Chapter 8

Breakfast was a marvelous spread and Dianora loaded her plate with eggs, bacon, toast, hashed tubers and the berries of the season. After a sip of juice, she cleared her throat and said, “I want to go to the future one more time.”

Garrin froze in the act of spreading jam on his toast and then calmly completed the task. “Might I ask why?”

“When I came here the last time, the trip where I ended up in the middle of the battle, I was so focused on bringing practical things like the blasters and the medkit, I didn’t really think through what I might need or want personally if this was going to be my new permanent home.” She blushed and toyed with a strip of bacon. “Honestly? I don’t think I’d entirely committed to life here, so I sort of deliberately left a lot of things behind that now I regret.”

“But you’re committed to me and to Argorn now?” His voice was noncommittal but she was afraid she might have hurt his feelings.

“You know I am. I love you and our life together.” She left her chair and rushed around the table to him. Garrin scooted his chair out and pulled her into his lap.

“I’ll come with you,” he said.

Astonished, she blinked and pulled away from him. “Why? Don’t you trust me to come back?”

“Your word is good enough for me,” he said in a mild reprimand, accented with a quick kiss. “But there is always a chance the ring might not bring you to Argorn again from your own realm. I can’t take the risk of never knowing what happened to you and having to live without you the rest of my life, vainly hoping you might reappear someday. I’d die a broken man.”

“But if you go with me and we’re stranded in the future, Argorn is left without a king.” Dianora was trying to accept the possibility of Garrin appearing in the future and becoming stranded there if the ring did indeed misbehave. The device was ancient after all—who could say if it would continue to work? She reconsidered her desire to travel to her own time once more in the light of this daunting thought.

“I believe the ring will continue to do its duty. Whatever spirits or gods motivate it understood we needed to be together and knew we were needed here,” he said, voice ringing with confidence. “But I’ll not be parted from you.”

“Did you check to see if the ring is here in this time as well?” she asked, thinking if they had two versions of the ring, they’d have a backup.

“Good question. Let us go and determine the answer now before we have further discussion.” Garrin waited while she slid off his lap and then led her to the adjoining room, which functioned as his study. He paced along the outer wall, counting his steps under his breath before pausing and bending over to depress a specific panel in the stone. There was a click and the fa?ade slid aside, revealing a small nook. Reaching inside he withdrew a box.

“The puzzle box,” Dianora said, instantly recognizing the container, although it was in much better condition here. “I found the ring inside this box. Or rather I will find the ring—this all gets confusing.”

“My brain doesn’t want to contemplate the issues at all,” he said, straightening and setting the box on a nearby table. Rapidly he flicked the ornamental trim in the prescribed ways to open the box and the lid sprang open.

“You did that a lot faster than I could. Took me a few minutes to figure it out,” she said nervously. “And?”

He showed her the empty box. “Nothing. It seems you have the singular ring.”

“But yet it’ll have to be in the box so I can find it in a few thousand years.” She had a headache coming on and rubbed her temples. Why did all aspects of time travel have to be so confusing?

“A problem for another day.” He stuck the box in the safe and closed the panel. “If we’re going, let’s get it over with today.”

“I think it’s best to go tonight,” she said, now not sure she wanted to make the trip at all, given the risks. But there were a few personal things she’d been missing.

Eyebrow raised, he waited for further explanation.

“I’ve been gone quite a while now and I can’t simply reappear in broad daylight. If we go at night hopefully everyone will be asleep and we can grab my things and leave quickly. No one will even know we’ve been there. And I won’t go again, I swear.”

“Are there guards?”

“There never have been. I think we had maybe one security guy assigned to the whole dig. Why do you ask?”

“Your absence may have unsettled them enough to establish a watch. And when we do appear, if we’re spotted, there could be an attempt to detain us. You said the ring was an item of the type much desired by your people, a device of the Ancients.”

“You think this trip is foolish,” she said, not arguing the point.

