Unexpected return, p.15
Unexpected Return, page 15
“Aye, that is the magic of the portal. That is how we have been able to keep our existence a secret all these many years. No one who visits and then leaves has ever returned as your family has done. And, when your family finally leaves us, you will not remember having been here and therefore our secret will continue to be safe.”
Then Justine couldn’t contain herself and blurted out, “That would mean, if I marry James and remain here with him that when my family leaves, they not only won’t remember any of this, but they won’t know where I am either?” As Justine started to think this through, questions began popping into her head that she hadn’t thought of before. Her speaking became faster and faster as these thoughts began taking over her mind. “And what if I want to visit my family in the future and all of a sudden show up at the house? But they are only going to be in England for two years, what happens after that? And will we lose our memory of this place when we go through the portal, never to return? Will I even remember why James is with me after we go though the portal? And what if James doesn’t want to go through the portal but I do?” Justine sat down and started crying.
“Honey, stop! You’re getting carried away. You’re upsetting yourself,” her mom said as she hugged her daughter and tried to comfort her. “These are things that will need some answers, but not right now. We will need to set aside some time to discuss all of your concerns, which, I must say, are mine, too, now. But the Queen made it clear that no one other than our family and Dr. Lange has ever put this to the test. There is much to discover and we have time to address it while we’re here. Let us settle in as the Queen has requested and serve this kingdom. After James has returned, our two families can sit down and explore the answers to all our questions.”
“Thank you, Stephanie. You have advised your daughter well. Justine has made me aware of her concerns which I share as well and our families will need to talk about all of this at some point in the future. But let us think about the present now and live it the best we can. Therefore, it is my hope the Ross family will accept the positions I have mentioned so the kingdom might benefit from the gifts each of you has to offer.”
“I think I can speak for the members of the family and accept your offer. We would all like to put our talents to good use as long as we are part of this kingdom.”
“Thank you, Dr. Ross. Now, let us partake in our evening meal.”
CHAPTER 26
James and the Army Arrive
After riding all night and through the morning, moving as fast as possible, James and the army of soldiers found the King still camped at the River Stour. They rode into camp and dismounted. Hearing the commotion, King William threw open the flap on his tent and came out with his sword drawn. When he saw James, he sheathed his sword and greeted him with a hug.
“My son, I am surprised and glad to see you at the same time. I did not expect you to accompany the army and them not to arrive for another day. You have made very good time.”
“The message you sent said to make haste, so we did. We rode our horses hard and they should be attended to as quickly as possible. They will need to be strong if they are to carry us into battle. We did not stop along the way unless it was necessary. Sir Gawain has been very helpful, Father. We would not have made it here without him.”
“Sir George, please see to their horses and make sure the men are fed.” Then to Sir Gawain, “Thank you, Sir Gawain, for delivering the message so quickly and returning with the army. I see you have included Dr. Lange and Gretchen in this group. Welcome to you both. I am pleased you are here as we may be in need of your services at some point.
“Your majesty, it was James who suggested they accompany us. I will not take the credit for bringing them.”
“Thank you, James. But this leaves Wiltshire without a physician. Who is in charge now that you and they are here?”
“Father, Dr. Ross is seeing to the clinic and mother is very capable of handling anything that might come up. So, we have come to help.”
“It sounds like Wiltshire is safe, for now. I need all of you to join me in my tent for we have much to discuss.”
James, Sir Gawain, Sir George, Dr. Lange and Gretchen all joined the King in his tent. It was very large with enough room for their meeting. In the middle of the tent was a small table used when traveling. On the table was a map of Dorset which the King had brought with them so as not to lose their way while traveling. The King moved to the back of the table and the others formed a circle around it.
“Father, where are Arius and John? I did not see them when we arrived.”
“They have not yet returned.”
“Returned from where, Father?”
“I sent them to Dorchester castle to find the Captain of the Guard, Sir Gregory. It is hoped we can convince him King Henry has taken leave of his senses and needs to be removed as King or at the very least not allowed to order his kingdom into an unnecessary war. Sir Gregory was with King Henry in Wiltshire a year ago when the King made an unannounced visit, sure we were hiding something from him. I have since sent several messengers to the King asking to meet, but he has refused our requests. This obsession has consumed him for the past year and it needs to stop. That is why I chose to take matters into my own hands and make the journey to Dorchester so we could meet face to face and resolve this. After we departed from Wiltshire, I decided to send Arius to spy on King Henry so we might know what we could be facing once we arrived at his castle. When Arius returned, he informed me that it was King Henry’s intent to welcome us into his castle and then surround us and take us prisoner. Once I learned of this, I sent Sir Gawain to Wiltshire to gather the army together. King Henry will learn of their arrival from his spies and, I feel, will not be able to remain within the protection of his castle walls but will be compelled to confront us on the battlefield.”
“Do you think this Captain will go against his King and order the army to stand down?” James asked.
“I do if Arius and John have had the chance to talk to him. They have been gone for two days and I am anxious for their return. For now, we just wait. But it is important, while we wait, to discuss our battle strategies so we will be prepared for two different possibilities. The first, to fight if they remain within the castle walls, and the second, if they ride out to meet us on the battlefield.”
