Page 43

LEXI

A SHED IN AN UNKNOWN TIME

I n the window sat a cat — a cat who looked a lot like Dude.

The cat trilled.

“Dude, is that you?” As I said it, I knew — his torn ear was backlit by the moon. “Oh no, Dude, why did you come?”

He jumped down into the room and walked over as if he didn’t have a care in the world, trilling his head off.

I said, “Shhh, that monstrous ass is going to barge in here again.”

Dude put his paws on my shoulder and began kneading.

Torin petted Dude. “I told ye not tae come the other night. This is too dangerous for ye, Dude. I daena need yer help protectin’ the Princess. I hae this all under control.”

I turned to look up at his face. “Now my cat is here with us? This does not seem under your control.”

He smiled. “Och, ye canna doubt me, Princess, this is nothin’ but some adversities, I will hae us clear of this by the morn.”

I actually, oddly, felt a little bit better, our situation was still dire, but somehow seeing Dude, his familiarity, gave me comfort.

I teased, “You’re calling this just ‘some adversities’?

We are kidnapped, beaten, and scared out of our wits, now Dude is here too.

Are you saying this will be easily solved? ”

“Aye, this is nothin’, and I am nae scared out of m’wits. Dude inna scared at all, he is a courageous lion. I will get ye tae safety as soon as I think of what tae do.”

Dude meowed and put his paws up on Torin’s chest and nuzzled against his beard.

I said, “He likes you so much.”

“Aye, he is a good lion, and he complicates this greatly. Now I hae two of m’favorite people tae save.”

“Dude is one of your favorite people?”

“Aye, he ranks among the top three best discoursers tae speak with in the night.”

“ Do you have this all under control?”

“Aye.” Dude sat beside my head, beside Torin, and quieted.

“How much longer will the ties take?”

“Just a moment more. Tis hard tae see with m’swollen eyes, but I am managin’.”

I sat quietly trying to be patient while he worked. “...Dude followed us all this way.”

“Aye.” He spoke to Dude, “If ye are goin’ tae be part of m’rescue of the Princess, ye must use stealth, follow along, daena cause mischief.”

Dude meowed.

I chuckled. “He’s going to be trouble, he’s independent, he only does what he wants to do.”

“Nae, he is loyal, he only does what he can do tae stay near yer side.”

“I suppose that’s true too.”

He tugged at the rope with a yank.

I said, “You also said I was one of your favorite people?”

He was quiet, tugging a bit more. Then he said, “Aye Princess... ye are m’favorite.”

A last final tug and the rope pulled away from my wrists. I rubbed them and swung my arms to get the stiffness from the shoulder joints.

Then I sat on my knees bent over his wrists in his lap and began trying to untie the knot on his bindings. I could feel his eyes on my face, it caused me to go hot. Hot angry and hot passionate, both.

I brushed my hair from my forehead, feeling flustered.

I was reminded how he had kept his eyes averted and how cold it had seemed, how it had made me so angry, and now he was warming me with his gaze, it was intimate... and unexpected. I raised my eyes to his.

And we stared deep into each other’s eyes.

He was so familiar...

Tis as if I hae known ye.

I nodded and returned to working on his rope.

It was thick, the knot tight, I tugged and pulled as I said, “I’ve been having a dream…

a recurring dream and in it, I’m very young, and I’m scared.

I’m in a dark room lit only by firelight from a hearth.

And there is a scary man in the room and he is beating the man who was taking care of me. .. a little like... seeing you beaten.”

I got an end loose and began wiggling it through a loop. “Then a bigger man grabs me and carries me away. And then…” I breathed before finishing. “Then he puts something in my hand and tells me not to let go. That’s when I wake up.”

“Hae ye ever been in that room before?”

“No, it all seemed really old, way too old for me to have been there, but I hear and smell and feel it like it’s real. It feels more like a memory than a dream, you know?” I added, “I just had no idea it could be a memory.”

“Twas when ye were stolen from the household near Castle Glume, I think.”

