The Inventor from Velothain

Time

The box was a squeeze, clearly Elysia hadn’t thought of the thought that four people would be packing themselves into one space.
“Well Ellie.” Percy huffed. “I see that you didn’t think of practicality.”
“It’s hard to think of that when you’re working on a time limit.” Elysia replied.
“You could’ve made it a bit bigger. Please don’t touch my arm, shocking people shocks me too.”
“It’s fine Perse.” Edgar said, shuffling forward.
Elysia reached forward and pressed a few buttons. “If I remember rightly, I knew Enoch back in 62’.”
“Do we have a plan?”
“We keep him away from Starting to work with me. that way he won’t get the notion in his head that death is not final.”
“What’s going to happen to him then?”
“Hard to say. But one thing’s for sure, he won’t be the one responsible for the demise of Velothain.”
The box shook violently, Florence jolted forward, planting herself into Percy’s chest.
“Ouch. Why are you that hard?” She yelled.
“That’s what she said.” Percy Snickered.
“What?”
“I’m bionic. What do you expect?”
“That you’d be a bit softer. I wasn’t expecting squishy but, like, ouch!”
“I hate to break it to you Florence, but this isn’t flesh.”
“Yeah I could tell.” Florence rubbed her cheek.
The box stopped and four of them stumbled forward, slamming to the ground.
“For god’s sake Percy, keep your arm away from me.”
“I did try to warn you.”
“Right, we’re here… I hope.” Elysia kicked the door open and leapt out.
The others scrambled out, falling over themselves.
They looked around. It looked like they had stayed in the same place.
“Hang on.” Elysia looked to the calendar that always stayed on her tabletop. “We’re in the right place.”
“Now, what’s our plan moving forward?” Percy asked.
“The most important we need to keep in mind is to make sure our past self doesn’t see us. That’s not a problem for you guys, but past Elysia is most likely roaming the halls, this is her house after all.” She tossed Florence a small orthotope like device. “You and I will go looking for Enoch, outside, Edgar and Percy will keep past me away from her lab.” She Handed Edgar an identical device.
“How do we do that?” Percy asked.
“However, you want. Just don’t let her see you, it’ll mess everything up with the timeline and stuff like that.” She sounded a little disinterested, “When we find him, we’ll let you know and we’ll meet outside my house. Cool?”
The rest of the group nodded.
“Right, we haven’t a moment to lose.” Elysia grabbed Florence’s hand and led her out of the lab, leaving Percy and Edgar alone.
“So how do you want to do this?” Edgar asked nervously. He looked around the lab. “I mean, we could just lock the door from the inside? That’s pretty simple.”
Percy Chuckled.
“What’s so funny?” Edgar’s eyebrows tilted in worry.
“You are.” Percy glided down the floor and scooped Edgar into his arms. “We are dating remember? You don’t have to be so awkward.”
“Oh, you noticed?” Edgar Blushed.
“I always notice.”
“I don’t know. I guess I just like you so much, it’s hard and besides; I’ve never really been in a relationship before.” Edgar sighed.
“You’re doing so well.” Percy beamed.
“You think so?”
Percy nodded.
“And when I look into your eyes, I feel myself fall in love with you all over again. I like that.” Edgar smiled meekly.
Percy leaned down to give Edgar a kiss. His lips were soft, almost like silk, pillowing against his own. Percy could feel the soft tickle of his breath beneath his nose, fingers carding through his hair.
Edgar’s ears pricked at the sound of the door handle moving.
“Shit.” Percy breathed. He rushed to the door and held it shut with all his might. “Help.”
Edgar pushed all of his body weight to the door, he felt it jerk a few times.
“Where did I put the key?” Came the muffled voice of Elysia, before shuffling away.
The boys breathed a sigh of relief.
“I have an idea.” Percy grinned.
Oh god. Not another one of Percy’s plans.
“What is it this time? Go jump off the roof?” Edgar rolled his eyes.
“No, of course not!” Percy sounded offended. “I was saying we see what Elysia was like all those years ago. I mean I didn’t get a chance to see her and neither did you.”
“That’s true, but are you honestly sure that this is a good idea?”
“Elysia told us that we needed to make sure she stayed away from the lab and that she doesn’t see us. As long as we meet those requirements, we’re good to go.”
Edgar thought for a moment. He was curious, but was it worth the risk? But then again, had any of Percy’s plans got them into any danger, no matter how poorly planned they were?
“Fine. Let’s do it.”
