Mount Olympus, residence of the gods in Greek mythology with fifty two peaks to its credit and the second largest mountain in the Balkan range, was climbed every year by thousands of hikers. There were families, tourists, professional and beginner hikers, casual observers, naturalists, environmentalists and those just eager to get away from it all. Its sweeping views were nothing short of breathtaking, the mountain large enough to be seen from Thessaloniki. The more daring and experienced hikers pushed on from the Skala summit to its highest peak, Mytikas, while the less keen hikers opted for the Skolio summit, leaving them plenty of time to scramble back down through the snow, into the undercover of trees to Refugee A.

At just over two thousand metres up the E4 route was a large stone structure perched on the edge of a spur, overlooking some of the most densely forested slopes of the mountain. Known as Refuge A, it was a resting point, accommodation, a place to cook and to recuperate and to live in so that visitors could go from there on many trails just to see all the wildlife and the extensive flora without needing to return to the Prionia car park at the base of the mountain every day.

It was to this refuge that a group of seven headed with the sun setting faster than they would have liked behind the mountain. Four of them were in their late teen years, having graduated and, after working madly for months, saved up enough for a gap year…which was more like a gap month. But to all of them, two of whom had never been out of their home country before, it was unbelievably thrilling.

Lila Thomson led the group, her cropped dark hair visible now that she had taken her beanie off and given it to someone in more need of it than her. Lila had a rock climbing, cycling and an altogether more outdoorsy appeal than the rest of her friends. Not so much interested in the history of a place, she just wanted to be outdoors, exploring and conquering new heights. And so, on Mount Olympus, that had made her the unofficial leader.

Makoto Obi, the eldest son from a Japanese family that was several generations deep in western culture, followed after. Called Mak by his friends much to the dismay of his family, Makoto had studied hard to get high enough scores for him to go to Oxford which was one of three colleagues/universities approved of by his parents. Little did they know his real motivation was so that they would agree to his gap year trip with his friends…especially Penny Kirk.

Penelope Kirk walked alongside the three newest additions to their group. She was five foot four, freckled and wore her mouse brown hair in pigtails which seemed to bounce with a life of their own. In the green, brown and grey backdrop of the mountain she stood out in her hot pink ear muffs and bright yellow jacket.

At the rear, where he had been for most of the trek up the mountain, was Chaz Armstrong. Red headed, flushed, unfit and looking like he had raided a homeless man for his clothing, Chaz was the most reluctant of all four to go on the gap year adventure. He would have happily sat it out somewhere in a coffee shop, tweaking his travel laptop to have it running like his computer at home. But Chaz, despite his obvious lack of a heroic vein, had been the one to spy the lost woman out in the snow and, consequently, her two friends.

They hadn’t said much since their initial meeting, the language barrier being a difficult one to bridge so, after much pointing and grunting, they had been convinced to head down the mountain with the four friends to Refuge A where it was hoped things would be straightened out. Penny, being more intuitive than the rest of her late teen colleagues, continued trying to catch their eyes and smile reassuringly at them but for the most part they seemed lost in their own world.

The only male in their group was a broad shouldered man in his mid thirties with tousled blonde hair, blue eyes and a number of visible scars on his face and neck. His clothes looked like they belonged to another age, coarse and, in several places, the stitching barely holding it together. His eyes were shadowed and there seemed to be a tremendous weight on his shoulders besides the satchel that also looked like it was about to fall apart.

There was the tall, slender woman with hair so fair it looked like white gold. She seemed to be enormously preoccupied with making sure the borrowed beanie from Lila was sitting correctly against the sides of her head, her pale green eyes flitting about nervously. She wore much the same style of clothing as the man with her fine features surrounded by a dark, heavy hood. She was very nimble, moving faster and even more confidently than Lila although, Penny had begun to suspect this could have been motivated by her aversion to either of her companions. It hadn’t taken an expert to realise that there was some friction happening between all three.

Finally there was the strangest member of them all. A woman about the same height as Penny with dazzling blue eyes set in a face so pale it looked white, full rose coloured lips, thick eyelashes and dark, gorgeous curls. Her clothes were hopelessly inappropriate to be wearing on a mountain hiking trail. They were gold, black and a rich plum colour and looked like they belonged to Imperial China with their long sleeves and flowing train.

What was also strange about her was that while her other two companions seemed to be in shock, this woman bounded about like it was the greatest day of her life, beaming at everyone they came across and scampering along the steep route with ease. Perhaps her enthusiasm had dimmed a little now that they had moved from the snow covered region to the more forested areas but she was still almost giddy with delight.

After a good hour and a half march from where they had been, they arrived at the refuge, a semi sprawled stone structure perched on the edge of a spur with incredible views of the mountain around them. There was a stone paved courtyard with a short wall around the edge to keep people from falling to their deaths and many tables and pews scattered around. Because it was on the brink of the off peak season the refuge wasn’t as overrun with hikers as it could be. Thankfully they were able to grab a table and sat down heavily.

All except for Lila who looked fresh and excited. “I’m going inside to ask if anyone has been reported missing.”

Mak rolled his head to look at her. “You speak Greek now?”

Lila raised her eyebrows. “Better than you do.”

“Lila, wait up!” Chaz scrambled to his feet. “They locked up my tablet for me. I want to get it.”

“You couldn’t leave your technology at home, could you?”

“Hey, did I or did I not climb Mount Olympus?”

“Sort of.”

“I take that as an affirmative.”

They walked inside bickering, leaving Mak and Penny with the strangers. Mak dug around in his backpack and pulled out three bottles of water.

“You have extra water?” Penny teased.

“Just in case.” He protested lightly and handed them out. “Here…for you…”

The dark haired woman gave a bright smile and said something to him and then waited as if he would have a reply. Penny leaned over to Mak. “Do you understand what she said?”

“No.” Mak frowned. “But if I had to guess…it sounded Chinese.”

“Maybe she thinks you are Chinese?”

“Hmmm…” Mak leaned over and pointed to the satchel by the man’s leg. “What have you got in there?” The man looked down at the satchel, picked it up and opened it. Mak stood up and leaned in, paling as he did so. “Yeah…so…um…nice…sword…you have there…”

“What?” Penny gasped then clamped her mouth shut at Mak’s glare.

“Don’t you have any ID?” Mak asked, trying to ignore the shiny, scary sword in the satchel. “Drivers license, passport…just some photo ID?”

The words were lost on the three of them.

“My goodness Mak…they look so confused.” Penny held out her hands. “May I?” She was allowed to take the satchel and did a little digging. “There’s some rope, a water…thing…I think this was food once…Oh…” She found a leather wallet about A4 size. “This could be something.” She opened it up. “Oh my…”

“What is it?” Mak peered over her shoulder and whistled. “That’s a lot of money.”

Penny cleared her throat and picked past the money gingerly, not wanting to offend them by playing with their, quite frankly, ridiculous amount of money. At the back of the wallet she found three passports. “Here we go!” She shoved the wallet back in the satchel. “Right! Names!” She opened the first one. “Evan…der…Evander?”

The man sat upright at the sound of his name and very nearly snatched the passport out of her hand. He stared at it in astonishment.

“Ok…” Mak took the next one. “Meredith. Oh that was an easy…hey!”

The dark haired woman took that passport and opened it eagerly. She seemed thrilled to see her face in the awful photo that always managed to be printed in passports.

“So Evander, Meredith and… Je Kinah? Mak, am I pronouncing that right?”

“It has one of those little things about the e, like it’s a different pronunciation,” Mak frowned then held it out to the fair-haired woman, “but it’s definitely you.” She took the passport reverently and looked at it with a large dollop of distrust in her eyes. “Je Kinah?”

“Jé Kinah.” The man, Evander, said firmly. “Jé…”

“Oh Jé…. Kinah. Jé as in the ‘easu’ in treasure?” She gave Mak a strange look. “Yeah…still haven’t figured out how to bridge the language gap have we.”

“Knowing their names is a start.” Penny smiled. “It’s a good start. Evander, Meredith and Jé Kinah.” She pointed at herself. “Penny. Makoto.”

“Mak.” He corrected and shrugged at her. “Everyone else does.”

