The Archivist

by Christy Sloat

  “Saw who?” His eyes grew wide in wonder.

  “The boy responsible for my horrible night. I ran downstairs, trying to avoid him, planning to read in my office. And that’s when I heard music coming from the book. I picked it up and was sucked inside.” I clapped my hands for effect and Eoin jumped, then laughed. “Now I sit. Stuck. Without the bracelet I cannot go back.”

  Eoin shrugged. “You could have been stuck somewhere worse. There is no place more bonnie than Scotland, lass. Maybe the book wanted you to come here. It’s like… that fairytale from when I was a lad.”

  I looked up, curious. “What fairytale?”

  “There’s a beautiful lady, who is called to Scotland from a faraway land. She’s lost, in her life, you see. She’s not happy in the castle that she lives in and she is called to the woods of Scotland by the bagpipes.” Just then chills crawled along my body because that’s exactly what my story is.

  I am the girl in the castle, unhappy and lost. I couldn’t help it as tears fell down my face.

  “Don’t ya cry lass, are you ill again?”

  “No,” I said, “I just… I am the girl in that story.” The tears kept falling as Eoin reached across, slowly, and wiped them away with his surprisingly soft hands. I hadn’t been this close to him before now, but I don’t dislike it. His eyes held concern as he wiped my tears away and I knew that he wanted to make me feel better.

  “Savannah, do ye think you really are the girl in the story? Were ye lost?”

  I nodded, vehemently, unable to talk.

  “I was lost, myself.”

  He put his hands on my shoulders pulling me into a hug that I didn’t know I needed. But I didn’t move or pull away. Instead I fell asleep in the warm embrace of a man that I hardly knew but trusted with my life.

  ****

  “Savannah, time to wake lass,” Eoin said, shaking me gently. “There ye are. I can’t let you sleep all day. We are close to the town.”

  I nodded and rubbed the sleep from my eyes. I sat up and yawned, then realized, I needed to brush my teeth in the worst way. What did the Scots use for toothbrushes in the woods?

  I stood up and excused myself to use the bathroom and found a cozy little corner to relieve myself. Afterwards I found a bristle-like leaf that I rubbed along my teeth and tongue to clean what I could. I could use a hairbrush, but that was pushing it. Instead I pulled it back into another braid and tucked the pieces in, keeping it out of my face. I was feeling better today but I wasn’t as clear minded as I wanted to be.

  “I need a shower,” I told Eoin. “You know where I come from we bathe daily. We also call it a shower. We stand up and the water comes out of pipes to wash us.” His eyes grew wide, as he handed me the reigns to my mare.

  “Daily?”

  I nodded. “We also brush our teeth and hair several times a day. But here, things are much dirtier.”

  He laughed. “I take care of my teeth, but I don’t bathe daily. Maybe when the sun warms the lake you’ll find me there, but I don’t need a bath now. I smell dandy.”

  I shivered. “You should really do it more often, a lot of people in this time die from disease. That can occur when you’re not clean and don’t take good care of yourself.”

  He laughed. “Concerned for me are ye?”

  I huffed and looked away.

  We rode along the path, keeping off the main roads. And soon I heard the sounds of other people coming from up ahead. We finally made it to the village.

  I was elated. It was perhaps the longest, strangest trip I’d ever had. But having Eoin along made it a whole lot easier. If I hadn’t listened to Iona I don’t know if I would have made it to the village.

  Small children played games, chasing after one another, as their parents no doubt worked hard to tend their farms and houses. The older children worked alongside them.

  I didn’t see where anyone would have gone to trade anything like jewels, but I trusted that Eoin knew where to go.

  He led our horses into the village as people eyed us as we passed by. Eoin got off his horse and walked up to a man who was taking care of a stable of horses. These horses were well fed, and I realized that he knew what he was doing. I jumped off of the horse and led her to the water to drink. She gulped it down happily. Tucking my glasses into my bag, I let Eoin do all the talking.

