

A Spell Cast

Volume Three

Finding Tristan is the only thing on Chloe's mind. She is willing to do anything, go anywhere. Mystery, time travel, magic and a life saved.

A Seven Spell Story

T Stokes

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ISBN 978-1-908210-91-3

Formerly published as a part of Spellbinding this is not a new story, rather the re-edit, write and revise of part three. Formatted for all new kindles and e-readers. Volumes one and two are now available.

The moral right of the author has been asserted

Copyright all rights reserved worldwide T Stokes 2013

This eBook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This eBook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. No part of this document may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without prior written permission of the author.

All characters and events in this publication, other than those clearly in the public domain, are fictitious and any resemblance to actual people living or dead is purely coincidental. Smashwords Edition, License Notes

This eBook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This eBook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you're reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return toSmashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

Covers, All rights reserved Worldwide Copyright T Stokes 2013

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A Spell Cast

Volume Three

"Yes, what else is there to do, and Oliver don't forget the background information, you and Tristan are immortal, how about believing that?"

Chapter One

Liz was prompt. She said we'd get to Oxford quite quickly because the real rush hour hadn't started yet, and sure enough, that was true. The next thing we knew we were on the bus to Heathrow. The driver fairly tore along, was obviously very practiced at the route and we were well ahead of check in time when we arrived at Heathrow.

We had some weird sultana bread rolls and fruit for breakfast on the plane. I managed a few bites, and it was really quite nice for airplane food. Sitting next to Oliver on the plane was weird because the last time I was flying it was to the UK where I had no friends. Now I felt I had quite a few, and this journey was to help find one I loved.

Oliver held my hand for a little while and we decided to get a taxi to the address we had for Rene as soon as we were out of the airport. We'd looked up the address on Google and it was quite close to the Musee des beau Arts, which I said I'd like to see if we had the chance.

The plane was landing before we knew it and in the airport, we got through the formalities quickly because I'd used my EU passport and not my American one. The whole family has both as my grandmother was born in England. I told you she was the one who introduced me to tea.

The taxi ride was madness. I thought we were about to be killed at least twice, not only that, but the taxi driver didn't really speak French or English. Oliver speaks reasonable French. I don't. I speak some Spanish because I learned it in school, but I don't speak it as fast as it needs to be spoken.

Chapter Two

We got to the address, and paid the taxi driver. I looked up at the high building that held the apartment where we expected to find Max. It wasn't a high rise because the building was quite old, but it must have had four levels at least. There might be an apartment in the roof too I thought, because real windows were jutting out with triangular roofs of their own. The door was a double door with handles and by the side of the brickwork was a panel of names and bells. We knew from Laura that it was apartment three so we rang that bell even though the name was unfamiliar. The small card read Angelique Godelle. A voice came from the grill next to the panel of names and bells. Whoever was speaking was male and spoke in French. Oliver replied and I heard the names Rene and Max as he spoke. It took another exchange between them, but then the door buzzed open.

"What did he say Oliver?" I asked as, we took the stairs. There was an elevator but it looked old and was sort of double caged, very uninviting.

"He said that Rene wasn't at home, but that he was his grandfather and had been expecting us. Make what you will of that," Oliver said with a questioning look. He took my hand as we approached the actual door of the apartment. The corridor was very nice, the carpet thick and a dark gray. Along the side of the corridor were two or three tables on which were plants in large colored planters. It seemed a very well cared for place. Oliver was about to knock on the pale blue door, when it opened.

An old man was standing there. He was tall, thin, and stooped. His hair was thinning, but it was remarkably still quite black with lots of silver streaks in it. His eyes were the same slightly almond shape as Max had and dark brown. He had a friendly look as he asked us in.

We followed him down another much smaller hall to a large drawing room with huge windows that opened onto a balcony. I could see outside at once and realized that we must be facing from the side of the apartment building.

He spoke to us in English, which was impeccable with only the very slightest accent of some kind. Firstly, he shook our hands and introduced himself. "Please call me Aristide," he said.

Oliver returned the introduction by saying, "Oliver and Chloe."

He asked if we would like tea or coffee, which we politely declined in order to get on with the job of asking questions. We'd been invited to sit and both Oliver and I sat together on a beautiful striped couch. Oliver took my hand again and the old man smiled a little.

He seemed to be gathering his thoughts, and then he said looking a little sad, "I have no doubt that you came to see Rene because of what he's done to your friend, Laura's cousin Tristan. Let me first tell you about Rene because he's not an evil boy. He's suffered greatly in the last two years, and in finding Laura he thought he'd found some happiness."

He took a breath and we waited for him to continue as he sort of wrung his hands a little before he put them back in his lap.

"Rene's parents died in a car crash eighteen months ago. He adored them both and was devastated for months. Then his twin sister became ill and to our horror was diagnosed with Leukemia." He stopped talking then and his voice had become a whisper.

Oliver and I looked at each other. This would have been hard to take I thought. Oliver sighed and put his other hand over the one of mine that he was already holding.

The old man looked up his eyes seemed liquid.

"We thought that with modern medicine she might be cured or at least have some remission, but it was not to be. She's dead too."

I gasped at this, because how horrible, three deaths in so short a space of time to your closest family no wonder Max was a bit mad.

Aristide looked aside for a moment then continued, "Yes she died only last week. Rene came to see her. She was not too well and went to bed early after his arrival that evening. She didn't get up. She had died quietly in the night. Rene was spectacularly distressed. He blames himself you see because he had failed to find a remedy for Scheherazade. He'd tried to find a healing blood that had been owed to our family for generations. I think you know about that Oliver." He looked directly into Oliver's eyes before he continued.

"I told Rene the blood could never have reached this far down the generations. We had translated the books left by our ancestors in an effort to become great like them over the last ten years. We can do many things, things you wouldn't dream of, but we could not save our beautiful girl. Rene was wild with grief and yet he went back to England. He was sure Laura would come with him back to France to the funeral of his twin sister, somehow he thought Laura loved him."

The old man stood up then and walked to the big windows, he stared out for so long Oliver looked at me and had almost begun to speak when the old man finally continued.

"She not only didn't love him, she threw her feelings for her cousin in his face, and she never once realized how grief stricken he was. I'm sad to say he put a most worrying and potent spell upon this cousin."

I couldn't help it I had to call out, "What, what spell?"

Oliver let go of my hand and put his arm around my shoulders. Old Aristide came and sat down in the chair opposite us again.

"It's the spell of sevens. I regret to say Rene cannot lift it. He must wait for seven years before he can cast that spell again."

I nearly choked out the word, "What?" I was almost on my feet. I don't know where I was going, but I felt blind panic at what the old man said.

Oliver pressed me down onto the couch and soothed me.

"Let's hear everything Aristide has to say, Chloe."

Aristide continued, "Please don't panic mademoiselle. I can perform the spell but I too will be bound by sevens. Your friend, his name is Tristan, he has been sent to another place, another dimension shall we say, of time and space."

Oliver sort of groaned. I glanced at him. He looked as if he didn't believe the old man. I did, and I asked softly, "How do we get him back?"

Aristide wanted to explain further.

"I'd like you to understand if you can how Rene could do such a thing. He has gone now with his sister's body to the Languedoc region where we have a family home. He will remain there now. He's a very sad young man now, devastated, inside himself. He blames himself for many things."

"Please," I began, "please tell us Rene's name. When he took Oliver and tried to get the healing blood owed to your family he called himself Max. He danced with me at a party." I took a breath and Aristide began talking in that space.

"His name is Rene Maximilian Spitama. He's from a very distinguished branch of Persian Magi. Very honorable, very ancient, only time and sadness has brought him to this end."

Aristide stood up again. He walked around the couch and went to the bookcase by the door to what must have been the kitchen. When he came back, he was holding of all things Tristan's blue T-shirt and a toothbrush.

I let out a muffled cry. "Oh my god those are Tristan's things."

Chapter Three

Oliver hugged me in a little to his body as his arm was still around my shoulders.

Aristide was carefully holding the things out to me. I took them and put them on my knees. I looked at Oliver. He raised his eyebrows and widened his eyes, and then in his familiar comforting way he half smiled and said, "What will you do?" to Aristide.

The old man continued then.

"I can send someone to bring Tristan back. That's the only way to get him back. I must do it before he has been gone for seven days. It must be a female who is sent for him, because part of Rene's spell was that only a woman can get him back. He said to me if she loves him that much she can go for him, but she will be too afraid and too selfish to do it. So he will remain there until I get him myself in seven years or seventy, depending upon how I feel. You know he meant Laura of course. Now that woman who goes for Tristan, she must be in the exact spot that Tristan was in when he was transferred to the other dimension. It will be frightening, but there is little chance he has moved from where he 'landed', shall we call it? The woman can take anything she can carry on her back to help in her quest, but it shouldn't be much. It may not go at all if it is too much. I can bring her and Tristan back, seven minutes, or seven hours after she has gone, or seven days, seven weeks, seven months, and then it would be seven years. Only at those times and standing in the exact spot they were transferred from can the two be brought back. The woman must know exactly when these times are. Do you think Laura will do it?" He finished talking and looked at us.

Oliver sort of snorted and I was on the edge of the couch seat unable to say anything. I felt scared and sick thinking 'poor Tristan.'

Oliver spoke first. "I seriously doubt it, not to mention I don't think she's up to it. She's just not the type mentally to be able to do it, but maybe her twin, Liz, could."

"What's with all the seven's anyhow?" I asked, still shocked that anyone had the power to do such a thing.

Aristide smiled a tiny smile at my style of speech I supposed and answered. "The Magi have many ways of making sure the spells are safe, or controlled somehow. A seven spell means that the Magus using it has desperately to want to use it because that's it then for seven years. All he can do is perform the merest magic. His power has diminished."

He opened his palms out to show us the power going.

I sighed. "Does that mean that you will be reduced too by doing the spell?"

"Ah, but no, I will not" he said, and gestured with his hands in a flamboyant way.

"I'm reversing it, doing good you see. The only way I'm bound by sevens is the condition set by Rene about the woman, and the times I can do the spell of return." He was looking kindly upon me.

"You are very fond of Tristan too I see that. You love Oliver, but have a place in your heart for Tristan. Friendships should be like that. I only wish Rene had found that with you all instead of this tragedy."

"Laura was completely wrong for him knowing what we know now, and I almost totally forgive him for what he did to me now too," Oliver said, and sighed, "Almost."

Then he asked, "Will you need to come with us to the place Tristan disappeared?"

"I will and that's why I have remained behind and not gone home to Languedoc," Aristide informed us.

"Well we have to ask Liz if she'll go for Tristan. When will you come over to the house?"

"I have to come soon. It has to be within seven days of Tristan's transference you remember. We've missed seven minutes or hours. I'll come the day after tomorrow and that's when I'll cast the spell. Tell me now where to come to. Write it down. I'll make tea."

He went into another room, presumably the kitchen.

I still had Tristan's things on my knees. I looked at Oliver.

"I can't believe this, well I can, but it's fairly incredible to say the least."

"Fairly incredible," Oliver repeated. "I think that's an understatement."

We wrote the address of the Dearing estate down and both our phone numbers as well as Liz's number.

The old man brought tea. I'd gone to look out of the big balcony windows at Lille, the old town. I put Tristan's T-shirt and toothbrush back on the bookcase.

We seemed to settle into some sort of peaceful silence drinking tea.

I asked Aristide about where he would stay in England. We decided to ask Liz if he could stay at the Dearing house because let's face it this was to save Tristan. It would be a good place to be since it was handy to the waterfall. We arranged to telephone him and meet him. He said he would have someone with him, an old family friend and that she would drive him to the estate, and there was no need to worry about anything. He had travelled extensively.

Almost on cue, someone came through the apartment door. They had a key and let themselves in. It was an older woman, not quite as old as Aristide appeared to be. Her hair still a dark brown, she was very attractive with gray blue eyes that had some kind of darker rim around the iris. It made her look very exotic. She came down to the area where we were sitting and said, "Bonjour," before going into what I now knew was the kitchen and depositing what must have been shopping in there. She had rested the bags on the back of the couch as she said hello.

Aristide waited until she came out then introduced her as Angelique. Of course, the name on the door, this must be her place he's staying at,' I thought. "Angelique will come with me to help with recovering Tristan," the old man said.

Oliver gave her the notes we had made about the address and phone numbers. The old man's paper was a duck egg blue with a gray marl effect and it was headed with a heraldic sort of sign, besides his name. The heraldic sign seemed very close to a crescent moon incorporated within another crescent moon. Other symbols were on it too, which looked like they might be ancient cuneiform or something.

Angelique was staring at me. She looked towards Aristide and said, "She has the heart."

Oliver looked strange, sort of scared, he said, "What does that mean?" to Aristide.

The old man looked thoughtfully at me saying, "We'll see."

Oliver shook his head at this, and I went back to him from my place at the window.

I took his hand as I sat down, but Oliver was clearly over the visit and stood, pulling me up and saying we should get going to see Liz.

Aristide nodded and said he would await our call. He gave us his phone number on a card. I put it in the pocket of my shirt next to my heart.

Chapter Four

Outside Oliver and I stood on the pavement for a few minutes.

Oliver seemed incredibly rattled. "Jesus Christ, what the hell, another dimension, do you believe it all?"

I shook my head as if I was going to say no, but replied, "Yes, what else is there to do, and Oliver don't forget the background information, you and Tristan are immortal, how about believing that?"

It was past lunchtime. Being with the old wizard had taken up a lot of time.

We decided to find something to eat. A row of shops close by had a patisserie and we went in. In the back were tables where coffee could be served. We found a table and I was reminded of the time with Tristan when we deliberately ran into Max and Laura in town.

Oliver ordered when a young woman came to the table. She was very tall and skinny wearing jeans and a top that showed off her flat stomach. She was friendly and smiled at us both as if she knew us.

I hadn't felt hungry, but in the end when the roast beef and salad roll was in front of me, I ate about a half of it, before I felt I couldn't eat any more.

We didn't say much for a while then Oliver, his face sort of set in an expression of thoughtfulness and worry said, "I think we should find a quiet place and phone Liz, don't you?"

I looked at him, inwardly sighing.

"I guess we should, but it's just such a long and complex thing to say on the phone don't you think?"

He smiled just slightly. "It is. You look tired Chloe, do you want to go and catch a movie until it's time for the plane home?"

Oliver was just such a cool guy. He was looking at me with such an expression of caring on his lovely face.

"Oliver, I know I said I'd like to visit the 'Musee des Beau Arts', but I wish we could just go home early, see Liz, and plan what's going to happen."

Oliver took my hands across the table.

"Maybe we can get an earlier plane, let's check." Then he let go of my hands and flipped his phone open calling the number on our tickets, which I'd got out of my pocket. It just so happened we could go at three-thirty if we arrived to transfer our tickets within the next thirty minutes.

Oliver smiled when he told me, "Your wish is my command Chloe," he joked, and for the first time since we landed, I felt okay.

The flight back was half-empty, so no wonder we could get on it. I put my head on Oliver's shoulder as we took off, and amazingly, we were landing when I woke up. Oliver got our jackets out of the overhead locker and we were once more in Heathrow.

At the bus station area, we got the next bus to Gloucester Green, arriving in Oxford to brilliant late afternoon sunshine.

We went around to the market square and got a drink in the café there. Sitting outside I phoned Liz. I told her we had come back already and were in Oxford. I told her about Aristide and then that we had arranged for him to come over tomorrow. I explained that the next bit of news needed to be said in person and we could get the bus over to my place since we were so early and would ring her when we were back.

Once we were off the phone I felt dispirited and I said to Oliver, "I want to have done with this journey I'll get us a taxi."

Oliver frowned. "Surely that would cost quite a lot, Chloe."

I shrugged I didn't care. I walked over to the ATM, got cash out and then we looked for a taxi along the side of the market square.

Chapter Five

At home, the team of archaeologists and historians were in fine form. They regaled us excitedly as we got in the front door. The passageway had been walked and led to a small flight of steps, which ascended somewhere into the kitchen, but was bricked up just as the passageway itself had been at the big drawing room end. Not only that they said excitedly, it led on into the garden and was bricked up there too where it would ascend into something they hadn't yet identified.

I looked at Oliver and he looked at me. We had the same expression and if we had spoken we would have said, "What next?"

Then I smiled at them saying how cool that was, and what would happen about the sealed doors, would they open them up. It was cool and just a pity we were so overwhelmed with trying to find Tristan that we couldn't really appreciate it.

Oliver was boiling the electric kettle and making coffee. Mom came down the hall, and it seemed as if we had never been to France at all.

'The team' was waiting for the next safety checks before they would go on and accepted Oliver's offer of coffee and mom's offer of cake.

Mom asked weren't we back early, and we said we were just a touch as it had been throwing down where we were and miserable to be a tourist, we could go again some other time.

She accepted this and I didn't even feel horrible about the lie because it was impossible to tell the truth.