“A risk certainly.” He watched as she paced across the room. “I understand why you want to have your personal items.”

“There’s a holo of my late parents,” she said, amazed she hadn’t brought it with her the first time, which was further proof she hadn’t been sure she’d stay in Argorn. “A few books…and more lingerie.”

He matched her smile. “Well then of course we must go. Why didn’t you say so in the first place?” Clearly he was teasing and she rushed into his arms for a hug.

“Let me think about it today and if I decide I really have to go retrieve the things I want, we can leave at midnight, all right?”

“Time here and time there run in the same tracks?” he asked.

“Pretty much. I think the planet’s wobble has made the day longer in the future but overall if it’s midnight here, it’ll be the dead of night there. We’ll be inside my quarters, a kind of semi-permanent tent and no one will see us. I’m not going to try to grab more supplies or anything. A trip to the supply depot would be too risky.”

“You can set a timer on your device you call a handheld, right?”

Dianora knew he’d seen her do it a few times since she arrived here. “Yes, why?”

“Ten minutes and we’re gone. That’s my condition.” Garrin’s face was set in serious lines and she could tell there was no arguing with him on the point.

“Fair enough.” She could probably grab what she wanted in the allotted amount of time. She’d have to sit and visualize her quarters today and make a list, in order to be most efficient. A deadline probably was a good idea the more she thought about it.

“I’m going to have to tell Bakuln what we do,” he said. “If we fail to return he needs to know where we are. I”ll leave instructions for what action is to be taken and who should assume the throne. Better safe than sorry. When we come back I”ll burn the parchment.”

“I’m sorry for making such a fuss,” she said, a little appalled at the idea of his having to designate a successor and make plans for the truly awful possibility they might stay stuck in the future. Glancing at the ring, she wondered if it was luring her into making this trip for its own purposes. After all there had been a number of times early on when she’d been sure the ring was cursed and trying to ruin her previous life. But it was inextricably associated with Garrin’s family, so why would the ring betray them now.? How did Ancient Observers think about these things? Surely Lir’taray must have known the family of his beloved would treasure the ring through the centuries even after it stopped working for her. We’ll be fine, she told herself. Garrin belongs here and the damn ring knows it.

Echoing her unspoken reassurance, Garrin said, “I anticipate the trip will be uneventful. The ring knows its place and mine are here and you belong with us.” He came to hug her. “I’ll enjoy the adventure of setting foot in another realm. To my knowledge no other Argorn has ever had the privilege except for my many times great-grandmother when she went to visit her Ancient lover. And then we’ll be home and can rest easy.”

Easy wasthe last thing she felt as the chrono on her handheld counted down to midnight. She and Garrin stood in their bedroom, holding hands and waiting. Bakuln loitered by the door, frowning heavily. He had most emphatically not approved of this expedition, enumerating risks ever since Garrin had taken him into their confidence after dinner. Now he was silent but his disapproval radiated.

Ignoring him with difficulty, Dianora reviewed her mental list. Nerves made her jittery but then Garrin stood behind her, wrapping his arms around her firmly. He held her empty backpack, which she planned on filling, and she had several larger bags in her quarters.

“The sands have fallen,” he said, lifting his chin at the hourglass. “Let us go on this mad jaunt and return before my friend over there loses his temper.”

Nodding, Dianora took a deep breath, rubbed her thumb over the giant pink stone in the ring and said, “Take us to my quarters in the future.”

The freezing cold penetrated to her bones and she could barely feel the grip of Garrin’s embrace but he was traveling with her, which relieved one worry she’d had, that the ring might refuse to take him along. Impossible to keep her eyes open or to speak but right at the point where a lack of air became urgent, the cold receded and they stood in the center of her tent at the dig.

“So far so good,” Garrin said, unslinging the backpack. “What do we need to grab first?”

“Fuck me,” she said, gazing at her old living space as the automatic light came on in response to their presence. “What in the seven hells happened here?”

