What Year is This?
By Donna, Toni and ABs

It had been a joyous holiday season for all those who were celebrating in Camelot, and the time was drawing nigh for everyone to return to their homes. But the
royal couple would not hear of anyone leaving until the New Year was properly greeted with a grand ball, Camelot style.

Methos, of course, agreed to stay on and celebrate the New Year there, though he and Crystal were missing their friends back in Edan.

One couple that was simply visiting another set of friends was Mercy and Rob Roy; it was a wonderful reunion for the tall Scot, and he was nearly bursting with pride showing off his lady to everyone. Anton, the newest arrival to Edan was there as well, with an attentive Isolde at his side; he was nearly fully recovered now, and seemed pleased to be at the party. Suddenly, Methos felt a tap on his shoulder, and
turned to see another new arrival that had made the trip to Camelot specifically to meet him.

Turning, he saw a new face - at least to him - looking up to greet him. She was dressed in modern clothing, so he could not even say he'd forgotten her over the
years. "Yes?" he asked.

"You were pointed out to me as Methos, the Mayor of Edan. I'm Toni Fanara, I don't know if anyone's mentioned me to you yet? I wanted to apply for the
position of your accountant." She held out her hand in
greeting, looking hopeful.

Methos laughed. “Well, it’s nice to meet you, Toni Fanara, but I think we should save the job interview for later.” He indicated the golden goblet in his hand. “I’m not exactly one hundred percent sober!”

She grinned; at least this guy seemed to be a lot more normal than her last boss! "Sure thing! Just wanted to let you know I was around." Then she was whisked off
for a dance (or an attempt at one) by a nice man she'd met in town, a soldier by the name of Patrick Harper. His wife, Ceara, was giggling with another lady as she
watched him, and the dancing couple was soon lost to view in the crowd.

Charity and Sam had gone back to Edan shortly after Christmas, and had insisted Patrick and Ceara go to Camelot to take their place. The trip had taken a lot
out of the pregnant woman, even though the doctors all said she was in excellent shape. There was some concern about how big she was getting, and the
possibility of her carrying more than one child had not been totally ruled out.

Sarah Jo and Wyoming, who were also both pregnant, were having no problems at all, and so were given the go ahead to attend the ball as long as they didn't overdo it.

Methos went back to snuggling with Crystal on the dance floor, while the knights and the ladies moved gracefully around the room. Count Vronsky had managed to ask Aurora to dance, and was showing off a bit with her now. Unfortunately, due to her advancing pregnancy, the King and Queen could do no more than watch the festivities.

Not that Arthur seemed to mind. He sat with his bride, holding her hand and keeping her company throughout the evening. Seeing Amanda come out in a rather stunning outfit (one that came close to eclipsing the one that Ramirez was wearing!), her hand on Sir Lancelot's arm and her nose in the air, the Queen had to giggle behind her hand. "Methinks the Lady Amanda is trying to make a point to some other man in
attendance," she whispered to her husband.

Anton and Isolde were also sitting out the dancing; as he watched her watching the couples whirl on the floor, tapping her foot in time to the music, he felt he had to give her leave to go and dance if she wanted to, and not feel tied to him.

"Why don't you go enjoy yourself?" he asked.

Isolde seemed surprised as she looked up at him; then she understood what he meant, and smiled as she told him, "But I am, believe me. Just seeing you up and well enough to participate in the festivities at all is more than enough for me. There'll be time enough for dancing." She looked back at the dancers and as such missed completely the look on his face as he looked at her.

He was grateful that she had chosen to stay with him, and hopeful, too, because he did not know how to read her. She was from a time other than the one he’d come
from, and he wasn’t quite sure if her coolness to him was because she did not fancy him, or if she was just being maidenly shy.

Seeing all the happy dancers out on the floor, Father Alec went in search of the rather shy lady he had escorted to the ball. He found her trying to help out
the many servants, as he had expected! "Come," he chuckled. "I want to dance with you."

Ignoring her protests, he steered her out onto the dance floor. As he spun her lightly into his arms, he couldn't help but notice all the admiring glances she was getting from some of the unattached knights. Dressed in a rich velvet gown that had an elaborately embroidered bodice, and with her hair done up with matching velvet ribbons, she looked every bit the lovely Celtic maiden that she was.

Mercy, taking a breather from the rather lively dance she'd just had with Rob Roy, smiled as she watched her friend being guided around the dance floor by the
handsome priest. As her beau returned with cups of punch, she said to him, "Rob, would you look at Faith! Not only has she gotten over her shyness enough to
dance with Alec, she looks beautiful! You can't have missed the looks some of the men around here have given her. She's come so far!" She stood beaming, looking for all the world like a proud mother as she watched her friend.

"Aye, lass, she has! And the guid Father had best be keepin' her at his side. The lads from the village have been talkin' amongst themselves about how best to go about catching her eye!"

The slender woman giggled, as she took her cup. She was imagining Father Alec protecting "his girl" from their advances, and there would be a lot more fire to
it than his normal gentle demeanor! When she whispered this to the man beside her, he laughed as well, and the couple watched Faith and Alec dance, happily unaware they were being observed.

And, of course, there were some men who had eyes only for the woman by their side. Montoya was very attentive to Jewel, and Giles never left Melissa's side! The other women did well, too, including Yvonne, who was quite popular with the men in that
village Rob spoke of.

As the evening went on, the magic moment everyone had been waiting for drew ever nearer. Finally, as the stroke was reached, Rob Roy and Mercy turned to each
other, kissed, and she smiled, "Happy 1851, my love!" at the same time he told her, "Joyous 1704!" It was then that silence pervaded the room, as everyone looked at one another.

"It's 2002 to me," Duncan said with a raised eyebrow to Sarah Jo, who told him to knock off about a hundred years for her.

Methos had just assumed that it was 2002, having arrived just after the New Year in 2001. But although he’d known of time differences for the various residents of the new world, he had not realized, until this moment, that Edan did not have a set calendar!

The King shrugged his shoulders. "Does time as we know it have no meaning here?" he asked Methos. Isolde looked at Anton with a bit of surprise herself. She was too timid to voice her opinion to everyone in general, but she whispered to Anton, "What year is it for you? For me it is the year of our Lord 489!"

"When I left it was in the early eighties," he said.  "Nineteen eighties, I mean, not *four* eighties!"

She paled, and then looked to her King and Methos, who seemed to be in discussion about the problem, as everyone waited to hear their solution.

Methos was trying to reassure the King that all times were important, but that they could not keep modern inventions a secret from people who had come before. 
“Like Anton’s camera,” he said. Then he looked around for the nearest fae, who happened to be Yvonne.  “You’re native to this world, what year is it here?”

“The Old One would know how old Edan is,” she said. “But most of us arrived here after you did, Methos.  You opened the seal almost a year ago, inviting others
in, and causing a need for us.”

"So," Duncan mused. "We are actually beginning year 2 of a brand new world, aren't we?"

“Certainly the one thing we all have in common is Edan, and Edan started last year,” Methos agreed.  “So, instead of 2002, it should just be 02!”

Patrick Harper grinned, "That's a fine sounding year to me, so it is! All those in favor?" while raising his goblet high.

And of course everyone raised his or hers, as well.  It seemed the only solution, and the most fair to everyone, not just there at the party, but all over Edan!