Mountain Rose

Journey of a Medicine Woman
2002-09-08 01:16:23 (UTC)

The Death of a Lady

A wonderful woman has passed on unto the Illysum Fields
today. Helena Gracchus was a part of me that dared do
things that I couldn't. The best thing she did for me was
to set a flame my passion for writing again.
Thank you Helena, for I shall never forget you.

The Birth - final scenario from TREII

Helena, large with child, moved slowly through her garden.
Against the midwifes best advice, Helena refused to be
confined in the house to her bed. The sun was shining and
the garden looked too tempting.
As she reached the far end of the garden, she looked
regretfully back toward the villa. She was starting to feel
pain and the villa was a great distance away. After resting
for a bit on a garden bench, she decided it best to try and
return to the villa and seek help. With a deep sigh, she
tried to pull herself up. As she stood up, a wave of
excrutiating pain consumed her, bringing her to her knees.
With another deep breath, she opened her eyes to find her
white toga drenched crimson red in blood.
"This cannot be right," mumbled Helena as her head began to
swim with a warm, fuzzy feeling. Her perifrial vision grew
dark and the villa before her seemed to be shimmering and
fading like a mirage.
With full determination, she forced herself up to her feet
again, only to feel her lifes blood pouring to the ground.
" To the villa, help is in the villa," she vemhently told
herself. She forced one foot infront of the other untill
another wave of raw pain forced her down again.
She looked up through the olive branches at the sun. The
sun was so warm and bright. The sun was so comforting that
Helena felt as if she could slip into a cozy sleep.
"Help!" she weakly called out, although she didn't expect
anyone to hear her.
Once again determintation got the better of Helena as she
knew she must reach the villa to birth this child. She
resolved herself to crawling back to the villa. She had to
get there.

When she opened her eyes again, she was looking through the
same olive branches but the sun had dropped conciterably in
the sky. She proped herself up against the tree trunk and
stared in amazement at the amount of blood that had
accumilated around her. Her head felt light and airy and
she knew better than to try and stand up as another wave of
pain almost rendered her unconcious again.
She opened her eyes to see a mans legs standing before her.
"Cassius, help me," she whispered.
"No, it is I, Fabio, my lady," He said gently.
She cried out in pain and it was all Fabio Druses could do
to maintain his compusure. He had never associated blood
and pain with women before, yet he had seen his fill on the
battlefields. It was shocking for him to find his mistress
in such a state. He knew the woman was trying to birth her
child but things did not seem to be going so well. He took
a quick look and saw the buttox of the babe showing and
knew instantly that Helena had problems. He had witnessed
the birth of many animals before and knew the fate of a
breached birth.
"Cassius, where is my Cassius?" she murmered before her
eyes rolled back in her head.
"He will be along soon, my lady," he said sorrowfully, not
knowing where his master was, "He'll be here soon."
She looked so pale and small laying in the pool of her own
blood, he thought.
Fabio remembered back to the pretty young girl whom he
loathed so much at first. He thought his master, Cassius
the younger, had sent him on an inaine babysitting job.
But when she was made Pontifex Maximus, he felt proud. When
he had to escort her to Sagnutium, and he found her dressed
as a slave boy with a dagger in her sache, he felt
admiration. And when he saw her face light up at the sight
of Cassius as they were wed, he felt a twinge of jelousy
that this wonderful woman was to be enjoyed by his master.
Now, as tears streamed down the old soldiers face, he felt
as if his heart ached badly. He stooped over to pick up
Helena's lifeless body and carry her to the villa. Mother
and child both had been lost.




Ad: