“I shall send an envoy to Malaban’s castle in the spring,” the King said to Ulric as Malaban departed. “Though by then it may be King Alexander’s castle once again. I’ll be curious as to what changes the months will bring to those lands.” He sighed and walked back to the castle. “Now there’s only one piece of business left. We must hurry. Time is scarce.”
That final piece of business concerned Christopher and Molly and their return through the timedoor. The children gathered in King Rupert’s chamber for a hasty farewell. Also present were Queen Eleanor and Princess Rosalind, along with Ulric and Mr. Smithers. Molly asked why Artemas wasn’t there.
“He’s in his chamber keeping an eye on the timedoor,” King Rupert said. “He will be here shortly. In the meantime, I’m afraid we must say our goodbyes. I’m sorry circumstances didn’t allow us to give you a proper farewell party,” he said teary-eyed.
“Now that the time has arrived, I’m sad to be leaving,” Molly said. “I feel as if I’ve spent half a lifetime in your world, yet not enough time to really get to know it.”
“I’ll miss it too,” Christopher said solemnly. “If only the timedoor didn’t have to close forever, then Molly and I could visit you whenever we liked.”
“You were here when we needed you most,” King Rupert said gratefully. “You helped me save my daughter. I can never repay you for that.”
“Neither can I,” Princess Rosalind said. She knelt between the children and gave them each a tender kiss on the forehead. “My brave young soldiers! I shall miss you both.”
Queen Eleanor dabbed a tear from her eyes. “We are indeed thankful,” she added. “More than you could ever know. So if there is anything we can do for you before you go, please name it.”
Christopher and Molly blushed at the honor bestowed upon them, but declined any gifts. “We have traveled to a new world and lived out adventures others only dream about!” Christopher said. “What else could we want?”
“You are wise to treasure those experiences,” Ulric said. “They will serve you well throughout life.”
“I’ll certainly have wonderful stories to tell all my friends,” Molly said. “And even to little Vergil. Oh, I do miss him and my parents.” Then she looked up at Mr. Smithers standing behind the King’s chair. “And what about you, Mr. Smithers? Are you glad to be returning to your diner? I remember how puzzled you looked that Saturday morning we all barged into your place for hot chocolate,” she said with a laugh. “King Rupert was as jumpy as a cricket!”
Mr. Smithers gazed at the children with a mix of joy and sorrow. “I’m afraid I won’t be returning through the timedoor with you. I’ve thought about it a lot and have asked King Rupert’s permission to stay here in Endora.”
The children couldn’t believe what they were hearing. “If you stay, you’ll never be able to return home! Artemas said that the timedoor will never reopen to our world again,” Christopher said.
“I know, but I’ve considered my decision very carefully,” he replied, trying to sound cheerful. “Life suits me better here. There’s nothing for me back home except that rundown diner, and that’s not worth the nails that are holding it together. Besides,” he added, hoping to erase the frowns from the children’s faces, “I am a member of the King’s royal guard. I was dubbed Sir Smithers, remember? How could I possibly leave now?”
“I remember,” Molly sadly replied. She ran over and hugged him. “I hope you’re happier living here. I’ll miss you,” she said as tears welled in her eyes. “I’ll miss all of you a whole bunch.”
Christopher and Molly went up to each person to make their final goodbyes. The pain they felt was the worse they had known since arriving here. Yet each knew that a part of them would forever remain in Endora.
Artemas rushed into the room moments later, announcing that the timedoor would soon close. With King Rupert’s blessing, the magician escorted Christopher and Molly out of the chamber as the others looked on in silence. Mr. Smithers waved a clumsy goodbye and Queen Eleanor wiped away another tear streaming down her face. Christopher tried to smile as he headed out the door. Molly simply waved her fingertips. “So long,” she said, her voice choking up. Then she followed her brother out of the room.
King Rupert could only watch as his youngest traveling companions disappeared from view. No words could express his sorrow and loneliness at their departure, so he closed his eyes and said nothing.
Artemas quickly led the children to his chamber. Though he too was sorry to see them depart, he knew he couldn’t delay very long to tell them so. “There isn’t much time. A few minutes at most,” he informed them as they rushed up the stairs to the room. “After that, the timedoor to your world will be closed for good. It may be months before conditions are proper for me to create another one. And who knows where that one will lead?”
“I’ll miss you,” Molly said.
“We both will,” Christopher added. “Thanks for dropping in on our world.”
“It’s been a pleasure,” he replied.
As the trio raced down the passageway leading to the magician’s room, Christopher recalled the moment when he and Molly first stepped foot into the corridor. How frightened and excited they had been. Now all their fears had vanished to be replaced with an empty and gnawing sadness. He would truly miss the place.
“I guess we’ll be home in time for breakfast,” Molly said as they neared the door to the chamber at the end of the passage. “As sad as I am at leaving, it’ll be good to get back. My garden must be overgrown with weeds by now!”
But visions of her pretend garden quickly vanished as she suddenly screamed in fright. At that moment, Belthasar jumped out from a side corridor and landed directly in front of the door to the magician’s room. Christopher, Molly and Artemas stopped dead in their tracks.