“Yes! Thanks babe.” He excitedly kissed Edgar on the cheek.
“If I wasn’t so head over heels in love with you, I’d find it so much easier to reject that idea.” Edgar sighed.
“That’s why we make such a great team; I come up with the bad ideas and you let me carry out those bad ideas.”
“Let’s just hope they don’t get us killed.” Edgar rested his hand on his head.

*****

Percy peaked around the corner of the doorframe of what looked to be the living space. It seemed a lot different, there wasn’t as many trinkets and decorations. The room looked almost bare, with only a few pieces of furniture. There stood Elysia in the middle, fiddling around with what looked to be a female mannequin.
“Ed, come look at this.” Percy whispered.
Edgar shuffled over to Percy and looked over his shoulder. “What is it?”
“I think She’s working on another invention.”
Elysia looked to be a few years younger. Her strawberry blonde hair had a brighter colour to it, her freckles covered the entirety of her face. She smiled absentmindedly at her project.
“I like the name Lydia.” She said to herself.
“Hang on, could that have been the woman she tried to create ages ago?” Percy whispered to Edgar.
“I think so, you’d know better than me.” Edgar replied.
“She told me about it a few times, but I never saw what she looked like.” Percy stood on his tiptoes to get a better look.
The woman had long blonde hair that reached down to her lower back, her eyes were a piercing blue colour that matched her pale porcelain face. Percy looked at her vacant expression, she looked like a mermaid.
“Wow, no wonder why she couldn’t talk to her, she’s gorgeous.”
“I have to agree with you.”
They watched as Elysia pressed the last button. The woman sprung to life and she watched as Elysia stumbled back.
“Hello.” She said meekly.
The woman looked around, she had a mixture of confusion and wonder in her eyes.
“Your name is Lydia.”
“Lydia.” The woman repeated, her voice was calm and soft. It was almost melodic. “Lydia.” she said again.
“Hello Lydia. My name is Elysia.” Elysia smiled.
“Ely-sia.” Lydia said Quietly.
“That’s right.” Elysia’s smiled reached from ear to ear.
“I’ve never seen her so happy before.” Percy breathed.
The woman wrapped her arms around Elysia in an embrace that she gladly accepted.
“How are you feeling?”
“I’m good. Thank you.”
“That’s good. Are you hungry? We can get you something to eat.” Elysia asked.
The woman nodded and Elysia took her by the hand and led her out of the room, narrowly missing seeing Edgar and Percy.
“Perse?” Edgar Said waving his hand in front of Percy’s face. “You good?”
Percy blinked. “Oh, yeah. I’m okay, I’m just really confused. First; I’ve never seen this side of Elysia. She’s normally harsh and a little eccentric. She seemed so lonely and almost melancholy here. Second; she’s told me about this story time and time again, and every time she’s told me about it, she’s told me that she was too scared to talk to her. I found that pretty funny and she would laugh along too, but this is different.”
“Well, people change.” Edgar replied. “But maybe we don’t know all about this whole thing, ask her maybe after this whole thing is over.”
“Might do.” Percy thought for a moment.

****

Elysia and Florence trudged through the streets of Velothain. It looked so much different. The sky was a bright blue colour, the buildings looked almost regular, with a hint of Victorian style.
“I just realised something.” Elysia spoke up.
“What’s that?” Florence asked.
“I know so much about Edgar and I know pretty much everything about Percy, but I know nothing about you.”
Florence shrugged. “There isn’t a whole lot to learn about me, I’m not very exciting.”
Elysia shook her head. “I’m sure that’s not the case. You have lots of things about you that must be interesting. Like where do you go when you take a break here. You leave for such a long time where do you go?”
Florence hiccupped. Would Elysia actually believe her if she told her? It was worth a shot. “Have you heard of the tellers?”
“The tellers? Yeah of course I have, it’s an urban legend amongst the people who live there.”
“Do you believe the legend?”
“Hm, well I’ve created a walking, talking woman and a time machine and watched someone attempt Immortality. So, I guess anything is possible.”
“I found Kate, a teller who lived in the city. I found out that the reason why people cannot see tellers is because they don’t notice them, only other tellers and seers can see them.”
Elysia raised an eyebrow. “You sound like you’ve been reading into this too much. You aren’t of this world.”
“Yeah I know, but let me finish.” Florence stopped Elysia. “I can use these abilities and I have done it. I also know that Enoch was one too.”
“How do you-?”
“I’ve been told that he was a very powerful one. He knew almost everything about me and Julian told me that once upon a time he lived as a teller.”
