Post by Honey_Bunny on Dec 4, 2008 23:35:10 GMT 12
Lana switched off her rocket and stepped out of it. She took out a remote control and pressed a button which made the rocket minimize into a pocket sized rocket (almost like a toy, really). She attached to it a pin and pinned it to her shirt as a brooch. It was a new invention made by a friend of hers. Well, not really made by her friend, he was there only to inspire her and give her the ideas. It all started one day when she saw the “man with the child in his eyes” as she called him, for he was old, she could tell by his face, yet he spoke with so much childishness in his voice. He was at her door once and they began to talk and then he disappeared, then the next she saw him at the foot of her stairs in her house. Then a week later he was on the stairs again, sometimes she wished he would go away. Fancy that, seeing people who then disappear! The girl thought she was going mad. But then one night he sat by her bed and told her that she mustn’t be afraid and that she is not going mad. He began telling her about the sea and all about how his life is lost to eternity, and then he began asking her questions: what she does, what she likes... he was always there and always aware of her situations, yet she wasn’t aware of his. She grew quite close to him but whenever she asked him his name he would disappear and she would turn over.
The night when the “toy rocket” idea was born went something like that: it was a very starry night and Lana was lieing in her bed waiting for the sleep to be her blanket. And here he was again, the man with the child in his eyes.
“Hello again” she said to him, he smiled. “Look, so many stars. I wish I could travel to all of them” she said and let out a sad laugh.
“Why don’t you?”
“Haha! No, my rocket is too big and besides I rarely fly it. You know what would have been good? If my rocket was more mobile. The shed i told you about for example, you can take it with you where ever you go, with my rocket... well, you would have to paint it and hide it very well behind a tall tree.” She said and rolled her eyes. The man smiled.
“On one of my sea voyages, met the strangest man” the man began but he spoke with unease in his voice and kept looking at Lana and look away from her “and that man told me the most amazing stories and he made me believe that anything is possible.”
Lana smiled fondly but failed to get his point. “And your point is...?”
“if you want to have your rocket more mobile, you want it to be smaller, yes?”
Lana thought for a minute “... yes..”
“This person I met , is a very good friend with a great scientist. I may get us some where” he winked and disappeared before Lana could say anything
He didn’t appear for a long while and then one night he came to her and asked to come to her rocket room.
“Come! Come! Oooh! I’m so excited! Oooh! I can’t wait to see the look on your face!” he began running and jumping around her. When they got to the rocket room he handed her a remote and told her to push the button on it. To Lana’s amazement, the rocket shrunk before her eyes!
“You. Are.a.Genius!” she said and hugged him. “However did you manage to do that?” she asked excitedly
“Science” he said shyly but proudly
“Come on, tell me all about it” and she started to walk to her room but when she turned around he was no longer there. It didn’t make her angry, she actually laughed.
Let us come back to the present however. So Lana came out of her rocket and put it as a brooch. Instead of finding herself in 20th century Russia , she found herself surrounded by a rocky path with no trees, nor people, nor any life about her.
“I don’t think I am in Russia....” she said to herself. Since there was nothing else to do she sat on a rock and began to doze off. After some short while she was woken up by the ground vibrating and heard the sound of clinking metal. A man came up to her and shouted
“All halt!” to which the whole line of soldiers behind him in unison stopped walking, they stood still as a wall. “Have a breather” the man who shouted (the general, Lana guessed) said in a less commanding voice.
“General Harold Land” he introduced himself and saluted her. She didn’t really know what to do, or how to greet him, and she was aware that her attire was not very fashionable at the moment.
“Ah, umm, err, hmmm... Lana” she said offered her and when he didn’t shook her hand she gave a small bow. He sat down and motioned her to sit next to him (Ha! Thought Lana where did “ladies first” went to?)
“What will you be doing here?” he fired at her
“I am not meant to be here. I don’t really know where I am”
“Have you fallen on the rock to the effect of loss of memory?” he said and studied her
Lana only stared at him with narrow eyes.
“No, sir” she said and sounded hurt “but if you wont leave me alone right now , you will be the one falling on the rocks and you will lose more than your memory” even though what she said really humoured her she kept that same hurt look and narrow eyes.
“Forgive me, miss.” He said and sighed heavily “I have been marching all day, all week even. My second year as a general. Everyday is just the same.” He gave a sad laugh “I’m getting tired of getting tired of it.”
“I know how you feel” said Lana sympathetically, as she cooled down “that’s why I chose a more interesting job. I am an astronaut!” she said with a proud smile.