“So you can’t wait to go home!” he snarled at the children. Belthasar rubbed his hands as he inched closer to them. “Well, you’d better get used to this cold and miserable place because you’re not going home!”
The children backed off in fear. Artemas leaped in front of them to confront Belthasar. “Don’t you threaten these children. Get out of my sight before I call the King’s guards!”
“Go ahead! By the time they find me I’ll have gotten what I came here for.” He glared at Christopher and Molly. “To keep those two from ever returning home!” Belthasar laughed viciously. “So you thought you were on your way without a care in the world. Well I don’t have a home now, thanks in part to you two! You helped convince Malaban to ruin me! Now I’ll never rule again. But you didn’t care because you have a home. Well that will no longer be the case, little urchins!”
“We didn’t do anything to hurt you!” Molly snapped. “We just helped Malaban get his life in order.”
“And you seem to need the same help,” Christopher said. “Big time!”
“Don’t tell me what I need!” he furiously cried, attempting to grab the children. But Artemas blocked his way. “All I know is that you two destroyed any chance I had for power, and you’ll pay dearly for that! You’ll never return to your world, do you hear me? Never! You’ll remain stranded in Endora for as long as you live!”
Belthasar’s eyes flashed with rage as he lunged at the children, but Artemas saw this coming and plowed into him, throwing him against the wall. The magician flung open the door to his chamber and ordered the children inside.
“Flee while you have the chance!” he cried. “The timedoor is starting to close! Run! Run! I’ll take care of Belthasar!”
Christopher and Molly watched paralyzed in fright as Artemas wrestled to keep Belthasar from entering the room. The two fought in the corridor like wild animals. Christopher finally snapped to his senses and realized time was running out.
“Hurry, Molly! I can see the timedoor beginning to fade. We have to leave now!”
Molly glanced at the wall by the coat tree and knew her brother was right. The waviness around the edges of the timedoor had begun
to solidify into rock. “Let’s go!” she cried, grabbing Christopher’s hand. They ran toward the wall and jumped through the timedoor, leaving Endora forever behind them.
“You won’t get away that easily!” Belthasar shouted from the corridor as he struggled with Artemas. With one final howling surge of strength, he shoved Artemas to the floor and freed himself. Belthasar bolted into the magician’s chamber and slammed the door shut.
“Come back!” Artemas cried as he struggled to his feet. “You may be too late!” But his warning was in vain. Belthasar had already leaped through the timedoor.
Stars danced wildly in the black space surrounding them. Christopher and Molly ran through the time passage using every ounce of strength they possessed. Finally, they saw the lightness of the exit looming ahead. But it too had started to vanish. The edges were solidifying.
“I see the other end!” Molly said, out of breath. “It’s fading! We’re not going to make it!”
“Yes we will!” Christopher said, tightening his grip on his sister’s hand. “Run as fast as you can!”
They ran swiftly until their legs burned in pain. Then their fears multiplied when they heard Belthasar far behind but getting closer by the second. “You’ll never escape me!” he cried madly. “I’ll pursue you forever! Do you hear me? Forever!”
“He’s gaining!” Christopher shouted. “He’s only a few strides behind! Hurry! Just a little farther to go!”
But when Christopher and Molly felt they couldn’t run another step, they found themselves emerging through the stone support underneath the bridge by the river. The cold autumn air awakened a new energy within them.
“We’re home, Chris! We’re home!” Molly cried with joy, hugging her brother.
“We’re not safe yet!” he said. “Keep running! Belthasar is right behind us!”
So they turned and raced up the grass embankment by the river, afraid even to glance back at their pursuer. Suddenly a sharp clap ripped through the air, nearly throwing the children to the ground. The sound of rock hitting solid rock rang harshly in their ears. A bloodcurdling scream echoed inside the stone support under the bridge–and then all was deathly silent. Christopher and Molly glanced at each other in disbelief and then cautiously walked back into the shadows beneath the bridge. The stone wall was again solid rock. Belthasar had not been quick enough. The timedoor had closed forever.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Back Home
Christopher and Molly dropped to the ground, exhausted and in shock. “Is he gone?” she asked after resting for a few moments. “I heard Belthasar scream and then–”
“He’s gone,” Christopher said, staring at the bridge. “He won’t trouble anyone ever again.” He stood and brushed off his clothes and gazed up at the stars. He guessed that it was well after midnight. “We better head home, Molly,” he said, offering his sister a helping hand. They scurried back up the embankment. “We’ve been away long enough.”
Molly nodded. “That was the longest week of my life. I’m glad to be home,” she said, relieved that Endora was now far away. Yet a sense of sadness overcame her at the same time for she knew she could never return. “Do you think King Rupert and the others miss us?”
“Maybe. I miss them.” Christopher sighed and kicked a stone across the road. “But I suppose we’ll both forget everything that happened in time. We’ll never get to go back. It’s not fair.”
“I certainly won’t forget!” Molly insisted. “Not if I live to be a hundred. So much has happened to us, Chris. How could we forget?”
