by Jane Stain
He laughed.
Jessica turned to follow the others. When Lauren gave her a reassuring thumbs-up and gestured to the open window, Jessica breathed a sigh of relief and went down. Once in the great room, she pictured in her mind Leif moving the furs and then walking down the hallway and opening the door at the top of the stairs.
But he still hadn't opened that door.
Give it time. You can imagine things much faster than they happen in real life. Perhaps it's more difficult to move the furs than you thought. Give it —
To her great relief, the door at the top of the stairs opened and Leif came down.
Lauren and Katherine were already in the kitchen with Senga, explaining they would need the big wash tub filled with hot water and being instructed on where to get the pots full of water to put over the fire to heat up and where to get the soap to put in the hot water for washing the clothes.
So Jessica felt fine about staying to talk to Leif. Matters were in good hands.
"Thank ye for taking my word that yer upstairs needs airing out."
He raised his eyebrows and furrowed his brow.
“I still think ye daft for such a notion."
She put up what she hoped was a reassuring hand, and pulled it back quickly when he again looked worried that she might touch him.
"Airing out the room will merely allow us tae get in there and clean every last piece o' clothing, every last piece o' linen, all o' the walls, the floors, and all o' the furniture with hot water and soap. Lots o' soap. The areas near where yer parents were breathing and anything they likely touched often, such as the headboard o' the bed and the side tables, would be best washed in an antiseptic — some aught stronger than soap and hot water. Vinegar would work. Ye hae any o' that?"
Leif’s face showed mixed emotions. There was very strong interest, fascination even, in her strange healing methods. But there was also worry.
"Dae ye fear as I dae that Amena will come doon with the sickness?"
Jessica smiled a pained smile at him, not wanting to give him false hope, nor misinformation.
"I dae fear that. We will need tae keep an eye on her. There are things we can dae tae lessen the severity o' the illness if she does come doon with it. In fact, starting right away, keep her extra warm. If the body is tae busy keeping itself warm, its ability tae fight the contagion is diminished. Also, see that she drinks plenty o' fresh water and nay alcohol. The fresh water washes through a person. And lastly, keep her away from the upstairs until after we clean. Senga mentioned she'd make up beds for Lauren, Katherine, and me on the hearth furs near the fire. Mayhap Amena should be allowed tae sleep there as well."
Leif glowed with pleasure at her regard for his baby sister.
"Aye, we dae hae vinegar. Ye hae only tae ask Senga and she will find it for ye. I will see aboot Amena sleeping doon in the common room. Alvin will hae tae bide the night with us. Alvin! Alvin, bide the night. The clothing will na be ready till morning, sae bide the night. I dinna want ye out after dark. Mauve will understand. Ye wull be bunking with me, as oor common room will be taken up with lasses this night." He looked to Jessica again. “Now let us set about filling and heating these pots o' water ye require, eh?"
It took hours to fill the washtub in the kitchen with enough hot water and soap. Once this was done, Leif called his brother and Luag over to the stairs.
"The lasses will do the washing, but let us men carry all these things doon the stairs."
They nodded and started climbing.
Jessica stood up and shouted.
“Wait!”
They turned on the stairs.
Jessica dug her other breather out of her bag for herself.
“Leif and I are protected. Lauren, dae ye hae any breathers on ye? Katherine?”
Katherine held up one and then put it on.
Lauren looked around at everyone and then at Jessica significantly.
It turned out she had a handful of breathers stashed in one of the many bags she had under her stiff woolen leine, and Jessica took her into the kitchen away from the men and helped her get them out, with Senga casting sidelong looks at them but saying nothing as she prepared the pots of soapy wash water.
Among many jokes from Luag, impossibly charming eyerolls from Katherine, and raised eyebrows from Taran, Leif helped his brother and Luag figure out how to wear the masks.
Jessica watched him, ready to step in if needed but admiring how he made it look so natural to be covering one’s mouth and nose. He soon had the other men wearing their breathers as if they wore them every day.
