Robert was concerned. All had been quiet since the move to the castle and the regular meetings with the Saxon leaders and his counsel usually went well. The first one especially. They had gathered a great deal of information and were finally closer to finding their man. But the more Robert learned, the more he suspected that Serenity was more involved than anyone could have suspected.

He looked down at the papers on his desk. Any one of them could contain the information he needed to end this. But time was quickly running away from him. The missive in his hand confirmed that. They would arrive soon. And he needed to make sure he had all the evidence to convince them this was not a rebellion. It was much worse.

He hoped he was successful. Because if he wasn’t, he would lose everything. Because he was very much afraid that this villain was searching for Serenity. Robert had to find him before he found her. He needed help.

***

Serenity hurried down the stairs into the main hall, barley stopping to scan the length of the room before heading out to the courtyard in search of her quarry. Osgar, she knew, was again with the soldiers, watching them train. Although he was several years too young to begin squire training, and nothing in Oscars future was certain, he was awed and obsessed with the knights. The Anglo-Saxon elders were not entirely happy about it. They wanted Osgar to be raised with their traditions and beliefs. They had lost so much and feared, that if things continued as they were, all Anglo-Saxon culture would be lost in Norman beliefs and traditions.

The courtyard was bustling with activity. People moved with a purpose, back and forth completing chores. Soldiers and skilled men worked on re-enforcing the wall and checking the weapons, cleaning them and making repairs. And there, by the castle gates, she saw them, the group readying to depart for the village. Hurrying over, she prepared what she would say. The group of soldiers were due to make the next supply run to the nearest market and Serenity desperately needed to persuade them to let her join the expedition. Not only was she going stir crazy cooped up and watched faithfully by the over protective Lords’ best warriors, many of the women needed supplies that the male population of the castle just didn’t think of. And the healer, Aggie who normally took care of such things, was away at the moment so, Serenity was the default person to go to, to fill in.

“Sir Henry! A moment please, I must join you. Aggie is away and there are supplies we need.”

“My Lady! My parsons but you cannot leave without My Lords permission. He is responsible for you and will be most displeased if you are put in danger.”

“But Sir Henry, I won’t be in danger as long as I am with you and your men. Besides this is my responsibility to the residents here. I cannot give it to another.”

“I am sorry My Lady.”

“Sir Henry, if you do not take me with you, I will go on my own. Then I will be in danger. And you would have disobeyed your Lord. Besides, I have accompanied the men before.”

“Yes My Lady, but Lord De Montfort was always with you when you did. I wonder what would invoke My Lord’s anger more, locking you in your room or taking you with us…”

The look in his eyes told Serenity he was entirely serious.

“I promise you I would make sure it was the former. Let me come, we will have returned before the end of day. And I will not go out of your sight. I promise.”

Henry groaned and sighed out his exasperation.

“My Lady, you are going to get me killed by my own Lord. You will not leave my sight. No matter what.”

Serenity smiled beautifully at his surrender, then quickly frowned at his words.

“No he won’t Henry. I won’t let him. Come along, let’s go before you changed you mind.”

Serenity climbed onto the cart they had prepared for the supplies, not wanting to delay while a horse was saddled for her. She felt the keen eyes of the men on her and felt a momentary pang of guilt. Her presence put extra work on them and, if anything should go wrong… she didn’t want to be responsible for any of them getting hurt or punished by Robert. She would just have to make sure nothing happened.

***

Serenity enjoyed the long journey to the village despite the slightly bumpy gate of their large wagon. For once, she left the tense alertness of lookout to the mounted knights and absorbed the beauty of her surroundings. She didn’t often have time to just… be. Or relax. Between everything that’s been going on, trying to find the cause of the recent conflicts and the stress of looking after a traumatised child and adjusting to living in the past, time for self-reflection and philosophy was low. Bear low.

Okay, so here it was. Either she was insane, or in a coma, and this was all on her head. Or, somehow, this was all real and everything she said, everything she did affected these people, for good or for bad. How do you deal with that? Nothing I do matters or I’m responsible for a sizable chunk of history. History. It didn’t quite fit. History says William killed King Harold II and became King himself in 1066. Thing are sketchy until 1068, when the Doomsday book was complied, a census of all the inhabitant and their property in the whole of the isles. William the Conqueror reign ruthlessly, continuing to supress and practically enslave the Anglo-Saxon natives under the serf system, wiping out the old culture and history until his death in 1086. It can’t be much after 1068, at yet the Normans seem to have been here for a while. Maybe not as conquers, that still wasn’t quite clear. And the Anglo-Saxons weren’t serfs, just persecuted natives. At least here, away from the capital. Other small things… it could just be the distortion of history, and records for this era weren’t started until the Dooms Day book which doesn’t seemed to have occurred yet. But, for goodness sake, these are key points of history. Unquestioned for decades…

Bah! How meant times had she argued through this with herself? She was driving herself crazy! Heaving out a sigh, Serenity closed her eyes and tried not to think. The wagon creaked and bumped, the horses tackle jingled. It was such a beautiful day. Serenity sighed again, this time in contentment. She had been so stressed lately, they all had. They were practically at war. Well, that was her decision then. For now, all she had to think about was surviving this trouble making war-mongerer. Which meant helping Robert, his people and the Anglo-Saxons survive. Which would change history. If this was even the past… Enough! It seemed like, ever since she arrived, she spent too much of her time trying to decide how to act, the consequences were and trying to resolve this endless internal battle. Okay. New plan... Focus on supplies.

