FF: Brielle

[MythingLink]

Let's see if I can get this broken up into parts so that it will post alright.

This was a response to a challenge which was:

The character of your choice prevents someone from committing suicide and then has to deal with the consequences.

Brielle
by Alliana and MythingLink

"Ya see, Herc, if you make the rope into a loop, twirl it around, and throw it, you can catch something!" Iolaus began twirling with his brand-new rope.

A scream reverberated throughout the canyon.

The two men walking side by side looked at each other and then ran to the edge of the ravine.

Looking down, they saw a young girl perched on a ledge of rock jutting out from the main wall, about 100 feet from where they were.

"Hold on! We'll help you up!" the demi-god shouted down.

"No!" the girl screamed. "Stay away!"

"We'll be careful," the hunter yelled.

"Don't come any closer!" The girl started moving towards the edge of the rock. "I'll jump!"

"Hercules," the shorter man said in surprise, "you don't think she's--" He gulped.

"Iolaus, the rope! Tie it around your waist!" Iolaus quickly caught on and did as Hercules asked. As soon as the last knot was tied, Hercules began to lower Iolaus down to the girl.

The girl looked up just then. "Don't come any closer! I'll jump!"

Iolaus saw the desperation and pleading in her eyes, and his heart melted. She was so young and beautiful-why in Tartarus would she want to kill herself?

"Don't move," he spoke in soothing tones. "I'm coming down to get you."

The girl began to cry--not for the first time that day, it seemed. "No," she sobbed. "I'm going to jump."

Iolaus drew in a quick breath as he saw how far down it was to the bottom of the ravine, even from where he was-it was about seven hundred feet. He was wondering how she had gotten down there in the first place, then decided it didn't matter. What mattered was getting the girl safe, even if she wanted to kill herself.

"Why do you want to jump?" he asked gently. Iolaus knew you should never tell them *not* to kill themselves, as it would only increase their determination. He was only about a third of the way down and he motioned to Hercules to go faster.

"Because life isn't worth living," the girl cried.

"What's your name?" he gently asked.

The girl sniffed, her nose running. "Brielle," she answered softly.

"Well, I'm Iolaus, Brielle. I'm sure you have family that loves you and would want to see you again."

"I have no one," she said bitterly.

"Do you--have any friends? Hey, I'm sure there's a lucky guy in your village, just waiting for you to return."

The girl began to cry harder and moved closer to the edge of the rock. "No! Wait!" Iolaus was about halfway down now and reached out a hand as if he could stop her. "Uh, are you sure you don't want to talk about it? Maybe there's something I can to do help you."

"Come on, Iolaus, you can do it," Hercules breathed. Hercules didn't dare let Iolaus down any faster. The rope that held him was beginning to fray as it rubbed on the sharp cliff edge.

"No one can help me. I have no one."

"Are you *sure* you don't want to talk about it?"

"Why should I?" she asked sourly. "So you can laugh at me? Just like everyone else!" She moved closer to the edge and Iolaus could see that the ledge she was standing on wasn't going to hold her very much longer.

"I'm *not* going to laugh at you." Iolaus was impatient. He was almost
there... "Brielle, *nothing* is worth killing yourself over. Okay, I'm gonna come down there and talk to you, okay? I'm just going to talk. I don't want you to jump."

Brielle closed her eyes and opened them again. She stepped closer to the edge.

"Brielle, wait!"

There was a breaking sound and Iolaus watched in horror as a crack appeared in the ledge. The section of the ledge Brielle was already standing on began to break away and fall into the abyss below. Iolaus felt himself being dropped suddenly. Before he knew what he was doing, he had grabbed Brielle's wrist.

The rock ledge crumbled away beneath her and tumbled down the side of the ravine.

"Don't let me go!" Brielle cried. "I don't want to die!"

Memories flashed through Iolaus' mind. The woman on the bridge. With her husband. How he hadn't been able to hold on and the woman had fallen to death in the river...

Iolaus gripped her wrist tighter. "Can you grab onto my legs?"

"I--I think so," she stammered.

"Try," urged Iolaus. "Bring your left arm up-that's good. Good. Now grab my leg. That's good."

"Iolaus!" It came from above. "Hurry! The rope's breaking!"

"I'm trying!" he yelled back. "Come on, Brielle, that's right. Grab onto my legs. Good. Now grab onto my arm." Iolaus used all of his strength to pull the girl up. She soon had her arms wrapped around his waist and Iolaus had his left arm around her, his right arm already on the rope. He yelled at Hercules to start pulling the rope up.

Brielle was sobbing quietly, holding on for dear life. Up this close, Iolaus could see just how blonde her hair was, and just how startling blue her eyes were. She was so young. Why?

Underneath his hand, Iolaus could feel the rope straining and breaking. "Uh, Herc? You might want to hurry up!"

"I know, Iolaus! I'm trying!"

"We're going to die," Brielle sobbed. "I'm going to die."

"No," Iolaus said sensitively. "You're not going to die. I promise. You know my friend up there? That's Hercules. You've heard stories about Hercules, right?"

She barely nodded. "Well, Hercules is a hero," Iolaus continued. "The strongest guy I've ever known. And he's going to pull us up. He won't let us fall." Part of the rope snapped. Brielle cried out again.

