The Immortals

Chapter 4

The woman walked down the street. She paid no attention to the snowflakes that lightly fell in her bright red hair and on her Nurse uniform. She didn't even brush them off. Instead, she continued to walk, her piggy tale plaits swaying to the rhythm of her gait.

Abruptly, her phone rang, playing Allegro from Vivaldi's Spring. She dug around in her hand bag and pulled out the vibrating metal. Accepting the call, she ignored the New York traffic and put the phone to her ear.

"Hello? This is Jo-"

"Oh stop it, I know it's you Anna," a heavy, Scottish accent interrupted her from the other end of the phone. Anna's eyes widened.

"Merida!" What do you think you're doing? Don't you know how dangerous it is to-"

"Yeah, yeah, I know how dangerous it is to contact friends these days. Is it so horrible to want to talk to you?" The grumpy voice asked. Anna rolled her eyes. Merida was never that simple. She would only take a risk like this if she needed help with something, and Danu Talis only knew what she was going was up to this time.

"What do you want?" Anna snapped, getting straight to the point. She heard Merida sigh on the other end of the line.

"I did something about 14 years ago that... well, let's just say, has come back to haunt me," she explained. Anna quirked an eyebrow up. What was it that her old friend could've possibly done?

"Uh, ok. If you don't mind me asking, what exactly did you do?" Anna ventured, her fingers nervously fiddling with the fringe of her scarf while her blue eyes stared at the high rise buildings of the city that never slept.

"I, uh, I... had kids."

Silence.

"Twins actually. Two girls-"

"What?" Anna exclaimed, making passers by stare at her strangely. Mouthing an apology, she went back to her conversation. "You had kids! What the hell Merida! How did that even happen? Why does this concern me? And why, dare I ask, has it come back to haunt you? Actually, I don't think I want to know, because things always go crazy with you. I mean, come on you turned your mother into a bear and saw blue little Wisp things, which is kind of cool and kind of crazy but oh well-"

"Anna!" Merida shouted. Anna stopped mid rant.

"Sorry, I babble when I'm nervous," she said.

"Gee, I hadn't noticed," Merida muttered sarcastically. Anna ignored her. "Anyway, the point is, I had twins and gave them up for adoption. That was the last I heard of them. And now... the Dark Elders are after them. I overheard Dee and the Morrigan talking about it. My girls, they're Halflings, and immortals. The Morrigan said something about them possessing the power of a thousand Elders. They're going to Australia to recruit them!" Merida exclaimed anxiously. Anna felt a twinge of sympathy for her, and now she understood why Merida had called her; not only did she want to save her kids, she wanted to stop the Dark Elders from obtaining an ultimate power.

"I'll help you," she told her old friend. "I'll ll do whatever I can."

She heard an exhale of relief on the other end of the phone.

"Alright. Thank you Anna, my old friend. Meet me at Mount Tam tomorrow, and bring anyone who can help, but only bring them if you know where their loyalties lie," Merida warned.

"Will do."

As she placed the phone back in her bag and set off down the street, she knew of someone who just might help them. Someone powerful, but somewhat fragile. Perhaps this would bring her out of her melancholic state? After all, Anna of Arrandell hadn't seen her sister in a while now.

***

The dojo was dark, almost eerie. Or at least, it would be if you didn't have the enhanced sight of The Brave One. Merida, after disabling her old teachers anti- intruder trap, was walking through the peaceful rooms. The whole place smelt of ylang ylang, the cause of which was no doubt due to the incense sticks located here and there. Her old teacher had always like ylang ylang.

As she stepped over the threshold of another room, she barely registered the hiss of steel before a sword tip was pointed at her throat.

"What are you doing here?" Another have Scottish accent hissed. Merida smiled.

"Do I really need a reason to pop in and see my old teacher?" She asked. The pale face in front of her scowled.

"In this day and age, yes, you do."

"And that explains why your so bitter..."

"I'm not bitter," her teacher spat, moving the sword away from Merida. In the dim light provided by street lamps, Merida could see the spiky red hair, black singlet, camouflage pants and combat boots. Scathach never changed her fierce style, no matter what century it was. Some people would call it stubborn, but Merida knew it was more out of habit than stubbornness.

"Do I have to ask again? What are doing here?" Scathach snapped. Merida shrugged.

"It's a long story..."

"A long story is just a short story you don't want to tell," Scathach retorts.

"Yeah, I think I've heard that one before. Humans these days... they love quotes on the internet," Merida said with a shrug. She could practically see steam coming out of Scathach's ears.

"You did always have a smart mouth on you, I guess people don't change, even after 100 years," Scathach muttered.

"Actually Scattie, they do. Since when was I known to have kids?" Merida asked bluntly. Scattie whipped around so fast that Merida wondered if she'd actually moved.

"You have kids?"

Merida looked away. Technically, all she'd done was give birth to the wee things. She'd never actually been there for them. Quite the opposite.

Most people would say that Merida was cruel and disregarding, but that wasn't really true. She'd given the twins away because she'd wanted to protect them from her world. She was also afraid. At the age her two girls were at now, she hadn't had the greatest relationship with her mother, and some part of her was afraid that she wouldn't know what to do. One part of her knew that discipline was important, but the other part also spoke of love and trust. How would she ever find a balance between the two? How could she mess up to lives with her messy and unprepared parenting? The answer was that she couldn't. So the easiest solution to the problem was just to give them away. Send them out into the world where someone more qualified than her could raise them and love them. But her plan had failed, and now her own flesh and blood was in danger.

"Well, actually I just gave birth to them. Then, I put them up for adoption, and now..." she trailed off. There was too much to say, and not enough words to say it.

"Let me guess. They're not what you thought they were?" Scattie estimated.

"Sort of. They're Halflings. Half vampire, half human. It wasn't that I didn't think they wouldn't be half and half, I just didn't think it would matter. I know of Halflings that have lived and died without knowing their true heritage... but my girls, they're immortal, and very powerful. And now the Dark Elders have their sights set on recruiting them," Merida explained, smiling against the wall. Her heart was filled with unidentifiable emotion. Was it sadness, or loss?

"Right. And they don't know?" Scattie asked. Merida shook her head. "Anything else you'd like to tell me?"

"Yes. They live in Australia. You in?"

"By Danu Talis good name, yes!"