Daughter of Time: A Time Travel Romance Read Online Free

said. “At least no sort of
English I have ever heard, even lisping from the mouth of a
child.”
    “When her mother awakes, we’ll have some
answers.”
    “We certainly have many questions. Most
pointedly, what is that vehicle? ”
    “I would add, “How did you fall into my
marsh? What are those strange materials, metal, and
clothes? ”
    “Could they be English?” Goronwy said,
leaping ahead to the most crucial question. He strode along beside
me, he and the girl finding a rhythm to his walk as she continued
to take in her surroundings. “Returning crusaders have brought many
new discoveries to Europe from the east. When I was last at Dinas
Bran, I met such a man—he opened his own tavern, of all things—who
told me of a glass through which one could see far distances. I
very much would like one of those.”
    “I will look into it,” I said. “Right now,
our concern is somewhat more mundane. We need to get these two to
the castle safely tonight, but come daylight, we must return to the
vehicle with the woman. She has much to explain, both what it is
and how it works.”
    I directed the horse towards the causeway,
aiming for the road we’d left and anxious not to stray into the
bog. Since Goronwy was unhorsed, I rode more slowly than I might
have otherwise. I was never outside the castle without my guard and
felt strangely vulnerable, almost naked, without them.
    We’d reached the road when Goronwy suddenly
stopped and spun around. I reined in, and then heard what had
gained his attention: another sucking sound, louder than when we’d
stood on the logs. I looked back. It was as if the vehicle were in
a tipped up wheel barrow, sliding its cargo even deeper into the
marsh. In three heartbeats, the light in the interior was
extinguished, and then in a rush, as if a giant mouth had opened
beneath it, the chariot disappeared.
    It was almost a prayerful moment, though my
priest certainly wouldn’t have liked me saying so. Goronwy, more
aptly, cursed. “By the arse of King Solomon, now we’ll never
discover its mysteries, beyond what the woman can tell us.”
    “I’m glad we weren’t close to it,” I said
soberly, clicking my tongue to get the horse moving again.
    “Any delay and the woman and her child would
have died,” Goronwy said.
    “It was only by chance that I was on the
battlements. I was thinking of other things and watching the colors
change on Yr Wyddfa when it appeared.”
    “Chance, my lord? I think not,” Goronwy
said, but anything further he thought to say was cut off by
shouting in the distance. A company of my men galloped out of the
village and into view.
    “Prince Llywelyn!” One of my captains, Hywel
ap Rhys, called. Another soldier held a torch in his hand as they
trotted up to me, eyes widening at the girls in our arms.
    “All is well.” I held up a hand to my men
and Hywel closed his mouth on his questions. All of my men knew
better than to disobey, but there would be no stopping some of them
later. Hywel himself was a son of a noble house and believed
himself all but my equal, though I was a prince and he a mere
baron. Many times, I cursed the independence of the Welsh nobles,
even the ones who fought by my side. Especially the ones who fought
by my side.
    The men fell into formation around us. We
certainly formed a strange company. Goronwy and the girl continued
whispering to each other and finally Goronwy spoke up. “I believe
her name is Anna.”
    “You believe?”
    “Well, it still isn’t clear what language
she’s speaking. She appears to understand bits of what I’m saying,
but I understand nothing of her words except ‘Anna.’ I have
reassured her, to the best of my ability, that her mother will be
well.”
    We filed through the village, quiet now that
it was full-dark. A few heads poked out of doorways. Hywel nodded
at the blacksmith, who stood under the eave of his shop to watch us
pass. We trooped up the hill to the castle and along its circuitous
road to the