The Shield

by CJ Bentley

  “Brother Dominic, how are you? Do you have the rooms ready for us?” Sir Kay enquired. The monk nodded his head but didn’t speak. Sir Kay looked at me with a look that told me I would find out what was happening later and not to question.

  The monk led the horses away towards the stables and Sir Kay and I entered the building, which I supposed was a monastery. It was very cool inside, with lots of archways leading to corridors, through one of which another monk approached us. He was tall, and walked quickly. Smiling a big smile, he took hold of one of Sir Kay’s arms and pumped it up and down in welcome.

  “Sir Kay, young Lady, welcome, you must be tired with the travelling. Do you need to rest before we all talk?” He was looking at me as he spoke and I knew it was the sight of my crumpled and muddy clothing that must have made him realise I needed to rest and freshen myself.

  “Brother Simon, the Lady Eleanor. Lady Eleanor, please meet my brother, Brother Simon.” Sir Kay beamed at his brother the Brother as he introduced us. “Simon has agreed to our staying here tonight, but I need to bring him up to date on various other things while you take a short rest and eat and drink something, my Lady.”

  “Thank you Sir Kay, Brother Simon it is good to meet you. I do need to rest and eat a little but it won’t take me long to recover so don’t start without me. I need to know what is happening,

  Sir Kay.” I did not want to be left out of any updates.

  Brother Simon led us through a corridor and opened a large wooden door into a small room furnished sparsely with a bed and a table and chair. “My Lady, please rest here and I will arrange for food and water to be brought to you, we will send for you shortly.” I thanked him and sat down on the bed and within a few minutes of them taking leave, the door opened and Brother Dominic appeared with a bowl and a wooden mug. I took them from him, thanked him and was alone once again. I ate in silence and drank the water from the wooden mug feeling immediately revived. Right, that was me sorted. I would sleep later but now I needed to find out what Sir Kay and Brother Simon were talking about, especially as I suspected it would include me in whatever plan they were hatching.

  I quickly used some of the water and my handkerchief to wipe the mud from my gown, and it looked a little better. I left the room and made my way down the corridor to where I left Sir Kay and Brother Simon earlier. I found them exactly where we had parted. They sat at a table deep in conversation and didn’t hear me as I approached.

  “I hope you haven’t started without me?” I asked them both, looking from one to the other and for the first time noticing the resemblance. I thought to myself that Sir Kay must be the younger of the two.

  “Ah my Lady, I didn’t think it would take you long to recover. I have been informing Brother Simon about what happened to you on the way in to the city. We do need to inform the Sheriff of the incident, we don’t want that sort of bullying to continue.” Sir Kay had stood up to his full size whilst speaking. I noticed my eyes reached his nose, not like his much taller brother; I only came up to his shoulder.

  “Right, Sir Kay, let’s get down to it, what else have I missed?” I had a feeling they had discussed much more than my being pushed from my pony.

  Sir Kay exchanged a look with his brother, then came back to me with a smile. He told me that Brother Simon was in charge of the monastery whilst the Abbot was away, and the reason Brother Dominic couldn’t speak was he had no tongue. It had been cut out for giving away the hiding place of some rogue, who was still on the loose evading capture. The rogue had found Brother Dominic and taken his tongue before leaving him on the road to die. Brother Simon had found him on his way to the monastery, nursed him back to health and eventually Brother Dominic had taken holy orders.

