AGELESS CAMPAIGN, Episode II, Part VI.

[Silver Moon]

"Of course I will. Otherwise I'd just have to stay down here and snoop in the cupboards.

Too bad you won't have ladies clothes up there. I'm certainly looking respectable, but I'm not dressed for a night on the town."

He says, "My cousin Meagan may have something that will fit you. We'll ask her when she arrives. "

He leads her upstairs to a second floor room that has what looks like a simple single-key lock onthe door but actually takes him casting a spell to reveal a quartet of locks, each with their own key in a proper sequence. He opens the door to a relatively simple room only ten-feet square in size.

It is furnished with a twin-sized bed covered by a quilt bearing the Stuart family crest, a bookcase filled with books, a large mirror above a dresser. But the item that immediately catches Abigail's attention is a framed photograph on the wall, 12 inches high by 10 inches wide, of Miss Abigail Marsters taken years earlier when they had worked together on their first dig.

 

[orchid blossom]

It is furnished with a twin-sized bed covered by a quilt bearing the Stuart family crest, a bookcase filled with books, a large mirror above a dresser. But the item that immediately catches Abigail's attention is a framed photograph on the wall, 12 inches high by 10 inches wide, of Miss Abigail Marsters taken years earlier when they had worked together on their first dig.

Abby's heart thumped. It wasn't the kind of formal picture a man would be expected to have of a woman. She had obviously been intent on her work, tools in hand delicately brushing soil away from whatever she had been unearthing at the time.

"Cal..." she paused, not sure how or if she should go on. "You never told me... When you left I thought I was never going to see you again. You didn't give me a reason to think I would. But you... You've talked about me to the people here, for years. You have this," she said, gesturing to the picture.

All the pain of their sudden separation came back and tears sprang to her eyes, although they didn't fall. "I had no idea how much you... It would have been nice to know. Although maybe, then, you didn't even know. We weren't together very long."

 

[Silver Moon]

"Cal..." she paused, not sure how or if she should go on. "You never told me... When you left I thought I was never going to see you again. You didn't give me a reason to think I would. But you... You've talked about me to the people here, for years. You have this," she said, gesturing to the picture. All the pain of their sudden separation came back and tears sprang to her eyes, although they didn't fall. "I had no idea how much you... It would have been nice to know. Although maybe, then, you didn't even know. We weren't together very long."

He says, "Abby, all I can say is that I am sorry. I myself did not realize my true feelings towards you until long after we separated. Between my responsibilities to the House of Stuart and to Queen Victoria through her Torchwood team of clandestine operatives, I never had the opportunity to contact you. No, that's not really true, I was afraid to contact you."

He says, "At heart I am a coward." He gestures around the room and says, "This is not the home of the Lordholder. I have an elaborate room in the Castle, once Mary Stuart's room, and where my Great-Grandfather Charles Edward Stuart, the infamous Bonnie Prince Charlie, stayed during his exile here in France. That has all the proper furnishings, but nothing personal of mine, like that photograph. It is only in this room, where I have stayed when my Torchwood associates are here in France at this farmhouse, that I have let my true self be known. I have only spoken of you to those here that I feel closest to, my three managers, my chief wizard's wife, and my cousin Meagan."

 

[orchid blossom]

He says, "At heart I am a coward." He gestures around the room and says, "This is not the home of the Lordholder. I have an elaborate room in the Castle, once Mary Stuart's room, and where my Great-Grandfather Charles Edward Stuart, the infamous Bonnie Prince Charlie, stayed during his exile here in France. That has all the proper furnishings, but nothing personal of mine, like that photograph. It is only in this room, where I have stayed when my Torchwood associates are here in France at this farmhouse, that I have let my true self be known. I have only spoken of you to those here that I feel closest to, my three managers, my chief wizard's wife, and my cousin Meagan."

She moved over to him and took his hands. "What are you afraid of, Cal? What have you been running from?"

 

[Silver Moon]

She moved over to him and took his hands. "What are you afraid of, Cal? What have you been running from?"