Inside the refuge Chaz waited at the desk for the attendant to bring him his locked up tablet. Lila was studying a pin board with photos of missing persons on it. Most of them had been marked as being found. She gave Chaz a slight glare as he kept drumming his fingers on the counter and clucking his tongue.

“Chaz…” She grimaced.

“You think Mak and Pen will be safe with those three?”

“I highly doubt they’re axe murderers or anything. Besides, we’re in a crowded area.”

Chaz leaned backwards so he could spy Penny, Mak and the three strangers sitting at the table. “Has he asked her out yet?”

“Mak?”

“Yeah.”

“And Penny?”

“Uh huh.”

Lila shrugged. “Who knows. I thought that’s what this trip was about. Mak finally getting up the courage to finally confess that he’s been doe eyed over her for three years.”

Chaz harrumphed and looked around. “Not really the kind of girl I think his parents had in mind.”

“It’s a date, not a proposal.”

“Come on, you know Mak. He does nothing without looking at the big picture. He’d never ask a girl on a date that he couldn’t possibly conceive of marrying one day.”

Lila shook her head. “Maybe that’s his problem. Maybe he’s thought so far in advance he can no longer get over the first hurdle…they’re not here.”

“Huh?”

“The people, the ones we rescued. They’re not here. No one has reported them missing.” Lila put her hands on her narrow hips and pursed her lips. “It’s possible no one knew they were missing yet.”

“Or you haven’t gone back far enough.”

“2003 far enough back for you?” She pointed at an old photo that had been stuck so many times with pins as the board was rearranged that it could have made an excellent sieve.

“Nah…I’m thinking the dark ages.” Chaz saw Lila’s eye roll. “You’ve seen what they’re wearing! I reckon that was on the clothing racks about three or four hundred years ago! Probably the height of fashion back then.”

“And how, pray tell, do they look so good for their age?”

“Frozen underground in ice…” Chaz received one of Lila’s exceptionally good eye rolls. “Fine so maybe it’s more like time travel.” Lila moaned soundlessly. “I’m serious! How else do you explain how they look?”

“How am I supposed to know that when I’m still trying to explain how you look?” Lila shot but Chaz missed it as his beloved tablet was handed to him. He cradled it lovingly.

“Hello baby. Did you miss me?” He held it up. “Now this is going to be of more help than that outdated pin board of yours.”

Outside the woman called Jé Kinah had moved away from the main crowd and was looking at the view from the tip of the spur. Every time Penny looked at her she felt a heart twisting sadness emanating from her and, after making sure Mak could hold his own with the other two, she went after her. She’d removed her ear muffs and coat. Underneath she wore dark grey track pants and a roll neck jumper in dark purple.

“Hi.” She said by way of invading Jé Kinah’s personal space. Jé Kinah looked at her and nodded. Penny worried her bottom lip, the language gap more prominent than ever. “I’m very, very, very glad we found you.” Jé Kinah gazed at her without blinking. Penny wasn’t sure if she was pleased by her intrusion or if she was just annoying her. “Sorry. You obviously want to be by yourself.” She eventually decided and turned to leave. Jé Kinah caught hold of her hand and looked around. She dashed for a book that someone had left on a table and held it out to her. “I’m sorry. I don’t know…”

Jé Kinah pointed at Penny then at the book. Penny looked down at it then back up again. “You want me to read this?” She flicked it open. It was a hopelessly convoluted romantic story about an island, a deeply tortured and sensitive man and a woman who clearly understood him. “Alright. Not really my thing but here goes…” She cleared her throat. “Julia could not take her eyes off his rugged form, the way his muscles rippled beneath his torn shirt captured her attention and caused her heart to beat like a humming bird’s wings…”

Penny kept reading for a page and a half before looking up. Jé Kinah seemed to be in deep contemplation as she spoke. The tale was becoming a might too risqué and causing Penny to blush when Jé Kinah suddenly spoke in halting English.

“My…name…is Jé Kinah.” She opened her eyes and looked at Penny…whose mouth had dropped open. “You…name…is…Penny?” Penny gave the slightest nod, eyes wide and gaping at the woman who seemed to be attempting, and succeeding, at learning English at an unbelievable rate. “Please…”

Penny nodded furiously and continued to read, forgetting about blushing in light of the astonishing act of a woman learning to speak English before her very eyes.

Over at the table, Chaz and Lila had joined Mak where he introduced them now that he had names with which to do so.

“This is Evander, Meredith and…Jé Kinah?” Mak shrugged, stumbling over the pronunciation and Chaz did the same. Lila snapped her fingers, turned on her heel and went back inside.

“What’s she doing?” Chaz asked.

“Well a name helps when you’re hunting someone down.” Mak cleared his throat and said quietly. “He has a sword in his bag.”

Chaz leaned over. “Does it glow blue when orcs are near?” He chuckled. “I got grilled for suggesting that they might be from hundreds of years ago by Lila.”

“What’s so unbelievable about that? Your clothes look like they’re from the eighties.”

“LOL.” Chaz said in a droll tone. “Now, did they take good care of you baby?” He said lovingly to his tablet. He started tapping away on it. “Missing persons in Greece…go…”

It was a little alarming to see a man and a woman recoil from a tablet as it lit up and started displaying information. It was quite alarming to Chaz when Meredith swiped her hand underneath it and then, when she couldn’t find what it was she was looking for, she ripped it out of his hands and held it up, staring at the information displayed.

“You’d think they’d never seen a tablet before.” Mak remarked.

“They didn’t have wifi a thousand years ago.” Chaz insisted and snatched it back. “Thank you.”

Meredith turned to Evander and talked rapidly. Evander gave her a glare and she rolled her eyes and laughed.

“Making progress?” Penny asked, coming over with Jé Kinah.

“Not really…” Mak sighed. “You?”

“We…are…making…progress…” Jé Kinah said very slowly. Penny beamed.

“She is learning English.” Mak’s and Chaz’s jaws dropped. “I think she had a rudimentary understanding but her true instructor is, ‘Passion on the Lost Island’.” She held up the book and laughed. “All I did was read a few pages and suddenly, bam!”

“That’s…impossible…” Mak gaped.

“Maybe she’s a genius?”

“Maybe she faked not knowing English?”

“They’re not registered here.” Lila came back over. “I tried to explain their situation but I don’t think anyone believes me. They’ll have to stay overnight and maybe walk down with us tomorrow. From there they can go on their own way.”

“Where is their own way headed?” Penny looked at Jé Kinah. “Where are you from?”

Jé Kinah listened intently and translated it for Evander and Meredith. They all looked a little confused.

“How can people not know the answer to that?” Lila said in disbelief.

“Maybe they have amnesia?” Mak guessed.

“Maybe they’re from an alternate reality?”

“Maybe…hey…” Evander had taken the tablet gingerly, as if he didn’t trust the strange device, and made a writing motion.

“Oh here.” Chaz opened up a writing program and brought up the keyboard. “There.”

Evander gave the tablet a distrustful glare then pressed buttons. The four friends leaned over his shoulder and looked at what was being written.

“It’s gibberish.” Mak muttered.

“Not it’s not. It’s Destcroick.” Chaz pronounced poorly and looked up. “Bet that’s in Germany.”

“Honestly…” Penny took the tablet and added in some spaces. “De St Croix. It’s French. Look it up Chaz.”

Chaz took back his tablet possessively and opened up Google. “Oh yeah sure. Just Google a name. De St Croix…probably as common Smith or Jones…there’ll be millions of them…I don’t believe it…” He tapped the first entry and began to read. “De St Croix chateau is a luxurious ski resort in the French Alps. It was once the home of a family, whose relations can be traced to the royal family, but in 1975 the chateau was converted to a ski resort. Nestled in the French Alps it is the crowning jewel of the village of Bertrand and is the ideal location for a romantic getaway where money is no obstacle.” Chaz snorted. “Yeah right. Oh look. Pictures.” He tapped one. “Wow…fancy…Hey!” Evander snatched the tablet away again and pointed at it in astonishment. Chaz folded his arms. “I don’t care what century you’re from. Snatching is rude.”

“Is that where you are from?” Penny asked Jé Kinah who relayed the question. Evander nodded. “Oh well…that solves that then.”

“Not really. Do they know how to get there?” Chaz asked. “I don’t think people in the dark ages had buses.”

