Authors: Marianne Curley
He steps back into the room, his right half reappearing. ‘An Apprentice? They never gave me—’ Shutting up suddenly, he just shakes his head and steps through the doorway.
The door closes behind him, all signs of it smoothly disappearing, and I realise this is not the room I’m supposed to be in. So what brought me here? That nightmare probably put me off course, sure, but I can’t shake the feeling that Carter had a hand in my detour, though just how is unclear. But he does work in the Citadel. According to Arkarian, he’s a coordinator here. Did he bring me to this room on purpose just so we could have this little chat? The man hates me, that much I know. And I’m getting the feeling his hatred is growing stronger every day. I will have to watch my back.
Then again, when have I ever been at ease in his company?
Isabel
I land with a thump and find myself rolling across a surprisingly springy floor. The light is strange in this room, kind of misty and not coming from a single point but more as if it is … just there. The walls are bare and at first the whole room appears white. But then my eyes drift to each of the four tall, narrow pillars that soar for endless metres to a high domed roof of stained and intricately designed glass. It’s as if the walls were drained of their colour so the ceiling could be viewed in all its brilliance.
I start to get up and suddenly Ethan’s hand stretches out before me. ‘You need to practise your landings.’
I take his hand and, getting quickly to my feet, notice that while I’m in pyjamas, he had the insight to wear a T-shirt and jeans to bed. ‘Thanks for the warning.’
‘Ah, yeah. I thought there was something I forgot.’
I tug at my pyjama top. ‘Just as well I thought of wearing these. I don’t usually sleep with so much on. Anything else I should know?’
He shakes his head, again pulling at his mouth.
‘Sorry about that, but I can’t think of anything right now. We have to hurry. It’s hard to tell how long I’ve been here, but it feels like ages. What held you up?’
He takes my hand and leads me up a wide spiral staircase. Each step of it melts away behind us as we go. ‘I couldn’t get to sleep right away, and then I had this freaky dream.’
He goes completely still, the stairway half disappearing beneath our feet. It startles me. ‘Ethan!’
We leap the last few steps to a narrow platform and run straight into another room. ‘The stairwells are very impatient in this place. We’re totally safe now. Tell me about your dream.’
But the room we’ve just entered has me forgetting the nightmare instantly. ‘Tell you later.’ I see rows and rows of medieval outfits, and all four surrounding walls are adorned with floor-to-ceiling mirrors. ‘Do we get to pick?’
‘Just walk past. What you need will select you.’
Unbelievably that’s exactly what happens. I end up dressed in a long full gown of exquisite blue with a low neckline lined with a white cotton bodice, my feet in soft beige slippers. I take a look at my reflection and see that my hair has been changed to a deep russet brown, piled high at the back, most of it secured with clips and fancy crafted combs, the rest dropping to my shoulders in ringlets. Even my skin appears a different shade, much paler, while my nose and mouth have become definitely rounder. I spin around, holding my full skirt out wide. ‘This is unreal! It’s like I’m a completely different person!’
Ethan, who is now dressed in brown tights with a cream overshirt drawn in at the waist with a leather
belt, has also changed in other ways than simply his clothes. His hair is much darker than his usual brown, longer and thicker too. I take a close look at his face – unbelievable! His nose is fatter while that cute chin has grown markedly square. The look is not good. ‘What happened to you?’
He shrugs and laughs at his newly acquired square look, then lifts a hand to the ringlets draping my shoulder. ‘The Citadel gives us a new identity. Remember, your mortal body is still in your own bed in your own time. But who you are – your soul – is here.’ He taps the area over his heart, then points to his eyes. ‘And here too.’
‘I think I get it. These bodies are kind of a temporary loan until we complete the mission.’
‘Right, ensuring our true identities remain secure.’
I glance again in the mirror at the stranger staring back. But I don’t feel any different. I still feel like myself, and of course my eyes haven’t changed at all. I give a little shrug. ‘It’s like playing dress-ups, except this time we actually get to go on a real-life adventure. This kind of dress-up I could get used to.’
Ethan checks that his sword is securely in place, then takes my hand. ‘Don’t get too excited! We’re not finished yet.’