“Yeah, maybe…”

“Did ye recognize the man who carried ye away?”

I shook my head. “I didn’t really see his face, he was wearing a cloak — fur trimmed, kind of like yours. He didn’t use my name, he just seemed like someone who was trying to get me to safety. I never saw him again. He sounded like you though, his voice. But it can’t have been you.”

“Nae, it wasna me.”

I freed the knot with a last tug and the bindings fell away from his wrists.

He rubbed his hands. “And in yer dream, Princess, what did the strange man put in yer hand?”

I quietly said, “A vessel. I know it now, that’s what it was.”

He reached out and pushed the hair back from my face. “Twas nae me... unless twas from m’future.”

I looked into his eyes. “…oh, would that be something that could happen? You think you might do that…?”

He pulled the cloak around my shoulders and fastened it in the front at my breast with the brooch.

“I daena ken, but ye are important tae me, and if I needed tae get ye somewhere protected, and I could travel through time, I ken I would do anythin’ in m’power tae keep ye safe.

My heart gives thanks tae whosoever saved yer life. ”

I was petting Dude, but then Torin petted Dude too, and our hands brushed together, a spark of warmth

Then Torin took my hand.

It startled me, watching his hand enclose mine, his was big and warm and rough. And comfortable.

I didn’t pull away.

I wondered if I would ever pull away.

He was quiet as his thumb rubbed back and forth across my knuckles. “This is all m’fault, Princess, I am sorry for it.”

“What’s next?”

He said, “We are goin’ tae rest for a bit, afore I break us free.”

I said, “Okay. They won’t come in?”

“Nae, they are goin’ tae sleep, they hae been drinkin’ a great deal, and it has gone quiet out there, even the guard is fallin’ asleep.”

He gently pulled my hand so that I moved to his side and then he let go. Even with all my fear and anger, when he let go of my hand I felt a little untethered. He was the only person in the world who knew me, who knew where I was, in the whole history of time.

Oh.

That was scary.

“Do you mind if I put my head on your shoulder?”

“Nae, tis welcome. Dost ye mind if I put m’arm around ye?”

“No, I could use the warmth. We’re in this together, you know?”

I got comfortable with my head against his chest and his arm around me. Dude sat at my hip, licking his paw, cleaning himself.

Torin put his cheek on my head.

I said, “You’ll wake me up, if there’s an emergency?”

“Aye, Princess.”

I said, “You don’t need me to keep watch while you sleep?”

He chuckled. “Nae, I daena need the Princess tae take a watch.”

“I can be useful.”

“Aye, but ye need yer rest as well, and we hae Dude tae watch out for us. He will wake us if anyone decides tae come in.”

I whispered to Dude, “You hear that? We are counting on you.”

And then slowly, in the still night of the wee outbuilding, with the faint trills of my cat, the warm embrace of my new... What was he to me?

Torin.

The man who had upended my life on an unexpected storm.

Carrying secrets and surprises and promises of things that had been lost, he would help me find them.

I hadn’t known they were gone.

He had consumed all my waking moments and had possibly infiltrated my dreams, somehow.

And now I was in the past, even if I didn’t believe it, and totally reliant on him. He had become important to me, too.

He was the man who had ruined my life, and the only one who could save me.

My Torin.

I nestled in closer and slowly fell asleep.

I don’t know how long we slept, but then he jostled my shoulder and whispered, “Tis time tae go, Princess.”

I stretched and was confused for a moment, but then I focused — we were going.

He climbed to his feet and pressed his finger to his lips.

I got to my feet and looked at Dude. I pressed my finger to my lips, very quietly . Somehow it seemed like Dude understood.

Torin took my hand and led me to the door. I stood behind him as he pushed it open a crack and peeked out. He was focused on that outer world, our captors, the landscape, the night, his hand held mine, still, tense, ready to spring.

I waited.

Focused on his hand, and the signal that would come.

He tapped against my skin, one... two... three... and we ran.

*** the end ***