DISCLAIMER: The main characters in this story do not belong to me. Ezra and Maude belong to MGM and Trilogy Entertainment. The concept of immortality belongs to Rysher: Panzer/Davis. I am not profiting off this story.
AUTHOR'S NOTES: It's not betaed, but it's not long either.
Crossover with Highlander. This is part 2. Part 1 was The Bankrobber and the Kid. I'm still writing more stories in this universe, a minimum of seven with different POVs and different lengths.
RATING: very mild and upper-class cursing
COMMENTS: I've always thought Maude's weird parenting ways would be all be perfectly logical if Maude were immortal and Ezra pre- immortal. This was originally the first story, before Cory messed up the sequence. I know all Rebecca's students except for Amanda die somewhere in 1992, but Maude moves around a lot under a great many names, so Luther won't find her. Besides, that's still a century away at this point, isn't it? ;)
Maude Sinclair was not a stupid woman. She had not lived for nearly five hundred years by being less than cautious or by ignoring her instincts. So, when she was suddenly gripped by the vague sense that something was wrong, she stopped herself from entering her hotel room and started paying attention. Why would she think something was wrong?
She hadn't felt any immortals, and she hadn't felt anything amiss in the reactions of her latest mark. It couldn't be one of her former marks, because she was in the middle of a six-month con and she hadn't pulled anything in this city before.
Her nose wrinkled as she caught an out of place scent. Wet horse. There was no reason for that particular smell to be here. Maude hadn't ridden a horse in nearly a year. She had gotten somewhat used to riding by train and stagecoach since the things were invented. It was a much more comfortable way of travelling and Maude was all for comfort. She had sat on top of quite enough mangy flea-bitten animals to last her a lifetime.
The immortal conwoman glanced up and down the corridor to see if anyone was around, before pulling her dress up. She took her derringer from where it was strapped to her thigh and gently turned the key in the lock. The small gun felt secure in her hand as she opened the door.
Maude raked her eyes swiftly over the room. No intruders waiting for her arrival, no miscreants behind the door. Nothing seemed out of place. Or wait a second…
Her eyes swept back to the bed and the strange lump in it. It wasn't big enough to hide a person. Nevertheless Maude was certain it hadn't been there when she left the room. If it turned out to be just a case of the maid having been derelict in her duties, the conwoman would teach the silly girl a lesson she wouldn't forget.
One hand gripped the derringer tightly, as the other swept back the blanket. Maude certainly hadn't suspected to see what she did and couldn't stop a surprised outburst.
"Well, I never ..."
On the bed lay a small child. The boy was probably three years old. Maybe four, if he was particularly small for his age. He had auburn hair, and the sweetest face Maude had seen on a child in a long time. Not that she had seen all that many small children in her life. Not up close anyway. Of course, she did manage to marry a rich widower once in a while, but rich meant that there was always a maid to take care of the children. In any case, she had never seen the point in raising the child of another woman. And since she couldn't have children of her own, the odds were against her.
Her eye fell on the large white envelope that the boy held in his right hand.
She took the boy's hand carefully to pry the letter loose, and cocked her head as a low humming ran through her nerves. The boy was pre- immortal. Well now, that at least explained why he was left in her care, even if she couldn't guess who would do such a thing. Of course, there was no reason to start speculating when she hadn't read the letter yet, now was there?
With that thought she turned to the piece of paper.
Hey Maude honey,
I ran into this kid west of here. His mother's dead, and besides, the kid's a pre-immortal. Now, I don't know squat about raising kids, so I left him to you. There's $500 with this letter. Hope you have fun.
Your ever loving,
Cory Raines
Oh yeah. Kid's name's Ezra.
For a few moments Maude couldn't do anything but stare blankly at the scribbles on the page. Then she folded the letter with precise and meticulous hand motions that revealed her cold burning rage.
What was that scoundrel thinking? Oh, of course! Maude is a woman. Naturally she knows how to raise a child. Well, thank you very much Mr Raines. See if she did business with him again in the next decade! No, in the next century!
Maude knew that she should have never have told the man where she was moving next after they pulled that jewelry job together. It had seemed like a good idea at the time. She might have needed to stay in touch with the rogue. Cory was very good at charming people, and for that little caper she had needed a partner. But ooh, the man could be a loose cannon! The proof was lying asleep in her bed. The immortal looked at the sleeping child with trepidation.
How in creation was she going to handle this? She was a business woman! She had no time for a child in her exploits. How in the world was she going to find men foolish enough to take in the child of another man along with her? Not to mention the fact that this was a pre-immortal child!
What was she to do if she was challenged and she lost? Leave him helpless? A child had no way of supporting himself. Or if the boy died of decease? Maude had always heard that sickness was the main cause of child death. Existing in a too young body was no way to live. Was she supposed to behead the poor thing if he died too young? How on earth was she going to do that, if she somehow got attached to him?
No, she had better find someone else to take the child in.
Her mind made up, she turned back to the innocently sleeping boy. And got a jolt of surprise, when she saw big green eyes looking up at her trustingly. Maude sighed. It wasn't really Ezra's fault that Cory was such an inconsiderate lout. And she did owe Rebecca something for taking her in all those years ago. Her teacher would not be pleased if Maude left the child to fend for itself. Of course, Rebecca had stayed on Holy Ground for the entire fifteen years she had spent raising and teaching Maude. But there were considerably fewer holy places in the New World than in the Old. She would have to choose between the Catholics and the Indians.
There was no force on earth that could convince the conwoman to get trapped in a nunnery. And God forbid, she would actually spend more than ten years stuck in a village with those paint-faced savages. She had become quite tired of roughing it in the wild in her earlier years. Civilisation was so much more comfortable and she just wasn't giving it up.
Maude knew that raising a pre-immortal in the real world would be considerably more dangerous, however. Well, she would just have to make up some rules, then. After all, how hard could it be for an experienced conwoman such as herself to raise a child?
Maude turned the charm on and smiled widely at the little boy.
"Hello. My name is Maude. But you may address me as Mother."
The boy scrunched his nose up in confusion. "You're not my mommy."
Maude's smile was a bit more forced this time. "No, darling, I know I'm not your mommy. But from now on I am your mother, nonetheless."
Maude could practically feel the green eyes raking over her, trying to understand what she was saying. The immortal had gotten less intense once-overs from opponents in battle or from lustful men.
Then Ezra smiled, his cheeks dimpling.
"You're pretty." He stated with all the honesty and conviction of a three-year-old.
Maude raised her eyebrows. He was going to be quite the charmer when he grew up. In fact, he already was. She could use this. There were quite a few times when she had needed a diversion, or a partner. Naturally it would take some effort to teach Ezra how to pull off a good conjob and she may have to abandon the one she was working on now, but she just had to look at those sparkling green eyes and wide smile to know it would be worth it. And if she ever lost a challenge the child wouldn't be completely without resources. One had to be old enough to work, but deceiving people would only be easier for the young. All children were natural con-artists working their magic on their parents.
While she calculated the long-term effects in her mind, Maude pulled the little boy out of bed and put him in front of her. Deft hands straightened out the wrinkles in his clothes. The conwoman pulled her nose up at the smell of wet horse.
First things first. Ezra had to be fitted with the proper wardrobe. After all, appearances are everything.
Maude smiled at the little boy, as she picked him up and left her room.
"Come along, Ezra dear. We have much to do."
Continued in: The Child and the Cardgame
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