Penny put her finger up to her lips at Lila who had opened her mouth to protest and shook her head. “Don’t. You’ll only encourage him. Come on. I’m starving.”

After sorting out the three visitor’s accommodation in Refuge A, all seven sat down to a meal which Jé Kinah and Chaz picked at while the others wolfed it down. Since card games or any other loud activity was not encouraged and the day’s hiking had left them exhausted, almost everyone went to bed. Refuge A could accommodate over one hundred people in dorm style rooms and, because it was close to off peak time for Mount Olympus there were enough beds for them all.

The dorms were filled with heavy breathing and snoring all night long. The fresh air and vigorous exercise had exhausted everyone who made it to the refuge. Only two people stayed awake far longer than the others. One was Evander and the other was Jé Kinah.

Evander lay on his back on a bottom bunk, staring up at his low ceiling, replaying the events of the day over and over in his mind, guilt eating him up. Even the strangeness of the people on this mountain and the weird magic they seemed to flaunt without care hadn’t blotted out what he had done…and what he hadn’t said. He could almost see exactly what Jé Kinah had seen when she walked into the cave. A woman she detested and run from, a woman who had imprisoned her in ice for years, in his arms having just kissed her back to life…the thought of it made him sick and he cursed his inability to speak when the time called for it. He knew of a million things he should have said to her…but when she looked at him and he saw the pain in her eyes, the pain he had caused, his brain emptied and his mouth was dry.

What could he possibly say to make everything as it should be? How could he convince her that he had kissed another woman out of necessity and not of love? They had survived multiple deadly encounters, prison and disaster…yet he was worried they wouldn’t survive this.

He rolled onto his side and looked to where he knew she was lying. Her back was to him, outlined in a dull light. Her breathing was shallow yet he instinctively knew she wasn’t asleep. In the dark he pressed his hand to his face, feeling the touch of tears.

“Jé Kinah…” He said without sound. “…I love you…forgive me…”

Jé Kinah could tell when each and every person in the room finally fell asleep. The last was the man lying on the bed behind her, the man she had given her heart to…the man who had… She scrunched her eyes tight, feeling her heart burn as she tried to will away the image of Evander holding Meredith in his arms. The moment she had seen them together she knew what had happened. Meredith had been in a frozen deep sleep. She needed to be kissed in order to wake up just like Snow White. But Evander’s kiss hadn’t worked on Snow White because he was not her true love. So the only natural conclusion was that Meredith had been awakened by her true love. But why him? Why her? It should have been Jé Kinah. It should have been her!

She could sense dawn coming and, knowing that everyone else was asleep, she slid out of bed and used her keen vision and silent elf tread to creep out of the room and leave the building. The claustrophobic nature of the human’s dwelling rolled off her shoulders as she felt sky overhead, the icy bite of the air and the outline of trees that were only just coming into view.

She breathed in deep…and started to run.

There was no warming up or meandering through the forest. Jé Kinah just needed to run. And she was fast. Her feet skimmed across the rocky outcrops and the stony clusters that barely shifted under her weight. She dashed past trees, shifting in and out of the new day light, no more than a shadow or a flicker in the corner of someone’s eye. After an unknown amount of time in a prison of her own making, Jé Kinah needed to feel free. She shed her coat as she ran, unresponsive to the cold mountain air, the burn in her heart keeping her hot and warm.

Finally, she stopped, for no particular reason and discovered that, no matter how far and hard she ran, the ache in her heart was right there with her.

Jé Kinah slumped against a tree and pressed her hand against her chest.

Where was the voice that taunted her? Why hadn’t it spoken and laughed at her for trusting in a human man just as her mother had done? Why was she thinking of things it said instead of it saying them for her?

Was the dragon really dead?

Had her time in a place that would have been heaven for a dwarf but torturous for an elf really meant she was separated from it?

Jé Kinah’s throat closed over. Was she missing it?

Suddenly she heard something and stood up in a flash, poised and ready to fly. Someone was coming towards her, cracking through the brush with well measured pants. Jé Kinah waited, hoping, or dreading that it might be him. But her instincts told her it couldn’t be. The footsteps were too light. The woman called Lila pushed through bracken and jogged into view. She held Jé Kinah’s coat in one hand and was flushed and sweaty. She saw Jé Kinah and shook her head.

“Girl you are fast!” She exclaimed. “I thought I was the only one silly enough to get up at this hour.” She held out her coat and Jé Kinah took it. “You really shouldn’t be out here on your own. You could get lost…again…” Lila frowned at her. “Do you understand me?”

Jé Kinah was becoming better and better at understanding them but it still wasn’t easy. And they talked so fast! She accepted her coat and when Lila said something about needing to get back, Jé Kinah didn’t fight it. It was pretty clear that she wasn’t going to solve her problems by running through the forest.

Lila wasn’t a talkative person for which Jé Kinah was grateful and just under an hour later they were at the refuge where Evander was waiting for them. He looked up at their approach, having pulled on his boots and looking like he was going to head out. Jé Kinah shied away from his gaze as he said her name and came forward.

“Jé Kinah I was so worried! You just vanished! I thought…”

Jé Kinah pulled her hands out of his, the memory of Meredith still embedded in the skin of his palms. She swallowed and moved off, leaving Evander to watch her go, his eyes boring into her back.

“I don’t…” He slumped onto a chair and ran his hands through his hair. “What have I done?”

Meredith passed by Jé Kinah as she was leaving the refuge. There were lots of people up and about now that the sun was up, most of them strapping on their gear for the hike to the top of the mountain. Meredith wove through the groups, knowing she was being stared at but not bothered in the slightest. In fact, the attention pleased her. She gave a few happy smiles at those who struggled to look away and almost skipped in the weak sunshine.

Nothing was dampening her spirits. Nothing could.

Evander had kissed her. He hadn’t let her rot down in that bleak cave for all eternity. He had kissed her and set her free. It was such a wonderful feeling Meredith felt as though all the power of ice and snow was nothing in comparison to it. Not even the strangeness of their new surroundings bothered her in the slightest. When she saw Evander sitting outside she dashed up to him and grasped his arm.

“Is it not the most beautiful day?” She declared happily. “What shall we do today?”

Evander cleared his throat and stood up. “I think we need to head down the mountain. We need to get to De St Croix.”

“The chateau?” Meredith flinched. “Where I was kept prisoner?”

Evander looked at her. “You are still accountable for your actions Meredith…” He saw her happy countenance dim and felt a stab of sympathy. “I will speak on your behalf and tell them what you did in order to free Jé Kinah but you cannot expect one act of kindness to entirely mitigate the war you started.” He waited for her to protest, to proclaim her innocence. But Meredith paused, considering her words then looked up.

“If you say I need to be held accountable, then I will go with you.” She said carefully. “I will do as you say.”

Her close presence and the way she looked into his eyes with absolute trust and a rather large dose of adoration made Evander’s face flush. Knowing that she’d spoken the truth about loving him, confirmed by his kiss waking her meant the camaraderie they once enjoyed now took on a whole new meaning. The closeness of her presence, the limpid look in her eyes and the way his eyes kept being drawn to her lips unsettled him greatly. He cleared his throat again and looked around. “Then we should stay close to the people who found us. I think it will be easier that way.”

Jé Kinah heard his words but doubted things would be any easier down the mountain than they were nearer the top. Oh sure, they were no longer in danger of freezing or starving to death as clouds started to roll across the sky in an ominous fashion and she, Evander and Meredith had managed to somehow claw their way out of a ravine, leaving behind a prison that made her skin crawl…but nothing could erase the pain in her heart. Not even rocky outcrops, spectacular views, the smell of dry earth and the presence of dozens of varieties of trees could make her forget.

She kept tugging at her hair, concerned her pointed ears would be seen and give away her elf heritage. So far none of the oddly dressed humans they had encountered had noticed but she had not always received a warm welcome when discovered. Her feet found footing naturally and she kept ahead of the group, easily able to follow a path that was leading them down the mountain. She could tell the humans did not want her getting too far ahead so she had to curb her natural desire to run and hide in the shadows whenever she heard a familiar heavy footstep closing in on her position.