“I’m sorry, you are a what?” clearly this was an era where going to space wasn’t invented yet
“I travel to space” she said and pointed upwards to the sky. General Land looked at her in disbelief but then he just sighed sadly.
“I suppose you’re luckier that you got to choose a job. A job we call it. My superior tells me “it’s not a job, it’s your duty” “ the General said a low commanding voice imitating his superior.
“You were conscripted?” asked Lana
“yes, we all were.” He said and looked to the distance “you know, it all happened so quickly, one minute I was having tea in the study, a messenger comes , gives me a paper and I am back in uniform a battalion behind me. It all happened in a wave of a hand. Now all I do is marching my soldiers in the rain to nowhere.” He said sadly and took out his pipe
“I am sorry to appear ignorant, but who are you fighting?”
“You are not ignorant at all, miss. The truth is that I don’t even know. There was some trouble back home, they told me to go. And we have been walking since.”
“How long ago was that?”
“Ah, you know, miss, I have found that it is better if I don’t know the date. And I don’t, I lost track of time. I had one man who kept a diary, but he, too, gave up. “
Lana was silent for a few seconds. She was trying to figure out in which time she has landed.
“Hang on! Where exactly are we?” Lana realized something
“On the pleasant land of his- I beg your pardon- her majesty.”
Lana was trying to put two and two together. It is England, and her majesty is in power, judging by the clothes General Harold was wearing, Lana would have said that the monarch in question was Elizabeth I. Since the General said “his majesty” first, Lana concluded that Elizabeth only recently became queen. Lana walked up to one of the soldiers who was sitting on a rock looking into the distance.
“Good day to you, soldier. May I?” she asked and crouched next to him as there was no other seatable rock. “Are you the one who kept the diary?” Lana guessed
“Well yes I am, young lady”
“Your general tells me you have lost track of the time as well”
“My general is right , young lady”
“Tell me....what was your profession before you became a soldier?”
“I was a.... I was a monk”
“Could I look at your diary?” Lana asked and reached out her hand and he gave her the diary. Lana smiled as her guess was right: the first page in the diary was dated to 1536. As Lana looked through the pages she could notice a great love for the church. This man was a monk. Between 1536 and 1540 the monasteries in England were closed and were sold to the Crown. They must have fled then, Lana decided.
“Tell me, monk, how did you know that you have a new monarch?”
“People were saying it on the way. I just hope the new monarch (may she live long), be more considerate to us monks.”
“I take it you are a catholic?” she asked and then met his stern gaze
“And you are not?” he asked in disbelief yet there was anger in his voice
Lana, not wanting to get into religious debates, stood up and walked back to the General.
“Where are you planning to go next?”
“Wherever our feet take us”
“Are you a priest as well?”
“Me? No.”
“What is your faith?” Lana asked carefully
He looked at her and waited a bit until answering “I have seen such sights in my country, on England’s green... I don’t understand how God could allow for this to happen. I am indifferent to a religion. If they want me to be a Catholic I would be a Catholic, if they want me to be a Protestant, I’ll be a Protestant. I simply do not care anymore.” He looked at her and smiled a sad smile which disappeared instantly “Is that a bad thing to say?”
“All these men...” Lana said after some thought
“I was told by a monk to take them away from London. Naturally I had to take some soldiers with me too. King Henry was a.... well, may he rest in peace” the General said not meaning the last words. If he was taking care of the Catholic monks, the best way for them to go was towards Scotland. While Lana was deciding how to act , the General nodded to some in the distance and before knowing what was happening, a circle of soldiers were closing in on Lana taking her by the arms and legs and trying to tie her up.
“No! Wait! Stop that! Let me go! Get off! Help! Help! He—” she had a piece of cloth put in her mouth
“I am sorry, miss. Orders are orders. It will be a pity to kill you, I would have wanted to chat with you more, but you see you ask too many questions and you talk of things that cannot be real. And what’s more you have red hair. You are a witch.” Said the General.
“What should we do with her, General?” asked a young soldier. The General shrugged his soldiers. “Whatever you want” he said at last and walked away as if in disgust. There was a man in uniform running towards them.
“Soldiers halt!” the General shouted and came to greet the man who had a Royal Army uniform
“Commodore Kite” said the man and saluted the General
“General Land” saluted the General
“Her Majesty sent me to report on your group”
“We captured a witch” said the General yet he wondered how this man found them and why was the Queen interested in his group. But then again, he couldn’t care less. Commodore Kite walked towards Lana and got alarmed when he saw that she was white as a ghost and her eyes were closed.
“What happened to her?”