He says, "My past, my family, I don't know. Both my boss, Campion Bond, and my father Sir Randolph Henry Stuart, said that you were an unnecessary distraction to my work. But over the years I have come to question that. It is here in this farmhouse that I first became comfortable with myself and my feelings, and I do not believe that it was mere coincidence that we were drawn back together in Zakazik."

 

[orchid blossom]

He says, "My past, my family, I don't know. Both my boss, Campion Bond, and my father James, the Earl of Stuart, said that you were an unnecessary distraction to my work. But over the years I have come to question that. It is here in this farmhouse that I first became comfortable with myself and my feelings, and I do not believe that it was mere coincidence that we were drawn back together in Zakazik."

Abby smiled ruefully, "So, you're human then. We're all afraid that we're on the wrong track, or that we passed the one thing that would make us happy by.

You have to decide what you want your life to be. It sounds like both your father and you boss want you to focus on your work. Of course they do, it's their interest. What do YOU want? And how can someone, whether she was me or someone else, fit into that life? Your responsibilities as a Stuart can certainly be performed with a Lady at your side. Better perhaps. Your work as an agent not so much. They were always going to clash at some point, and you were going to have to make a choice.

Whether Aphrodite had a hand in this, or whether it was just likely with my new employment that were going to bump into each at some point, I can't say. I'm just busy being glad it happened."

 

[Silver Moon]

OOC: I made a minor edit to my previous post. I went back and rechecked the original Callum Stuart intro post. James is actually Cal's middle name, not his father's.

 

[Silver Moon]

.....What do YOU want? And how can someone, whether she was me or someone else, fit into that life? Your responsibilities as a Stuart can certainly be performed with a Lady at your side. Better perhaps. Your work as an agent not so much. They were always going to clash at some point, and you were going to have to make a choice.....Whether Aphrodite had a hand in this, or whether it was just likely with my new employment that were going to bump into each at some point, I can't say. I'm just busy being glad it happened."

"And I am as well. What do I want? Right now, to take you to Paris and have some fun."

He goes over to Abby's picture and removes it from the wall. Behind it is a hidden wall safe made of steel with a combination lock. He opens the lock. Inside of the small safe are shelves with various boxes. He takes out a square Wooden box with hinges on both ends and also a smaller case similar to those that men carry cigars in.

He places the larger box on the deck and opens it up, folding it out into three sections. Each section holds glass vials in padded compartments. He removes three of them, then refolds the box and puts it back into the safe, closing the door and replacing the picture.

He then opens the cigar box, which is empty save for padded spaces for two cigars and a pair of metal cigar bands. He slips each band over a vial and the vial transforms into a cigar, which he places back into the case, putting the case in his coat pocket. The third glass vial he continues to hold in his hand and says, "We can go now, the carriage should be arriving."

 

[orchid blossom]

"And I am as well. What do I want? Right now, to take you to Paris and have some fun."

He then opens the cigar box, which is empty save for padded spaces for two cigars and a pair of metal cigar bands. He slips each band over a vial and the vial transforms into a cigar, which he places back into the case, putting the case in his coat pocket. The third glass vial he continues to hold in his hand and says, "We can go now, the carriage should be arriving."

"A night of fun is enough for now," she said and smiled. "The rest can wait." She took his free hand and pulled lightly, just enough to cause him to bend down a bit so she could kiss him. "I expect to be treated like a Queen," she teased and preceded him from the room.

 

[Silver Moon]

"I expect to be treated like a Queen," she teased and preceded him from the room.

"As you wish," he replies.

They head downstairs and outside. Abby sees a shapely auburn-haired woman casting a spell upon the dirigible and it shrinks in size by close to seventy-five-percent. The men then move forward and move it through the barn doors.

She turns and heads over towards Callum with a smile. He cheerfully smiles and says, "Cousin Meagan, may I introduce you to Abigail Marsters." She smiles and says with a Scottish accent "You found her Callum!" He replies, "We bumped into each other in Zakazik Egypt of all places."