"Hey, hey, shhhh." Iolaus wished there was something else he could do to comfort her. Thankfully, they were going up much faster than he had gone down. "Hercules is my best friend. He won't let us die. I promise you."

Brielle looked up and finally met his eyes. What Iolaus saw caused him to take in a deep breath. There was no light, no hope in her eyes.

In a moment, Iolaus and Brielle were being hoisted onto solid ground by Hercules. Hercules and Iolaus looked at each other, but nothing was said vocally.

"Come on," Hercules said, putting his hand lightly on the girl's arm. "Do you live this way?" He pointed. Brielle nodded, keeping her head down. Hercules took his hand away and looked to Iolaus as if there might be some explanation for it all, but Iolaus just shrugged.

*****

End of Part 1

 

[MythingLink]

FF: Brielle Part 2

The journey to Brielle's town was done in relative silence. Even the talkative Iolaus couldn't seem to bring himself to break the silence that had fallen around them as they had started out.

Hercules had let Iolaus take the lead with Breille in the middle and himself following behind. He didn't want to take any chances with the young girl who seemed so determined to take her own life. He couldn't understand what could bring someone so young to such a decision. His thoughts returned to the look on her face as she the ledge broke and she thought she was going to fall. The look was one of peace not fear. It wasn't until Iolaus grabbed her and prevented her from falling did that look change and she begged them not to let her die. It was that look of peace that bothered him and made him decide to find out why she had been standing on that ledge prepared to take her own life.

"Herc." Iolaus had stopped in his forward motion and stood waiting for Hercules and Brielle to catch up. Standing side by side, all three gazed down at the quiet little village. "Looks like a nice place."

Hercules nodded and taking Brielle by the arm, led her down to her home with Iolaus following closely behind. Once they reached the road that led through the center of town, they followed it's track. Rutted over the years by wagons following this popular route to Thebes, they found themselves preferring to walk along the grass that grew at the edge.

Villagers watched them enter the small village. Hercules and Iolaus could feel the tension mount in the girl. They could hear the whispers of the villagers that they passed as they walked on towards the center of the village. Stopping at the well, Hercules reached for the bucket that was free for all to use. He lowered it into the well and as soon as he had pulled it up full of water, he picked up the drinking ladle and offered Brielle a drink. She took it with eyes lowered.

As Iolaus took his turn at quenching his thirst, Hercules turned and looked around him. No one approached them to greet them or ask their business. In fact whenever his eyes met anothers, they were turned hastily away. Hercules looked at his friend who returned his gaze and nodded. There was definitely something wrong here and both men were determined to find out what.

The silence was suddenly broken by a yell and both Hercules and Iolaus looked in the direction from which it came. A young man was rushing forward towards them.

"Brielle!"

Iolaus turned towards Brielle and for one instant saw animation in her eyes, then it was tampered down like an evening fire.

Breathless, the young man stopped in front of Brielle and took her in his arms. "Thank the gods. I've been looking everywhere for you. You frightened me." Holding her out at arms distance and trying to look into her downcast eyes he asked, "Where have you been? Where did you go?"

Brielle didn't answer.

"Brielle?"

Hercules put a hand on the young man's shoulder. "She's in shock. We found her out at the ravine. Is there someplace less ... open ... we can take her?"

The young man looked at Hercules blankly for a moment almost as if he hadn't known that he or Iolaus were there he had been so focused on Brielle.

"Uh, sure. Of course. My house. It's over this way," he said. Taking Brielle in his arms he guided them all past the watching eyes of the villagers to a small house set back from the road. After entering, the young man set Brielle into a chair and covered her with a blanket. Turning, he introduced himself.

"I'm Allanon ... Brielle is to be my wife. Thank you for bringing her back to me." He held out his hand and Hercules grasped it.

"Hercules, and this ..." he motioned to Iolaus, "is my friend, Iolaus."

"Hi," Iolaus greeted as he took Allanon's hand.

"Hercules? The Hercules? Wow! I never thought ... I mean I never imagined that I'd ..."

Hercules and Iolaus chuckled for the first time since finding Brielle clinging to the ledge in the ravine. It felt good.

"Steady Allanon. We need to concentrate on taking care of Brielle," Hercules said.

At the mention of her name, Allanon turned back towards the young girl sitting motionless in the chair. He went to her side and knelt down. Taking one of her hands in his own he said, "Brielle? Speak to me, please. What can I do to help?"

Brielle didn't respond either with words or with movement. She continued to look down at the floor in front of her. "Oh Brielle," Allanon said almost in a sob.

Iolaus looked around the house and spotted a pot simmering on the fire. Walking over to it, he knelt down and grabbed the ladle that was hanging there. Dipping some of the mixture out of the pot, he wafted it under his nose. "Uhmmm. Chicken soup." Standing, he took a bowl from the mantle and filled it halfway with the aromatic soup. Taking it to Allanon, he handed it to him.

"Chicken broth. This might help," Iolaus said as Allanon took the proffered bowl. "At least my mother always claimed that it would help everything," he added smiling at the young man.

"Mine too," Hercules added.

