by Joe Corso
“Yes,” he answered, “especially given my affection for you both.”
Krystina beamed and Queen Alexandra blushed a crimson red.
“You love us both?” the Queen asked.
“Yes I do,” he replied smiling. “Dear lovely ladies, may I request an overgarment, a robe?”
Krystina was halfway out of her chair but the Queen told her to remain seated. Queen Alexandra walked over to the closet and took out a robe. As Lucky was about to remove the covers, he suddenly remembered that he was naked. The Queen blushed a bit and handed him the robe as she and Krystina turned around, affording him his privacy.
“I am clothed, fair ladies,” Lucky said as he sat resting on the side of the bed, waiting for one of the guards to bring in a chair from another room. He was still a little light headed. With the help of the guard and Krystina, he remained standing for a moment, just long enough to balance himself enough to walk the two short steps to the chair. This was what he needed, being with Krystina and the other royals who deeply cared for him. Krystina placed a blanket over him. As she did, Lucky for the first time noticed that she was pregnant. He took her hand, begging her not to move. He pulled her onto his lap and kissed her cheek. The Queen smiled and walked to the door.
“I will be back in a little while,” she said, excusing herself.
Lucky looked at the Princess. “When?”
Laughing she replied, “Are you asking about the child?”
“Of course. When?”
“The child will come forth in March.”
Lucky hesitated but it was a question that had to be asked.
“Krystina. . . the child. Am I the child’s father?”
Instead of becoming angry at such a silly question, she laughed. “That makes me smile as there is no other answer, but yes. Did you think I would ever give myself to one but you? May I tell you a secret?”
“Yes,” he said. “Tell me a secret.”
“I had the stars done for the child. Richard, Richard of Wallingford did so – the Abbot of St Albans Abbey in Hertfordshire. He also told that you would journey to me and that I would assist your recovery. He told this future. He waits for the day to meet you. After our child came forth, I was then going to attempt to summon you.”
Lucky opened her robe, reached in and placed his hand on her belly. He wanted to feel her, feel his child. He wasn’t disappointed. The baby kicked Lucky’s hand hard as if to say either, “I know who you are” or “Please don’t disturb my sleep.” Lucky laughed. He then let his hand slide up to her swollen breasts. She blushed and responded with desire. She looked at him and knew that as injured as he was, he desired her. She could feel him hard against her as she sat on him. She leaned over and whispered softly in his ear, “Do you think, with your health, that you may lie with a woman with child?”
Chapter Fifteen
12th Century England
Lucky rested for a couple of days. Well, he tried to rest but just as Krystina nursed his wounds, she also nursed his sexual desires, gratifying him in every way.
“I don’t know if this attention from you hurts or hinders my progress, but dear Princess, how I love your touch, your smell,” he said.
“As unpretty as I am?” she asked innocently.
“Unpretty?” he laughed. “You are the fairest maiden in the world, past or present.”
“Just wait until our child arrives. I will return to my old body,” she assured him.
“And then? Then what?” Lucky asked.
“And then, I will just have to touch you more and that may mean another child, oh beautiful one,” she giggled. “And then I can show affection without my body posing hindrance.”
He laughed at the absurdity of her remark. Pregnant or not, it made no difference to him. Lucky had had his share of women in the past, but never a pregnant one. This was a first – a beautiful first. Everything about her excited him. Krystina loved having her man beside her. She hoped he would never leave her. She never thought it possible to love so deeply and she felt a little guilty about it sometimes, not guilty because of her love for Lucky and their child, but guilty for something else. Even though her father had been solely responsible for her meeting Lucky, King William had yet to learn of her pregnancy. But that could wait. She would not allow anything to spoil her happiness. At least, not while Lucky was with her.