King William informed them of the plans he had already formulated and they all agreed, with some slight changes, the plans were well thought out and would lead them to a victory over King Henry’s forces no matter which battle they were to fight. But they hoped the second one would be the one King Henry chose.
All of a sudden, they heard a loud roar and ran out of the tent to see what could possibly be making that sound. As they looked up, they saw a dragon hovering overhead. No one had seen a dragon in England for some 150 years. The horses started prancing and neighing in fear and the men looked surprised and scared at the same time. King William ordered the bows to the ready for he didn’t know what to expect. The soldiers who heard the order grabbed their bows and knelt down with the arrows aimed at the dragon. Then they impatiently waited for the order to shoot. As James looked closer, the dragon seemed to have something or someone riding on its back.
“Father, don’t shoot!” James yelled. “It looks like John is on that dragon!”
“John? That’s impossible!” Then he looked closer, and it was indeed John! “Where did that dragon come from and why is James on the back of it?” Then he ordered the soldiers to stand down.
“I think we need to allow it to land so we will find out,” James replied.
James ran to the clearing nearby where it appeared the dragon could land. He made sure he gave it plenty of space to land that massive body. The King stood next to James and many of the soldiers surrounded him in the event the dragon was not friendly. As the dragon drew nearer, James noticed that John was hunched over and try as he might, he could not sit up straight. He feared something had happened during the visit to Dorchester. But where did this dragon come from? James thought it looked like a silver back but wasn’t sure since he had only seen pictures of dragons when he was younger. The eyes were a steel blue and the scales on its body sparkled in the sunlight. It had two horns extending from its head with gills located below them. There were spines on its neck but they extended no further. The massive wings created such a strong wind as it attempted to land that those on the ground had to use all their strength to not get knocked over. It landed rather clumsily, lost its balance and fell forward on its face. James, not thinking about his own safety, immediately ran over to help his brother disembark from the dragon’s back. John yelled out in pain as he attempted to maneuver his body off of the dragon. Then he just fell into his brother’s arms as he slid off the dragon. Several soldiers ran forward to help James carry him away from the dragon. Once there was some distance between them and the dragon, they knelt down to place John on the ground. Then, a strange thing happened. The dragon began to shrink and change shape. As it grew smaller and smaller, everyone realized the dragon was actually Arius.
“James,” John said as he reached up to James, “Arius is the dragon and he saved me from King Henry.” Then John collapsed and passed out.
“He is badly hurt and needs a doctor to attend to his wounds,” Arius explained as he approached. “I got to him as soon as I could.”
James looked up at Arius in wonder, “Arius, you changed into a dragon. I was not aware you could do that.”
“Me, either! It was a shock to me, too!”
The King ran over to help with John. “I need some soldiers to carefully carry my son to my tent. Please put him on my bed.”
“Father, John needs Dr. Lange!”
“I am glad you brought him with you. Sir George, fetch Dr. Lange immediately.”
Four of the soldiers reached down, picked John up and carried him to the King’s tent. John was clearly in a lot of pain for he yelled out as the soldiers carried him as he began to regain consciousness. They laid him gently on the King’s bed. Arius, James, and the King followed close behind.
As they walked to the tent, the King looked at Arius astonished, “So, you can change into a dragon. This is certainly a new development. How long have you known you could do that?”
“About a day,” Arius replied. “I am as much surprised as you, your majesty.”
“I need to know everything, but let us see to John first.”
Once Dr. Lange arrived, King William motioned to everyone to leave the tent. As they were leaving, King William took hold of Dr. Lange’s arm, “Take good care of him. Inform me as soon as you know anything regarding his injuries.”
“I will, your majesty.”
CHAPTER 27
ARIUS EXPLAINS
“Arius, I must know everything. Every little detail. Do not leave anything out, good or bad. And I want to know more about the dragon!” King William stated.
So, Arius sat down on a log near them, sighed, gathered his thoughts, and began to recount the events of the secret visit to Dorchester.
“John and I left here and arrived at Dorchester castle outside the palace still invisible. There were few guarding the walls of the castle so we were not sure where the rest were nor did we know where to find Sir Gregory. We decided to search the soldiers’ barracks and found many soldiers standing everywhere. It seemed to be during a duty change and some were preparing to leave for their assignment. We remained there for a while and listened to their conversations which we hoped might give us some insight as to any future plans. We did hear some talk about the animosity between the kingdoms and how they thought King Henry was overreacting to the appearance of a rider on the hill a year ago and how this has consumed him. After hearing this, we felt we had grounds to stand on when we talked to Sir Gregory. We knew he surely had to be aware of how his soldiers were feeling. We stayed there to see if we could learn the whereabouts of the Captain and heard he had been summoned to the palace by King Henry.”
