“How many years have you been gone on this time shift of yours?” he asked.
“Only a few days,” was Elise’s reply.
“That is quite impossible, are you sure, less than a week?” the doctor asked.
“I assure you, Dr. Farley, I have been gone from here less than a week my time.”
The doctor just stood and kept looking Elise over until he commented, “You look at least five maybe seven years older than the last time I saw you.” He then referred to some papers he had brought in with him and stated, “The last time you were in for an appointment was the first of last month. I am going to have to give you a complete physical.”
When the doctor had finished his complete examination of Elise he commented very seriously, “You appear to be about twenty years of age, but your charts say you are only fourteen.”
With that he walked over to a box on the wall and pushed a button and talked into it saying, “Miss Kinsley will you page Dr. Conrad Jordan and have him come here right away.”
When he turned away from the box he saw that Elise had a distressing look about her and walked over to her and said, “It may be nothing but I want Dr. Jordan’s opinion since he works for Layton in the physics department and is the expert in the theory of time travel.”
Elise only nodded and sat there stone quiet until Rebekka could stand it no longer and went over to her.
She put her arm around her shoulder and said, “I am sure everything will be all right.” Rebekka tried to say this convincingly, but in her mind she doubted whether everything would be fine.
The doctor looked at Rebekka again and then spoke to Elise, “Does your friend need some supplemental vitamins for her pregnancy?”
Elise’s eyes went wide as she looked at Rebekka's stomach and then she quickly answered the doctor, “Yes, please.”
The doctor went to a drawer and took out a bottle and handed them to Elise and then said, “I will be back when Dr. Jordan arrives to see you.”
He then left the room and Elise turned to Rebekka and said, “You are with child, I did not know! I saw a bulge in your stomach but did not realize the implications until the doctor said something. It is a good thing you are with me for the doctor surely would have questioned you about this in detail.”
“Why?” Rebekka wanted to know. “What is so unusual about a woman with child?”
“Because,” Elise stated as if Rebekka should know, “no one is allowed to conceive unless the state says it is ok. Only about half of married couples are allowed to have a child.”
Rebekka was indignant, “How could Layton forbid the God given right of a married couple to have a child if they wanted to? What has Glenfair become under his rule?” Rebekka would have gone on in her anger but at that moment two men entered the room and she wisely went back to being the silent observer in the room. But she could not help but think of what the world had become under Layton’s evil rule.
Dr. Farley and Dr. Jordan came over to Elise and began once again to look at her physical features casually.
Conrad Jordan introduced himself once again to Elise, “I have seen you with Layton and you helped me with some of my experiments.
“I know who you are,” Elise replied. “You developed the technology to enhance the time shifting ability of time travelers.”
Dr. Jordan smiled, “There certainly is nothing wrong with your memory. You say you are 14 in actual years?” Dr. Jordan asked amazed. “We have no case history where this has happened to any time traveler. Are you sure you have not been gone for a few years?”
“Yes, very certain,” answered Elise curtly, “only a few days.”
Dr. Jordan got very serious at Elise’s answer and said slowly, “How far in time did you travel with the devices I created for Layton?”
Elise paused to consider and said, “Over two thousand years she replied.”
Very wise of you Elise, Rebekka thought, in not revealing the exact time of where you traveled to.
Dr. Jordan frowned and then said heatedly, “I told Layton that we needed to run more tests before there was any great leaps in time. But no, he was in too much of a hurry and now we have a crisis because of it. He will probably blame me for this incident when it is really his fault.”
Dr. Farley was mortified at Conrad Jordan’s statement. People had been executed for saying less things about Layton’s judgment, and here no less before Elise, his chancellor.
Elise was not the least bit moved by the tone of Dr. Jordan’s statement but simply asked, “What do you think has happened to me?”
Dr. Jordan regained his composure and said; “I am not sure, we will have to run some genetic tests before we can know what has happened.”
“Then do it now,” Elise replied, “we will wait outside for your diagnosis.” Both doctors nodded and began to work immediately with the machines in the room. Elise motioned to Rebekka and they both went back out to the waiting room and sat down. Elise did not seem worried, Rebekka noticed for she conversed as if nothing were wrong at all.
Rebekka was a little concerned and said, “You do not seem worried at all Elise.”
“These are the best doctors Layton has, they will find an answer,” she replied.
Time passed and Rebekka noticed that Elise was getting a little impatient when the woman that led them into the examining room came to get them once again. They entered the same room and found Dr. Farley and Dr. Jordan waiting for them.
Dr. Jordan cleared his throat and began, “The best we have determined Elise,” and he paused here, “is that you are aging at an accelerated rate. We do not know the reasons but believe it has something to do with the great distance in time you have traveled. Also, to our best understanding the condition is irreversible.”
“What are you saying?” Elise asked.
“You are aging very quickly and there is nothing we can do about it,” Dr. Farley stated.
“How fast will I get old?” Elise wanted to know, panic in her voice.
