I Will Find You

* ~ 13 ~ *

Year 1773

Gideon's POV

" - and so that's decided." Finally the Lodge's conference ends. I sigh quietly and look at the spokesperson who said the last words. He is an old man with a lot of wrinkles on his face. He has a square nose and really dark grey eyebrows, and under them are old and tired but still amazingly blue eyes. He doesn't have very much hair, and that little he has is covered in the hood of a robe. He's writing something to the diary of the Lodge.

"That means we are free to leave, diamond", the count says.

I turn around and see the count on my right side, where he has sat the whole one and a half hours. During the whole conference it felt like he was looking at me and carving a little hole to my back with his eagle eyes. I can still imagine how the smoke rises out of my back into the air.

"Since when have you referred to me as diamond?", I ask.

"Well", the count says, "as I call the girl ruby I think it's equal to call you as diamond."

And since when has he done something 'equally'? Well, I guess it's good to start somewhere.

"I don't know if that's a good idea, it makes me feel like you are going to kill me too", I say.

Accidentally the count starts to laugh uncontrollably. "You have an amazing sense of humour, diamond", he says when he has taken the laugh over control.

*

It's been an hour and seven minutes since the conference ended. I'm doing something that the count called 'work', which means writing some contracts for him. The count himself went out to do something that is too secret for my my eyes, I think.

I look up from the papers and see the half-open window in front of me. Today is quite a normal day. The sun tries to sent its beams to the ground, and manages to give us some. The flowy wind is slithering through the birches and coming in from the open window. I can feel it as a welcome coolness on my face.

Suddenly my mind takes over control. I don't know how long it's going to take until I'm able to elapse back to my own time, and the count won't be too happy for long anymore. As I'm not able to elapse back myself because the count has control over things, I would need someone from my own time to get me back. My eyes travel back to the birches.

Gwendolyn.

But when Gwendolyn is a paper doll in a huge game of death, it's more than possible that the count would find out about my plan and burn the poor paper doll-Gwen. It's a risk of 50%, and when the count has the another 50%, it's a risk I can't afford.

But what if I could elapse to another year and Gwendolyn could elapse there too? And if Gwen elapses first back, I should be able to elapse with her, considering that I'm holding her hand for example.

I stand up so fast that the chair on which I'm sitting falls to the ground. I lift it back up and walk as fast to the door as I can without running. I open the door that I closed when the count left so I could hear when he comes back. That way he can't surprise me again with his dust bunny -skills. I have a peek out to the hall and see that he hasn't came back yet. I run to the hallway but stop when I remember that the count hasn't told me where the chronograf is kept these days.

I see someone walking forward the hall. He has a brown mid thigh jacket with golden buttons. He turns, and when I'm about two meters away from him, I suddenly understand I may know him.
He has thick black glasses and a couple moles on his face. He's about 45 years old, a little bit younger than in my time...

"Mr. George?"

"Yes, can I help you?", Mr. George obviously doesn't recognize me. He still sounds like the Mr. George I know, even when he is about twenty years younger. But how is he in 1773?

"Uhm, yes. Yes you can help me", I say. "Could you tell me where the Lodge keeps the chronograf?"

Mr. George sighs: "Young boy, that is a  very secret piece of information", Mr. George probably sees how the atmosphere drops, because he asks:

"Why do you even need the chronograf?"

I quickly explain him about the count's plan.

"Oh, I've heard about that", Mr. George says. "And now you're trying to get safely back on your own time without risking anybody else?"

"Exactly", I say.

"Well, maybe I can take you to the chronograf", Mr. George says and smiles at me.

*

It becomes clear that the chronograf is kept in a small, cold and dusty room, just next to the Dragon hall. I'm surprised it's so close to it. "The count wanted to add a 'secret room' near the biggest and most important room in the Lodge, so he ordered to build this in contact of the Dragon hall", Mr. George explains.

"So, you can get to the Dragon hall from here?"

"Yes, this is mostly used just to store the chronograf."

Suddenly I hear noise behind the closed door. Someone is walking this way.

"We shouldn't be here", Mr. George immediately lowers his voice.

The steps are coming closer and the floor repeats their message.

Please don't come here, please don't come here, please don't...

The door opens and for a second I'm blinded by the bright light that comes from the huge windows from the other side of the hallway. I lift my hand in front of my eyes and see a pair of shoes. They're worn and muddy.

"Mr. George, why are you here with the diamond?" the count asks.

***

Yesterday I managed to delete all that I had wrote for this chapter, which meant 400 first words, so I had to write everything again today, so that's why the chapter is coming so late. I'm sorry about that *sigh*. Anyways, hope you're having fun next week!

Don't forget to elapse daily,

see you :3