When she had left us and we had gone up to my room, I told Oliver that after all this was finished with I was never telling another lie ever. He nodded at me, "I know how you feel," he said.

We were going to meet Liz here as soon as she could make it. I'd texted her from the kitchen.

Oliver and I sat on my bed leaning on the headboard with our legs stretched out on the bed. It was easy to sit there talking. I told him how great it was to have met him and how much he meant to me. He kissed me and said he felt the same. We were sitting there hand in hand. Oliver had started to tell me about how he woke up each morning and wondered if he should test out if he was still able to heal spontaneously, but never doing it.

My cell rang and I answered seeing it was Liz. She was in a state, Jack had been taken to hospital with a heart attack, she was going there, Will was going with her, and they were leaving the restaurant now.

I asked how she knew. Jonathon had rung her. He and Jack had been going through the accounts when Jack had just keeled over.

I said we would come down to the hospital asking was it the one in town on the turning, after the local village. It was.

Oliver was astounded. "For heaven's sake, what next, let's hope he recovers, he's not that old."

We went to tell mom we were going to help Liz out as Jack had been taken to hospital. Mom was concerned about it all and said, "Chloe ring me to say how Jack is and ask Liz if there is anything I can do. That poor family what with Tristan drowning and now this they must be distraught."

I took a jacket. Oliver and I left in my Wrangler leaving his Land Rover parked next to mom's car.

Chapter Six

I knew where I was going because I'd passed this place a few times.

Oliver commented, "Not to put too fine a point on it, but how could Liz go after Tristan now? It might have to be that idiot Laura after all." I didn't answer, but I had to smile at his quaint phrase.

At the hospital, we went down to the intensive care wards where it seemed Jack had been taken. Liz was in the waiting area there pacing up and down. Will was watching her. A doctor came through some swing doors, and walked up to Liz. He obviously had good news because she started smiling and shook his hand, and then as he went off somewhere, she said to us all. "He's going to be okay, it's quite minor, he needs to rest for a few days and have tests and a change of lifestyle, but the crisis is over." She sat down on a chair then, and Will went to her, and put his arms around her as she burst into tears.

We all sat down near her and waited until she stopped crying and saying sorry. Will held her close, and we all said almost at every 'sorry' not to be sorry crying was normal.

When she was okay, I asked her where Laura was. She didn't know. Laura had gone off with an old school friend that morning to shop in London. Her voicemail was on. Oliver and I looked at each other.

Will had left work to be with Liz and she was insistent that he go back as everything was going to be okay and she would feel better if he did. Jack was going to be sleeping the rest of the night and she would come in the morning to see him. She went with a nurse to say goodnight to him.

We all waited and then went out into the evening sun.

Oliver suggested that we all just go to the restaurant. We could eat there, relax a little, and Will could go back to work and at the same time keep his eye on Liz. We all thought this a great idea. Liz phoned Jonathon to tell him how things had gone. He was too old to be dashing to hospitals she said, and the housekeeper McPherson was with him. Jonathon was fine too. She laughed when she got off the phone to him saying he was always reminding them of his mortality, but she was sure he was going on forever.

As soon as she had said it, she looked at me as if she had forgotten about Tristan and suddenly remembered.

Will and Liz got in the gray car. Will drove off as Oliver and I got into my Wrangler.

I drove along for a few minutes then said to Oliver, "Laura will not go for Tristan. I really think she isn't up to it anyway, just as you said. Oliver, it will have to be me, we can hardly expect Liz to go now."

Oliver sighed. He moved as close to me as the seats and transmission lever would let him and put his forehead on my shoulder.

"I know, I knew it, I knew it when that woman Angelique said you had the heart. It very nearly broke mine because I'm afraid of losing you."

He sat up then and looked straight ahead. When we reached a red light I looked at him, and he looked back at me sadly,

"It'll be okay Oliver I can do it," I said.

When I'd parked in the restaurant car park Oliver came immediately around to me. He almost picked me up in his hug. Then he kissed me and held my head to his.

"I'm going to ask Aristide if he can send us both. I just can't let you go on your own. It's too much to ask."

I kissed him and said, "Okay, now let's go and tell Liz the rest of the story."

Sitting at an outside table having ordered, we told Liz the rest of the story. Dad had come running out to see how Liz was and how Jack was, but now we were trying to talk about Tristan. Liz was understandably amazed and downcast at the situation.

"I can't go after him," she said before I'd offered to go myself. "I need to be here, what with dad and grandfather, and all the business of the fire. I just can't do it, but I don't think Laura could do it. We are stuck," she said, shaking her head.

I put my hands across the table to her.

"No you're not. I'll go, I can do it, and Oliver wants to go too. We need to ask Aristide tomorrow when he comes over."

Liz was shocked. "You are sure Chloe? It could be dangerous. It will be, and a little part of me is thinking Tristan has had such a long life would he want any of us to risk what we have to go after him?"

"Liz, Tristan means a lot to me. I have to go. I couldn't live with myself if I didn't. I'm sure that I can do it, and I'm sure that you have so much happening that you can't. It'll be okay."

I tried to be as convincing as I could.

We talked then about Aristide staying at the Dearing house. Liz said there was heaps of space and that she would introduce him as Rene's grandfather, which he was, but say we had invited him long before Laura and Rene broke up and so the invitation had stood.

She sighed and then said, "The biggest issue right now is when will he do the spell on you and Oliver, Chloe? What will you both tell your family, because what if it took longer than the first period of seven hours and you were gone for seven days?"

I'd pushed my food around the plate again and she hadn't touched hers. I stared at it on my plate and an idea just clicked into place.

"Well he'll do the spell the day after tomorrow, so tomorrow morning I'll announce to mom that I got an email accepting me into a week of art summer school in the same place Laura has just got back from. That I didn't say I'd applied before just in case I didn't get in, but now I'm expected right away 'isn't that great?'"

"Oh my god, you're mastering the art of lying Chloe." Oliver sounded at once upset and relieved I'd thought of something.

I took his hand. "Oliver, I just got through saying once this was all over lies were never coming from my mouth again. I'll be relieved to stop, but right now, it's all we can do. The truth can't be told."

Oliver leaned towards me, kissed me, and then he nodded in agreement.

Will was serving a couple on the next but one table. He came over and kissed Liz quickly. She seemed to light up when he was near her, he whispered, "I love you" to her as he left and I smiled at him.

Liz suddenly said, "Oliver, what will you tell your parents because they may be especially worried if you suddenly go off. You know after the kidnapping and so on."

Oliver swallowed the food he was eating, before he replied.

"I thought of that right now. I can say I'm going down to Devon to help the company I worked with before, that they are having problems, it may take a week, or so. It's remarkably hard to think up lies, I find." Then he laughed and nudged me as if to say but I didn't.

We all smiled a little but I'd thought of something else.

"You know just thinking about it I want it all to work and I don't think my parents will like me going to another country so instead of saying France I was thinking just as Oliver said he was. I know there is an Art holiday estate in Cornwall. Maybe I'll say they are running a special course and I'm going to that before I apply to an Art College here. That it will give me an edge. There is so much to think about, for instance we need to let them text us at least and it's not going to happen in another dimension. Sorry to ask Liz since you do have your hands full, but could we leave our phones with you. Then you text them how we are okay, and then if they ring let it go to message, and then text a bit later saying how great it all is, sorry to have missed the call will ring tomorrow and so on."

Liz looked a little sad. "I'm certain that it's the least I can do for you, of course I will. I still wish you would reconsider going. Maybe Aristide can think of another way to get Tristan back."

"I don't think so Liz, he was pretty categorical when we went to see him wasn't he Chloe?" Oliver said.

I smiled and nodded. I was sure it would be okay, and I said that again.

When Oliver and I left the restaurant, Liz stayed on to say goodbye to Will. We had arranged for her to phone as soon as Aristide and Angelique turned up the next day.

It had been a long day and we both were feeling drained. In readiness for whatever tomorrow was going to bring we decided to get some sleep. When I'd driven us to my house, Oliver left in his Land Rover. We kissed goodbye and hung onto each other for a couple of minutes.

I thought I'd have trouble sleeping but after spending too long in the shower, chilling out in the water, I got in my bed and the next thing I knew it was morning.

Chapter Seven

Today would be my last day in this dimension I told myself over breakfast, and then I burst out laughing because it sounded ridiculous.

I heard mom in the hall and as soon as she was in the kitchen, I told her the lie about the Art course and Cornwall. She frowned a little and I said, "Mom it's only a week. It's only Cornwall."

She said, "Chloe you keep in touch I want to hear from you every day. I wish you had talked this over with dad and me when you applied, but okay, if it's for your future career."

I hadn't expected it to be so easy and I wasn't telling dad anything. I suspected he wouldn't let me go, and then there would be trouble.

Liz rang at nine.

"They're here. Will you and Oliver drive over as soon as you can to sort it all out?"

I suspected someone was around so that meant she didn't want to talk openly to me.

I rang Oliver and he told me he was just about to drive to my place.

When Oliver arrived, the first thing I asked was if the Devon lie had been accepted and he said it had, how about my fabrication. We laughed at this, but then both looked at each other with a sort of grimace, as this was not a good way to be.

Driving over to the big Dearing house we were both silent and after parking in the huge area outside we walked down to the door and rang the bell. Oliver took my hand and I held on to his. Suddenly I'd felt a little afraid.

We met in the morning room. There was tea, coffee, and muffins, and it all seemed normal except that we were talking about sending me to another dimension. Aristide was sure it could only be done this way, and to Oliver's horror, it could only be a woman who went. Laura was not in evidence and I asked Liz where she was. Thankfully, she was at the hospital with Jack. This was at least a decent action on her part.

Oliver asked Aristide if there was any other way so many times, that I had to stop him.

Aristide assured Oliver that he knew what he was doing.

"If you want your friend back this is the only way. It's disappointing I know for you. I can see you love Chloe, but this is the only way."

Aristide needed something I'd recently worn and my current toothbrush. I asked him why, and he said, "DNA Chloe," and smiled at me.

I kind of trusted the old guy. I had no other choice in reality, but somehow I felt he would do the job very well. I was very confident of his skills and hoped I'd never be on the wrong side of them. We arranged to meet at the pool and waterfall the next day at ten in the morning and I'd bring my stuff.

Angelique came with me to the door when Oliver and I were leaving.

"I know you can do this. You may even be the only one who can, Chloe. I feel I know you, maybe in another life, cherie."

She smiled and patted my arm, and then she turned to Oliver.

"Aristide is an excellent Magus, you must not fear, she will be back."

Then she saw us through the front door as if she was 'the lady' of the massive house and waved to us as we drove away.

"Oh my god I can't believe this. I don't want you to go. I really don't want you to go." Oliver was so upset. The short drive to my house was agony because he was so upset. As soon as we were there we went up to my room, and I hugged him close.

"Please try not to be so upset. I think I'll become afraid if you continue to be so upset. Tell me what you are thinking."

Oliver held on to me and leaned back on my desk. He hugged me and then answered.

"I'm worried that something will happen to you. We don't know what this place is you're being sent to. The whole thing is outrageous. It's such a worry."

He put his head down on my shoulder and I thought for a moment he was crying but he lifted his head dry-eyed even though with an expression of deep sadness, and kissed me saying he loved me.

He watched me find my backpack and put things in it for the next day.

I figured I better play safe with not too much, but one or two things, flashlight, and matches in a plastic bag, some of that hand sanitizing gel and a toothbrush out of my multi- pack with a few squeezes of toothpaste in some cling wrap in another plastic bag. My old felt high-school hat that I still used sometimes, some gloves, and a change of underwear. Tomorrow I'd add a few breakfast bars and some water. I thought it was basics and lightweight. The water might tip that balance.

I said to Oliver that he could have my cell phone instead of me giving it to Liz and do the texting for me, that I'd feel better if he did that now.

I had two silver rings and I put these in the pocket of my leather jacket and zipped it up. It was no good taking money, but these might trade if the place was in any way like here.

I decided I'd wear my jeans and boots with my leather jacket since I had no idea what I was going to, it could be any temperature. Oliver said wear your warmest sweater over your shirt, you just don't know what is there. I had to agree and suddenly felt a little afraid. We went for a walk in the sun up to the edge of the woods and turning back skirted the house and walked through the fields to get to the abbey ruins.

"Let's see what's happening at the shop and museum," I said to Oliver. I just wanted to keep my mind off the spell. Hand in hand, we walked there to find the place a hive of activity. There was a firm of shop fitters doing work in the shop and in the museum area were some of the glazers from Ben's dad's place. They were carefully cleaning the soot and blackness from the stained glass windows that had been slightly damaged.

Both Oliver and I stood and looked at the window with Tristan looking out at us for a few minutes without a word. I put my arm around Oliver, and hugged him to me. He hugged me back, and we walked out into the very warm afternoon sun.

"Chloe, will you promise me not to stay any longer than the seven hour, first time limit, please?" Oliver asked as we walked slowly with our arms around each other back toward the path for the restaurant rather than my house.

I stopped walking and looked at him shaking my head. "Oliver, I can't because what if something happened that was out of my control and the first time limit passed and I didn't come back? You would think I'd broken my promise. I love you. I'll not stay longer than necessary. Why would I?"

He seemed to accept this and then as we reached the road to cross and go through the hedges of the restaurant car park, he took his phone out of his pocket, stepped away from me a few paces, and took some photographs of me.

I was laughing and he said, "We should have had a stained glass window made of you, not Tristan and me."

"Is that why you took my picture Oliver?" I asked and he smiled, kissed me, and said, "Maybe it was."

We approached the restaurant from the car park and came around to the patio tables and chairs to find them full of people. The sun had brought the crowds and there was nowhere to sit except on the little wall facing the lake.

It was strange but Oliver and I sat exactly as we had done that night after I'd helped at the wedding, leaning against each other and holding hands.

Peter noticed us and asked if we wanted anything so we had orange juice. It came on crushed ice with a lemon slice and was really quite nice.

It was a strange sort of day, there was an atmosphere that was dreamlike, and I felt torn between wanting to go after Tristan and staying with Oliver.

As always when you don't really want time to go quickly it did. Oliver left around seven. He was sad and stressed as he left.

Chapter Eight

I was up in my room having checked everything. I'd put some breakfast bars and four mid-sized bottles of water in my backpack. It seemed heavy and not wanting to lose any of the stuff because it was too much, I took out one of the bottles of water. I just wanted to be prepared. What if I didn't get back within seven hours?

I put the things I was going to wear in a pile on my desk next to the backpack. I was ready except for one thing. How was I going to know it was five o'clock here and be at the waterfall to come back on the first seven-hour return spell? I had no watch. I always used my phone for the time. I rang Oliver to check if he had one, he didn't, but what he did have was a tiny digital alarm clock. He said it was ideal and could get zipped into my leather jacket pocket.

About an hour later, he arrived with the clock.

"I was coming back anyway," he said kissing me, and handing me the clock.

I noticed his Land Rover was not parked in the drive. "Where's your car?" I asked kissing him again.

"Parked up the road. I don't want to leave you tonight and I thought maybe I better not advertise my presence with my car in your drive."

I looked at him amused.

"Mom and dad know you were with me half the night on other occasions. Mom always says she trusts me to be doing the right thing when it comes to boys, and I will be too."

Oliver grinned. It was the first time I'd seen him be his old happy self for a couple of days, and it was great to see.

We put a movie on my computer and I turned the screen so that we would see it as we sat on my bed. It was hard to watch the movie. I just found my mind wandering back to the next day again and again.

At almost ten o'clock, my cell phone rang. It was Liz and she put Aristide on the line.

"Chloe, I wanted to assure you, I've talked with Rene, and he's sent messages. Firstly, he's sorry for the amount of unpleasantness he put Oliver through and said he would never have let him die. He was about to return to free Oliver when you, his friends, arrived to free him. He also says don't worry. Tell Oliver not to worry about you and the transference, you will be back in the seven hours because he has only sent Tristan to a place of nothing, no danger, think of it as a fog."

"Aristide, will this change anything? Do I still need to be at the waterfall to transfer?" I asked him.

Oliver at this point wanted my phone to speak to the old man, but I turned away so that he couldn't take the phone. Instead, he put his arms around me.

Aristide assured me nothing would need to change and I'd still need to be in the place Tristan disappeared for the spell to work. We would meet tomorrow fifteen minutes before the ten o'clock transfer.

When I told Oliver about the apology from Rene, he looked at me in disbelief, and then he shrugged.

"Okay maybe, but what's this bullshit about the place Tristan is? I mean really a place of nothing, a fog? What the hell, in that case, he can send me after you if you're not back within seven days. A new spell can be cast not this stuff about sevens. I feel worse than ever now. I feel ill with anxiety about you being sent into...into a void."

Oliver's face was a picture of concentration, disbelief, and determination.

