by D. J. Holmes
***
Hearing the sounds of horses hooves, Jon turns toward Julia, “Quickly… get off your horse and tie it by that large bush over there, there are soldiers coming, Julia. Take your blanket out of the bag that Daniel gave to us and throw it over you. It will make you invisible.”
“How did you know about that?”
“Blue Cloud called and told me about it. Apparently he and Snow Flower have all ready had to use them. If we huddle together, Running Deer can be between us. Then all of us will be invisible.”
“But what if it is the French? We have nothing to fear from them.”
“At this point, Julia, it doesn’t matter who it is. If they see you, they will think that you are Jehanne. If word gets back that Jehanne was seen making her way back to France then they would start questioning who they have in prison and both of your lives will be in danger. We all have to stay hidden.”
Unfortunately the soldiers get off of their horses to rest close to where they are hiding under their blankets. Running Deer notices that the French noble who hit Jehanne in the head with a flail, causing her to be unconscious for so many days, is with them. Standing up he readies his bow and arrow.
Whispering, Jon asks, “What are you doing, Running Deer?”
Continuing to walk toward the French noble, Running Deer yells, “YOU! I SAW YOU HIT JEHANNE WITH A FLAIL WHILE HER BACK WAS TURNED. FOR THIS YOU WILL BE PUNISHED!” And an arrow is seen speeding through the air in the direction of the French noble.
Jon quickly pulls Running Deer to the ground throwing the blanket over him so that he won’t be seen.
In shock and a great deal of pain, the French Noble feels an arrow hit his back side. Screaming in pain, with tears running down his face he yells, “How did Pierre find us? Did anyone see him?”
Coming from the noble’s tent, a servant hears what the noble is saying, “Who?” he asks.
“Pierre. That was Pierre. You know, Jehanne’s brother? He was always in battle with her.”
Looking around, trying to find Pierre, his servant replies, “I don’t see him now, do you?”
“No.”
“Do you need help, Sir?” The servant states as he points to the arrow, wondering where it came from.
“Of course, get this arrow out of my backside now!” the French noble demands. Then out of rage and frustration he asks, “…where did he go? I’m going to get him. Do you hear me? Get this arrow out. I can’t have my men see me like this, we aren’t even in battle.”
Verbally the servant says, “Yes, Sir.” But in his mind he says, “Well, I never remember seeing you in battle anyway, except when you went after Jehanne when her back was turned.”
“Look. Are you going to get this arrow out?” the noble yells.
“Yes Sir. Just lean over this rock….”
“No. Not you. Get my doctor. Oh, this hurts!!!!!” the French noble says as he bites on his gloves.
“Pierre. What did you do that for?” Jon asks.
“That was the French noble who wounded Jehanne with the flail.”
“Oh, that’s something different. Let’s make this something that he will always remember,” Julia states firmly.
While the French noble painfully waits for his doctor to come to his aid, rocks are flying through the air in his direction seemingly out of nowhere.
“What’s this? Ouch!” He yells, as several small rocks continue to pelt him. Running away from the rocks, he trips over a log that has somehow moved into his path, causing him to land on the same side the arrow has penetrated his back side. “What is happening here? Why is everything coming at me?” he cries as he tries to stay out of sight of his men.
After the doctor arrives, he asks the noble, “Where did this arrow come from? It doesn’t look like any of ours.”
“Why are you asking me where it came from? Do you think that I sat on it? I can’t stand this much pain!” Taking a breath he asks, “By the way did you see the rocks flying toward me?”
“No, I can’t say that I did.”
“Did you see that log roll into my path so that I would fall?”
“No. Are you sure that you are all right? Maybe you are tired.”
“You think that I am tired?”
“Yes. Things don’t happen like this, Sir,” the doctor says as he finishes placing a bandage on the wound and handing the arrow to the French noble.
“Maybe I am. Have the men set up camp. We’ll stay here for a few days.” Thoughtfully studying the arrow, he remembers Pierre and the arrows that he made specifically for his bow. “This looks exactly like one of his arrows. How did it get here? I haven’t seen him since Jehanne was taken prisoner,” he says quietly to himself.
Watching the soldiers as they set up their camp, Julia, Jon and Running Deer start planning what further tactics they might use to harass the cowardly French noble.
“Jon, I just noticed that I have two blankets in my bag.”
“Julia, Daniel must have known that we would need an extra one.”
“I’ll give this one to Pierre so that we all have our own.”
“That will make things a lot easier. We’ll all be able to go in different directions.”
With darkness, the chance would come to make the noble pay for inflicting so much pain on, Jehanne. With their plans completed, Jon, Julia and Running Deer wait. The fires burn down their last bit of light and the soldiers go to their resting area. Eventually the French noble goes to his tent. After a while the sounds of sleeping men is heard coming from their tents.
Quietly walking into the noble’s tent, Julia, Jon and Pierre are covered with their blankets, making them invisible to anyone who might awaken suddenly. Jon has pulled a flower from the field and touches the nose of the French noble. Raising his hand he brushes his nose, thinking it is a fly. The noble turns over onto his side. Jon touches his ear until the noble brushes it once again, turning over to his other side, groaning as his wound touches the hard ground. This time, Jon touches both his nose and his ear trying to get the noble frustrated.
Slowly opening his eyes they hear the noble quietly say, “You had better get out of here you stupid fly or you won’t live very much longer.”
Lowering the blanket until his head seems to be floating in the air, Jon declares, “I am your conscience.”
Surprised to hear a human voice, the noble’s eyes open looking quickly around the tent. Seeing only Jon’s head, he asks, “Who are you?”
“You forget your enemies so quickly!”
Pierre now drops his blanket down to his shoulders so that only his head is showing. Looking over at Pierre the noble is quite startled, “Pierre!” he finally manages to gasp.
“Yes you coward!”
“They made me do it Pierre. I didn’t want to hurt her.”
“You lie! You never wanted her to succeed. You have the title of noble… you a noble? I laugh! A noble is supposed to protect his people. You sat back in safety while you watched everyone around you die. All you thought of was yourself. All you wanted was to get the money and castles that the English promised you. Not once did you think of anyone else. You have no right to the title of noble…you are no more noble than the Kings that run this war. From the moment they took part in this perpetual war they lost their nobility.” Taking a breath, while trying to cool down, yet still very determined, Pierre continues, “…You are no more noble than the people who make money from the sale of weaponry for the wars, that all of you create. Your money is blood money! You will never feel happiness and peace, because your greed has brought so much pain to so many other people.”
“What do you want of me, Pierre?”
“I want you to live as nobles have always been asked to live. All nobles are supposed to represent God. They are to protect the people who are under their charge. They are to set a good example. They are supposed to be righteous so that they will have a righteous people…” Pierre hesitates then he says, “I was going to call you by your name, but I have n
ever known your name. What is it?”
“My name is Charles Martel. At least, that’s the first part of my name.”
Shocked…Pierre states “You carry that name and you are a coward?”
“I’m not a coward. I just do what I am told.”
“How did you come by that name? …Do you even know who that man was?”
“It is the name of my great-grandfather, five greats removed. All I know about him is that he owned a lot of land and he was a noble. I inherited his name.”
“Do you remember the sword that Jehanne used?” Pierre questions.
“Yes, I remember that old thing.”
Looking at this noble with a great deal of sadness, Pierre categorically states, “You have everything. Yet, you have nothing! That sword…. That old thing, as you call it, was your 5th great grandfather’s, the very man who saved France from the Muslim invasion in the month of October, in the year 732. The Muslims had taken all of Spain, and planned on taking all of France. Their plan was to take the rest of Europe, BUT YOUR GREAT, GREAT, GREAT, GREAT, GREAT GRANDFATHER STOPPED THEM! Do you realize what courage that took? Do you realize that he was also the grandfather of Charlemagne?” Shaking his head, Pierre continues, “I have a hard time believing that you are a descendant of such great men.”
Shocked by everything that he has just learned, the French noble suddenly sees another head appear. “Jehanne…why are you here?” he asks.
“I am here Charles, to ask you to become what Charles Martel and Charlemagne were. You have it within you. You were born with it. All you have to do is to take charge and do something with these special gifts of courage, strength, leadership and goodness. It is all within your very soul! All you have to do is to acknowledge it. You are noble…use your status to serve others. Lead your people, Charles. With you as their military leader, France will become what it was meant to be. And her people will once again be free.”
Julia, representing Jehanne, continues, “Be like your ancestors. Fight for righteousness at the side of God. Be His hands here on Earth. Be courageous and lead your people by giving them an example of what they could be. Allow all of them freedom, for it is a gift from God; no earthly man should take that gift away for it is not theirs to take. Know this Charles, when freedom is taken away, in any form, each individual has the right to fight to get it back. Go now…lead them, Charles. Lead France into its true destiny.”
Suddenly all of the heads disappear. The noble Frenchman, now known as Charles Martel, a descendant of the first Charles Martel and the famous Charlemagne, lies in his bed going over and over all of the words that he has just heard. “What just happened?” he asks quietly of himself.
