Braeland

Chapter 11. Crossing Over

The two young women were aware of a slight dizziness and the walls of Rula's hut becoming more and more blurry and then a period – who could say how long? – of unconsciousness came upon them before they woke in a very dark place.  

"Where are we? Are there any candles here?" Charlotte whispered.

"I think I know.  Yes, I do," said Prudence, disengaging her hands from Charlotte's strong grip and feeling about her.  She got up and walked to the door of her bedroom and flipped up the light switch next to it.  

"Oh my, so bright!  So, you can do other kinds of magic with your medallion than just taking people away when they are in trouble!"

"No, the light is generated by electricity.  It's used everywhere in this world . . .."  Prudence stared at Charlotte.  What had happened seemed impossible and then she remembered a story that her grandfather told her about Greenwold.

 "First, I need you to look in the mirror.  Do you feel any different?"

"No.  My head hurts and I feel other bruises.  I will recover from that but I will always look damaged.  No man will want me, unless he is a drunken lout."

"Just you come over here to my mirror and look at yourself," said Prudence.  She dragged Charlotte over to her dresser and sat her down in front of it.  There were no signs of the bruises and the scars inflicted by the Riverman.  Charlotte, once again, had one of the most beautiful faces that Prudence had ever seen.

Charlotte was silent for a long while and she felt the smooth contours of her face and neck.  "This is a magical place. Tell me everything about this world," said Charlotte.

"Well, that will take quite a while and we need to sleep now.  See, we are dressed for bed."  For the first time, Charlotte looked at the nightie she was wearing and her face turned red.

"You dress like this here?"  She crossed her arms.

"Only for bed.  But, getting back to your questions, Peter and I will have much to tell you starting tomorrow.  Now, it's about time for lights out and we will have to share my bed for tonight."

"Peter! Does he live in this room too?  What's that?"  There was a slight scratching sound on the outside of Prudence's door.  

"That is my brother who should be sleeping in his bedroom next door.  No doubt our talking has woken him up." 

". . . but I'm nearly naked.  Please don't let him come in."

Prudence opened the door a crack and whispered to Peter to wait a minute.  Then she went to her closet and took out two night robes.  She was going to hand over her new silky one but Charlotte immediately chose her old terry cloth one as it covered up more.  

Both Peter and Charlotte were shy when the former came into Prudence's bedroom.  He shook her hand – which Charlotte thought was an odd practice – and pulled up a chair so that he could confer with the two young women sitting on the bed.  He said, "You are looking well, Charlotte."

Charlotte did not answer but Prudence said, "She will require a lot of rest and healing.  We need to help her and so the big question is, what do we tell father?"

"Will he hurt you if he finds me here?" asked Charlotte.

"No, no, he's not like that at all.  It's just that we have never told him about the medallion," said Prudence.

"Dad's an intelligent man.  He must have suspected something was going on when Grandfather Martin was here a year ago," said Peter.

"We need to tell him the truth or at least part of the truth now that Charlotte is here.  We can't make up lies," commented Prudence.

"I have caused you too much trouble.  Charlotte, will you take me back to Rula or maybe I can find a job rowing on a river in this world, or even helping out in a kitchen."

"No!" exclaimed both Prudence and Peter.  

They had let their voices get louder without thinking.  Soon there was a sound downstairs and footsteps on the stairway.  Prudence put her finger to her mouth to hush the others and stepped out in the hall.  

"What's going on up here," they heard a sleepy Jim say.

"Peter and I were talking too loud.  Sorry for waking you up."

"You're not fighting?"

"No, we're just chatting.  We'll go to sleep soon."

Soon Prudence slipped back into the room.  They whispered after that and agreed that there was no need to inform their father of the circumstances, until at least after he came back from his trip.  Since he would be leaving early in the morning, he wouldn't expect them to be up to have breakfast with him. Later, they would all get up and all three of them would talk until it was time for Peter and Prudence to go to school.  Charlotte should stay in bed as much as possible and rest to recover from her injuries.  Peter suggested she could watch television if she was bored and he got such a puzzled look back from Charlotte that he decided not to pursue it.  The only other strange thing that happened before they turned in for the night was that Parsnips stood on his hind legs inside Peter's pocket and began squeaking incessantly.  Charlotte reached out her hand and the mouse jumped out of the pocket and she caught him and stared at him.  

"That's my mouse Parsnips.  I wonder what's wrong with him?" Peter asked.

Charlotte paid no attention but kept looking at the mouse and, at last patted his back with her finger.  Finally, she said, "This is a very intelligent mouse.  He tells me he is from my world and that he is happy here and so will I.  His name is not Parsnips but is too long for me to pronounce in the common language. But, he is much smaller than the mice in our world."

"He's slightly large for our size of mouse."

"And what do they say about you having a mouse from another world?  Do they get along with each other?" asked Charlotte. 

"Neither mice nor other animals speak in this world, except those that have learned to repeat the human voice, like some birds," Peter answered.  

"That is sad.  In our world, all animals will speak to us, except those that have lost the habit or do not like us.  But that is the exception."

"Well, Parsnips can be your companion during the day.  He likes to have naps and he will even watch television with you," Peter said and, again, Charlotte gave him a puzzled look.  

Charlotte slept through most of Tuesday and Wednesday while the others were at school.  They had many discussions together at supper and in the evenings, comparing one world to the other.  A small, spare bedroom in the basement had just been built before Lucy Jamieson's death and so Peter moved down there allowing the two young women had their own rooms.  On Wednesday night Prudence had to go to bed early because it was time for the second meeting with Priscilla.  

"Do be careful Prue.  That woman sounds dangerous to me," Peter warned.  

"And watch out for father," said Charlotte.  

"Now if you two start fussing, I'll get worried myself."

"You don't really have to go," suggested Peter.  It was apparent that he was quite prepared to go in her place.  

"Good night," Prudence sang out, halfway up the stairs, sounding more confident than she felt.  

Once in bed and wearing the medallion Prudence tried to relax but questions kept going through her mind.  What would they tell their father when he got back on Thursday night?  They could make up a lie about a new friend visiting but how could they explain that Charlotte had nowhere else to go?  In Greenwold, if Priscilla had magical powers, where did she get them?  And where was this Mortimer she had never met?  These and other questions kept her from concentrating on Rula's hut and going to sleep.  Eventually she heard the tiny sounds of Charlotte coming up to the adjoining bedroom and getting ready to go to bed.  It was nearly midnight before Prudence fell asleep.