I had no choice but to kiss him and we ended up wrapped in each other's arms for a few minutes.

Then Oliver sat up. "Seriously Chloe, if you're not back in seven days I'm coming in after you. If these guys are the fantastic Magi they say they are, then they should be able to cook something up together."

We fell asleep sometime around midnight. At about four in the morning Oliver left me saying he would be back about eight. It had been nice just to sleep curled up with him, comfort for what was ahead.

I was showered and ready by eight and sitting in the kitchen. Mom looking hard at me and frowning said, "Chloe you look over dressed. It's only Cornwall not Iceland. I've seen the weather forecast and it's going to be hot."

"Mom its okay I have lighter clothes in my backpack and Cornwall can get cold. The arts place is near the sea."

She wanted the address and telephone number and I said I'd left it on my desk in my room. It felt horrible saying this, and I looked down at the table. She kissed my cheek as the doorbell rang and I told her Oliver was driving me to the station.

I let Oliver in and he said hello to mom. She went back to work. "Chloe, ring me when you get there."

I told her I would as I looked meaningfully at Oliver, and he grimaced. I called after her, "I'm not leaving for an hour or so anyway."

Oliver smiled. "In that case you might want to take your jacket and sweater off and come outside with me because it's a lovely morning, hot already. I wish we were going to the sea actually. You and I, and I had never heard of Tristan Dearing," he said suddenly sad.

We did go out on the patio for a while, but all too soon, I went down to mom's study and said I was off then, chirpily as if everything was normal, and then we left for the waterfall. Oliver drove us to the abbey car park and we walked back from there. I gave him my cell phone and he put it in his pocket.

Hugging me close, he told me he loved me, and I said I loved him too much to linger in the ether.

Chapter Nine

When the actual time came for me to put my foot in the water of the pool where Tristan had disappeared, Oliver asked me again not to go. I told him I loved him. I put my foot onto the thick reeds where Tristan had disappeared and watched the toe of my boot get a little wet. Suddenly the ground seemed to waver just for a split second. It must be nerves I thought and I closed my eyes.

It felt like nothing had happened. I opened my eyes. I was still there at the pool. I yanked my foot back before it could sink through the reeds.

I turned around expecting to see everyone, but there was no one. I found it hard to breath for a few seconds. I think that was fear.

Taking a few steps back from the pool, I realized the place was different. The waterfall had another smaller waterfall beside it springing from some rocks. There was an ornamental gate where the usual old steps were and I could see the steps leading up. They were in better condition than last time I saw them. A massive holly tree was in full berry.

I turned full circle. The bank so lush with ferns and trees was no longer. It was a bank, but it was green grass and the slope was less, and it had just a few trees on it. The slope divided and led around to a wall, which had a sort of gatehouse thing in it, and a big old door. You could see beyond the wall if you walked up the bank a little, which I was doing. There were squat buildings over the wall and as I reached the rise of the bank, I could see straight across. I'd obviously been looking at the very outer wall of a castle.

The castle was now fully visible high up on a mound maybe a couple of miles away. There were people in the field areas in front dressed in long clothes and hats, and a sort of copse of trees as well as other small buildings. It was extremely cold and I realized the ground was hard with frost. I felt a bit sick.

This was not another dimension, this was another time, and this had to be back in time. I was still on the massive Dearing estates at a time when the castle was whole. Somewhere beyond it was the abbey before it was wrecked in the dissolution.

I looked around suddenly fearful of someone seeing me. Could Tristan be here? He must be because Aristide had promised I'd be transferred to where Tristan was. There was another wood behind me a few hundred yards away. I decided to run there to get warm and to hide. If Tristan was here then he was in his own world. He would know what to do and not be in danger. I should find him and get the hell back to the waterfall by five o'clock so we could go home back to our time, my time.

I'd reached the woods and I walked into them. It was even colder in there and I walked quickly not wanting to lose the little body heat I'd generated. I took my backpack off as I walked and got my hat and gloves out. I pushed my hair up into the hat. If someone came across me, I should be a boy. I'd seen enough adventure movies to know this I smiled to myself.

Thank heavens I'd worn what I had and Oliver, dear, sweet Oliver had said wear my warmest sweater. I wished he were with me. I felt very alone, but not so afraid now. I was transferred, the spell had worked, and it was all nearly over. All I had to do was find Tristan. I put my backpack on. It helped to keep me warm, and I had to have my hands free.

I walked to the end of the woods, and to my surprise, I came out just a short distance from what looked like the house I lived in. It was bigger. There seemed to be another part at the rear, and I realized that must be where the secret room with the wall painting was. It was almost a tower at this time, 'that must have been demolished and the room hidden sometime in the future' I thought. I started down the grass area to the house. The house had been the hunting lodge I remembered Tristan telling me. Maybe he was there now himself. For him this would be a likely place to be safe. It felt so bizarre walking down to the house I called home. It was comforting to be going there, but I knew deep down I should be careful. What if Tristan was not there, but some nobleman visiting the place?

I wished I had an idea of the year because maybe Tristan was at home in the castle and I'd come here for nothing. It occurred to me then that maybe he wouldn't know who I was. Maybe he'd arrived here, and it was as if he had never been away, what if he didn't know he had lived on? For that matter, what if he was not yet immortal? He would have no idea who I was. I was beginning to think I shouldn't have come here at all, but then how were any of us to know he'd gone back in time, this was supposed to be another dimension.

I crept up to a window and looked in. It was the middle drawing room, without its French doors, but still recognizable in shape and size, and the fireplace was in the same place. The fireplace was empty. I thought no one could be there. It was very cold, and they would have a fire if anyone was at home.

The place was fascinating, surprisingly reasonable. You could live in this I thought. Then I laughed at myself, what had I expected? The Dearings were at the height of their wealth and this was then, not when the place had been around for nearly a thousand years. They probably lived in luxury compared with the poor of the day.

I walked around to the front door. It was so strange. There was a big area out the front just as in my own time. I could almost visualize mom's Cherokee and my Wrangler parked there. This was so weird. Suddenly I heard a noise. It was horse hooves. I looked around. I had nowhere to hide except to shrink into the wide porch of the front door.

I looked out super carefully through a tiny wood knothole when I heard the hooves stop and the horse whinny.

I hoped it was Tristan but it wasn't, it was an older man. He just looked at the house and he took the horse around it before he rode off. He was in flowing cloaks and fur lined clothes, and the horse was very tall. I only looked out properly when he had gone off for a distance. I couldn't afford to let him see me. I crept out and around the building where I'd seen there were a few trees and bushes. I had no idea where to start looking for Tristan and I went to a fallen tree and sat down sighing. The sun had come out and the frost that was on the hard ground sparkled. I took out one of my bottles of water and had a drink. Making sure the top was on tight I put it back in my backpack. It was no good hanging around here I thought, and getting up I walked to the woods again.

I'd walked about halfway in when I heard someone, someone humming. Their footsteps were crunching on the leaves and twigs. I looked around for somewhere to hide. There were a few large fallen tree branches to my left and I crouched down behind them. The footsteps stopped and the humming stopped. I waited there thinking 'oh my god what's going on, how long will they stand still and why?' Then they came towards me.

Chapter Ten

"Okay, you hiding in the branches there get up, show yourself. I'm too wise to be robbed if that's what you are about." Firstly, the words were in some sort of French I knew that, but I didn't know what the words were. Then the speaker said them again in English. The words were said a little differently from how I was used to hearing them, but nevertheless that's what he said. I felt the voice was familiar and as I stood up I saw to my great relief it was Tristan.

"Tristan," I rushed, "Tristan, you don't know me, but I'm a friend I came to find you. I came from a long way off to find you."

Tristan looked at me with a strange look on his face, then he burst out laughing, he stopped when he saw me just standing there stunned.

"What do you mean I don't know you? I know you, I love you, Chloe, it's like heaven to see you," and he picked me up in a hug and swung me around. When my feet were back on the ground, he kissed me. Then he stepped away, but holding my hand, he said, "How did you get here? I thought I was going to have to live the next eight hundred years before I saw you again." He laughed at this wit.

I was so happy to see him, I just flung myself at him again and hugged him, and then with my arms around him, I told him about Aristide, about the spell and about how we had to get back to the waterfall to go home at five o'clock. He looked at me with a strange look on his face almost as if he was making a decision and when he spoke, it was obvious he had been.

"This is the waterfall at work Chloe. I was supposed to go to another dimension, but I came back in time instead because I was standing in the pool. You know, I've been wondering what to do, but now I know. I'm already here. I mean there is the Tristan that belongs in this time. He has just gone to Cornwall with Uncle Tristan, and my father has left for the Holy Land. The stained glass window has been made. I've been hiding out and listening to the talk amongst the people. It's been grim I can tell you. I forgot just how harsh life is in this time. I stole into the castle because I know it well and got some of my clothes. I got food too, but only by pretending I was this time's Tristan. I can't do that again they all know he's gone to Cornwall." He sat on the fallen tree with me and I held his hand.

He looked up at the treetops and the sun that was coming through and sighed.

"I can't go back at five o'clock with you."

"What, why not, and I can't go without you by the way, that's the spell."

It wasn't but I needed to get him home, he couldn't be here, not if there was this time's Tristan already. I looked at him. He was in his knight outfit that the waterfall showed him in. It had obviously stayed upon him as he transferred. He had extra stuff though, fur lined robe things and gloves. He looked great.

He sighed. "Then I have to ask you to wait for the next seven time slot, seven days. I want to find Richard and put things right. I'm certain that's why I'm here."

"No, no it's not, you were sent here by Rene. If you hadn't been standing in the pool by the waterfall you would be in the nothing he described. It's not fate, it's the magic in the waterfall, and it's only there because of you in the first place. Don't you get it Tristan? The fact that the you in this timeline has been saved already means it's just the old magic."

He was shaking his head.

"Even if I agree with that, I want to save Richard, my brother, Chloe, my brother. His death has saddened me for years. When I realized I could have saved him after I helped Oliver I couldn't stop the regrets. I thought about it nearly every day." He put his arm around my shoulders and suddenly he laughed.

"Do you know how I knew you were behind the tree branches when I found you hiding just now? Your bright blue backpack was sticking up. You forgot that was on your back when you crouched down. Fortunately it was me who saw you and not one of the nobles visiting the castle, especially one of my uncles who I know is snooping about on his horse."

I gasped. "Oh, I've seen him he was just at the small castle you know the hunting lodge where I live."

"Thank heavens he didn't see you, look at you, it would be witchcraft. The backpack for sure would be."

He smiled at me the, old Tristan that I loved. It melted my resolve.

"Okay, let's save Richard and then get home. What's the plan?"

Tristan pulled me up.

"We'll need a horse or horses. You need a couple of robes to put over your clothes. I need another sword and a bow. We need some food and wine."

"Tristan, where are we going to get all these things?" I asked him.

"We already have most of them in the hunting lodge. It's the horses that will be the problem. I was just telling you the plan."

I smiled at him and said to go on then.

"We'll go to the Tarrant estate and find where Richard is, I'll warn him not to go to the Inn where that Magus gives him the plague and that will be it. Well except that I want to give Eleanor the letter from my father so that she can retrieve the money for her and Richard."

"Tristan, have you considered that this may change the future in ways that we could not know nor imagine?" I felt as if I was saying a line straight out of the movie 'Back to the Future', but it had to be said. It was true too.

We were at the hunting lodge and Tristan got out his keys and let us in. I looked at him with a frown, "How did the keys change to fit these old locks?" I asked him incredulously.

"They didn't. I stole these keys from my father's rooms in the castle." Then he laughed saying, "I've so missed you Chloe," and added, "Although I do have my keys from your time and unbelievably I have my cell phone and some chewing gum. They came with me in my pockets. Despite the waterfall shows me as the Tristan from eleven-ninety, when I found myself here and in my eleven-ninety clothes, those items had somehow come with me. Only the chewing gum has been of any use." He laughed again and I had to say I thought he had tasted of peppermint when he kissed me, but hadn't realized this was out of the ordinary, because you don't just immediately adjust to being in eleven-ninety, where chewing gum doesn't yet exist.

He took me down to what would have been the big drawing room in my timeline and showed me what was the tower on the outside, and it had already been walled up in here.

"Tristan, they found the passageway whilst you've been gone. It goes under the house and has an opening into the kitchen, and then goes on to somewhere else. They think into the garden. Have you looked from the kitchen end, are the stairs there and a passage to this room?"

Tristan shook his head. "The stairs are there and the same little alcove place at the bottom, but the passageway to this room is sealed at what I think must be the bottom of the stairs behind that door. He nodded at the door I'd already noticed. The passageway out to the garden is already walled up. I get the feeling this walling up has been done at least five years ago, maybe more. You can walk along a tunnel down there from the kitchen end, but it goes to the walled up part at the end. Who knows what went on there? The picture of Eleanor is somewhere behind the wall. There are a few wall hangings still in place as if the passageway is actually used. I didn't hang about really in case Uncle William showed up."

I shivered. It was cold in there. Tristan saw me and went to a bundle of things on a big chest in one corner of the room. He brought me a fur lined cloak thing with sleeves and I put it on over my existing leather jacket.

He hugged me then and holding my face kissed me saying, "You can't imagine how much I've missed you, it's been horrible."

"I can imagine because I was sick with worry about you," I told him.

We hugged each other for a few seconds. The robe made a huge difference and I felt warmer quickly.

"Tristan we should get on with the journey because the Tarrant estate must be a long way off without my Wrangler." I felt an urgent need to do the job and get home.

"Chloe, I know. Are you any warmer? Hey, I'm sorry I can't light a fire. It will attract attention. We'll go into one of the guest rooms for the night because it's no good trying to go to the Tarrant place today. We'll try to go first thing in the morning. I want to get things ready for the journey and one of the main things we need to do is retrieve the letter hidden in the font from my father for Eleanor."

"Really, that's going to be hard isn't it? Is it in the abbey or the church?"

Tristan was piling the things on the big chest up into different stacks as he answered.

"In the church, and it could be hard, but then again we may get away with it easily if we go when the monks are up in the abbey refectory for their meal. They only go down to the church twice a day. The abbey is the main place for them and my family. The church is more for the people. Chloe did you bring any food in that backpack?"

He had a small stack of cloaks, a small stack of what could be food in linen wraps, and two skin type but empty wine or water carriers.

I got the backpack from my back where I was still wearing it.

"Only four breakfast bars and two muesli bars, oh and I have three bottles of water."

"Not much then. It's just that the water we need to drink will have to be from the holy spring here. I know where that's come from, and its not soiled by anyone. I've got roasted meats and some fruit. We'll not have much, but it will be enough if we have good horses. Hey I guess you didn't bring matches?" he asked.

"I did," I beamed at him.

He smiled broadly. "That will make things easier and quicker once we are on the journey, excellent Chloe."

We left the big drawing room and went down to what was the library. It didn't have shelves or books, instead it had rolled scroll things on a big desk with a chair in front of it. There was a big cupboard thing more like a box attached to the wall. Tristan opened the door and checked what seemed to be his cache of weapons. He got out a short sword and held it for me to see. "This is my sword, left behind when I went to Cornwall, so it's not with a manuscript and an empty flask for my blood yet. Strange don't you think?"

I nodded thinking that we might get some answers to all the loose ends about Tristan's story by being here. It would be interesting at least being here in this time.

"This might be scary but we do need to go get that letter from the font," Tristan said looking at me intently. I just nodded, 'whatever had to be done' I thought.

He looked at me for a moment then said, "Chloe, I'd like to hide you here in this house, but my Uncle William is on the prowl around the estate. I think that must have been him you saw. If he comes in here, it will be the worst thing if he found you. I have to keep you with me. I can protect you when I have you near."

He put his short sword on his back in the belt he was wearing. The longer and broader sword he already wore was in a special sheath thing.

"Where did you find your favorite sword, the one your father gave you?" I asked and walking to the stack of armaments, I saw another long, wide sword. I leaned in and tried to pick it up.

It was so big I couldn't balance it. The tip fell forward and clunked on the floor, and Tristan smiled ruefully at me saying, "That's not needed Chloe, and I got my sword from my rooms in the castle. Don't speak to anyone. If we come across anyone let me do the talking."

I followed him to the kitchen area. It was quite unpleasant, dark, and dingy but still the shape was vaguely the same, and yes, there was the dresser thing Tristan had talked of. The walls were whitewashed, but there was only one window high up in the wall, which accounted for the dark atmosphere. He just looked around and when I asked if he was looking for something he said he had left some candles in there and wanted to put them by the door for when we got back as it would be pitch black. He picked up a couple of candles in holders and left them by the door as we went out. I asked, "Should I leave my backpack?" not really wanting to.

"No keep it on under the robe. I know it kind of bulges slightly, but that doesn't matter."

The robe was very long and went over my backpack with no loss of length to speak of. There was a bit of a bump where it was, but to anyone's eyes, that could just have been another hooded garment under it. I thought it was passable.

