Authors Note: GARGOYLES and everything associated with them belong to Buena Vista and Disney, not Clan LeFemme or Lisette.  The character of "Skydancer" belongs to Skydancer while "Lisette" and "Craigen" belong to Lisette, as well as the character of "Sunshine" belongs to Clan LeFemme and all of the above may not be used without their permission.  This is the next fic in the Clan LeFemme series.  Feedback is welcomed and appreciated, just be constructive please.  Hope you enjoy my story!

Brief Description: Anniversaries are not always pleasant.

Rated: PG-13

 As always, the heavy maces come crashing down, and as always, my clan is reduced to rubble.  Seeing the horrific act, I feel all traces of sanity depart my mind in a mere moment.  And with it comes the need to act.  With blinding fury I call my magics to me and lash out at the mighty Roman army, sending grown men screaming in horror and fear from the mighty witch that attacks their troops... from me.  And with that same horror comes the results that I desire--the attack on my clan, who are all frozen in stone, is halted and the attackers are being dealt with.  If only things could end like this.  But they can't. The past is the past and with the past comes the rest of the horrific story.

 Eventually, I allow my anger and my grief at those of my clan already killed to overcome me.  In my anger, my awareness of my surroundings grow hazed.  And with the decision to transport away the people of the château and my beloved mentor, Craigen, comes the time for the mistake that my clan will pay for with their lives.

 I don't see the attack coming.  And as the past foretold and as my dreams never allow me to forget, then comes the binding chains and the destruction is continued with renewed fervor.

 By now, there is little sanity left to be found in my deep blue eyes, now filled with tears.  By now, my beloved gargoyle clan--my only friends in this lonely world, have been reduced to rubble and I am alone and at the mercy of the Roman army... except for the brave leader that led his clan so well.

 With terror laden legs, as always I am forced up the winding stairs that lead to the towering view over the château and its lands... to the resting place of the young leader that is frozen in stone.  And with fear I will always watch as the sun dips over the horizon in its ceaseless dance with time.  And I will always watch the stricken look of horror upon the young leader's face as he faces his clan's devastation, the loss of his own beloved mate, his young, and then realizes that he is bound in chains on his perch and is faced with armed and angry humans.  And then, as always, comes the part that will haunt me above all else till the end of time...

 Surprised, the young leader turns quickly to see himself surrounded by strange men in strange clothing.  Suddenly he sees a familiar face.. mine.  "Lisette?" the leader calls out in confusion.  "What has happened.. why didn't you use your magic to stop this?!" he cries out.

 Flinching against his words, I twist in my chains, trying to hide my eyes from the leader's as the blood drips down my face.  Suddenly, a growl splits the night and as I look back in worry, I see that his eyes are now filled with anger as they begin to glow white.

 "Are you..." he begins, leaving it up to my imagination what angry words he is about to through against me.

 "So, the stories are true," the Roman captain breaks in, his face expressionless.  "Well then, witch... or Lisette I suppose, your demons are now dead..."

 "You monster!" I scream, the tears streaming down my cheeks.

 "You are the one who destroyed my clan?" the leader roars as he prepares to charge the man.  The chains that bind him hold his arms and wings tight against his body, but that doesn't restrict his feet or the sharp talons found there.

 Stopping the gargoyle in his place with his words, the Roman Captain yells out, "Your clan is dead, and this witch did nothing to stop the destruction because she preferred to save her own hide!"

 Backing up on his perch, the gargoyle stares at me in confusion, not wanting to believe what the man is saying.  But the evidence is right in front of him.. while I am chained, I don't need my hands free to perform my magic, and he is aware of this fact.  If only he knew of the weakness that iron is to me and my magic.

 "No, I.." I break in weakly, the tears pouring down my face as I plead with the Leader with my eyes.

 "Kill him," the Roman captain breaks in quickly.

 "NO!" I scream.  Turning quickly, I knee one of my guards in his most vulnerable place before elbowing the other one sharply in the nose, causing them both to go down.  Then I run as fast as I can across the tower as I watch two of the Romans run up to the unsuspecting gargoyle and shove him as hard as they can, sending him over the edge of the tower.  "No!" I screamed again as I elbow my way to the edge of the tower and look over, just in time to watch my friend smash to the unforgiving ground five stories below, unable to open his wings, his battered body evidence of all.  "No," I sob in denial as I am quickly surrounded by the Romans once more.  Turning me roughly, I find myself staring up into the evil Captain's eyes.  "Why?  Why did you lie to him and say that?" I sob brokenly.

 "Because now your demon died believing that you betrayed his clan to save your own life... he died cursing you!" the Roman answers, laughing at the idea.

 And the gargoyle did.  The young leader of my clan had died believing that I, Lisette, had done nothing to help the clan.  It matters not that I tried everything that I could to save the clan.  That matters no longer.  The gargoyle died seeing his mate and his clan lying in rubble, believing that the beloved friend to the clan had sold them out to save herself... to save myself.

 And the words that the captain then spoke to me were right as well...

