Kimberly gingerly went to the side of the beast, climbing inexpertly onto its back and gripping it around the neck lightly. The antlers nearly skewered her as it shook it’s head, but soon both she and the buck were content with the arrangement.
“Um, go down that way please?”
She pointed off in the direction they had been heading and the buck began to move. It wasn’t nearly as fast as she had been, but it was much faster than walking. As they traveled, Nimli began to whistle and tweet in that musical way of hers. Sometimes hooting like an owl, other times clicking her tongue. The buck seemed to understand her, making snorts, shaking its head or stamping its hoof on the ground harder than normal.
“He says four women came this way yesterday. His herd was wary since they came close to his territory. At least I think they were women, he says they looked like you. While he could mean humans in general, I think he was speaking of gender.”
“Does he know where they might be right now?”
She again spoke to the animal in her musical trills, listening to his snorts and headshake reply.
“He said all four entered the woods about a mile up the road where they just disappeared about half a mile in. One of his subordinates watched them vanish between one step and the next.”
“He had them followed? That doesn’t seem like any kind of deer behavior I know.”
“Really? You're in a world where magic exists, and you are surprised animals don’t act like what you expect them to from your own world?”
“You're right, stupid statement. Can you ask him to take us to where they vanished?”
Again, the buck nodded its head slipping off the road and back into the woods, heading for a point only he knew. Soon enough he stopped, his hoof struck, a clear indication that he wanted her to dismount without Nimli having to say anything. As soon as she did, the deer backed away. Kimberly didn’t even have to wonder why, the distortion was plain as day to her eyes. The very trees twisted and warped, as if getting sucked into a vortex of some kind. Looking at the rift was like looking through a window as rain poured down outside, all wavy and shimmering. Her stomach turned just looking at it.
Feeling a bit silly, she bowed to the buck, thanking it for carrying her. Nimli translated, and the buck cocked it’s head to the side to watch her with one eye. Blowing air out of his nose suddenly before running off, causing Nimli to chuckle.
“He said he never thought he would be thanked by an inferior animal.”
Praying she would not be walking into hot sunshine and blazing sands, Kimi closed her eyes and jumped into the rift. There was no going back now. Unless she fixed this anomaly, she wouldn’t be able to return, just like a hiccup.
The sounds of pleasure filled her ears instantly. Her eyes flew open to find herself in a bedroom with a man and woman in the canopied bed next to her. The woman shrieked in surprises as the man rolled out of bed reaching for his sword. He stood before her stark naked, holding the point in her direction as she backed away.
“Foul demoness! How dare thee come forth from thy pits amidst my recreation! Didst thou think to find Prince Edward unready for battle?”
With that he lunged forward, aiming for Kimberly’s throat. She had just enough time to throw herself out of the way, hearing fabric rip as the edge caught. She scrambled across the floor as the prince again struck downwards, skewering the floor right behind her. The naked woman threw pillows to foul her up as well.
“Nimli! Do something! Please!”
“I can’t. I am a spirit of the forest, if there is no forest I am powerless.”
“Does thou speaketh to your evil familiar of wind? What is this Nimli creature? I shall smite it as well!”
As Kimi rolled out of the way of another sword swing, she realized Prince Edward couldn’t see the spirit who was hiding in Kimberly’s raven locks. Inspiration struck then as she got her feet under her, her back against the wall once more.
“Wait! I am no demon! I am an angel! I was sent to aid you in becoming King!”
“What lies dost thou speaketh? Curb your tongue wench!”
“I lie not. My mouth is incapable of such blasphemy. As an angel in service to the Lord, I would be smitten down where I stood if treachery and untruth passed my lips.”
Kimberly drew the dagger Dan had given her, the sound of steel ringing in the air. Prince Edward took a guard position, ready for any attack by the blade. Not letting his guard down because she was just a mere woman.
“This blade is forged of the finest steel and was once wielded by Arthur Pendragon himself. Lost to the ages, I bear it in defense of the Heavens against the demon hordes. It is imbued with the power to reveal to me the future among other things. No demon may bear its touch, yet I hold it with impunity.”
Quickly Kimi sliced her finger, allowing red droplets to splash upon the ground.
“Does the blood of a demon run red? Man, and by extension angels when they take upon them a physical body, were created in God’s image. Then too does not the blood in your veins run in his image as well? Only the blackest heart of a demon could pump blood as wretched and unclean as it's color. Lower your blade Prince Edward, lest I be forced to punish you for your transgressions against a host of Heaven.”
The Prince looked uncertain for a moment, the tip of his blade starting to lower. Then his eyes narrowed and it rose once more.
“Ha! Ye almost fooled me cretin! A true angel would bleedest not. Blood is the prevue of mortals and demon ilk. A heavenly body wouldst have no need for such things.”
“And how many angels have you met then Prince? It is true normally we would not spill blood. But did I not say I have taken on a physical body? My brothers and sister you speak of are those you cannot see. They have no need of blood, nor organs, nor need to eat and relieve, for they have no need of a body to do their job. As I was chosen for this task, I must need all those things to do so. As such, I bleed, I hunger, I feel joys and pains as I once did many a year ago when I was once mortal like you. And I shall continue to do so until I am called back to my duties above.”
