In Two Minds

by K T Findlay

  Back in real time, she looked at the rear of Grimketil’s head and murmured softly to herself, ‘One day. One day soon…’

  The third of the mounted ladies glanced at her questioningly. She was a handsome woman, with short, light brown hair, blue green eyes set under strong yet feminine eyebrows, her expression strong and cocky.

  Wulfstan sensed there was something different about her, but it took him a while to spot what it was. Her horse moved as if she wasn’t on it, and she used no reins. In fact the horse had no reins at all, not even a bridle. It simply went where she wanted it to go. And there was something else unusual. Her dress showed off both arms to the shoulder, and she was powerfully muscled for a girl, especially her forearms. There was more to this one than met the eye.

  Well, he’d probably find out more tonight at dinner. Assuming of course he was well enough to attend. Then he remembered. He could attend whether his body was okay or not. He smiled. What with being able to fly anywhere he wanted, go anywhere, see anything, hear anything, maybe this loss of body thing wasn’t all bad after all.

  Back in said body, Thomas was feeling a lot better. He’d chewed a good few willow leaves instead of the bark, mixed with apples this time to soften the awful taste. His head was as clean as it was going to get, and bound up carefully in clean bandages. The Queen had tucked him into bed as Ravena watched, trying not to show her feelings. His head rested on the table cloth, and he drifted off to sleep, watched over by Hengist and his friend.

  Wulfstan floated happily above and around his new toys, and followed them into the town.

  4 Dinner and destiny

  Thomas slept.

  Wulfstan continued to follow the visiting entourage into the town and up to the Palace. He watched as they were greeted and everything sorted out. He watched the redhead and brunette brusquely ordered about their assigned tasks, including a couple of none too gentle clips around the side of the head from Grimketil. Both women rolled their heads slightly at just the right moment, converting solid whacks into glancing blows that only just disturbed their hair. Their faces remained impassive, no fear or subservience visible at all.

  Eventually though, Wulfstan’s keenness to explore the rest of his world took over, and he flew off to review his realm. By the time he finished his wanderings, it was getting close to dinner time. He floated back through the bedroom window, and went through to the kitchen, where he watched the cooks fussing and bossing, the spit boys sweating by the roaring fires as they slowly rotated the great lumps of mutton, beef and pork, the head cook chivvying and checking, and everyone else working hard in the heat and grease.

  Out of the corner of his eye he spotted Ravena walking past the kitchen door, heading for the bedroom wing. For the first time in hours he wondered about his body. In truth he wasn’t missing it at all. He was enjoying his new abilities, revelling in unimagined freedoms, and despite all those lovely cooking smells, he wasn’t remotely hungry. But he knew that Thomas would be, so he hurried out after her.

  He overtook her halfway down the corridor, and flicked into the room. Thomas was still sound asleep, his bandaged head quiet on the pillow. The washing and bandaging had been done well, and there was just the merest trace of blood showing on the outside.

  ‘Dinner time!!’ Wulfstan shouted, with schoolboy glee.

  Thomas woke with a start, just as Ravena entered the room.

  ‘I’m sorry Your Highness,’ she said, ‘I didn’t mean to wake you.’

  He yawned. ‘No problem. It must be about dinner time anyway.’

  She looked at him quizzically. ‘Shall I have some food brought in?’

  ‘Let’s go to dinner Thomas!’ pleaded Wulfstan. ‘There are guests and I think there might be some fun.’ Thomas could sense the boy’s grin.

  ‘I think I would rather get dressed and come to dinner with everyone else.’ he told Ravena.

  She clasped her hands in front of her, frowned a little, and said ‘I’ll go and get Her Majesty. She wanted to be told when you woke. She will make the decision.’ And without waiting for Thomas to try and counter her, she bowed, turned, and was gone.

  He laughed. ‘I think she’s still annoyed with me about the sheets and everything. What have you been up to while I’ve been asleep nursing your headache?’

  ‘I’ve been flying everywhere! Looking at everything, right through the town, and out and about in the countryside! You were right. It’s wonderful being outside the body. I feel I can do anything!’