“That’s Poppycock. We know that if one became a teller, they immediately get cut off from the rest of the world. If he was a teller, then why was he able to talk with the rest of the world?”
Florence though for a moment. “I don’t know but I was told that he was a very powerful Teller.”
Elysia sighed. “That wasn’t what I meant.” She sat Florence down on a nearby bench beside a park. “I meant that you seem like the kind of girl who has the weight of the world on her shoulders.”
“How do you mean?”
“You seem like the sibling who showed the most promise so had the most pressure to keep that up. I should know because that was me at your age.”
“Our parents decided that they didn’t want us.” Florence groaned. “They shipped us off to live with our uncle. Not that I don’t like him, he’s great. I just didn’t realise how much our parents despised us.”
Elysia placed a hand on Florence’s shoulder. “That’s not true. I’m sure your parents loved you more than anything. Maybe they weren’t ready to be parents. That’s why they took you to a place where you could live the rest of your childhood with someone who could love and care for you the way they couldn’t.”
“And to answer your question; yeah I was under a lot of pressure. Not by our parents but by the rest of the world.”
“Oh?”
“Edgar was never particularly that sociable, so I’m always the one who did the talking between the two of us and I’d be the one who stuck for him. I was always seen as loud and a bully. But at least Edgar’s doing alright.”
“Do you honestly not care about what others think of you?” Elysia asked. “Don’t you want your own relationships?”
“I don’t actually. I don’t care because I know that Edgar’s okay and that’s fine. As for relationships. Well, I’m not really a relationship person. I’ve never had one and I never really thought I was missing out.” Florence shrugged.
I get it. I never had any children, well if you don’t count Percy. I came from a family of five, I had a twin brother and a younger brother. I was the oldest, technically speaking. I was the child that showed the most promise. Coming from a family of a working class hatmaker and an aristocrat who left her lavish lifestyle to live with the one she loved.”
“How romantic.” Said Florence Sarcastically.
“Quite. And I myself, wanted to be an inventor. I and both my parents knew that it would give in some valuable income so I was put under a lot of pressure to succeed in my trade. As much as I loved it, it was difficult to live in those sorts of circumstances.”
“So, what happened to them?”
“I don’t know. I never saw them after I moved to Velothain. Come to think of it. I haven’t even spoken to the rest of my family since moving here. I heard my brother made a family and it’s kind of nice to think that I’m an aunt, but I don’t think that anyone from my family wants to hear from me, not even My Brother.”
“Why did you leave?” Florence asked.
“I needed to be here, to protect the gate between worlds, but I haven’t spoken to anyone from my family since I came here. I’ve tried to write to my brothers and my parents but I haven’t had anything back. That was thirty odd years ago.”
“So, you’ve been alone here your entire life?”
“Not for the whole time, I have Percy and he’s enough. I Bought him up as if he was my own. Well, technically he is.”
“Elysia, I’m so sorry.” Florence took Elysia’s hand in her own.
“It’s no problem, really. I’m fine.” Elysia shot a brave smile, but Florence could see past her crumbling expression.
“I’m sure they’d understand.”
Elysia’s lips stretched into a vacant expression. It didn’t seem like she was thinking of anything, just maybe what to say next.
Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed a short man, around Florence’s age. He had fluffy black hair which looked like he’d attempted to comb it neatly out of his face. He wore thick glasses that seemed to frame his face in an peculiar way.
“That’s him.” Elysia poked Florence in the shoulder. “That’s Enoch.”
Florence looked over at the scrawny man. “Him?” She arched her eyebrows. “He’s actually Pathetic.”
“Yeah, now that you mention it, he is a little funny looking. I don’t remember what he looked like to be honest. It was so long ago. And besides, I was so wrapped up in my trade, I didn’t really pay that much to what he looked like.”
“How long was he your apprentice?”
“Five years.”
“Five years!?” Florence repeated. “You were with him for five years and you didn’t know what he looked like.”
“No, I said I didn’t quite remember.” Elysia protested.
“Whatever.” Florence sprung to her feet and made her way over to him. “Hello, you’re Enoch, right?”
The boy’s eyes widened. Not from fear, but possibly from something else.
“Um-yes, I’m Enoch. Who are you, might I ask?”
“I’m Florence. You don’t know me but my companion and I are here to help.” She gestured to Elysia who smiled and waved.
“Very well, it’s a pleasure to meet you; Miss. Florence.” Enoch Extended his hand out for Florence to shake it.