“If that be true, then why didst thou appear before me as thou didst? Only a demon wouldst break up a pleasurable pastime such as this.”
“I know not. I was not told the why’s of things. I did not see fit to question the Almighty One. Do you claim to question him and his decision?”
“Nay. The Almighty One is perfect. If he in his wisdom didst send you, then I must accept his work.”
Finally he lowered his weapon, though his other sword had not lowered at all. Setting his blade down against the wall once more, he returned to the bed and the woman waiting for him. She looked at Kimi a bit unsure, but soon was engrossed again with the Prince. Feeling uncomfortable, Kimberly felt the need to speak up once more.
“Are you sure you should be doing that right now?”
“What ist the problem angel? Dost though wish to join? In truth I have not serviced an angel afore, but thou dost look like any other woman. I believe I would fair fine.”
Before Kimi could answer, the door burst open and four soldiers came barging in with swords drawn. The woman screamed again as the four made a beeline for the bed, their eyes glued to the Prince. Prince Edward dove for his sword again as the first soldier thrust his weapon into the woman’s throat, silencing her screams. Edward blocked the next strike and then the next, fending off three attackers at once as they backed him into a corner.
Kimi’s hands were shaking, but she knew she had to do something. If King Edward died, this rift would be a failure. Without her ability to transform, she had to overcome her fears and do it the old fashion way. Swallowing hard she lunged, shoving her dagger downward into the back of an unprotected neck. The man gurgled a scream as she pulled the blade out, lunging again as a second one turned. She caught him in the side of the face, ripping open his cheek as her body slammed into him. Edward used the opportunity to come up under the defense of one of his opponents, slicing him open from crotch to
neck, then backhanding the head off the other.
The man Kimi had wounded grabbed at his face in pain, allowing her to stab him in the heart unhindered. With the last man down, Prince Edward lowered his sword tip, giving Kimberly a small nod.
“It seems angel you spokest true. You were trying to warn me but thou warning didst come too late for me to be more prepared. Had I spent less time mistrusting your validity of office I am sure thou wouldst have had more time to explain thyself. My apologies for my mistake. But my thanks as well. Had it not been for thy timely assist, I no doubt wouldst be skewered upon a blade right now. You say you wield a blade of a King of legend. I am grateful that such a blade does protect a future king once more. Come, let us vacate this place, we have much to discuss and this time I wouldst listen to thy words most carefully.”
With that he began donning his finery, not paying any attention to the four dead soldiers or the dead woman he had so recently been making love to.
Chapter 10: Rewriting History
Anomaly: King Edward the II is killed by Queen Isabelle and her secret lover Roger Mortimer in a coup d’etat. Prince Edward the III, a.k.a. Edward of Windsor, killed in a bordello hours later by Roger Mortimer’s men, unbeknown to the Queen. The crown is assumed by Rodger Mortimer now that it is uncontested.
Condition for success: Sit Edward of Windsor on the throne and have him crowned King.
Kimberly sat back in her chair after reading the white tome on the table. Now that she was inside the anomaly, she only got information about this particular disturbance. All the other compasses and descriptions had temporarily disappeared. She knew this was definitely not how things were supposed to go.
Edward the III was definitely supposed to take the throne at the age of fourteen after his father was disposed by his wife and Mortimer. But Edward the II was never killed, he had given his son the crown personally before retiring to Berkeley castle in 1397 where he later died. King Edward the III would not lead a coup against Mortimer and truly lead the country until he was seventeen, three years from now.
At least warfare was still relatively simple. The invention of the hand gun was still a new thing and not widespread. While there were flintlock style handguns, they took time to load and fire. So fighting would still be done mainly with swords in a face-to-face confrontation.
Still, Kimberly would have never thought Prince Edward would be so-- uncivilized. He whored around even though he had a wife in Phillippa of Hainault, and did not seem very royal or knightly at all. Even now, knowing he was being hunted by Mortimer’s men, he was in the other room having a romp with a whore while they hid in this new bordello.
Kimi rolled the small vial of liquid Jordon had given her in her hand, wondering on the best role-play to use when the time came. She needed to finish this off quickly, a long drawn out war was not something she could neither handle or afford. Nimli had flown out towards the woods in an attempt to speak the animals and find the four women who were also presumably still trapped in here.
Now that Kimi really thought about it, the chances one of those women being Maria was slim. Even supposing only two of them were paired and the other’s were not, the odds were still unlikely. If the two remaining women were either both mages, or both mediators. There would be no statistical value in pairing up with a contract group. The optimum number in such a case would be three, the fourth person being a bit of a third wheel. True it gave the group a third chance at success, but it also increased the risk of failure from the contract pair having to protect the other two in order to keep that possibility open. One was much easier to protect than two.
