“Yes,” his response was matter-of-fact.
She blinked, “I don’t understand.”
He studied her face carefully, “It is awfully strange, I suppose.”
“You suppose? Is this something that’s normal in your … world? People just walk over bridges and find themselves on a different planet?”
“We’ve never figured out if your world and ours are simply different planets, or something else altogether. William has this theory about dimensions...”
She just stared at him.
“I suppose that’s not really the point you were going for, is it?” Thomas’ bright smile hadn’t faded at all. She was finding it difficult to be irritated with him. Besides, the whole thing was fascinating.
“No,” he continued, “it’s not normal in our world, either. We do have stories, thousands of cycles old, legends, really, of our people traveling back and forth between your world and ours, but it’s in fairly recent history that our family discovered a genuine passage we could travel through. It’s a secret we guard pretty closely.”
“Why would William, who has all this,” she gestured around her, “leave and live in a place like Bristlecone?”
The look on Thomas’ face became thoughtful. “There are many similarities between our worlds, but many differences as well. We don’t have many of the resources, or the knowledge that your world has access to. Particularly knowledge of technology and medicine. William - and Nathaniel, for that matter, spend time living in your world to study your medicine, and to bring those skills back to our people.”
At that moment, Nathaniel appeared in the open doorway. “Not talking her ear off too much are you, Thomas? She needs to eat.”
“She’s eating,” Thomas answered, looking pointedly at Quinn, who obediently tossed a forkful of salad into her mouth.
“How are you feeling, Quinn? Sore anywhere?”
She shook her head, still chewing some strange, crunchy vegetable.
“Well, I brought you something anyway,” he told her, setting a small glass bottle on the table. Inside she could see several tiny white pills; the shape was familiar. “Some ibuprofen, from home. Take two of them after you’ve finished your dinner and two more when you wake up in the morning. It works best if you take them before you start hurting,” he added, silencing her unspoken objection. “And your leg is going to be sore tomorrow.”
She nodded; the numbness was starting to wear off already.
“Finish eating, and then you should probably get some rest. Would you like me to stay with you for a while?”
“I’ll take care of her, Nathaniel. See that she finishes her dinner and gets to sleep. If that’s all right with you, Quinn?”
She nodded; she was enjoying Thomas’ company - and his willingness to answer questions.
Nathaniel looked back and forth between the two of them and smiled.
“Okay then, but no wearing her out too much. Some things can wait until the morning. Is there anything else you need for tonight, Quinn?”
“I don’t think so, thank you.”
“Alright then, have a good night.”
“Goodnight, Dr. Rose.”
“Please call me Nathaniel, Quinn,” he said as he walked out the door.
She turned back to Thomas, who shook his head. “Eat,” he commanded.
By the time she had finished her dinner, and eaten the chocolate cake, which, as promised, was the best chocolate cake she had ever tasted, she was feeling the stress of the day. She yawned widely. Curious as she was, it was beginning to be a struggle to keep her eyes open.
“Time for bed,” Thomas said. “More answers in the morning, I promise.” He stood and collected the dishes, disappearing through the door with them before she could think of a response.
8. Stuck
Quinn had awakened too early in the morning, and now she had no idea what to do with herself. For probably the tenth time that morning, she walked over to the tall windows. When she had first woken up and pulled on the cord that operated the heavy draperies, it had still been nearly pitch black outside, only the barest glow beginning to form on the horizon.
Realizing that there was no chance she would be going back to sleep, she had busied herself with the few small tasks she could create for herself in the immaculate room. First, she had made the bed, pulling the sheets tight and smoothing the soft duvet. Though she had long considered herself good at making beds, she was unable to recreate Mia’s work.
She had cleaned herself up again in the enormous bathroom, washing her hair in the deep sink, and taking the time to pull her long, auburn hair into a neat French braid. After brushing her teeth for far longer than was strictly necessary, she had investigated the large armoire in the corner of the room. She had been comforted to find her favorite shirt on top of a pile of freshly laundered tops. On the bottom shelf, she was surprised to discover two pairs of blue jeans, quite similar in style to the pair she had ruined the night before. Though they bore no brand-name tags, and were fastened only with buttons – no snaps or zippers, she thought she would probably get them past her mother without scrutiny.
Her mother – that was the source of her anxiety as she stood again at the window, watching the sun slowly begin to rise, spreading waves of pink, purple, and orange over the few clouds in the increasingly blue sky. What if she tried to call last night? What if she freaks out when I don’t answer her phone calls today? Is the whole town going to be out looking for me? She was getting desperate to get back to her cell phone to text her mom. She knew that if her mother grew worried at all, she would cut her Denver trip short and come rushing back to Bristlecone to make sure everything was all right. Aside from the possibility of her mother getting angry with her, she got a sick feeling in her stomach thinking she might make her mom worry.
She was halfway tempted to just find her own way out of the castle, and search for the trail that would take her back to the bridge. Halfway to her door though, she realized that she didn’t even have the faintest idea how she had gotten into the castle the night before, and had little idea where the trail might begin even if she did find her way out without being stopped by one of the many people who surely were here in the castle with her. Also, she wasn’t sure where her shoes were, so she resumed her search of the bedroom.