“We don’t know that either,” Dr. Jordan stated. “But the greatest changes you will notice have already taken place in your growth and maturity into womanhood. Now that your body has matured, the aging may slow down a little.”
“How long will I live?” Elise demanded of them both in such a tone they both snapped up strait.
Dr. Farley hesitated but finally spoke, “Our estimate is fifteen to twenty years.”
Elise turned pale and so did the doctors at this revelation, while Rebekka just listened, taking this all in.
Elise finally gained her composure and a smile grew on her face while she said, “No problem, I will just go back a few days and tell Layton that I cannot travel such a great distance without personal harm to myself.”
Rebekka was now alarmed, that could change everything, maybe for the worse, and she knew Layton would not take no for an answer to finding the ancients, even if it killed Elise.
But before she could say anything Dr. Jordan intervened, “No Elise you cannot do that!”
“And why not?” she asked defiantly.
“Further time travel may make you worse or even kill you,” Conrad Jordan said flatly. “And besides, once Layton knew my time amplifying invention would work, nothing would keep him from trying to use it. He would make you go anyway.”
Rebekka could stay still no longer and simply said, “Listen to him Elise, you must not do anything until we know more.”
“Who is this woman?” Conrad asked, seeming to notice Rebekka for the first time.
“She is very important to Layton and is my friend,” was all that Elise needed to say. Nothing more was said about Rebekka’s presence or input from the doctors.
“I need to be alone,” Elise said. “Leave both of you.”
The doctors glanced at Rebekka and then hastily retreated from the room leaving the two women alone.
When they were gone Elise had tears in her eyes and shook her head saying,
“What am I going to do?” Rebekka came over to her and hugged her close as she cried on her shoulder.
“We need to get you back home and then we will decide what to do,” Rebekka said in a comforting, motherly fashion. When Elise had dried her tears they left the same way they had arrived.
In the outer waiting area, the woman they had first met cleared her throat clearly hesitant about saying anything but finally uttered, “Dr. Farley wishes to see you in a week. Please call at your convenience when you wish to see him.” The woman then bowed and left the room quickly.
Elise did not say anything all on the way back to the place where she lived. Once inside her spacious room she went to a couch and sat down, tears showing in her eyes again. Rebekka had to force herself to remember that Elise was only fourteen years old, it was easy to forget based on her appearance.
“The first thing we should do,” Rebekka said softly, “is to eat a good lunch. We will have something brought here for I am sure you do not feel like eating out.”
Rebekka pushed the button Elise had shown her on the arm of the chair and said, “Now, what is your favorite lunch?”
“Pizza,” Elise mumbled, as the same woman who waited on Elise the day before entered.
Rebekka turned to her and said, “We would like some pizza for lunch.”
“What kind would you like?” the woman asked.
Rebekka looked at Elise who was now watching her, and with her back to the woman mouthed, “What is a pizza?” with a funny expression that made Elise laugh.
Elise then said to the woman, “A large combination, and a large sausage. Do you like mushrooms?” Elise asked Rebekka.
Rebekka nodded and Elise added, “With lots of mushrooms, and bring us a variety of drinks.”
The woman left quickly and Elise turned to Rebekka and said now smiling, “You don’t know what pizza is do you?”
“No,” Rebekka said, “what is it?”
Elise laughed again and said, “You’ll have to wait and see.”
It was not long before the pizza as Elise called it arrived. It smelled wonderful and Rebekka could not wait to taste it. She thought that Elise’s appetite would be large as well and was not wrong on that guess as they both began to eat. First Elise, for Rebekka did not know how to go about eating this new meal for there were no utensils present. When Elise grabbed a cut piece and began to eat it by hand Rebekka almost laughed.
“What is it?” Elise said, amused by Rebekka’s stifled chuckle.
“Last night we had such formal dining and today we are eating with our hands,” Rebekka stated.
Elise admitted it was pretty funny but also added that unless Rebekka started eating she wouldn’t get any. Rebekka did enjoy the pizza very much and was soon full, with Elise eating what was left over. Rebekka marveled again how much Elise had eaten. When they were completely finished and after someone had been summoned to clean things up, Rebekka knew that Elise’s outlook would be much better.
“Are you feeling a little bit better?” Rebekka asked her.
Elise nodded, and then asked, “Why are you so concerned for me? I have taken you from your home and your husband to this strange time, you should hate me. Yet all you have shown me is kindness.”
“Hate,” Rebekka began, “should be reserved for evil. You are not evil like Layton Teal nor are you like him at all. In fact I have seen your heart and I believe it is a good one. I am sorry for how Layton has hurt you and used you.”
“What do you know of my hurt?” Elise stated.
“Tell me about your family,” Rebekka asked, “what has Layton done to them?” Elise turned pale all the fight now gone out of her. She was silent for a while and Rebekka thought that perhaps she would say nothing.
