GET BACK TO THE FURTURE: MEDIEVAL ENGRAND

Marion, Prince, Fleana, and Katrina find them in the ye olde medieval ages.

I. MARION

Medieval Engrand was not what I expected. I was expecting along the lines of filthy people speaking butchered English, poor peasants sleeping in barns, and witch hunts but instead I was greeted with a regular town with moderately clean people speaking for the most part normal English, but there was one thing I had expected was true. The knights were jerks.

“What have we hither?” One of the armored men asked, not necessarily to us.

“Two wenches and merry men.” Another answered.

“No bother. Alright then, pay the tax.” He shoved a pouch in our faces.

“But we don’t have any money.” Prince said.

“Oh, really?” The knight leered over him, but Prince didn’t move an inch. You wouldn’t either if you had faced twenty foot monsters made of the elements (long story). “Care to stand trial before the king?” His eyes lingered over the girls. “I’m sure there are some other ways to pay.”

Fleana sneered. “I see chivalry was long dead before this time too.”

“They sure know how to treat a lady.” Katrina slurred.

“What happened to this fair maiden?!” The knight inched his hand to his sword.

I had to chuckle a little. Katrina was far from a “fair maiden”. With her eyes stained with heavy eyeliner, spiky wrists bands, and outright refusal to wear skirts and dresses of any kind, she was as far from “fair” and “maidenly” as a girl could get.

Katrina’s eyes cleared and she used them to glare at Prince. “He happened to me.”

She would regret saying that. The knights were more chivalrous than we thought. They drew their swords and held them up to the front and back of Prince’s neck.

“Well, this lad here is more vile than I thought,” One of them said. “We have ways of dealing with scoundrels such as thee.”

“No tax, abuse of a lady, it’s off to the dungeons with you!” The other knight shoved Spikes in the back. “Away with you!”

Prince complied and marched forward. He had a hand behind his back where his itablet was clutched beneath his fingers. He casually dropped it to the ground, and the message became clear. Call for help.

Fleana and I glared at Kat, who looked like she was trying to get smaller.

“What did you do?” I almost snarled.

“What did you do?” Caroline snarled at her sister.

“I didn’t know they would take him away!” Katrina said as if that made it any better. “I’m not exactly in the right mind, right now. Besides, I thought knights didn’t give a crap about women.”

“It’s still a law dear.” Storm told her. “Prince could be sentenced to death, and that’s probably the nicest option, considering how terrible their dungeons are.”

“Not to mention that without him, there’s no way home.” I noticed the engine sparking. Fleana had gathered most of the parts and placed them in the vehicle, which I guess people had assumed was a wheel barrow or something, “By the look of things, we’re gonna need more than a storm cloud’s help.”

“Yeah, that’s not looking good.” Matthew agreed.

“So there’s no way around it. Let’s go.”

“Seriously?” Fleana bunched her eyebrows together. “Marion turn off the apathy for a second and look at that castle! It’s huge! It has a moat, several knights roaming around everywhere, a couple of archers who are looking for a reason to shoot any and everything in sight, and we’re running low on energy.”

I rubbed my chin. “Yeah, that might be a problem for the three of us.”

“Make that two.” Katrina said. “I think I’m starting to see elves.”

“No, I think that’s how guys dress back in Medieval times.”

“Pointed shoes and tights?” Fleana remarked. “This has got to be the gayest time in history!” Then her eyes widened as she realized what she said. “I mean, dramatic.”

“Well, we are quite gay, and we are quite known for our dramatics.” One of the men said to us.

We widened our eyes at his statement.

“Yes, you see this is the gayest time of the year!”

“Um…” Fleana looked about as uncomfortable as I felt. “Wait. Do you mean ‘gay’ as in happy?”

“Well, of course! What else doth I mean?”

“Well, ‘gay’ has a different meaning from where we’re from. And a lot of people are pretty sensitive about that.”

“Well, that is just silly. To not be gay is to deny living and breathing. Art thou gay?”

“I don’t know how to respond to that. On either meaning.” I said. To clarify, my apathy was turned on.

“A shame. You say you’re not from around hither. Art thou by chance here for the Merchant’s Festival?”

“Merchant’s Festival?”

“Ah, yes. Every year at this time, many from across the world travel here to sell items from their country. It’s a gay o’ time indeed.”

“Okay…”

“It’s also a time for competition, romance, and ridiculing the fools before having their heads lopped off.”

The way he talked about people having their heads chopped off made me nervous. At least I had the excuse of having apathetic psionic powers. This dude was completely “gay” about it. That couldn’t bode well for Spikes.

II. PRINCE

I was so going to kill Kat if I ever got loose. I didn’t care if she was injured or not. What I’ve been through was much worse. These prison conditions made me miss the spiked walls back in Egypt. It was cold, dark, my wrists were shackled above my head, I didn’t know if the guy next to me was even alive and he smelled like crap, and if you’re wondering, they do try animals here. The king had sentenced me along with the rooster, which I had to carry to the cell.

I don’t know how long I had been down there, but it felt long enough. The shackle that bound my wrist to the wall irritated the skin and made my arm tired. Even if I could get back to the time machine, I would probably have to fix it one handed. I couldn’t even ask my dad for advice, not that it will help much here.

I don’t know when I fell asleep, but I did somehow.

“Get up ya good for nothing worm!” A foot planted itself in my side.

Light burned my eye as soon as I opened the lid, but it didn’t take much to recognize the knights who threw me in here.

“It’s time for the Merchant’s Festival.” The metal man said.

“Merchant’s Festival?” I croaked.

I did not like the sound of that.

I was right I didn’t like it. The festivities weren’t exactly bad. People were hanging out, drinking, laughing, playing games. Some guys were jousting for some rather small animals. Some people from different countries were selling products to some very interested natives. While I was stuck in a pillory with some big, beefy guys watching me. It’s a good thing my nose didn’t itch.

The king strolled over to me with his queen. Despite planning to execute me, he seemed to be in a good mood.

“Art thou doing well?” He asked me.

“Fine.” I answered. “A little cramped but fine.”

“Shouldn’t be long now. You shan’t feel pain in death. Unless, you shall be condemned to--”

“Tartarus. Got it.”

“Thoust dare to interrupt--”

“I’m going to die anyway; what difference does it make?”

“Hmph.” The king turned to the men standing on either side of me. “Make sure he doth suffer.”

The king stormed off, his wife in tow.

As painful as the pillory was, I did manage to nap for a while. It was so boring being stuck in the same place for a while. It was like sitting in English class discussing books I don’t like (suck it Mrs. Rosethorne). Eventually, my neck careened up and brought me back to reality. From the corner of my eye, I spotted a scene that was downright scandalous.

His Majesty was talking to a richly clad man. It seemed harmless enough at first, and when they started hugging, I thought okay maybe they’re very close friends, but when the king’s face started inching closer to the other guy’s, I had to swallow hard. The Mrs. was not going to like that, but I had just stumbled upon a great bargaining chip for later.

Tomatoes felt much harder when they’re thrown. So were the whips lashing at my back. I bet everyone was surprised when the wounds healed in a few minutes. It still hurt though.

“Is though a witch?” One knight scoffed.

“No. Thou is a BioticAbiotic.” I mocked truthfully.

“Your magic words will not protect thee.”

“Good. Then let me be the first to start the burning of the witch.” Someone said off to the side.

Marion walked on stage with a bonfire sitting in his palm. The girls were there too, but they weren’t going to be very helpful. Fleana was reduced to being Katrina’s support. Katrina really didn’t look too good. The bruises on her neck were barely fading. I was still mad at her, but I was willing to wait until she started walking again before I wreaked my vengeance.

The knight hefted their javelins and several archers notched their arrows, but Marion wasn’t intimidated.

“Hit me and I drop this ball of fire.” He warned. “Trust me. You’ll lose more people than what the plague took.”

His threat worked. The men dropped their weapons. Katrina held her finger like a gun and shot lightning at the pillory. I knew the blast had to take a lot out of her, but at least I was free to help. Even though we were more advanced and powerful, the four of us couldn’t take on the whole kingdom. Plus murder, even if it doesn’t stick in history, would not sit well with me so I grabbed Marion by the arm and took off with Fleana not being too far behind carrying Kat. Arrows zipped by but they weren’t strong enough to pierce our flesh in the wind shear. We were gone, but one look from the king told me we’re not home yet. We were desperate, and he had the home-field advantage.