“Hey Penny Kirk.” Penny grinned at Mak’s name for her. When they’d met three years ago, Penny’s parents had just won a one in a million chance in the lotto and decided that public school wasn’t good enough for their daughter. So Penny had arrived at private school in her brand new stiff uniform in navy and grey…with bright green ribbons in her pigtails. When Mak had met her, he’d been quite a shy mid-teen and every time he’d called her name, he’d said it in full. Penny Kirk…and it stuck. Three years later she was still Penny Kirk and Mak had come out of his shell…mostly.

“Yes Mak?” She paused by a tree for Mak to catch up. “What’s up?”

“Not us anymore.” He chuckled. “I mean, Mount Olympus was a nice place to visit…”

“Wouldn’t want to live there?” Penny tossed a pigtail over her shoulder and asked in a hushed tone. “What do you make of these guys?”

“You mean our reversals of a Yankee in King Arthur’s court…if you listen to Chaz.”

“Well...they are a bit…odd…”

Mak’s eyes squinted at her. “Don’t tell me you’re buying into this time traveller, alternate reality thing…are you?”

“No…not exactly,” Penny leaned close, “but I caught the briefest glimpse of Jé Kinah’s ears and they looked pointed.”

“Like a Vulcan?”

“Maybe...or maybe like an elf?”

“Penny Kirk,” Mak exclaimed in an exasperated, but mildly amused, voice, “not you too?”

“No!” Penny exclaimed then lowered her voice to a confidential hush. “But you have to admit she’d look at home on the set of Lord of the Rings.”

“Exactly. Prosthetics. Or maybe a birth defect.”

“That would explain why she’s so self conscious about it.”

Mak chuckled at Penny’s concerned expression. She had the softest heart he’d ever known. “Alright, what about the other two?”

“Well Meredith is a complete mystery…but I reckon Evander could wear armour and make it look good. I think they’re lost.”

“We’ve established that.”

“No, I mean,” Penny sighed, “there’s something going on between all three. Jé Kinah moves like she’s being hunted, Evander looks like he is carry ten tones on his shoulders and as for Meredith,” they looked over at Meredith who was splashing around in a stream of icy water, giggling like a child, still dressed in her imperial robes, “I’m starting to wonder if she’s all there…”

“So what do we do with them when we get back to Litochoro?”

The problems started well before they reached the Greek city that sat in the shadow of the mountains. When they reached the car park at Prionia, Jé Kinah nearly had a meltdown when cars started pulling in and driving away. Evander actually pulled his sword out of his bag and had Chaz and Mak not tackled him, he might have slashed the tyres on a people mover.

“Now do you believe me when I say they’re in the wrong century?” Chaz demanded as they pinned Evander behind the back of the tavern and made him put his sword away. When Mak didn’t respond Chaz strode up to their car, turning his collar up against the light rain that had begun to fall. “Look. It’s not alive.” He kicked the car gently then opened the door. “See. It’s a…horseless carriage.”

“Oh brother.” Lila slapped her forehead.

“Translate.” Chaz pointed at Jé Kinah. “Horseless carriage.”

Jé Kinah did her best and Evander, not entirely convinced, at least didn’t attempt to kill their car or anyone else’s.

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“Can we get a move on?” Lila slung her bag into the boot. “It’s raining.”

“But we can’t just leave them…” Penny said as Mak helped her off with her pack.

“Penny Kirk, its sheer mathematics.” Mak said firmly. “Our car won’t fit them. There’s buses and taxis and all sorts.”

“But what if they don’t know how to use them?”

“Do not buy into Chaz’s theory.” Mak propelled her towards the car as the rain became heavier with every passing second. “They’ll be fine. They’re grown up, older than you and I. Besides, I don’t fancy having someone who wields a sword in a confined space with me.” He shut the door and climbed in the other side. Penny pressed her nose against the window and looked out at the three strangers who looked more lost than ever.

The sight of them being abandoned in the car park ate into her heart for hours. She couldn’t shake the image even after a hot shower in their budget accommodation in Litochoro, after she’d changed into non hiking apparel…after they ordered a late lunch and sat down in the window of a café to eat. Chaz nudged Lila and jerked his head towards Penny who was staring out the window at the drizzling rain, her meal untouched. There was no need to alert Mak to Penny’s mood. He was already well aware of how forlorn she looked.

“So,” Chaz looked down at his tablet, “the tour bus will pick us up tomorrow morning and take us to Athens where there will be more inedible Greek food…”

Lila looked up from her yiros. “You were saying?” She said, licking her lips.

“Anyway… do we want to do anything tonight before we’re stuffed back into a tour bus, taking pictures through the tinted glass with thirty elderly tourists who smell of moth balls?”

“They do not.”

“They do to.” Chaz retorted.

“Swimming in the Aegean Sea?” Lila wiped away a dribble of sauce.

Mak sighed and looked at her. “Something not athletic.”

“What about…”

“Oh my…” Penny sat up then bolted out of the café. Her three friends looked at each other then leaned to look out the window.

“I don’t believe it.” Mak exclaimed and stood up.

“Did they walk here?” Lila looked at Chaz who shrugged.

Penny dashed across the street, waving to Evander, Jé Kinah and Meredith who were unreservedly pleased to see her.

“Hi!” She called. “You made it! It’s pouring. Come. Come inside.”

Mak rolled his eyes and looked at Lila and Chaz. “Don’t ever show her a box full of abandoned puppies will you?”

Lila looked at Chaz, then at Mak and then at Penny who was escorting the three of them across the road and into the café. “Oh no…I know where this is going…”

“…can’t just leave them out there on their own.” Penny argued.

“Penny, they’re not our responsibility!” Lila exclaimed. “You can’t possibly be thinking what I think you’re thinking.”

Penny folded her arms. “They need to get to Bertrand in the French Alps.”

“So put them on a bus and send them on their way.” Lila glanced over to see if they had heard her. They were sitting at their table while Chaz, Lila and Mak had been hustled away by Penny to the far corner.

“There are no buses that go all the way from Greece to France.”

“There is no way we are taking them.” Lila held up her hand. “Seriously Penny, you can’t do this.”

“She has a point Penny Kirk.” Mak said gently. “It’s a long way to go for people you don’t know.”

“I know them.” Penny protested. “Their names are Evander, Jé Kinah and Meredith. They come from Bertrand in the French Alps. They know the name De St Croix.”

“Which could be made up. Looking for a free ride to France?”

“You have to admit hiding in a ravine is a bit of a stretch in order to get a free ride,” Mak pointed out, “but I still don’t think…”

“Chaz,” Penny turned, “you’re on my side aren’t...you?”

Chaz held up his hand, mobile pressed against his ear. “Yes, hi. Oh….Bonjour? Um…parley-vou English? Oh thank goodness. Ok, I was wondering if you have a guest staying there by the name of Evander, Jé Kinah or Meredith? No, I’m not joking. Yes, I will hold.” He looked up. “Well it’d be stupid to go all the way there and find out we’d been duped.” He said as if it were the most logical thing in the world. Lila, Mak and Penny looked at each other, embarrassed. Mak cleared his throat.

“What did they say?”

“They said something along the lines of, are you joking and then asked if I would…yes, hello I’m still here. Evander. Yes…oh…I see…really? Um…when…just let me…” He yanked out his tablet and started tapping it rapidly. “It’ll take us…three days to get there? Friday. Yes. Oh…seven I guess…well…three for certain. Ok then. Um ar revoir?” He hung up. “Well…there is a standing reservation at the Chateau De St Croix for a, get this, Prince Evander.”

“Prince?”

“Bet you wish you were nicer to him now huh Lila?” Chaz chuckled. “I told them they’d be there in three days according to Google maps.” He looked around. “So…road trip?”

Mak stared at him. “We can’t exactly redirect the tour bus.”

“We’ll hire a people mover or a mini bus or something.”

“We’re meant to be on a tour.”

“Which is just another bus.”

“He has a sword!”

“Well then at least we won’t get hijacked.” Chaz shrugged. “I’m in. Pen?”

“Absolutely.”

Lila looked at Mak who gave a shrug of surrender. “Well if Penny’s going…” She rolled her eyes and Mak gave a nervous laugh. “It is a gap year after all Lila.”

She then threw up her arms in defeat. “Fine. Road trip it is.” They looked over at Evander, Jé Kinah and Meredith who sensed their perusal and looked up. “Who’s going to be the one to convince them to get in a car?”