He leads me to the middle of the room, where we stand close together directly under a high central point. We’re supposed to have some sort of shower. But Ethan has an amused look on his new face so I’m not taking his meaning literally. After all, we’re already dressed. He gives a barely perceptible nod and both of us are suddenly covered in a sprinkling of brilliantly coloured dust.
‘What is it?’ I ask.
Ethan gives a shake and helps me clear away the excess dust from my shoulders and hair. It disappears at our touch. ‘It’s everything you need to know so you don’t look or sound like an idiot while in the past and give yourself away.’
‘Thanks.’
‘You’re welcome. Now what’s your name? And where are you from?’
‘I’m Lady Madeline from Dartmouth, a coastal village sitting right on the English Channel.’ I take a breath. ‘Where did that come from?’
‘It’s your new identity. And I’m your cousin Hugo, Earl Monteblain’s son. Now let’s get out of here. We’ve wasted enough time.’
‘Well, sorry, but you really could have told me all these things before now. You are supposed to be my Trainer.’
He gives me a sharp look of annoyance. ‘They only gave me two weeks, remember.’
I don’t reply. I was only kidding, and if he couldn’t tell, then that’s his problem. Guys can be so thick.
We take another stairway, which seems to disappear beneath our feet faster than we can possibly climb the narrow steps. At the top there’s a small square platform. ‘What took you so long getting here?’ Ethan asks again, leading me into another room. This one is modest and quiet-looking, with simple furnishings that create an atmosphere of calm, the centre-piece a lounge suite that forms a square around a softly glowing fireplace.
‘I couldn’t get to sleep.’
We cross the room quickly and Ethan leads me to an
open doorway on the opposite side. Beyond its edges I see only darkness and a swirling mist.
‘Was it the dream that kept you awake?’
I vaguely nod, trying to make out some form in the dark mist.
‘We haven’t the time now but you have to tell me about it later. OK? Now let’s go.’
He means for me to step out into that vast nothingness at our feet. I tug him backwards a step to where I feel marginally safer. ‘Wait a minute.’
He looks surprised, then his face softens. ‘I didn’t explain this part either, did I? Damn Arkarian! How can the Tribunal do this to me? Two weeks!’
The answer is obvious to me. ‘Because they think you can.’
He scoffs. ‘If anything, they’re testing me.’
Glancing around the room, I see that the door we entered by has now disappeared. So there’s only one way out – the doorway with nothing but mist beyond it. ‘Where is this place exactly?’
‘The Citadel?’ He shrugs. ‘It’s neither here nor there. You can’t see it in the mortal world, that’s all I know.’
‘Is it in space?’
‘I don’t think so. Arkarian says it kind of dwells in a place between worlds. But I’m assured it’s the safest place in the universe. It can’t be got to, even though both sides inhabit its interior in their transit stages. The problem is, we can’t stay long ’cause time is immeasurable here, and it’s easy to linger longer than you think with too much time passing in our mortal world.’
He leads me right to the edge of the open doorway again. ‘Here, look,’ he says, peering into the blank distance. ‘Out there is our destination.’
‘I can’t see anything except darkness and fog, but I sense a vast drop below us.’
‘It’s only a small step – the same way all new adventures begin. I can’t believe
you’d
let fear of the unknown stop you.’
I send him a death-stare before sucking in a deep breath. Finally, we do it together. I keep my eyes closed tight and it feels as if we’ve stepped down from a ceiling to a hard floor. I land and fall, hitting my left side on a cold stone wall. We’re in a torch-lit brick hallway. I scramble up as two armoured soldiers make an appearance at one end of the hall. Ethan glances around and spots a door to our right. ‘Quickly, in here! Let’s work out where we are first, before having to explain our presence.’
The room is massive and draughty. A fire blazes within a brick fireplace. Brocade drapes hang across an open window and shadows from the fire flicker across the fabric, deepening its emerald green colour. There’s not much furniture except a huge four poster bed with a trunk at its base, a solid wooden desk and chair, and a comfortable-looking armchair before the fire. The whole room smells of smoke and wood.
‘Can you believe this, Ethan?’
‘Hugo,’ he reminds me in a whisper. ‘Whenever we speak out loud we must maintain our identities. After a while it should come naturally.’
I understand, and can’t help feeling foolish for having asked the question. Ethan, or Hugo for the time being, has been doing this sort of thing for years, but I can’t hide the buzz I’m getting out of it. ‘Look at this bed!’ I jump into the centre of it and practically sink to the bottom.
