The Clock People

by Mark Roland Langdale

  Scarlet looked over to see a pool of light upon the ground. She hadn’t noticed it before and in the pool she could see the reflection of the celestial clock which was shimmering in the pool of moonlight. It must have rained earlier that day or the day before, or so Scarlet imagined, then a breeze passed over the pool of water causing ripples to spread out across it in rapid succession. However, unlike normal ripples these ripples did not spread across the pool of water at an equal rate, they appeared to spread out at different rates. As if this trick of the moonlight wasn’t enough, a dragonfly then appeared out of thin air and landed upon the pool of water. And then, a most extraordinary event occurred as the dragonfly flew around and around the two men known as Merlin, creating what to Scarlet looked like a fairy ring in the air or a magic ring created by a sparkler used on Guy Fawkes Night. Nobody but Scarlet appeared to see this extraordinary event as she observed the two men shimmering as they lit up in a bright luminescent state, as if the moon was passing directly through the two men.

  The men shimmered then flickered as if they were light in a gas lamp being blown in the wind. If Scarlet thought this show of extraordinary magic was at an end she was mistaken, as then, as if in a phantasmagorical illusion conjured up in a magic lantern show, the light of the two men seemed to leave their bodies, passing through one another as they swapped places. This all happened in the blinking of a dragonfly’s magical eye as the dragonfly simply vanished back from whence it had come, which had been from thin air like the universe was said to have done at the beginning of time.

  ‘Come on, no time to waste,’ Alfie cried pulling on Merlin’s long black robe bespangled in gold and silver stars.

  ‘Yes, I’ll see you two soon, I hope,’ Merlin said smiling at Humdinger and his namesake John Joseph Merlin.

  ‘Why can’t you simply break the spell on the maze? It would save us a lot of time and shoe leather,’ Scarlet said in automaton-like fashion in somewhat of a daze as she gazed at both the Merlins wondering which Merlin was which.

  ‘Sorry, no can do, can’t break a time spell, it could break the timeline in two. Number thirty-seven in the Time Travellers Handbook, Chapter One, The Paradox, and here it clearly states once a time spell has been cast it cannot be uncast, same goes for fly fishing I would imagine,’ Merlin smiled sheepishly.

  ‘So Hampton Court Maze will forever be a four-dimensional maze in time and space?’ Scarlet enquired almost as if the amazing happening hadn’t happened and was nothing more than a figment of her vivid imagination. Being in a magical place in time and space was it any wonder her imagination was working over time? In truth, in the circles magicians travelled in, this illusion was known as the Merlin Effect.

  ‘Well, at least that would stop school children complaining that Hampton Court Maze is too small and too easy to figure out!’ Merlin laughed. ‘No, the time spell just takes a little time to disappear. All things will come to pass in time.’

  ‘Five hundred years timewise isn’t that little to my mind!’ Scarlet exclaimed, whose worried mind turned from worrying about phantoms of the mind to worrying about her unfinished homework.

  ‘Believe you me, it is in the scheme of things. Anyway five hundred years timewise is equal to only ten of your years, so when you return to your own time you’ll be in time for your twenty-first birthday party!’ said Merlin trying hard not to smile.

  ‘Oh and one more trick,’ Merlin said bowing then swishing his cape one way then the other as if he were in a bull ring in Spain expecting a bull to appear out of thin air. A bull did not appear out of thin air, however a man on a magic carpet did. ‘Your carriage awaits, Mr Merlin, I can fly just fine without this ancient mode of transport. Mr Al-jazari is your driver and a mighty fine one he is too. He has won the Great Great Carpet Race of the Arabias five times over, isn’t that right, Al?’

  ‘Yes, master, that is so and I would have won it six times if I did not have to let King Midas’ son win it as I am rather fond of my head, if you get my meaning,’ Al-jazari replied. ‘Oh, Mr Merlin, I have brought you a present I think you may like, a very enjoyable read. Mind you, I am biased as I wrote it. It will tell you how to make an Arabian clock that runs on quicksilver or mercury if you want the true tale, leaving out the Arabian Nights for the time being.’ The Arabian carpet rider smiled handing John Joseph Merlin a copy of his book, The Book of Knowledge of Ingenious Mechanical Devices.