Allanon nodded. He put the bowl in Brielle's hands and helped her to drink. At first she resisted, but eventually Allanon got all the broth into her. Once she was done with her soup, Allanon helped her to stand and led her into a room off of the living area. Hercules and Iolaus sat at the table and watched. Each immersed in their own thoughts about what had happened so far that day. Soon, however, Iolaus stomach growled. The aroma from the simmering chicken soup was making him hungry. Hercules chuckled at hearing the sound. "Iolaus, you're always hungry."

Iolaus looked stricken by his friends comment. "We haven't eaten since breakfast and it's several hours past noon. I can't help it if I'm hungry," he defended.

Allanon walked back into the living area. "I've put her to bed. She seems to be sleeping."

Iolaus' stomach made it's presence known again with an incredibly loud grumble. Iolaus' hands shot to cover his midsection. Allanon saw Iolaus' embarrassed look and laughed. He had a good, strong laugh and the smile that lit his face suited him and made him out to be quite a handsome young man. A young man any young maiden would fall in love with. The laughter was contagious and soon Iolaus and Hercules were also laughing.

Still chuckling, Allanon went to a cupboard where he brought out a cutting board, some bread and cheese. He set these out of the table and then ladled up three large bowls of soup which he also put on the table. Going to the cupboard again, he produced three mugs and a jar of ale.

Over the meal, the three men exchanged their stories of Brielle.

"All was going well," Allanon said between bites. "We had set the date for our marriage and her parents couldn't have been more pleased. I've got a farm outside of town that brings in almost one third of the corn that is harvested in this area. Three days ago, Brielle was out gathering flowers. She found a strange looking token and brought it home to show her parents. They didn't know what it was that she had found, so her father brought it into town to see if it had any value. He showed it to a trader who was passing through that day. The trader couldn't get out of town fast enough after that. He told Brielle's father that it was a cursed item and anyone who touched it would fall pray to bad luck."

Hercules looked up from his soup to interrupt, "Cursed, by whom?"

***

End of Part 2

 

[MythingLink]

FF: Brielle Part 3

"He never found out. Brielle's father didn't believe in that sort of stuff so he just took it back home with him. Later that night, there was a party to celebrate our marriage. I picked Brielle up early to bring her into town. Brielle's father, mother, and little brother were going to follow later in their own wagon. When they hadn't shown up, we went looking for them." Allanon paused and a pained expression crossed his face from the memory.

"We found them. Their wagon had overturned. Brielle's mother and father were dead. They had been pinned under the wagon. Brielle's little brother was still alive, but barely. We brought him back into town, but he died later that night. Brielle was heart broken. Mrs. Margray, from town, took Brielle into her house. No one thought she should be alone and it wouldn't be seemly for me to bring her here or out to my farm. Mrs. Margray took good care of her."

Allanon got up to refill Iolaus' bowl with more soup before continuing. "We buried them yesterday out on their property under a big live oak. It was Ethic's favorite place. He loved it there. Even built a tree house in its branches."

"After the ceremony, we all came back to town. It was decided that Brielle would continue to stay with Mrs. Margray until the wedding. Then one of the towns people noticed black smoke rising from the direction of Brielle's family holding. We all rushed out there to find that the house and out buildings were on fire. By the time we got there, there wasn't anything that we could do. Everything burnt to the ground. All the animals were killed in the fire or from the smoke."

"That was when Tonadas, a young boy who was around when Brielle's father brought that token to the trader, mentioned the curse. Everyone in the town picked up on it and decided that Brielle had brought this down on her family. They didn't demand that she leave, but Mrs. Margray asked her to find someplace else to stay.

"With her house destroyed by the fire, I took her out to my farm. I have a house out there so that I can stay there if I need to during planting or harvest. It's not the fanciest of places, but it does have a place to sleep and a cooking area. There wasn't any food there, so I left Brielle there to come into town to get some. When I got back, Brielle was gone. I've been searching for her ever since." Allanon's story finished, he picked up the remains of the bread and cheese and put it back in the cupboard. Iolaus and Hercules cleared the rest of the table except for the mugs and ale and the three sat down again where Hercules and Iolaus told of how they had found Brielle at the ravine. Allanon could only nod.

"I should have realized that she might try something like that. Brielle has always been very sensitive. I'm sure she thought she was to blame for the death of her family."

"You don't think she is cursed because of that token thing?" asked Iolaus.

"Of course not. I saw it. It's the same thing that some short, fat little guy was selling here last fall as part of a jewelry collection. There were necklaces, bracelets, and earrings. All with the same pattern. If Brielle's father had come to me first, I could have told him it was worthless junk," Allanon answered.

"How is it that Brielle's father didn't recognize it?"

"They had all gone into Thebes to buy some new breeding stock for their goats. The little guy had left before they got back. And no one here bought any of his stuff," Allanon explained. "As a town, we aren't much given to frivolous stuff like jewelry. No, this was all just a case of coincidence and bad luck. If the towns people would come to their senses they'd realize it. I tried to remind them that there have been a few wagon accidents on that road because of the ruts, but they'd rather believe in curses."


Hercules drained his mug, stood and stretched. "It's been awhile. I think you should check on Brielle."

Allanon got hurriedly to his feet. "You're right." He strode to the room and pushed back the curtain where he stopped. "NNOOOO!"