“What?” Fleana gasped after I told her my discovery. “The king is�"Ooh, his wife is not going to like that.”

“Well, that’s not going to help our situation either.” I told her. “I can fix this no problem, but we don’t have the proper tools.”

“Plus, this one’s not looking too good.” Marion propped Katrina so that her head bobbled straight.

He was right of course. Katrina needed medical attention, medical attention that wasn’t…well, medieval.

“I got it!” I said. “Katrina’s family is from Engrand. Maybe we can find some relatives to help out.”

“Uh, that won’t work.” Storm told me. “My family has only been in Engrand for three generations. My grandfather is African and my grandmother is from the Islands. And this is before their time.”

“Styx.”

I stared at the castle in the distance. Knights were strolling around the streets looking for us. Things look grim. There had to be a way out of this.

“Hey!” Fleana perked up. “I think I have an idea.”

“Let’s hear it.” I said.

“It involves the information you just learned.”

III. FLEANA

Lifting the armor off those knights wasn’t too hard. For such heavily-claded people, they were total light weights. It’s a good thing that some women served as knights too, or my plan may not have worked so well. The real hard part was hiding the people we rendered unconscious in a place where no one would find them.

“Just shove ‘em in there.” Prince said after leading us to the dungeons he stayed in. “No one’ll miss ‘em.”

We chucked the frozen bodies of the knights we stripped through the doors and down the stairs.

“Yeah, how’s it feel to be thrown into the dungeons without food or water, punks!” Prince closed the doors.

“Well, that was fun.” Katrina breathed in her armor. “Now where is His Majesty?”

“Well, he’s gotta be on the upper levels.” I said. “Let’s check ‘em out.”

Strolling through the castle was easy if you were clad in armor. The servants didn’t look twice at us, didn’t forbid us from looking in certain rooms, and even offered to make us something and polish our armor. I could see how these knights ended up with such big heads.

“I think we’re here.” Prince stopped in front of an elaborate door with a golden frame, a bronze knob, and nice velvet curtains draped over it.

“It’s either that or a very nice room for the dog.” I joked.

Katrina knocked on the door. “Your Majesty we have urgent business to discuss.”

“Enter.” The king chimed behind the door.

We opened the door and casually strolled right in. The king was wide awake apparently. His lantern was lit and he was looking out his window wearing a gown. I guessed he and the queen didn’t sleep together since she wasn’t there.

“Have you found the wiccans?” The king still had his back to us.

“No, sire.” Marion said.

The king made a noise in his throat. He couldn’t hide anything from me. I tapped into his mood. He was definitely worried about somebody.

“Sire?” I asked. “Is Her Majesty well?”

“Hmm…” The king scratched his beard. “She is well. She went to the cook for a meal to sate her hunger.”

There was a hint of care for his wife, but it wasn’t very strong. Not strong enough to run a successful marriage. I kept delving until I found what I needed. A growing affection for someone else. Gotcha.

“I thought we have business to discuss.” The king said. “Realize that if you’re wasting my slumber, I’ll have your heads along with the wiccans.”

“I don’t think you’re in any position to threaten us sire.” I dropped my tone.

The king finally whipped his head toward us. I held my lance at his chest, and just as he was in the middle of saying “what is the meaning of this” I peeled off my helmet.

“You!” He breathed.

“Me.” I declared. I pointed my lance at his bed. “Sit.”

He reluctantly sat down. I took a seat on his stool, crossed my legs, and laced my fingers together. A total grandma-like posture.

The king darted his eyes between the door and us.

“Don’t bother yelling.” Katrina held up an electrically charged finger. Even wobbly, she was deadly accurate. “You’d be dead if you so much as breath wrong.”

The king set his jaw. “What do you doth desire?”

“That’s an alliteration.” Prince noted.

“Hush!” Katrina snarled.

“I’m just saying--”

“Dude. Not now.” Marion shook his head at him.

“But--”

“Enough!” The king growled.

“Ah�"ah.” I warned. “Behave Your Highness.”

“What is it you want?”

“I’m going to make this simple for you, Your Majesty. We need tools, and you’re going to get them for us.”

“And why would I comply with thee?”

“Well, if you won’t, maybe your lover will.”