The trip from Litchoro to Bertrand would have taken a day less than what Chaz had estimated but in order to appease Lila, who despised road trips, they stopped regularly to explore the local area. And along the way there was much to be seen. They drove the newly hired people mover up the East coast of Greece, skirted around a national park and then up through Macedonia, avoided Kosovo, into Serbia, across Croatia at its narrowest point and then through another couple of countries, all of which had become a blur by that stage, and finally entered France after a final dash across Italy. Because of the stopping and frequent leg stretching so that Lila wasn’t too put out by all the travelling, Penny wanted to apologise to the three refugees as she had begun to call them.

“Apologise for what?” Chaz asked.

“For taking so long to get to where we’re going.”

“Have you seen the way they’ve stared out of the window? Horse and carts don’t go eighty on a highway.”

Chaz found more and more ammunition to his ‘out of time’ traveller theory as the days rolled by. After a while everyone stopped responding to them, realising that his head was in the clouds and he liked it there. But it was hard to ignore some of the astonishing ignorance of the refugees.

To begin with, Penny had to coax Jé Kinah into the van and sat beside her for most of the road trip. Food was difficult as she seemed to be very selective in what she ate until Lila figured out that she was a vegetarian. She also didn’t sleep a great deal which made it difficult when they had to bunk in two rooms, girls in one, guys in the other. But when Lila went for a run or insisted on stopping to view the scenery, Jé Kinah was fast to follow and Lila was hard pressed to keep up.

Meredith seemed to take everything in her stride, bounding to and from the van to the service stations, to the accommodations and then back again, her Chinese robes becoming filthier by the day on the hems as she flitted about with eagerness.

Evander, or Prince Evander as they now knew him to be, hovered in the middle ground between the two…in more ways than one. Lila observed at one point that the prince, Jé Kinah and Meredith seemed to be a strange love triangle. Meredith gazed at Evander with delighted adoration, taking his arm, pointing things out and experiencing the world as if it was brand new with him. Yet Evander only had eyes for Jé Kinah who, despite several attempts to get her to open up, remained introverted yet with so much pain in her eyes Penny felt like she was screaming.

“I just feel like crying every time I look in her eyes.” She confided to Mak.

“I feel like crying every time I look at my bank account.” Mak said a little resentfully. The altered travel plans had wrecked havoc on his finances, on all their finances. It was at the next fuel stop when Evander saw Mak pull out some cash to pay as they didn’t have credit facilities that he happily handed over a wad of money.

“Are you sure?” Mak asked, the money well more than what the cost of the van and fuel would be. Evander wouldn’t take it back so Mak accepted it, tucking the money deep into his bag. “Well, wherever you’re from you obviously don’t speak English but you’re wealthy enough.”

Evander just nodded, only half understanding what Mak said.

It seemed Jé Kinah’s ability to assimilate an unknown language within hours was not one she shared with the other three. Out of necessity, however, Evander was learning so that by the time they arrived in Bertrand he could blunder out a few sentences with reasonable clarity and understood at least three times as much.

Their rain dotted, dust smudged people mover followed Chaz’s directions through the picturesque city, negotiating its narrow streets with Mak’s ginger touch guiding it, all the way to the Chateau De St Croix. When they arrived, following a Lamborghini around the circuit driveway, all of them suddenly felt very out of place.

“That’s a Maserati Ghibli! Porsche, two Porsche! Audi, audi…audi, audi, audi…and we’re flanked front and back by Lamborghinis.” Chaz ogled the polished and buffed cars with his face pressed up against the window glass.

“I think we’re a little out classed.” Lila remarked as Mak started to shrink down in his seat. Unfortunately, because he was driving, he received a great many glares and smirks from the people milling about the front of the chateau.

“Well…do they have a prince in their fancy cars?” Penny retorted.

“We’re not even entirely sure we have a prince in ours.” Mak muttered, went to open his door. He handed his key to the attendant who looked at it as if he had handed him a piece of manure. “Don’t go clubbing now…”

His feeble attempt at a joke fell flat. Without a flicker of amusement on the man, dressed in a smart uniform of dark red and grey, drove the people mover away to store it…possibly at the bottom of a valley, leaving all seven to cart their belongings inside. Had they looked like everyone else coming and going from the chateau, manicured nails, hair coloured for obscene amounts and clothing that would cause many a third world nation to weep, perhaps they would have been inundated with bellboys. But three days in a car meant they were wrinkled, smelly, scruffy and a little uneasy about being where they were. Because of this only one young man stepped forward, possibly the newest hired so he had to take on the poorest guests of the chateau and suffer the insulting tip afterwards.

Mak bowed his shoulders, his face burning and noticed that Lila and even Chaz were doing much the same thing. Penny’s cheeks were aflame and he noted with admiration that while she was not insensible of the awkwardness of their situation, she was not about to be intimidated by it. She led the way into the chateau with Evander close behind who looked around in confusion.

“We are in the right place, aren’t we?” Lila, seeing Evander’s uncertainty, whispered to Mak.

“He recognised it three days ago…” Mak replied weakly.

“He was lost in a ravine four days ago…”

The doors to the chateau opened into a wonderfully wide and open main hall, surrounded by balconies and with exposed beams from which hung enormous chandeliers and up the sides of the hall were large stone pillar fireplaces, each one lit to ward against the chill that was already rolling in. There were a number of plush lounges laid out in an almost casual and very inviting manner, creating a wide open corridor for them to walk down, heading for the stone and polished wood reception desk.

If they had garnered much attention outside the chateau their presence inside practically brought all life in the main hall to a standstill. Meredith was the only one who seemed to be enjoying it, striding along in her robes, smiling broadly as if it was the best day ever. A man dressed in a suit that possibly cost more than the car they’d driven in, spied them coming from the doors. His expression was unreadable yet the way he moved to greet them, subtly warding them away from the other ‘appropriate’ guests, was very clever.

“Bonjour et Bienvenue au Château de St Croix. Parlez-vous français?”

Evander and Jé Kinah brightened as he spoke and Evander replied quickly.

“Um, we don’t parley French.” Chaz said and Penny cringed at his massacre of the French language.

“Je vous demande pardon. Bonjour and welcome to Chateau De St Croix. I am ze concierge and my name is Amaury.” He gave a half bow and smiled pleasantly. “‘ave you a reservation? I am afraid ze chateau is rather full at ze moment with ze ‘osting of ze Masque.”

“He has a reservation.” Penny explained, pointing to Evander.

A slight flicker crossed the concierge’s well practiced marble face but to his credit, he didn’t miss a beat. “Name?”

“Evander.”

Now he missed a beat. “Prince Evander?” Evander nodded. The concierge gave a slight cough to cover him clearing his throat. “‘ave you identification?”

“He has a passport.” Penny prodded Evander who dug through his falling to pieces satchel and drew out the passport. He handed it to Amaury who accepted it and then waved them to the reception desk. He went behind and clicked away, checking and rechecking. He then looked up, closed the passport and handed it to Evander. He gestured to several bellboys who hurried to obey the concierge and relieved them of their luggage.

“Prince Evander and company, please, follow me.”

They followed him through the lavish chateau, knowing that the attention they received before had increased exponentially. The concierge, now that he had confirmed Prince Evander’s identity, spoke to him in fluent French, leaving over half the group to follow in a daze. He led them up a large staircase, onto the landing that skirted the entirety of the foyer of the hotel then down a wide corridor to the very back of the chateau where there was a set of arched double doors. He opened them with a tasteful flourish.

Mak, Penny, Lila and Chaz would have dropped their bags had they been carrying them. Instead their mouths dropped open. There was an enormous stone fireplace that was already filled with a roaring fire and the room was deliciously warm. The far wall, which was at the very back of the chateau, was made up of a wooden framework with another set of double doors and large glass panels so that the mountains could be seen with absolute clarity.

There was a grand piano in the corner and three deep lounges around the fireplace on top of a plush carpet that lay on the polished floorboard floor. To the left was an open style kitchen which was larger than some of their accommodation of the three day journey and to the right, through open arches on either side of the fireplace, was the bedroom and beyond that, the bathroom. It was doubtful that had even the tallest of them, Evander, lain across the bed and stretched out his arms and pointed his toes, that he would reach both sides.

“I so need to be a prince.” Chaz gaped.