But finally she began almost in a whisper, “My parents were granted the privilege of having only one child. My older sister was born two years before I was. When I was born they hid me from the state. Then I learned that I had the ability to shift time when I was twelve. People up until that time had kept their mouths shut about my parents having two children. But someone told the authorities that I was a time shifter and Layton Teal came to our home with a small group of soldiers. I had never seen him before, only heard of him, and his very name brought fear to my heart. He told my parents that they had broken the law by having two children, and they were terrified by his personally seeing to this matter himself. The only solution he told my parents was for one of their children to die. I was so scared, especially when he looked at me and said that since the younger one was not supposed to be born, I must die. Layton grabbed me and my father rose to intercede and Layton yelled that if he did not sit down immediately, they would all die. He left soldiers there in our house with guns pointed at them and took me outside. He then bent down and whispered these words to me that I will never forget:”
“If you do as I say you will have anything you ever want except one thing. You can no longer have your family, I am your family do you understand? If you do not agree I will have them all killed and take you with me anyway, is that clear?”
“With that he took my hand and led me away, I heard a shot fired behind us and I know that my family thinks I am dead, probably to this day. A year later I asked Layton if I could see my family and he grew angry and said;”
“I thought we had decided that I am your family, if you want them to stay alive never mention this to me again”.
“This is the first time I have mentioned my family since that day.”
Rebekka’s heart almost broke listening to the story this young girl had told her.
“I am so sorry,” Rebekka said with emotion. She came over to Elise and wrapped her up in an embrace while the girl cried her heart out. Rebekka realized for the first time in years this poor girl had found in her someone that resembled a mother for emotional support. She was no longer angry with Elise for her abduction, she like many others were only pawns in the games Layton played with people’s lives. She also knew that she could not do what she decided was her last resort, override Elise’s mind to prevent her from going back for Layton which would strand him in her time, keeping him from reaching the ancients. Rebekka had come to realize in recent days her mental capacity was so strong that she could override and control another person’s mind. She shuddered at the hideous thought of doing such a thing to another human. It loathed her to even consider it, for her code of ethics went far too deep to seek simple justification for such an act. The only reason she even entertained the thought was for the sake of the kingdom of Glenfair. But now that was no longer an option, seeing how much Elise had suffered.
“There has to be another way,” Rebekka desperately thought.
Elise’s sobs were quieting down and she finally uttered a question to Rebekka, “What should I do? Layton wants me to take you back in four days, but if I go I will grow older and die sooner.
“Do not go,” Rebekka said simply.
“What?” Elise said stunned.
“Do not go,” Rebekka repeated.
“Layton will be so angry he will kill me and my family if I do not obey him,” Elise said with panic in her voice.
“How?” Rebekka asked.
“He is a powerful man, he can do anything he wants,” Elise said frantically.
“Yes,” said Rebekka, “anything but travel in time without a time shifter.”
Elise’s mouth dropped open as the comprehension of what Rebekka had said sank past her fear.
A little smile crossed her lips and she said, “He is stuck there three thousand years in the past without me isn’t he?”
Rebekka only nodded, satisfied that Elise saw the truth.
Now Elise began to get excited, “We are free of Layton, free of his evil forever, this is so great!” But then she paused and began to descend to a sober mood once more.
She looked at Rebekka sadly and said, “But if we leave Layton there it will be bad for your family won’t it?”
; “Yes,” Rebekka said, “it would be,” thinking of Raven and the others against an evil Layton with all the weapons he possessed. He would probably conquer their kingdom and the Wickshield one too. It was a terrible thought to consider.
“We must go back then,” Elise said, “even if I die a few years later. I would not want Layton to hurt anyone else so I can have peace.”
Rebekka admired the self sacrifice Elise was willing to make for others and decided she had judged her fairly.
“We must not go back,” Rebekka said firmly to Elise.
“But why?” Elise asked. “Your family could suffer.” Rebekka sighed and decided at that moment to tell Elise the whole truth.
“Did Layton ever tell you why he wanted you to take him so far back in time?”
“Not really,” Elise stated. “He just said there was some things in history he wanted to track down. But I guessed he was searching for the traitors that escaped him.”
Rebekka nodded and began, “Those traitors were people just like you who wanted to live apart from Layton’s iron fist. They fled back in time before Glenfair was settled and began the kingdom of Glenfair a thousand years before my lifetime. I am one of their descendants, and so is my husband King Raven. In fact most of Glenfair in our day is descended from those who fled into the past to hide from Layton. If Layton Teal finds our ancestors and kills them or brings them back here, we and our kingdom will cease to exist. Thousands of people who enjoyed peace, and loved life for a thousand years will vanish from history.”
Elise was mortified, “If I knew this to be true I would never have taken him back the first time no matter what he would have done to me and my family. He has killed millions here in our time, and if I had the power to keep him from killing more I would.”
Now tears were running anew down Elise’s face as she kept saying, she was sorry to Rebekka.
Rebekka held her and whispered in her ear, “It is ok, you had no idea. Now you know why you should not go back for Layton, even if people suffer in my time, the kingdom will survive and live on.”
The King's Ancestors Page 20