“Yes, we have a few more people we’d like you to meet.” Florence took Enoch’s hand.
Enoch stared at the act of contact that Florence had just committed. He looked up at her and she could’ve sworn she saw a tint of blush on his cheeks.
“But wait.” Enoch stepped back.” How do I know that you aren’t some band of thieves who are just here to take my stuff?”
“Do I look like a thief to you.” Florence’s head tilted in mock curiosity.
Enoch grinned like a fool. “No.”
“And no offence; but If I was a thief and I saw you, I wouldn’t bother. You look like the only thing you can afford is a blade of grass.”
“I’ll have you know, that my family are very well off, thank you very much.”
Florence straightened up, towering over the boy in front of her. “Are you coming with us or not?”
Enoch huffed, but nodded nevertheless. “Where are we going?”
“You’ll see.” Florence grabbed the strange device from her messenger bag and bought it to her lips. “Edgar, Percy. You there?”
“We’re here.” Came Percy’s voice from the device.
Enoch’s face lit up at the apparition in front of him. “I dare say; what in the world is that? It looks amazing.”
“Elysia here made it.” Florence nodded to the woman next to her.
“Could you teach me how to make one?”
Elysia rubbed the back of her head. “Uh, we’ll see. I’m very busy.”
“We’ve found him. Meet us outside the house in five minutes.”
“Right, see you then.”
Click.
“We’d better get a move on.” Elysia began walking, “It’s going to take a while to get back.”
“So, what do your parents do?” Florence asked keeping up with Enoch.
“We’ll my Father’s dead.” Enoch said solemnly.
“I’m so sorry.” Florence placed a hand on his shoulder.
“It’s no harm done. He lived a happy life. I just wish we didn’t have to deal with death. Do you know what I mean?”
Florence looked away. They were certainly at the right time, and if they were to convince Him to stay away from not only Elysia but from the crazy notion that death can be cheated.
“That may be the case.” Florence said. “But Death is a key point in life. You can’t get rid of it.”
“Why not?” Enoch’s eyebrows knitted together. “Surely you’ve had to deal with it before and I’m sure you remember how much it stung.”
“Yes Enoch, but so does heartbreak. In some cases, heartbreak and grief are very similar. We can’t get rid of either of them. If someone managed to create the key to immortality, the people who be came immortal would have to deal with those who didn’t want anything to do with that gift, eventually leaving the planet.”
“What if everyone became immortal?”
“Over population.” Florence said simply.
“Maybe you’re right.” Enoch looked defeated.
“I’m only saying this because I met someone not too long ago who managed to cheat the concept of death. It went horribly wrong and now he can’t leave because he mutilated himself.”
“Ouch. How did he manage to do that?”
“He used bionic pieces to make himself into a cyborg type creature. He managed to convince a few people around him to do the same thing and it destroyed their lives, as much as they would like to deny that fact.”
The three of them walked over to the house where Edgar and Percy were waiting.
“We found him.” Florence announced, throwing her hands next to Enoch.
“I can see that.” Said Edgar. “I’m impressed.”
“Well, we were definitely in the right place at the right time.”
“Now, Enoch.” Percy looked down at the lad. “We’re here to help you with your future.”
Enoch stepped back. “What?”
“Your future. We heard you had a bit of trouble of deciding what you want to do with the rest of your life.” Percy placed a hand on his shoulder. “We’re here to help.”
Enoch folded his arms. “I know exactly what I want to do.”
“You think you know what you want to do.” Percy corrected.
“Percy babe.” Edgar murmured. “I don’t think that’s going to work.”
“Fine, plan B then.” Without saying another word, he lunged forward to punch Enoch square in the face. He stumbled slightly before falling onto his stomach.
“You knocked him out.” Said Florence in complete disbelief.
“Well, what else was I going to do?” Percy arched his eyebrows.
“You could’ve, spoken to him like the normal person you’re meant to be.” Florence placed her hand’s in her head. “Now what?”
“Let’s take him up to the attic. I never go up there, so we don’t have to worry about being caught.” Elysia Hoisted Enoch over her shoulder.
“I’ve got a better idea.” Percy interjected.
“No, you haven’t.” Florence interrupted. “I’ll keep a watch out.”

***
Florence, Edgar, Percy and Elysia looked down at the unconscious boy. His arms and legs were bound to an old dusty chair they had found.
“Technically speaking.” Edgar Began. “We’ve just kidnapped a man.”
The others nodded their heads in shame.
“What do we do from here?” Elysia asked.
