Carack

Carack Ch17 P2

After the meal was over the four went upstairs to the observation room, Ia still holding Gerent’s hand. Sancret sat her down on a chair and knelt in front of her to explain everything. In a quiet kindly way he told her why Hugh was Gerent and that Euny was the captain of the king’s guard, now the queen’s, and so was her protector. He explained who he was and who Ia was and how she had come to be with Mary Treryn, Ia nodded and listened, her eyes round with wonder at some of what he told her. She seemed to accept it all and was thrilled to think she was to be a queen after experiencing poverty and hardship. All the while she held Gerent’s hand and when she understood she was to leave, probably the next day, she asked him to come with her. Gerent promised that he would. When Sancret had finished explaining everything to Ia she jumped off the chair and hugged him as he knelt, he smiled at her warmly and she kissed his nose.

‘You’re nice,’ she said, ‘will you come with me?’ Sancret shook his head sadly and said he could not, but that he would always be in Widnbrea should she ever want him. He asked Euny to take Ia downstairs to help prepare her for the evening’ feast and then he turned to Gerent.

‘This will be your last chance to ask before you leave.’ He said simply.

‘Ask what?’

‘How to get home, it’s what you came here hoping to find out isn’t it, along with how to fulfil the prophecy, which you now know.’

‘Ok then how do I get home? Can I get home?’

‘Let’s look in the well,’ said Sancret crossing over to it and Gerent followed him, wondering what he would be shown. The ripples in reverse ran in from the edge, the water quivered and an image of a churchyard came into view. All the people he could see were dressed in black, Gerent recognised Hugh and his mother standing together beside an open grave into which a coffin was being lowered.

‘Whose funeral is it?’ he asked nervously, ‘How come you can see them, why haven’t you shown me them before?’ Sancret looked at him and smiled a sad look in his russet eyes.

‘You know whose funeral it is,’ he said quietly, ‘I can look at your old world, my old world, but that’s all. I had to show you, I would find it too hard to just tell you and you would probably not believe me if I had. So, I had to show you as you had to know that you cannot go back, you have moved forward. It is hard, I know, I am not in control of who passes between our worlds, I cannot help you and I did not bring you. There is one thing I can do for you though.’

‘That can’t be my funeral!’ protested Gerent, ‘If it was it would have been held months ago!’

‘Time here and there are not concurrent, you remember the watch in the mural?’ Gerent nodded, ‘It moves slowly does it not?’ Sancret asked and Gerent nodded again, ‘That shows the time in your world and if your visit had been longer you would have noticed the seasons change about once in each of our years. For all the months you have been here, there it has been only a few weeks.’ Gerent had a lump in his throat; his hope of going home, of seeing Hugh again was gone, unless he looked in the well. He glanced down at the image once more and saw them throw handfuls of earth in on the coffin, his mother and Hugh stood by themselves at the edge of the grave for a few minutes, then turned and walked away as the sexton began filling in the hole with earth.

With tears in his eyes he looked up at Sancret again, who was watching him sympathetically.

‘You said there was something you could do for me, what?’ Gerent asked.

‘I can send you to see your brother in his world, once, just once, for a few minutes, you would appear to him as translucent.’

‘You mean a ghost.’ And Sancret nodded, ‘I really can’t go back, I’m dead there?’ Sancret nodded again, ‘Will he be able to see me?’