Hercules and Iolaus rushed to his side. As they looked into the room, they saw Brielle lying on the floor in a pool of her own blood. Rushing into the room, Hercules saw that she had taken Allanon's shaving knife and had cut her wrists open. Then she had just lain down on the floor to die. He knew she was dead and that there wasn't anything that could be done for her. He looked up at Allanon and Iolaus, who stood in the doorway ... waiting, and shook his head. Allanon fell to the floor sobbing.

*****

The smell of fresh blood filled Hercules' nose. He had to get out. As he passed Allanon on his way outside, he laid a hand on the distraught youth's shoulder for a moment. Allanon looked up gratefully, and then continued to grieve and cry. Hercules walked out the front door of Allanon's house. He knew what it was like to lose someone you loved. He knew what Brielle had been going through when her entire family had been killed. He slowly began to fill with anger and bitterness.

Hercules walked around the side of the house to find a very small, empty, deserted meadow and the woods beyond it. The house was at the edge of town. It was there he went to think. Zeus claimed he cared about mortals, and so where was he now? Sitting on his high and mighty throne on Olympus, probably not even aware that this horrible tragedy had happened. How could Zeus, or any other god for that matter, have allowed such a young girl to do such a horrible act against herself? But none of them had ever cared about mortals, he reminded himself.

"Hercules?" Iolaus asked timidly as he came to stand by his friend. "It's awful, isn't--" his voice broke.

Hercules turned and Iolaus was shocked to see the rage in Hercules' eyes. "Iolaus, how could the gods-how could ZEUS-allow this to happen? I'll tell you why. Zeus claims he cares about mortals, and yet look at what happened! It will be a cold day in Tartarus before we ever see Zeus act kindly toward mortals again!"

"Um, Hercules," Iolaus tried to calm him down.

Hercules ignored him and walked toward the woods. "Zeus," he said in a low voice as he kept walking, further and further into the woods. Then he looked to the sky. "Zeus!" he yelled. Iolaus followed, knowing how Hercules could get at times like these. Now Hercules raised his arms to the sky. "ZEUS!!"

There was a bright flash and the heroes put up their arms to shield their eyes from it. Then Zeus was before them, dressed in godly robes. Hercules immediately stormed towards his father and grabbed the front of his robe. "How could you let this happen? You say you care about mortals. You let a girl *kill* herself like that! Why? Why? I want to know WHY!"

"Hercules, calm down," his father said.

"Calm down? After what you let happen? You probably don't even know what happened, let alone care!"

"Hercules, listen to me!" There was such authority in Zeus' voice that Hercules had rarely heard before. He let go of his father. Zeus looked over to Iolaus. "Iolaus, you too." Iolaus came forward a few steps. "I can't tell you why, but it was for a good reason. Trust me."

"Trust?!" Hercules spat out. "Father, when was the ..."

"Hercules," the King of the Gods said soothingly, "I know how you feel. It is a tragedy. But I had to let it happen."

"Just like you had to let my family die? Serena die? Turn back time, Zeus! You turned it back once for me, do it again!"

Zeus sighed deeply. "You aren't going to be satisfied until I show you. That's how you are. Hercules, the first and only incident I turned back time for you, one of the reasons for that was Iolaus' life. This time, many more lives are at stake. Here is what would have happened if Brielle had lived."

Hercules and Iolaus stared as a window opened in front of them and the story began to unfold.

***

Allanon was loading a basket into the already full wagon. "Brielle, are you ready?" he called into the house.

"Coming!" she called out. Brielle emerged from the house, her eyes bright and shining. She was holding a baby girl.

Allanon helped Brielle up into the wagon, and then climbed up himself. "Brielle, before we go," he said, taking her hand, "I just want to let you know how lucky I am that you married me."

Brielle smiled. "I know, Allanon." They kissed and then reluctantly broke apart.

"So we're off," announced Allanon. "Off to find a new life in another village." Allanon whistled to the horses and the wagon began to move.

***

The wagon was moving along the road smoothly and then Allanon noticed the deep ruts. Many a wagon had been flipped over by these ruts, including the one holding Brielle's family a year ago. Allanon carefully navigated while Brielle calmed the baby down.

The horse neighed and bucked. "Whoa, steady, steady!" soothed Allanon.

"What's wrong?" asked Brielle, holding the baby tighter.

"I don't know," her husband answered. "Something must have spooked the horses." Try as he might, the horse wouldn't be calmed. The horse began to run wildly and then Allanon realized what had spooked it. A small forest animal had run between its legs.

With the horse running with the wagon on the already deeply rutted road and Allanon trying uselessly to stop the horse, it was the perfect recipe for disaster. Allanon leaned out of his seat a bit to try and unhitch the horse from the wagon. All of a sudden, the left wagon wheel hit a rut at an angle and the wagon flew up into the air.

The next minute was jumbled and when the dust had settled, Allanon and the newborn baby were dead and Brielle was barely alive.

***

Hercules and Iolaus both had glistening eyes as they looked to Zeus. "A few months later.." Zeus motioned towards the window.

***

End of Part 3

 

[MsGudBod]

Good reading, thanks.

 

[MythingLink]

FF: Brielle Part 4

"Sander, come on!" Cantras whispered urgently.