Amaury turned to them and spoke in his accented English. “Zis suite will only accommodate ze prince and immediate guests. Shall I ‘ave another room prepared for your companions?” He was directing the comment at them, possibly giving them the option and, even more likely, the hint that they were not on the same level as the prince and thereby, not as welcome.

Mak and Lila looked at each other. “Well…didn’t you say you were full?”

The concierge gave a knowing smile. “Arrangements can be made.”

“Yeah…in the basement.” Chaz muttered quietly.

“Thank you, that is very kind but we really can’t…” Lila was cut short as Jé Kinah, who understood what the concierge had said, spoke rapidly with Evander. The prince stepped forward and spoke to the concierge with no room for debate. Penny noticed that since being addressed as a prince and treated as such, Evander was starting to fill the role. His shoulders had squared up, he started to lift his chin and spoke with finality. The concierge bowed and indicated for a bellboy to step forward. They spoke briefly and the bellboy ran off…probably to kick someone out of their room.

“Your rooms will be ready momentarily.” Amaury said graciously, without a hint of resentment.

“He’s good.” Chaz whispered.

“Look, we really can’t stay…” It was Mak’s turn to be cut off as Evander turned and spoke firmly with the concierge. “I only speak Japanese and English.” He muttered to Penny.

“I think, emphasis on think, Evander wants to see the Count De St Croix.”

“It’s not what you know, it’s who you know.” Chaz remarked, still agog at his opulent surroundings. No one had sat down. They seemed to be too scared about soiling anything.

The concierge waved his arm around the room. “Count De St Croix apartment is our finest accommodation.”

Penny concentrated hard. Her understand of the French language came about only by her love of French culture and not a great deal of learning so she had to guess at a little at times. “Dominique De St Croix…” She looked at Mak. “He’s asking to see De St Croix.”

The concierge’s eyes brightened. “Of course! Forgive my misunderstanding. Zis way please.”

“Where are we going now Penny?” Lila asked, exasperated.

“I think we’re going to speak with the owner, at least in name.” Penny explained.

Like little ducks following their mother, all seven resigned themselves to one more jaunt through the chateau, following the concierge. But instead of taking them to an office or a private room, he led them out into the beautifully tended gardens at the back of the chateau, past an enormous fountain and around the corner to a beautiful marble building. It wasn’t big, not much more than a garden shed in comparison to the rest of the chateau but there was no mistaking its elegance. On the front of the little building was a gold plaque with lettering engraved on it. Despite the signs of regular polishing it was clear that there had been some damage over time to the dates recorded on it. The concierge waved Evander to the building and gave another slight bow.

“Ze Count Dominique De St Croix.” He announced before moving away to an oddly considerate distance.

Evander stared at the building, confused.

Lila frowned. “I don’t know about you guys but I think that’s a mausoleum.”

“His friend is dead?” Mak dragged his hand down his face. “Oh good grief…”

Evander approached the mausoleum cautiously, brushing aside a random branch to reach the names engraved on the stone. “Here lies Count Dominique De St Croix and Giselle De St Croix…” He staggered back. “No. No…this cannot be right.” He looked at Jé Kinah. “It says he’s dead.”

“People die Evan.” Meredith said gently.

“But it says he died years after I saw him last!” Evander ran his hands through his hair. “This cannot be…”

Jé Kinah turned, spied Chaz and motioned for him to give her his tablet. Chaz was starting to become used to their random grabbings, although it was more likely to be Meredith who loved the bright lights and information. Jé Kinah had always avoided it in the past so she just stared at it, willing it to give her the answers she needed.

“Time,” she looked up, “what time is it?”

“It’s a little after one…”

“She means the date, like with the year.” Penny admonished.

“2019.” Chaz explained. Jé Kinah stared at him. “How would you say it…it is the year two thousand and nineteen.”

Jé Kinah’s face paled even more than it was and she stepped back. Evander grabbed her shoulder and turned her around.

“What is it?”

“No.”

“What!”

She looked at him. “The year is two thousand and nineteen.”

Evander flinched. “No,” he looked back to the mausoleum, “that…that cannot be right! I was here only months ago! I was right here!”

“You were both in prison for a long time.” Meredith added. When she saw their looks she shrugged. “Why do you think I put myself into a frozen state? It was clear you weren’t coming out any time soon.”

“How long?” Evander demanded.

“A few days…and then I did what I do best.” Meredith shrugged. “I induced a state of frozen sleep so I could wait for you. I do not know how long I was like that. The next thing I knew was you kissing me.”

Evander blanched at the starkness of her statement, knowing that any hope, had any still remained, of his fidelity had just been swept away. He looked at Jé Kinah who shook her head. “Evander, it is over two hundred years …”

“No. I cannot believe it. I won’t believe it!” He retorted.

“Look around you!” Meredith spun around. “Do you not trust your own eyes?”

Evander scrunched his face up, willing the world to disappear. He couldn’t comprehend of a time so far out of touch of his own. He hadn’t wanted to face the possibility. There had been many things in the world that he didn’t understand even in his own time. His journey to the Far East was testament to that. He had seen things that proved there was far more in the world that he could possibly comprehend and so he had been willing to brush aside horseless carriages and large cities and magic windows as all part of the wonders of the earth. But here, facing the damning dates engraved on the mausoleum, he could no longer deny it.

The world he knew, and everyone in it, was long gone. He could do little more than slump onto a stone bench and put his head in his hands. “What do we do now?”

A comforting hand touched his shoulder and his heart leapt, feeling Jé Kinah’s touch. He put his hand on hers and looked up, smiling for the first time in days…then froze. Meredith stood beside him, her hand on his shoulder. He turned to see Jé Kinah standing a good ten feet away, her arms folded, her expression grim.

Chaz, Mak, Lila and Penny had watched the exchange in fascination, gleaming insights into the conversation. Chaz looked at his friends who all looked a little awkward. “Any doubts now that they are from a different time period?”

Mak opened his mouth then clamped it shut, unable to offer any argument.

“If the dates are what we go by,” Penny said quietly, “they are over two hundred years displaced.”

Evander stared at the mausoleum for a long time, as if he could somehow will De St Croix back into being. “I really needed you to be alive, Count.” He said to the engraving. “I needed you to fix what is broken. You were always so clever and I…am lost…”

“You don’t give yourself enough credit Evan,” Meredith said firmly, “and nothing needs to be fixed. This is as it should be.”

“How can you dismiss this?” Evander looked at her as she leaned against a tree that had all but lost its leaves. She was so nonchalant, so unmoved by this astounding turn of events that he didn’t know whether to laugh or cry at her audacity.

“Unlike you, Evan, Jé Kinah and I have seen hundreds of years pass already. We are older than we look.” Meredith glanced at Jé Kinah whose face was stony. “We would have seen this world come to pass eventually.”

“But not so suddenly,” Jé Kinah remarked, “and certainly not so differently. Humans have changed a great deal in a short amount of time. There is barely anything I recognise anymore.”

“I knew the chateau didn’t look right.” Evander muttered. “The roof is different and the bridge is gone…it is all different.” He stood up and glared at the mausoleum. “Why are you dead?”

“If he wasn’t, he’d be quite wrinkly by now.” Meredith chuckled and received a glare from both Evander and Jé Kinah. “What?”

“How can you treat the dead with such disrespect?” Jé Kinah demanded quietly. “Do you not care?”

“Of course I care!” Meredith paused. “Actually, I don’t. I didn’t know the man personally but to me, he was the one who was enforcing my imprisonment, trial and eventual judgment. I was locked in a cell in this very chateau! But I came, willingly, to face my accusers…who are dead. They’re all dead. The children of the children whose parents died in my war are dead. There’s no one left to accuse me!”

“You still started the war Merry.” Evander said bleakly. “You should still be held accountable.”

Meredith raised her eyebrows. “Then I charge you with finding someone who remembers my role in the war, let alone believes that I, a mere slip of a girl, could possibly be that woman over two hundred years later.”

“You have not changed at all, have you?” Jé Kinah shook her head. “You still will not accept the responsibility for your actions.”

“While you insist on carrying everyone’s cross.” Meredith said lightly. “The difference between us, Jé Kinah, is that I am prepared to move on. This world is wonderful and there are endless possibilities. I like it here. Maybe you should be more like me for once and learn to like it too.” She went to flounce away when she saw the concierge approaching. He had been called back to the chateau and was now returning.