“Is there a chance we could convince him to leave Velothain?” Percy asked.
“That sounds like a good idea. I think we should question him first.”
“Why in the world would you want to question him? It’s not like he’s going to be of much use.”
“I don’t know, there’s so much I didn’t know about him when I knew him. I’d like to know now.”
“Would you like us to wait outside?” Florence looked at Her.
“That would be a better idea.” Elysia knelt down to face Enoch. “Could you guys wait in the lab, I’ll be down as soon as I can.”
The trio nodded and silently filled out of the room, leaving her and Enoch alone.
Enoch stirred slightly, wincing at the pain that Percy had inflicted. He seemed to struggle against his restraints.
“You doing alright?” Elysia asked softly.
Enoch’s eyes darted around the room in panic.
“Please don’t worry, no one else is here. It’s just us.”
“What the hell do you want from me!?” Enoch barked.
“I just want to talk.”
“Is that why you kidnapped me?”
“No, that was accidental?”
“How can you accidently kidnap someone?”
Elysia sighed. “That’s not the point.”
“What’s the real reason you approached me?” Enoch demanded. He sounded terrified.
“I just want to talk.”
“About what?” Enoch tapped his foot impatiently.
“About you. We’ve come from a different time. You aren’t meant to be here. If you stay here and take on that apprenticeship, it will change the course of the timeline.” Elysia grabbed his shoulders. “This is so important. Bad things could happen.”
Enoch attempted to pull away. “Okay, I get it. I’ll go somewhere else.”
Elysia slumped back. “Good, well that was a little anti-climactic.”
“What were you expecting?”
“I don’t know, maybe a chase or some sort of exciting mission.”
“Well I’m sorry I disappointed you.” Said Enoch sarcastically. “Can you untie me now?”
“Sure, hang on.” Elysia sighed in disappointment.
“You look a bit deflated.” Enoch tilted his head in curiosity. “What’s up with that?”
“I don’t know.” Elysia looked around. “I’ve been so lonely for the most of my life, and for the past few weeks I’ve had something to be excited for. I always have to deal with failure holding my hand. It scares me.”
“I get that.” Said Enoch as softly as he could. “Failure is scary and loneliness holds you down like a pile of bricks on your chest, but what I’ve learned is to embrace whatever happens in your life because it happens for a reason.”
“You’re right.” Elysia smiled absentmindedly. “Why do you always look so gloomy?”
“Well, apart from the fact that my father’s dead?”
Elysia rolled her eyes.
“I don’t know to be honest. I’ve always been like it. I’ve been a loner my entire life, that may have something to do with it.”
“That sucks man.”
“Maybe it has something to do with the fact that I’ve been reading novels my entire life. I had this warped view on this world about what’s reality and what’s not. I thought that my life would play out like those cutesy stories I’d bury myself in. But that was never the case, I’d still read those books and still crave my happily ever after, never to happen.”
“That’s deep.” Elysia frowned.
“It was. Until you had to open your mouth.” Enoch raised an eyebrow.
Elysia’s lips stretched.
“So, if I’m not going to go to this apprenticeship, what am I to do with my future?”
“Well, you seemed to be addicted to those books of yours, why not write one yourself?”
“A book? What would I write it about?”
“You told me that you desperately wanted a happily ever, why not write yourself the story you always wanted to have.”
Enoch thought for a moment. He looked almost convinced. “Where do I go?”
“Buy a boat ticket to wherever. You maybe surprised to what you may find.”
Enoch nodded, and smiled brightly. “Very well, I must admit; this truly is a good idea.”
“Well, I have my moments.”

****
“I won’t lie.” Florence huffed. “I sort of feel like the third wheel around you guys.” She looked over at Percy and Edgar who hadn’t been talking for the past fifteen minutes. They had been staring intently at each other. She would’ve found it sweet, only she had to watch it for the entire fifteen minutes.
“Could you guys maybe stop looking at each other as if your life depends on it. I haven’t seen Edgar so invested in a person before.”
Silence.
“You guys?” Florence tried again. “She reached over and picked up a large hammer next to her and slammed on the table.
The two tore themselves away from each other and jumped
“What the actual hell Florence!?” Percy yelled, barrelling over.
“You weren’t listening. You probably don’t have a clue what I was talking about, do you?”
The two of them rubbed the backs of their Heads awkwardly.
“Unbelievable.”
The door of the lab swung open. To reveal Elysia flying in in pure excitement.
“We’ve done it you guys. We’ve finally saved Velothain.”