Amber runs to look out the kitchen window above the sink, clutching the edge of the counter and standing on her tip-toes to stare out the window. She sees Claudius run out into the backyard, stop, clutch the picture of Claudia to his chest, and suddenly fall to his knees. She can feel, as well as hear, the thunder as it suddenly rumbles through the hills, and then the rain begins to fall-- slowly at first, and then pouring down.
Amber pushes away from the sink and runs out to the backyard following the same path Claudius did. She squints and holds her hand above her eyes to see in the dark and rain as she runs, but finally she can see Claudius' figure still kneeling in the rain, and runs up to him. She bends at the waist and puts her hands on Claudius' shoulders. "Claudius-- what's wrong?? Why are ye so upset?" she asks worriedy. She can see that he's crying, and she feels pain and fear stab her chest.
Claudius' face is a mix of rain and tears. His eyes look so faraway. He looks up at Amber in surprise and shock. He looks down at the picture and back at her.
"I KNOW THOSE EYES! I saw them! I saw them! Hibernia...they killed him and I..." he holds the picture up at Amber. "Those eyes!"
Amber gets down on her knees next to Claudius and turns the picture so she can see it, and then looks back at Claudius. "What are ye sayin', Claudius? That ye saw someone with Claudia's eyes when ye were in Hibernia? I suppose that's possible-- she's half-Irish, ye know." Suddenly Amber's eyes narrow as if she's trying to remember something. "Explain what ye mean, love." she says in a distracted voice, still trying to think.
Claudius opens his mouth to say something and all that comes is a choked sob. He leans down on his hands, head bowed, and points.
Across the field Amber sees Claudius and Cassius strolling through the forest. Claudius says something and Cassius laughs and suddenly turns his sword out. There stands a little girl not even two holding some flowers.
"bui," she says. Cassius sighs in relief and puts his sword away. He kneels before the girl and begins to talk to her, or try to.
Claudius looks at him in exasperation. Cassius smiles at him and turns back to the girl. The little girl hands him the flowers and he sniffs them and playfully swishes her nose with them. The little girl laughs.
Suddenly there is a scream as a woman runs out of the forest and picks up the girl. Cassius and Claudius try to calm her down, trying to speak in her language, when Amber sees several men run out of the forest. They knock down Claudius and pin him dragging him up by his arms. They hold Cassius as the one who looks to be the leader speaks to the woman. Claudius starts trying to speak to them but they don't hear him.
One of the men come up behind Cassius and stabs him in the back. Claudius screams and suddenly lightning comes from his hand knocking away his captors. He grabs his sword and begins to fight his way through the men, killing them. The woman pulls the dagger out of Cassius and runs at him. Claudius slashes her arm, severing it. She falls down to the ground holding what's left. The little girls runs up to him and touches his leg. He turns, sword raised, and a look comes over him. His eyes begin to fill with tears. He picks up Cassius and starts to run.
Amber can see several men run into the forest-- one of them with a bow. He nocks an arrow and fires, hitting Claudius in the back. Claudius stumbles, but continues to run when he suddenly vanishes.
Amber's mouth is open in a silent scream, and she falls forward so that her hands are on the grass-- then reaches out one arm towards the vision. When her voice finally becomes barely audible, Claudius can hear her whispering, "oh my god, ma Mhuire, oh my god..." over and over again. Finally she sits back on her heels and puts her hands to her mouth, her amber eyes large above her fingertips as she rocks slowly. Finally her eyes fill with tears and she clenches them shut, and Claudius can hear her moaning.
Claudius reaches over to her touching her shoulder.
"They killed him for no reason. We tried to tell them! Rome had never been to Hibernia before and they murdered him! He was so innocent, we were just taking a stroll! It was our first time and we were to just make contact-- just find out what was there!!! If he hadn't been killed we would have left in peace!"
"I...was so...I had lost Karine, I lost Marcus and he asked me to protect him! And they killed him like he was...like he was an animal! So I came back! I came back! They were...they were dirty barbarians and I killed them! I slaughtered them like animals! All those deaths...all that blood! On my hands...I'm sorry...I hated them! I hated them and I wanted them dead. And now looking at her I...I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" He says and begins to sob.
Amber continues rocking and holding her hands to her mouth as she listens to Claudius' explanation-- only her eyes move, shifting over to watch him as he speaks. Finally when he begins to sob does Amber drop her hands into her lap, but doesn't stop rocking. "Claudius...ye remember when I told ye that I went back ta my ancesters' village ta give birth ta Claudia an' raise her fer a time?" Amber shuts her eyes tightly, and when she opens them, they're filled with tears again. She clenches her jaw and continues on in a strained voice.
"That...that was the village ye an' Cassius came upon...oh Eimear, ye fool woman!!! DONA BHEAN-- go hifreann leat!!" Amber shouts, raising her fist. "I TOLD Eimear not ta take Cli off inta the woods! She wanted ta teach Cli how ta say the names o' different colors...oh Claudius, 'bui' means 'yellow' in Gaelic! She probably saw Cassius' hair an'..." Amber closes her eyes tightly again for a moment. "That was yer own daughter ye saw...that was wee Claudia in the woods! If that buille...that stupid woman had obeyed me, none o' that woulda happened, Claudius! Oh GOD how close ta danger my baby was!! Eimear got her just punishment when ye cut off her arm-- praise the Goddess she had enough wits ta grab Claudia an' bring her ta me! When I saw what had happened ta Eimear-- she was screamin' that there was a battle in the woods...that many of our men had been killed-- when she described ye an' Cassius' armor, I knew the Romans had come! I quickly changed inta me clothes from 1941, grabbed me baby up in me arms, and snapped the card that brought we two back ta 1941! An' all along, it was ye there...ye saw yer own daughter, an' she saw ye! She touched ye!"