Chapter Eleven

We were outside and set off for the church. It was back the way we had come. We would have to enter the castle grounds and go to the left and around.

Tristan suddenly said, "The church is in a small wooded area."

I talked to Tristan about the castle.

"I didn't see a moat, Tristan. I've always had the romantic notion of a castle having a moat."

"Oh yes, there is one. The castle you can see is very high up. At the bottom of the hill it sits on, is a moat you can't see, it's because the ground dips down. There's a ditch and bank too outside it. The grounds all around are only defended by the outer wall, but this area is relatively secure. It's more than a hundred years since we had to worry about the Saxons fighting back. The area of wood that has the church within it has a great hall by the side of it, which is Norman, and that's what was being excavated by James in your timeline. That area has always been Holy. It has a Roman temple and sacred springs with a shrine to Egeria. The temple is ruined, but the spring runs into a man-made pond area before going who knows where else and people leave things even now to the goddess."

I grabbed his arm as we walked, getting him to slow down a bit, because he still strode along so quickly.

He looked around at me. "Oh sorry Chloe," he said, slowing down.

We had reached the wall where the big door was. I expected Tristan to have to knock or something. He just turned the handle of one side and opened it. I gasped and he turned around and smiled.

"The monks insist on it not being locked. You can only get to the church and the shrine, and some of the people's houses, but they do have a guard at night. If there is any sign of danger from along the beacon line, the people retreat inside the castle walls."

We were in the woods and in sight of a small clearing where the church was also visible, when we heard the sound of horse hooves. I looked at Tristan and he took my arm. We went into the nearest tangle of bushes and tree branches. The horses passed quite close and I heard Tristan breathing close to my ear as he crouched over me. I could see their legs about three yards away as they galloped past. After they had been gone for a few minutes, Tristan pulled me up and said, "That was my uncle William and two of his sons. I wonder why they are in this part of the estate."

We walked on quickly to the church and went inside. It was lovely. The place was colorful and full of paintings, and tapestries. The candlesticks were gold, and there was a goblet on an embroidered cloth along a heavy looking table in front of a big cross. Then I saw the font, and to my surprise, it was colored. The creatures and flowers carved upon it were all painted in bright colors. I gasped and was waving a hand towards it when Tristan said, "Yes that's it, the font."

"But look at it. How lovely it is. It's colored."

Tristan looked at me and smiled. "Yes, they were, its only time that has them looking the way they do now in churches and in archaeological digs."

He grinned at me again and approached the font. He pressed hard on the Griffin, and it moved inwards. Tristan took out the roll of parchment in its leather cylinder. He took the point of his sword and levered the Griffin back into place, using the outward tip of one of its wings to fit the piece of stone back in seamlessly.

He smiled again. "Here we go, Chloe, the letter," and he pushed it inside his doublet thing under the leather studded outer part.

"I know this is new for you, but we can't hang around, someone may come at any time," he said to me as I was wandering around looking at the lovely colorful icons.

I nodded looking around and seeing the relic box that had been found, I wanted to look inside it, but instead I followed Tristan out of the church.

We set off the way we had come and exited the gate door in the outer wall. I asked Tristan if the place that was being excavated in my time was that church and he said no it was the big hall building close by. I looked back and coming out of the gate we were only a few steps from, was a woman and child. The woman was carrying a bundle of sticks and the child a sort of bucket. I clutched at Tristan and whispered that someone was behind us. He whispered back, "Don't turn just keep walking." We did and as we continued to the hunting lodge, the woman and child went off in another direction.

It was very cold and our breath came out in clouds of white as we breathed and talked. It was almost dark even though I guessed it to be only about four in the afternoon if that. I unzipped a pocket of my leather jacket and took out the digital clock Oliver had given me. Somehow, I was surprised it was still there. The anomalies of this whole scenario were unfathomable. Tristan saw me and looked around.

"Chloe, don't do things like that out in the open, that device could get you killed."

I'd glanced at the time it was sixteen hundred hours.

"Sorry Tristan I didn't think," and I smiled to myself at his use of the word 'device.'

"Okay, hide it now," he said in a gentle voice, and he took my hand and kissed it before I put my glove on. Then holding my hand, he hurried us through the rest of the walk to the hunting lodge. As we approached, he was listening and looking around intently. We got inside the door and it was very dark in there. I almost got out my torch but then Tristan, after standing very still for a moment or so said, "I think we're safe and unseen, let's have those matches." I gave them to him and he lit a couple of candles.

"Tristan, how did you light them over the last couple of days," I asked him referring to the candles.

"Pyrite stone, and what a pain that is once you lose the knack, but I actually stole a rush light from a nearby villager's place and successfully got it here. Sadly, last night I let the candle I had burn out, and I was considering going without light until I had a plan. I do still have the firestone in my supplies though." He laughed a little. He took me up to the second floor where we entered a large room. It had a wooden floor. Fabric tapestries and other hangings were all along the walls. There was one carpet by a bed. The bed was a four-poster made of metal, which could have been gold as it was that color. The coverings and hangings around it were red, blue, and gold. There were chairs by the walls that were painted red and blue, and a lighter blue. The arched window high up in the stone wall actually had a curtain. The fireplace was large and carved. I just stood there looking around in awe as the candle flickered. High on the walls were pictures on cloth, which formed a frieze around the walls. There were chests around, and they were all in lovely blues and reds. There was a table by the fireplace and surprisingly a game was set up on it that looked like backgammon. Tristan was looking at my face and then he grinned.

"You thought maybe we lived in squalor didn't you, but no we were rich, this is not even as good as the family rooms in the castle. I can see you like it."

"I do Tristan it's so colorful and comfortable. I wish we could light the fire."

Tristan asked if I was hungry and I said I was maybe a little. He went to a door in the far wall and opened it. He took out a wooden box, and brought it to the table. In it, he had some funny little apples and a piece of bread that didn't look very appetizing.

"That's the door to the stairs it's freezing in there so the food is kept quite fresh," he said. He unrolled a linen wrap with some pieces of roasted meat in there. I didn't want to offend him, so I ate a little of an apple.

"If you don't mind I might have some of a muesli bar I've brought with me."

He laughed at that. "I don't blame you really."

He ate an apple and a piece of the bread and meat quite happily. Maybe his immortality protected him from food poisoning I thought. I drank some of my water and offered Tristan a bottle. He drank a little.

We were sitting there by candlelight in a medieval castle house. It was unbelievable except I knew it was happening. I realized the time must have passed for the seven-hour deadline and looked at the digital clock Oliver had given me. It had passed, and I sighed, Oliver would be at the waterfall waiting. It would be light and sunny and warm, the water sparkling. I wouldn't appear. Tristan noticed my mood and putting his arms around me, he asked if I was okay.

"Do you regret coming here for me?"

"No Tristan I don't regret it, but I suddenly felt sad."

He kissed my cheek and hugged me. "I felt sad too for the first day. It's only natural to miss the world you've come from. We will go home, the first day of the seven has almost gone, only six left now."

"Tristan, if that's the door to the stairs that go down to the kitchen this must be my room," I'd suddenly realized what he'd said when he got the food.

"No it's not, because your room is on a third floor. These stairs go down to the library. I'd forgotten about these stairs they don't exist in your time. They went around Elizabethan times. If I recall correctly, just trying to remember that set of renovations."

He frowned a little, then shrugged, and smiled. He had lit a few other candles that were secured on spikes set in a wooden X shape on one of the chests. The place was quite cozy apart from the fact that we had to wear our fur-lined robes to stay warm.

Chapter Twelve

We started to plan the next day and Tristan said he wanted to go out early and get some horses. I asked him how.

"I'm going to the castle to my own stables. I'll take one of my own horses, maybe two."

I sighed then. "This has to be a difficult task," I said. He nodded and told me what his plan was.

Before dawn he would go to the castle, pretend he was this time's Tristan having come back from Cornwall to see his Uncle William. He would say he wanted to see his horses and then he would simply saddle one and if possible another, and then ride off. The stable boys wouldn't question an owner of the castle.

I was worried and said so.

"Chloe, it has to be done, remember I can heal if they injure me."

I shuddered. The whole thing was worrying.

"Maybe I should come too."

"No way, I want you to hide here this time, despite my worries about it, you will be safer here."

We decided to try to sleep and I washed my hands in the pewter bowl of water Tristan had on a bench in an anteroom. I cleaned my teeth with the tiniest bit of toothpaste because I wanted to make it last.

"I should have brought a toothbrush for you, Tristan," I told him.

He just shrugged. "I have gum. I've been rationing that."

I put a little of the toothpaste on his little finger and he gave his teeth a rub then rinsed with water. "That will have to do. They don't get cavities now anyway," he said and he grinned.

"That's great. I'd love that." I smiled at him thinking how great never to have to go to the dentist again.

The bed was remarkably comfortable and with the coverlet things over us, it was reasonably warm too. Tristan put his arm around me and we just lay there looking at the flicker of the candles that Tristan had left burning.

"Thank you for coming after me, Chloe. I can't believe you have, it's great, but I do wish now that I'd got you home at five o'clock. Sorry. Do you forgive me?"

"I do if that's what you want, but I don't feel I need to forgive you. I do understand. I hope that by saving Richard we don't do any huge harm. I understand you wanting to do it, especially when you know your father named him to the Magus and not you."

Tristan had put his father's letter on the table by the game, but he hadn't read it. When I'd asked about that, he'd said 'well we know what it says already.'

"I miss seeing the sky through my window at the new house," he suddenly said.

I turned my face to him and he kissed me.

We must have fallen asleep for a couple of hours because I woke up to hear some kind of scratching around. Tristan was not next to me and the candles were out. It was very dark. I whispered his name.

"It's okay. I'm going to light the candles again. I have more in the chest," Tristan said.

The candlelight was back and I could see Tristan standing there with his fur lined outer robe on. He looked serious.

"I'm going now. I know the way. Don't go anywhere. There is no reason to think anyone will come here. I'll be back before you know it. Maybe you should try to sleep a little more."

How that was going to happen I didn't know, but I smiled a little, and nodded saying, "Okay, Tristan, take care."

He left and I did stay in the bed as it was very cold and I missed his warmth almost immediately. I wished I could go with him, but I knew it was stupid.

I lay there for about an hour, just thinking things over and then I had to try and find what would pass as the bathroom in the place. I got up and wandered through to the anteroom where the water pitcher and bowl was. At the far end was a stone bench with a wooden lid. I went to it and lifted the lid. There were two holes almost side by side in the stone top. The holes seemed to go straight down to the bottom of the building in a sheer drop. Wryly, I decided this had to be the facility I'd been looking for.

It wasn't pleasant because of the height I was sitting over. I was very glad I'd brought my hand sanitizing gel and was overjoyed when I found I had Kleenex in my backpack zipper pocket.

You realize that in movies and books no one ever uses the facilities. I mean we all know you have to.

I was back trying to get warm again in the covers of the bed and with one of the long fur robe things that Tristan had given me on over my clothes. I was hoping that we would get going to Somerset as soon as possible because my edgy feeling was back.

Chapter Thirteen

The big arched window was just letting some light in when Tristan came back. I hadn't left the rooms and was starting to doze again. I sat up directly he came in the room. He smiled. "I almost thought I'd get back here and find I'd dreamed you. Thank heavens you are here and safe. I got the horses. It was a piece of cake."

I laughed at this expression because coming from Tristan it was very funny.

"Everyone was asleep. They were bundled up against the cold, and I gave the one boy who was awake a wooden spoon from downstairs and an apple. I just walked the horses out and then rode back. They're downstairs in the back stables next to where the icehouse is. I want us to get everything together and ride out when it's warmed up a bit out there."

With that, Tristan took off his gloves and boots, and came into the covers where we snuggled up for about half an hour. Tristan was cold. His face was freezing. We talked about the journey.

"How will we know which way to go?" I asked.

Tristan knew the way to Cornwall by heading west and then down the country.

"We just head west and find people to tell us. It'll be okay. There are places I know and remember."

When there was sun streaking through the curtains of the arched window we got up and packed up. Tristan gathered everything he wanted and loaded the horses. They were still safely hidden in the stables and I asked what the icehouse was. Tristan showed me a strange little stone bunker with packed snow and ice in there, literally packed with straw and it was freezing in there.

"The ice is used to keep things fresh usually. Sometimes the ice will last almost all year," he told me.

We were back in the big bedroom, and just making sure we had some rolled coverlets and things to keep warm on the journey, when we heard shouting. Tristan looked at the open door and walked silently to it. He looked out, and then to my horror, he went out onto the landing. I stood waiting to find out what was going on and then Tristan crept into the room and silently closed the door. He came to me, "Uncle William is in the house," he said.

He gathered our things and we went to the door that led to the staircase, the one that led down to the library. We were going to go down it having closed the door to the bedroom when it became obvious Uncle William was coming up it. Tristan turned to me and rolled his eyes. It was a serious thing, and yet Tristan seemed unfazed.

We stood there waiting, the footsteps stopped, and there was some scraping sound and a sound as if stone had been dropped on stone. I thought my breathing would give us away, but we could hear William talking to either someone or himself. He talked for a couple of minutes it seemed to me, in what I thought was French. I caught and understood the words Mon Dieu and his grunt or snort, and then he seemed to be descending the stairs again. We stayed there at the top of the stairs waiting. I leaned against Tristan and he kissed my forehead, "Let's check what's going on," he whispered.

We crept back into the bedroom and Tristan went to the door, he looked out then stepped out. I just stood there waiting to find out what he thought. He came back into the room.

"He seems to have gone. Let's go too," Tristan said softly.

We went down the stairs. Tristan stopped at the kitchen and went in.

"Tristan, what did your uncle say when he stopped on the secret stairs, and why are we in here?" I asked watching him go to the fireplace.

"He was reading a letter from my father. He knows about the magic and that my father wants forgiveness. That must have been the letter, which Uncle Tristan was supposed to get. It was hidden in the stair walls obviously. He was cursing and vowed to destroy the letter. He said 'my god' a few times."

Tristan poked around in the fireplace. There was old ash in there that he stirred up and lots of torn up bits of paper that were not burned.

Tristan bent and looked closely at them.

"It's here. He's torn it up very well. It's not readable, but please may I have a match Chloe."

As I dragged my backpack off and fished them out for him he said, "Well we have accounted now for two letters." I realized he must have been trying to piece together the history we'd found in my time.

He took the matches and put the little pieces into a big black pot on the floor of the fireplace, and then he lit them. I packed the matches into my backpack. I got my robes back on over it. Tristan watched the pieces burn. It didn't take long, and he crushed the ashes too with some sort of fireplace implement that was leaning on the wall.

"So William knew and didn't tell Uncle Tristan. That must have been some hidey-hole only the brothers knew about on the stairs there. Makes you wonder what the safe place is that the lady Eleanor is supposed to find. All this intrigue and I knew nothing about it," Tristan smiled at me and shrugged. "Oh well let's go," he said.

We walked, looking around us, just in case anyone came back to the stables and mounted the horses. Tristan helped me up onto mine, which was a golden brown color and a smaller horse than his was. His horse was black and very elegant. He led us both out of the stables and then onto the field. We came out of the larger castle grounds and crossed a bridge that was over a ditch. We must have been heading west as the sun was behind us. The ground was frosty, but the sun sparkled on it. In places the frost had melted, and the ground was slightly muddy. Tristan and I rode side by side. We passed no one and must have ridden for about half an hour when he stopped his horse and turned in the saddle to face me.

"How are you feeling Chloe, it can take a while to get used to riding?"

I had relaxed into the saddle and we only walked the horse so I felt fine and told Tristan this.

He said that we might need to go a little faster for a while and that I must tell him if I was not okay. I asked the name of my horse as he suddenly called his Matin and he told me it was Meadow.

It was relatively easy to ride at a trot, but I guessed we were still going more slowly than if Tristan had been alone and I had to adjust the way I sat to be comfortable, but it was okay.

Tristan seemed to know where we were heading and we reached a sort of town. The sun was high by this time. It was still cold, and even as bright as the sun was, there was no warmth in it. Tristan had me stay with the horses as if I was his servant whilst he went into the smithy. He came out and then went into a cottage nearby. The whole set of buildings were made of timber and thatch as well as some white washed walls. I guessed this was not the sort of paint we use now. Some of it was coming off one of the buildings and there seemed to be straw or something amongst it.

One or two people who were very poorly dressed and dirty looked at me as they passed, but no one spoke. When Tristan came back, he took Matin's reins from me and mounting the horse, led us out of the village to the left of it. When we were a fair distance off, he told me he'd been checking the directions and distances.

"They told me of a joust in a nearby place. We'll check there for Richard before going on."

We stopped about an hour later and had a little to eat. I walked around because I felt quite stiff and sore from riding.

