© 1998

8/27/-- (from the journal of Lara Elton, Watcher of Elspeth Fingall)

I'm going back to school tomorrow. I don't know if I should be happy or scared out of my mind. It'll be nice to be back for classes, but that isn't the only reason I'm there. I was so glad when they gave Elspeth Fingall to me when they found out she was going back to school. Sure, it's a safe, easy assignment, but it's more than I was expecting at this age. I didn't think it would turn out to be such a mess. I've wanted to be a Watcher almost as long as I've known of about Immortals. How could I pass up the opportunity to learn about people who have been alive for centuries? I should have known it wouldn't be as easy as it looked.

I researched Elspeth for a solid month before I actually went to school. I talked to her last Watcher, and read her Chronicles. There was no indication that she knew about us, but a day after we got there, she saw my tattoo, and I know she knew exactly what it meant. I couldn't tell any of the other Watchers. I mean, how could I admit that my first assignment knew I was watching her after only a day? She hasn't mentioned anything about my being a Watcher since. I wish I knew how she found out about us.

Elspeth Fingall arrived at her dorm to begin her sophomore year of college and found her Watcher already moved into the room across the hall. She carted her things up the stairs while trying to ignore the covert stares of the girl's parents. Elspeth looked at them only long enough to ascertain that they each bore the same blue tattoo on their wrists as their daughter. It was bad enough having to move all her stuff in alone, but having a whole family of Watchers staring over her shoulder was almost too much to bear.

Lara Elton was a bit of a mystery to Elspeth. She had known of the existence of the Watchers for nearly three hundred years, and in this time, she had managed to actually meet only three of the Watchers assigned to her. They had all been older men, with families, and an outside job. Lara was a college student, only nineteen years old, and quite lacking in experience, for Elspeth had spotted her only a day after she had arrived at college. She liked Lara, but wondered why she was a Watcher at such a young age.

By the time Elspeth had unloaded her car, brought it down to be registered for the year, and made her way back to her new room, the Eltons were gone, leaving Lara unpacking with her door wide open. Elspeth stopped and knocked on the door frame.

Lara looked up quickly, flipping her long brown hair out of her eyes. When she saw who it was, her face paled. "Elspeth, hi," she said, her voice breaking slightly. Lara had been reluctant to acknowledge Elspeth's existence, but the fact that they both played viola in the college orchestra had required her to admit to at least a casual acquaintance with her assignment.

Elspeth smiled as she leaned into the door frame. "I don't remember you getting onto this floor at room pick last year," she said lightly.

Lara nervously smiled. "Well, I . . . "

"It's okay. You don't need to explain. I just hope you don't owe anyone your soul or anything like that," Elspeth said, as the smile expanded to a grin. "You should have just asked me to knock on your door whenever I get the urge to go wandering around late at night."

Lara blushed furiously and spoke without thinking. "Are we really that obvious? Did you find out about us because you caught someone sneaking around behind you late at night?"

Elspeth's slight smile spoke of a memory. "It's far more complicated than that," she replied quietly. "I'll see you around." Elspeth straightened up and walked to her own door, immediately disappearing within.

8/31/--

Well, she admitted she knows about us. I have to find out why. That might be enough to save my reputation if anyone else ever finds out. I guess I'll have to talk to her. It can't be that hard. She did answer my questions. If I didn't know that she isn't exactly who she says she is, I could be her friend. We have the same interests. Hell, we play the same instrument, and we're both majoring in history. How hard can it be to talk to her? She already knows about us, that rule's been blown out of the water. Now I just have to come up with a logical reason to spend some time with her.

I can't believe I'm doing this.

When Elspeth arrived at the first orchestra rehearsal, she found herself sharing a music stand with Lara. Lara gave her a nervous smile and then proceeded to ignore her for the rest of the rehearsal. It was only when they were gathering up their things to go that Lara finally spoke. "Are you going back to the dorm?" she asked quietly.

"Yes," Elspeth said with what she hoped was a cheerful grin. She purposely slowed down, making sure she finished packing up at the same time as Lara. They left the music hall at the same time, in silence.

The walk back from the art and music building after rehearsals was long and dark. Not many people used the path at night, and Elspeth rather enjoyed the peace and quiet. Not many members of the orchestra lived in her part of the campus, so she was usually alone on the walk. Lara still looked nervous as they walked together.

"How do you like the music this year?" Elspeth asked after a few minutes of silence.

"It looks pretty hard," Lara commented, her gray eyes clearly worried.