It really only took her a few minutes to find her shoes where someone, most likely Mia, had neatly stored them in the small cupboard at the bottom right of the armoire. She could find no evidence of the blood she was sure would have stained the side of her right shoe the night before.
Growing antsier by the second, she headed back toward the bedroom door. She had no idea what was expected of her this morning. She didn’t want to put anyone to any more trouble, or to cause a scene. She just wanted to get back to the bridge so she could get home. Holding her ear near the edge of the door, she heard no noises at all in the corridor outside.
She pulled on the heavy lever as quietly as she could, and opened the door just wide enough to peek out. The long hallway was dark, lit only every few yards by small lights glowing a few inches from the floor. They reminded her of nightlights – which was probably what they were. The few doors that she could see were closed. There were no people anywhere. Feeling nervous, she closed the door softly, and resumed her pacing back and forth to the window.
Outside, the sunrise was amazing. She had lived surrounded by the Rocky Mountains her entire life, so watching the sun rise over flat land was an unusual experience for her. Although the horizon was thickly forested, seeing the sun itself appear over the tops of the trees so quickly after its rays colored the sky was incredibly different from home.
The height of the window led her to guess that she was probably about three floors above the ground in the castle. Directly below her, she could see wide, manicured lawns stretching several hundred yards to where she could just make out the shape of a tall stone wall. As she watched, a pair of small brownish-red bunnies hopped across one of the stone walkwa
ys and into one of the well-tended flowerbeds.
Bored now, as well as anxious, she headed back to the doorway. This time she wasn’t quite as careful to be silent in opening it. Her head was all the way into the corridor before she noticed the small difference. One of the doors was halfway open. Startled, she ducked back into the room.
Before she could get her door completely closed, she heard the shrieking giggles and slamming door that let her know that one room, at least, was occupied by children. Quickly, she retreated to the soft couch in the middle of the room and curled up on it, watching the sky become more and more blue through the window.
Sitting there, anxious and desperate as she was to get back home, to return to normal, to not scare her mother half to death, another emotion was starting to filter in. The curiosity that had plagued her for the last several weeks was back with a vengeance.
All of these weeks of following William, of trying to figure out where he so often disappeared to, had yielded her an answer she had never expected, and the answer had left her with a million more questions. She still had no idea exactly where she was or how she had gotten here. This couldn’t be real, could it? Suddenly, she realized that she wanted to find out more about what had happened here than she really wanted to go home. And then, she wasn’t completely certain that she wasn’t dreaming.
She stood again, and began wandering the room, inspecting everything again, staring out the window once more. Something else about this place was nagging at the back of her mind, but she couldn’t put her finger on what it was.
A knock at the door interrupted Quinn’s reverie. Just as he had the night before, Thomas entered the room without waiting for her response.
“You are up! My little sisters told me you were poking your head out. You sure have a talent for causing excitement around here.” He flashed his happy grin at her.
She grimaced; she wasn’t sure how happy she was to be attracting all of this attention.
“Are you hungry? It’ll be breakfast time soon.” Thomas’ twinkling gray eyes appeared a bit sleepy this morning, but he had clearly been awake for at least a little while. The curls of his dark hair were a bit wet. He looked nice; wearing freshly pressed black pants and a short-sleeved steel-gray sweater over a white shirt; the starched collar was folded down crisply by his neck. Quinn suddenly felt a bit under-dressed.
“I am a little hungry, I guess,” she told him. “But, mostly I just want to get home.”
A look of concern mingled with confusion swept over Thomas’ usually-carefree face. He was silent for a moment before his smile returned, a little more subdued and kinder. “I’m sorry. I’m sure it must be hard for you, coming here unexpectedly and being stuck. Breakfast will help with the hungry part, though!”
He had lost her on a single word: stuck. “What do you mean, stuck? William comes back all the time.” In that instant, she realized how much she had assumed. She mentally played back the scene at the bridge with William from the night before. What had he said? There’s no way back to your home tonight.
She had locked on to the ‘tonight,’ part, maybe thinking that the ‘gate’ closed at dark. Assuming she would be able to get back through in the morning.
Thomas watched her for a long moment, seeming to notice her internal struggle. He finally spoke, “In your world, it must seem that way – that William goes back and forth ‘all the time’.” He paused, scrutinizing Quinn’s face carefully. “It doesn’t work exactly that way on this end.”
This completely bewildered her, and her breathing started to speed up. “What do you mean?”
At that moment, there was a knock at the bedroom door, and Thomas rose to open it, disrupting Quinn’s oncoming panic attack.
“Master Thomas, you’re in here!” Mia’s voice was surprised. “I’ve brought breakfast for Miss Quinn.” She carried a covered silver tray; identical to the one from which Quinn had eaten dinner the night before. She set it down on the small table by the window. “Would you like me to bring you up a tray, or will you be eating downstairs this morning?”
Thomas frowned at her, a strange expression on his face. “Mia, isn’t it your day off today?”
Quinn watched dark pink color Mia’s round cheeks.
“Yes, well, it would be, Master Thomas, but I thought I would stay this morning and help make sure Miss Quinn is settling in.”
