“Alex, we’re almost there,” said Jack softly.
After their revealing conversation, John had suggested she stretch out on the rear couch and sleep while she could. Once they landed, Alex was going to have a lot to process, so he thought a little extra shut-eye could not hurt.
She sat up and stretched, feeling like a few more hours would really do her good. Alexandria rose from the sofa, folded her blanket, and walked to the restroom, still amazed at the sheer size and luxury of the helicopter. She took the time to brush through her hair and wash her face. Alex looked a little too pale for her own liking, but she finally just shrugged and walked back out into the cabin.
“Alex,” called John, “come on up here and buckle-up. We’re going to be landing soon.”
She moved to the seat opposite John and Jack. They had, apparently, been sitting together and talking while she napped. Her seat swiveled towards a window, so Alex looked out on the landscape around them, startled that she saw no houses or buildings below.
“John, I thought you said we were heading towards Rochester. Where’s the town?” She looked back at him to see him nod.
“Well, we’re near Rothbury. Actually, slightly northwest of the town to be exact.”
“But that’s national park land. How are we heading there?” asked Alex.
“There are some homes and buildings in the national park, but we’re actually going to a place situated between Kielder Water and Forest Park and the Northumberland National Park. It’s a little place we carved out for ourselves a long time ago, and well, it’s still ours.” John shrugged slightly.
“Can’t people find you through satellite or GPS? How do you stay hidden in today’s world?” Alex marveled aloud.
“It’s actually not as difficult as you might think. We decided long ago that no one would know of this place, so no one has ever really looked for it. People hike right by us all the time, but we’re just slightly out of sync with the rest of the environment around us. It makes us pretty much a lost little colony.” John smiled slowly at his young charge. “Try not to analyze it too much, Alexandria. You’ll give yourself a headache.”
She and Jackson laughed at John’s brashness, and she shook her head. The S-92 began to bank to the left, and Alex noticed the ground coming closer. She could make out sections of a huge estate that dwarfed her parents’ home and surrounding grounds. Little colony, Alex scoffed to herself.
Once they had completed their touch down and gotten the all clear from Heath, John moved to open the door and release the steps so they could all exit. John turned back and extended a hand towards Alex, giving her the support she needed to leave the cabin. She stopped short of the door and took in a deep breath. This was it. She felt Jack right behind her. He placed a hand on the small of her back in case he needed to propel her forward.
John squeezed her hand. “Ready, kiddo?”
Alexandria stood straighter and squared her shoulders. Her chin went up slightly, and she nodded. Alex walked down the steps slowly and beheld her surroundings. She was stunned into silence as she tilted her head back to take in the enormous estate before her.
Alexandria’s entire field of vision was filled with a colossal earth-colored, stone castle, which rose from the ground like a beautifully carved mountain. It looked as if it had always been a part of the landscape, there longer than the surrounding trees, fields, and the small lake which sat off in the distance. To say it was immense or vast did not do justice to the structure. There were so many sections of the castle, and Alex’s eyes roamed over its many windows, artfully angled sides, and ornate spires and edges along its rooftop. It was four stories tall in most places, but she could make out a portion at the far right end which rose to five stories in height.
Alex slowly turned in a complete circle and beheld a dense forest behind, fields with grazing sheep, cattle, and horses, and gardens to the rear which obviously meandered around the side of the castle out of view. They were so expansive that the gardens were terraced and partitioned with stone walls to give them a sense of purpose and privacy. Alex beheld lines of fencing that separated the various pastures and noticed that jump gates were integrated into them, allowing horse and rider the freedom to leap over the barriers if they felt so inclined.
How this place – this refuge – had remained hidden, was almost incomprehensible. Alex looked back at John in wonder.
“We like to call it home,” he said and smiled.
“It’s just a tad too small, isn’t it?” mused Jack.
“No,” said Alex. “It’s amazing! Just brilliant!”
Both John and Jack shared a smile over her head.
“Well, amazing or not, it’s home for us from time to time. So glad you came, Alexandria,” said Heath, giving her a wide grin as he came down the S-92’s steps. He held out his elbow to Alex and said, “Shall we?”
She gave him a firm nod and linked her arm through his.
They strolled away from the helipad along a pebbled walkway leading them in the direction of the structure’s main entrance.
“We’ll go in through the front door this time like civilized people,” said John, “but there are many doorways in and out. We’ll give you a tour in a bit, Alex, but first, there are a few gathered who would like to see you.”
Upon reaching the enormous wooden doors that led into the principle entryway, Heath patted her hand. “Welcome to Aeoferth Hall, Alexandria Groaban. I hope you’ll feel at home here.”
“Thank you, Heath.” She nodded and smiled up at him.
John moved forward and held the right door open so they could all enter. Once she stepped inside, Alex let go of Heath’s arm and moved slowly ahead of all three. She looked around the opulent and expansive foyer that opened before her and beheld a grand staircase that would render her father speechless. It was so artfully crafted, with such attention to detail. Tiny little cherubs were carved along its spindles all the way up four flights of twists and turns. How appropriate, she thought.