  Thomas nodded. ‘Yep. I think if we can learn to get on with each other, we could have a lot of fun together. And we’ll also have to learn to live with these unscheduled body swaps until we find out if we can control that.’

  ‘I’m perfectly happy out here thanks. You can keep the body, and the sore head.’ grinned the boy.

  ‘Hm. You say that now, but you’re going to get bored just talking to me. So let’s leave it open for now. Why did you say dinner might be fun?’

  Wulfstan told him everything about Grimketil and the three women, finishing just as the Queen walked in with Ravena.

  ‘Ravena says you think you are ready to get up and have dinner with everyone?’ she asked.

  ‘Yes mother. I feel fine now, and very hungry.’

  ‘How badly does your head hurt?’

  Thomas grimaced a little. ‘It still hurts, but a lot less than it did this morning. My sleep seems to have done me a lot of good, and I don’t think I’m bleeding anymore.’ He raised his hand gently to his bandage.

  The Queen moved quickly to him and checked it herself. ‘Yes. The blood has not come through.’ She checked underneath him, turned to Ravena and smiled. ‘And no blood on the sheets or pillows either you’ll be pleased to know.’

  She got a slightly pinched smile and a nod in response.

  Thomas laughed lightly. ‘Thank you for looking after me Ravena. I know you were worried about mother’s linen.’

  The smile vanished, but he got another nod.

  Ravena spent the next half hour getting Thomas ready for dinner. His head bandage was changed for a fresh one which Thomas checked carefully for dirt. Grumpily Ravena explained that it had been boiled while he slept, and dried in the afternoon sun as she knew he’d “fuss”.

  She dressed him in woollen trousers, a linen undershirt, and a blue tunic gathered at the waist with a leather belt on which hung a knife. Leather shoes completed the ensemble.

  Grateful for the time to think, Thomas let her get on with it in silence. He was once again wondering why he wasn’t really, really scared.

  ‘I should be! Shouldn’t I? I mean, hauled out of my own body and time, now sharing someone else’s body in another world. Things don’t get much more scary than that, surely?’ he asked himself.

  Yet he didn’t feel at all frightened. Once more he told himself that he’d been on his way to heaven when he became welded to Wulfstan, so that was good. If he continued to be himself, when this body died, he’d be on his way there again.

  ‘And there’s no feeling more secure than that!’ he smiled to himself. Then he positively grinned. Well, if he was back in time, and a prince to boot, perhaps he could do a bit of good between now and the next ascent?

  Then again, maybe not? He knew about the theories of causality, of butterflies and hurricanes. He also knew there were theories of multiple parallel universes. But the point was, all of them were just that, theories, or more accurately speaking, hypotheses, as none of them had actually been tested out.

  In the end he decided he could only be himself, try to do no harm, and let the universe take care of itself the way it always had. And after all, isn’t that all anyone could ask of anyone else? It seemed to him that whenever people did something different to that, things invariably went horribly wrong.

  At last he was ready, and stood up ready to go to the hall. The Queen came in leading Hengist. ‘Your father has ordered that Hengist serves you at dinner so that everyone knows about his punishment and new status.’


  Suddenly, Wulfstan was back in the body and Thomas was kicked out into the fire. He skittered away instinctively, but was relieved to realise he hadn’t been burnt.

  The Queen raised her hand as Wulfstan’s face creased in anger, and strong words rushed towards his lips. ‘There’s no use fighting this one Wulfstan. He said that if you make a fuss he will reinstate the original sentence.’

  Wulfstan looked up at Hengist. ‘Hengist, I am so sorry. I want you to live so that one day you can be free again, but what is your own wish?’

  Hengist was still for a moment. ‘I have always served you Your Highness, as best I could. Today will be no different, because I have your love and respect. What others think is not my concern.’

  ‘Then you are a truly great man,’ said Wulfstan, ‘and truly a great friend. Please, take my hand and help me in to dinner. Ravena, thank you for your help and kindness this afternoon. Would it be possible for you to help Hengist tonight? There will be a lot that he won’t know how to do, and I want him to suffer as little embarrassment as possible.’