A new day dawns as the morning light begins to shine, and the noble walks out of his tent door. Throughout the night he had relived his life and everything that he had done. He looked at the world that he lived within and tried to make sense of everything that he had been taught: that he was better than anyone else, that his decisions were better because he was so much smarter; people were here to serve him; he was to be waited upon; he didn’t have to fight and that others were born on this earth to die for him.
Realizing that everything he had been taught was a lie to keep his family in power, he had used people throughout his whole life, spitting them out when he was through with them; they were pawns for his use. It now dawned on him that he had been used as a pawn by his family, and by all the other royals; he had helped them to perpetuate their lies.
Finally, he had been told of the man he was named after. He now knew the truth, and it resonated within his heart. For the first time in his life everything seemed clear. With new purpose, everything that he sees now looks and feels so different: the air smells sweet; the colors of the trees, flowers and even the weeds are so vivid. Today with all this beauty, the sun is even warm and inviting and Charles is eager to step into a new destiny.
“I have always been told that I will meet all of my ancestors when I die. Will these men be proud of how I have conducted myself? I would say, with what I know now, ‘no’, they would be sad and ashamed. What have I done for France, have I protected it against foreign rule? I would say ‘no’ to that also. I have gone along with the English so that I could have land and castles and all the money that I could ever dream of when it is over….”
“Looking back, everyone that I know of has been given those same promises, but many of them have died of old age and never received anything because the war is still going on; a war that could have been stopped a long time ago, saving thousands of lives of the common people. I had always been told that was their purpose in this world, to do all of the fighting, and I never fought with them because I was afraid. Of course as a noble I had been given permission, from the other nobles, to watch others fight from a safe perch…. How could I have let others die for me and for my family? What about them and their families? My family never did our part… I was so blinded.”
“And what about our freedom… Freedom is God given and is meant for everyone; a precious gift that has been fought for so gallantly by all of our ancestors, in past decades. What have I personally done to preserve that freedom?”
Pondering all these thoughts and questions that he has finally asked himself, he comes to the conclusion, “I haven’t done anything for France. If I were to go to heaven today, I don’t think that, Charles Martel and Charlemagne, would be very proud of me. I don’t think that I could stand the pain in their eyes; to see that everything that they fought for no longer remains because I had used my status for my own greed, rather than for the protection of my people…. If I saw that pain in their eyes, I wouldn’t be able to live with myself. That same pain would also be in the eyes of God. Along with that I know that he would feel extremely disappointed and sad because he had given me so much and I hadn’t done all that I could to protect the precious gift of freedom that He has given to all human beings.”
Looking around at the morning sun, feeling the wind on his face and hearing the birds sing, he makes a profound statement. “Get the men ready. We leave now to free, Jehanne.”
“But Sir, it will take weeks to get to where she is being held captive.”
“Then we had better get started, don’t you think? We have wasted too much time as it is. We have no more time to spare.”
As instructions are given to his men there is a renewed sense of patriotism among his soldiers. The exhilaration that fills men’s souls when they know that they are finally on the correct path is unmistakable.
“We are going to rescue, Jehanne!” says one soldier.
“We are going to save France,” says another.
Excitement fills the air. Smiles are witnessed on everyone’s face. Finally, the noble that they follow is leading them in the right direction.
The French noble continues, “With my troops, with Jehanne, and with God’s help we will take France from the English. Our people will be free once again.”
As the French noble and his soldiers ride away from the place of their night’s encampment, Jon asks, “Did you hear that, Julia, and Running Deer?”
“He finally got the message. Someone is finally going to her rescue,” Running Deer smiles as he pulls the blanket away from his body.
“Hopefully he’ll get his troops to Jehanne as soon as possible,” Julia prays, as she begins to fold up her blanket.
“With the speed that they left here and with all the dirt that was kicked into the air by the horses, I think that is exactly what his plans are, Julia. I feel better about leaving now that I know that someone is going to her aid.”
“We need to leave as well, Running Deer. We need to get you back through the portal and to safety,” Jon states.
“It’s a good thing that we tied our horses farther from the camp. That’s the only reason the soldiers didn’t see them,” Running Deer gratefully acknowledges.
“I’m just grateful that we have horses. Julia and I walked this whole distance the first time we came this way
looking for you, Running Deer. Well, at least until we found, Jacque and Isabelle.”
Packing away their blankets and getting on their horses Julia adds, “That’s one of the reasons it took us so long to find you. That, and then of course, all of the battles that you were involved in freeing France from English rule. That took a lot of time because you were always so far ahead of us…. Have we ever told you how proud we are of you, Running Deer? You protected, Jehanne, thinking only of her safety. You were willing to face whatever situation you encountered.”