"Yeah, I agree, I'll be practicing a lot. I really like the Brahms piece," Elspeth said, trying to draw Lara out.

"Yeah," she answered distantly.

Elspeth stopped walking. "You know, I got the impression you wanted to talk to me," she said. "It won't kill you to actually say something."

Lara also stopped. "How much do you know about us?"

"Pretty much everything, I guess," Elspeth admitted quietly. "That's unless you've had some major policy changes in the last hundred years."

"Well, you know I'm not supposed to interfere with Immortals. It's hard to talk to you. You're my first assignment, and I've already screwed up."

"Just don't jump in the middle of my fights and I'll consider you as non-interfering," Elspeth said. "If you weren't a Watcher, I'm sure you'd be my friend. What's so awful about talking to me? I've been friends with my Watchers before. I don't think you've screwed up. You didn't tell me about the Watchers."

"How did you find out about us?" Lara asked.

"When I came to America for the first time, my Watcher was on the same ship as me. His wife and little girl were very ill on the voyage. I helped take care of them. His wife died before we reached land, but Hope lived. I offered to stay with him to help raise her. I'd grown quite fond of her by then. He told me about the Watchers. It's hard to hide something like that when you're living with someone," Elspeth explained, as the same sad smile that Lara had noticed earlier returned to her face.

"You married your Watcher?" Lara exclaimed in shocked disbelief, immediately jumping to conclusions.

Elspeth laughed. "No, nothing like that. We told everyone I was his wife's sister. Hope grew up believing me to be her aunt."

"That's not in your Chronicle," Lara commented. "No one wrote that you actually knew about us."

"Well, it's not saying much when you break one of the most important rules of your organization," Elspeth said. "I personally think it's a stupid rule."

Lara nodded and started to walk again. After another moment of silence, Lara worked up the courage to ask Elspeth a real question. "Didn't you meet Brahms?"

Elspeth looked startled for a moment, then she grinned. "I get it, small talk. Yes, I did meet him, a couple of times. I liked him."

"You'll have to tell me about him sometime," Lara said with a smile, the worried look gone from her eyes.

9/14/--

Well, I did it. I told Elspeth pretty much my entire life's story. She now knows that my parents and grandparents are Watchers, not to mention the fact that she's my assignment because the Northeast Coordinator thought this would be a lovely opportunity for me to learn how to be a real Watcher in a relatively protected environment. I don't want to think what he'd do if he found out how much I told her. I don't know how it slipped out. She's so easy to talk to. She was telling me the most interesting story about her days as a bard in Scotland, and suddenly, I was telling her everything. I've got to keep my big mouth shut.

Homecoming weekend was unseasonably warm, and the entire campus was filled with people enjoying what would probably be the last really nice weather of the year. Lara went to a rugby game with some of her friends. It was about halfway through the game and the home team was losing when she noticed Elspeth walking with a man on the nearby green. Lara was sure she had seen him before, and she tried to position herself a bit closer to where they were walking. Almost instantaneously, they turned away from her, and she was forced to stand up. Luckily, they were walking close to the food booths that had been set up for the weekend, and Lara decided it was a good time for a slice of pizza.

Elspeth spotted her after she had gotten her food, and gave her a knowing smile before she beckoned her over.

"Hi Elspeth," Lara said in her best innocent voice.

"Hello Lara," Elspeth replied in a tolerantly amused tone. "How's the game going?"

"We're losing," she reported.

"Too bad."

Lara smiled sweetly at Elspeth. "Who's your friend?"

Elspeth rolled her eyes slightly and turned toward the man beside her. "Gabriel Diego, meet Lara Elton. We both play the viola in the orchestra."

"Pleased to meet you," Diego said with only the faintest trace of a Spanish accent.

"Nice to meet you," Lara replied with a smile. It took her a moment, but she finally recognized him as a student of the Immortal that her parents were currently assigned to.

"I'm going to go find some food, Gabe," Elspeth said. "I'll be back in a minute." She grabbed Lara's elbow and dragged her away. "Happy?" she asked when they were out of earshot.

"Have you known him long?" Lara asked quickly.

Elspeth sighed. "You Watchers are enough to drive a person crazy." She threw up her hands in disgust and stalked away.

Lara decided to take that as a compliment, and returned to the game feeling very pleased with herself.