  I couldn’t help thinking about how these were dangerous times and hoped nothing would befall us in our quest to take the message to the King. Sir Kay had also told me on the road to York of my role in his plan: how I was to present myself to the King as the daughter of my father, the suspect would then leave the court to find out how the real Lady Eleanor had managed to escape and he would be followed to find out where she was being held. The plan was to rescue her and return her to her father after the capture of her gaoler and then I would be able to return to my family. I wondered how much Sir Kay had shared with his brother and if Sir Kay had mentioned I came from a completely different time. I bet he had not shared that information with his brother. The friendship I, as Lady Eleanor, had with the Prince would confirm I was who I was supposed to be, and fool the traitor who had captured and held her. It all sounded feasible and logical and quite easy… how wrong that turned out to be…

  Chapter 7

  After a good long sleep, being woken by the sound of yet another noisy cockerel at the first light of day, eating a delicious breakfast (apart from drinking a proper horrible bitter beer for breakfast, I would never get used to that), and a cleaned robe due to Brother Dominic, I made my way from my room to the area we met the night before, hoping Sir Kay would be there before me. It was Brother Simon who met me and ushered me to sit at the wooden table.

  “Lady Eleanor, what you are intending to do may be dangerous and I wanted you to know that if you felt unable to do this, nobody would think anything less of you. My brother Sir Kay is a good man but sometimes he forgets that people aren’t as brave as he is and you are only a girl.” Brother Simon leaned in to me as he spoke and as I bristled at being called ‘only a girl’, I put out my hand and touched his arm.

  “Brother Simon, I know what I must do, it’s my destiny, all will be well and you must not worry. I am brave and strong just like your brother. Have you noticed I am nearly as tall as Sir Kay? I am what my mum calls going through a ‘growing period’.”

  Brother Simon looked at me and laughed. “You do make me smile my Lady, I have never met one as you before. You use strange words, mum, what is a mum? And you have an old head on young shoulders.”

  That was something I had heard before, from my family and my friend’s mothers. I took it as a compliment.

  Sir Kay came through the doorway and looked at me quizzically. “Are you ready, my Lady?” he enquired. “Brother Dominic has the horses ready for us and I rose early and have been in the city. There is great excitement as the King, Queen and young Prince arrived late last night. They are in residence at the tower, the castle is being renovated and strengthened so they stay within the walls for safety.”

  He turned to his brother and gave him a hug. “Thank you, brother, for your hospitality, we may be back tonight with another visitor.” He turned to me and gave me a wink. “God willing.”

  “May God go with you both, I will be here waiting and praying for a safe conclusion.” Brother Simon bent down to me and whispered in my ear, “Look after him for me Eleanor, he is liable to foolishness at times.” I nodded, understanding exactly what he meant, but at the same time thinking what a strange thing to be asking a girl of ten to do. To look after a chivalrous knight of the realm who had been trained in the art of battle.

  We left Brother Simon and, finding Brother Dominic outside holding our horses, mounted and left the safe gates of the monastery. We headed the short distance towards Clifford’s Tower which we could see rising up in the distance, a stronghold in York since the time of the Norman Conquest. On the short journey, Sir Kay told me that the present King and his wife had been married in York Minster and the city held a special place in their lives. Their eldest son, Edward (to be known later in time as the Black Prince) was born in Woodstock in the south but had spent much of his life in York while his father was fighting the Scots. The royal family felt it was their home. Neither the King nor Queen looked on London as the place they were happiest, too many plots going on at the Court there for them, so they spent as much time as they could in the North of England. The King was often battling against the Scots, so it was a good place to be based, hence the extension and refurbishment of the castle for his much loved wife to spend her time whilst he was away fighting.

/>   I listened attentively to Sir Kay as he gave me all of this information. I wondered what would happen when we arrived. Would I be able to fool people into thinking I was the real Lady Eleanor? All I could do was try my best and hope and pray it would be good enough.

  We rode over the drawbridge across the moat and entered the tower through the main gate. The horses’ hooves made a loud noise as we crossed over the wooden drawbridge. This place was not as welcoming as the monastery; the guards were armed with cross bows and long bows with swords at their sides and lookouts on the high walls around the circular tower. Luckily Sir Kay was known and one of the guards dressed in armour came towards us. He took hold of Sir Kay’s horse as he dismounted and another ran forward to do the same for my mount.

  “Welcome Sir Kay, his highness will be pleased to see you, he is in the main hall with the Queen.” He handed the reins to the guard, who held mine, and we both followed him inside the lower level of the tower.