Tristan smiled at me saying, "You will get used to it Chloe, and we will need to pick up the pace too. I'd like to get to an inn before nightfall because it will be freezing in the night. We should reach Memsbury by nightfall, and I've discovered we have accidentally come the right way to continue down to the Tarrant estates. Or we could just get to the edge of Mercia, there's a village there before we enter Wessex, where we should be able to find some lodging."

"How long should the journey take to the Tarrant estates?" I asked, crunching on a piece of muesli bar.

"Well walking our horses, maybe two days. If we could trot occasionally that would help. I'm hoping that Richard will be at the joust in the Fitzwilliam castle estates. There's a winter fair and they will have some sword fighting and jousting. The journey there and back might take four days, but then we have used a day and so we will have two days only as leeway before the next deadline to be at the waterfall."

I was slightly worried by this. I didn't want to be here for seven months. What would that do to my parents for a start let alone how awful it might actually get. I sighed and put the rest of my muesli bar back in my backpack.

Tristan was still eating wizened apples and a little meat. He finally ditched the meat in the hedgerow and smiled saying, "I think that's had its day, but the apples are good, are you sure you don't want any?"

I smiled and said, "Not yet maybe in three days' time."

"It will be okay, and really we're lucky no one is around. The nobles are staying warm in their estates. I thought we might have a couple of robbers on our tracks after that last village but I think even they are staying out of the cold." Tristan grinned as he said this.

"Do you think it will snow Tristan?" I asked, as the sky was uniformly gray and heavy looking.

"I think it's going to throw down with rain, but I'm hoping we can find some shelter before it does. So let's go."

Tristan helped me back onto Meadow who had been nibbling at some grass by a stick like tree. He mounted Matin and we walked them off the grassier area onto the dirt track that was a sort of road between the two villages.

The rain had started falling in a fine mist when we reached a group of wooden buildings. They were semi derelict and I expected that no one lived there, but I was wrong. When Tristan banged on the door a woman carrying a small child on her hip came to answer. She talked with Tristan for a moment and he came to the horses and took a robe that had been rolled up giving it to the woman. She handed him what looked like a small loaf of bread and pointed at one of the buildings. She shut the door as Tristan came back to me.

"We can stay the night in the stable. They have no horses now. She had baked, and we have fresh bread. Let's get in there before it pours down." He led my horse and his own to the stable building.

Inside was relatively dark so I got out my torch. We put some hay together for the horses and then piled some to sit on. The place was surprisingly free of animal smells and the hay was dry. The horses were happy and Tristan had unsaddled them. We sat there on the piled hay on top of one of the robes Tristan had brought rolled on the back of his saddle.

Tristan made a place where he could light one of the candles we'd brought with us. We didn't want to use up my torch battery.

He said, "Let's not start a fire," and cleared the hard soil floor all around the candle, which he'd stuck in some of its own melted wax.

Although it was only four in the afternoon, it was dark. The stable was tidy.

"Why aren't there any horses and why would the woman trust us with where the hay is stored, because surely, it's a precious crop in this time, Tristan?"

Tristan had been looking around the stable and secured a door at the side with a long piece of knotty wood, almost a small tree trunk really.

Then as he went to the door we had come through and closed it up with the wooden latch piece, he turned to me to answer my question.

"Her husband is dead. She's waiting for her brother and his family to come from the north to live with her here. They're waiting for the permission of the lord of the manor to come here. It seems to me that she doesn't know much about living on the land. I feel sorry for her, that's why I was so generous with my trade for bread and this place to stay. There's no horse. It died with the husband in some horrible accident. Who knows how she will survive if the brother doesn't get here soon. I'd rather not think about it."

I didn't ask any more and sat on the hay, which was generating quite a bit of warmth under the robe. Tristan sat next to me and put his arm around me. We were silent for a while leaning against each other.

Then Tristan asked, "How are you feeling? We should eat something and get some sleep so that we can start out as soon as the first light of day is visible."

"I'm okay, Tristan." I told him

He still wouldn't eat any of the food I had brought with me, saying he would be fine with what he could find here in this time, and that it would be water we needed to worry about finding soon. He drank a little wine from the flask he'd brought carried on the saddle of his horse, but I knew he didn't like it and I didn't want it. We were being careful with the water I had brought and although he had also brought some of the holy spring water, I still would have liked to boil it before I drank it. Maybe at the Tarrant estate we could boil some. I didn't like not cleaning my teeth, but this was no place to be trying and as I had a drink of water, I tried to rinse my teeth with it. I had started already feeling scruffy, but there was no help for it.

I told Tristan and he said, "Well at the Tarrant estate a bath could probably be arranged," and then he grinned and added, "but you are nowhere near dirty yet in comparison with some of the poor devils here."

We didn't sleep too much. I kept waking up and every time I did, Tristan did too. Surprisingly I didn't feel tired when it was time to move on. I expected it to hit me later in the day.

Tristan saddled the horse and we packed up making sure that we had all our meager possessions. He looked out of the door before we rode out. I thought it was to check the weather, but later he told me it was to check if anyone was around.

Chapter Fourteen

We reached Memsbury, and I was surprised to find we were not going through it, but around it, riding alongside a wide, fast running river for much of the way. I looked to the right of us. The hilltop was steep-sided with a flat top where the town was built up with walls. Memsbury was a walled town with gates, which were clearly visible. I asked Tristan why we couldn't just ride through it and he told me the gates were to regulate the comings and goings of the people in the busy market town.

"It's been an important place for centuries. We're going around it so as not to attract attention."

We went on and the horses had a break by the river where there was still some vegetation for them to eat. Tristan had stuffed a sack thing with hay and carried it on the saddle at the back of my horse. Just in case, he'd said. The misty day cleared enabling us to see quite a distance when we reached a high ridge of land.

I could see in the valley between this ridge and another ridge, was another wide river. There was a small castle and I asked Tristan if he knew what that was.

"It's actually a hunting lodge. We're going to follow this ridge of land until we reach the bigger and main castle in the area. The hunting lodge belongs to the nobles there."

We reached the castle quite quickly. It was visible from a distance, high up, and dominating the surrounding area, you could see the moat, the bridge, the curtain wall and beyond that, the keep on a higher hill with a further wall around it. This place was big, bigger than the Dearing castle and there were lots of people, tents, and small fenced enclosures in the outer bailey. The whole thing was visible from we were, even the jousting area was visible, and it looked as if one was in full swing. The place was very busy.

As we approached through a thin strip of hill path, its steep sides making me catch my breath the castle became less visible. We descended into a valley to cross a river at a small bridge, then began a steep walk up the hill again towards the outer wall of the outer bailey.

Once there at the outer gate the keep was visible rising above, and I realized it was on yet another hill within the next castle wall. Talk about skyscraper. The top rooms of this castle were high in the sky.

Tristan spoke to the people on the gates. I heard him call himself several aristocratic titles and then we were going through the gate to the bailey.

Once inside Tristan turned to me and said, "Please stay as silent as possible. You are just my servant and will not be expected to speak unless I speak to you. Your backpack has made you into a hunchback cripple in their eyes. Please don't be offended they will leave you alone because they attribute strangeness to being hunched, as you seem to be. I'm simply looking for Richard, and we'll stock up on fruit or something and leave because the Tarrant estate is not far from here."

I was left with the horses near a Smith whose work looked very difficult and even dangerous as he hammered red-hot metal into shapes. Tristan had asked him to check the horse's shoes and I stood holding the reins of the horses with my head down. I don't know if I was scared. I think I was, but I was absolutely intrigued by this stuff. It might as well have been another dimension because it was so alien.

The Smith approached me. He was younger than I had thought when he got up close and he spoke to me, but I couldn't make out what he said, so I handed him the reins to Matin and bowed. He looked at me in a puzzled way and took the horse a couple of yards away, then he lifted each of the horse's legs one at a time between his own, checking their shoes. He brought Matin back to me who was snorting and not being very nice. He was a big horse and I felt a bit afraid as the Smith left me, and took Meadow to looked at his shoes. I was talking quietly to Matin the way I'd heard Tristan talk to Cedric back home. I was whispering because Tristan had told me not to speak, and the Smith watching me closely brought Meadow back, and handed me the reins from a distance of about a meter, as if I was some strange creature not to be close to. Matin had completely calmed down and was even allowing me to stroke along his nose. Meadow stood quietly too, even so, I was really hoping Tristan would come back soon.

He must have been gone for half an hour and I was growing a little worried. I seemed to be drawing attention suddenly from a group of people who were playing a game of some kind. They'd decided to approach me and one of the younger men was swaying, but making his way closer, when Tristan came back with a small basket, which held fruit and a pie. He handed this to me and went to the Smith who was dinging away again at what looked as if it may become a sword. They exchanged a few words and Tristan gave him a coin from a small pouch thing that I hadn't previously seen. The man approaching had sat down on a barrel, which was near one of the small enclosures I'd seen. Inside this one were a few piglets. Tristan gave him a stare as we led our horses toward the outer gate.

At the gate, he shouted something unintelligible to the guards and we exited. There was an oncoming cart full of barrels and I thought we would never pass on the bridge, but we did and I was not sorry to be leading Meadow down the steep side of the hill to the valley below. There the river had a big water wheel and weir rushing and making quite a thunderous din as we passed.

I followed Tristan and as we entered some woodland, Tristan turned to me smiling broadly. "I won us some money in a sword fight. No sign of Richard unfortunately."

"Is that why you were gone so long? I was starting to get worried," I said thinking a sword fight 'what on earth.'

"I had asked the Smith to keep an eye for your safety and promised him a payment. I knew you would be safe. We needed a little money Chloe and it was easy. I didn't expect it to be so easy, because I'm out of practice. Do you want to eat before we ride again? We can just make the edge of the Tarrant estate before dark even if we stop to eat. It's very close to here."

"I don't mind really, we can keep going and make sure we reach the estate. After all, we're now on our third day."

Tristan handed me an apple. It was cold and seemed crisp. I looked at it and without being precious, I really wanted it washed, or peeled. Call me squeamish, but even in my time, you get nasty bacteria on fruit and vegetables that are not washed. Tristan must have read my mind. He took it from me and washed it with wine. I said thank you and he grinned.

He actually washed his own apple then, and put the rest of the fruit and the pie in his linen and tied it on his saddle. We led the horses, eating the apples, and he told me about the castle we'd just been at.

"Do you remember the ruined place we passed on the way to the Tarrant estate with Oliver and you said 'wow look at that castle high up there' on the opposite side of the hills we were passing? That's it. So now, you've seen it in its heyday. It was destroyed to the ruin you saw back in your time by Cromwell in the Civil war. So many places were wrecked and ruined, such a shame."

Then he stopped talking. He gave each horse one of the more wizened apples left from his original stash, and we got back in the saddle. We walked the horses through to the end of the woodland and over a rather precarious bridge on a small river. We passed a boy running, tapping a very large, hairy, pig along with a stick. The pig kept diverting into the bushes and the boy followed calling something out, and smacking the pig back out of the bushes with the stick.

We passed two men in rather ragged clothes who were sitting by a large stack of sticks on the dirt track we were riding on. They actually bowed their heads at us as we passed. Tristan set the pace of the horses at a trot. The sky had cleared, and despite the lateness of the afternoon, it was still quite light. We saw the Tarrant estate from the next rise in the road. It was very large. It seemed to spread out for miles, and there was a wall around the first part of it, not a castle wall yet, but still a dividing wall.

It suddenly went dark. One minute day, the next minute night had fallen, and the chill in the air was turning our breath to mist again as we talked.

At Tristan's mention of Oliver, I told him about Oliver being so worried about me coming here. That he had tried to get the old Magus to change the spell so that he could come too so many times I had to ask him to stop. I hadn't thought about Oliver that day and now my mind was full of him.

Tristan stopped his horse and I drew up too.

"I'm so sorry Chloe. I wish I hadn't asked you to stay. I feel selfish and horrible now." Tristan's voice was a little broken and I realized that by saying this about Oliver I had drawn some comparison between them both in his mind.

"Please don't say that Tristan. I chose to come with you to try and find Richard. I could have gone back. I didn't know for sure that it could only be me. I think it could have only been me, but then that would have been it, you would have been stuck here."

Tristan looked at me in the dim light cast by a half moon that was mostly covered by clouds.

He sighed. "Chloe, what were you thinking of coming here? I'd have stayed here for you to be safe home again."

"I can't be there without you, it's that simple," I said to him, and he brought Matin close alongside, leaned in, and kissed my cheek.

"Let's go the last couple of clicks to the Tarrants shall we, before we can't see a hand in front of our faces?"

He led us off down towards the first gatehouse in the long wall. I had thought this wall quite low, but up close, it was about ten feet high. We were let through the gatehouse into the countryside beyond it. It was a ten-minute ride to the next set of walls and another gatehouse. The outer castle wall was higher than the first, maybe twice as high. We had trouble at this gatehouse because Richard Tarrant was not in residence they said, but when Tristan said he must speak to Eleanor and had a letter for her, we got through. There were fire torches in holders on the walls and many substantial buildings as well as tents. We had to walk our horses up to the keep and once there we had to leave them with a groom. Tristan took his stuff off the saddles and we were led into the castle.

We were left in a room that was very big, but apparently not the great hall. Then we were led into another room, the Solar, where Eleanor was sitting in a gold and green painted chair. There was a big fire and the place was hung with tapestries with heraldic signs on them. Eleanor stood up and came towards us.

I was just so very amazed that I was in front of the real Eleanor. I stood there in the background stunned. They spoke in Old French and Tristan gave her the letter from inside his jacket. He watched her read it and sit down hard again in her chair. Then she looked up and spoke again to Tristan. It seemed we had been asked to sit down as he drew up a chair for both him and me. Then Eleanor continued to speak to him. She barely glanced at me, and I was occupied looking around the room, which was very well lit with many candles.

We were then shown to a room, which was very like the hunting lodge room at the Dearings. A servant had followed us up with our things and another one with food. When we were alone Tristan told me what was going on.

"Richard is coming here tomorrow. Eleanor hoped that he would stay home then, but she knew he wouldn't because of her husband Wesley. Richard had been to find his half-brother, who was a Dearing, and hoped to find his real father, Edmund." Tristan raised his eyebrows at me as he told me this.

"Tristan does Eleanor know who you are?"

"She hasn't seen me for many years. I remember meeting her now with Richard in the tower at the Dearing estate. It was when I was about six years old and the boy with her was Richard. Richard has never been accepted by Wesley and is tired of trying to please his stepfather. Eleanor's accepted that I'm a friend of the family delivering the letter because Edmund's gone back to the crusades. Tomorrow I must persuade Richard to believe what I have to say. In the meantime the servants are bringing hot water so at least you can have a wash of sorts," Tristan smiled at me.

The room was quite warm because there was a big fire in the hearth. There were plenty of candles, and the room was hung with tapestries. When the hot water arrived, the servants put it in an anteroom where a fire was also lit. I couldn't bring myself to do more than wash my face and hands. Taking some of my Kleenex I washed my arms and under arms, then got my clothes back on. I thought I was better off not exposing myself to the air than trying to wash more of my body. There was a screen to place in front of the arched doorway, and I checked it twice before using the rest of the facilities.

The food they brought seemed okay. The meat that was roasted was some sort of foul, tasting quite fresh, and it was well done with spiced apples. Even so, I didn't eat much, and finished the last but one bottle of water. Tristan had some wine, which he said was more like the syrup served as punch at Clare's party than alcohol. He diluted it with the holy spring water we still had.

Tristan said I'd be expected to sleep in a little bed that was curtained off at the other end of the room and he messed it up to look as if I had.

We didn't need our fur robes and I even took my leather jacket off when we lay in the big bed together under a pile of covers and furs. This was an extremely wealthy household.

"Tristan how could this estate have come to the ruin it is in my time? It seems so wealthy."

"Time and changes Chloe. No income for a woman on her own and people dying. It just happened."

He held my hand and I closed my eyes. I hoped I'd sleep this night as I had next to no sleep the night before and thankfully, I did sleep.

Tristan woke me up saying it was time to make sure we were ready to meet with Richard and then leave for the waterfall.

It was quite late in the morning, but the household was not really about the place. The servants brought fruit, meat, and bread for us.

I had a mouthful of wine vastly diluted with the spring water and it was not too bad.

When we were totally ready, we were taken to a room further along the corridor. Inside, the room was divided into the front part and back part. The front part had seats, tables and chests. The heavy tapestries that divided the room precluded us seeing what was behind them. Suddenly from behind them came a tall, slim, young man. He was blond and had lovely brown eyes, for a few seconds I thought it was Oliver, but it wasn't of course. He was dressed in similar fashion to Tristan, but had no fur collar on his jacket and his robe was plain.

I was staring at him and as he talked with Tristan, he looked at me once or twice and almost smiled. They sat opposite each other and it seemed to take a long time to convince him of anything, if that was what Tristan was doing. Then Tristan turned to me and said, "I don't think he believes me. Take the backpack from under your robe and show him the flashlight."