  “We need to find a tradesman, if you have one,” he asked in Gaelic. The man nodded and pointed toward what looked like a pub. “Thank you.”

  We walked on and ignored the stares that came from everyone we passed. I wondered if they hadn’t seen people in a while. This made me nervous. What if my bracelet wasn’t here? What would I do then? That was something I didn’t consider. If it wasn’t here, what was plan B? Did I have a plan B?

  Eoin led me to the pub and asked me to stay outside.

  “Oh, no. I will handle my own business, and I’m not afraid to go inside there,” I said, pointing to the door.

  “It’s no place for a lass like you, Savannah,” he whispered. “Taverns can be rough and the men are not to be trusted. I don’t want to have to knock a man in the head if I don’t have to.”

  I sighed. “What do you plan to trade for it, if it’s in there?” I asked.

  He pulled free a bag of coins. I shook my head. “I have something they might want more. If its someone not wanting to part with it for coin they might like this,” I said producing my cell phone. I had found it in my pocket the day I left the castle. I had tucked my clothes inside the bag I took with me and noticed my useless cell sticking out of my pants pocket. I hadn’t thought it important then, but now, it was something interesting to someone in the middle ages. Eoin’s face was the proof.

  “What the devil is that?”

  I laughed and turned it on. “This is a cell phone, but more about that later. To someone in there, it’s magic. Let’s go.”

  He growled and followed me inside.

  Fifteen

  The smell hit me like a brick to the face. A brick that smelled like dirty rotten drunk cheese. I gagged, fighting the urge to run right back out the door. Men were sitting down drinking away all their woes, while the ladies sat on their laps and whispered sweet tales in their ear.

  I guess they didn’t care that it was still morning, it was five o’clock somewhere, maybe even back home. Eoin pulled my arm and took the lead. I decided to let him do the talking, since he seemed to know how a tavern operated. I, in fact did not. That wasn’t something I studied.

  “Is there a tradesman here?” he asked a man leaning against a pole.

  The man said nothing, just pointed to a dark corner in the back. Of course it was the darkest place in the whole tavern, because why wouldn’t it be? Why would someone honest be in a place like this?

  Following Eoin, I tried not to listen to the catcalls from the drunks around me. It was not hard to, when they all thought I was a lady of the night, or heck, a lady of the day in this case. I rolled my eyes and bit my tongue. I wanted nothing more than to go up and slap them.

  Eoin led us to the dark corner where a woman sat, drinking ale from a large pewter cup.

  “Help ya?” she asked, licking the froth from her lips. She wasn’t pretty, but you could tell that her looks mattered to her nonetheless. She had her hair neatly styled, and even put some sort of blush on her cheeks. Her lips were bright red and as she smiled so were her teeth. Whatever she was using to stain her lips had certainly rubbed off, either that or she had just eaten the last person who traded with her. I cringed at the thought.

  “We’re looking for a specific item,” Eoin began, as he sat down across from her. I took a seat as well, trying to look brave.

  “Aye, and what would that be then?”

  “My lady here, needs a prize for her arm. And I mean to buy her one. A bracelet to be exact. It n
eeds to be as bonnie as her,” he said, smiling and leaning closer to the woman. “Do ye have an item like that?”

  I worried that she would have kept it for herself, or perhaps she didn’t even have it. Her face was stern as she sat back in her seat. She kept very still, saying nothing for several agonizing minutes.

  “What’s yer name, lad? I like to know who I am sitting with ya see,” she purred, flashing those red teeth.

  “Eoin.”

  “Eoin, what a fine name. I’m Marleighn,” she said. “And you?”

  “Mollie,” I said simply, using my fake accent.

  “Bah, not a fancy name at all! A lady with a fine name deserved jewels. And yer man here, he wishes to purchase you jewels does he not?”

  I wasn’t sure how it was any of her business, but for the sake of playing the part, I wrapped my hands around his arm and nodded.

  “Aye, that he does but I cannot help the name my ma gave me. Do you have a bracelet Marleighn?”

