Excerpt: The Dream

Their son was born two days before midsummer. The birth was difficult until Emrys arrived and was alone with Rowena for the birth. When he came out of the room he announced to the anxious gathering that Rowena and her child were doing fine. He allowed Lionel to enter and see his family.
That night he watched over Rowena while Lionel celebrated in the hall. She had wanted to sleep and Emrys had felt honored to sit with her while she rested.
“There is something we must talk about,” he started a little while after she had awoken.
“Dear, you do not need to sound so ominous. You can speak freely about anything. I thought you knew that by now.”
“I wanted to warn you that you might not want to hear this.”
She sat up and stared at him. “No,” she whispered. “Not yet.”
“It is time. I am sorry. I would let you stay but your time is up. You need to return home.”
“But this is the past. It has already happened. You cannot take me away from what I have just received. You cannot!”
He rested a hand on her arm, trying to calm her. “I know it does not seem fair. But time continues to move slowly for you in your time and you cannot stay here much longer or your future self will perish.”
She hung her head. “But I do not have there what I have here. You are asking me to give up everything. My family, my love, my life here. People need me here and I need them. I cannot even imagine living without them.”
“Not so long ago you could not even imagine you were here.”
“Can I say good bye to him? Please? I know that this Rowena will still be here, will she not?” He nodded. “I know he will not understand but I want to see him one last time. Please.”
He sighed. “I do not recommend it, but I will go get him.” He left her alone with her infant son. She cuddled the child against herself. She could not believe it all had to end just as she was readying herself to be a mother and wife. She was happy here and could not imagine living without Lionel or their baby boy. The tears tracked down her face and she sniffed. She loved them so much how was she going to manage without them?
Lionel entered alone. Emrys had given her that much at least. “You sent for me dearest?” He saw the tears on her face. “What is it?” he hurried to her side. “Are you unwell?”
She shuddered and reached out a hand to him. “I just had a nightmare that you were gone and was afraid it was true. That is all. I am so happy you came.” She held on to the sobs that threatened to pour out of her, but only barely. “Please hold me.”
He came around to the other side of the bed and got in resting against her. “What ever you need of me I will do for you.” He wrapped his arms around her and they lay that way until he fell asleep. She sensed his relaxation and resting against him feeling comforted. Then Emrys came in.
“It is time.” She just nodded, her lips quivering afraid of her own voice. She touched Lionel’s hand and then stroked her son’s cheek and looked at Emrys. “Close your eyes, my friend, and we will return.” She did as he asked and felt disoriented. She felt Lionel and her baby float away, or maybe it was herself that floated away. She let out a sob and the tears flowed freely down her face, but she did not open her eyes. She felt herself stand and then felt sunlight on her face.
“Rowena, are you listening?”
She slowly opened her eyes and saw the landscape of England with it’s roads and cars and patchwork fields laid out before her. They lakes and forests were gone. She turned around and gasped at the loss of her life in the past then collapsed onto the grass.
She felt a man grasp her shoulders. “Rowena? What is it? Are you alright?”
She took a deep sobbing breath and shook her head, crying steadily. “No,” she whispered. She looked into the face of the man holding her and saw Emrys without his beard and long hair.
“Emrys?” she asked, confused.
“No, it’s Will. Let us go to the car and get to a hospital.”
She shook her head. “I do not need a hospital.” She took a steadying breath. “It was so real. Is it the same day we arrived here?”
There was confusion in his eyes. “Yes.”
“What time is it?” She wiped her eyes and held onto Will for a moment then slowly got to her feet.
“Just after noon. You look as though you just lost some thing.”
“I did,” she whispered. “The past.”
“I have never heard of this happening to anyone on the Tor before. It is usually some life changing event that makes the people happy. Are you telling me you were just in the past all morning?”
“For almost two years, Will.” She smiled a sad, tearful smile. “I had a husband and a baby. You were there. You were Emrys.”
He looked confused. “You hallucinated two years in three hours?”
“Apparently. I do not know how I could explain it to you that you would possibly understand.” She looked around her and noticed a few people around. There was a family, a man and woman and a small child who were walking around the spire. They looked familiar and she looked harder at them. The man was strong, tall, dark and handsome. The woman had short light brown hair and was tall, thin, and very pretty. It was the little boy that caught her attention. He looked over at her and smiled and waved. She waved back and realized who it was. The clothes were different but the face was the same. It was Teithi. She bit her lip and smiled at the boy. His parents looked over at her and she met their eyes and there was the spark of recognition. It was Erec and Enide, her friends. She nodded her head to them then looked down. They came over to her.
“Do we know each other?” the woman asked. Her voice was an elegant British accent.
“I do not think so. I am here on vacation and have never been to England before.”
“You look so familiar. I am Elsa and this is Erik and our son Terry. Welcome to England.”
“My name is Rowena. This is my friend Will.” She turned and gestured to him, including him.
“Do you live near by? I think we have seen you around.” The man said, his voice was rich and was just as it had been.
Will answered, “yes. I live over near Cadbury Castle.
“We live over near there as well. The Tor sort of called us today.”
“It does that sometimes.”
They spent the afternoon together and ate their lunches. They formed an easy rapport and Rowena felt less homesick for a home that was not even hers. She felt close to tears so often that afternoon and every time she almost cried, Terry came and held her hand. He did not look at her, just reached out and took hold of her hand and held it until she regained control of herself. Then he would let go. She told them all about her experience and they were all fascinated. They loved the idea that she would use it for her novel and write about the past. Elsa suggested she write it as fiction so that no one would question her sources but if she could make it real enough the historians might take note.