Alexandria tentatively continued further in and saw a crystal chandelier larger than any she thought she had ever beheld directly above her. Her eyes began to roam over the space now, hungry to drink it all in. She counted four hallways branching off from that central point, and many rooms were located off of the corridors just from the initial glance she chanced down each. Alex saw small tables, a few upholstered chairs, and several low, cushioned benches in the foyer as well.
As she walked around the space looking at mirrors and paintings, Alex reached out to touch the frame of an oil landscape hanging to the right of the staircase. But the moment her fingers made contact it stopped her short, and Alex felt her vision blur and the air around her being sucked away. She reached for Heath to steady her, but he was gone, as were John and Jackson. Alex knew what this was, another vision from the past. However, this one came on quickly and with no preamble as they had before.
Alex looked around and saw two men walking past her, talking about a horse that was about to foal. They continued their conversation through the length of the entrance and down a hallway to the left of the staircase. She stepped away from the wall and listened to see if anyone else was approaching. The hair on the back of her arms began to stand on end, and Alex slowly turned to see a man with thick, wavy black hair, which was turning gray at his temples, walking not around her, but straight towards her.
“Good evening, Arianna,” he said with a slight Mediterranean accent, nodding in her direction. He had his hands clasped behind his back, and he stopped just a foot away from her and rocked back and forth on his heels, looking her over from head to toe. “Something tells me this is an unexpected visit,” he added as he waggled his eyebrows at her.
“Um, yes it is. How are you this evening?” Alex asked, hoping that simple conversation would keep him talking until she could discover who he was and what time she had landed in.
“Why, Arianna,
” he tutted at her. “I should think you would know better than to think that loudly in my presence without shielding your mind from me,” he admonished. “So here you are, child. Arianna certainly, just not the Arianna of this time,” he added as he took in her clothes and eyed her watch.
Alex moved her arm bearing the watch behind her back and used her other hand to brush her hair back behind her ear, out of her face. He noticed this small, familiar gesture and smiled warmly at her.
“As it would seem that you no longer know me, allow me to introduce myself. I am Archimedes, someone that you should know very well. But you, I would recognize you anywhere. Tell me how you’ve come to be larking about in the entrance looking as though you are as lost as can be?”
“As you can hear me thinking, I suppose it would do no good to evade your questions, eh?” she laughed nervously.
Archimedes shook his head slowly and pursed his lips at her. He was actually enjoying this exchange, Alex realized, and that helped her relax a little bit more. If things were changing, she would have to get used to the idea of people interacting with her when she was thrown back in time, she supposed.
“Completely futile, child; so tell me.”
“I am actually known as Alexandria now, so Arianna doesn’t really fit me, if you will. I’m visiting Aeoferth Hall for the first time in my lifetime and well, I just touched a picture frame, and here I am. Lost, I hope not, but I’m certainly not in my time. What year is this?” she asked.
“What year?” he hooted. “My, my, this is a treat! I do love surprises, you know. Well, I suppose you don’t know yet, but you will. You are in the year of our Lord, 1747. And what year have you just arrived from, Arianna?”
“No, please call me Alexandria. It is almost 2011 in my time. Christmas has just passed and New Year’s is just a day away.” She paused at the incredulous look on his face. “Why are you looking at me like that? Have I said something amusing?”
“Not at all, Arianna.” Archimedes held up a hand to stifle her protest. “Now, enough of this nonsense. You are Arianna, or I am a toad. I don’t care what anyone else has told you, but that is who you are indeed. Even if I couldn’t see you, I would feel you, your presence, your aura and essence, and know you a million times over. So, you are returning to us, hmmm? That should tell you something right there.” He put a finger to his nose, tapping it at her and chuckling as he did so.
“I’m trying to decide if I want this life, but I really don’t know what it will encompass. That’s why I’m here – to decide. Okay, stop laughing, this isn’t funny.” Alex tried to scold him, but failed miserably and found herself laughing with Archimedes until they both had tears running down their cheeks.
“Oh, dear child, this will be fun for us both. I will get to see what this journey in 2011 entails for you and, hopefully, we’ll have a good laugh about it together. Perhaps it is best if the few others who share this particular gift with us do not see you tonight. Let’s not expose them to this future; it just might prove to be information they do not need. I shall look forward to your arrival, Alexandria.”
With that last sentiment, he blew her a kiss, and Alex felt herself being pulled rather forcibly back into the present. She opened her eyes to find that she was lying on a bench near the picture she had touched, with John standing over her and Jack kneeling by her head. Heath was just coming back into the foyer with a large glass of cool water headed straight for her.
“Nice trip?” quipped John, grinning.
Alex began to sit up and had to take it slowly because the room wanted to tilt and spin on her.
“Easy does it,” cautioned Jack, looking very concerned.
“I’m fine. I just need a minute. So, John, who is Archimedes?” she asked, happy to see him finally at a loss for words.