"I'm coming, I'm coming," Sander answered. He crouched next to the other four bandits behind some bushes just outside of town. Five bandits didn't seem like much of a threat, but they were deadly enough. Sander glanced at Cantras. Cantras was the biggest of them all, and so naturally, the leader as well. Cantras was dressed all in black again, with small silver studs. Sander rolled his eyes at the outfit.

"Ready?" asked Cantras. "Now!" He brought his hand down to signal for them to move.

The five bandits rushed into the village and began their work. Brutal murders. Burning houses. Torture. `These pathetic villagers,' thought Cantras. `Hardly a challenge at all.' Cantras caught one girl as she was running away. She had bright blond hair and lovely blue eyes. "What's your name, girl?"

Brielle looked in horror as the only village she had ever known as home was being burned to the ground, the inhabitants killed. "Brielle," she said softly. "Oh, please don't kill me! Please!"

Cantras eyed her. "No, I won't kill you. But you give a message to the next village. Cantras and his band are going to kill every villager from here to Olympus! Got it?" Brielle nodded and the bandit let go of her. Brielle began to run. She was the only one left of her village now. She didn't look back as her village burned to the ground.


*****

Zeus had finished and looked at his son and his son's best friend. "That's what will happen if she lives."

Hercules looked at his father. "Allanon and the town will be destroyed."

Zeus nodded and added, "But that isn't all."

"Not all?" Iolaus asked.

"No Iolaus, not all," he answered. Sadness tinged his voice. "Let me tell you another story," and he began. "This is what will happen if things remain the way they are. You'll see what I mean by 'not all'"

***

"Allanon, you'll be late if you don't hurry," a gaily dressed young man yelled in the direction of the sleeping room.

"I know, I know. But I look ridiculous," he said as he pulled the curtain back and stood in the doorway. Allanon was dressed in a blue and gold embroidered silk tunic over white linen trousers. A sash at his waist was tied haphazardly and one end drug on the floor.

Santara, Allanon's best friend and the person who was going to stand with him on this day, walked to his friend. Tilting his head to one side, he looked Allanon up and down. Then reaching for the sash, he quickly undid Allanon's clumsy knot and retied it. Stepping back to admire his handiwork he said, "Perfect. Now get a move on. You really don't want to be late for your own wedding do you?"

Allanon sighed and said that he didn't. The two young men rushed out of the house and down the street to the home of his future bride, Cynthia. Reaching the porch, they paused. Santara dusted Allanon off and then himself.

"You wait here. I'll go see if they're ready for you."

Allanon waited, albeit rather impatiently, on the front step to Cynthia's family home. He was happy, happier than he had ever been. On that, a small feeling of guilt rose up. He remembered Brielle and how she had died. Poor Brielle. He said a silent prayer that she had found peace at last and was walking the Elysian Fields this moment. His thoughts were interrupted by the return of Santara.

"Come on man, you're getting married," said Santara as he pushed Allanon through the open door. "And Cynthia is going to brook no resistance. I hope you know what you've gotten yourself into."

The two men chuckled. Cynthia was as fiesty as she was beautiful. Her bright auburn hair was the talk of all the women in the town. There wasn't anyone who could match it or the delicate cream color of her skin. Her parents had come here from somewhere across the sea where auburn hair, skin the color of cream, and eyes the color of grass after the rain were common.

Cynthia had chased Allanon who, at first, was impervious to her charms. He still remembered Brielle and continued to mourn for her long after she was gone. Slowly, though, Cynthia's persistence began to break down Allanon's walls and he found in her a woman who could help him start his life again. Today was the first step in that journey.

***

Iolaus was on his way to Thebes to meet Hercules. They had split up last week when Hercules had been summoned to Corinth to meet with his brother on some family business. Iolaus had stayed behind to finish his vacation and to catch Lakesh, the big bass that kept breaking Iolaus' fishing line whenever he was snagged. Iolaus had been bound and determined to catch him. Finally giving up, Iolaus decided that if Lakesh was that bent on staying out of the frying pan who was he to argue. He gathered up his fishing gear and began the trek to Thebes.

Along the way, he had stopped in every village he passed for meals and gossip. Currently, he was hearing that a group of bandits had been terrorizing the smaller villages along the road to Thebes. He made a note to himself to tell this to Hercules when they met up. It sounded like something the two heroes should look into.

As he walked, he remembered back to the last time he and Hercules had walked along this way. It was over a year ago and a lot had happened since then but his memory of Brielle and Allanon had not faded with time. Another days travel should put him where he and Hercules had first heard that scream that had sent them rushing to the ravine to see a young girl clinging to a ledge. His mind went through all the events that followed ... rescuing the girl, taking her back to town, meeting her husband to be Allanon, and hearing the story of why she tried to kill herself. Then, the final memory of finding that she had succeeded despite all their efforts ... Brielle, lying in a pool of her own blood after she had cut her wrists.

Hercules and Iolaus had stayed with Allanon until after the funeral. The young man was unconsolable and they had feared he might follow in her footsteps. However, Allanon's family had journeyed to be with him and they had taken over his care. Hercules and Iolaus felt that they could leave then. Iolaus wondered how Allanon was doing now.

That night, Iolaus spent the night in Colston instead of camping out. He ate a large dinner, drank too much wine, and finally collapsed into unconsciousness in a nice warm bed. When he awoke the following morning, his head and stomach reminded of him of his excesses the night before. Ever the hero, he finished his morning absolutions without too much complaining or moaning.