  ‘A most illuminating read, I’m sure, thank you both and safe journey wherever you are travelling to,’ John Joseph Merlin said stepping onto the carpet and bowing as if leaving stage left as they say in theatrical circles of the magical variety.

  And with the pleasantries and goodbyes done and dusted Merlin the Magician and the time travellers all hotfooted it into the maze and disappeared in time. Time came and went in the blinking of a magical dragonfly’s eye as kings, queens, princes and princesses appeared out of, then disappeared into, the mists of time. Beauties like Adonis and Flora, and beasts like Mars the God of War and Hercules all stood in statuesque pose in Hampton Court Gardens, as they thankfully were simply statues. But statues could be brought to life with some help from that little thing they called ‘magic’, both dark and light magic. The Time Team were still in hot pursuit of their man who they now imagined went by the moniker of the Time Thief. Up and down the paths of the maze in time and space they travelled as the imaginary hands on the celestial clock in the Clock Courtyard spun first forward, then back, then forward again. At one time the hands spun so fast one would have imagined they would spin off and take someone’s eye out, perhaps a passing giant! Time froze for an instant as Merlin pointed out a meeting of the Lunar Society being held in the goal of the maze. One of the men looked like the great luminaire and scientist Sir Isaac Newton, who was holding court as if on stage. They also stopped to see Princess Victoria taking tea in the goal of the maze with four young girls and a young boy with their parents by their side, all the spitting image of the Romanov family. However, this was not the same time as the meeting of the Lunar Society, unless time really was an illusion of such complexity it all ran at the same time and like clockwork, or was that like anti-clockwork?

  It was like Merlin was showing them slides on a giant magic lantern in time and space. After this Merlin showed them a giant silver mechanical swan swimming through the maze in a river of quicksilver, and upon the swan’s back were King Wilhelm II, the Swan King, and four princesses and a prince all wearing what looked through Scarlet’s eyes like angels’ wings. Then the mechanical silver swan took flight, disappearing into a pool of mercury, or if you want the truth the planet Mercury.

  In all the confusion Scarlet never did find out exactly who the prince and princess were who owned the original two moonstone timepieces. Horace H. Humdinger said he imagined he had made it for Princess Elizabeth but he seemed far from sure. Scarlet imagined the dragonfly timepieces must have been created for Prince and Princess Romanov as she called them, making them sound like characters out of a fairytale, as to her their children seemed to be ones who had a grim ending to their life instead of the fairytale ending, being innocents, they deserved. Scarlet wondered, like Alice, if they had known the secret of the watches. Perhaps they had travelled in time. If so, maybe they did finally get their fairytale ending. Scarlet liked to believe this was the story and not the grim one told and retold by the historians.

  In the blinking of a magical dragonfly’s eye, with no words being exchanged between the travellers, Merlin had shown them four slices of time, or slides if you prefer. Scarlet did not ask Merlin to tell her the story and he did not offer any explanations for this show and tell in time. Billy and Alfie didn’t appear to be viewing the same things, as Scarlet appeared to be the viewer, but then the observer is the one who makes the magic happen and everybody sees things through different eyes. Scarlet appeared to be seeing things through the lense of the eye of a dragonfly. Sometimes it was best to keep the mystery a mystery,
for that was where the magic lay.

  ‘Oops I’ve lost my hat!’ Merlin exclaimed as his pointy gold and black wizard’s hat fell off his head as they dashed through the maze hot on the heels of the Time Thief. ‘I’d lose my head if it wasn’t screwed on properly!’

  Everything was happening so fast it was hard to tell what was happening as time and space whizzed by faster than the speed of light.

  ‘Look out!’ spat the thief as he and Scarlet bumped into one another in the maze. The fob watch which housed the Clock People fell out of the thief’s pocket as the snuffbox fell out of Scarlet’s pocket at the same time. Wilbur was thrown up high into the air, spinning over and over like an acrobat, something by this time he was getting used to, although in truth he wished he was not. The wheels of the giant clockwork Clock of Time clanked and groaned as the cogs slowed the wheels down, then seemed to come to an abrupt halt. The astronomical clock in the Clock Courtyard was keeping perfect time, keeping up with everything that was going on with effortless ease as if it were an ancient computer.