Once the six of them all had breathers on, Senga came out of the kitchen wiping her hands on a towel. She stared at the breathers for a moment, then shrugged and plainly chose not to comment.
"We are na new tae laundering linens, lass. I will set up the drying ropes, aye."
Jessica nodded her thanks to Senga.
“Please keep Amena doon here with ye while we go up, aye?”
Senga nodded, holding out her arms for the little girl, who ran into them and rested her head on the old woman’s chest.
There wasn’t much in the room at all, compared to modern times. Leif and Taran’s parents had all of four outfits each. There was only one set of linen for the bed. The featherbed posed a problem, however. Delicate, and certainly full of germs.
Shaking her head in resignation, Lauren started to pick the featherbed up, but the men took over that task. She spoke as they did so.
"There's naught for it but tae wash this thing as wull. Sure, 'tis inconvenient, being feathers, but geese swim, ye ken. All will be right once it dries — which should take aboot five days, by my reckoning."
They hauled it all downstairs in loads that would fit in the washtub, shutting the door to the upstairs whenever possible so as not to let the germs in the air up there come down. As soon as the men carried a load down, the women thrust it — and the men’s hands — into the hot soapy water, pushing up and down to make sure every bit of all the fabric was doused in the cleansing fluid, then doing the same in a tub of clear water.
Wringing things out by hand grew wearisome after the first time, so Lauren the engineer cast about for a mechanical solution. Spotting a few wooden rolling pins up on a shelf, she got them down and dug through the things in the kitchen and in all three of their purses until she had a makeshift wringer set up.
The men were so impressed, they each took a turn cranking the handle while all the clothing and linens were washed and put through the wringer. And then they all helped hang everything to line dry by the large fire in the great room, where the women and Amena’s sleeping furs lay.
Senga nudged Jessica on the shoulder.
"Supper is a sit-down affair at this house, and—"
Jessica gently squeezed one of Senga's hands.
"Na this evening it is na. Just make us some sandwiches please, and we wull eat quickly. Just two. Katherine has already eaten, sae she can continue in the meanwhile."
Wringing her hands, Senga looked out to where Leif and Taran were gathering more firewood from a stack leaned against the kitchen wall outside.
Leif nodded his assent, and so Senga gave a grimacing smile and nodded her assent as well.
"It shall be as ye say, lass. Just ye tell me what sandwiches are, and I will make them."
Leif enjoyed watching Jessica eat her bread and meat with her hands, but whenever she looked up, he looked away. It wouldn’t do for their eyes to find each other. She was only passing through.
When the meal was finished, he nodded to Taran and Luag and eyed the stairs. They took his meaning and got up to follow him. He addressed the lasses.
“If ye think ‘tis safe now, we wull be going up tae retire and leaving ye lasses tae dae the same.”
He didn’t look away in time, and Jessica’s eyes met his. Such calm eyes, so full of concern. Such a remarkable lass.
She smiled awkwardly and composed herself, then addressed the group.
“Aye, ye should be fine sae long as ye close yer parents’ door. We thank ye again for yer hospitality, and we bid ye hae a good night.”
Chapter 7
Senga stood outside the kitchen clasping her hands and smiling nervously at them.
“Yer pallets are all made up by the fire, if ye wull follow me, lasses.”
Amena jumped up and ran over to Senga.
“All o' us lasses wull sleep in here, aye Senga?”
Poor girl. She didn’t want to sleep alone with strangers. Who could blame her? The cook knelt to see eye to eye with the girl, but before Senga could explain, Jessica jumped in.
“Aye, we wull all sleep in here. Senga and ye will share one o' the pallets she was sae nice tae make up for us all.”
Senga smiled her gratitude then went to her room off the kitchen to change into her night dress, Amena trailing after her.
Katherine and Lauren had already gotten into their pallets when Jessica found hers between them.