Days passed as Lucky attempted to regain his strength. One day before breakfast, Lucky attempted to run. He desperately wanted to build his stamina, but when he tried to jog, the best he could manage was nothing more than a brisk walk, which really wasn’t that quick. Lucky’s body still needed time to heal. If he couldn’t run, then he would try chopping wood. He was as successful at chopping wood as he was at running. There had to be something he could do so he came up with the idea of lifting buckets with horseshoes in them. He sat on a stool, picked up two empty buckets, one in each hand, and attempted to lift them. Normally, this wouldn’t have been considered much of an exercise, but his battered body resisted his efforts and gave way to intense pain. His ribs, kidneys and liver protested at the first sign of pressure. He tried again, this time pushing past the pain, working through it. That was a huge first step for him and quite rewarding. Each day, he tried again, slowing increasing the count, even if only by one additional lift a day. Krystina would stand and watch and smile, always at the ready with water or to assist him in any way. He was a far cry from getting back to his martial arts shape, but he knew that through time, it would happen. For now, the time with Krystina was priceless.
To busy himself, Lucky visited the King’s tanner and instructed him to sew a bull’s hide to his specifications. The tanner asked no questions. Lucky then took his project to the King’s upholsterer and asked him to fill the skin with any substance that was soft. That didn’t work so well, so Lucky wound up packing it tightly with cut up rags. He then strung the stuffed hide from a rafter and tried using it as a mock boxing bag, but it was too light and bounced all over the place. So Lucky took it down, removed the stuffing and visited the King’s master mason. There he asked for a small amount of sand. The mason seemed annoyed that a perfect stranger would interrupt his work to ask him for sand but on second look at Lucky, he thought he might have seen him somewhere, but couldn’t quite recall where. Better he should give him the sand. No one would dare ask for this favor if not someone special to the royals. So the mason pointed to a mound of sand, one presently unattended by workers. He instructed Lucky to take what he needed. Lucky thanked him, walked to the sand pile and removed a shovel from the sand, one that he was certain had been placed there for easy visibility and access. It was a chore, shoveling, but he was too proud to ask for assistance. The workers stopped what they were doing and looked at the injured man trying to put sand into a leather sack. It took a lot of effort to shovel the sand into the sack and the men watched as he grimaced in pain with each swing of the shovel. To combat his discomfort, Lucky cut the sand in half, filling only half a shovel at a time, until he worked through the pain and completed what he had set out to do. He was now armed with his heavy leather bag. It was perfect. He planted the shovel back into the sand mound and asked the Master Mason for two men to help him carry the bag back to the King’s palace. Then, he thought better of it. He walked back over to the heavy bag and with the masons watching him, Lucky took hold of the bag and winced as he dragged it one step to his right and disappeared right in front of everyone. There were murmurs and oohs and mouths agape. The stranger’s identity was no longer in doubt. He was the King’s wizard.
Lucky wasn’t the only stranger in the area observing the construction of the outer wall of the castle. A Jesuit priest was there, as well, watching Lucky from behind a wall. When Lucky disappeared, magically vanished, the priest made the sign of the cross, left the area and walked as quickly as he could to his donkey. He unstrapped and removed a bird cage that was attached to the animal. He took out a writing instrument and a slip of parchment and wrote on it. He inserted the note into a small c
ontainer, attached it to the bird’s leg, and set the pigeon free, free to fly home, back to the Inquisitor General.
Chapter Sixteen
12th Century England
Each day, Lucky and Krystina walked amongst the gardens, laughed and kissed, and talked about their baby. Lucky was still recovering from his wounds. The process was a little too slow for him and his patience was running thin. He was anxious to get back into shape. He needed to return back to the gang and . . . to Shan. Lucky had a vendetta now. Shan must first incur his wrath before being meeting his fate in a time period not conducive to survival. Lucky spent many hours trying to think of a place in time where despots ruled unmercifully – somewhere so miserable that Shan would rue the day he was born.
One day, right after his morning jog, deep in thought, Krystina approached Lucky and asked to have a word with him. With a cloth draped around his neck and perspiration flowing from his body, he followed her to her room.
“What is it dear Princess?” he asked.
