The Midnight Guard [TMG Book One]

Part VII: Back to the Past

That morning, Wynter sat alone reading her father's diary.
It was an old and battered book; the sheets were yellowed, torn and frayed. Some entries were missing or unfinished, that had always disappointed Wynter, but it was all she had to remember him by. Memories tumbled from the pages as she read through his life, his adventures, both the good times and the bad. She laughed at his blunders and cried for the lost love her father had once held for his wife and child.
The diary ended abruptly, just as his life had.

There were some photographs too, mostly from her parents wedding day. There was the bride in a long flowing gown with flowers in her soft brown hair and in her hands.
Her mother had been beautiful.
She saw her uncle too, a strapping young man who had resembled his brother so closely. Her uncle was another person whom she had lost. She remembered the panic when he had disappeared from Journeys End one summer's night as though it had only been yesterday. Wynter now had a feeling she knew the truth behind his seemingly mysterious disappearance however.
She closed the diary and tucked it away inside her basket.
Memories were bittersweet things.

*

The misty haze of morning light glided gracefully across the earth. Frigid, blustery winds swept across a pure white landscape of mountains and howled through cracks and crevasses within the ancient ruin. Wynter and Eiran walked among the snowfall. The wooden chest was carried within the arms of Wynter. She exhaled and watched as the usually transparent morning air became white as it mixed with the heat of her breath. There was no sound but for the crystalline crunch of snow beneath her feet as she marched onward. Eiran was beside her with a stack of grimy, delicate books in his hands.
He wore no gloves today.

A solitary tree stood hidden in the midst of the snow flurry. It was small, naked of leaves and colour but for its slim copper-coloured branches.
They came to a halt beside it.

In order to travel through time correctly, it was recommended for one to be outdoors and within an area of their own creation. This was to prove magical ability and worthiness, and Eiran was taking no chances. Wynter placed the box upon the snow and opened its top. She took the time machine up as Eiran opened one of the old books. After reading a passage, he closed his eyes and began to whisper. The snow beneath their feet slowly melted away as the spell started to work and soon, Wynter, Eiran and the tree stood within a ring of earth.
Upon the damp soil, grass then sprang to life. It was green, healthy and alive. Flowers shot up from the ground in a rainbow of colour unlike anything Wynter had ever seen before. Vines climbed the tree as buds sprouted and blossomed upon it. Thick emerald leaves littered the tree as life was restored to the area.
Eiran opened his eyes again.

Once the earth was calm, Wynter gingerly placed the machine upon the grass. With careful hands, she attached the gaily plate of glass within its golden arms.
It began to spin.
She sat upon the grass, running her fingers through it. Her world had always been consumed by ice and snow, the grass and flowers were foreign to her, but it was exquisite. Wynter crossed her legs as Eiran sat across from her and did the same. The time machine sat between them, already beginning its work. Wynter watched in awe as projections beamed from it and upwards into the cold air, scenes of colour and movement. Scenes of the past. Eiran flicked through another book and came to a stop upon a page of old scribbled notes. Wynter recognised it as the book she had paged through when she had first come to the mountain ruin. It seemed like a lifetime ago. He placed the open book to the side after reading.

"Okay," he breathed, "are you ready?"

Wynter nodded. Anxiety fluttered like butterfly wings inside her stomach, but she tried to not let it show on her face. Eiran held out his hands and she took them in her own.
They both closed their eyes and began to chant in unison;