If the other two women were a mage and mediator, they would either be contracted together already, or decide to contract out in the field. Having an unpaired set free to become viable options in case the only contract pair was broken was not only stupid, but impractical. They would just be dead weight for no real reason. Even if they only kept up a temporary contract, such a mage-mediator pair would not be as strong as a true contract made with blood. They would be even more of a liability to the success of any mission than if both of them were mages or mediators. That was just the statistical outcome. Once Kimberly had time to mentally crunch the numbers and think on it, the situation was perfectly clear. She had entered this anomaly when she hadn’t needed to.
Well perhaps not. By entering when she had, Kimi had probably saved the four unknown women’s lives. If she had not been thrust into the bedroom alongside the Prince, he would have been killed and the anomaly would have ended in failure. The rift would have closed, trapping the four in this time frame and breaking the mages connection to the other world, turning them into normal people without magic. And this timeframe was not kind to women. But now she needed to right the wrongs if she herself ever hoped to escape.
At least her clothes weren’t too out of place, if unconventional for the time period. Solid leather breeches and cotton tunic. Not that uncommon around here, if she was a man. Women wearing such things were scandalous. It made her appreciate those things she had taken for granted in her own time so much more.
“Fair angel Kimi! What dost thou do alone in thy room?”
Kimberly looked up as the Prince entered, a bottle of booze in one hand and looking more than a little drunk. He was stark naked from the waist up, and wobbling slightly as he came towards her. The King of England she had read about was a far cry from the sight she saw before her.
“I am planning how I will put you on your throne without Mortimer killing you first. And trying to figure out how long before he finds this place.”
“Fear not fair maiden of heaven. My men have reported that he does not know of my location. I shalt gather my forces and strike forthwith.”
A pit grew in Kimberly’s stomach at his words, causing her to close her eyes as she spoke. “Please tell me your men did not come here to make their report.”
“Of course! Where else shalt they go? They are my subjects, they come to me, it would be uncouth for me to go to them.”
“You idiot! We need to leave. Now. If your men know where you are, then Mortimer knows where you are.”
“I wilst not hear such slurs against my name, even from an angel, I am king!”
“No, right now you are a title-less prince on the run because his father was killed for the throne by a man he previously exiled. You are just a stupid, drunken man, who lets his crotch rule him. Nothing more. No matter how loyal your men, they know where you are. It doesn’t take a genius to figure out your location if they see lots of soldiers known to be your allies running in and out of a bordello during a time of conflict. Even if they were just coming to whore, Mortimer is no fool. He will raid this place just so as to leave no stone unturned. I wouldn’t put it past him to capture and torture one or more of them to find out your location and everything you know of the situation. Including your allies and armaments. It is as if you know nothing of strategy and tactics! And you’re supposed to be a strong military leader that restores some glory to this kingdom once you become King!”
“Dost thou speakest true? I wilst be a good king?”
“If you consider restoring royal authority, making England one of the most formidable military powers, and surviving through the Black Death. Plus creating the development of the first English parliament, decisively ending the war with Scotland, and be one of only six monarchs to rule England successfully for over fifty years, then yes I suppose you will be considered a good king.”
Edward of Windsor stood taller at her words, looking at the bottle in his hand a moment before casting it to the side.
“If that tis truly the future meant for me, then I shalt strive to live up to it. Until I am crowned and mine land sees not such strife, no liquor shall pass my lips. Nor shall any woman warm my bed. Tell me what I must do angel to create such a vision of the future as you paint, and I shall follow your words.”
Kimi blinked in surprise. She hadn’t thought he would listen so easily, or make such an ann
ouncement. She had half expected him to go off on a rant after she had called him stupid, just like most people in her own time would. But perhaps dropping the history as she knew it, had lit a fire under his backside. If the rift was resolved, he wouldn’t remember any of their encounter of course, still it gave her insight into the kind of man he really was.
“Get your clothes on then. We are leaving. Not out any of the doors if possible. We go hide someplace else and you don’t let anyone know where you are. You wear commoners clothes, otherwise you will be pegged as a royal from a mile away. Hopefully, we will have the help of a few of my friends soon. If we do, you will be sitting upon your throne in a few days.”
“With the hosts of heaven upon my side, there is no way I couldst lose this war. For God only favors the victors. I shall do as ye say and be ready in a nonce.”
The young prince hurried out of the room, leaving Kimberly alone once more. It was hard to believe he was only fourteen. For some reason it reminded her of Joel’s philosophy on life. Live with passion. Edward loved freely, drank freely, and lived seemingly freely. But compared to the life Kimi had led so far, his had been more fulfilling. He wasn’t afraid to express himself. He didn’t second guess his actions. He didn’t try to hide in the background like she had. The only reason Kimi found the courage to speak against him as she did, was because she would die if she didn’t.
“I have found them.”
Nimli swooped in through the open window, alighting on Kimberly’s shoulder with a small sigh of relief. Having no connection to her sacred woods, she tired quickly. It was a shame she couldn’t make a temporary contract with the spirit, that would help alleviate many problems. Since Nimli was a creature of the other world, tied to the magic like any mage. But there was some fundamental difference between a mage and spirit, aside from the obvious size and species difference, that she didn’t understand.
Out of Time the Grand Quest Page 11
