghost.
"I'm sorry" he said and handed her a cup of coffee.
"I've been all over the world" she said quietly in Gaelic, “and my favorite place to watch the sunrise is here in the Scottish Highlands. It's the most beautiful place I've ever been. I bought a small place here not long after I faked my death and when I needed to get away from everything I'd go and often spend several years there at a time."
" I grew up here and returned often during the centuries I've lived" George softly said. "After Joan and I met she lived here for nearly two centuries. Seeing her find peace made me weep."
George then choked on his coffee when he realized she had made her reply in flawless Gaelic and he had answered likewise without thinking.
"That's what you get for scaring me" she laughed while handing him a napkin.
"You speak it as if you were born here" he told her.
"I picked it up easily" Cristy replied "
Hearing the love in her voice for his native land moved George and touched the depths of his soul. Looking at her he saw it had touched her the same way and there was a special bond formed between them.
"Tell me some of your story" she continued in Gaelic.
"I was born sometime around 1060 in a small village here in the highlands. Outliving everyone and not getting old made me wonder if something was wrong with me. After everyone I knew had died I spent nearly a century traveling around Scotland, England and Ireland. I got an education in a monastery where I stayed for several years. I spent many of my centuries traveling about Europe as a merchant and often served in the armies of different countries. I would return here several times a century to get away by myself. I've fought in almost all the battles that have happened here in Scotland since the eleven hundreds. Meeting Joan was the most surprising encounter of my life. When she got up unharmed I almost fainted."
"She told me about it yesterday and I'm still smiling to myself" Cristy told him.
Cristy poured more coffee and George continued his story.
"Joan met Earl in 1710 and brought him to the village where we were living. I was almost as surprised to meet him as I had Joan. Five minutes after meeting we were family."
"I met Samantha in Boston in 1823" George went on." I was in a tavern and she was tending the bar. A fight broke out and someone pulled a pistol and it went off. The ball hit her in the chest. She dropped behind the bar and then stood up as though it had missed her. I was the only witness and after everyone had left for the night I introduced myself."
Samantha had joined them and then spoke for the first time.
"I was born in 1701 in Virginia and by that time I knew I had stopped aging and my injuries healed quickly. Meeting George and seeing he was the same made me realize that there wasn't something wrong with me. He told me about Joan and Earl, and I was able to meet Joan five years later. Earl was somewhere in the Orient and I finally met him in 1868" Samantha said.
Over breakfast Joan explained to Cristy that they all lived on the estate and invited her to join them.
"Thank you, I will" she replied softly.
"We've all got homes here and there's plenty of room for more" Kate told her with a smile.
"It gets a little crazy at times but don't let these lunatics scare you" Joan jokingly told Cristy.
"Look who's talking!" laughed Amy. "You're the one that's been seeing things!"
"I rest my case" Joan said in mock resignation.
After things settled down everyone noticed there was a brightness in Cristy's eye's that hadn't been there before.
A week later Cristy accompanied George and Samantha as they attended a living history demonstration at Dublin University. Joan was demonstrating the medieval longbow and her mastery had every one attending in awe. Her bow was made from yew, six feet from tip to tip and had a 90 lb. draw weight. She was shooting armor piercing arrows, nearly 3 feet in length, and as thick as a mans thumb to demonstrate their lethality.
"I've been hit with a lot of those and believe me, they really rock your world on impact" George told Cristy quietly. “I’ve seen bowmen open fire at over 200 yards, firing 10-12 shots a minute and taking out some one with every shot, without a miss. At the battle of Westbay in 1582 I saw 150 archers kill or wound nearly 1200 men in thirty minutes. I later learned that one of those archers was Joan."
She was taking a sip of juice and his comment caused her to choke. George laughed and slapped her on the back.
"We're not in Kansas anymore Toto" she quipped dazedly to the merriment of all.
Joan’s classes and lectures on Medieval History were immensely popular with the students and faculty. Her expertise and demonstrations kept them packed.