  She shook her head. “Nay, but I have a ring. I don’t see that you have one of those.”

  My heart fell and I felt as if I had been punched in the stomach. If she didn’t have the bracelet then I wasn’t sure what to do next. What was my next plan of attack?

  “Now, Marleighn, I am hoping we can make a friendly trade here. I know ye have bracelets,” Eoin said. “I’ve been told you are the one to see. My friend, he wouldn’t do me wrong.”

  Well, perhaps trusting Eoin to do the talking and planning was my best bet. I could see that she wasn’t going to care for the fur that Eoin had given me, Marleighn would want something special.

  She laughed. “Who’s yer friend? The man that sold it to me?”

  I looked up. So she did have it!

  “Yes. Good lad he is,” Eoin said, playing the part well. “He and I go back for many years. He was at our wedding.”

  Marleighn smiled, truly looking happy to hear that we were married as Eoin fed her lies. She happily gulped them down.

  “He was a nice man,” she said, agreeing. “He always finds the best items that Finn does!”

  “Finn!” I exclaimed. He stole my bracelet? What a dirty rotten jerk. I knew that I couldn’t trust him and that something was off about him the day I first landed in that bloody field. Sure, he’d given me a ride to the castle, but he had been rude and stern shortly after.

  “He said he found it on a lass drunk, face down in a horse stall,” Marleighn laughed. “Told me she was just begging to have it stolen from her arm. He slipped it off and she didn’t notice.”

  I forced myself to laugh along with Eoin, but in reality, I wanted to strangle Marleighn then find Finn and do the same. Instead of helping me that night, he ripped my bracelet off of my arm and sold it to this bitch. I growled inside, the fire of anger burning hotly.

  “I’ll trade ye for it,” she said, getting down to business. “But I want something just as fine as it is.” She reached down into a box and pulled my bracelet out. It was right there in front of me yet I couldn’t touch it.

  “What is a fine lady like yourself looking for?” Eoin asked, patting my leg under the table. I’m sure the anger rolled off of me in waves. “Coin? Gold?”

  Marleighn shook her head and smiled like a creepy Cheshire cat.

  “I may have something yer looking for, my good lady,” Eoin said, leaning close. “It’s not something any of the folk around here have ever seen before. And it’s... well, it’s magic.”

  Marleighn’s eyes bugged out of her head in interest. She almost began drooling. “What is it?”

  I pulled the cell phone out of my bag and laid it gently on the table. The glittery black case sparkled near the dancing candle flame.

  “Tis magic of the Fae,” I began in my storyteller type voice. The time for getting my bracelet back was now. No more joking around.

  “The good fair folk have made these for only the special Fae who have worked so hard. These boxes make pictures come alive in rich color. Would you like to see?”

  She nodded eagerly. I turned it on, and instantly it started dinging loudly as it booted up. There wasn’t anything I could do about that now but let my cell do its job. Marleighn scooted closer watching my cell bring up the home screen. A picture of me and Jessa came up and Marleighn eyed me.

  “That’s you!”

  I nodded. “Yes, it is.”

  “Oh, what a rare and special box. May I touch it?”

  Quickly I took it away before she did. “Oh no. Not until we get that fine bracelet,” I said. Then, thinking about Eoin I said. “Along with coin.”

  She nodded and pulled free a large coin purse, dropping it on the table. “I’ll give all that I can now. And the bracelet. What else does it do?”

  I played a short song from my downloaded music and she bobbed her head to it. I had her hook line and sinker and Eoin knew it. He turned to me and smiled.

  “You sure you’re okay with parting with it?” he asked as she played with the magic box.

  I nodded. “All of that stuff is stored in my cloud.”

  He shook his head and laughed. “I’ve no clue what that means. But if you’re okay, then so am I.”

  I took the bracelet from a very happy and dazed Marleighn and gave Eoin the bag of money and we hightailed it out of there as fast as we could.