 Moving fast, my guards lifted my arms and forced me to stand once more and face the captain.  "Thanks to your inexperience and blinding anger, we were able to defeat you today, witch.  Because of you, your demon friends are now dead..."

 They are dead because of me.  They will always be dead because of me and my inexperience.  They are dead because of me.  They are all dead because of me.

 "Nnnnoooooooooo!" Lisette screamed in horror as she jerked awake, her soft comforter falling away to reveal her sweat soaked body.  And with the departure of sleep, slowly the memories and the dream departed, leaving a battered figure.

 Sobbing brokenly, Lisette buried her tear streaked face in her small hands and tried to stop the angry aching of her heart, her sweaty hair trailing over her shoulders and hiding her from the world.  Gasping softly, slowly the memories retreated even further, leaving her with nothing but the soft snakes of memories of the past and a great feeling of emptiness.

 Shaking her head, she slowly tipped her head back and took in her bright room in her new home.  All was as it should.  The bright sunshine that betrayed the beautiful day outside shone through the many windows that lined her corner bedroom, lighting the room and playing off of the soft sea green pastels of her walls.  Sighing softly, Lisette smoothed down the soft peach comforter that decorated her queen size canopy bed and glanced at the light oak bedside table that sat to her right.

 "Five-thirty," Lisette murmured quietly, shaking her head wearily as she slowly laid back down and stared up into the brightly lit room.  All was as it should, Janua Caeli bright and silent--the egg bringing no noise and Sky held strongly in her stone sleep.  All was as it should in her bright room, richly furnished with the light and calm shades that she loved, her desktop littered with aging scrolls that she had been studying, her entertainment center that sat opposite her closed and silent... all was as it should.

The strong sunshine poured through the large windows that lined the room and made the room bright as it reflected off of the soft colors and the deeper pastel of the soft carpeting... yet everything wasn't as it should.  With her awakening into the 'real' world she had brought with her the troubles of her dreams.. the troubles of her past.

 Sighing, Lisette knew that she would get no more sleep this day and slowly pulled back the soft comforter and stepped lightly onto her plush carpeting.  Instantly, she was overcome with a feeling of desperate need.. the need to be no longer alone.  The need to be with someone to help her... help her be alive.  But there was no one to break the deafening silence but herself.  It was true that she could turn on the television or the radio to lighten the atmosphere.. but for some reason, the quiet of the manor appealed to her mood and to her memories.  For some reason, this troubled her.  After all, she was not the type of person to brood about what was said and done... but today, the memories were calling to her.

 Shaking her head, Lisette pushed her thoughts aside for the moment and walked slowly across her spacious room and stepped into the private bath that she now had, thanks to the renovation spell cast not too long before.  As she saw that the light poured into this room as well from outside, Lisette knew that no artificial light was needed as she slipped out of her oversized tee-shirt while en route to the large hot tub/shower that occupied one corner of the large room.  And then,
she was inside and the warm spray of water was cascading over her soft shoulders, warming her.  But it wasn't enough.  Not nearly enough.  Reaching out, she gave the knob on the faucet another twist and soon the water grew warmer, and then hotter till the steaming liquid was cascading over her skin, turning it red with its warmth.

 She knew the water was too hot for her delicate skin and that she was burning herself, but she welcomed the pain.  For the first... no, second time in her life, she welcomed the pain.  Closing her eyes, she let the water burn into her skin as the memories threatened to overwhelm her.  The memories that would always haunt her.. till the end of time.  Even though it had been three years since the destruction of her clan, the memories were fresh as always.  They would always be with her.  She knew that she needed to get past this, and was, but for some reason, today she would have no respite from their sharp grasp.

 Pushing the thoughts aside once more, Lisette quickly finished with her shower, washing the long masses of her pale blond hair quickly and then stepped into the cool depths of the bathroom once again.  Looking down, she saw that her skin was now a deep red color and extremely tender to the touch.  She had indeed wounded herself.  Sighing softly, she gently patted herself dry and then wrapped the towel tightly around her and then quickly ran a hairbrush roughly through her long and tangled masses.  Once more, she welcomed the pain that she brought.

 Satisfied, in bare feet she moved once more back into her large bedroom and crossed to her large armoire.  As she relished in the soft feeling of her carpet against her feet, she quickly grabbed the first clothes that came to her hand and dressed in the soft satin skirt, thin cotton blouse, and slipped on her sandals quickly.  And then she was on the move again.

 Opening the door to her bedroom suite, Lisette slowly stepped into the hall that was lit only by the large stained glass window in another corridor and stepped next door to the small room that had become a rookery of sorts.  With the smallest of smiles, Lisette opened the door and peeked inside at the golden egg within.  Although, for some strange reason, she knew that even the egg's reassuring presence would do nothing to soothe her pains this day.  So, without nary another thought, she once more entered the hallway and back tracked, passing by one empty bedroom after another.