I gasped at this. "Tristan, that's so dangerous, we are so meddling with history already," but I took my robe off, then my backpack. I think my jeans and leather jacket had already surprised Richard, but when I shone the torch at him, he stood up and took it from me. I showed him how to press the button at the back to light it up and he did it. I took it from him and he smiled at me then. I stuffed it in my backpack, put the backpack back on, and then the robe that covered me from head to foot.

Richard was sitting back down and talking with Tristan. Suddenly they got up and so I did too. Richard came with us to the stables. We were given our horses and then he rode with us to the very outer gates. When we were gone from the castle area for about ten minutes and were back on the track we had used to get there, I asked Tristan what had been said and if everything was okay.

"Well," he said. "He didn't believe me at first. I asked him to promise that he wouldn't go to an inn on the way back from visiting his sick child. I told him what year that would be, and I told him he would meet me again, but it wouldn't be me as I'm now, and that we were brothers. I told him it would be best if he never said that to the Tristan he will meet. I said that he might consider not leaving his family again at all when he goes to see the sick boy. That history might be changed if I was to have his companionship after that time. I think at one point in time he was going to get his sword and eject us from the place. Eventually I told him where he would meet me and at what joust and then I asked him to send me a message somehow so that in my time I'd know he'd been saved from the plague given to him by the Magus. I think we succeeded Chloe, I think I have saved him."

"What about Eleanor do you think she will retrieve the money and help Richard?" I asked him.

"I think she will. She was very upset by the letter I could see that. We've done what we can. I feel that I have at least tried to put right what my father did in naming Richard as his youngest son."

Chapter Fifteen

Tristan started us trotting the horses as previously we'd walked them.

The air was cold and there was frost back on the ground. The horses breath as well as our own made mists as we rode through the countryside.

I was very aware that we only had three days left to make sure we were at the waterfall and so I was happy that we were trotting along and it was only early afternoon. With any luck, we would reach a halfway point on the journey back by nightfall.

Tristan had taken us a slightly different route.

"We'll reach a village with an inn by the time it grows dark. That will be halfway back to the Dearings place." He smiled.

The inn was in a small town that was again gated. There was an abbey nearby. The town seemed peaceful and the inn was warm. The room we had was the best one we could get. I was thankful that Tristan had won us that money after all. I was tired of the whole journey by now and wished it was over and we were safely home. I knew I was a little too quiet and Tristan asked me several times if I was okay. I said I was fine, just tired.

I was glad to see morning and get on the road again and because we had set off early I was hopeful of reaching the Dearing estate and just hanging out there for a couple of days before we went back to the time we should be in. The town had been left behind and the abbey farmlands finished as we entered a wood. Tristan was looking around a lot and seemed edgy. I asked him if anything was the matter.

"Chloe, I'm not sure I feel on edge. I we're being followed but I'm not sure."

It was only seconds later when an arrow whistled through the air and I felt it hit me like a heavy weight, it knocked me from my horse, and I couldn't breathe. I was on the hard ground and I could hear shouting. Meadow seemed to be circling around me. I saw Tristan on Matin high above me it seemed. I still couldn't breathe and I could hear the sound of metal on metal. There was someone else there now too, maybe even two people. I saw Tristan with his sword held high.

Meadow was between me, and a man who was now lying on the ground, with blood coming from his mouth. I felt extremely ill. The metal sounds were still happening. I thought I might be sick. The sky seemed to grow very dark and I could hear Tristan shouting my name.

Chapter Sixteen

It was to be much later that I woke up. The first thing I saw was Tristan on his knees beside me. I was inside some kind of hut. I blinked a few times. My eyes felt heavy. I could breathe, but I had a big pain in my shoulder, and I felt very sick. I still thought I might be sick. I opened my mouth to speak, but no sound came out.

Tristan was saying, "Chloe, Chloe, can you hear me? Chloe."

I closed my eyes. It was too hard to stay awake.

I woke again. This time I could see blue sky through the roof of wherever I was. There was a whole segment of the roof missing. I felt okay. No pain in my shoulder, my eyes felt fine and I looked around the place. I was in a hut.

It was just an empty space really. I was on what seemed to be a low bed, and next to me was an empty wooden box. I sat up. Definitely, I needed a drink of water, and I wondered if there was any left in my backpack. I tested my feet on the dirt floor just in case I couldn't stand. It was then I realized I must have been wearing one of Tristan's shirts because it fell to my jean covered knees under the fur robes I was wearing. There had been another robe on top of me as a cover, and I left that on the bed as I walked to the corner where I could see our things in a stack on another wooden box. I zipped open my backpack and found the last bottle of water. I took a drink and put it back. I looked around thinking where was Tristan.

Then he came through the door. He looked at me, said my name, then came straight to me and hugged me. He was almost in tears and I looked at him shaking my head, "What happened, where are we and what day is it?"

Tristan smiled then. "You're okay, you feel okay? Let me see the wound?"

I sat down on the funny low bed, and Tristan gently pulled the shirt down over my shoulder. It was cold without my fur robes and I shivered a little, but Tristan let out a low sound, pulled the shirt up, and wrapped the robes around me.

"Well?" I asked.

"You're fine. It's healing fast. How do you feel?"

"I feel good, really very good. Tell me what happened. I know I was hit by an arrow."

Tristan took a breath. "Well we were attacked by a trio of robbers. They shot you and then tried to take me on. Sadly for them, they got the worst of it. Only two were able to make off bleeding from a couple of deep wounds each to the arms and face when they realized I was more than a match for them. I think they will suffer badly from the wounds, possibly die. They didn't get anything and I needed to help you. I found this hut. It must be a halfway place for someone, and there's nothing here except that pallet you were sleeping on and a couple of wooden boxes. You were very badly injured and I genuinely thought you were dying. I got the arrow out easily as it had gone through. The head was out the other side of your shoulder. I had to break it and get it out from the front and back of your shoulder. Thank heavens it had got you high up in the shoulder. If you hadn't been turning to look around because we thought someone was following us, I think it would have hit you in the middle of the chest. That would have been a disaster. It had thrown you down to the ground and I suspected the arrow would give you blood poisoning. The wound looked nasty and you didn't want to wake up. We have hardly anything antiseptic, only a trickle of bad wine, so in the end, I cut my hand, and put my blood into your wound back and front to make sure. I had to do it. I couldn't lose you, and I couldn't go back to the waterfall with a dead Chloe for all the people waiting back home for you. You do understand?"

He looked distraught. I sighed. How could I not understand? I'd have done the same for him.

"Thank you, Tristan. I understand, and if I had been you or you had been wounded, I'd have done the same. Thank you. You cured me. How many days do we have left to get to the waterfall?"

Tristan smiled, and sighed. "You frightened me half to death. It's so good to see you well. We're okay we have tomorrow and the next day until five o'clock to get to the waterfall. We have to stay here for the rest of the day. We'll not make it by dark and I want to make sure you are really well before we ride on."

"I feel good. Could we just go and walk a little in the sun that I can see? Where's my leather jacket?"

Tristan brought it to me. It had a big hole through the top left shoulder area, and it was covered in dried blood on the inside lining. I asked him if my sweater was the same. It was but the blood was dried and I put both of them on over the shirt that belonged to Tristan. I asked him about the shirt. It was a spare he'd stolen from his room in the Dearing castle. I put my fur-lined robe on and we went outside the hut. The horses were grazing on grass that was struggling through the hard ground. The sun was going down. I could hardly believe a whole day, and a night had gone by. The air was cold and there were clouds gathering. I suspected it was going to rain and I wondered how watertight that roof was.

As it grew dark, Tristan brought the horses into the hut. They filled a whole corner. He dragged the pallet to one side of the place too so that if it rained it wouldn't get wet. There was a stone area in the middle of the floor and Tristan had obviously had a fire there the night before. He'd been gathering wood when I'd woken, now he lit the fire again, and though there was a bit of smoke at first it soon straggled up to the roof and out of the gap there. "Better than freezing," he said.

We drank some wine diluted with the spring water. I was not so worried about this now, let's face it I could no longer be sick. Tristan looked at my wound.

"Good it will be gone completely by morning." He kissed my cheek.

Looking at our food supplies, we had lots of apples, two breakfast bars and a lump of bread that looked like it had peas and beans in it. Tristan had also kept a lump of hard cheese from when we were at the inn and he cut the outer rancid edges off to reveal a more appetizing sight.

We had a little bread, cheese, and apples. The breakfast bars could be for tomorrow.

We discussed what might happen with Eleanor.

"Maybe she'll be at the Dearing hunting lodge when we get there and be retrieving the money left for her by your father."

Tristan laughed at this and we talked about where the safe place might be because we both suspected that it was not at the Dearing place at all.

"Tristan, how do you suppose she was to get the letter from the font? How would she know it was there? Was it in the letter to your uncle that he tore up and you burnt?"

"I think it was, because he was cursing saying 'he would be damned if he would do that' when he was on the stairs reading the letter. No wonder it all went wrong, if only my father had been brave enough to just say everything outright to everyone instead of writing letters to be found after his death."

"He must have been afraid to because of the magic, Tristan. You've said yourself it was punishable by death. We'll never know the whole story, Tristan, does that matter to you?"

"No, I'm just glad I got the chance to save Richard. That was the most awful part really for me that I'd been saved and he'd paid the price for it."

He sighed and put his arm around me very gently and I leaned onto him. The door to the hut rattled as a wind blew up and we heard a splatter of rain on the roof. It didn't come through. Tristan got up and propped the other wooden box against the door to stop the wind whistling in. He patted the horses and gave them the last of the hay he had in the sack from his saddle.

It couldn't have been late, but it was very dark. The fire didn't cast much light and we had no candles left. We were wrapped in all the robes and cuddled together on the pallet. It would be day six tomorrow and we talked about how Liz might be doing, and Oliver and even Laura. We fell asleep and I woke up as a gust of wind blew the door and the box fell down. Tristan was up with his sword, which had been by the bed on the dirt floor, before we both realized it was just the wind and the door was not even open. Only the box had fallen. We looked at each other and Tristan shook his head. "We're just being jumpy now," I commented.

Chapter Seventeen

When morning did come Tristan saddled up the horses, and we used my sanitizing gel instead of the little water we had left to clean our hands.

I felt very well. I had no pain at all, and I no longer felt tired. Tristan looked at the wound and then he sighed. I thought there must be something wrong until he said, "Well it worked again. The wound has gone. Welcome to mine and to Oliver's world, Chloe."

You know until he said that I hadn't really taken it in, what had happened, I don't know why, maybe I'd still been recovering. I pushed it out of my mind.

Once we were on the horses, we got going quickly. It was quite early and a weak sun was only just coming up. The air was very cold and when the wind blew, the chill was surprising. We both had the extra robes on instead of them being rolled for sleeping or trading, immortal or not you still feel the cold. We had next to no food left and a little wine plus a half bottle of water. Tristan had a little money left and I had my silver rings, we decided if there was chance we should try to buy some food. Tristan started to apologize for not being able to provide us with a better diet, he even got as far as saying he should have caught a rabbit, but I said for him to stop.

"Tristan, you're used to saving animals as a vet. Then there would be the skinning and actual cooking, no it's time consuming and unpleasant, we're not starving. You don't need to feel bad."

"If we're here any longer I'll have to hunt like it or not."

I reminded him we were half a day's ride, one night and a few hours from home.

We were in different scenery from the journey out and there was rolling green hills and valleys. The trees in the distance looked like little black sticks in rows on the tops of the hills. Here and there, the ground was in hard furrows and there were long stretches of bare hedgerow where the leaves had gone for the winter. It grew colder still and Tristan set the pace to trot for the rest of the journey. I was surprised when he said,

"This is it then Chloe. We're back at the beginning of the Dearing estate. We'll need to ride along the very outer walls and go over the back bridge as before, or we'll be seen." I wanted to know why we could get in the back of the estate so easily.

Tristan said, "There's the outer moat and the bridge is raised at night, but mostly because the lower area is considered safe as over the other side, where your dad's restaurant will be in your time, right now that whole area is a lake. It can be seen from the high tower at the castle and the guards will know if anyone is trying to cross and soldiers will be sent to check. We just need to go to the ridge and look over, I'll show you."

I thought the lake at dad's restaurant was man made, but it was just a reduced version of what was always there. Tristan took me to the ridge before we crossed the little bridge and went within the walls of the Dearing estates. I looked out across a huge, wide lake. Reeds and some small trees were protruding from the water at the edges. The heavy gray sky was reflected in the water, the wind had died down, and a strange quiet had come upon the air. It was still cold, but not quite as chilling. The expanse of water stretched out and on for a long way. On the other side was woodland. When you turned around you couldn't see the castle. There was the strange dip in the land that hid the waterfall, and the buildings in the back of the Dearing estate. It was the landscape I'd noticed in my own time full of strange dips and hills. I was curious about the lake.

"Tristan, how did the lake reduce so, it's barely half this size in the grounds near dad's restaurant?"

"I can't tell you really, some years I'd come back and it had just diminished. The landscape seemed to change by itself in about five hundred years. Then some building work did happen and trees were planted for soil erosion to stop, then for renewal of the forest. There were a few dry years. A channel was made that took some of the lake off to join the river as it winds into the nearest village. There's an underground outlet too, which may have shifted in size over the years. Fascinating isn't it?"

I agreed it was, and that the whole area was fascinating. We turned the horses and cautiously approached the hunting lodge. As we approached I heard horses, so did Tristan, and we stopped in the stand of trees. Below on the dirt track a big group of men on horses was galloping by. When they had passed, I noticed the woman and child I'd seen before walking along the side of the track, again carrying bundles of sticks. The child looked up and saw us, and putting his head down he hurried on after the woman. Tristan said the horsemen were from the castle, and he needed to return the palfreys when it was time to leave. I understood he meant the horses. He didn't want to take them back until we were about to transfer back to our time just in case we needed them.

"I have to get some food, water, and maybe other supplies. Tonight I'm going to light a small fire in the main bedroom because it's going to be freezing. I think we will get away with it. I think it is going to snow. Winter was a good time to land here as there have been fewer people around in general and even at the fair nowhere near the amount of people that would there in spring and summer."

Chapter Eighteen

We put the horses in the stables and unsaddled them, piling the hay in the stalls and food areas. Tristan opened a barrel that was in a corner and found it half-full of apples. He used his small sword to cut them so that no cores remained and put a lot in the stalls for the horses. They had water but it wasn't what we could drink and Tristan didn't even like the look of it for the horses so he went to the waterfall and brought back two buckets, half full, but enough for the horses for the night. I was making sure the stable was as cozy as possible for the horses and Tristan laughed.

"You get used to having them with you, don't you agree?" he asked, and I nodded in agreement.

We were very careful going into the hunting lodge. Tristan looked in all the rooms quickly, but said if there was anyone coming to visit the kitchen would already be a hive of activity. He checked all the cupboards in the kitchen and found a wooden tray of apples. I laughed.

"No shortage of apples then," I said.

"It's because they store so well."

He picked out a few rotten ones, and tossed the good ones in a wooden bowl that was on the dresser. Nothing else was in the kitchen except another wooden box of candles. We took this apple and candle stock up to the main bedroom. Tristan made sure there was no sign of us downstairs. We had left nothing, moved nothing to a different place. "We've just depleted some stores," he said.

I went with him to the waterfall and we filled the water carriers and a bucket with the holy spring water. Having hauled this upstairs Tristan said he was going alone to get some other food, and not to worry he was sure no one would be coming here. He took my flashlight as it was growing dark and he needed to make good time. All the same when he'd gone I made sure my backpack was easy to get to, the extra robes, apples and candles wouldn't seem out of place and even the water now on the bench in the anteroom was normal, but a bright blue backpack, now that was not medieval.

I looked around properly and found that there was dried lavender and rosemary in the big cupboard thing built into the wall.

Tristan was gone for what seemed a long time and I washed up some of the apples and looked in my backpack. I had a half breakfast bar in there and snapped it into two, eating one of the pieces and saving the other for Tristan. I put the apples on the table near the game that looked like a backgammon board. I walked up and down and then looked in my leather jacket pocket for the little clock Oliver had given me and checked the time. It was nearly five o'clock, seventeen hundred hours, this time tomorrow we would get to go home. Thank heavens, and I'm now like Tristan I thought, and the whole idea just felt weird. The implications started to hit me. I was eighteen and a half almost. I'd never get any older, well not look it, that is, that was going to be hard to explain to my mom and dad. Maybe I could just dress older in a few years and get plain glass spectacles or something. I was still musing on this when the door opened. I nearly jumped out of my skin, but it was Tristan and he was carrying a few things.