“I humbly request that the wizard kindly journey with my sister and me to visit, yet again, Richard of Wallingford.”
“Of course,” Lucky said. “But how many hours from now Princess?”
“The hour is late now,” she replied, “but the morning awaits. Lucky, need we the King’s horses and escort? Or shall we travel by magic as we did before when we visited my father?”
“We will travel by magic,” Lucky answered. “The time is so much saved, do you not believe?” She laughed and threw a pillow at him.
“Don’t make fun of me.”
“At what hour, dear Princess?”
“Shall we say the ninth hour?”
“I will come for you at the ninth hour,” he said as he turned to leave her room.
“Lucky, one moment. Is it not your desire to hold me during slumber?”
“Of course, Krystina,” he answered, “I would love nothing more, but . . . I fear that the maidens-in-waiting, the staff, the Queen, and . . . King Robert might frown upon such.”
“Lucky, I care not. Already, I am with child. It is no secret as to whom the father. My fear is that time passes and with each hour, I know not for certain when I will have your presence here, among us. I so cherish our hours together.”
The night was wonderful. In the early morning, Lucky made his way back to his room.
Krystina told the Queen of her desire, who in turn requested from her husband, King Robert, approval of their journey at the ninth hour. The King and Queen were waiting in the Great Hall as Lucky and Krystina arrived at exactly nine o’clock.
“Are you all going the see the Abbot?” the King asked.
“Why yes, dear King,” Krystina answered as Lucky slowly nodded in agreement.
The Jesuit priest watched from his window as Lucky, the King and Queen and the Princess held hands and stepped to their left just as Lucky had instructed them. Slowly, one by one, they disappeared from sight. The priest made the sign of the cross and stepped back from the window.
Moments later, the royals and Lucky were inside Richard’s private room. Startled, he rose, his eyes wide in amazement. This was magic unlike any other. He bowed before the King and Queen.
“Rise, Richard of Wallingford,” the King said.
The Princess walked toward the Abbot and said, “Sir, this is the wizard about whom you have heard.”
Lucky smiled and nodded toward the priest. “How do you do sir?”
“Did you do this magic?” Richard, the Abbot asked, skipping all formality.
“Yes, I did. Does it command your interest?”
“Indeed, it does, wizard. Indeed it does.”
“Would you care to witness, uh, participate in the magic?” Lucky asked.
“Yes. Indeed I would,” Richard replied, clearly excited by the thought.
“Are you sure that you wish to commence?”
“Indeed, wizard,” he replied. “I gladly and willingly submit to you my approval for my participation in your wizardry.”
“Pardon our absence,” Lucky said to the royals. Each one nodded in approval.
Lucky turned back to Richard. “Would you care to witness the clock you are working on except in its final presence?”
“Nooo,” the Abbot answered, “ I mean yes,” he said, his voice ascending an octave or two. “Please bring forth the timed piece in its whole.”
“Hold onto my arm,” Lucky said, “and step to your left as I do. But whatever you do, do not release my arm until so instructed. Understand?”
The two men stepped into the portal, shuffled to their left, and exited, landing outside a small workspace of sorts. The name carved into the door said “William of Walsham’s Studio”. No one was present. Lucky was relieved. Richard’s eyes immediately went to the clock sitting on a work bench. Everything about it fascinated him. He walked around to the rear of the clock, admiring its every mechanism. Lucky could swear that he saw moisture in Richard’s eyes and before long, tears were slowly dripping down his cheeks. Lucky informed him that his clock would be mentioned in Tractatus Horologii Astonomici in 1327.
At that moment, they heard someone approaching and Lucky said, “Come. We must depart.”
Lucky took Richard’s arm and stepped back into the portal, rushing to make sure they were not spotted. Inside, Richard looked at Lucky and slowly asked, “I will not finish my clock in my lifetime, will I?”