Alex reached forward and thanked Heath for the water and took slow, small sips. She turned back to John waiting for his response, which seemed slow in coming. Finally, he cleared his voice and answered her.
“I take it you met the esteemed Greek when you left us just now?”
Now it was Alex’s turn to be amazed.
“You mean he was the real Archimedes?” she asked, astounded that this could be so.
“One and the same, Alexandria,” said a voice from a hallway straight across from her, heavily emphasizing her name. Archimedes walked into the foyer and gazed down lovingly at her. He extended a hand in Alex’s direction, and she rose to shake it.
Jackson backed up to let Alex pass but moved with her to greet this new person.
“I suppose others have used my name, but this is who I have always been. The name suits me, don’t you agree?” Archimedes asked her playfully.
“This is so surreal!” Alex exclaimed. “I just saw you, but it was hundreds of years ago for you. And you,” she gestured at his person, “I thought that Archimedes perished thousands of years ago, yet here you are.” Alex marveled at this amazing possibility.
“Oh, we’ve had to sometimes come and go throughout recorded history to keep humans from becoming too suspicious. Keep them off the trail, and all that. It’s so nice to meet you, Alexandria,” he said as he opened his arms to welcome her.
Alex stepped forward and was enveloped in Archimedes’ warm embrace. She felt so loved and supported, so cherished. Waves of contentment seemed to roll off of him. If she had harbored any doubts about coming there, they were quickly being dispatched.
“Close your eyes,” he leaned forward and whispered into her ear.
Alexandria did as he asked. She felt a slight breeze lift her hair and she saw herself walking with Archimedes along the lake outside in clothes reminiscent of the early 1500’s. They were discussing a new sailing vessel that he wanted to build and take across the Atlantic Ocean to see the ‘New World’ everyone was talking about. She was telling him about her earlier travels there that were never recorded, and about the native peoples he would encounter.
The scene changed on her, and she was in Rome with Archimedes a few hundred years after his supposed death, helping him add scrolls to a large library by transcribing texts from their memories. Again, the scene shifted, and they were with a group of orphans who were deathly ill with the plague in what she knew to be the south of France in 1349. They were methodically healing the children one at a time and ridding their little bodies of the contagion. The air hung thick and heavy with the smell of sickness and death. Still, the cries of those they had yet to heal were hard for her to hear.
Alex’s eyes were wide pools in her face as she pulled back and looked into Archimedes' eyes. “Oh my,” she breathed as her eyes welled up with unshed tears.
“Yes, my friend. You’ve done so much good; so much that there can never be enough written or told to convey all that you have beheld and accomplished. And I, for one, believe that there is more yet to come.”
“Perhaps,” Alex said, not willing to say anything more. She knew that if she followed the emotional pull of images such as those Archimedes had just shared, she would agree to embrace an immortal life without critiquing all aspects of her choice. Would that mean that she would be following her heart instead of her mind, she wondered.
Ganymede had said, “You only have to follow your heart and conscience, and that will be enough,” in her parents’ garden just the day before. Alex knew she would have to work hard to strike a balance. She was already overwhelmed, and she had not yet left the foyer.
“Thank you, Archimedes. I think that I’d like you to show me more soon. Maybe later tonight or tomorrow?”
“Of course.” He smiled, rocking back and forth on his heels just as he had in her vision.
The movement was now familiar, and it made Alex smile. Before she turned back to look at John or Jackson, she squinted her eyes up at Archimedes and really studied his countenance. She knew the line of his nose, the high rise of his cheeks which were tinged
pink, and the way his hair flowed off of his forehead.
She stepped a little closer and placed the palm of her right hand on his cheek and looked into his warm, brown eyes. Archimedes inhaled sharply, and his eyes grew wide at her touch. She definitely knew this man like she knew the back of her own hand.
Alex smiled and whispered, “Haley o’ thoway.”
Without summoning them, she began to see flashes of him in a myriad of different garments and settings. Time was flitting past her at an alarming pace, and still she held fast to his cheek, not wanting to look away. Suddenly, she saw Archimedes standing before her in the present, and they both took a deep breath in at the same time.
“Hello,” he breathed out.
Alex dropped her hand as she slowly smiled, pursing her lips. “Hello,” she answered. “I’ve known you for so very long, haven’t I?”
“Yes,” Archimedes replied, and Alex heard such conviction in his voice when he answered her. “And I am so glad you are here with us again, my dear, dear friend.” He squeezed her arms as he spoke. “Shall I take you to meet some of the others? Do you feel up to that?” Archimedes asked with no trace of coercion in his tone.
Alex knew it was completely up to her, but she was eager now. She wanted and needed to see more.
They turned, and Archimedes smiled broadly at John. John returned it in full. They seemed to have both taken a collective sigh of relief. This would be alright somehow. Neither knew for sure what the days ahead would bring, but the biggest hurdle of getting Alex there of her own accord had finally come to pass. The rest would come. They had all faith that it would.
Chapter 11
Immortal Reborn - Arianna's Choice Page 15