10/17/--

It was Elspeth's birthday yesterday. Supposedly, she was turning twenty-one, but it's actually seven hundred forty eight. What a bizarre number. I can honestly say she's my friend now, but I'm not sure how to handle it. She's told me some great stories that aren't in her Chronicle. I'd love to add them, but I haven't been doing the kind of research that would normally uncover that kind of thing. I guess I'll have to stick with Elspeth for a while. Someday, I'll have been with her long enough to be able to sneak some of the stuff she's told me into her Chronicle. I did manage to find out that she actually knew one of the music professors here when he was young. She spends several hours with him every week. I'd love to know what goes on in his office. It must be very weird for her; he looks quite a bit older than her now.

I can see why Mom and Dad have stuck with their Immortal for so long. It's so easy to become wrapped up in their lives.

November was cold, and the walk back from orchestra rehearsal became less enjoyable. The two girls tended not to talk as they hurried to get back to the heat in the dorm.

Elspeth stopped abruptly as she felt the approach of another Immortal. They were passing the humanities building and the small amphitheater built beside it. Lara stopped two steps beyond and turned back to face her. "What is it?"

"Someone's here," Elspeth said as she pulled a sword out of the long overcoat she wore. Her voice was different, with a lower, harder quality Lara hadn't heard before. The faintest hint of a Scottish accent indicated that she had lost hold of her student persona. For the first time, Lara truly realized she was standing next to a woman who had lived for seven hundred years by the strength of her swordsmanship. "Get away, where they can't see you. You're in danger right now."

Lara turned and walked away slowly, trying to spot a place where she could hide to observe. The amphitheater was deserted this time of night, and she crept toward the trees that lined one side of the upper edge. She found herself a spot under one tree and crouched down to try and spot the other Immortal. A hand suddenly clamped over her mouth and she felt the edge of a sword at her throat.

"What have we here?" asked an amused male voice. "Did she tell you to hide? How thoughtful. Let's go and see your friend."

He pushed her out onto the floor of the amphitheater, which was darkened with shadows. Elspeth joined them a moment later, orienting on the Buzz. Her face fell as she recognized the man before her.

"John Moore," Elspeth said calmly. "Haven't seen you in a while."

"It's been a couple hundred years," Moore agreed pleasantly.

"Let the girl go," Elspeth said calmly. "I believe you came here for me."

"I just wanted to make sure you didn't run away," he commented. "You didn't seem too enthusiastic about seeing me last time we met."

Elspeth sighed. "I've never wanted to fight you, Jack."

"Too bad," he replied as he tossed Lara to one side. "You have to fight me now." He lifted his sword in a salute and went into a fighting stance.

Elspeth gave a grave salute, and the fight was on. Lara watched from the cover of the trees. It was a swift fight, and the Quickening was soon over. Lara scrambled down to the floor of the theater as the lightning died away. Elspeth stood up to face her. There were tears in her eyes. "Please leave," she said quietly. "I'll come and talk to you later."

Lara nodded and left the amphitheater to return to the warmth of the dorm. She logged into the Watcher database to pass the time until Elspeth returned. She quickly found the reason that Elspeth wanted to be alone.

Elspeth finally knocked on Lara's door at midnight. Her face was much calmer. "I imagine you've already checked up on my friend."

"I'm sorry," Lara said. "I wouldn't have thought he was your student. Why did he come after you?"

"I don't know," Elspeth admitted quietly. "I took him in about four hundred years ago. He was a sweet boy then. He left me after about ten years; I couldn't teach him anything else. I didn't hear from him again for two hundred years. He found me and tried to take my head. I beat him, but I couldn't make myself kill him, so I let him go. I've left every time I heard he was in town ever since. I didn't want to kill him. I never found out why he turned against me."

"Maybe I can find that out for you," Lara said after a moment. "I have access to a lot of files."

"Are you sure you want to do that?"

"What are friends for?" Lara shrugged.

11/15/--

I thought I'd screwed up when Elspeth learned I was a Watcher. I only decided to talk to her to get more information for her Chronicle. I'm glad I did it. I will be her friend for as long as I am able. We've been wrong to try and avoid the Immortals. We can gain so much more from them by sitting down and talking to them. I realize that wouldn't work for all of them, but I think if they actually knew what we were doing, many of them would want to help us with our Chronicles. They live in secrecy, unable to show who they truly are. Someday, maybe their stories can be known. If we would let them help us, we could be sure that the truth lives on until that day.

I should probably stop writing now. Elspeth's bringing me to her house for the weekend and I haven't packed yet. I'm completely screwing my life as a Watcher if anyone finds out, but I don't care anymore. I guess I've decided friendship is much more important than anything else.

To find out more about Elspeth and John Moore's relationship, check out To Move Beyond, also featuring Sarah O"Neill.