Plainly her quarters had been searched and no care had been taken with her possessions. Clothing, books, the holo of her parents—everything was in a big mess on the floor, as if whoever had been here had been furious. And thorough. All the drawers were open, the closet was empty…this was going to make what she wanted to do a lot harder.

Garrin gave her shoulder a squeeze. “I see this has upset you and I’m sorry but we have to focus. Set the timer and let’s get to work.”

“Right.” Seething, she made her way through the mess and set her handheld in the recharger before activating the timer. Noticing a couple of portable recharges on the floor where they’d been dropped, she scooped them up and thrust them into her pocket. She’d forgotten she had those as backup.

Grabbing the holo, she added the picture to her collection and dug frantically in the mess for the two big rucksacks she”d brought with her to Belmane. She could only find one in the mess the searchers had made of her closet.

“Give it to me,” Garrin said. He was methodically scooping up whatever he could from the floor. Once he caught the large bag he wasted no time shoving items into the sack.

“So much for my plans,” Dianora said. She had the feeling she’d blundered into someone else’s home, not hers, despite all the familiar objects. Hard to believe she’d lived and worked here for so long. Argorn was her reality now.

“I have what I came for on your behalf,” he replied with a laugh, holding up a pink-and-black bra and panty set. “You’ll set my body on fire when you model these incomparable items for my eyes alone.”

Not in the mood to be amused, she took the smaller backpack and tried to sort out what she’d wanted to take from the clutter on the floor beside the desk. Over her shoulder she said, “Grab whatever clothing you find. Books too.”

As he worked, Garrin said, “The future is most curious and unexpected. This small space is all your lords allotted to you?”

“It’s bigger than my room at the university. And I had a different office where I worked on the items we were finding at the dig sites.” She checked the timer, appalled at how fast the time was ticking down. Finally locating the other rucksack, she tossed it across the tent to him. “Could you go into the bathroom and scoop up everything in there? Check the meds cabinet too—I want it all.”

He maneuvered the first bulging rucksack into the cleared portion of the floor where they’d arrived. “We’ll have to be touching these when we leave, you know. Or this trip is for naught.” Disappearing into the small bathroom, he went to work in there.

Exasperated as she was, Dianora experienced a flash of amusement at the vision of her medieval king inside her modern quarters, complete with his sword, which he’d refused to leave behind and his sweeping red cloak. Nerves on edge, she thought she was finding most of what she’d identified to take, but her mind was a blank when it came to the list. The sight of her pillaged room had thrown her for a loop. Simply being in the future again—technically her present—was disorienting.

The door crashed open. “Where the seven hells have you been, Dianora Devlin?”

With a scream, she backed away, clutching a few pieces of clothing. She made a quick grab for the backpack.

Clad in sweatpants and a tee shirt, Dr. Soren stood in the opening, Derek looming behind him.

“I told you I saw lights and heard voices,” the assistant said with smug pride.

Eyes narrowed, Soren was studying her. “We searched the damn jungle for you for three days.”

“I’m sorry, I?— “

“Then we searched your rooms here. And we found interesting and incriminating things, I must say, like the golden goblet. You must have known you couldn’t get it off the planet. Are you working with smugglers?”

Indignant, she shook her head. “Of course not. If you’ll just let me explain?—”

But the archaeologist was in no mood to listen. “You’re fired. And when the supply ship arrives tomorrow I’ll be sending you to Sector Hub under arrest. What did you do with the blaster you stole?”

“I lost it,” she lied. Well, it was lost in the past. And it had been two blasters plus recharges but she didn’t feel the need to correct him. Her adrenaline was rising under this interrogation. She knew from his standpoint she deserved whatever the expedition leader wanted to say but it was unpleasant to hear, to say the least.

Now Soren was riveted by the ring on her finger and he stepped closer. “Lords of Space, did you find that in the dig as well? Bold of you to wear a stolen antiquity.”