“Prince Evander, I ‘ave excellent news.” He said in a warm tone. “Countess Constance De St Croix, ze last direct descendant of ze Count Dominique De St Croix, ‘as requested an audience.”

Evander stood up and cleared his throat. “We would be honoured,” he looked around at them all, “perhaps after we have had a chance to bathe?”

“And change your apparel?”

Evander flinched. “We, ah…we do not…”

“Ze Countess also asked zat I give you zis.” He handed Evander a small rectangular card that Evander had seen Mak use quite often in the past. “All expenses can be charged to zis account. If anyone queries you, ‘ave zem call ze chateau.”

“Thank you.” Evander paused. “Can I use it to purchase clothes?”

The concierge’s face gave a slight jolt, betraying his well hidden surprise and confusion at his strange guests. “Of course. I will ‘ave a driver and car on call for you. ‘e will take you to an appropriate store.”

Evander wasn’t quite sure what it all meant but he gave the concierge an appreciative smile. It seemed to be enough for Amaury who hurried back to the chateau at a pace that wasn’t a run but was certainly faster than a walk. Evander held the card up to the four friends who had brought them so far.

“Credit card. Nice…” Chaz stuck his thumbs up at him. Evander had spent enough time with him to know that was a positive sign.

“You will be able to buy new clothes and things you need.” Penny said slowly so that Evander could understand.

“Like a toothbrush…” Lila said quietly.

“And you will be here?” Evander asked.

Penny opened her mouth to reply when Mak cut her off. “Yes, we will stay for a few days…if we do not have to pay for the accommodation,” he winced at his emptied bank account, “but I am sure you will have no trouble shopping on your own.”

Evander nodded. “Thank you.”

Mak took Penny’s arm and gently moved her away. “Mak,” she hissed, “what are you doing? They have no idea what to do!”

“Then they need to learn.” He said firmly.

“But what if they need help?”

“You’ve already helped them far beyond what any other person would do,” Mak replied, “and while I don’t give much weight to the ‘out of time’ visitors, I still think they do need to adapt to life, on their own, to prove to themselves that they can.”

“Mak’s right.” Lila said with Chaz by her side. “We’ll be here for a few days in case anything goes awry. But, for now, let’s take stock.” She turned around and looked at everything. “We are in France! Let’s face it, we all wanted to go but couldn’t afford to. Now we’re here. Let’s not waste this.”

Penny glanced over her shoulder at Evander, Jé Kinah and Meredith who were walking back to the chateau after them and had to admit they didn’t look anywhere near as lost as when they’d first met them. They could get along without her.

“Alright.” She said, facing forwards again. “France it is! I would love to go for a walk! And eat at a bakery and enjoy French coffee…”

“Then let’s do that.” Mak said warmly and the four of them set out on their new adventure.

Evander, Jé Kinah and Meredith took turns in using the bathroom and, when they were clean but their clothing still reeked of travel grime, they went to the reception desk. The concierge saw them coming and contacted their driver. In no time at all they were being chauffeured through Bertrand, heading for its up market clothing store. The way they were ushered in, no questions asked, made Evander wonder if the concierge hadn’t contacted them with the strange rectangular magic window things the humans almost had permanently planted against their heads.

Evander was whisked away to the side of the store that was filled with more masculine items while Jé Kinah and Meredith were swarmed with attendants. Jé Kinah found it quite alarming and backed away while Meredith clapped her hands and accepted anything and everything they offered her.

Jé Kinah looked around in bewilderment. She had been in drapers in Maria’s city of origin that had seemed stuffed full of fabrics and clothing at the time. But it now appeared to be barren in comparison to the excess she saw before her. Racks upon racks of clothing, in many sizes and colours, a wall dedicated to shoes, some of which Jé Kinah thought would be impossible to walk in and even a section dedicated to unmentionable undergarments which sent her cheeks flaming. She couldn’t understand the claustrophobic nature of the store and its attendants. And she especially couldn’t understand Meredith who adapted and embraced these new ideas and situations.

Jé Kinah sent her a glare from her corner backed position but Meredith was insensible of Jé Kinah’s resentment and bounded into what was called a change room which, to Jé Kinah’s increasing horror, was fitted with a door that didn’t reach the floor or the ceiling. She couldn’t change in there! It was indecent!

“Mademoiselle,” an older attendant approached her, “do you see anything you like?” Jé Kinah couldn’t even begin to focus and she shook her head. “You ‘ave a very fair complexion. Perhaps something like zis?” She gestured to a full sized wooden doll wearing clothing. Jé Kinah looked at it critically, not really liking much about it except for the pants it wore. Thick leggings made out of a quality fabric in dark grey. She touched them, able to tell immediately that they were well made. “Very good choice, mademoiselle. We ‘ave zese in brown and black as well.”

Once Jé Kinah took her eyes off the racks and started looking at the wooden models, she began to make progress. And then the attendant would insist on handing her several colours of the item she liked. The real challenge came when Jé Kinah had to try things on, which was apparently what she had to do. The change rooms were not really private enough for a shy elf but the attendant was quite observant and when she noticed Jé Kinah draping things over the door to extend its range, she found a sheet of fabric and pinned it up. The increased privacy did wonders for Jé Kinah’s confidence and she began to try on things she hadn’t even picked out.

Meredith was giggling and laughing in delight, coming out to show off her latest clothing choices so that the attendants could praise her and bolster her already excessive ego. At one point Jé Kinah and Meredith left their rooms at the same time. Jé Kinah was wearing a pair of skinny jeans, knee high boots and a roll neck jumper in cream over some unmentionables that she had experienced quite a bit of trouble getting in to. Meredith wore a ball gown. Apparently they had a whole rack of them near the back of the store. It was sparkling, pale pink and it barely clutched her shoulders, the skirt swishing when she twirled.

“I have never worn anything so lovely!” She declared.

“Perfect for ze Masque tomorrow night.”

“The Masque?”

“Ze Masquerade Ball. Ze chateau ‘osts a grand ball at ze start of every new season. Zis one is a masquerade.”

“Perfect for being a queen in.” Meredith spun around. “Oh but the blue is lovely…and the black is so very daring…I shall have to take them all!”

The attendants didn’t argue with her. Jé Kinah was struggling not to roll her eyes or grind her teeth when her solitary attendant approached. “Would mademoiselle care to try on a gown for the Masque? I have one in rich vibrant peacock tones…”

“No,” Jé Kinah said firmly, “I do not think so.”

“Good luck getting Jé Kinah to wear a ball gown!” Meredith laughed. “That would be considered fun!”

Jé Kinah bristled inwardly and she looked away. Her eye caught sight of a moss green coat with a modestly ruffled collar, cuffs and hem which would reach down to her ankles. The attendant had grown wise to Jé Kinah’s preferences and watched to see what caught her eye.

“Zis coat would look beautiful on you,” she said warmly, “and I ‘ave gloves zat would match everything wonderfully.” Jé Kinah couldn’t resist the coat. It was gorgeous and it wrapped around her like it was concealing her, protecting her from the elements she couldn’t control.

“Shoes! Oh I’ll have that pair and that pair…two of those!”

The attendant held out a pair of gloves to Jé Kinah. Something felt odd about them when they touched her skin but she pulled one on, determined to prove Meredith wrong. However she felt pain streaking through her body and fear and cruel intent. She ripped it off and flung them aside, the attendant looking understandably stunned.

“It was in such pain,” she gasped, “when it died…such pain…”

The attendant picked the gloves up. “Lambskin gloves. I will find you something less…offensive…”

The glimmer of pleasure she had discovered was snuffed out as Jé Kinah tried to erase the memory of pain that had emanated from the gloves. She knew that animals died in order to give up their hides and meat. It was just the way of life. But there were kind ways about it…and there were unkind. The attendant, determined to regain lost ground, found another pair of gloves which had no disturbing memories attached to them. Jé Kinah put them on and sighed in relief. She walked to a mirror and looked at her reflection, critically appraising her appearance.

“You look good Jé.” She looked up and saw Evander standing behind her in the reflection.