Claudius moves near her and holds her. Still wracked with tears, he looks into her eyes. "I'm sorry I did that, I would take it back...I want to take it back."
Amber unconsciously wraps her arms around Claudius, still rocking, as she thinks, "I wonder what the healers were able ta do fer Eimear's arm..." and then abruptly she stops her rocking and stares with wide eyes across the hills. "Oh god..." Suddenly what Claudius told her sinks in. "Ye...ye killed them all...oh Gaia, no...not...not Cailloch, too!!" Amber suddenly pushes back from Claudius and takes his face in her hands. "Did ye see a tall, old man...long gray beard...wearin' green an' gold robes?? DID YE??" Her fingers clutch Claudius' face tighter. "Did ye go inta the village, itself, when ye were killin'?! Did ye kill that man??"
Claudius shakes his head, "No, just the men who chased me. I got back to the encampment and there were so many of them behind me. They wouldn't let me run away. I tried to save Cassius and they wouldn't leave me! I could have saved him if they would have let it lie!"
'I cannot tell her...I can't let her know the whole truth, if I cannot forgive, how could she...?' he thinks.
Amber holds Claudius' face a moment longer, staring at him intently as if not quite believing what he was saying. "If they killed Cassius, Claudius wouldn't stop at anythin' ta get his revenge..." Amber thinks. She closes her eyes and tries to think all of this through. "I know he was tellin' the truth about it only bein' he an' Cassius there, because that report was confirmed...an' our warriors were VERY protective, an' very likely jumped the gun when they saw the strangers with little Claudia. They thought so highly of us since we were relatives o' Cailloch, an' visitors, ta boot. Not ta mention that little Cli was Kinfolk, an' they prized her birth an' celebrated it fer weeks afterwards..." Amber thinks to herself, and swallows.
And if they WERE all killed...? Amber won't let that thought go further. Her people seem to have started that fight. As much as she knows about Cassius, she knows that he would never harm a child. "Poor, poor Cassius and his hair of 'bui'..." she thinks sadly, and suddenly holds Claudius to her again. "I'm so sorry about dear, gentle Cassius..." she says softly. "I know me people, an' I know how protective an' hot-blooded they are...especially o' their wee Kinfold children. I apologize fer what they did...I'm so sorry that's how Cassius was killed, love..."
"Cassius," he says and suddenly Cassius appears. He seems a bit dazed for a moment and then looks at Claudius.
"Claudius? Whats wrong, what has happened?" He asks kneeling before him.
"Cassius...I have been unfair. I should not have brought you into this. You deserve your rest, my friend. Go and get it. Tell Marcus and Karine I miss them." Claudius says and with a wave of his hand Cassius begins to dissapear.
"Wait! Wait I-" but he's already gone.
Claudius stands and looks out to the horizon.
"I have been so wrong Amber. I should never have let you go that night. I should have kept you with me. I..."
"Oh love, ye don't know how many times I've thought that very thing!!" Amber cries in an anguished voice, and pulls Claudius back into her arms. "It's all me fault! If I'd only stayed with ye, we coulda gone back ta Rome, and ye coulda bought that vineyard an' made wine...or been a senator...I coulda given birth ta Claudia in Rome with ye at me side-- then Cassius wouldna have been killed by me people...that woman wouldn't have tricked ye inta feedin' yer enemies ta yer men...we coulda grown old together...Claudia woulda never known the danger o' bein' in the IRA...maybe woulda been happier an' known love from watchin' our example...GOD, Claudius! What I mess I made of everythin'!" she moans, and rests her face against Claudius' shoulder.
"It wasn't your fault, the timing was off. We both had things pulling us in every direction. I was so far from that place I..." he shakes his head and stays silent. He continues to stare off into the distance. 'Everything would have been different...everything...'
Amber leans her head back up, takes Claudius' face in her hands, and pulls him in for a tender and emotional kiss. When she brings her face away from his, she begins to speak in a low voice. "I told Claudia that when I joined ye, it was unconditional, an' it is. Whatever happens, my fate is linked ta yers. I go where ye go-- through hell an' back, if it's asked o' me...I'll follow ye. I'd rather not exist if I couldna be with ye, an' I mean that, love. I mean that." Amber fixes her burning orange-yellow eyes on his and holds her lips in a tight line.
Claudius looks at her eyes, so full of conviction and determination. He takes her hand and stands. The clouds move away and the sun seemingly comes out of nowhere. He looks to her, a look of fierce determination...and something else. 'I will do it for her.' he thinks.
"If all goes according to plan, Amber, that won't be necessary. I will win," he clenches his fist, "And I will put to right all the things that have gone wrong. I promise you."
Amber smiles-- the sun making her hair and eyes almost glow like a bonfire-- bends and picks up the picture of little Claudia, and slips her arm around Claudius' waist. She looks down at the picture, and her smile melts into a look of determination as she gazes at her daughter's face. "Yes...put to right all the things that have gone wrong, love..." she murmurs, and squeezes Claudius' waist.
Wraith Game 15: "The Silent Fury"