He decided to force himself to eat a light breakfast and then continue on his journey. At noon he stopped his trek and rested in the shade of a stand of trees that had grown next to the road. He checked his pack and found that he had a small hunk of cheese, a half loaf of bread and one apple. Knowing that he would have to stop in the next village to replenish his supplies, he also decided to look up Allanon since that would be the village where he would make his stop for the night. But for now, he's eat what he could and rest a bit. His head was still pounding. He thought that maybe a short nap would help.

***

End of Part 4

 

[MythingLink]

FF: Brielle Part 5

Allanon had just finished his lunch and was hitching up the horse to the wagon when Cynthia came running out of the house carrying little Fantas. "Allanon wait!" she called.

Allanon turned to his wife who was walking hurriedly toward him. The sunlight was cascading through her auburn hair making it shimmer in the post noon day sun. Fantas was enjoying bouncing up and down on Cynthia's hip while he held onto her hair with one hand and the neckline of her dress with other. Allanon sent a silent thank you to whatever god had sent him Cynthia after Brielle's death. As he watched her approach he felt again the deep love he had for her and Fantas, as well as the love for their second unborn child.

"Allanon, you almost forgot this," Cynthia handed him her list of things she needed from town.

Taking the list from her and planting a kiss on Fantas' forehead, he teased, "Maybe I didn't forget."

"Allanon, it's a small list ... not much. But it is things that we need," she protested not catching on that he was teasing at first. When Allanon smiled back at her, she realized and then blushed. She slapped him playfully on the arm. "Allanon, one of these days ..."

He pulled Cynthia and Fantas into a bear hug. "Yes my love? One of these days what?"

Cynthia put her free arm around Allanon's waist and laid her head on his chest. "Oh Allanon." Pulling back just a little so that she could look into his eyes she added, "I love you. Be careful on your way to town and back, please."

Allanon could see a hint of worry in Cynthia's eyes. Knowing from whence it came, he pulled her closer to him. "Cantras and Sander haven't come this far. I'll be fine."

Fantas began to struggle against Allanon and Cynthia's chests. Cynthia moved out of Allanon's arms and put him down on the grass at her feet.

"They haven't come this far ... yet," she said.

Allanon put his hands on Cynthia's shoulders and looked into her eyes. "All right. I'll be careful. You and the squirt," he said indicating Fantas "need to be just as careful. You know where to hide if
anything happens."

"We'll be fine. Cantras and Sander have never attacked outlying farms, just the villages."

He bent down and tousled the auburn hair of his son so much like his mother's. After kissing Cynthia, he climbed up into the wagon. "I'll be home before you know it. That is if I can fit all the stuff on your list in the wagon." Clicking the reins against the horses back he began his trip into town. Cynthia reached down and picked up Fantas before he could crawl under the wheels of the wagon and watched her husband go. As soon as he was out of sight, she went back into the house.

***

Iolaus awoke to the feeling that he wasn't alone. Five men stood around him, all had swords drawn, all pointed in his direction. He rose to his feet slowly keeping his hands in front of him.

"Well look, he's finally awake," the shortest of the men said. Iolaus looked at him. Iolaus dubbed him 'Shorty' even though he was still taller than Iolaus by about five inches. Staulkier than Iolaus, too.

"Uh, hi guys. What's up?" He purposefully kept his voice light all the time weighing possibilities. His quick mind took in that the five were all quite a bit bigger than him and were standing like seasoned warriors. All exuded confidence, but it could have been a confidence born of the fact that there were five of them and only one of Iolaus. However, Iolaus didn't think so. These guys came across as being hardened, skilled fighters.

"Cantras, why don't we just kill him and get it done with," one of the men said.

The man who answered was dressed all in black leather adorned with silver studs. The largest of the group, he was almost as tall as Hercules but not quite as muscular. "Because Sander, I want to know what Hercules' pet runt is doing here."

Hearing the way he was described, he put his hands on his hips and protested, "Pet runt? Pet runt!" Iolaus feinted to the left and punched the man standing there dislodging his sword from his hand. Iolaus grabbed at it and managed to block the sword stroke that was coming at his head from Cantras who had been the first to react.

Kicking backwards with his right leg, he knocked the man whose sword he had taken to the ground. Cantras recovered from Iolaus' blocking action and once again swung. Sander also swung at the same time and Iolaus jumped over both blades parrying out with a swipe at Cantras, whom he considered the more dangerous of the group. His blow contacted and Cantras swore as the leather covering his right bicep parted along with a small amount of skin. First blood began to flow.

Caught slightly off balance, Sander almost fell when his blade didn't connect. He bumped into the man on his right who was preparing to lunge for Iolaus knocking his blow off making it unnecessary for Iolaus to block it. Iolaus was concentrating on Cantras, but another part of his mind was also keeping track of the other four men. One, the man whose sword he had taken, was down and out. The other two, Sander and the man he had bumped into were in his sight to his left. Cantras stood just to his right. There was one missing. Parrying another blow from Cantras, Iolaus missed one coming at him from Sander. A jagged cut appeared just above Iolaus' left hip. It stung, but wasn't bad enough to cause him to pause in his fighting.