The wagon rolled into the village and Serenity jumped off. She should have brought her horse. Henry immediately came to stand with her and started issuing orders to the men, who swiftly split off to fill their orders. When only two of his men remained, Hendry turned to her.

“My Lady, I must insist that you stay next to me at all times. When we have acquired all our necessary supplies, we will return immediate to the castle. Please give me your word.”

“Of course Henry. I understand the dangers. I give you my word, I will remain with you until we have returned to the castle.”

Although Roberts best knight relaxed a little, he did not seem reassured. Serenity smiled and turned to look at the village. It was huge, more of a town really. And, as you would expect on market day, it was crammed with people. The noise, smells and colours were invigorating and the smile on Serenity’s face grew.

For the next two hours, their group moved slowly through the market, collecting the many supplies needed at the castle. It was going well. And fairly fast considering all the bartering they had to do and the extra wagons they had to acquire and then load up for the long transport back. And Serenity wasn’t even tired yet. There was so much to do and see. So many people to talk to and watch.

Serenity loved people watching. You could tell so much from just watching. 90% of all communication is non-verbal, we don’ realise how much our movements and eyes and expression say to the Wold. It’s fascinating and one of the reasons she sometimes becomes frustrated with her archaeology. So much is lost over time and no amount of pottery, pictures or texts cab ever convey it adequately. To be able to experience that lost communication, culture was wonderful to Serenity. So she people watched and just absorbed all she could. And maybe, she would find that familiar face she was sue she had glimpsed this morning but just couldn’t place. It was beginning to bother her that she couldn’t recall who it belonged to.

Sir Henry was just finishing up the last barter and arranging for the goods to be brought to their loading point when one of his men appeared looking urgent.

“Sir Henry. There has been an accident. A wheel came off one of the wagons and the goods crushed some of the men. We need assistance and a healer immediately.”

This was bad. If the injuries were too serious, the men would likely die. Serenity was no doctor but she could certainly help. Maybe her advanced knowledge would be enough. She stepped forward to be level with the Knight.

“Sir Henry, I have the supplies we will need. We should go now if we are to have any hope of saving them.”

“Wait!”

Sir Henry’s voice was firm and everyone turned to him. His natural authority and leadership were evident in that they obeyed him Ben when they did not understand his reason for delaying them.

“Those wagons were sound, we checked each one before using them. My Lady, you will remain here with two of my men to guard you while I take the rest to secure the area around the wagon. I will send someone back for you once we know it is safe.”

“But the I juried men may not have that long. I must go with you, you cannot get another healer here fast enough.”

“I must ensure you safety, I promised his Lordship. And I do not believe this was a mere accident My Lady. Your safety is my responsibility and I will not let you come to harm. If you contest this further, I will have you escorted back to the castle immediately.”

“My life is not worth more than the lives of those men, Sir Henry. I will not be coddled while they suffer”

“It is not coddling, you have already been attacked.” Serenity’s gasp was quiet but still audible. “The longer you argue with me, the longer those men go without your aid.”

Serenity paused, but swiftly nodded her agreement. He had a point and she could not stand being sent back when she could help. Sir Henry gave one last word to her guards before moving swiftly off with the rest of them men. They stood watching from the side of a bright fabric covering and Serenity hated it. She wanted to help. Her guards suggested they move off a little, away from the overly crowded areas to prevent any dangers from being hidden from them and the movement was a relief from the angst off waiting which quickly grew from her inactivity. Thankfully, the wait was not long. But instead of the expected messenger calling her to tend to the injured, the wait was ended by the enveloping darkness of unconsciousness.

***

Serenity woke to soft grass beneath her, the bright blue sky above her and a familiar face watching her. The face she had been looking for in the crowd. A face that shouldn’t be here.

“Wick!!??”

Squatting next to her, gently lifting her to sit, he grinned happily.

“Hello Serenity. Taking your work a bit seriously aren’t you?”

Serenity gaped into the face of one of her volunteers. Her missing volunteer. How on earth is he here?

“Wick? Is that really you? What are you doing here? How did you get here?...”