  Ravena looked at him with new respect. ‘Of course my Lord, if the Queen permits it.’

  The Queen looked thoughtful, smiled, and said ‘I do not think the King will recognise you Wulfstan. That knock on the head has thumped a bit of adult wisdom into you. Yes, you can have Ravena for the rest of the night.’

  She turned towards the serving girl so her face couldn’t be seen by the others and winked. ‘I think you’ll have your hands full!’

  When Wulfstan arrived in the hall, supported by Hengist, and followed by Ravena, everyone else was already seated. There was much laughter and back slapping going on, and beer horns already being quaffed, but the gaiety washed quickly away as the guests became aware of the new arrival.

  Wulfstan headed for his chair, third in from the extreme left of the royal table. Hengist managed it for him, while Ravena poured him a drink. To his left were his younger sisters Eadburgh and Ealfflaed, who greeted him with smiles. To his right was Jaenberht the Archbishop of Canterbury, then the Queen, the King himself, Wulfstan’s older brother Ecgfrith, and three thegns. Completing the royal family group was the baby Alfthrytha, being wet-nursed behind the Queen.

  Offa stared pointedly at Hengist.

  ‘Let all here know,’ he said to the whole room, ‘that Hengist has been stripped of all rank for trying to kill my son this morning. Prince Wulfstan has taken ownership of all of Hengist’s land and property, and Hengist is now his slave.’

  The room was completely silent. Most looked at Hengist with sympathy and affection. But not all. In the middle of the bench down the left side of the room was a tall, broad and well made man. He was grinning in delight.

  Wulfstan thought to Thomas. ‘That’s Grimketil, the cocky horseman I was telling you about.’

  ‘Well, well, well.’ said Grimketil. ‘How are the mighty fallen, Hengist? First, I steal your true love from under your nose, and now you’ve lost everything else! How delicious!’ As he threw back his head and laughed, his entourage followed his example, sending catcalls and hoots in Hengist’s direction.

  ‘Look at the brunette with the long hair next to him.’ said Wulfstan in a soft whisper, even though he knew nobody else could hear him. ‘That’s Wulfwynn. She used to be courting Hengist, until Grimketil kidnapped her and forced her to marry him. He doesn’t even like her, let alone love her, but he and Hengist have been rivals since they were children, and Grimketil did it just to spite him.’

  ‘Now, now Grimketil,’ said Offa with false rebuke, ‘it does not do to delight in the misfortune of others.’ Then he grinned broadly, ‘But given your history, I think an exception can be made!’

  At that, Grimketil and his entourage laughed, hooted again, and banged their fists and knives on the table in delight. Hengist maintained an expressionless and dignified silence throughout all this, but it was too much for Wulfstan. He jumped to his feet and glared at Grimketil.

  ‘Hengist may now be a slave, but he’s a better man than you are, and always will be! He’s never kidnapped an innocent person to force into marriage, just to spite another! He’s worth ten of you, you foul little man!’

  Once more the room plunged into an astonished silence, Grimketil’s face frozen in disbelief. Behind him, a beautiful, red haired, young woman burst out laughing. Grimketil threw himself to his feet in a rage, spun, and crashed his open hand into the side of her head. ‘Go and get me a fresh beer!!!’ he shouted.

  The suddenness of the blow caught her by surprise and she tumbled to the floor. The room was completely silent. Everyone there knew the blow had really been meant for Wulfstan, but to hit the King’s son? Well Hengist was a living warning about where that could lead you.

  The girl got slowly to her feet. She turned to face Grimketil, her face completely neutral as she ran her hands through her hair to straighten it. She gently stroked where his hand had fallen, nodded, and left the hall for the kitchen, past the available beer barrels.

  ‘Get after her Thomas!’ cried Wulfstan, ‘Make sure she’s alright.’

  ‘Right!’ said Thomas, already floating off in pursuit.

  Wulfstan glared at Grimketil, who scowling around him, sat down once more amidst his cronies. What a perfectly revolting man!