  “Your Highness,” he announced, “Sir Kay of Percefleet and the Lady Eleanor have arrived.” I stared at the King who rose from his elaborately carved, wooden chair as we entered and strode towards us.

  The man was tall, as tall as any I had ever seen (beating my Uncle Sean, my father’s younger brother, who was about six feet five inches). I probably might reach to his belt. He had flaming red hair which lit up his head from the sunlight coming in from the window as he strode quickly towards us, his long red tunic flowing and reaching down to his knees. His whole appearance was of an energy: strong, capable and when his arms reached down to pick me up and twirl me around I laughed with the exhilaration and sheer strength of the man. He spoke to me in French, and I answered him in French. Wondering where and when I had managed to learn that language, same place I learnt to ride horses maybe. He asked me how I was and how long since we had left my father and was he well. So many questions, and I answered him fluently without a pause. My goodness, I thought, if I could fool this man I could fool anybody. He put me down on the ground as a door opened and a beautiful woman came into the room. His gaze immediately fell on her and I was forgotten for a while as he took in her appearance.

  “My Queen, you are well rested, my love?” He looked so lovingly at her as he spoke. She lowered her head and smiled as she came towards Sir Kay and me.

  “Eleanor, it is so lovely to see you,” (again all in French), “how is your father? Edward will be so delighted you are here, he is always bored when we are here but I love it so away from the bustle of the English court.” She came towards me, a vision of calm beauty in a dark blue gown, caught at the waist with a long soft brown leather belt studded with gold studs. She took my face between her many ringed fingers and kissed both of my cheeks. I smiled up at her and told her that I couldn’t wait to meet again with my playmate. She warned me not to let him get into any mischief as the chief steward in the castle was new and she didn’t want the Prince to be in any trouble. I promised her I would look after him. Goodness, I thought, all these people I was to look after, it was a little bit worrying.

  The Queen made her way from me to Sir Kay who bowed low and took her hand, kissed it and then addressed the King.

  “Your Majesty, it has been too long since we last met. I have a message for you of great importance, it should have been delivered some time ago but I was set upon by bandits and injured.” As he spoke, Sir Kay put his hand into his tunic and withdrew a parchment tied with leather. I noticed a red wax seal with a strange mark on it as he handed it to the King. “I hope, Majesty, that we are not too late.”

  The King took the parchment from Sir Kay and walked back to his chair where he sat as he untied the leather strap and undid the seal after giving it a strange look.

  “My dearest, you may want to be a party to this.” He looked down at his lovely Queen. “It is from France, from your Aunt, dated seven days ago.”

  No way, that could not be. I could not believe that all of this happened to Sir Kay and then to me and the letter travelled from France, all in a week. Time was well and truly all mixed up. We had spent time at the castle of my supposed ‘father’ then met with the wise woman; the ride south to York; the stay in the monastery; and now here, not to mention Sir Kay lying unconscious and then being nursed by the wise woman. No way. The message had to get by boat over the channel to England, where Sir Kay had taken it up the country from the south to the north then down again. It was all impossible.

  The King read the message and then handed it to his wife. The Queen read the lines then looked up at her husband.

  “This is alarming news my love, we must make arrangements to protect the Country.” (again all in French.) Then he switched to English. “Sir Kay, you know who we can trust in this part of the land. There are not many Lords and Barons who we can trust with this information so we need to talk and plan now, we don’t have much time, come.” The King and Sir Kay left the room together, leaving me with the Queen, whose name I now knew was Philippa.

  “Lady Eleanor, I will summon the Prince and you can talk together to catch up on your time apart, I need to join my husband and Sir Kay. Pray stay here and the Prince will join you shortly.” She came and kissed my cheek again and left the room following her husband and Sir Kay.

