Enid Welch: Commando, tested warrior. The only female member of the team. In love with Tom Anderson the team leader since the Pompeii mission. Turns to Billy for support when she believes Tom has been lost in the past.
Sauromatia (Southern Ukraine), 531 BC - Extract:
At the barrier in the center of the village, the horses of the lead riders impaled themselves against the spiked poles of the inner barrier and died on their feet -- unable to fall because of the press behind them. Warriors fell both to the flood of arrows that filled the air and to the band of warriors manning the barrier at the center of the village.
Enid leaped forward from the barrier to confront the now dismounted warriors. Billy, to the chagrin of his guards, leaped through the barrier to follow her. The guards followed but quickly forgot about Billy as he fought to defend Enid's back from any attackers and they fought for their lives. Others from the barrier followed them into the fray.
In the second rank of riders, through the outer barrier but not yet tangled among the warriors at the center of the village, the leader of the raiding party made a strategic decision. He slowed his horse and veered toward the river, halting there to assess the progress of the battle. As Scyth riders arriving into the trap from the east crashed into the village to be met with the same hail of arrows and onslaught from the flanks, by chance an overshot arrow fell from the sky to strike an opening at the neck of the leader's leather armor driving deep into his throat. He tried to remain in his saddle, waving his sword, trying to yell encouragement to his warriors but spitting blood as he tried. Several mounted riders rallied to his side as Sauromatian warriors began to press from the center barricade toward them.
For a moment the leader stared as a powerfully built female warrior hacked down two of his most powerful warriors before his eyes. This did not affect him, for he was a mighty warrior himself. He had seen good men die before. But beyond the female warrior, he could see the distinct headdress of a Scyth Shaman battling on the side of the Sauromatian village. An omen. The gods of war had turned away. This day was over. He slumped in his saddle.
Two still-mounted warriors grabbed the reins of the leader's horse. Protecting the wounded leader from the shower of arrows with their own shields, the three horses and horsemen turned and leaped from the bluff into the river below.
Seeing the leader's move, the remaining riders all began to turn toward the bluff, leaping the ten meters into the swiftly flowing water below. Dismounted warriors still able also ran for the bluff and leaped. As they hit the water they swam to grab the tails and manes of horses now moving rapidly with the current away from the village, swimming with the horses toward the far side of the river.
Sauromatian warriors pursued them to the water's edge and watched in fascination as the forty or fifty remaining Scythian warriors withdrew. Billy dropped to the ground on the bluff breathing heavily while tending a small gash in his right thigh.
"Shall we pursue and kill them along the banks of the river?" One of the female warriors that had been guarding Billy demanded, looking to Enid for a decision.
"Let them go. I have no will to kill more." Enid was surprised at herself. She had not been afraid at any point during the battle. But she had no desire to continue the killing.
Sauromatia, 529 BC - Extract:
A clear, pollution free night. Stars that went on forever and ever. No moon, just starlight. It was fall again and the air was crisp. Enid looked to the north. Tom was gone now. Historically, his team had recovered to the present nearly a month before. All but Parker Tisdale who was now buried somewhere on the steppe a couple of hundred miles to the north.
She felt more than heard Billy approach behind her and slip his arms around her. She leaned back into him and rested her head on his shoulder. He was a good friend. More than that. She had to admit that even to herself. She didn't feel about Billy like she felt about Tom. She didn't think she would ever love anyone the way she had -- still -- loved Tom. But she didn't know anymore. Time had passed. It didn't hurt so much. Being a leader had been a good distraction. She didn't have time to brood, others depended on her too much. But now they were returning to the present. Would Tom be there? Would he ever be there? Maybe it was time to move on with her life. Billy was a good man. She knew she didn't love him like she loved Tom, but in another way she did love him and cared about him. Was that bad? She knew that Billy loved her and wanted her to love him. On the mission, she had to do what Tom always did -- put her own feelings second. It gave her a good excuse for not thinking about it and Billy knew better than to push.
After three years, her time with Tom was almost a dream. Was she just carrying a torch for a memory? Would it be the same if he met her in the recovery center when she arrived? She just didn't know. She did know that she was a different person than the woman that Tom had sent from Jerusalem. There was no doubt of her confidence in herself now. She walked in no one's shadow. Not even Tom's. If he was there to greet her, could he accept that? Billy could. She knew that. He loved her just the way she was. Unconditionally, totally. Could she return his feelings? Honestly?
But now it was the end of the mission. No more excuses and she knew Billy would want an answer. What would it be? She didn't know.
She looked to the north. If only Tom was there to greet her when she returned. She would know -- maybe. She wondered if Billy could hear her thoughts. He tightened his arms around her slightly as if to ward off the chilled evening air. As if to tell her that he understood.