"There were two villagers at the church. I went with them to their cottage. We have bread, pottage, and some cheese, and I had to convince them I was travelling through. I thought they would recognize me, but they didn't. I swore on my mother's life the Dearings would hear nothing of them selling me supper. I gave them extra money and told them to take care, not to bring attention to themselves with it, to use it only a little at a time. They understood that. You see they're not supposed to do anything like this, it's forbidden by the lord of the manor, in this case my father."

We lit candles and ate. Tristan put some sticks, dried up grass, and bits of wood from the basket in the fireplace into the low black grate, and lit them, then fed a couple of thin logs into it. He moved the basket out of the fireplace and we sat close to the fire on the low-slung blue and gold chairs. After a while, we could take our robes off and just sitting there in my leather jacket I felt the hole where the arrow had gone in. Suddenly I felt quite sick, the memory of the arrow going in was so vivid. I stood up then sat down again, Tristan asked me what was wrong, as I had gone white, and I told him.

He put his arms around me and hugged me close. "It will go away. Don't think about it, just let it flow away, it happened, but now it's gone."

I still had the tiniest bit of toothpaste left and I cleaned my teeth. I washed my hands and face, my need for a shower was obvious to me, and I wondered if it was to Tristan too. I thought about asking and then just didn't. We wrapped ourselves in the robes and lay down on the bed with the coverlets over us.

"Tristan, we only have to get through tomorrow until five o'clock and then we will be back home, I so hope nothing goes wrong," I said to him.

I was looking at the chink of night visible through the cover of the arched window. It seemed lighter out there.

"Tristan, is there a moon tonight?"

He smiled, as he looked up at the arched window himself.

"There is a moon, a little more than a three quarter moon, and the sky is light with snow ready to fall."

"Really? Isn't it strange how you transferred to a winter when it's summer back home?" I asked him.

"Not really I think the waterfall just brought me to the time when I was thawed out and had started to live again. I think the thaw had only just happened, and this time's Tristan had maybe been up at the castle a day or so when I arrived. The weather would fit with that. I can't believe this has all happened, Chloe. Max set out to punish me, but instead I've been able to put right a wrong. Thank you for helping me Chloe, and I'm sorry for the arrow thing and the lack of decent accommodation. Do you still like me even just a little?"

I didn't hesitate. "Tristan, I still love you. I do hope we haven't done too much damage by our actions. Don't you think it was quite easy, almost too easy? Even though I was shot with an arrow, it was almost too easy."

"Chloe, it wasn't that easy. We kept out of the way, had hardly anything decent to eat and drink, slept in an abandoned building, a stable, I had to injure people in a competition and then to fight off robbers. One of whom was fatally injured, another more than likely on the way out as we speak. You nearly died. How bad do you want it? Oh yes I forgot, Uncle William coming around, he could just as easily have come up the stairs and read the letter by the light of the window instead of his candle. Then there's me creeping about in the night bribing stable boys and villagers." He burst out laughing and so did I.

Chapter Nineteen

Sometime in the night it snowed. We woke early, but stayed snuggled up and talked about what Tristan might say to the family when he got back. We came up with all kinds of rubbish, but in the end, the only thing we could think of was a story that just might be okay. This is it, 'he had fallen in the lake at the waterfall, somehow was under the reeds, struggled to the waterfall end under the water, and found a way behind it, and half drowned, he passed out. When he woke up, he climbed from behind the waterfall and found he had lost his memory so he wandered about for a week, then he remembered everything suddenly in a flash and now he's home.' No one had looked behind the waterfall I knew that.

We couldn't think of anything more plausible than that and even that sounded ridiculous.

As it grew lighter, the sun came out. Robed up we went outside and looked at the snow. The whole place was quiet and sparkling. The white sparkling blanket seemed to muffle the sounds of the earth. A robin was on a branch of the tree nearest the porch, the branches lined with snow. The castle house behind us had snow in the roof, turrets, and the tower, the one that would disappear in the next eight hundred or so years. It was like one of those Christmas cards, all it needed was a sprinkle of gold glitter.

I could hear bells. Tristan said it was the church.

We spent a little of the morning checking the horses and making sure we could just leave at five o'clock. We had a sort of lunch, a little bread, a little cheese, and apple. I sat leaning against Tristan as we talked through the plan again of what we would do as it neared five o'clock. Tristan said the horses would find their way back to the castle stables if he unsaddled them and set them free close to the gate of the outer bailey. He was going to do this at about four.

The day felt interminable, and then suddenly it was time to take the horses to the outer bailey. Tristan was not gone long. We made sure we had everything. It was just about dark. We robed up against the cold and checking the time, left everything tidy. We took the remaining bread and cheese and put it out for the birds. The apples we left in the stable barrel.

It was time to go and we walked quickly to the waterfall. I could hardly breathe from just wanting it all to be over. Tristan had hold of my hand tightly, and he kept saying it's going to be okay. We were there. It was five minutes before five. I had the tiny digital clock in my hand. We stood by the pool near the reeds ready to step in there with one foot, just as we had come here to this time.

Tristan said he hoped his clothes would change back to the right time's clothes when he took his foot out of the water and that it was not too obvious it had happened, since who knew what people would be there to see it. I took my silver rings out of my leather jacket and I put them on my fingers. I rolled my leather jacket into the robes, and we threw the bundle into the center of the water. We watched them almost sink. We couldn't let anyone find them and hoped that they would sink completely as the snow came down again. My jacket was too damaged not to give the game away that something had happened here when I got to the pool in my own time. I couldn't take my sweater off it was so cold. I could explain the holes in that away by saying it caught on branches or something. We each put a foot out onto the reed pad and water, holding hands and looking at each with almost two minutes to go. I watched the clock, one minute, and then five o'clock. I saw the ground appear to waver, and I closed my eyes holding Tristan's hand very tight.

Chapter Twenty

I didn't open my eyes until I heard my name. It was Liz calling my name out and Aristide too. I looked around. Tristan let go of my hand as we stepped from the reeds to the bank. Then he put his arm around my shoulders as we looked at them, Aristide, Angelique, and Liz. They crowded around us. When I had opened my eyes, Tristan was in his jeans and pale blue shirt, his jacket tied around his waist. Somehow, they were dirty and torn. I wondered if anyone had seen him change appearance, but no one said anything. Liz was saying 'thank god' repeatedly, and then she said, "Look at you both, you're so dirty, and your clothes are torn. Let's get you back home and sort everything out, then you need to get home Chloe, your mom and dad have been worried sick this last few days."

I looked at her puzzled. "Why, what happened to messaging them? Where's Oliver anyway?" I started to look around frantically, maybe he was working I thought, but a sick feeling came over me. He wasn't working was he?

Liz said, "Let's get home and get you both cleaned up." She ushered us up to the abbey ruin car park and drove us to the Dearing house.

Angelique and Aristide followed in the little white car that Tristan drove occasionally.

In the car, Liz started to explain.

"Chloe, please don't panic. Oliver just stopped coming around, coming to work and no one has been able to raise him on the phone since a couple of days ago. I started to text your mom saying you'd lost your phone, but was fine when she called the restaurant frantic the day after Oliver just stopped appearing. She said you'd texted her every day and suddenly nothing for a day, had any of your friends heard anything? She seemed to calm down when I said you'd told me that you were coming home today. Thank god you did. This has been a hellish week."

I looked at Tristan and he hugged me. I thought maybe Oliver had just finished waiting around and decided to get himself another girlfriend. Because you know, it's one thing knowing the girl you care about likes someone else as well, but another thing altogether when she goes into the ether looking for the other guy. Maybe he just decided enough was enough.

We were at the Dearing's place.

Liz said to have showers. "I'll find you some clothes and stuff, and then we can talk properly."

I looked at Liz thankfully. I took my backpack off and got my flashlight out of it.

The Magus Aristide and Angelique had arrived very close behind us and gone down to the kitchen area, and then Angelique came back with a big black plastic bag. I dropped my backpack into it and my sweater. They were going in the bin I thought to myself and as Angelique put the bag on the step outside the door, I decided to bring my clothes down and ditch them in it too.

We went upstairs. The guest bathroom was on the first floor, and Liz got me some clothes whilst I gave myself a good scrubbing, and cleaned my teeth with a toothbrush from a packet in the bathroom cabinet. I was in the shower at least fifteen minutes. The clothes were nice, white lace and cotton underwear, a plain green T-shirt, designer jeans. I had to turn them up, but only a tiny bit. She'd brought me some slip on backless shoes, as my boots were a mess. I dried my hair and I left it down. I had nothing to use to clip it back. The sun was shining through the bathroom window. It was still warm outside. The summer breeze was warm and full of promise.

Liz left me with her phone and I rang mom.

"Hey Mom, what's going on? Sorry about my phone...I've been so busy, made heaps of friends. Yes, I'm great, really, but now I've been told my luggage is lost from the baggage car. I know, what a pain, but no problems Liz is picking me up I'll be home soon. Is dad cross, oh really that's interesting, okay, I missed you too, see you soon and I'm starved what's in the fridge?"

She was cross, and then not cross. The thing with mom is, she's cross until you get there, then it's all okay. She managed to tell me so much in a burst of conversation. Dad has been busy. She's hardly seen him. 'The team' have uncovered a short and walled up tunnel, and where they thought it went out into the garden, it just stopped in another wall like a sealed door. In the first tunnel, they had found a huge stone box. It's set in the wall and they haven't got it out yet because they need to have the surveyor tell them if it will do any structural damage. It's directly under a retaining wall. She couldn't wait to hear about how my course had gone. I ended the call smiling.

I walked up to Tristan's room. He looked so lovely, his hair freshly washed and still a bit wet, wearing clean jeans and a dark blue T-shirt. He came to me as soon as I was in the room and hugged me close. He seemed to be rocking me a little and I realized he was tearful. I looked at him, holding his face in my hands, and kissing him.

"What is it Tristan, what's the matter?"

He took a deep breath. "I feel really worried about Oliver. I...I'm scared what I did will have changed things for him. There was never any proof he was an Eleanor Tarrant descendant, but there was equally no proof he wasn't."

He took me to his bed and we sat on the edge of it. He held my hand, and looked down at it cradled in his own. I couldn't speak.

"Chloe, I'm going to get the story out that we agreed on for my re-appearance. Jack is downstairs in the library with Jonathon. When I've given them the story, I'm leaving it up to them to tell the authorities. Liz was saying that my drowning didn't make the news at all thanks to Jack's insistence on privacy after the abbey museum fire. I can just go back to normal, well almost. I want to start looking for Oliver. It's true about him not answering his phone I just tried it."

We went down to see Aristide and Angelique. They were having coffee with Jack and Jonathon as though nothing had happened. Tristan simply told them his tale and Jack said he would contact the authorities.

I asked Jack if he was well as the last time I had seen him was in hospital and he said he was doing fine and intended to stay that way.

Liz reported that everything was going fine with the museum repairs and the stained glass was fine too. The business hadn't really suffered after all, their fears had been for nothing, and the accountant had sorted out the insurance payouts for her. There was a wedding next Saturday and the florist was looking for pink peonies and something lime green, he had said 'just say to Tristan anything that was available as long as it was bright or lime green'.

Chapter Twenty-one

Everything was sorted out. It was as if we had never been gone. It was six thirty, the sun was shining, and Angelique announced that she and Aristide had imposed upon the hospitality of the Dearings long enough. They had already said goodbye to Laura this morning and were leaving at seven. It had been a most enjoyable break for two old people. Laura had started painting again and she may visit them later in the year when she came for her visit to her mother.

I looked at Liz and then at Tristan. I didn't know anything about the twins' mother. I had even thought she might be dead.

I checked myself. I had Oliver's digital clock in the pocket of the jeans Liz had lent to me, my rings were still on my fingers, and the flashlight was on Tristan's bed where I'd put it when we sat down there. I sat on the cream armchair and accepted the tea. I thought it was a bit abrupt of Aristide to leave at seven and looked at him with a question on my face a couple of times.

He gave me a level stare and I thought maybe he'll ring me. I could ring him, oh no I couldn't. I had his number in my cell phone, which I'd given to Oliver. Then I remembered I had his headed notepaper at home on my desk.

I felt a little strange as if my thoughts were disjointed.

Liz suddenly said that she needed to drop me home. It all seemed so odd as if we were moving too fast into our old life with no questions and no answers, but I got up and said goodbye following Liz out to her car.

"Liz, where's Laura?" I asked her, as we walked over the gravel to the car. She opened the doors and I climbed in.

"Laura's helping at your dad's restaurant. She started a couple of days ago. He advertised for a casual help and she said it was time she did a bit of work."

I was aghast. "What, Laura is working at my dad's restaurant?"

I shrugged, and then thought. Maybe this whole thing with Rene has changed her.

"Liz, I didn't realize your mom lived in France, is that why Laura chose France for her art summer school?" I was interested in this tie with France.

Liz explained that they didn't talk much about their mom. She had left them with their dad when they were two, and gone off with her lover to France. They saw her once, maybe twice a year when they would visit her. She hadn't been over yet, but Laura had gone down to see their mom and stepsister in the Languedoc from Paris during her art school stay. Their father didn't mind. He had long ago gotten over the split and their divorce had been amicable.

I felt a shiver of something go down my back when Liz told me her mom lived in the Languedoc. I didn't comment but it occurred to me Laura may have known Rene longer than they had let on.

I asked Liz if everything really was okay at the Dearings and Tristan's secret was still intact. 'She said it was, and there was no danger to Tristan. Jack knew nothing about Rene's spell. He might suspect something when it came to Tristan's supposed drowning, but his heart attack had kept him busy. He and Jonathon thought that Aristide and his friend were visiting Laura, she was sure it would all go back to normal now. She was wondering what Oliver was up to though. She thought he could have been called to Devon after all, but he could have told her he was going.'

It was weird how things were. I couldn't quite grasp that Tristan and I were just expected to carry on as if nothing had happened. I asked Liz if she wanted to know what had happened in the other dimension and she said, "Later in a week or so when everything has stopped being a nightmare."

I kind of got this, but then again I wanted to know everything that had happened whilst I was away, so this attitude was a little strange to me.

When we drew up outside my house and I saw my Wrangler and mom's Cherokee on the gravel, I had a quick flash of the house Tristan and I had left only hours ago back in eleven-ninety. Then I decided that had to be put aside. I needed to storm into my real life and find out what the hell was going on with Oliver.

I thanked Liz saying, "I'll see you soon, and thanks for the clothes I'll get them laundered and bring them back."

She smiled replying, "You can keep them. I've got heaps. They look good on you. I think you've grown whilst you've been away Chloe."

Chapter Twenty-two

Inside the house mom was in the kitchen talking on her cell. She was making coffee. I walked up to her and hugged her. She laughed then she said, "Chloe, sweetheart how good to see you and how great you look. I think you've grown. Your hair looks longer too. Cornwall was good for you. Did they find your luggage? Are those new jeans?"

"No luggage Mom. I'll ring in a few days to find out if it's been found, yes new jeans, who was that on the phone?"

"Tristan was on the phone. You will never guess, he just turned up, had been ill and couldn't get home, some weird stuff about the waterfall and nearly being drowned, but he's coming over that's why I was making coffee. You know how he loves coffee." She smiled and then she asked about the artwork I was supposed to have done in Cornwall.

I felt I had to say something about Tristan. "Wow mom, that's cool about Tristan, thanks for asking him down. As for my artwork, my portfolio and backpack of things are missing but luckily, I scanned my work to flash disk. I can upload it to my laptop later. It was development work anyway," I told her. I was back to lying I thought.

A car drew up on the gravel. The patio doors were open as well as the kitchen windows. It was a very warm night and not dark even though the sun had started to go down. The car was the battered truck. Tristan was at the door and I let him in. Mom actually gave him a hug, saying, "I made you coffee and thank heavens you're safe and well. We thought the worst I don't mind telling you. What on earth happened?"

Tristan told her the prepared story and she believed it, she said, "What with the fire at the abbey, and Jack's heart attack, it would have been too much if you really had drowned. What a blessing that you crawled behind the waterfall. How typical that no one thought to look back there."

Tristan nodded, smiled, and added he was fine now.

It's weird isn't it how people will believe something when the outcome is a happy ending?

She finally went to her study.

Tristan drank his coffee and was all smiles at my mom, and then when she had gone to her office he made some more coffee. I raided the fridge for something to make sandwiches.

As I looked at Tristan, his air of sadness was back with him.

