Prince of Time (2 page)

I strode towards the gangplank. Before I reached it, Bevyn blocked my path and tried once again to dissuade me. “My lord. You know this is unwise.”

“I know it,” I said. “But more unwise would be riding with a dozen men through the English countryside. Three are less noticeable, quicker, and more able to outrun any attackers.”

Bevyn growled. “That was not what I meant. This entire expedition is ill-advised. I do not like it.”

I rested my right hand on Bevyn’s shoulder. “I have a vision for Wales, Bevyn. What comes next is part of it.”

Bevyn bowed his head and gave way, but grasped Ieuan’s arm as he passed him. “You understand your charge, man? What I will do to you if anything happens to him?”

My impulse was to interfere but I didn’t. Bevyn would give his life for me. He expected the same of Ieuan. Ieuan nodded and Bevyn released him.

I stepped off the boat, relieved to feel soil under my boots at last. Three horses waited for us and I mounted mine, Bedwyr. Cadwallon, acting as groom, boosted Aaron onto his mare, and then brought Ieuan his Llwyd, “Grey”, named not very creatively by his little sister.

“You know that I agree with Bevyn,” Aaron said. “Are you sure this journey is necessary?”

“I’m loath to leave bits and pieces of the twenty-first century lying around unattended,” I said, keeping my voice low so Ieuan couldn’t overhear. “I wouldn’t want them to fall into the wrong hands—or anyone’s hands. They’re too distinctive and remarkable. You’ll see what I mean when we find them.”

“Yes, my lord,” Aaron said.

We rode away from the boats and left the town behind us. It was time to tell Ieuan something, and I weighed how much he could handle. “You’ve seen the vehicle, of course.”

“Yes,” Ieuan said. “It came from the lands of Madoc the explorer.”

Aaron breathed in through his nose and let the breath out. As it had Aaron, Ieuan’s statement set me back a pace. It was an explanation for our presence in Wales that my father had latched upon a month ago which seemed to satisfy everyone. No mention of time travel was necessary if we could explain twenty-first century technology as simply being from a more advanced civilization.

“The Prince and his mother brought more from that land,” Aaron said. “More possessions that they’ve had to hide, lest others brand them witches.”

“It does take very little to arouse the passions of the people,” Ieuan said carefully. “Or the priests.”

Aaron’s mouth twitched. “So you understand the problem. But do others see as clearly? What of Princess Marged? When others become jealous of another’s talents, they can fall back on suspicion and superstition. Even had she raised our Prince in this country, she is still a most unusual woman. How much more so if she possessed...unusual artifacts.”

“What kind of artifacts?” Ieuan said, ever the pragmatic thinker.

I leaned forward so I could see Ieuan across Aaron’s mount. “If they’re where she left them, I’ll tell you. If others have discovered them before us, then there’s no need for me to explain just yet. Suffice to say they are of metals and quality that you’ve never seen, nor will ever see again, I dare say.”

“Even were you to take me to Madoc’s land?” Ieuan said.

“I don’t want to imagine the circumstances under which I would be forced to take you there. I hope never to see it again. I’m afraid if we went there, we’d find it difficult to return.”

“You’ve traveled that distance once,” Ieuan said.

“And I dare not risk it a second time,” I said. “Come. We have some way to ride before nightfall. Aaron thinks it’s at least twenty miles to our destination. We have a few hours before full dark and I want to have ridden past Carlisle before we rest.”

“Can you at least tell me where we’re going?” Ieuan said.

“To the great wall built by Hadrian.” I spurred Bedwyr forward.
These questions are so difficult
. The longer I lived in Wales, the easier to pretend that the twenty-first century was impossibly far in the future. On the outside, I was nothing more or less than a prince, the son of the Prince of Wales. I liked it that way—wanted it that way—but then the façade crashed down and I was left with a truth that only a handful of men from the thirteenth century knew. Aaron was one, and to open the circle to Ieuan was hard, even though I trusted him.

I was five strides ahead of Ieuan before he signaled Llwyd to catch up with me. I could almost hear him thinking:
The Roman Wall? What could he want with it?

* * * * *

We chose to rest before it was fully dark, in a copse of trees that could hide us from prying eyes.

“How much farther?” I asked Aaron.