“You certainly had all of us fooled,” Derek said, now standing in the doorway. “You were so meek and dedicated, so eager to please, but it must have all been an act.”

“You will not speak to my queen in this disrespectful fashion,” Garrin said from behind her, emerging from the bathroom with the incongruous backpack in his hand. He advanced, sword ready, as the two archaeologists retreated, eyes wide and mouths gaping in shock.

The alarm on her handheld shrilled, catching Dianora by surprise but also startling Soren and his assistant, who retreated further. She lunged forward, grabbed the device and darted to Garrin, who looped his free arm around her waist.

“G—Garrin?” Dr. Soren stammered after taking a good look at the newcomer to the fray. “The Garrin?” Gathering his courage, he moved closer and Dianora was afraid he’d try to grab her. Outside she heard shouts and Derek calling for help. Things were going to get ugly fast.

She got a grip on the backpack and hoped Garrin had the two rucksacks under control. He pointed the sword at those he rightly regarded as enemies in this realm. “Time to go,” he said.

“What have you been up to?” Soren asked, not taking his eyes off Garrin.

“You wouldn’t believe me if I told you.” Dianora rubbed her thumb across the big stone. “Take us home.”

She was terrified the AO device would choose now to stop working but the icy cold gripped her and she closed her eyes, blocking out the sight of her old boss. Garrin’s grip at her waist was tight and she clung to the backpack with all her power, despite the disorientation and discomfort of the time travel. When they arrived in Argorn, she would have fallen except for his support. As it was they both staggered a bit drunkenly until regaining their balance.

Sheathing his sword, Garrin kicked aside the two bags he’d managed to transport and spun her to face him. “Are you all right?”

“I’m fine, just a bit shocked.”

Ignoring Bakuln who was spewing questions, he gave her a hug. “I don’t like your future and I wasn’t impressed by the people you used to work among. Swear to me you won’t journey there again, with or without me.”

“I swear, no problem. I was so scared Dr. Soren was going to do something to prevent us from leaving. If he’d had a stunner we’d have been in big trouble.” Realizing what a close call they could have had and the risks she’d been running, she shivered. She accepted a brimming goblet of wine from Bakuln who had evidently decided his curiosity could wait and more direct action was necessary, hence the drinks. Dianora took a long swallow and the warmth going all the way to her gut calmed her nerves a bit.

Garrin sipped his wine slowly. “Thank you, my friend,” he said to his sword brother. “I tell you the other realm is not a welcoming place.”

“You weren’t gone long,” Bakuln said, eyeing the rucksacks. “Did you get what you went to retrieve?”

“Even if we didn’t, this was my last trip through time,” Dianora said. “I got the holo—the picture of my parents, which is what I wanted most.” Glancing at Garrin, she winked, “And a few other things my husband will no doubt enjoy.” She stared at the three bags. “It’ll be an adventure going through those to see what we did manage to salvage from my old room.” Struck by an aspect of their return to Argorn she’d overlooked, she looked at Garrin. “I told the ring to bring us home. I didn’t even specify it had to be here because I was too upset and unnerved. I simply said ‘home’ and it brought us.”

“The ring knows where you belong,” he said, setting the wine down and gathering her close. “And so do I.”

“I’m never leaving,” she said, resting her head against his chest and allowing his steady heartbeat to soothe her. “I’ve done all the time traveling I ever intend to do. When you know where you’re supposed to be, nothing else matters.”

“And who you’re supposed to be with,” Garrin added, lowering his head for a kiss.

“My cue to leave,” Bakuln said with a hearty laugh. “You can tell me more about the future realm tomorrow.”

Dimly Dianora heard the door close as their friend left but she was deep in her private homecoming celebration, locked in her beloved’s arms, no doubts left in her heart or mind about her destiny as the future wife and queen to the legendary king.

And they would live happily, if not ever after, for the rest of their lives, together.