  Then time moved on frame by frame, as if this scene really was being viewed upon a giant magic lantern projector. In frame one, an insect appeared to crawl across the face of the watch, however it wasn’t an insect it was Tippy Handle. Frame two, a turquoise dragonfly was pictured hovering in mid-air as if caught in an amber resin. Frame three, Tippy and Wilbur both fell. Frame four, they appeared to be caught in mid-air trapped in moonlight. ‘It’s magic most marvellous. I present the Great Wilbur and his beautiful assistant Tippy Handle as they both defy the laws of gravity,’ Wilbur trumpeted theatrically as if he were a miniature P.T. Barnum, the two of them hanging suspended in mid-air as if on strings of gossamer. Frame five, a fluorescent spider appeared and they soon realised they were not walking on air at all but were caught in a gossamer web. Frame six, the spider, sensing he had his prey trapped, moved in for the kill. It seemed to take an eternity for the projectionist to put the seventh slide into the magic lantern projector. Then finally frame seven appeared on the screen, a picture of the most beautiful and magical turquoise dragonfly imaginable. However, the miniature dragon was not caught in the amber resin as it appeared before, but was now flying free with Wilbur and Tippy upon its back. You see, the dragonfly had rescued them from the jaws of the spider just in the nick of time. The magic lantern show now over, time ran as normal, the dragonfly’s four luminescent wings a blur of quicksilver as it flew off into the night.

  ‘We’re dragon riders and damn fine ones too, if I do say so myself. I’ve always wanted to ride a dragon. It seems wishes do come true after all,’ hollered Tippy riding the miniature dragon sidesaddle as if she were a princess from the Kingdom of the Dragonfly.

  ‘Don’t let the dragonfly hear you call it a dragon, it will hurt its feelings,’ cried Wilbur imagining he was a prince as he hung on tightly to his princess, determined this time not to let her go.

  ‘That was a close call!’ Tippy exclaimed breathing a huge sigh of relief.

  ‘It appears we’ve just found our knight in shining armour,’ Wilbur said using his imagination to great effect.

  Was the dragonfly the Time Warper from their own time? Not for the first or probably the last time only time would tell. It appeared the magic lantern show was not yet over, as there was one final scene to play out, unless this was simply an encore.

  In frame eight, Scarlet was seen reaching for the fob watch but in frame nine, the Time Thief beat her to it and in frame ten the thief snatched the watch back as once again time speeded up.

  ‘Can’t you slow time down, Merlin? I’m exhausted!’ cried Alfie puffing and panting like an old steam engine about to combust.

  ‘I imagine I can now, let me see,’ replied Merlin the Magician who, it appeared, had all the time in the world.

  Time slowed down to a snail’s pace and speeded up to that of a jaguar in full stride then stopped, but what time had they stopped in? Past, present or future?

  49

  A Real Piece of Living Victoriana!

  ‘Hello, who are you?’ asked a young girl in a flowing, frilly, cream lace dress looking a little puzzled.

  ‘My name’s Scarlet, this is William and this here is my little brother Alfie.’ Scarlet no longer had the dilemma of whether to introduce Wilbur or not as he was lost somewhere in the maze along with Tippy and the Time Warper, the dragonfly. When Scarlet first saw the girl she imagined it was simply one of the many statues in the maze, then she had to wonder if in fact it was a living work of art, a priceless piece of Victoriana?

  ‘I know a William. I’d like to say he’s a prince charming but he isn’t. Oh my name’s Victoria, Princess Victoria, oh look a beautiful dragonfly! If William saw one the beast would pull its wings off!’

  ‘Once upon a time my brother would have done something similar but like the butterfly he’s changed. I’ve no doubt in time your William will too,’ Scarlet said sounding very grown up.

  ‘Once upon a time there was a dragonfly brooch watch in the family, one that was beauty personified, but one day it simply disappeared as if by dark magic,’ Victoria said, a faraway look in her eyes. ‘Mother said a maid took it but it was never proved one way or the other. It originally was owned by Queen Charlotte or so I was told.’