“She has fainted commodore” said the soldier
“Not a strong witch” laughed another
“General, I will take her with me, and you will get back to London” ordered the Commodore
“General! I will not go! I am Catholic monk. God is my sovereign” said the monk Lana talked to before. Many echoed him until two groups have formed: those who were prepared to go back and those who didn’t. The General pointed at the two groups and asked Kite what he should do. Kite, who was only interested in taking Lana with him, couldn’t care less what these people would do. Choosing the middle man choice he said, trying to sound all commanding and as if really being a commodore
“Do what you think is right, general” he saluted and left.
“Kite” said the General as an afterthought “that’s a strange name”
Kite walked with Lana in his arms climbing over a hill. When he was sure no one was watching him, he whispered to Albert to come out of hiding.
“What a wonderful commodore you would have made!” joked Albert while laying Lana on the grass.
“Lana? La-na? Can you hear me?” Albert whispered and then looked at Kite. “Got water?” he asked him, Kite shook his head. Albert looked to both left and right and then at kite. “An old fashioned trick, watch and learn boy.” Albert said and bent down over Lana pressing his lips to hers until she opened her eyes.
“Albert!” she said “Kite!” she smiled and sat up then looked at Albert “what was that for?”
“I was just teaching the boy how to un-faint someone” said Albert and looked at kite who was stil shocked
“You never seize to amaze old man” he said and helped Lana to get up
“Pity, you missed his act as a commodore” said Albert and Lana smiled, Kite blushed.
“What are you doing here, Albert?” Lana asked
“All in good time, m’dear. Here” he said and gave both Lana and Kite a bundle of servant clothes.
“What’s that for?” asked Kite dreading the answer
“We need to find a place where we can talk , I happen to know a good place, but in order to get there, you two will have to be my servants. I shall wait here while you two get changed” said Albert and hurried them. When Kite left, Lana came up to Albert and said with a smile
“you should have let him do it”
“do what?”
“you know, “un-faint” me”
“Why, am I that bad?”
“You are old Albert!”
“It was a matter of experience, m’dear” he said and winked
Lana laughed and said “ it’s good to see you” and she left to change. Albert smiled at her and soon his smiled turned into laughter
“You two were made to be servants! Haha! Look at you!” Lana and Kited exchanged smiles. “Anyway, Kite, you will have to ride with Lana as I don’t have a second horse and besides it is a custom, a lady servant should ride with the male servant. So if you please, mount your horse” Albert said and suited actions to his words
Kite mounted his horse after his 6th attempt and got Lana to sit on it after another 7 attempts.
“I have to tell you , my riding is worse than my mounting” admitted Kite
“It’s going to be a fun ride then” said Lana with a smile
“Alright you two stop talking and always follow me. Do not go off the road.”
“Where are we going?” shouted Kite as Albert already started to ride
“To Dudley's!”
The night when the “toy rocket” idea was born went something like that: it was a very starry night and Lana was lieing in her bed waiting for the sleep to be her blanket. And here he was again, the man with the child in his eyes.
“Hello again” she said to him, he smiled. “Look, so many stars. I wish I could travel to all of them” she said and let out a sad laugh.
“Why don’t you?”
“Haha! No, my rocket is too big and besides I rarely fly it. You know what would have been good? If my rocket was more mobile. The shed i told you about for example, you can take it with you where ever you go, with my rocket... well, you would have to paint it and hide it very well behind a tall tree.” She said and rolled her eyes. The man smiled.
“On one of my sea voyages, met the strangest man” the man began but he spoke with unease in his voice and kept looking at Lana and look away from her “and that man told me the most amazing stories and he made me believe that anything is possible.”
Lana smiled fondly but failed to get his point. “And your point is...?”
“if you want to have your rocket more mobile, you want it to be smaller, yes?”
Lana thought for a minute “... yes..”
“This person I met , is a very good friend with a great scientist. I may get us some where” he winked and disappeared before Lana could say anything
He didn’t appear for a long while and then one night he came to her and asked to come to her rocket room.
“Come! Come! Oooh! I’m so excited! Oooh! I can’t wait to see the look on your face!” he began running and jumping around her. When they got to the rocket room he handed her a remote and told her to push the button on it. To Lana’s amazement, the rocket shrunk before her eyes!
“You. Are.a.Genius!” she said and hugged him. “However did you manage to do that?” she asked excitedly
“Science” he said shyly but proudly
“Come on, tell me all about it” and she started to walk to her room but when she turned around he was no longer there. It didn’t make her angry, she actually laughed.
