8.
The air was damp upon her skin as Andrea awoke in the small graveyard of the chapel of St Oran. Her body and head ached and she had a bitter taste in her mouth. For a moment she lay on the hard ground unable to focus on her thoughts. She had been on a long journey and could feel the tiredness behind her eyes.
Running her hand across the wet grass she reached out, something was missing, something was not right.
Elizabeth!
Opening her eyes she sat up quickly and looked around. The morning was grey with just the hint of a sunrise on the horizon. All was quiet except for the waking call of a few birds and the remaining chime of a distant bell. The place was deserted; Elizabeth was nowhere to be seen.
Panicking, she stumbled to her feet, heart thumping as she grasped at the headstones calling out the name of her beloved daughter. The place was empty and the girl was nowhere to be seen. Andrea slumped down onto the grass and sobbed, her worst nightmare had become a reality.
"Andrea."
A voice called across the cold light, a familiar and warm voice. As she looked up the old lady was approaching.
"Geraldine!" the younger woman fell sobbing into her arms like a child.
"There, there my dear, all is well, you are home. What is wrong?"
Andrea could barely speak between sobs, only uttering the name of Elizabeth over and over again.
"Calm yourself my dear, now calm yourself. All is well. Elizabeth is perfectly safe.”
She wondered how the old woman could be so calm, so relaxed.
"Where?"
Geraldine smiled as she gently reached down and patted the smooth belly of the younger woman.
"Here!"
***
Over breakfast the two women talked. Andrea had forgotten that back in the present she would revert to her previous state. When she had been transported back in time, Elizabeth was a mere twinkle in her eye.
"But how did you return Geraldine, I saw you killed by Helena?"
"I have kept my own secret for many years. You see, there weren’t only two stones, in reality there were three. I have had to keep that fact to myself. If Helena had known I would not have been safe, nor would I have been there to help you. I too have my own part to play out in this story. I needed to make sure there would be a happy ending after all."
Andrea stirred her coffee as the memory of Alex came flooding back. Tears formed in her eyes.
"Not a happy ending for everyone."
A thin hand reached across the table and found her own.
"Alex you mean?"
Andrea nodded as the tears slid slowly down her cheek and onto the table.
"Alexhander MacDonald lived to be 85 years old. With his wife Andra he went on to have several sons as well as a daughter Elizabeth. They had a very long and happy life together."
The coffee sloshed over the edge of the cup and landed in her saucer as Andrea sat and looked, open mouthed at Geraldine.
"But how, he was dead. I saw him?"
"He nearly died, I grant you that. But it was not his time. Remember the cycle of things - life and death, birth and rebirth?"
"But .."
"But the magic of the ancients is all powerful and there are some things that we cannot explain, cannot fathom, that are beyond our reasoning."
"What about the second stone. The one that was in Elizabeth's hand, where is that now?"
Geraldine thought for a moment. "The second rune was needed to bring Elizabeth safely to the future, even in the womb she needed protection. The stone must be somewhere in the graveyard, near to where you woke this morning. You should go and look for it after breakfast. It is important to retrieve it; you are the guardian."
***
The sun had started to shine weakly through the clouds as Andrea walked over from the hotel to the Abbey.
One of the staff had just started to unlock the main gates ready for the public to access the ancient site.
"Morning." the voice of a young man brought her out of the thoughts of the past and into the present. She looked up into the smiling face of a man she had known and loved throughout the centuries.
She could hardly speak as the young man approached her.
"Sorry if I startled you. I've just started working here. I'm staying for the summer with my Grandma, Geraldine. Do you know her? By the way, my name is Alex.”
THE END