Iolaus suddenly felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand up. The missing man had to be behind him, but he couldn't turn just yet. Cantras, Sander, and the third man had begun advancing on Iolaus. He was busy blocking blow after blow completely on the defensive and unable to strike an offensive blow himself.

Iolaus heard a muffled groan from behind him and spotted the look of annoyance on Cantras' face. Another blade and pair of arms appeared on Iolaus' left and just as he was beginning to react to this new threat, he stopped himself and instead leveled a short stab to Sander which connected. Sander dropped to the ground, clutching at his stomach where blood spilled freely. Out of the corner of his vision he saw Allanon parrying blow after blow from the man whose name Iolaus didn't know.

Iolaus thanked the gods for his luck and concentrated on Cantras. Both men were almost evenly matched even with Cantras' height and weight advantage. But Iolaus, being smaller and quicker, was able to block every blow and in a very short time had Cantras on the defensive. The fighting stopped when Iolaus managed to get his sword positioned at Cantras' throat. Cantras seeing the futility of any more resistance, dropped his sword and fell to his knees. The man Allanon had been fighting also dropped his sword when he noticed that Cantras and ceded to Iolaus' superior skill.

Iolaus and Allanon quickly tied the four men up. Sander didn't need to be restrained, he had died. After they had put the four bound men in Allanon's wagon, the two men faced each other. Iolaus held out his arm and Allanon with a huge grin on his face took it in a warrior's grasp then pulled the shorter man to him in a monstrous bear hug.

***

Zeus again, looked at the two men in front of him. "This was the way it would go if Brielle succeeds with her suicide. Allanon would live to marry another, and because of this he would be on that road to save Iolaus' life and help him defeat and capture the bandits that were invading the smaller villages."

"Save my life?" Iolaus asked.

"Yes Iolaus," Hercules answered. "If Allanon dies because Brielle lives, then he won't be able to be on that road to take out the bandit who was coming up behind you. Neither one of you would live and the bandits would go on and destroy Allanon's village."

"Oh," Iolaus said. Then he looked puzzled. "What did you mean by 'was the way if would go?"

"My telling you of the course of events has changed them. The time lines will remain the same but the circumstances will change. If this girl lives, Iolaus, Allanon, and the people of that village will all be killed. The way may not be the same as I have shown you, but it will happen. If she dies, Allanon will save Iolaus' life in some way that also saves the village."

Zeus looked at his son. "You called me to berate me for letting this girl die what you said was a needless death. I leave it in your hands. You make the decision. Does she live or die?"

*****

 

[MythingLink]

FF: Brielle Part 6 and The End

Hercules and Iolaus looked at each other. "You're leaving it up to us?"
Iolaus asked Zeus.

Zeus nodded.

Iolaus turned back to Hercules. "Hercules, how can we make this kind of decision? An innocent girl's life?" he said in a low voice.

"I know, Iolaus," Hercules nodded. "But there's more at stake here, as much as I hate to admit it."

"Right," said Iolaus. "If Brielle is allowed to live," how he hated saying that phrase! "Then Allanon and everyone in the town will be killed. And the bandits will still be free to kill more people."

"Don't forget that you'll also die, Iolaus."

"But Herc, that can't be the only factor in what we decide. I could die tomorrow by waking up and hitting my head on a rock!"

Hercules looked up. It would be easy to excuse his decision, in saying that more lives would be saved if the current timeline was allowed to be carried out. Deep down, he knew that he couldn't lose Iolaus. And Iolaus seemed to know what he was thinking.

"Herc, if it was only my life that would have been destroyed, I would say, let the girl live. But if we decide to let her live, well, you saw what would happen. I hate saying this as much as you do, but I think we're going to have to keep the timeline as it is." Iolaus was putting on a brave face, but inside he felt like he was condemning the girl to her death.

Each man was lost in his own thoughts until Zeus said, "I need your decision."

The brothers looked into each other's eyes, each knowing this was something they would carry around with them for the rest of their lives. Which would be extended, thanks to their decision. "Brielle, she'll be with her family, right?" Iolaus asked. When Zeus nodded he added, "That's our decision."

Hercules nodded. Zeus looked at them appraisingly. "I know this wasn't the easiest decision to make, but you made the right one. Hercules, I *do* care about mortals, more than you might think." And then Zeus was gone.

The heroes walked back to Allanon's house, heads down, hearts heavy.


*****

Allanon had been completely unaware of the visit by Zeus or the stories that he had told to Hercules and Iolaus and once the pair had made the decision, Iolaus took Allanon and placed him in the chair that had once been occupied by Brielle. Leaving him there covered with the same blanket, Iolaus went in search of Mrs. Margray while Hercules remained behind to watch over Allanon.

Mrs. Margray had not wanted to come, but Iolaus convinced her that it was her duty to not only help to prepare Brielle's body for burial but in doing so free up Allanon from that dreadful job leaving him to his grieving. Mrs. Margray had gotten a few of the other women from town to help her and as soon as she had entered the house and seen Allanon huddled in the chair she gave Hercules and Iolaus directions to the house on his farm. She suggested that the two men take him there ... away from the body and the place where death had occurred.