“I have thought of that, Julia.” Remembering and pausing for a short while, Running Deer finally expresses, “I have come to the conclusion that there are no mistakes. We are sent to different places to help those that we come in contact with.”
“You are exactly right. Each dimension has a life of its own. Every person born in that dimension is prepared for their part, if they so choose. If they choose not to take part, another is put in their place; for God has his plan and it will go forward. Running Deer, you helped Jehanne do the part that she was prepared for,” Julia acknowledges.
“It was my honor. I would have helped Jehanne do anything in any dimension. I’m just sad that I can’t be with her now,” Running Deer says as he looks to the ground.
“We are all sad that we can’t be with her, Running Deer,” Julia adds.
Riding in silence, they finally reach their destination. Pointing toward a specific rock formation Jon announces, “There it is.”
At that moment both Jon’s and Julia’s bracelet’s buzz…. Answering it they see Blue Cloud looking at them through the device. “I just wanted you to know that the round balls in your bag will make it possible to escape an enemy. Just throw one to the ground and it will create a lot of smoke so that you cannot be seen.”
“Thank you, Blue Cloud. We have just reached the portal entrance. We should be entering as soon as our conversation is finished.”
“I won’t keep you then,” says Blue Cloud.
“Tell, Daniel ‘hello’ for me and Snow Flower when you get to the Beach House.”
“We will. Have you found Gray Wolf yet?” Julia asks.
“Not yet. But we have an idea of where he will be.”
“That’s good news.” Jon comments.
“See you then.”
“See you,” Jon and Julia reply.
Breathing a sigh of relief they approach the rock formation. Dismounting their horses, and seeing no one around, they take time to stretch.
“Ouch, that was a long ride. It’s good to be walking on the ground again.”
Before they have a chance to take a couple of steps toward the portal, a voice from behind them is heard to declare.
“At Last… this time I’ll make sure that you never get away!”
Surprised, they turn around to see an English noble. Pierre remembered this noble because he and Jehanne had encountered him on the battlefield. Jehanne later told Pierre of the time that he and his soldiers had come to her village when she was younger. It was at that time that she told him that she would meet him on the battlefield. He had laughed at her, calling her a witch. After Jehanne won the battle between them, the English noble reported back to the English King calling her a witch for the second time.
The English noble, recognized both Pierre, and who he thought was Jehanne. As he sat straight and tall on his horse, he expresses with a sneer, “I’ve always appreciated patience, so I waited. And here you are. Now that I have you, this time you will not escape my grasp.”
Looking at the English noble and his soldiers, Running Deer, playing his part as Pierre, asks, “Why are you so far north?”
“Oh, we were just scouting the area for any French. The rest of our English troops will be here within a few days.”
“So you are actually fighting now?” Running Deer, quips.
“I don’t fight. It’s not my place to fight.”
“Yes, I’ve heard that stupidity over and over again,” Running Deer states.
As the English noble directs his soldiers to tie their hands, Julia asks, “Sir, as you plainly outnumber us, would it be all right if we walked around for a while? It’s been a long ride.”
“I remember the trouble you caused in your village; I remember how you won the battle, and when you put an arrow in my back side…”
Jon and Julia look at Running Deer. Quietly they ask, “Jehanne did that to him?”
“Yes. That’s why I did the same thing to the French noble the other night.”
Jon adds, “It’s all quite clear now as to why you did what you did.”
“I was following Jehanne’s example, Jon. She knows how to treat nobles,” he says fondly remembering Jehanne shooting the English noble after he had offered her money, land and a castle if she would become part of the game between the French and the English, and loose her battles. He smiled as he remembered watching her ride with her bow and arrow targeting his back side, as her answer.
The English noble had been talking all this time. “… since we out number you now I will allow you to walk for a short while.” He finally finishes by saying, “I really think that you are a witch, and I want no games played today.”
“Don’t worry we have no other soldiers or people from my village with us. So what games could we play? I was wondering if it would be all right if we walked up on that rock?” as Julia points toward where she knows the portal is.
“Why would you want to do that?” the English noble asks with suspicion.
“As you can see, this is all flat ground. When we walk on rocks it stretches out our feet and legs.”
“I’ve never heard of that before.”
“So that you won’t think that I am going to do anything, why don’t you have one of your men hold the reins of our horses while we walk on the rocks?
“Very well then, I can’t imagine that as long as we have your horses that you will be able to go anywhere… should you feel inclined to do so,” he added with a smirk.
***
“Daniel…. Julia, Jon and Running Deer are at the portal.”
“I’ll hurry and open it for them, Treysen. Thank you for letting me know”
“Just doing my job, Daniel,” Treysen says with a smile.
Smiling back, Daniel runs to the portal.