"When you'd left, I managed to quiz Aristide as I allegedly helped him pack. He's still totally convinced I'm just Laura's cousin who got in the way of Rene's love life. He asked me what happened, why we hadn't been able to come back with the seven-hour spell. I told him a partial truth. I said that the dimension was not just a fog. It was like another world, dangerous and strange. We'd found each other quickly, but had hid because of roaming dangerous people. It had been hard just hiding out all week and we had little to eat. I said we'd been very thankful to get back. He seemed to accept this and said no one really knows what might be there when a spell like that is cast. Rene had made a mistake in treating Oliver the way he had, and his anger could have made him rush the dimension spell. That would account for it being another world and not the fog he'd said it would be. Chloe, I just can't believe this stuff that he and Rene get up to. I was looking at him carefully as he talked. I just wanted to know if he had any idea what was really going on and he doesn't. We seem to be back to the place we left off. Rene is home in France. Aristide is going back there. Laura seems to have turned over a new leaf and is working and painting again. Jack is going to get better. The business is back on track thanks to Liz working herself to the bone this last week. I can't believe it. I just can't believe it. I thought all hell would have broken loose, but it's surprising isn't it how life will just go on without you. I have to know what's happened to Oliver, that's what's uppermost in my mind now. Isn't it weird that we were here yesterday in this same place in the snow?" He finished saying as he drank some of the coffee he had just made.

I ate my sandwich and put one in front of Tristan.

"Tristan, I so hope we haven't done too much damage. I can't help feeling that Oliver hasn't gone to Devon or decided he can't take my not choosing you or him anymore, which is what I thought at first. I'm afraid. I feel afraid when I think of him not being here to see us. He loves me Tristan. It's odd that he's not here."

Tristan nodded and put down his coffee cup.

"It's not late and I don't think I'll sleep tonight until I have at least been to his place and checked out with his parents if they know where he is.

I may call at Harry's too. Will you come? Ask your mom if you can drive me over to Oliver's."

I looked at him thinking 'oh no he thinks that something has happened to Oliver' and the sinking feeling in my stomach was back. I hadn't let myself fear the worst but now I pictured Oliver as he walked towards me, his shirt coming out of his jeans and the sun picking lights out in his blond hair. I'd give anything to see him walk in now through the door with his lovely smile. Nothing could have happened to him surely, he was immortal.

I walked down to mom's study and said I was just popping out with Tristan for an hour or two.

She looked at me over her glasses, "Okay Chloe, but don't be too late. You've only just got home." I smiled at her.

Chapter Twenty-Three

Driving my Wrangler to Oliver's house was both agony and a great pleasure. It was great to drive my Wrangler again, but on the way to find out what might have happened to Oliver? Now that was agony.

Tristan didn't say much. As we approached the house even from a distance, I could see it looked different. We drew up outside the place and it was still very big and had the thatched roof, but the stables were not Oliver's conversion. In fact, they didn't even exist and a rose garden plus a couple of trees were in their place. I looked at Tristan and he looked at me. I got out and went down the drive. I looked at the building and at the flowers and trees. I stood at the front door of what should have been Oliver's parents' place and rang the bell. Tristan came to stand beside me. It took a couple of rings, but then a man, probably in his early forties answered. He looked as if he had just woken up and I apologized for disturbing him asking him if the Tarrants lived there, specifically Oliver Tarrant.

You guessed it, they didn't live there and neither did Oliver, and the man hadn't heard of them ever living there.

Back in my Wrangler, I was inwardly distraught. I tried to hide it from Tristan, but he guessed I was very upset and he took my hand.

"I'm so very sorry. It's my fault. I had no idea anything so dramatic could happen. Could we go to Harry's?"

I took my hand from his, and started the car, swinging it around in the driveway of what used to be Oliver's place I turned to go to Harry's house.

I said, "Have you got any special reasons for wanting to see him? For instance do you suspect any other changes might have happened?"

Tristan was very quiet. He seemed to be encased in quietness. I guessed he was very worried about Oliver and he must have known that I was devastated.

I think I was in shock actually, because my mind just wouldn't function. I drove us to Harry's, but I don't remember doing it.

Tristan came around to my side of the Wrangler before I got out because I just sat there looking at the dash when we had parked in the lane. He opened the door and offered me his hand. I turned to him, put my arms around him, and just stayed like that for a time. My head was on the top of his shoulder. I don't think I was crying. I just couldn't move for a while. Tristan eventually got me down from the cab and asked if I wanted to go into Harry's or he could drive us home. I went into Harry's.

Harry was pleased to see us, he asked us how the excavation at my house was going, and I managed to croak out the information about the new find that was integral to a retaining wall. Tristan looked at me surprised. I'd forgotten to tell him. Harry offered us tea and coffee. I was glad to have some tea. Tristan started to talk to Harry, "Harry do you remember the original finds from the abbey dig twenty years ago, what were they again, I need you to refresh my memory?"

Harry looked at him as if he had asked a silly question but indulged him saying,

"The manuscript I showed you, Tristan, and the stuff stolen by Jack, another manuscript, and a small flask. If you remember you found those items hidden in the library at home and told me about the hiding place."

Tristan then said, "Harry, did I bring you anything to save for me?"

Harry put down his cup that he was about to drink from and frowning said,

"Tristan, is this a test, what's going on?" and then he let out a breath and said, "Okay you brought me an illuminated book. What's going on Tristan?"

Tristan sighed and leaned forward to Harry, putting his hand on the old man's arm he answered, "Sorry Harry, it's not a test just some things have changed that I didn't expect to have changed over the last few days, and I just lost track of where things were. I need to check if Jack has moved anything from the library. I'd like to show you the new excavations in Chloe's place soon, maybe the end of the week, what do you think?"

Harry smiled a little, but I could see he didn't quite believe Tristan.

"I'd love to Tristan, just give me a call. James says that the font was the last good find in the Norman door dig. Well apart from the goblet, that was very nice too. I miss the old days when finding a thing was so exciting, now I have to live vicariously through James. Well at least I have that."

He turned to me then and asked if I was okay as I was as white as a sheet.

I said, "I'm well, just a little tired."

We left shortly after that and I insisted on driving so that I didn't fall to pieces thinking about Oliver. Tristan said he wanted to call James and then he said, "Damn it I've left my phone at home on charge."

We had reached my place.

"Come in, and use the landline. I'd like to hear the answers you want from James." I had meant to be sharp but it came out that way.

Tristan almost winced at my tone and I admit it was a little harsh, but I was just grief stricken. I desperately wanted to see Oliver.

Chapter Twenty-Four

We drew up outside my house. I got out and started towards the door. Tristan caught me up in a couple of strides and caught hold of my arm. His voice was almost a whisper, "Chloe, if I could swap places with Oliver and have him here with you now I would. I'm so very sorry. I see now how much he meant to you, and I can't begin to tell you how sorry I am about what's happened. I just didn't think Oliver would be affected. It seemed so unlikely. Well to tell you the truth I didn't think that much would change with the world, only that Richard would have a longer life back then in the eleven hundreds. You know I asked him to stay with his family after the boy was no longer sick. I thought he would just have a few more years with them. Eleanor would have a little money for him from my father, and because I'd have the same life I had, since he didn't come back from his journey, nothing would change. If I had even the slightest idea Oliver would be so changed, I'd never have done anything but come back with you on that first seven-hour deadline. I love you still Chloe, but if you can't bear to be around me I will understand and leave you alone."

I was standing looking down as he spoke. I could feel my sadness about Oliver like a stone in my chest, but I still loved Tristan, and I had gone along with it. I had joined in the adventure to find Richard. How could I just blame Tristan? I hadn't spoken in return and Tristan sighed a ragged breath and said, "Please Chloe say something."

I turned to him and held my arms out to him saying, "I couldn't bear losing you Tristan. I'm grieving for Oliver but how can I blame you, it was unforeseeable. Let's ring James and you ask him the questions you need to. It's getting late. I'll go down and let mom see that I'm home again and then let's talk properly about it all."

We went inside to find Steven and John in the kitchen.

"Hi guys," I said and filled the electric kettle. I asked what they were up to as Tristan went down to the middle drawing room where the landline phone was on a desk down there.

I made some tea and coffee for Tristan and mom, whilst Steven told me the latest news about the band saying how successful they were becoming and had an internet following which was growing by the minute. John was staying over as they were meeting Will early and having a rehearsal for a gig they had at a music festival next week just outside of Oxford.

I took the coffee down to mom with a piece of her favorite lemon cake, and asked her how work was going. I told her Tristan and I were catching up after my trip. I asked since John was staying, was there anything she needed doing like finding spare linen. She had fixed all of that and was packing up work early to go and see dad at the restaurant at ten.

I saw Tristan hovering in the hall as I came out of her study, and went to him taking his hand. We retrieved our drinks from the kitchen and in a bid to lighten the mood I asked him if he would like some wine. He smiled.

"No thank you not when I can drink coffee."

We said see you later to Steven who had started to pick away on his guitar whilst John was eating lemon cake. They nodded at us and we went up to my room.

I felt as if I hadn't seen my room for years instead of the days it actually had been, and I went around checking my desk, my computers, and the stained glass roundel that was propped up on my desk to catch the light from the window behind. I picked up the roundel and looked at it. I half expected Oliver not to be the other knight in my design, but he was, and I sighed putting it carefully back in its place. Tristan was standing at my big window looking out, it was dark now, but warm, and the moon was out.

He said not looking at me, "James confirmed that there was nothing found by Clare in the font, the Griffin moved inwards, but nothing was found, he thought I knew that. I said I was glad the goblet had come up in the trench then and had anything more been done with the relic box. It had still been empty. Chloe I was just checking that we had really delivered the letter to Eleanor. Isn't it odd that some things are clear, and didn't happen before we left, even though they had, if you get what I mean? Then on the other hand, Oliver existed in everyone's life, and just disappeared about the fifth day or something like that? I'm at a loss to know what to say about him. Since no one knows the truth of what we did, I haven't told Liz yet, I have to let everyone believe he's just gone off. I wonder what Ben will be making of this? He knew Oliver well, and they'd arranged to go to Archery every week together. Who else was really close to him? I know everyone had got to know him, but do you know who might be especially worried over his disappearance besides Ben?"

I sat on my bed and sighed.

"It's so odd that he did exist as our Oliver, and then he didn't. It's anomalous like the phone, and whatever else you had in your pocket, coming with you to eleven-ninety when Rene cast the spell. Tristan do you think Oliver just stopped existing?"

Tristan looked around at me. "I so hope not. I so hope he's out there somewhere," and he waved towards the world outside my window. His expression was very sad and I could see him despair.

I walked towards him and he caught me up in a hug. We clung together for a little while and I thought about the journey we did together. About the strange dreamlike journey across country to the Tarrant estates, and about the sight of Richard, who reminded me so much of Oliver.

"Tristan, what did you do with your sword, since it hasn't been dug up has it?"

"Oh my short sword, the one missing from my belt when the waterfall shows my true colors, I left it on the table in the big bedroom in the castle hunting lodge. I thought the waterfall might stop recognizing me if I had it with me. Just a little superstition I guess," and he shrugged almost apologetically.

"I wonder if that will turn up in a dig sometime or never be seen again? I thought you loved that sword?"

"I did, I do, but I left it."

Tristan leaned back against the windowsill. The moonlight behind him lit his brown hair with a little silver. I looked at his lovely blue eyes and I couldn't help but kiss him just a short gentle touch.

He kissed me back and I felt some comfort from this contact.

"Do you think we could go and look at the latest find by 'the team', just to keep up to date with it all," he asked me.

I said why not and we went downstairs to the big drawing room.

Switching on the lights and approaching the fireplace was surreal. I said this to Tristan because it felt odd that this wasn't the bottom room of a tower we were in. Tristan handed me a hard hat from the gear laid neatly around and flipped the spotlights on, which shone into the fireplace and then down the opened upstairs to the tunnel. He held my hand and we went down the steps. Some of them had canvas covers on them and at the bottom an extra spotlight was shining at a piece of the paving that was broken up. The tunnel was lit by two rope lights and we switched them on at the extension cords, which were set up. I looked down the tunnel. Somehow, I had expected it to be small and burrow-like, but it was an arched walkway that you could stand up in easily. I followed Tristan down there. He held my hand still and only let go when we reached the integral stone box in the wall, which 'the team' had found. Tristan looked at it, then he turned around and looked at me. He had a look of amusement on his face, and I looked around him at the wall.

There on the front was a Griffin. It took up the whole front of the box, standing up, its wings folded. It trampled upon winding vines, leaves, flowers, a fish and a bird. I have to say it was a cool thing this Griffin. I had half a mind to adopt it as my jousting crest.

Tristan still smiling said, "Watch this Chloe."

The whole carving was inside a circle, which stood forward on the box, as if the stone it had been made from had been shaved away from the picture of the Griffin to make it more prominent.

Tristan took hold of the circle at its border, and with some effort turned it. The circle was like a lid, only on the side of the box not the top. He pulled it out towards himself carefully, and using his chest as a rest for the circle angled it back to see inside the box.

"Chloe, can you just pick up the rope light and shine it in here please?" he asked, as I was saying 'wow' and 'wow' again. I did that and we could see something that lay on the bottom of the box.

"I don't want to risk dropping this lid when I get whatever is in the box out, will you help me rest it gently on the paving?"

I put the rope light down and took hold of one side of the lid. I was surprised. I expected it to be heavier. We put it gently down face up and Tristan said, "I know it's not too heavy, but I didn't want to risk damaging it."

Then he got hold of the lights and looked inside the cavity of the box.

He said a couple of words I didn't catch and I wondered if they were his Norman French he had been using back in time.

Then he brought out what was in the stone cavity. It was his short sword, wrapped in leather and linen and there was a piece of flat stone with it. It had a carving, which looked like Latin to me.

"Do you know what it says Tristan?" I asked him, as he stared at it.

"Roughly translated it says thank you for the gift received."

I started to smile, not because it was funny, but because it was happy.

"Tristan, this must be where the money was for Richard and Eleanor. She found your sword in the guest room and left it as a message. She would have seen you wearing it in your belt on the visit to her castle. She must have thought you would eventually find it, she may even have thought that you knew the safe place Edmund referred to."

Tristan just stared at it, and then he whispered, "Chloe, I'm going to take it, no one knows it's here and it is mine."

I nodded. "What harm can it do, take it, it's yours."

He put it on the floor and replacing the carved stone he said, "They can have that, not that I wouldn't dearly like it, but it's a find for the team."

We lifted the lid back and Tristan secured it.

"How do you suppose she got in here? The place was already walled up when we left a couple of days ago?" I asked Tristan.

"Well I guess there's another entrance, maybe behind that walled area there, they still think it goes into the garden don't they? This looks like the part of the tunnel I walked down, and there were tapestries on the wall, maybe I missed this box because it was hidden by a hanging. She might just have known to look here and not entered by a secret door at all," he answered.

"The team seemed to tell mom that the tunnel stopped at another walled up part. I think you might like to mention how to open the box to them, or they may have the wall down for nothing, Tristan, don't you think? It's amazing that you might have passed by this wall box when it was hidden."

He nodded and picking up his short sword, we made our way back to the big drawing room. After making sure the lights were off and everything was in its place, we went back up to my room.

Tristan asked me to keep the sword for him and I put it in the bottom of my big cupboard.

We sat on the bed and he held my hand.

"Chloe, Oliver is out there somewhere, I feel sure of it. We have to find him."

I sighed. "I hope so Tristan. I hope he's living a good life out there somewhere and that he didn't just cease to exist."

Tristan turned my face to his because I'd been staring at our hands in dismay thinking of Oliver again.

"I feel he's out there, don't you? Think hard, doesn't the feeling come over you that he is out there?"

I smiled a little, but I just felt despair. Tristan kissed me and looked at me with such a look of hope I searched my heart, was Oliver out there somewhere? If I believed it, would it make it come true?

I rested my forehead against Tristan's and waited.

The despair I'd felt before came again, and then I felt it, the conviction that Oliver was out there somewhere.

****

 Read 'A Spell Broken,' only .99 cents now. Do they find Oliver, or does he find them?

What adventures await the two friends and will their love stand up to the stress of trying to find Oliver?

As Tristan and Chloe fall deeper in love the magus Aristide finds out about Oliver's disappearance and even more magic is let loose on the lovely, courageous Tristan.

A surprise is in store. A twist no one is expecting.

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Fun and betrayal in the Seven Spell Dangerous.

  The Sealed Door

A jealous witch, a strange spell. Two gorgeous guys and a girl.

When Tristan asks the archaeology team to open the sealed door found in a tunnel below his house, where Chloe lives, a surprise awaits him.

Trouble is on the horizon from a surprising source. Tristan, Chloe, and Oliver think they have encountered enough magic to have grown used to it by now, but they find this latest brush with witchcraft almost too much to bear.

Who is Lily and better still who is Anna?

As everyday life goes on between magical happenings, we hear from Oliver and Tristan. Oliver describes his experiences and we find out more about how he really feels.

The Sealed Door has some interesting revelations about Tristan's past. He finds himself with emotions he never expected to feel. He surprises his friends by his actions; this is not the Tristan we have come to know.

When yet another experience from the past catches up with Tristan, and the only thing that will fix things is another time travel adventure.

The love story continues and Chloe finds herself taking her relationships with Oliver and Tristan to a new level. With a twist in the ending, The Sealed Door is sprinkled with love, magic, romance, danger and the unexpected.

Books 2-7 available now