 The manor was so quiet.. so quiet and empty.  Sky and she were all alone, and though Sky was her best friend and like a sister to her, she welcomed the thought of more to share the space.. to break the silence.  Then again, on this day the dreary silence was welcomed as she stepped onto the third floor landing and glanced over the railing at the ground floor two stories below.  Turning slightly to her right, she looked up the remaining stairs that would take her to the empty attic and watched as the bright sunshine filtered through the large stained glass window that occupied the front portion of the house, illuminating the foyer and the stairs below and above.  But once again, not even this beauty managed to soothe her aching heart.

 Sighing, Lisette continued walking as she slowly stepped down the long stairs, not even pausing at the second story landing as the muted tapping of her shoes on the carpeted stairs were the only sounds to be heard in the sleeping manor.  And then, she was on the marble floor of the foyer and moving back under the stairs to one of the two doors that would bring her into the hallway that rested beneath the stairwell, not even pausing to consider the door to the library or the living room that rested behind her to the left and right.

 Once more, even though she had the option of entering two other rooms at either end of the hall, Lisette continued straight through the door that led into one of the largest rooms of the manor--the dining room.  But instead of turning towards the left to enter the large kitchen as she had intended, Lisette instead found herself continuing forward and out the back door of the manor until she stood on the soft grass that occupied the back yard of the manor.

 Instantly, Lisette's eyes drifted to the grave of Sunshine beneath the Weeping Willow.  Thanks to the regeneration spell, the property outside was even more beautiful, the grass always staying at the perfectly mowed level, the trees in full bloom with the coming of summer, and the garden in a full bloom of flowers.  Still, the beauty could do nothing to distill the dismal appearance of the mysterious forest that sat on edge beyond.  And that was her destination.

 With sure feet, Lisette moved across the backyard and entered the trees beyond, stepping over roots and ducking beneath branches.  Suddenly, thoughts of the golden egg once more filled her troubled mind.  Stopping, Lisette turned quickly on the edge of the wood and faced the back of the manor once more.  She knew that Sky slept within in her tower room and that she would awaken in less than an hour, but that was an hour of no protection for their new ward.

 Closing her eyes, Lisette called her magics to her as she recalled a spell that she had memorized the night before--a spell that would be of great use to Sky and her in the future--one that she had stumbled upon in the library.

 Immediately, Lisette knew that this was no small spell and felt her magic drain from her body.  When the spell was finished, she felt mildly weak, but no so much that she couldn't still continue with her quest.  Her magic would return in time, but for now, she needed to continue.  She would know instantly if there was something trying to harm the manor, and would return when needed.  For now, she needed to go.

 And so she continued to travel deep into the dark woods as the sun slowly began its descent over the horizon, casting the lands in its dark and velvety cloak.  She knew that Sky would be worried when she awoke to find her gone, but she also knew that her friend would understand her departure.  Lisette had only really spoken about her past one time to her beloved friend, and though she knew that Sky would forever be there for her, she also knew that there were some things that one must face on their own.  These were one of these things.  The Skydancer would understand her need, even when she didn't.

 Soon, she knew that she had come at last to her destination as the trees opened up to reveal something that she had not consciously known had existed.  It was a small clearing that was sheltered for the most part by the trees above.  In the end, only a few stars and a single bright shaft of moonlight could pierce their green veil.

 Sighing softly, Lisette entered the clearing and stepped up to the small pond that lay in the center of the clearing.  Running through the crystal water was a softly gurgling brook, with the moon shining brightly down upon the water.  It was beautiful.  Lining the clearing were a mass of large Oak trees as well as a single Weeping Willow, it's soft branches trailing into the cool water.

 Shaking her head, Lisette broke from her stupor and stepped beneath the large tree and knelt at the side of the pond, the soft grasses scratching at her bare legs.  There, she slowly leaned forward and stared at her reflection in the still water.  What she saw was a beautiful young woman with pale blond hair trailing around her shoulder and down her back, still wet from her shower, and a pair of deep blue eyes staring back at her, their color muted in the darkness.  But what struck her most was the look in those blue eyes.  She was only nineteen years old, barely the woman that she was, yet her eyes contained a wealth of wisdom, hurt, and knowledge that no one at her age should ever be forced to posses.

 As tears pooled in those eyes and slowly began running down her face, Lisette drew her knees up to her chest and buried her face in them, wrapping her small arms tightly around her legs and drawing them close.  As the sobs wracked her body, Lisette ignored her tingling flesh, the bite of the grass, the cool wind that caressed her bare arms, and the pain of her nails digging into her soft legs.  Instead, she focused on the pain that had begun centuries ago.. the pain that had begun over 1000 years ago... the pain of losing all those dear to her... the pain in her heart.

 The grief wrapped tightly around her body as her small frame shook in horror at what had been done, horror at what she had done, and the shame and guilt at her past.  The guilt that would mark her till the end of time--the only other weakness that she possessed--the weakness of the heart.

 As her heartfelt sobs joined the sounds of the night--the wind whistling through the dark trees, the night animals on the prowl, the crickets in the trees, and the soft bubbling of the creek--Lisette slowly mourned the anniversary of the death of her clan.  Exactly one thousand three years ago this night, her clan had been destroyed at the hands of the Roman Empire, of the Roman clan, and at her own naiveté.