Hercules and Iolaus complied. Allanon had offered no resistance to leaving his home and travelling to his farm. He was in shock at the sudden change of events. Once they had reached the farm house, they laid Allanon on the bed in the far corner of the room. Covering him with blankets they retreated to the fireplace where Hercules soon had a blaze going.

"I wish there was something we could do for him," Iolaus said. "You know he's blaming himself."

"I know, Iolaus," Hercules answered. "He'll blame himself for the rest of his life, but it's something he's going to have to live with. He's a strong man."

"Yeah, but what about you Herc? Can you live with it?" Iolaus looked at his friend. Their eyes met and a lifetime of friendship crossed between them. A friendship that had seen more horrors and death than any two men should. A friendship that included the death and resurrection of Iolaus ... not once, but several times. Hercules had fought Hera for his friends life and he would again if need be.

"Yes I can live with it, Iolaus. Can you?"

Iolaus' gaze dropped to the floor. "I think so. But I can't help feeling just a little bit guilty." His eyes met Hercules' eyes once more. "I mean, after all, I'm going to live because she died."

"You and Allanon and most of the people of the village."

"Yeah, but ... I mean if we knew what was going to happen, we could have come up with some way to stop it, couldn't we?"

Hercules sighed, a deep bone rattling sigh. Meeting Iolaus' gaze and knowing that his friend was feeling guilt over their decision, he knew he had to make what he was going to say as clear as possible.

"Iolaus. I didn't have any right to bring Zeus into this. I didn't have any right to expect him to bring Brielle back. I wish now that I hadn't." He paused sensing the confusion in his friend. "Okay, I did and we know what would have happened either way. The only reason we're both feeling like we are now is because Zeus gave the decision to us after telling us what the outcome of any decision we made would be. And no, I don't believe that if we had chosen to let Brielle live we could have changed the outcome just because we knew what was going to happen.

"Remember what Zeus said. The time lines would remain the same, but the circumstances would vary."

Hercules got up and circled the small room. He checked on Allanon to make sure he was sleeping then came back to the fire. Sitting again, he reached out to his friend.

"Iolaus, our lives cross paths with different people every day. How we affect those other people and how they affect us, no one except the Fates, can say. And what we don't know ... what we can never know is how our chance meeting with someone will affect the lives of people they meet after our meeting is a memory.

"Today our lives crossed paths with two other lives ... Brielle and Allanon. Iolaus think about this. What if we had decided to let Brielle live? You would have been killed along with Allanon and the villagers. But that's not all. Allanon, as we know now, will have at least two children maybe more with Cynthia. Who knows what those children are going to achieve. This whole thing could have been about one of those children and not about whether you lived or died. Or it could be about the children of one of the children or someone from the village. We don't know. We will probably never know."

A shimmering in the room heralded the arrival of Zeus who walked over to the sleeping Allanon. Zeus gently pulled a dislodged blanket up to Allanon's shoulders. He then turned and came to where Iolaus and Hercules sat watching. Sitting in a vacant chair, he looked at Iolaus.

"He's right. You'll never know why things had to be this way. And if you persist in asking yourself whether or not you're doing the right thing every time you have to make a decision, you'll never accomplish anything."

He paused for just a second. "Maybe this will help."

Zeus raised his hand and a gentle shimmering appeared in the air. Iolaus and Hercules could see that they were being shown a window into the Elysian Fields. The view faded for a second and then shimmered again bringing everything into focus. Iolaus and Hercules could feel the peace emanating through them. A family came into view. Father and mother walking hand in hand being followed by Brielle holding onto the hand of a small boy. Brielle was smiling as they had never seen her smile. There was no worry in her face, no fear and no grief. Only happiness and joy. The small boy who must be her younger brother pulled out of her grip and ran towards a pond where he tried to catch a swan that had gotten too close to the shore. The bird got away in a flurry of wings and droplets of water and the small boy laughed. Brielle caught up with him, dipped a hand into the pond and splashed the boy. Both small boy and young girl laughed as a water fight erupted between them. Father and mother approached but stayed out of the way of the flying water. Still locked in each other's embrace, they smiled as they watched their children playing. As the window closed, it was almost as if Brielle knew they were watching. She turned and seemed to look at Iolaus and Hercules. A swan flew by in the background and Brielle turned to watch. Gathering her brother into her arms, she got up and joined her parents and they all walked out of view.

Hours later after Zeus had left, Iolaus had fallen asleep. Hercules remained awake to keep a watch over Allanon. As he was sitting beside the fire, he felt the presence of his father again. "You know, you could make it easier for him. Take away the memory."

"Yes, I could." Zeus walked into Hercules view and sat down across from him. "But what would your friend be if someone took away every unpleasant memory he had ever had? He is a product of those memories ... happy or sad. They have made them the man he is, the friend you have and need."

A wistful smile appeared on Hercules face. "I hate it when you're
right."

Zeus smiled back at his son. "I know. That's why I try to be right
all of the time."

The End

 

[MythingLink]

Originally posted by MsGudBod
Good reading, thanks.

You're quite welcome.

Cheers,

 

[padders]

the max characters per post limit has been removed.

 

[peachy]

thanks for that mything, it was great, you captured our 2 hero's just perfectly, i really enjoyed reading it
...peachy

 

[MsGudBod]

Originally posted by Padders
the max characters per post limit has been removed.

Thanks, Padders.
Like adding those smileys.