(see disclaimer in Pt. 1) Back at the Roman fort Diana and Longinus have just been presented with an emissary from one of the far-flung clans to the North. Longinus reclines sinuously against a couch carefully measuring the native representative and calculating his responses to Diana's questions as the man stands before them. Content to play the observer while Diana and her charms bleeds the man of every speck of information he has, even what he never intended to divulge. "Is that all you have to tell me Trellor?" Diana sidles up to him brushing her fingertips across his check and neck, breathing her next words hotly across his face, "I can't believe you have NO opinion on this matter? Surely, an intelligent man such as yourself would have an opinion of his chieftain's motives? Why he would ally himself with us and against his own people?" She circles him closely, seeing the reaction she wanted as Trellor shifts nervously from foot to foot, "Truly lady, I only speak what is given to me to say. Chief Morgan wishes you well and sees the value of aligning himself with those who will win this battle..." Diana glances to Longinus, still listening alertly from the couch, "But surely you overheard some other talk while you were there, something that would be helpful to know ...." She brushes her fingertips again against him, feeling a trembling reply returned and grabs his arm sharply, digging her nails into his flesh, "Tell me everything or my friend here," nodding to Longinus," will feel the need to question you himself. Believe me that wouldn't be wise..." Trellor looks over to Longinus, not for the first time and senses the pure evil, invisibly snaking out from him and slithering towards the shaken man some eight feet away. "Please lady .... " He starts to back away a sense of dread enfolding him. ********************************************* Back in Conor & Molly's chamber where the young couple has slept two or so hours... A few candles had been left burning and were now much shortened, but their light still spilled into the room. Conor awakens on his back to find Molly draped across his chest, resting her cheek and breasts against his skin. The covers have been kicked asunder and he could see the length of her lying there against him, naked altogether. The sight of her, was all it took to stir him into full alertness, the ale-fog chased away with the remaining two hours of the night. Gently, he rolls her off himself, and stands to remove his britches, fumbling slightly with the lacings and glancing back at Molly lying on her stomach, still sleeping. Now naked as well, he climbs back onto the bed and lies close to her. Leaning in and reaching gently to her face, "Molly, wake up.... Molly?" He gently brushes her cheek with his fingertips, the electricity apparent even now, a tingling flowing between his touch and her cheek. Slowly, Molly stirs and opens her eyes, their faces are mere inches away, their bodies even closer. As he feels the heat of her body Conor peers into her eyes, a slow, crooked grin stirring at the corners of his mouth, softly whispers, "Since we're both awake now, it'd be a shame not to use the time...." Before he can finish Molly reaches to hold him and kisses him on the mouth, stifling the rest of his words. Their bodies roll into each other face to face. The electricity builds with the heat of the moment. Both kiss each other on the mouth, eyes, cheeks, necks. Two sets of hands reaching all over the other's body, touching and caressing. Arms and legs enfold each other. Their breathing quickens, the kisses are more brief, but frequent. The intensity quickly builds until finally, Conor rolls atop her and ..... The Eternal - Part 2 of 2 Continued from previous ... Catlin storms through the doorway screaming, "Conor!! Come help - oh God! --- Conor!!" He leaps off of Molly and rushes to grab Catlin by the arms, "What is it! Cat! Tell me!!" It hasn't yet occurred to either that he's standing there naked. Molly sits bolt upright holding the covers to herself, eyes wide in fear, ears straining to hear. Catlin takes a deep breath and blurts out, "It's Fergus! Some of the men got all drunk and started talk'in again about avenging the Father, one of them took a pick and hit Fergus ...he tried to stop them...... oh God, Conor he's HURT, come! COME!!" she frantically starts pulling him towards the doorway. Molly calls out, "Conor! Your britches!" and throws them to him as he turns. Catlin realizes that she'd been talking with him bare naked before her and blushes red as dawn, turning away, still breathing hard. With a worried face Molly is now out of bed and pulling on a gown as well, "I'll follow you - please be careful!" Conor struggles to get into the britches as fast as he can, nearly falling over onto Catlin. Leaving his boots and tunic behind, he grabs his sword from it's sheath and Cat's arm and flies out through the doorway. "Hurry, he's over there", Cat points to the other side of the waterfall where a small crowd was gathered, "Mother Ceridwen is tending him as best she can..." Cat trails off as they both run around the pool into the crowd. (Mother Ceridwen was an elderly woman with some healing abilities, who mostly helped with midwife duties to the women of the camp.) Fergus was