Wick just smiled at her. His eyes were so deep, they seemed to hold her frozen. Her breathing hitched and an ominous cold seeped up her spine.

“Wick. How did you get here?”

“The same way you did my Serenity…”

Serenity just looked at him, confused. Wick reached out to brush her hair from her eyes, stroking her cheek. She didn’t even lift her bound hands to push him away. She was in shock.

“Do you remember when we first saw the shadows? When we were both children?”

Serenity’s eyes went wide with surprise.

“It was dawn, cold air brought mist swirling in from the lake. I couldn’t sleep so I sat at my window watching for the sun. How did you know?”

“I watched you from the shadow of the forest, just like I have done ever since. You looked so beautiful there in the fading moonlight. And when they appeared, I knew it was for you. And for me. We are the same Serenity. Two parts of something bigger. Something more. We were meant to make history.”

“Wick, I don’t know how we got here, but we can’t interfere in history. We could cause such damage, we could risk our reality.”

Wick frowned. He gripped her arms and stared intently into her eyes.

“You’re wrong Serenity. We’ll make it better. Think about all those tyrants through history, all those atrocities. Cultures and civilisations wiped out by empires and conquers. World wars, the extinction of so many peoples and species, the destruction and death of the planet. We can right the wrongs. Humans are weak, flawed, they fall easily into vices, but we are above that Serenity. We can re-write history, rule a utopia. We can save the planet. We’ll use our knowledge of history to re-shape it. It’s our purpose, our Destiny Serenity.”

“That makes no sense. There is so much history before 1066 that shapes our world. We can’t change that. And what about free will, Wick? What do you do with those that won’t conform to your utopia? Kill them? You can’t just murder those that disagree with you. It’s a fantasy Wick…”

“No! History is ours. And you will join me. Now remember. Remember Serenity. Remember how it felt that first time. Remember the focus, so intense so sharp that the world blurs around you and condenses down into darkness. And you become thin, like a ghost, fading into pure light. Think!”

Serenity tried to deny what Wick said but something about it sparked a memory. She frowned in confusion, trying to chase it down. It felt so familiar.

“That’s it Serenity. That is how you Jump.”

“Jump?” she asked vaguely, still chasing her memory.

“Time Jump. We can go anywhere in history. Anywhere in the world. Up until your present. It’s a lot less precise getting back though. There’s a month leeway from you departure time. Kinda hard to explain sometimes.”

Stunned silence was her only response. Wick let her go and jumped to his feet to pace impatiently.

“Oh, come on Serenity. You know it’s true! You feel it. You’ve experienced t. Not just being here, but the knowledge. The glimpses of what will be. Of what we change.”

“No Wick! It’s not true. It’s not possible.”

Wick stilled. His calm confidence unsettled Serenity and panic began to crawl up her back.

“Of course it’s possible Serenity. How do you think we got here? Haven’t you remembered yet?”

A spark flashed in Serenity’s mind. The trench.

“No”

“Yes.”

The ring.

“No!”

“You see? Serenity, we have all of history in our hands. You’ll make the perfect Empress of Time.”

“NO!”

Wicks smile of triumph and pleasure was the last image in her mind and the world blurred and went dark. Again.

She Jumped.

***

Serenity blinked the blurriness away and tried to breathe through heavy weight of panic on her chest. It was true. It was true. It can’t be. But it was.

Serenity screamed her frustration and pain into the sky until there was nothing left. Breathing heavily, she was lying facing the stars, still bound hand and foot. It had been midday when she was talking with Wick. She really had time jumped. What was she?

Calmer now, serenity struggled to sit up and look around. It was dark but she knew this place. She’d seen it on the journey to Robert’s castle.. it must have been months ago now. She could probably walk it. It was better than sitting here, waiting for rescue, moping and over thinking. The idea of trying jump occurred to her but, even if she wanted to, she didn’t know how. And goodness knows what would happen if she suddenly popped into existence and the castle bailey. She just needed to try to free herself and she could walk back. Easier said than done.

Serenity looked to her binding and began pulling at them with her teeth. Robert was not going to be happy. Poor Sir Henry… The rope tasted awful and was tied tight. She wasn’t getting anywhere with her hand bindings. Maybe she’d have better lick on her ankles, but trying to contort herself to get to the knots was tiring and she couldn’t hold that position very long. She looked around for anything that could help but the place was bare of all but grass. Sighing, Serenity turned back to the rope. The next few hours were exhausting and painful and she repeated the elastic contortion and numbing task of picking apart her shackles. Her frustration and pain grew and she indulged in brief screams and a few tears. But she kept going.

Finally. Back aching, ankles, wrist and finger chaffed raw and numb and she was pretty sure her fingernails were bloody, she felt something give. Collapsing with relief, tears spilling over, she didn’t even have the energy to unfurl from her uncomfortable position. She slept.