Katherine whispered, “It isn't any too comfortable lying down on furs on the hard wooden floor.”
Lauren whispered back, “It’s only for tonight. After that we’ll have the soft feather bed. But isn’t this an amazing adventure? Wait, shhhh. Don’t answer. Senga’s coming.”
Senga stopped at their feet with Amena’s hand in hers.
“Amena says ‘tis all right with her if we two stay in my room, sae we bid ye hae a good night.”
“Night.”
“Good night, Senga, Amena.”
“See ye on the morrow.”
At least Katherine waited till they were probably out of hearing range.
“It is a good adventure, but you still should have warned us. What are we doing here, anyway?”
“Go to sleep,” Lauren begged.
The two of them argued on in whispers, but Jessica was more tired than she had ever been in her life. What a day it had been! Very soon, she sank into a blissful sleep.
Jessica was in a stone room with mysterious carvings on the windowless walls. Not quite pictures, their lacy and knotted intricate patterns looked like curly letters, but not letters she recognized. There was light in the room, coming from torches on the wall.
Four thrones lined one wall, and seated in three of the thrones were Katherine, Lauren, and Lauren's friend Kelsey, the one who had to rush off to a meeting at their hotel. Was that just this morning?
Kelsey gestured to the fourth throne.
"Have a seat. We have a lot to explain to you, and our dreams are the only time we’ll be able to."
What an odd dream.
Shrugging, Jessica made her way over to the fourth throne.
"I know this is a dream, but why do you have us in a dungeon? And even weirder, why are there thrones in the dungeon?"
Kelsey smiled a joyful smile, the same kind Lauren got whenever she talked about adventuring.
"This isn't a dungeon. It's the ancient palace beneath Dunskey Castle, the power seat of the kings of old Alba. Gaels and Picts formed Alba together 2000 years ago. They were one of the few kingdoms to successfully defy Romanization. For this reason, this palace has great power. No one can overhear us here." Kelsey shared an odd look with Lauren. "Not even if they’re touching your sleeping body."
Who listens to a lecture in a dream? Dreams are meant to be fun.
Jessica got up out of the throne and went to open a large ornately carved wooden door that she'd only just noticed on the far wall.
Her friends got up and followed her. Katherine looked just as mystified as Jessica felt, but Lauren… Lauren didn't look surprised at all.
Jessica whirled on Lauren.
"You obviously know what's going on, Lauren, so tell the rest of us already."
Lauren smiled apologetically.
"Sorry about all the secrecy. I have a hard time talking anywhere but in the dream world. It's not that I don't want to talk to you, I just can't.”
They had walked down a stone corridor and were passing through another room festooned with odd carvings in the stone. It was difficult to tell what this room had been used for, as no furniture had survived, but it did seem like an underground palace. Why had people lived underground?
Lauren was still talking.
"Kelsey has more experience with time travel than any of us, so maybe she can explain."
Lauren looked at Kelsey with such hope, it paused Jessica's anger. Who was this Kelsey person? And why did Lauren look up to her so?
Katherine leaned close to Jessica's ear.
"Is this a dream, or is this some sort of strange telepathic communication in our sleep? Let's ask each other in the morning if we both remember it."
"Good idea," Jessica whispered back.
Kelsey stopped at a stone staircase going up into the darkness.
"Wander around all you like, but don't go up any of these staircases, or you will leave the protected zone, and you're not ready for that yet."
Jessica turned on Kelsey with more anger than she had felt toward her friend. It was easier with a stranger, confrontation.
"Kelsey, just tell us what's going on!"
Kelsey hovered up into the air, reminding Jessica this was just a dream.
"Lauren and I have known about time travel for years. My husband Tavish and her ex John are from a family enslaved to druids. Most of the druids are good people, but some of them aren't, and it's important not to let them gain control over us."
She shared that odd look with Lauren again — and was Kelsey's look apologetic? Lauren's look was definitely hopeful.