lying on his back, his face a ghastly white, but remarkably calm looking. Conor pushes a few people out of his way and kneels down beside him, laying his sword near. Mother Ceridwen was just finishing bandaging his right shoulder. "Fergus! What happened?! How are you?" Conor breathes urgently. Fergus attempts a lopsided grin but it turns into a grimace. Voice calm, he looks to Conor, "I got in the way of an angry pickax...." Conor glances at the Mother, then back to Fergus, "Cat tells me one of our men did this ... ," then with a deeper, commanding tone, "tell me WHO Fergus." Fergus looks to the girl and locks eyes with Cat, who quickly glances away to her feet, biting her lower lip. Just then Molly comes running up, breathing hard and laying down a leather sachel beside her Da. "I have some ointment and herbs here to place on the wound... it will help stop the pain Da." She looks at her father's shoulder and bandage, avoiding his eyes, tears starting to stream down her cheeks. "Now girl, don't cry .. oh lad.. comfort her will 'ya?" Conor moves over to hold her, but she pushes him away. "Now don't you be telling me when I can cry ...you lie still and let me help you." She starts to stuff some dried wads under the bandage. Standing up now, lowered sword in hand, Conor's face is darkened, his voice steady and deep, "Who's the man Fergus?!" Fergus sighing, "Now lad, he was drunk'er than me ... I know he was as surprised as I was." "I don't care HOW drunk he was, I want his name." Then with quiet anger, "We don't attack each other here, whatever the cause!" The small crowd shuffles back, feeling their leaders' wrath building. Just then a man steps forward from the back of the gathering, looking like he'd been dragged behind a horse for a mile or more. "Conor! It's me you want .. I --I don't know how - I'm sorry ....." , the man trailing off as he locks eyes with the young and very angry leader. Conor drops his sword at his feet and steps towards the man with clenched fists. Catlin grabs Conor's arm, swinging herself between him and the man. "Conor, remember what you just said, we don't attack each other here!" He looks at her with flashing eyes, anger swelling up inside him. "Fergus is the closest thing to family I have left - he could have been killed! I won't suffer that lightly ...," then holding her arms and looking at the man, now standing alone from the crowd, "he challenges my authority by doing this, I said we would not seek to avenge the Father right now, he defies me before the people!" The man swallows visibly, shifting nervously on his feet, but standing straight, steeling himself for what may come. Conor continues, "IFI'm to lead, I mustn't allow this to go by .... it would hurt me, the camp - the CAUSE!" Catlin sees the sense in his argument and stands away. Conor steps up to the waiting man, looks him in the eye, chest heaving in anger, fists clenched. "DO YOU CHALLENGE ME?! If so, here I am -- DO somethin' about it!" The man flinches at first, then rallies himself. Quickly deciding on action, he takes a step back and throws a sidewinder. Conor blocks it with his left arm, coming up hard with his right fist to the man's stomach. The man doubles over but rushes in fast to head-butt Conor. Grabbing the man's shoulders as his head impacts his stomach, Conor falls deliberately backwards onto his back flinging the man over his head onto the ground. A resounding crash and groan from the man, as Conor leaps up and hurries to pin the man while he's down. Not yet beaten, the man rolls out of reach and grabs Conor's ankle yanking the lad down hard onto his back. The man reaches out and punches Conor hard in the nose. Both men roll away and stand. Immediately a stream of blood flows from Conor's nose. They stare down each other, crouched and circling, looking for an opportunity to pounce. Molly, seeing the blood running down Conor's chest yells out, "Enough of this Conor - you man! Stop it!" Fergus has been watching intently, up on one elbow, holding his shoulder with the free hand. "Leave them be girl! They have to finish this!" The crowd was much larger now, but everyone was respectfully quiet, watching the fight. The two continue to circle, then a bloodied and angry Conor lunges, fists flying. They grapple with each other, close quarters, grunting in effort and neither giving ground. The excitement was bringing color back to Fergus's face, Molly sat with him looking on and worried. Catlin and Tully are helping to keep the crowd back, which was a task as everyone in camp had now gathered. Women were clasping children to their skirts, men were watching intently as the fight continues. The man can't seem to keep ahold of the sweat drenched, shirtless Conor, who keeps slipping out of each grasphold. Finally they push the other away and the man connects with another blow to Conor's chest. Reeling from the impact, he rolls away, wiping an arm across his mouth, bloodied from the nose bleed. He charges back at the man, head down and they both land crashing into the side of the crowd. Rearing up, Conor delivers a punishing right uppercut square into the man's jaw. Head snapping back, the man collapses under him, unconscious and still. Conor stands shakily, again running a hand across his mouth and stepping