�I�m dying.�
�Wha-what?� Veronica heard the words, but her mind was refusing to accept them.
�I did not want to tell you this way, but there is no choice now. I had hoped for more time with you, but things do not always go according to plan.� Abigail sighed and reached for Veronica�s hand. �I�m sorry, my dear. I know it is not fair for us to be reunited finally and for this to happen. I�m afraid that I do not have that much time left.�
Veronica shook her head. Her mother was right, it wasn�t fair! All these years of searching and to finally find her mother to discover she was dying! What had she done to deserve this? Why couldn�t she be happy? �How? How could this happen? You�re too young to die!�
Abigail smiled but it didn�t reach her eyes. �As I told your friend earlier, things are not as simple as they seem. Avalon exists outside of time and space. Time is irrelevant here; I may seem young, but I lived a long life before I left here and met your father and had you. Those years I spent on the plateau were the happiest of my life and I wouldn�t trade them for anything. It�s my time, Veronica.�
Veronica didn�t even try to stop the tears that flowed down her face. All previous thoughts of dishonesty were forgiven and forgotten in seconds. She just wanted to spend whatever moments her mother had left with no regrets. �How�how�� As much as she tried, she couldn�t bring herself to ask the question she had to know the answer to.
Luckily, Abigail seemed to know what was on her mind. �How much time do I have left?� At Veronica�s tearful nod, she smiled. �I have some time yet, dear heart. I fear I do not have the strength to help you, but I will be here to guide you when the time comes. Until then, we shall cherish our time together. Yes?� Veronica nodded and wiped her tears off her face.
Abigail smiled and rose off the bed. �Good. Now, you should be getting some sleep. I did not intend to exhaust you, but I felt it better to tell you while we had a moment alone.� Abigail and Veronica both got the bed ready and Veronica climbed in. �Good night, dearest. Sweet dreams.� Abigail leaned over and kissed Veronica on the forehead.
�Good night, mother.� She saw Abigail walking towards the door. Veronica got up on her elbows and called her. �Mother? You�re not going to bed?�
�Yes, but I have something to take care of first. I�ll be back shortly. Good night.� Abigail closed the door behind her as Veronica closed her eyes and dropped into a deep peaceful sleep.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
When Marguerite made it to her room, she gratefully sunk into her bed. Their journey had been a long and tiring one and she was glad she could finally get some rest. It seemed that the closer they were getting to Avalon, the more intense her dreams became. It wasn�t that she was experiencing them more often than before, but it seemed to her that there was an underlying feeling of urgency mixed in with the dreams now.
After waking up twice in a short amount of time, Marguerite gave up on getting more sleep that night. She decided that she would take a walk and try to clear her mind. As an afterthought, she grabbed the journal from her pack and took it with her. She might as well put her time to good use.
She opened the door and made her way down the torch lit halls and found herself in the same room that they had found Summerlee in. The room was warm as evidenced by the large fire roaring in the fireplace. Marguerite made her way to one of the large comfortable chairs and sat down.
She opened the journal and placed it on the small table in front of her. There wasn�t a real reason for her to keep working on it; they had found Avalon and Veronica�s mother. Abigail herself could probably tell her what was written in the last few pages, but for some reason she felt like she had to continue.
After hearing Abigail�s explanation, Marguerite had figured that the storms she had learned about in her translations must have been in reference to the cycles of creation and destruction. But there was still so much she didn�t understand. What did it have to do with her?
�Trouble sleeping?�
Marguerite looked up and saw Abigail standing at the entrance to the large room. At her nod, Abigail walked over and stood by the seat next to hers. �Mind if I join you?�
�Not at all, please.� Abigail sat down and her eyes made her way to the journal opened on the table before them. If she looked surprised at seeing it after so many years, her expression didn�t show it. �I see you have been to the land beneath the earth.�
�Yes. Several months ago we were testing Challenger�s new balloon when we got caught in an updraft and got stranded down there. While trying to help us get home, Malone found out you and Thomas had been down there and found your journal as well. We couldn�t figure out how or why you were down there though.�
�When Thomas found all of the members of the expedition dead, he put Veronica in the care of the Amazons and came to Avalon with our balloon. By then my mother had already passed away and I had become the Protector. As much as I wanted to leave, the council would not allow it. I had duties to attend to and a whole plateau to watch over. After several months, Thomas and I talked them into letting us return to the plateau to get Veronica.
�On our way back to the plateau, we were caught in a nasty updraft that tore our balloon and we were stranded in the very same place you found yourselves to be. Luckily, we were nearby to a village and the people were so astonished by our balloon that they were more than happy to help us fix it. It took some convincing for them to believe the balloon was not magic. After a couple of days, the balloon was fixed and we were on our way. We were so grateful, we could not leave without giving them something. The only thing we had with us was one of our old journals that was left in the balloon by accident.�
Marguerite listened to the story with interest. It certainly explained things, but one thing was still left unclear. �What about the runes in the back of the journal?�
�What about them?�
Marguerite leaned over and picked the journal up off the table. �I mean, what do these symbols mean? What�s this language? I�ve managed to figure out a few words here and there, but I haven�t had my usual luck with languages.�
Abigail raised an eyebrow and gestured to the symbols. �You can understand this?�
Marguerite hesitated. �Well, not exactly. Like I said, I know a few words here and there, but I�m far from figuring it out. I thought it would help Veronica lead us to you so I�ve been trying for a long time to figure it out. Of course Challenger was able to figure out the map and here we are so we didn�t have to rely on my translation, but I would still like to know what it says if you don�t mind.�
�Very well.� Abigail leaned back in her chair which gave Marguerite the impression that this was going to be a lengthy tale. �This language is a very old language, one that hasn�t been spoken out of these walls for thousands of years; the language of the Protectors.
�While the future is not set in stone, there are always signs that show us what fate has in store for us. You only have to be able to spot those signs when they appear.� At that Abigail smiled sorrowfully. �When Thomas and I were trapped beneath the earth, I knew it was a sign. At this point, I did not know that Mordren was the cause for the deaths of all the members of the expedition, but I knew something terrible was at play. I had to consider the chance that we would not be able to get to Veronica so I had to leave something for her to know her true purpose in life. Just as I left my pendant with that shaman for Veronica to find, I left her this note.�
Marguerite felt the more she learned, the more questions she had. �But why leave her a note in a language that she couldn�t understand? How does that help her?�
Marguerite�s question made Abigail smile as if she was humoring her. �Sometimes it is the things we do not know that give us the most knowledge.�
�What?�
�It is Veronica�s destiny to be the Protector and I knew that if Thomas and I were stuck beneath the earth or if something should happen to me before I could tell her the truth myself, she would be guided to the truth. And although nothing did happen to me, Veronica did prove she needed the signs that had been left for her to find out her path in life. And even though the note by itself might not have helped Veronica, it let her know Thomas and I were alive up until that point and later on when she found my pendant she learned the truth. It set her on the path to Avalon and to her true destiny. And as I said previously, only the Protectors are able to read this language so I knew that it was safe to leave a message for Veronica that even Mordren�s line could not understand should they have come across it.�
Marguerite sat quiet for a moment and processed all she heard. �Well, it certainly would have saved me a lot of trouble trying to translate if you had just put �Veronica, find Avalon� or something along those lines, but I guess you know best.�
�Interesting you should say that Marguerite because now I have a question for you.�
�Oh?� Marguerite asked clearly surprised.
�How is it you think it was that you were able to figure out what some of these symbols meant? After all, you are not a Protector.�
Marguerite frowned. �Well, I don�t know honestly.�
�I think it�s about time I told you another story. One you are long overdue to hear.