“I don’t know,” he muttered. “Let’s just go home.”
The two shuffled along the road to their house, leaving behind the bridge, the diner and the river. But they hadn’t gone more than a few yards when a dark figure rushed toward them. Christopher feared that Belthasar had somehow escaped, so he grabbed Molly’s hand, preparing to run in the opposite direction. Their alarm quickly vanished as a familiar figure approached.
“Daddy!” Molly cheered as she and Christopher ran to him. “I missed you!”
Mr. Jordan hugged his children, not ever wanting to let them go. He looked at their grinning faces, laughing and crying at the same time. “If I weren’t so happy right now, I’d scold you two for certain!” he said, hugging them a second time. “Where have you been, as if I didn’t know?”
“We were with King Rupert and Artemas in Endora,” Christopher said. “Didn’t you find the message I wrote on the wall under the bridge?”
“Your mother and I found the note when we returned to the diner. She was hysterical when realizing you went through the timedoor,” he said. “Worst of all was knowing that we couldn’t follow you. The door had already closed. I’ve been checking back here as often as I could.” Mr. Jordan took them each by the hand and continued to walk home. “What did you do in Endora for a whole week?” he eagerly asked.
“You’ll never guess in a million years!” Molly challenged.
Christopher and Molly took turns explaining every detail of their adventure, from the journey across the plains to their imprisonment in Malaban’s castle, and especially Princess Rosalind’s rescue. Mr. Jordan was particularly moved when hearing about Malaban’s turn from evil and Mr. Smithers’ decision to remain forever in Endora.
“You’ll have to tell the story again from the very beginning,” he said. “Your mother and little Vergil will want to hear every detail.”
Soon they arrived at the house amid a blustering swirl of leaves. Warm yellow light shone from every window. Mrs. Halloway’s barn stood silently in the dark field across the road. Mrs. Jordan greeted Christopher and Molly with abundant hugs and kisses, and even a slight scolding, though the children knew she really didn’t mean it. Little Vergil jumped up and down at the sight of his long lost siblings, shouting with joy until they had to calm him down with stories of their travels.
While they talked around the kitchen table, Mrs. Jordan treated everyone to hot chocolate and toast with grape jam. Molly insisted that she had never tasted such delicious jam in all her life. Her mother agreed and then told Molly that the jam was made from the grapes Artemas had grown in their very own living room.
“That seemed like ages ago,” Molly said. “I’ll miss Artemas so much. And King Rupert, too. He’s the first King I’ve ever met.”
“And probably the last one,” Christopher said sadly. “Just when we found the greatest playground in the whole universe, it’s taken away from us. Playing in that old barn won’t be half as fun compared to sneaking around a castle or riding horses across the starry plains. It won’t be the same.”
Christopher felt quite glum when going to bed that night. Endora seemed like a dim memory as he drifted off to sleep. Now more than ever, he felt certain that he and Molly would slowly forget about King Rupert as the days drifted by. But the outlook grew brighter the following morning at the breakfast table. Mrs. Jordan walked into the kitchen carrying a small bundle and set it on the table. Christopher and Molly smiled in astonishment.
“I don’t think any of us will ever forget about your visitors from Endora,” their mother assured them, holding up two objects. Shining brightly in the morning sunlight were King Rupert’s sword and crown she had left down the cellar in the apple sack.
THE END
As promised, I finally found some time to convert my Endora Trilogy novels to the Kindle format, having made a few minor edits from the print copy in the process. Thank you for reading this book and I hope you’ve enjoyed it very much. Below is my original Author’s Note from the paperback version. Your support is much appreciated!
Thomas J. Prestopnik
February 3, 2014
AUTHOR’S NOTE
The Timedoor was originally published in 2000 under the title The Visitors In Mrs. Halloway’s Barn, when at the time I had no intention of expanding the story into a trilogy. But after many inquiries about a sequel–and much thought about how to logically continue the adventures of the Jordan children�
��I decided to add two more books and umbrella the series under the title THE ENDORA TRILOGY. Thus, The Visitors In Mrs. Halloway’s Barn, admittedly a mouthful of a title I fondly kept from the first draft penned in 1985, was renamed The Timedoor. And while I have made a few minor editorial changes, the book is essentially the same, including the dedication to my parents, though Dad has since passed away. The second book, The Sword and the Crown, is being published simultaneously with this volume. I plan to outline the third and final installment next year. To everyone who has read this book, my sincere thanks, and I hope you have enjoyed it. Many thanks are also extended to my nephew Nathan Prestopnik for the amazing cover design he created from my e-mailed notes and my caveman sketches.
Thomas J. Prestopnik
September 2004
THE SWORD
AND THE CROWN
• Book II in The Endora Trilogy •
Thomas J. Prestopnik
Copyright © 2014 Kindle Edition
by Thomas J. Prestopnik
Copyright © 2005 Print Edition
by Thomas J. Prestopnik
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means including information storage and retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the author. The only exception is by a book reviewer who may quote short excerpts of this literary work in a review.
The Endora Trilogy (The Complete Series) Page 16