Jessica figured it was her dream, and she would ask the questions.
“Why do the men here shy away from my touch like preschoolers who believe in cooties?”
Kelsey gasped.
“Married couples don’t touch in public in this time, so any touch at all between strangers is a shock. Don’t do it again!”
Jessica opened her mouth to tell Kelsey what she thought about being lectured after the fact rather than warned ahead of time, but Kelsey gave Jessica and Katherine a warm smile and talked over her.
"So let's see your adventures so far, shall we?"
And with that, she proceeded to show a 3D movie all around them of their adventures so far: Lauren taking them over to that clump of trees and then hugging them, the world spinning, walking out the road toward where they thought the highway was, their encounter with the scary men on horseback, fleeing through the woods and up the craggy mountain, Katherine coming back with the men, and the men's invitation for them to stay in their family’s manor house.
But the part Kelsey played over and over again was when Katherine brought the men back to the shack and they were casually talking about the women being from the future.
This part played five times in rapid succession, and with each time, Kelsey's face got more concerned, angry, even. She turned on Lauren and spoke to her as if she were a small child who had misbehaved.
"Why didn't you warn them not to tell anyone you’re from the future? Look what they've gone and done! This could be really bad! Yes, this is a fun adventure, but it’s not a game, Lauren! These people are superstitious. People get burned as witches in these times. What were you thinking?"
Lauren trembled in fear, all of her excitement about the adventure gone.
"I tried to warn them. I did! But something kept stopping me. My mouth just clamped shut. Maybe it's the druids. Maybe somehow, they’re controlling me. Maybe they want Jess and Kath to mess up. I don't know. But I really did try to warn them. I literally could not speak whenever I tried. Please, you have to believe me. I'm not stupid. I know what's at stake here. Maybe I should have aborted the trip, but I was just so excited."
Lauren broke down into tears.
Jessica looked to Kelsey and saw that comforting Lauren was the farthest thing from her mind, so Jessica did, holding close her old friend from college.
Kelsey took a deep breath and got herself under control and then smiled apologetically at ev
eryone.
"Okay. I believe you, Lauren. I'm sorry I took my frustration out on you. You're probably right. The druids probably are controlling you somehow." Kelsey's glance rested on the strange ancient rune-carved dagger Lauren wore. "I’ll work on it, okay?"
Lauren wiped her nose on her sleeve and sniffed as she nodded yes.
"Okay. Thanks. Don't get me wrong. I'm still really grateful that I get to go on a time travel adventure. I wanted this more than anything. You know that. And it’s just awesome that we don’t need the guys. I was all set to beg Jeff to take me back, can you believe it? To be able to do this without having to do that is just the best."
Kelsey nodded.
"I know. I'm so lucky to have Tavish back. I forget sometimes how easy I have it. I know I told you this before, but sooner or later the druids are going to ask you to find an artifact for them. That's the whole reason they send us back, you know, not just to have adventures."
Lauren nodded, squeezing Jessica's hand and then letting go.
Jessica let go reluctantly. Even though this was a dream, she wanted to be grounded in contact with someone. She knew it was stupid to ask questions in a dream, but she couldn't help herself.
"What kind of artifact? And how are we going to get it?"
Kelsey looked concerned for a moment, but she quickly covered it up with reassurance.
"I have Tavish, and I've been to Celtic University, and so the druids just tell us what they want and how they think we can get it. It's going to be different for you. You'll probably have to blend in with the people for a while before you get the chance to get the artifact. But I have no doubt that when the time comes, Lauren will know what's expected of you and how to do it."
Kelsey was fading away now, and Jessica rushed to ask her burning questions.
“When we’re done, how do we get home again?”
Kelsey turned frustrated eyes on Lauren once more.
“Didn’t you tell them anything?”
Lauren’s tears started flowing anew.
“I told you! I tried to tell them, but I just simply cannot speak when I try to say certain things. My mouth freezes up on me!”