  The redhead walked purposefully to the kitchens. Thomas watched her ask where the strongest beer was kept, and then four fifths fill a new horn with it. As she walked back towards the hall, she ducked swiftly into a small storage area, looking around to check that nobody was watching, and squatted down, one hand in the straw of the floor. Thomas watched in astonishment. When she next walked down the corridor, the horn was full.

  ‘You’ll never guess what she’s done!’ he cried delightedly to Wulfstan.

  ‘What has she done?’

  Thomas whispered, amidst many giggles. Wulfstan grinned.

  ‘Grimketil!’ he called out.

  Grimketil broke off his conversation in surprise. ‘Yes Your Highness?’ he asked carefully.

  ‘No hard feelings? How about a toast to the future? Would you match me horn for horn?’

  Grimketil was perplexed, but accepted the beer horn the redhead was proffering him. ‘To the future!’ he called out, raised the horn, put it to his lips and drank it dry.

  Wulfstan smiled, Thomas roared with laughter, the redhead’s eyes flashed in grim satisfaction, and the King beamed his approval. Wulfstan raised his own small, child’s horn and drained it, eyes locked on Grimketil. ‘To the future indeed.’

  The redhead took Grimketil’s horn, and returned to the kitchen. When she came back, it was full once more and Thomas was almost unable to speak for laughing.

  Behind her came a string of servants bringing in the food, and the feast began in earnest.

  The King had a pigeon, the Queen some slices of beef, and the Archbishop was salivating over a whole roast goose, stuffed with a pigeon, that was in turn stuffed with quail.

  Grimketil took a huge chunk of roast leg of lamb, and put it on his trencher, a large piece of bread that acted as a plate to soak up the gravy and sauces. Thomas noted that everyone had trenchers except the royal table, which alone had wooden plates.

  Forks were completely absent. Everyone ate with their fingers, slicing things down to a manageable size with their own knives.

  Also absent was almost anything that looked like a vegetable. There were various soups available that did have vegetables in them, but most everything else was meat.

  Wulfstan took some roast pork and crackling. The pork was delicious, and Thomas was able to savour it too. There was something about meat roasted over flame that was so much tastier than meat cooked by electricity, and definitely better than anything that ever came out of a microwave!

  Then Wulfstan took a bite of crackling. This was a mistake. The flavour was exquisite, the fat under the crackling igniting his taste buds. It was just gorgeous, but the crack and crunch as his teeth plunged through it caused his head to ring
like a bell, and his face creased like an anguished prune.

  ‘How is your head?’ asked Eadburgh, her face genuinely concerned. ‘Mother thought you were going to die!’

  ‘Yes! We all thought that!’ cried Ealfflaed, her five old voice high and shrill.

  Wulfstan’s face relaxed as the pain lessened again. He put the remaining piece of crackling back down on his plate. ‘It’s true. It was a close run thing. Today I’ve been to places I never thought to be until I died, and yet I came back.’

  ‘What do you mean?’ Eadburgh asked.

  He told the girls the whole story, leaving out the fact that there were now two people living in his body. Their eyes were wide with disbelief by the end, and Ealfflaed’s mouth was hanging open.

  Archbishop Jaenberht had been listening from his other side. ‘Are you saying you almost got to heaven, then fell almost to hell, yet were saved and brought back here by an angel?’

  ‘I don’t know if it was an angel your grace, but yes, that’s pretty much right. It’s nice to be back!’ Wulfstan grinned.

  ‘But this would be a miracle!’ cried the Archbishop. Then added quietly, with a suspicious glance, ‘If it were true.’

  Wulfstan met his gaze. ‘Why would I lie about such a thing? I am a royal Prince. I have money, land, connections, influence, family. I lack for nothing.’

  ‘Would you be King some day?’ asked Jaenberht slyly.

  ‘Oh I see what you mean your grace.’ smiled Wulfstan mirthlessly. ‘You are suggesting that receiving a miracle might make me seem a better choice to succeed my father than my brother? Is that it?’

  A political animal, the directness of the question stunned the Archbishop. To his right, the King and Prince Ecgfrith were looking at him, their expressions giving away nothing.