Let us come back to the present however. So Lana came out of her rocket and put it as a brooch. Instead of finding herself in 20th century Russia , she found herself surrounded by a rocky path with no trees, nor people, nor any life about her.
“I don’t think I am in Russia....” she said to herself. Since there was nothing else to do she sat on a rock and began to doze off. After some short while she was woken up by the ground vibrating and heard the sound of clinking metal. A man came up to her and shouted
“All halt!” to which the whole line of soldiers behind him in unison stopped walking, they stood still as a wall. “Have a breather” the man who shouted (the general, Lana guessed) said in a less commanding voice.
“General Harold Land” he introduced himself and saluted her. She didn’t really know what to do, or how to greet him, and she was aware that her attire was not very fashionable at the moment.
“Ah, umm, err, hmmm... Lana” she said offered her and when he didn’t shook her hand she gave a small bow. He sat down and motioned her to sit next to him (Ha! Thought Lana where did “ladies first” went to?)
“What will you be doing here?” he fired at her
“I am not meant to be here. I don’t really know where I am”
“Have you fallen on the rock to the effect of loss of memory?” he said and studied her
Lana only stared at him with narrow eyes.
“No, sir” she said and sounded hurt “but if you wont leave me alone right now , you will be the one falling on the rocks and you will lose more than your memory” even though what she said really humoured her she kept that same hurt look and narrow eyes.
“Forgive me, miss.” He said and sighed heavily “I have been marching all day, all week even. My second year as a general. Everyday is just the same.” He gave a sad laugh “I’m getting tired of getting tired of it.”
“I know how you feel” said Lana sympathetically, as she cooled down “that’s why I chose a more interesting job. I am an astronaut!” she said with a proud smile.
“I’m sorry, you are a what?” clearly this was an era where going to space wasn’t invented yet
“I travel to space” she said and pointed upwards to the sky. General Land looked at her in disbelief but then he just sighed sadly.
“I suppose you’re luckier that you got to choose a job. A job we call it. My superior tells me “it’s not a job, it’s your duty” “ the General said a low commanding voice imitating his superior.
“You were conscripted?” asked Lana
“yes, we all were.” He said and looked to the distance “you know, it all happened so quickly, one minute I was having tea in the study, a messenger comes , gives me a paper and I am back in uniform a battalion behind me. It all happened in a wave of a hand. Now all I do is marching my soldiers in the rain to nowhere.” He said sadly and took out his pipe
“I am sorry to appear ignorant, but who are you fighting?”
“You are not ignorant at all, miss. The truth is that I don’t even know. There was some trouble back home, they told me to go. And we have been walking since.”
“How long ago was that?”
“Ah, you know, miss, I have found that it is better if I don’t know the date. And I don’t, I lost track of time. I had one man who kept a diary, but he, too, gave up. “
Lana was silent for a few seconds. She was trying to figure out in which time she has landed.
“Hang on! Where exactly are we?” Lana realized something
“On the pleasant land of his- I beg your pardon- her majesty.”
Lana was trying to put two and two together. It is England, and her majesty is in power, judging by the clothes General Harold was wearing, Lana would have said that the monarch in question was Elizabeth I. Since the General said “his majesty” first, Lana concluded that Elizabeth only recently became queen. Lana walked up to one of the soldiers who was sitting on a rock looking into the distance.
“Good day to you, soldier. May I?” she asked and crouched next to him as there was no other seatable rock. “Are you the one who kept the diary?” Lana guessed
“Well yes I am, young lady”
“Your general tells me you have lost track of the time as well”
“My general is right , young lady”
“Tell me....what was your profession before you became a soldier?”
“I was a.... I was a monk”
“Could I look at your diary?” Lana asked and reached out her hand and he gave her the diary. Lana smiled as her guess was right: the first page in the diary was dated to 1536. As Lana looked through the pages she could notice a great love for the church. This man was a monk. Between 1536 and 1540 the monasteries in England were closed and were sold to the Crown. They must have fled then, Lana decided.
“Tell me, monk, how did you know that you have a new monarch?”
“People were saying it on the way. I just hope the new monarch (may she live long), be more considerate to us monks.”
“I take it you are a catholic?” she asked and then met his stern gaze
“And you are not?” he asked in disbelief yet there was anger in his voice
Lana, not wanting to get into religious debates, stood up and walked back to the General.
“Where are you planning to go next?”
“Wherever our feet take us”
“Are you a priest as well?”
“Me? No.”