SIX

A month after Cristy had been reunited with Ann and Amy, and had met the others like herself she was sitting with Joan in her study.
Meeting people centuries and in Georges case over a millennium, older than herself had awakened a deep interest for history in her. She had started attending Joan’s lectures and also sat in on the ones given by Ann, Amy and George. She was still coming to terms with their being Professors of Medieval history.
"Take a look at this manuscript and tell me what you see" Joan told her. "I found it in 1920 in the archives at Oxford."
" Let's see, it's English in origin, written in 1150 on vellum with iron gall ink and the monks name was George Malcolm" said Cristy after studying it.
"You're missing something" Joan smiled.
"I still don't see what I'm supposed to be missing" replied Cristy.
"It's a simple case of not seeing the forest because of the trees " Joan smiled.
Cristy carefully reexamined the manuscript and then the light dawned in her head.
"The name! It's the same as Georges" she exclaimed.
"Exactly. I had him look at it after I discovered it and he confirmed he wrote it while living in Whitehall Abbey." Joan told her.
Holding a eleven hundred year old manuscript, written by a man she had breakfast with that morning shook her deeply and it was a while before she could speak.
"Just when I think I'm comfortable having you as friends something comes along and makes me look at all of you in a different light." she finally replied.
"Both your sisters still have the same reaction at times" Joan told her. “Artifacts like this drive home just how old we are."
"Check this one out" Joan continued. "It's one I wrote in 1514."
Cristy examined it and saw it was a tax record, written by a scribe named Charles Montclair.
"That’s amazing" she said in wonder. "Why did you use a mans name?"
"In those days tax collectors were hated because many of them collected and extorted more than was due. Using an alias was done to keep ones self safe."
Joan returned the papers to her vault and returned to her seat beside Cristy.
"I've got a request for you" she asked Joan.
"Go ahead and ask" she replied.
"Will you teach me how to shoot a longbow?" Cristy asked.
"Gladly" Joan told her. "Come on, we'll start now."
Outside she gave Cristy a rundown on the bows parts and showed her how to string it.
" This doesn't seem too hard" she told Joan.
"That’s because its only a thirty pound draw weight" she told her. "All the medieval bows had a 85- 120lb. draw. Archers started when they were young in order to master them. I thought I'd start you out small and let you work your way up. My bow for example has a 90 lb. draw weight and I can hold it at full draw for nearly five minutes."
Joan nocked an arrow on her bow and had Cristy try to draw it. She was amazed when she not only did so with ease but held it at full draw without a tremble.
"Wise guy eh? Ease off on it and hand it here. I'll show you how to aim and release" Joan told her.
They practiced for an hour and Joan was awed at how fast and easily she learned.
"I've never seen anyone learn as fast as this" Joan told her.
"Before I made my first movie I mastered Krav Magda and later all types of firearms with the same ease." Cristy told her.
"Lets go get lunch" Joan replied. "I think I've finally got the best competitor I've seen for nearly five hundred years."
"I just realized that while I was examining those manuscripts this morning you referred to Ann and Amy as my sisters." Cristy told Joan over lunch.
"That's because the bond I see between the three of you is only found between sisters and twins" she replied.
"You're right. We are like sisters, we grew up and lived our lives together. Leaving them to think I was dead was the hardest thing I ever had to do. I felt like I was leaving part of myself behind."

Hopefully one more post will be enough.
Cheers, Jesse Ward

[Southern Breeze]

Here's the final part.
Cheers, Jesse Ward.

SIX -cont.