“If we rise at first light, we should reach the place in less than two hours.”

“Excellent,” I said.

Ieuan grumbled. “If I knew what we were doing, and how long it would take, it would make it easier to prepare for what I might have to defend you against,” he said.

“Just the English.” I clapped him on the shoulder. “As usual.”

“Oh, that’s just great.” He turned away, but not before I caught him rolling his eyes at Aaron. Bevyn would have cuffed him but I ignored it.
Better to ignore it. I want a thinking man more than one who merely obeys.

“I will take the first watch,” Aaron said. “I don’t sleep until after midnight under normal circumstances, much less on the ground with only my cloak for warmth.”

“Sorry, Aaron,” I said, feeling contrite. “I wanted you along for your knowledge, but didn’t think how uncomfortable it might be for you, out here under the open sky without a fire.”

“You’re allowed a brief lapse, every now and then,” Aaron said. “I’m here by my choice as well as yours. Don’t think on it further.”

I nodded, accepting as I often had to the sacrifices of those who surrounded me. Instead, I jerked my head at Ieuan. “Come. We’ll sleep and let the old man keep his own counsel.”

I threw myself on the ground, wrapped my cloak around me, and used my arm for a pillow. What I hadn’t admitted to anyone was my delight in being out in the open, with only Ieuan and Aaron for company. It felt great to run Bedwyr under the open sky with nothing more pressing on my mind for the next couple of days then picking up a few of my mom’s things.

Ieuan lowered himself to the ground and braced his back against a tree. He rested his head against the trunk and closed his eyes. I followed suit and was trying to empty my mind for sleep when Aaron spoke.

“You Welsh remain a mystery to me.” His voice was so matter-of-fact, he could have been commenting on the weather.

I squinted at him, trying to make out his expression through the fading light. Then I realized he wasn’t looking at me, but at Ieuan. I feigned sleep so as not to disturb their conversation.

“Excuse me?” Ieuan said.

“You bicker among yourselves, you hate the English, you sing with fervor and you love absolutely. You have an intensity that contrasts so sharply with the English. Is that why they have defeated you time and again?”

Ieuan was insulted. “They’ve not defeated us this time. They will not. They wouldn’t have even had King Edward survived.”

“What’s the difference this time?” Aaron said, and then stopped Ieuan before he could answer. “Ah.” Reflexively they both looked at me, and then away again.

Ieuan took the watch after Aaron, and I after him. This far north, dawn came quickly and I woke both of them with a shake just as the sun peeked over the horizon. We mounted and rode east, through the wide open country. After three years among the mountains and forests of Wales, the empty space disconcerted me. I glanced at Ieuan. Beneath his armor and cloak, his shoulders were tensed.

“When I rode north to join Prince Llywelyn in Gwynedd,” he said, “I thought I’d come a long way from Twyn y Garth. In the last few days, I’ve learned how little of the world I knew.”

“I’m no different from you, Ieuan,” I said. “I’ve lived across the sea, but never traveled beyond the borders of Wales into England until this week.”

We hugged the border between Scotland and England for safety’s sake, but after an hour turned south and made a run for the Wall.

“Let me ride ahead to ensure it’s safe,” Ieuan said, once the fort came into sight.

Aaron and I slowed our horses to a walk while Ieuan spurred Llwyd forward. In order to reach the actual fort, he had to lead Llywd across a half-filled ditch. He entered the fort through an opening in the wall. Five minutes later, he reappeared, waving. Aaron and I followed the path he’d taken.

“Let’s get the bag,” I said. Though I would have loved to explore the whole area, we didn’t have time. We picked our way to the western side of the fort and entered a little room where Mom had found Sir John de Falkes’ nephew, Thomas, a year ago almost to the day. I shifted some rocks. Her backpack lay underneath, exactly as she’d described. I turned to Aaron. “Are you ready for this?”

He nodded, his eyes bright, reminding me of Ieuan. I knelt and opened the bag. Sure enough, it was full of Mom’s incredibly useful twenty-first
century items, including … I pulled out a brown candy wrapper and sniffed.
Heaven! It’s been so long!

I tipped the bag and dumped three candies into my hand. I held one out to Aaron. “Chocolate,” I said, without explaining what that meant. It would be over three hundred years before another European would taste chocolate, which without sugar would taste more bitter than coffee. I gave a second candy to Ieuan who’d appeared in the doorway of the little room and ate the third one myself.