“What is your faith?” Lana asked carefully
He looked at her and waited a bit until answering “I have seen such sights in my country, on England’s green... I don’t understand how God could allow for this to happen. I am indifferent to a religion. If they want me to be a Catholic I would be a Catholic, if they want me to be a Protestant, I’ll be a Protestant. I simply do not care anymore.” He looked at her and smiled a sad smile which disappeared instantly “Is that a bad thing to say?”
“All these men...” Lana said after some thought
“I was told by a monk to take them away from London. Naturally I had to take some soldiers with me too. King Henry was a.... well, may he rest in peace” the General said not meaning the last words. If he was taking care of the Catholic monks, the best way for them to go was towards Scotland. While Lana was deciding how to act , the General nodded to some in the distance and before knowing what was happening, a circle of soldiers were closing in on Lana taking her by the arms and legs and trying to tie her up.
“No! Wait! Stop that! Let me go! Get off! Help! Help! He—” she had a piece of cloth put in her mouth
“I am sorry, miss. Orders are orders. It will be a pity to kill you, I would have wanted to chat with you more, but you see you ask too many questions and you talk of things that cannot be real. And what’s more you have red hair. You are a witch.” Said the General.
“What should we do with her, General?” asked a young soldier. The General shrugged his soldiers. “Whatever you want” he said at last and walked away as if in disgust. There was a man in uniform running towards them.
“Soldiers halt!” the General shouted and came to greet the man who had a Royal Army uniform
“Commodore Kite” said the man and saluted the General
“General Land” saluted the General
“Her Majesty sent me to report on your group”
“We captured a witch” said the General yet he wondered how this man found them and why was the Queen interested in his group. But then again, he couldn’t care less. Commodore Kite walked towards Lana and got alarmed when he saw that she was white as a ghost and her eyes were closed.
“What happened to her?”
“She has fainted commodore” said the soldier
“Not a strong witch” laughed another
“General, I will take her with me, and you will get back to London” ordered the Commodore
“General! I will not go! I am Catholic monk. God is my sovereign” said the monk Lana talked to before. Many echoed him until two groups have formed: those who were prepared to go back and those who didn’t. The General pointed at the two groups and asked Kite what he should do. Kite, who was only interested in taking Lana with him, couldn’t care less what these people would do. Choosing the middle man choice he said, trying to sound all commanding and as if really being a commodore
“Do what you think is right, general” he saluted and left.
“Kite” said the General as an afterthought “that’s a strange name”
Kite walked with Lana in his arms climbing over a hill. When he was sure no one was watching him, he whispered to Albert to come out of hiding.
“What a wonderful commodore you would have made!” joked Albert while laying Lana on the grass.
“Lana? La-na? Can you hear me?” Albert whispered and then looked at Kite. “Got water?” he asked him, Kite shook his head. Albert looked to both left and right and then at kite. “An old fashioned trick, watch and learn boy.” Albert said and bent down over Lana pressing his lips to hers until she opened her eyes.
“Albert!” she said “Kite!” she smiled and sat up then looked at Albert “what was that for?”
“I was just teaching the boy how to un-faint someone” said Albert and looked at kite who was stil shocked
“You never seize to amaze old man” he said and helped Lana to get up
“Pity, you missed his act as a commodore” said Albert and Lana smiled, Kite blushed.
“What are you doing here, Albert?” Lana asked
“All in good time, m’dear. Here” he said and gave both Lana and Kite a bundle of servant clothes.
“What’s that for?” asked Kite dreading the answer
“We need to find a place where we can talk , I happen to know a good place, but in order to get there, you two will have to be my servants. I shall wait here while you two get changed” said Albert and hurried them. When Kite left, Lana came up to Albert and said with a smile
“you should have let him do it”
“do what?”
“you know, “un-faint” me”
“Why, am I that bad?”
“You are old Albert!”
“It was a matter of experience, m’dear” he said and winked
Lana laughed and said “ it’s good to see you” and she left to change. Albert smiled at her and soon his smiled turned into laughter
“You two were made to be servants! Haha! Look at you!” Lana and Kited exchanged smiles. “Anyway, Kite, you will have to ride with Lana as I don’t have a second horse and besides it is a custom, a lady servant should ride with the male servant. So if you please, mount your horse” Albert said and suited actions to his words
Kite mounted his horse after his 6th attempt and got Lana to sit on it after another 7 attempts.
“I have to tell you , my riding is worse than my mounting” admitted Kite
“It’s going to be a fun ride then” said Lana with a smile
“Alright you two stop talking and always follow me. Do not go off the road.”
“Where are we going?” shouted Kite as Albert already started to ride
“To Dudley's!”