A California Girl in Nottingham's Court

A California Girl in Nottingham' Court Chapter Six

"I won't cry for yesterday.  There's an Ordinary World,

Somehow I have to find.  And if I find my way to

the Ordinary World  I will learn to survive.      From the song by Duran Duran

Chapter Six

I could hear the sound of men's voices.  Once again I became conscious of the ground beneath me.  It was cold and hard.  The air smelled dank and musty.  I thought I must be dreaming.

The sound of a woman's voice, Marian's voice, was echoing far off in my dream.  

She said,  "Tell Robin I will always love him and the others.

I asked, "Guy too?"

I could see Marian's smiling face, lovely and sweet.  "Yes, Guy too." she said, I merely smiled.

A man's voice, much closer, was saying, "She's smiling."

It must have all been a dream.  When I wake up, I will have to tell my dad and brothers about my strange dream.  Perhaps I had this dream because I knew I was going to travel in time. But why am I sleeping on the floor?

I was afraid to open my eyes.  Maybe this wasn't a dream, and I could never go home, ever!  My family wouldn't even know who I was.  The realisation of the truth was finally setting in. I don't exist in the 21st century. This is my time and place now.

Upon opening my eyes, I saw three men kneeling beside me; one on my right and two on my left.  I thought they were my brothers, but, no, they were not.  Two were sandy haired and one had a head of full, dark. tousled hair .  The dark haired one was holding my hand and stroking my hair.  

The tracker had brought me back to the tunnel and to the time immediately following my killing the sheriff.  

I was desperately trying to collect my thoughts now.  I couldn't outwardly mourn for my family just yet. These men would not understand the true reason for my distress. They would probably attribute it to the battle where I killed a man with my....

My slingshot was sitting on top of my stomach.  I discreetly felt my pouch.  The gun was in there. Whew!  Okay, Aylaina, think fast, I thought to myself.

"Where am I?"  I asked, stalling for time to think.

"Dost thou not know?" Guy asked, grinning widely.  "Thou must be addle-brained."  he said in old English.

"Aye," I replied, grinning back at him. "My head be quite rattled."

"What did you do?"  Robin asked as Guy helped me to my feet.

"What do you mean?"  I replied, still trying to stall.

"To the sheriff?  And what was that noise?"  Robin was utterly mystified.

Picking up my slingshot, I said, "I shot him with this.  That noise you heard must have been someone blasting Byzantine fire."

Quickly changing the subject, I asked, "Where is everyone?"

We began walking through the passage, back to the door that led to the Great Hall.

After a short while, Robin answered,  "John and Tuck took all the villagers out to the forest, and a couple of men from Locksley are taking Isabella back to France."

Then Guy inquired, "How could you kill him with a just a stone?"

"I thought you remembered the story of King David."  I said to Guy.

Turning to face Robin, I said. "You need to figure out the distance you want your object to go and then determine the size and weight of your missile. Where I used to live, they have a word for this.  It's called velocity....."

"Wait....what?  Robin queried.  "Where is this place you used to live?  You never did tell us."

Trying to quickly brush his question aside, I said , "You wouldn't know it.  It's across the sea.  Now, as I was saying...."

"What is it called?" Guy was watching me intently and waiting for my answer.  I could tell that they were not going to let this go.

I should have kept my big mouth shut!  Now I had to tell them something.  What if I told them the truth?

"It's called California." I said, then held my breath.

"Cali what?" asked Robin.

"It sounds Spanish to me"  said Archer, entering the conversation.

Thank you, Archer!

"Yes," I said.  "It was settled by the Spaniards a long time ago.  Many Celtic and English people live there because of the favorable climate.  Over many years their dialects changed.  May I finish?"

"I've been many places where people speak a different sort of English."  said Archer, shrugging.

"Please continue, Aylaina." Robin finally replied.

"You need to figure out the distance you want your object to go, and that is determined by the size and weight of the object."

"And you did that with a stone?" Guy questioned, peering at me.

"Well, I didn't think it would kill him.  I just thought it would stop him from running you through, Guy!" I exclaimed.  "Which, from my vantage point, is exactly what he was going to do, as was Isabella behind you."

Robin patted Guy on the back.  "Well old man," he said, with a chuckle.  "You cheated death this time."  

As did you, my friend, I was thinking.

Archer stopped at the door and  turned to me.  "You are a handy little lady to have around."  He said with a wink.

"Who are you?" he asked, taking my hand to his lips.

Guy gave him a shove, and he instantly dropped my hand.  What do ya know, Archer was flirting with me!  I had to smile.

Guy took my hand and said, looking into my eyes,"This is Aylaina MacLeod."

Robin smiled and said, "Of the Clan MacLeod."

I liked the sound of that.  It reminded me of the old TV series, Highlander.

"What are we going to do with all this Byzantine fire?"   Archer asked, holding his arms out and gesturing to all the barrels Tuck had made.

Guy said with an intake of breath, "I say we blow up the castle with it."

"No,"  Robin replied,  "Prince John would only rebuild it, using the villagers as slaves."

We climbed up the stairs that led outside.  All of Prince John's soldiers were gone, back to London most likely.

"I think we should keep a barrel for ourselves."  I said.  "It may come in handy.  We could hide the rest in a cave.  Is there a cave around here?"

Robin gave Guy a mischievous look. "Not anymore," he said, smiling. I wondered just what that was all about.

Guy rolled his eyes and turning to look around he said, "I still think we should blow up the castle."

~~~~~~

Back at the camp, we celebrated the victory, but soon the sobering reality of what had just occurred reminded us that we still had the task of helping the villagers bury their dead.  Prince John would send another sheriff to terrorise the people, and we had to be ready for anything.

This was my world now, and somehow, I knew I would find a way to survive.  I would not only survive, though.  I would conquer because I am Aylaina Macleod of the Clan Macleod!

After all, there can be only one!

End of Book I    

Author's note;   Please leave a comment.  It doesn't matter if it's up or down, but as this is my first time out, I would really like to know what you think.  I like applause, but I am not afraid of criticism!  Thank you for reading my story.    ~Jeannie