  Was this the same dragonfly watch that she had in her possession? Scarlet wanted to take it out and show it to the girl, the girl she imagined was the future Queen of England, but if she did she may lose her head, literally, after all Queen Victoria was known for not being amused. It could be Alice in Wonderland and the Queen of Hearts all over again!

  ‘We have a—’ Alfie started to say before Scarlet quickly shut him up by glaring at him and poking him in the ribs. ‘We have a garden full of wonderful creatures – dragonflies, butterflies and so forth – it’s full of rosemary and thyme,’ Alfie grunted forcing a smile onto his lips, which in all honesty was more grimace than smile.

  ‘We have quite a nice garden,’ Victoria said referring to the vast gardens at Hampton Court which included the Tiltyard Garden, the Rose Garden, the Privy Garden, the Pond Garden, the Great Fountain Garden, amongst the many gardens in the grounds of the palace. ‘My mother and father have got plenty of time for gardens. They say once embedded within a garden time seems to slow down. You have time to stop and smell the roses,’ Victoria said sounding very grown up all of a sudden before quickly returning to her childhood. ‘Do you have time for a game of hide and seek?’

  Embedded in a garden, Scarlet wondered if Princess Victoria imagined she was Alice in Wonderland’s sister. Scarlet had seen green wizards’ pointy hats sticking out of the ground in the gardens of Hampton Court Maze and had thought a wizard had been buried alive. No doubt this medieval punishment was for crimes against magic? The truth was it was simply topiary, which shows the power of a child’s imagination. What would Scarlet’s imaginative wild imagination conjur up next for her, she wondered? Perhaps she would find herself embedded in a garden head first or beheaded like a dead flower or immured in between hedges, especially if those hedges were privet!

  Scarlet did not think there was enough time in the world to play a game of hide and seek in a maze in four dimensions, so gracefully declined the kind invitation. ‘Sorry Your Majesty, we don’t have the time, we’re looking for a man with a scar across his face.’

  ‘A pirate, how exciting, a pirate ship run aground in a flooded maze. Now that would be amazing!’ Victoria mused. Scarlet thought Victoria quite charming and very amusing despite her fearsome reputation in the future – no, make that the past. Except the past wasn’t passed it was the present! ‘No, sorry, I can’t say I have seen a scar-faced man but I’ll keep my beady eye out for him. Has he a patch over one eye?’

  ‘No, although if you see him you should be careful, he’s not to be trusted. I wouldn’t give him the time of day or night. He may well try and steal your crown, your jewels and your time, or at le
ast that pendant watch you’re wearing around you neck,’ Scarlet retorted looking stern of face.

  ‘A pirate and a highwayman all rolled into one. This really is quite some story. I suppose I can’t come along for the ride?’ Victoria said in wide-eyed wonderment.

  ‘If something happened to you I think we’d all lose our heads. I’m sure the King would!’ Scarlet said grimacing.

  ‘Yes, you’re probably right, Mama and Papa do like to keep me wrapped up in cotton wool like a dead butterfly, but one day I will fly free and nobody will stop me,’ Victoria said looking over one of the tall hedges as if she were imagining herself as a butterfly or Countess Ada Lovelace, who, it was said, once upon a time imagined she was a mechanical bird who could fly.

  ‘I imagine you will, Your Highness, I imagine you will,’ Scarlet said curtsying to the princess.

  Then Merlin appeared seemingly out of thin air. The truth was he had appeared from a blind alley.

  ‘Is this a treasure hunt in fancy dress?’ Victoria asked.

  ‘Sort of,’ Alfie said nervously bowing and scraping to the future Queen of England.

  ‘What fun, oh well, good luck with your treasure hunting, at least for once I’ve got something exciting to write about in my diary,’ and with that Princess Victoria skipped happily off into the maze as if she had an invisible skipping rope in her hands. Scarlet wondered if Victoria was playing with anybody else or perhaps she was simply playing with an imaginary friend. Scarlet imagined it must be lonely being a member of the Royal Family, especially if you were a child. Often they were looked after by nannies and hardly saw their mother and father. Scarlet imagined Victoria imprisoned in a piece of Victoriana, a glass paperweight, as if it were a time capsule.