Ann was lecturing at Dublin University that week. Since meeting Samantha and her friends she and Amy had developed a deep love for history and had gone on to earn history doctorates. Both of them, along with Joan and George were Professors of Medieval History at Glasgow. All of them traveled frequently, lecturing at several places worldwide.
Wednesday evening she was in a local pub. It was a place she had often visited over the decades and came to love. During that time she had been keeping an eye on the bartender, who never seemed to age. Every fifteen to twenty years he would leave, then quietly reappear about five years later. Ann had a feeling he was like her and tonight she was going to see. Everyone else had been watching him and agreed she should approach him.
Ann got a tankard of ale at the bar and asked him to join her when he got a free moment.
"Mike, I need to speak with you in private when you can spare a few moments" Ann told him.
"I'll join you shortly Professor" he replied.
The pub was popular with students and faculty. She was known there and often held impromptu lectures in the evenings.
Ann retreated to a private booth and sat working at her computer while enjoying the ale. It was made on site by Mike and was outstanding. Mike joined her ten minutes later.
"What’s on your mind Ann?" he asked.
"I want to show you a little trick, if you can match it I'll buy you a drink. If not you owe me one. Agreed?" she told him.
"It's a deal" he told her. "Lets see it."
Ann checked carefully to make sure they were alone and unobserved. Taking a small knife from her pocket she then held her hand out and sliced it deeply. The cut healed instantly with nothing to show it happened.
"Here, you can do it yourself" she said and handed Mike the knife.
Mike cut her hand and watched it heal. After a long moment he cut his hand which healed also.
"You're not alone, there are a few of us who are like this. I'm also nearly three hundred years old." Ann told him quietly.
"I know" Mike said softly. “I first saw that happen to a young woman in the early 1400's. I never spoke to her about it though. Since then I've met two others but we've lost touch. We last saw one another in 1903."
Ann and Mike left together and talked privately at his home in the countryside.
"I was born here in Ireland around 350" Mike told her. "After seeing I was different I spent much of my long life traveling and seeing the world. Since the early 1880's I've traveled mostly here in Ireland and Europe. The first person I saw with my ability to heal was Joan of Arc, she was badly wounded at Orleans and after a moment got up unharmed."
"You'd better brace yourself Mike, Joan is like us, and is in fact the Professor you know by the name Jean Montclair" Ann told him with a smile.
After shaking his head in amazement Mike continued.
"I never knew Joan was like us, I wonder if she'll remember me. I thought I was alone until I met Robert in 1640 and Frances in 1650. I lost track of Robert around 1850 and Francis and I last saw one another in 1903."
"Until now" Ann told him, "George was the oldest person I know. He was born in Scotland around 1060. Joan was born in 1412, Earl about 1620, Samantha in 1701 and Kate in 1904. Amy, Cristy and myself were born in 1993. We grew up and spent our whole lives together. Amy and I kept our gift a secret from Cristy. She learned she was like us in her nineties and hid it from us. She faked her death and only a month ago we learned she was like us and were reunited."
"That's incredible, so many others like myself" Mike softly replied after a moment.
"Would you like to come with me to Scotland and meet them?" Ann asked.
"I'd love to" Mike said. "When can we leave?"
Ann and Mike caught the next flight and arrived at the estate five hours later. She had called ahead and let them know she was on her way with a new brother.
Despite the late hour everyone was waiting at her and Amy’s house when they arrived.
"Mike, this is Amy, George, Earl, Cristy, Joan, Kate and Samantha" Ann said when they entered the study.
After a round of introductions George made the first toast.
"To our brother Mike" George said raising his glass. "Welcome home!"
"Welcome Home Mike!" everyone then shouted.
Several hours later Mike spoke to Joan and brought a shout of surprise from her.
"I'm wondering if you remember me" he told her.
"Of course I do, you're the bartender from Casey's pub in Dublin. I first saw you about sixty years ago and we've kept an eye on you" she told him.
"The first time I saw you, you had a bolt in your leg and an arrow in your chest. After you pulled them out I helped you off your horse. When you got up unharmed a few minutes later I was astonished." Mike replied.
Joan sat in thought for a long moment and then remembered him.
"Henry!" Joan shouted happily and tackled him with a war cry that rattled the walls.
The celebration lasted until dawn and then they had breakfast.
"We're going to have to change Georges title now that Mike has joined us" Kate said while they ate.
"I didn't know I had one" said George.
"You'd better fill us in Sister, we're all clueless" replied Ann.
"Truer words have never been spoken" George said with a broad grin.
"Look who's talking!" said Samantha. “You’ve been clueless since I met you in 1823."
"We're going to have to change it from Resident Old Fart to Old Fart Emeritus" Kate said with a straight face.
The resulting laughter blew out the windows.
"You guys are amazing" Mike told them." I can't remember the last time I've felt I was at home."
Mike spent the week with them, sharing his story and listening to theirs.
"I met Robert in 1640" Mike said, telling of the others like them he'd met. "He was born in Gaul around 40 A.D. He had met six others before meeting me and had lost touch with them over the centuries. He told me about them and I need to think a moment."
"Lets see, their names were Lucian, he was born around 3800 B.C in Egypt." he went on.
"Before you go on Mike, I'd like to make sure you understand that we know your being honest with us." George told him.
"Thanks, that means a lot." Mike told him. "I was astonished myself when Robert told me about them."
"Now, where was I?" he continued. " Demetrius, he was born around 1500 B.C in Greece, Eric was born around 1100 B.C in central Europe, Mark was born around 200 B.C in Rome, Paul was born in 69 A.D in Sweden, and Derek was born around 150 A.D in France. Francis, the person I met in 1650 was born around 1200 in eastern Europe. Robert had met him in the late 1400s and introduced me to him when they met again in Rome.
"Wow, being born in 3800 B.C means he'd be nearly six thousand years old" Joan said. "I wonder if he needs Viagra."
This last comment caused a rain of spewed drinks and a flood of laughter that brought almost everyone to years. Everyone then ganged up on her and tossed her in the pool. This resulted in a friendly scuffle that left Kate standing poolside in dry triumph. Cristy emerged dripping wet and picked her up and jumped back in.
"I have lived many, many years" Mike said with mock solemnity "and seeing a wet nun is now on my top ten list of favorite memories."
Later, after everyone had changed into dry clothes they sat around the patio. Ann and Earl had the grill fired up and Mike had just fixed a round of drinks and sat down.
"Mike, we all have homes here on the estate and you're invited to join us if you want to" Ann told him.
"Ann I'd love to. All of you make me feel like family and I've never met a merrier bunch in my life."
"Welcome to the asylum" Kate told him with smile.
"You know" Mike said thoughtfully, "If we truly are immortal we'll one day have a new title."
"I'll bite" said Amy. "What will it be?"
"The Old Farts Of The Apocalypse" Mike said with a straight face.
Two minutes later, by mutual consent, he was tossed back in the pool amidst a sea of laughter.
The next day George and Amy sat on the patio discussing different things. Mike had returned to Ireland and everyone else was busy with various affairs.
"Joan once shared the thought that perhaps our gift was natures way of forcing us to leave the nest. To leave Earth and spread among the stars" Amy said.
"It's something to think about, that’s for sure" George replied.
"I’ve been thinking on how to find the ones Mike told us about" he went on.
"It won't be easy" Amy told him. "We can't go by fingerprints or DNA. Observing a injury heal or watching someone for many years the way we did Mike is currently our only options."
"Knowing there are at least eight more people with our gift, one who's nearly six thousand years old, renews my determination to keep looking" said George.
"They've seen a lot of history, that's certain" Amy laughed.

[Livingston]

very interesting story, SB. Do you have any more chapters planned?