“My God,” Ieuan said. “What is this?”

“Good, huh?” I said. “Let’s keep going. We’ve more things to collect.”

“Those are your mother’s possessions?” Ieuan said.

“It’s her pack.” I handed it to him as I passed him.

He held it up. Its dark blue, artificial fibers were, quite naturally, unfamiliar. But this was Ieuan and he was intuitive and smart. Without asking, he slung it on his back, one strap hanging down unused just like a twenty-first century student.

I was glad I’d brought him.

“We’ve further to go,” I said. “The wall passes a small lake somewhere to the east of here. My mother left a larger bag hidden near it.”

Still carrying the pack, Ieuan mounted Llywd. “Why was your mother so far from Wales? I thought the land of Madoc was west of Wales, across the sea.”

I was done lying to him. “She flew here in a machine we call an ‘airplane.’”

Ieuan blinked. “She flew? You mean like a bird?”

“She was inside a machine much like my chariot, but with wings. The man piloting it landed here, Mom got out, and then he flew off by himself.”

Ieuan picked up on the last point. “How dare he do such a thing!”

I laughed. “He obviously cared less for her than we do.”

“Your mother did just fine on her own,” Aaron said. “Few women could have reached Wales in one piece, as she did.”

“You helped, Aaron,” I said. “My father and I haven’t forgotten it.”

Aaron bowed his head, but seemed to shrug his shoulders simultaneously. He still had a hard time taking a compliment, however deserved. He’d lived nearly a year among people who treated him respectfully even though he was a Jew, but that wasn’t enough time to overcome a lifetime of persecution in England.

We left the fort by the northern exit and again headed east. I watched the sun, trying to guess how long Mom had walked before she reached the fort. From her own description, she’d traveled for several hours, but it was hard to judge how quickly a horse might cover the same distance.

“There!” Ieuan said.

I saw it too: a small lake nestled in a little valley, glimmering in the sun.

Mom had given me what I thought were clear directions, but at first we couldn’t find the rock, the tree, and the specific bush she meant. I sent Aaron to the southern side of the wall to look again, and Ieuan and I walked down the hill to the beautifully clear lake. I picked up a stone and skipped it across the water.
One, two, three, four.
Ieuan found one for himself.
One, two, three, four, five.

“Hey!” I found another stone.
One, two.
Ieuan had a handful of stones and each one he sent skipping across the water to the count of five or six.

“What did Edward say, my lord? Something about putting an ‘upstart Prince’ in his place?” Ieuan couldn’t contain the laughter in his voice.

“Oh, now. That isn’t fair.” I stepped back from the lake and searched until I found a large rock, more like a boulder. I picked it up, muscled it to the edge of the lake, and threw it, aiming for a spot about a foot from where Ieuan was standing.
Thunk
. It sent up a huge splash, soaking him from head to toe.

“Ha!” I said.

Ieuan, devilry in his eyes, reached into the water and threw a handful of water at me.

“Over here, my lord!” Aaron interrupted our play.

Laughing, we pawed our way to the top of the hill, racing to see who could reach it first. When we found Aaron, he had the bag out and open and was staring at Mom’s laptop.

Wow! I wonder if it still works!

“It seems the bush was uprooted by an animal which covered over the bag,” he said.

“That won’t fit in the saddle bags.” Ieuan said.

“It folds very small. We just need to take everything out of it and distribute the contents first.” I bent forward to do just that, but before I could start, Ieuan hissed a warning. I swung around: men on horseback, still dots on the horizon, rode steadily in our direction.

“Men. Coming,” I said to Aaron. “Stay down. Maybe they haven’t seen us yet.”

 “Are they from the north or south?” Aaron said.
Scots or English?

“The west, from Carlisle,” I said, “and not riding hard, but a company of them, perhaps twenty.”

“What are we going to do?” Aaron said.

I made a instant decision. “Aaron, you take all of Mom’s things and ride south, right now, away from here.”

“What? I can’t leave you, my lord!” he said.

“Perhaps they aren’t unfriendly,” Ieuan said.

“We can’t risk the contents of my mother’s pack,” I said.