She spent the rest of her time in England visiting with her new friends and Will and they traveled the countryside looking at other Arthurian sites. She got up the courage and asked Erik if he had any brothers and said he did not. He had two sisters, one elder, one younger, but no brothers. Elsa had a brother but he was still a teenager. Rowena figured her luck would not hold to meet Lionel.

Her week was over and she returned to America, fully intent to keep her new friends and write often and when her book was published she would return and visit them. She cried as the plane took off and she left the land that had gifted her with so much.

She got home and Bill was waiting for her at the airport. As soon as he saw her he noticed a change. “There’s something different about you, though I cannot put my finger on it.”
She nodded. “You could say that. If you figure it out, will you let me know?”
He nodded and took her back to her apartment. He seemed to have forgiven their fight but did not bring it up. He told her about his week and how Autumn had taken to the time without her. Then he asked about her trip.
“Advantageous. I think I have plenty for my book now. And I made some friends that I want to keep in touch with.”

Bill wanted to renew their relationship and change her mind about him, but she now knew without a doubt that she was not interested in Bill. Until she got over Lionel and the love she held for him she would not be able to have any relationship. She laughed at herself but that was how it stood.
She wrote her novel and submitted it to her publisher. She wrote it in record time for her, in less than a month and had it edited in two. The publisher loved it and thought is was her best work. She was pleased to hear it’s reception was well liked and they put out her book. “Lost in Time” became a best seller. She toured with the book upon it’s release and convinced the publisher to send her to England since that was where the book was written. She stayed with Will though he refused to charge her for the use of his converted barn. She met with Erik, Elsa and Terry for dinner and then headed to the Tor, alone this time. She had fulfilled her purpose for coming to England and felt a sort of closure to her story by returning to the Tor. She wandered the labyrinth looking for a reason for meeting Lionel in the past. She had not used as much as their relationship as she could have. She kept that part of her story to herself. She did not know how she would have been able to handle so many people knowing about her relationship to him even if they thought it was fiction.
She reached the top of the Tor and looked out the door of the spire over the country side. She imagined she could see the fortress on top of Cadbury Castle but it was just an illusion of the light.
“Is this your first visit to the Tor?” a soft man’s voice came from behind her.
She shook her head wondering if he were talking to her or someone else and not wanting to speak out loud if he were not talking to her.
“I have lived in England for five years and have never been here, can you believe it?” He stood next to her. She did not look up at him, just continued looking over the scenery before her.
“I was here last year and had an amazing experience and had to come back to thank the Tor for it.”
“Sounds intriguing. Will you indulge me and tell me what it was?”
She looked up at him and her breath caught. The profile was the same, the hair was the same dark color, the only thing missing was the beard and long hair. She tried to speak but could not. He looked down at her. “Are you alright?” he asked. The accent was different but the tone and inflection were the same.
She nodded then gulped. “Where are you from?”
“Australia. I moved here for work. And my family came from here so it is almost like a homecoming I suppose.” He stared at her. “Do we know each other?”
She shrugged. “Anything is possible. I am Rowena.” She reached out her hand to him.
He took it. “I am Lionel.”