Something in Mia’s voice made Quinn think there was more to it than that.
“That was very kind of you, Mia,” Thomas’ smile was genuine and warm. “I’m sure we have enough help. I will sort out breakfast for myself, thank you. I don’t want you missing your day with your family.”
“Thank you, Master Thomas.” Mia kept her eyes on the floor near Thomas’ feet. Her blush hadn’t faded.
“Of course. Have a wonderful time. We’ll see you tomorrow afternoon?”
“Yes, Master Thomas. Thank you again.”
As Mia exited, Quinn heard giggling in the hallway.
Thomas turned to look at her. “I think some of my little sisters are anxious to see who all the fuss is about,” he smiled. “Do you mind?”
“No, I don’t mind.” And she didn’t. Children had never intimidated her the way other people sometimes did. Curiosity about William’s other siblings momentarily overshadowed her distress.
Thomas strode into the hallway, and then returned a moment later, three little girls in tow. One skipped eagerly ahead of him into the room. Quinn guessed her to be about six. She had the same dark, curly locks as Thomas, although hers reached down to the middle of her back. Her gray eyes held the same sparkle of friendliness and spunk as Thomas’.
Another little girl clung right to Thomas, hiding behind his back. A bit younger, maybe four or so, she reminded Quinn much more of her other big brother, William. Quieter, more serious. Her dark hair was long and straight. These gray eyes also studied Quinn from behind glasses.
The third child was only a toddler. She nestled in her big brother’s arms, poking her fingers into his mouth, while he playfully pretended to be biting them off.
The oldest girl walked right up to Quinn. “Hi! I’m Emma. Who are you?”
Quinn smiled back at her. “Hi Emma. I’m Quinn.”
“Emma here is our little instigator of all things giggle-related,” he said, tickling her ribs until she squealed, then smiled winningly up at Quinn.
He ran his fingers through the second little girl’s hair. “This is Alice. She’s a little quiet until she gets to know you. And this,” he tickled the littlest one under her chin, causing her to reveal deep dimples in her rosy cheeks, “is Miss Sarah.”
Quinn smiled.
“Are you really William’s friend from another kingdom?” Emma looked at Quinn expectantly.
“Um,” Quinn looked to Thomas for help, but he was ready.
“Of course she is! It’s nice to have a guest, isn’t it, girls?” Thomas set Sarah down on the floor. They all watched as she toddled around the room, looking at everything.
Quinn was reminded of Annie’s toddlerhood as Sarah pulled one of the flowers from the vase on the low table and immediately proceeded to put it into her mouth. Thomas quickly retrieved the flower and replaced it, but Sarah’s curiosity was undeterred, and she toddled toward the other table, reaching up for the shiny cover on the tray Mia had brought.
Thomas sighed, and then grinned sheepishly at Quinn. “You girls must be hungry. Let’s go get you to breakfast.” Thomas scooped Sarah back up and ushered the girls to the door, over Emma’s objections. “We need to let Quinn eat her breakfast, too.”
She watched Thomas disappear through the door with the girls, wondering why he had only allowed them into the room so briefly. She wondered exactly where the little girls believed she was from. Another kingdom? How much did they know? Why was Thomas so vague with them?
Of course, as little as the girls seemed to know, Quinn realized that she knew even less. She had no idea where she was or how she had gotten here. What
did Thomas mean about her being stuck here? A thrill of panic ran through Quinn ... what did he mean about her being stuck here? She was going to be able to go home, wasn’t she? For the first time, the situation started to feel extremely real, and anxiety overtook her.
Thomas was only gone for a couple of moments, but it was long enough for Quinn to have been alone for too long. When he re-entered the room, Thomas found her in a ball on the couch, tears running down her face.
“Hey, what’s going on?” Thomas rushed across the room to her.
“What’s going on? That’s what I would like to know! What is going on? Where am I? How did I get here? How am I going to get home? When am I going to get home? I am going to be able to go home, aren’t I? Am I?”
Thomas looked a bit taken aback by Quinn’s outburst, but he recovered quickly, “It’s okay, Quinn. Calm down. Yes, you are going to be able to go home.”
Her breathing slowed a bit at Thomas’ calm reassurance, but the room still felt like it was spinning.
He studied her for a second, and then laid his hand gently in the middle of her back. “It’s going to be okay. Why don’t you come take a walk with me?” He helped her up, and guided her gently to the door.
“A walk? I want to know what’s going on here, not go for a walk!”
Thomas’ voice was calm and patient. “I will explain it to you. I promise. You can ask me any question you like. I just think that fresh air and privacy would both be helpful, okay?”
Quinn took a deep breath, thinking it over, and then nodded.
When they got into the hallway, Thomas turned to her. “Let’s sneak you out quietly and give you a chance to think without the rest of my family bombarding you with their curiosity.”
She nodded, and started to wipe her tears on her sleeve, but Thomas was too fast for her, pulling a soft, white handkerchief out of his pocket and handing it to her. He led her down the hallway, all the way to a wooden door at the end. He opened it, and they stepped inside.
Seeds of Discovery Page 8