‘Feathers,’ Ethan says. ‘It’s probably filled with goose feathers. But hey, you’re supposed to be observing only. Don’t touch anything, OK? You could get hurt. And I’m in enough trouble already, so don’t go making more. Whatever you do is my responsibility.’
He starts to walk around the room, stopping with his back to the fire, fingers linked behind his back. ‘It’s definitely someone important’s bedroom, but not the king’s, nor the prince’s I’d say. From what I can remember from the layout of this place –’
He doesn’t get another word out as we both hear voices and heavy footsteps outside. They grow louder, then stop outside this bedroom’s door. A few more shared words, and one set of footsteps moves on.
Ethan and I exchange a quick look. Suddenly, Ethan makes a flying leap to the bed, diving straight for its centre. He lands half on top of me, pinning me to the mattress. ‘What the—?’ Ethan suddenly kisses me. At first it’s a shock, ’cause I’m not expecting this, but within seconds of his kiss everything changes. On some level I know a stranger has entered the room and stopped still at the sight of Ethan and me on the bed, kissing. But on another level there is nothing but Ethan and me. It doesn’t register that we’re in someone else’s bed, even in someone else’s time period. There’s only Ethan kissing me. That’s it.
But then Ethan jumps off me, pretending to be suddenly aware of our visitor. He staggers apologetically to his feet, dragging me with him. ‘My lord,’ he says, bowing at the waist to the tall man before us. ‘My apologies. I had no idea, when I stumbled into this magnificent bedroom, that it was yours. If you’ll give us but a moment, sir, we will vacate your room and
return to the hall where we belong.’
‘And you will leave my bed as you found it, unoccupied?’ the tall man asks, one bushy eyebrow raised in obvious amusement.
Ethan bows his head low. ‘Yes, sir. Most definitely.’
The man looks me over. ‘How unfortunate for you, lad. What is your name, and that of your … companion?’
‘My name, sir, is Hugo Monteblain, and this is my …’ He pauses momentarily, suddenly looking uncomfortable, but then his expression relaxes somewhat. Kissing cousins is not all that unusual in this period of time. He goes on to introduce me, ‘My cousin, Lady Madeline.’
‘Well, young Hugo, I would be pleased to oblige you and your lovely willing cousin here, but my time tonight is tight and I must prepare my speech to the council. There is a lot happening in the palace as we speak, and we must hope the result will be a new and rightful king.’
‘How goes young Richard?’
The tall man’s eyes widen slightly. ‘Ah, an ally. The boy sleeps soundly in his bed.’ He looks closely at Ethan. ‘From which lands do you hail? I have many, and yet I don’t recognise your name, though your face, looks familiar.’
‘We come from Dartmouth, sir. On the English Channel.’
‘Alas, I don’t own those lands. Have we met before?’
‘Nay, my lord. I have not had the honour.’
The man moves to his desk. ‘That’s unfortunate. You remind me of a man I knew once – something around the eyes – he helped me greatly once, a skilled young
man who promised to return, but …’ He waves a hand in a gesture of annoyance. ‘I haven’t been given the opportunity to show my appreciation for what he did. It’s as if he never existed.’
‘I’m sorry, my lord. Had I made you such a promise, I would most certainly have fulfilled it.’
The man nods, his eyes shifting from Ethan to me.
I know I’m not supposed to say, do or touch anything, but I just can’t resist this one opportunity. ‘Perhaps the young man in question will yet return, my lord.’
Ethan’s grip on my hand tightens. He doesn’t want me attracting attention to myself. That’s the idea of an observation-only journey, he had told me earlier.
‘It’s been many years, Lady Madeline,’ the man replies sadly, sitting down heavily at his desk.
It’s our cue to leave. Ethan bows again, asking whether the man requests anything from the kitchens. The man complains about his own manservant being lazy but doesn’t take up Ethan’s offer.
Outside the door I can’t help squealing out loud. Ethan throws a hand over my mouth, grinning at me.
‘Quiet! Do you want to get us both killed before this mission is half finished?’
‘Who was that? Do you know? He carried such an aura of magnetism.’
He floors me when he says, ‘John of Gaunt. Couldn’t you tell?’
‘I’m a C student, remember?’