The king was taken aback. Got him. “I don’t know what you’re--”

“Save it. Us wiccans have ways of knowing. So let me be clear again. Get us some little ol’ useless tools or I shall tell both the queen and your lover that you love one just a wee bit more than the other.”

“Treachery!”

Marion sheathed the sword he was looking at. “You should have known that when you raised your sword at our friend, your brought our wrath on your house.”

“But--”

“Daybreak, sire.” Prince told him. “Come alone. Or the next Dark Death will be on your soul.”

IV. KATRINA

My skull was killing me. I needed help right away. But I wasn’t going to get much from my friends. Ironically, Prince would be my best bet. I knew he couldn’t have been happy about me getting him arrested, but he was still working hard. I guess being stuck in the past is a good motivator.

“That king better show soon.” I almost doubled over. “How much power do we need Spikes?”

“Well, let’s thank God or whatever spiteful storm cloud for striking this thing earlier.” He and Marion shoved the engine back in its space. “We should have enough power to go home.”

“Ugh. Maybe we can finally stop all this hopping through time and space.”

“Maybe.”

“He’s here!” Fleana pointed.

The king emerged from the mist, alone just like we asked. He was wearing commoner clothes, probably because he didn’t want anyone to recognize him but I knew his face. He carried a wooden box.

“No one came with you?” I started scanning his mind.

“No.” He told me. He was truthful.

I nodded my head at my friends, ignoring the hot steel hand gripping my throat.

“Good. You’re off the hook.” Fleana held out her arms. “Drop ‘em here.”

“Why certainly.” He hissed almost triumphantly.

I realized too late. Just before his arm reached Fleana’s, he dropped the box. The tools clattered out of the box and broke against the ground.

“No, no, no!” Fleana tried to scrape up the pieces and looked up at the smug face of the king. “We had a deal!”

“The deal was,” The king reiterated. “I bring thee tools, alone at daybreak. Thou hast completed our agreement.”

“Swindler!” I hissed.

“Fair is fair. By noon, I will send my knights to come gather thee, and I will raise my sword on all of you. Best thy pray for mercy from God.”

He stormed off to the castle.

Fleana sighed. “I think that we had this coming.”

Doesn’t help our situation was what I wanted to say.

Prince gawked at the pieces. “What do we do now?”

“They could still be used.” Flare spoke up. “Just because something is in pieces doesn’t mean they no longer have a purpose.”

“How--” I began.

“I was a mechanic once. Prince just fix what needs to be fixed. I will guide you.”

Prince worked as fast as he could with Flare being his instruction manual. Fleana and Marion got involved too, shoving parts where Prince and Flare told them, so Spikes can attach them. Meanwhile, I was reduced to crumbling mass of limbs, feeling useless. I was very close to being legally dead.

I looked at my friends at work. They were moving too slow. The sun was almost in the middle of the sky. And I really hoped I was delusional.

“Please tell me those aren’t knights.” I pleaded.

“Oh, these are knights.” Mom told me.

“I said don’t tell me!”

“No, you said to tell you those aren’t knights. And you know how I feel about lying.”

I groaned as I got to my feet. “How long do we have until it’s fixed?”

“Just a few more seconds…” Prince trailed off.

I stepped toward the armored men, my fingers arcing with electricity.

“What are you doing?” Fleana asked.

“Giving you your few seconds.” I flashed my palm. “I’m fully charged. All I need to do is cause a little discord.”

“But�"you’re not well!”

“Honey!” Mom called. I was pretty sure she was going to bench me, but she told me. “Flex your fingers when you fire.”

“O-okay.” I said.

I felt electricity pulse from my wrist and to my palm. I flexed my fingers just like my mother told me, and the energy that was supposed to be a bolt of death scattered like a pulse, causing the horses to freak out instead of killing them. I couldn’t say the same for electricity conducting metal clad knights.

“Hey! Any knights still breathing tell your king don’t mess with wiccans!” I shouted.

“Finished!” Prince shouted.

“Good thing, too.” Marion pointed at the reanimated armored men.

“Don’t they ever give up?” Fleana shrugged.

“Don’t care.” I fastened my seat belt. “I better not end up in a coma Spikes.”

“No promises.” He promised. He fired up the machine and we were gone in a flash.

Author's Note

Enjoy the story