  Well, I thought to myself, still unable to believe only a week had passed, what would this mean back in my own time, would I have been missing for a week? Would my parents have the neighbours and worse still, the police out looking for me? It didn’t bear thinking about, they would be so worried. I had heard the story of my going missing in a department store when I was three and my mum frantically searching for me, only to find me sitting on a stool in the shoe department ‘talking’ to an imaginary friend on the end of the attached shoe horn. This was all to the delight of my family afterwards. It was one of the many stories they told about me.

  I looked up from my thoughts as a young boy entered the room. Edward. He was dressed in a dark green silk tunic and hose and when he saw me ran towards me with his arms extended. We hugged. I was taken aback at the surge of affection I felt towards this young friend. I felt towards him the same warmth I felt towards Richard and Hugh back in my own time.

  We spoke together, again all in French. He told me about the things that had happened to him since we last saw each other. He had had a lot of adventures both in England and over the sea in France with his mother’s family. They travelled to and from France a lot when they weren’t camped in York; his mother was French and his father King Edward III felt the French crown should be his.

  His Grandfather, King Henry III, was a direct descendant from the French royal family and the present King Edward had joined the lions of England with the lilies of France on his own coat of arms. The history lesson Prince Edward gave me filled a lot of the gaps Sir Kay had missed out. I now knew the name of the King, his father, Edward III, and his great grandfather’s name, Henry III, who was the Grandson of the King of France as well as King of England. His mother the Queen’s name was Queen Philippa. Edward told me how his mother and father were married in York Minster in 1328 and he was born at Woodstock in 1330. Edward told me how it was down to him, when his father was away fighting against the Scots, to listen to advisors and run England in his father’s absence. It was now 1340 and the French, who were always battling the English, were forming a large army with a view to taking England from his father. I wondered if this could have anything to do with the message Sir Kay had brought to the King. I decided to tell Edward about who I was. He might not believe me but I knew I had a trusted friend here who really cared about the Lady Eleanor and we needed his help, especially now Sir Kay was in talks with the King; they could last for ages and the real Lady Eleanor was still a prisoner. I didn’t think twice and launched into a full explanation in my usual way with few stops for breath.

  “Edward, your majesty, I need to tell you a few things which might sound quite extraordinary to you, so I ask that you let me explain and if you have questions, I always have questions, you
can ask me at the end, is that okay with you?” I leaned forward as I spoke. I wasn’t sure but I had the feeling we were being watched by someone in the shadows. “Maybe we should take a walk outside, I always think better if I am moving.” Edward stood up with me and we made our way out of the door into the courtyard outside.

  “I think we were being watched inside, Edward. What I have to say to you cannot be overheard by anybody as somebody’s life may be in danger.” I took his arm and we walked as we talked. I was aware of the guards around us and so kept my voice low as I told Edward my story from the very start, finding the shield in the twentieth century. He listened attentively, stopping sometimes with his mouth open as if to speak but changed his mind and continued listening. When I came to the part where Eleanor was held captive, his hand went to his side as if to grab an imaginary sword. I knew then that he believed me and would help to recover his friend. As I came to the end of my tale he stopped and hugged me tightly.

  “I don’t know how the incredible things you have told me can possibly be true but I somehow know it all is. We must find a way to rescue Eleanor and discover who has done all of this. I think somehow it is all linked together. Sir Kay being set upon by bandits seems to me to be part of a grand plan. I need to think about all of this, Eleanor, what is your real name? No, I don’t really need to know as I may not call you Eleanor and then we may be found out. Let me think things through, my Lady, and we will meet in an hour. Go and rest for a while back in the room we came from and I will search out Sir Kay to tell him I know it all.” With all of this he hurried towards the main entrance and disappeared down a long corridor. Gosh, I thought, he really is like me, for his words came out all of a rush without a breath. I hoped beyond hope we had not been overheard in the room. Maybe if I made a thorough search of it I could make sure nobody was around, so I entered the room to find it filled with guards, the King and Sir Kay. The King was issuing orders to the guards and making as if to leave. Sir Kay came over to me.