The Regents : the Forgotten Chronicle [COMPLETED]

Chapter Nine: A Twist in Time

It's difficult knowing some things. True, a curious mind like yours is something to be encouraged, and I want you to continue discovering, asking all sorts of questions . . . but remember that some information is a burden to know. One is left with the decision to take action or to hold his silence, not knowing which decision is worse. 

In our world, my sister and I had read stories about Narnia's history, never knowing that we would ever end up in this wonderful place. Now, we were faced with a dilemma. We knew the Telmarines would do something terrible to the Narnians (I hope you'll never live to see it happen), and we felt the need to save them. In our world, many fictional stories have been written in which people travel through time, change one moment in history, and consequently forever alter the future . . . not always for the better. This was the weight pressing on our minds when my sister and I went to see the Connelly brothers . . .

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After the sun had been gone for an hour, and all of Cair Paravel was settling down for the night, the Regents retired to their rooms, but the Dowland sisters stayed in theirs only long enough to change, Eliza into a light blue satin nightgown and a dark blue robe and Lydia, with tiara on top, into a white sheer nightgown which hugged her body. 

A candle in a holder Eliza held illuminated the hall as the young women padded to the boys' rooms. Eliza's knock was answered by a breathless, "It's open."

The Dowland sisters entered to see Reese performing methodical push-ups on the floor. He wore only trousers, and both of the girls blushed at his half-nakedness. Yet, they couldn't draw their eyes away from his hardened back and arms as his muscles flexed with every precise movement.

Reese paused in the plank position and looked up at them. His focused gaze gave way to astonishment. He fell back on his heels, revealing toned pecs and abs. "S-sorry," he stammered as he ran to his wardrobe and extracted a vest. "I thought you were a servant." He slipped the vest over his head.

Lydia narrowed her eyes. "Thanks," she grunted sarcastically.

Reese cleared his throat and continued his push-ups. Eliza inquired, "Do you do this every evening?"

"Yeah," he panted. "Sometimes in the mornings, too, when I can help it." He completed his last push-up, stood, and loosened his muscles by swinging his arms back and forth. 

Just then, Brennan appeared in the connecting doors to the right. "What are you two doing here?" he asked the sisters. Lydia eyed his baggy night shirt that was half-tucked into his trousers and snorted disdainfully. Brennan glared at her. "Don't you start, Lydia. Now, what did you want?"

"Brennan," Reese chided him. Brennan muttered to himself as he walked around the room. Reese, with his fists up at chest height, slowly raised one knee to his chest, extended his leg, and withdrew it as if slowly kicking at someone's head. 

Eliza explained, "We came to talk to you about an important matter."

Brennan, arms crossed, rested on the edge of Reese's bed. "Something that couldn't wait 'til morning?" he harrumphed.

"We might be too busy then." Eliza set her candle on Reese's side table. "Besides," here her voice lowered, "in the morning, there would be servants around, and this is something we can't explain to them."

Feeling ignored, Lydia glided across the room to examine her appearance in Reese's full-length mirror. She removed her tiara and placed it on the end of Reese's bed. As her fingers snaked through her wavy brown hair, Brennan furtively glanced at the tiara.

Eliza craned her neck to make eye contact with Reese. "Umm, do you mind not doing that now?"

"I can multi-task," the redhead insisted, steadfastly focusing on the wall ahead. "Besides, knowledge of mixed martial arts is like hot water; if left untouched, it will grow cold."