“We left there not knowing how long it would be before we could talk to the Captain on our own. We decided we would listen in on the conversation between Sir Gregory and King Henry hoping we might learn of any plans regarding Wiltshire. We were still invisible so it was impossible for anyone to detect our presence. We found the King and the Captain meeting alone in the Great Hall. However, we realized we had arrived at the end of the conversation for the King dismissed Sir Gregory right when we got there. So, we followed Sir Gregory, through the halls of the palace looking for the right time to confront him. He finally paused in an alcove near the Main Hall. That is when John and I appeared behind him. When he turned around, he saw us and started to pull his sword. When he realized who we were, he replaced his sword and asked us why we were there.”
“Once we finished explaining our reason for being there, we told him we wanted to hear his thoughts. It took him a minute to respond. Then he told us he agreed with us regarding King Henry and his frame of mind. He stated that King Henry has been completely unreasonable for the past year, treating everyone in the kingdom with disdain, accusing people of crimes they had not committed. He wanted to see this all end but was afraid of the King and knew he would face certain death if he was not successful in his attempt to overthrow the King.”
“Just then we heard someone approaching and realized it was the King looking for Sir Gregory. I was not close enough to Prince John so that I could grab him and we could disappear. When the King came around the corner, he saw Prince John standing there. Sir Gregory immediately drew his sword and told the King that he had come across Prince John walking through the palace and was bringing the Prince to the King. The King demanded to know what Prince John was doing in his castle. The Prince stated he had come on his own to try to negotiate peace with the King in hopes that no blood would be spilled on either side. The King did not believe he had come of his own accord and assured him there could be no peace between our two kingdoms. Then he hit Prince John and knocked him to the ground. As the Prince stood back up, I noticed his nose was bleeding. The King hit him again, this time in the stomach and the Prince doubled over from the blow. The King ordered Sir Gregory to take the Prince to the Throne Room. I followed them hoping I could grab the Prince at some point and return here but at no time was the Prince alone. I heard the Captain whisper to the Prince that he was sorry but he had to follow orders. Once they arrived in the Throne Room, the King sat down on his throne and ordered the Prince to kneel before him. When he wouldn’t, King Henry had the Captain force the Prince to kneel down. Then the King got up, walked over to Prince John, bent over, grabbed him by the hair forcing the Prince to look at him and spit in his face. He told the Prince that he was just dirt under his feet and needed to be cleansed. The King stood up and ordered one of the soldiers in the room to kick this ‘dirt pile’ until he told him to stop. So, the soldier kicked the Prince continually until King Henry was satisfied and told the soldier to stop. John just lay there on the floor groaning in pain. I was so mad at that point my body was shaking. I knew I had to intervene somehow. Then, I felt a power surging through me I had never felt before. I wasn’t sure what it was but suddenly I felt I could do or be anything. So, I wished I had the power to become a fire breathing dragon to scare the King and carry Prince John out of there. Suddenly, my body began to change form and I grew into a very large dragon. I looked at the King and the Captain, opened my mouth and out came this large stream of fire. What a wonderful feeling that was! I felt invincible! They both yelled and tried to run out of the room. I blocked their exit every time. When more soldiers began to arrive, I knew I needed to grab the Prince and leave. I looked up and set fire to the ceiling. When I did, I could see daylight and knew we had a way out. I sprayed the room with fire, grabbed John with one of my claws, spread my wings and took off.
“I could hear the whizzing of arrows in the air around me as we flew away. Once I got a safe distance away, I carefully landed so I could check on Prince John. I let go of him, stepped back and waited. He started to move but very slowly. When he had gained consciousness, he looked up, saw me and yelled in fear. I told him not to move because he was badly hurt and then explained that the dragon was me and to not be afraid. He realized that the voice was mine and calmed down. I told him he needed to crawl on my back so I could fly him out of there and to your camp. I crouched down as far as I could so he didn’t have far to climb. He got on my back, grabbed on the best he could, and I flew him here.”
The small group of listeners just sat in silence as they listened to Arius talk about the events that had taken place in Dorchester. Everyone was stunned by the actions of King Henry and by Arius’s transformation.
The King finally spoke. “I don’t care how crazy King Henry has become; he should be beheaded for his treatment of my son. Knowing this, I cannot guarantee that even if Sir Gregory agrees to our plan that I can follow through on it.” Then turning to Arius, “Thank you, my most loyal sorcerer, for returning my son safely to me. You put your own life in danger to pull him out of a most terrifying experience and for that, I will be forever grateful. And to think, you did it as a dragon! This is one thing I still find very hard to believe.”
“I am as surprised as you, your majesty. I think, because we have been at peace for these many years, that my magic has only scratched the surface. Who knows what I am capable of doing. I also have never felt so mad and helpless at the same time and I think that was the trigger I needed to let the magic escape. I knew Merlin had unbelievable powers that up till now I thought had passed me by. I guess I was wrong.”
“I am very thankful you discovered these powers right now and were able to save Prince John.”
“Excuse me, King William, your son would like to speak with you,” Dr. Lange stated as he exited the tent. “He is still very weak. He has some broken ribs, a broken arm and a lot of bruises but will be fine with rest. He is lucky one of his ribs didn’t puncture a lung. I have set his arm and have bandaged his chest to prevent his ribs from moving, but he won’t be able to do much for a while. I suggest, if possible, that he return to Wiltshire where he can convalesce with no temptations to move around too much.”