“I am afraid not,” Lucky said. “It will go beyond your death by twenty years. This is the man, his humble workroom, where the clock will be completed. Your clock will be copied by the most learned of men in the future. It will serve as the one clock that changes time from the sun to a man-made object. Your greatness will be remembered. It is important for future horologists to have your plans to serve as their guide. Do you understand this?”
“Yes, I understand in total. I have recorded the plans for my clock. They will have no woes.”
“I know. I know that to be true. If not, what we have just witnessed would fail to be,” Lucky said. At that moment, it all became clear to Richard. He knew that Lucky could see all things. He knew that Lucky already knew that the plans for his clock would be found, intact, for all future horologists. Richard bowed his head in reverence to Lucky. As he did, he took note of Lucky’s wrist. On it was a Rolex.
The men were now standing, once again, back in Richard of Wallingford’s office where the Princess, King and Queen were waiting.
Richard’s mind never left the sight of Lucky’s watch. “What name has this?” Richard asked pointing toward the watch. Lucky took it off and allowed him to examine it.
“My God, it is a miracle,” Richard said. “My eyes have never beheld anything of its nature.” After studying it for a few moment, he slowly handed it back to Lucky. Richard collected his thoughts and then turned to the Princess. “Please sit here,” he said as he directed her to a chair in front of him. He looked at Lucky and then back at the Princess and smiled.
“He is exactly as I described, is he not?” the Princess asked.
Richard Abbot turned to Lucky. “I did the stars for you – not an easy task without knowledge of the date and time of your worldly arrival.” He reached into a cluttered drawer and pulled out a sheet of parchment paper that had writing and symbols all over it. He handed it to Lucky. “Now, please, afford me the date and time of your birth. Lucky gave him the information. Richard studied the information and looked at him quizzically. Lucky had given him a time far, far in the future. Richard of Wallingford was speaking with a man from the future. The King, the Queen, the Princess and Richard – everyone in the room had just heard Lucky say, out loud, that he was born in the twentieth century. Those present were in awe. While Lucky’s talents were quite obvious and well known at this point, his birth and other facts surrounding him had not yet been discussed. Armed with this information, Richard busied himself with his drawings until finally he said, “It is as I predicted. This new paper of the stars is almost a replica of the other.�
� Richard tugged Lucky’s arm and gently pulled him towards his large nose and said softly to him, “Sire Lucky, will you afford me some time to inquire in private those things that fill my mind? It is not every day that a scientist, such as I who stands before you, is awarded such opportunity to converse with a man from days yet seen.”
Lucky answered him with a question. “Would it bring joy to the Abbot should he journey to the future to observe what those days may bring?”
“Ah, to peek into the future, to have such foresight is what forms the thoughts of every scientist. Sire Lucky, I stand honored by your graciousness.”
“Dear Princess, Queen, King, I ask your permission as we journey forward for a short time again?” They nodded and smiled in approval.
Lucky took Richard by the arm and instead of having him enter last, he had him enter first. Once inside, he nudged Richard gently so that he could look out from the portal without exiting it. Richard gasped as he gazed out onto a runway that held a monster bird, a mechanical device with wings. It was a jet taxiing for takeoff. Other airplanes were slowly pulling into parking slots, while still others were preparing for takeoff. Lucky pointed to a plane and told Richard to keep his eyes on the machine. The Abbot watched in wonder as the huge plane picked up speed, lifted off the ground and shot into the sky. He watched transfixed. He started to speak, but Lucky cut him off.
“Let’s depart. There is much still to see.” And once again, he took Richard’s arm and this time, they landed at the port of Miami filled with giant cruise liners.
“Boats!” Richard said. “Big boats. Heavenly Redeemer, I never dreamed man could make a floating device that large,” he excitedly exclaimed.
“Yes,” Lucky responded, “and inside, are large rooms and big pools in which to swim and grand rooms for entertainment. Now, let us travel once more before our journey back.”
Once again, they stepped inside a portal and this time they found themselves right in the middle of Times Square in New York City. Richard leaned back, almost falling as he craned his neck to see the skyscrapers.