away from the inert body. The crowd cheers and closes in on Conor, men slapping his back and a woman offering her scarf to him to wipe his bloodied face. Someone drags away the challenger. Conor makes his way back over to Fergus, who's smiling now with a healthier color to his face. Molly hurries to him, sachel in hand. "You done me proud Conor - that'll show him!" Molly takes his arm, "Now sit down and let me see that face." Mother Ceridwen, quiet until now says, "You need a cold compress on that nose to stop the flow." She hands Molly a cold, wet cloth which she immediately holds to Conor's face. The crowd, happy with the outcome and reassured of a strong leader, disperses, leaving Catlin, Tully, Molly and Mother tending to Fergus, who tries to stand, holding onto a rock for support. Conor and Tully rush to get under both arms, leaning Fergus on them. Mother Ceridwen again, "Bring him to his bed so he can rest, I'll make a poultice with some of the lasses herbs and bring it to 'ya." Molly hugs her and follows after her Da. ********************************************************* Longinus finishes wiping his hands on the cloth napkin, "Well, that was entertaining." He smiles to Diana who is still trying to calm herself after witnessing a very nasty bit of business between Longinus and the man Trellor. The guards haul away the man's mangled body, trying not to look at it too closely, they had just had supper. Diana gathers herself and says pointedly, "Now that he's dead, what do we tell his chieftain when he asks us what befell him?" Longinus moving like a cat, closes to where Diana lay on her couch. He brushes the long fingers of one hand through her hair, "Why worry about what hasn't yet come to pass? We'll contact this Morgan ourselves, claiming to have found the body on our way to his camp. Obviously the man was attacked by rival clan warriors. Nothing to do with us..." He smiles wickedly again, leaning over Diana, inhaling her perfume in a greedy breath. "Now, I'd like to lighten the mood, it's been a little too serious here this past hour..." He slips onto the couch beside her, pushing his body length against hers. A serving maid comes into the chamber holding a platter of fruit. She sees the two on the couch and stops in her tracks. Longinus raises a hand in dismissal, barely acknowledging her presence and adds, "See that we're not disturbed!" The girl leaves in a very big hurry, not daring to glance back and closes the chamber door solidly. "You have your odd moods Longinus, how can you even think of making love after what you did to that man?!" He merely grins and pulls her closer to him, stroking her shoulder and arm and cupping her breast through the silken gown. "What I choose to do and when is my concern, yours is making sure I'm kept happy." Diana rails at this demeaning remark and tries to roll away from him. He grabs her and holds her down on the cushions. Then, roughly strips the gown from her leaving her naked before him. He loosens his robe and lets it drop away. Smiling again he whispers in her ear, as he strokes her body and presses her deeper into the cushions, "Dear one, just relax and do what you do best, the whore of Rome is in her element." ********************************************************* Fergus was resting comfortably in his bed, the wound not as bad as first thought. He was being smothered with all kinds of attention. Conor sat alone to the side of the chamber holding the cold compress against his nose and watching Fergus enjoy being the center of attention. Molly glances over to Conor and stands walking over to him. She kneels down on one leg before him reaching up to look under the compress at his nose and asks, "How does it feel? Can you breath through it?" "Aye, it's just sore some." Then grinning, "I'll live." Then regretfully, "This wasn't what I had planned for our wedding night...." He trails off, replacing the compress to his face. Molly blushes and strokes his cheek, "I know, neither did I, " then laughs, "But it'll be one to remember after all!" Conor grins back at her, then looks over to Fergus, questioning, "He'll be all right after a bit- right?" Molly nods yes and smiles seeing her Da greedily gulping down yet another mug of ale, (to kill the pain he says). Molly, turning serious asks, "What will become of that man?" Conor, also turning serious, "He's banned from the Sanctuary. He'll have to find his own way." Fergus calls over to them, "What are you two still do'in here?! I'm in good hands, go see to yourselves now!" He WAS in good hands, about three pairs of them, all attached to pretty young lasses, helping Mother Ceridwen. One pair to straighten his pillow, another to refill his mug and yet another pair to rub his feet. And Mother Ceridwen hovering protectively nearby. They both grin back at him and, Conor standing, looks to Molly with a question in his eyes but leaves it unspoken. Keeping her tongue, she takes his hand in hers and leads him to the doorway, turning back to Fergus & calling out, "We'll leave you to your rest Da and be back in a bit to see you!" They pass through the doorway and with Molly continuing to lead a battered Conor by the hand they make their way back to THEIR chamber. **************************************************