  We rode as far as our horses would take us, neither of us saying where we thought to go next, just riding. The sun on my face and the Scottish wind in my hair made me happier than I had been since I arrived. As we reached a glen, I realized I hadn’t put the bracelet back on yet, and I knew why.

  I was afraid of leaving Eoin just yet. Watching him as he pet his monster horse, I felt an ache inside that I’d never felt before during a trip. I’d never not wanted to go home. All I wanted for the past week was to go home and now I wanted to stay.

  Suddenly Eoin’s head jerked up and he said, “English! Ride fast, Savannah!”

  I looked back to see that he was right, there were two Englishmen riding our way. That spelled trouble. If the English caught me and Eoin out here in the open there was no telling the savagery that could take place.

  I kicked Sloane, urging her to run, and run she did. She ran alongside Eoin and his horse as we crested the top of the hill, but we weren’t safe yet. The English were close to us still. Stopping here, out in the open wasn’t an option. Eoin jumped down from Warrior and pulled him alongside a small stream.

  “I hope you have a plan, you crazy Scot! Walking through this stream is slowing us down!”

  “Aye, I do. Now hush and follow me.” We now walked through the stream, and my feet began to freeze over as the cold water rushed over them. I was not dressed for Scotland’s wetland. As a matter of fact, no one in Scotland was well dressed for this place. The shoes were barely shoes, the clothes were thin, and then there was his kilt, we could just keep going on and on about that thing.

  I didn’t see the waterfall at first but I heard it. Putting two and two together, I knew we were heading toward it to either jump over it or hide in it. I hoped it was the latter.

  I was thankful when Eoin led us around it as we finally came upon it. The water was rushing very fast now and I was surprised at how the little stream had come from such a magnificent waterfall. The mist touched me as we walked our horses behind the rushing water into a rather large cave.

  “I used to hide here and watch my father return to Ainsley,” he admitted. “He never found me here. But I suspect he knew he had someone watching him.”

  “How far away are we from the castle?” I asked as I wrapped my arms around myself.

  “Not far, now. Just need to keep away from trouble.”

  I agreed and shivered. “Lass, come closer, I’ll keep ya warm. And I promise to be a gentleman.”

  He opened his arm
s and I leaned in. The hugs this man gave could warm your very soul. His mere body was like a heater in this wet climate. I was thankful he had so much warmth at that moment.

  As he held me, he watched out of the stream of water for the English patrol. The water was rushing so fast I don’t know how he could see, but he did.

  He leaned against the rocky cave and pulled me with him. I nestled in and let myself stay warm. Then the shivering stopped and he let me go. Instantly I wanted to be back in his arms again.

  “They’re gone,” he said, pulling on Warrior.

  “Oh. Okay, then. I suppose you should get back to the castle.”

  He turned, giving me a strange look. “You mean we should go, no?”

  I didn’t like this part. I actually dreaded having to do this once I got the bracelet, but it was inevitable.

  “It’s time for me to go home, Eoin. You can go back to the castle and perhaps you’ll tell the truth to the others about your dad, or maybe you’ll keep the secret. I don’t know. But I’ve done my job. I’ve found out what happened to Sir Malcolm Walsh and, as an added bonus, I met his son. I won’t forget you or the small adventure we’ve had. But my home is calling to me.”

  He shook his head and his face looked sad and angry. “Are you certain you’ve done all that you meant to do? There may be more you have to learn about him. I have lots of stories.”

  I smiled. “You may be right, but I figured out why I have been feeling so ill lately. It’s time sickness. It can happen when you spend too much time traveling. My body isn’t meant for this era, and I am feeling the effects of it. It’s time for me to go before I get worse.”

  His eyes grew worried, even little creases grew upon his brow.

  “What is the worst that could happen?” he asked.

  I shrugged, not wanting to tell him about how I once read a journal entry about a Librarian who got stuck in another time and got so ill she wasn’t able to travel back. When another Librarian came to find her, she was hospitalized for weeks and lost her ability to travel again. Her brain damage was so severe that life for her was altered permanently.