He was dressed in thick, heavy jeans held up by a cloth belt. His feet were shod in well made dark brown boots, the ends of his jeans needing to be turned up over them they were made so long. He wore a high necked, zip up knitted jumper and over the top of it all was a beautiful dark brown leather jacket. He also wore gloves but his didn’t have fingers. It was altogether a good look on him.

He gave an embarrassed cough and rubbed the back of his neck. “I am not sure about the gloves…”

“No, they look good. You look good…”

Evander’s eyes ached with hope but Jé Kinah shied away from the intensity of his gaze, the pain still too close for her to deal with. He cleared his throat and held up the card. “I believe we need this?”

Sliding the card through an oddly shaped box seemed to mean that everything they wore and everything in the sea of bags at their feet, was theirs to take.

“Would mademoiselle care to change before she leaves?” Meredith was asked.

“Why would I change?” Meredith asked, wearing the pink, shimmering ball gown. “I want to wear this all the time!” If she saw their incredulous expressions, she didn’t flinch at them. In Meredith’s mind, she was a queen and queens wore this kind of clothing all the time. Though she hadn’t minded having everyone’s gaze on her the first time they had entered the chateau, this time she felt she deserved it. Her gown swirled around her feet, her hair was dark, curly and glossy against her bare shoulders and she was followed by a stream of bellboys carrying her many bags, Evander and Jé Kinah in her wake.

Amaury approached them as they entered and gave one of his slight bows. “Prince Evander, Countess Constance De St Croix ‘as arrived. She is waiting for you in your apartment.”

“Thank you.” Evander replied. “The other four who were with us…are they in the chateau?”

“I believe zey returned ‘alf an ‘our ago. I will ‘ave zem escorted to your apartment.”

“Why do you want those four children at your meeting with De St Croix?” Meredith asked.

“Those four children know more about this world than any of us. They also know more about us than anyone else.” Evander replied tersely. “I would like them with us in case we need help.”

Countess Constance De St Croix was an elderly woman curled up in a chair with wheels. Her grey hair was drawn back softly from her face into a loose plait over one shoulder. Her skin was still pink and her cheeks were rosy and her eyes sparkled like emeralds as Evander, Jé Kinah and Meredith entered. Evander felt a burn of embarrassment at the amount of bags that followed them but saw that the Countess only looked pleased at their expenditure. It had been several generations since the De St Croix Evander he had originally known and there was not much left that he could see of him in his great, great great…granddaughter. Her hands were folded neatly in her lap, a string of pearls around her neck and a merino blanket over her knees and covering her feet.

“Prince Evander.” She said, reaching out a clean, manicured hand towards him. Evander stepped forward, took her hand in the manner that he recognised she was doing and kissed the top gently. “My, my, my…you are even more ‘andsome zan I imagined you would be.” Her voice was cultured and even though it wavered it was pleasant to listen to. She turned her incredibly deep green eyes onto Meredith and Jé Kinah. “You must be Jé Kinah. Am I pronouncing zat correctly?” Jé Kinah stepped forward and gave a bow. “And you are, correct me if I am wrong, ze Snow Queen?” Meredith brightened and gave a deep, delighted curtsey. “My name is Constance De St Croix. My great, great grandmother was Belle De St Croix.”

Evander blinked. “Belle?”

“You knew ‘er?”

“I knew of her.” Evander confessed.

“I knew of her too.” Constance looked up as the four gap year friends entered the room. “Zese are your four friends?”

“They were instrumental in getting us here.” Evander explained. “I believe we took them away from their original plans but…”

“Welcome to you all.” Constance said warmly. “Your stay at ze chateau De St Croix is at my expense and I ‘ope you enjoy your time ‘ere.” She saw their expressions and gestured to the man who stood behind her. “Noel, translate please.” Noel stepped forward and, after a pleasant smile at Lila, began to translate for them. “Amaury said you might require translation although you understand me perfectly.” Constance remarked.

“Yes, we do.” Evander said, sitting down. “I would like to understand more and also discover what it is that you…”

“Understand?” Constance nodded. “Of course. You no doubt ‘ave many questions. I ‘ope I can answer zem. To begin with, I am descended from Dominique De St Croix’s youngest daughter, Belle and ‘er ‘usband, Sebastian, son of Sir Philip and Lady Freya and I am ze last surviving direct descendant. After me, ze genealogy will fall void. Now let me tell you about my grandfather, Lothaire De St Croix. ‘e used to tell me stories of many years before ‘e was born, stories of great battles, of mythical beasts and impossible magic. ‘e told me zat my ancestor, Dominique De St Croix, ‘ad been instrumental in stopping a war from consuming ze earth. But ‘e claimed zat ‘e was not ze ‘ero, but rather ‘e gave credit to a warrior, Prince Evander, who ‘ad gone on a journey after ze war to find someone ‘e ‘ad lost.” Constance narrated and Noel translated quietly.

“Now my father and mother felt zat my grandfather ‘ad lost ‘is mind, believing in magic and snow queens and elves, but I listened to every word ‘e said. I especially paid attention to ze last line ‘e ever said to me when telling ze tale. ‘When Prince Evander returns, ‘e must be treated as one of ze family and taken care of.’” Constance smiled, leaning over and putting her hand over Evander’s. “For many, many years your name and ze image I ‘ad of you in my mind were my romantic fantasy. I dreamed you would come bursting through ze doors of ze chateau and sweep me off my feet.” Evander smiled kindly and Constance patted his hand and drew back. “Ze idle fantasies of a girl ‘o did not realise zat true love can survive anything if given a chance. Zen ze Second World War occurred. My three brothers went off to war and never returned, leaving me as ze sole descendant. I married, of course, but in a terrible twist of fate, my only daughter succumbed to cancer twenty eight years ago, unmarried and childless and my ‘usband died five years ago.

I was left believing zat all ‘ad deserted me. And yet I clung on to ze faint, foolish hope zat my Prince Evander would come. I believed it so fully zat I ‘ad it put into ze contract when waning funds forced me to lease ze chateau to a developer. I stayed on as a token board member, still hoping you would one day arrive.” She leaned back and sighed so deep Evander was briefly worried she might die then and there. “I cannot tell you ‘ow glad I am zat you came and proved zat dreams can come true.”

Evander paused, taking in everything she said. “Then you believe that your great, great…great…grandfather…knew me?”

“I know ‘e did. ‘e passed on your tale so firmly to ‘is children zat it, in turn, passed on down through ze generations to me. Ze weight of reality almost obliterated it from existence. Yet, ‘ere we are.” The sparkle in her eyes was so childlike, so full of wonder that her daydream had become reality that it was difficult to remember that she was an elderly woman, teetering on the brink of death.

“You said there was a world war?”

“Two of zem.”

“And the second war was when the chateau changed?” Evander looked around. “It has changed a great deal…”

“Time will do zat. Time and a fire.”

“What fire?”

Constance looked sad. “It is a sad tale. After Giselle De St Croix ‘ad given birth to Belle, she contracted an infection. Easily curable in zis day and age but back zen…Dominique drank too much and it is said zat, in a drunken fervour, ‘e set ze chateau alight. Ze fire was contained but ze top floors of ze chateau where ze fire ‘ad burned through everything except ze stone, ‘ad to be rebuilt and replaced.”

“I see…” Evander looked at Jé Kinah and gave a shrug. “I don’t…”

“You said a second world war?” Meredith piped up.

“Encompassing much of ze European continent and even reached as far as Africa. When ze Japanese took advantage of ze chaos, it reached ze islands, America and Australia.”

Meredith looked at Evander and Jé Kinah. “You see. My war, which must have been the first one, was eclipsed by another. It was not so bad.”

“Your war Snow Queen?” Constance shook her head. “Ze first world war was at ze start of last century. You ‘ave been gone far longer zan zat.”

“Oh…”

“Try not to look disappointed that your war is not remembered as a world event.” Jé Kinah said bitterly at Meredith’s unhappy expression.

“Countess De St Croix,” Evander looked up from where he had been staring at his hands, “with all that you know, what do we do now? We are displaced and confused. Is there no way to send us back?”

“I fear magic is long gone from zis world, Prince Evander. Zere is nothing left of it ‘ere.” Constance said sadly. “But zere is still music and dancing and life and for zat we are grateful. Tomorrow night ze chateau hosts a masquerade ball. It is a token gesture for ze tourists ‘o flock to ze chateau but we spare no expense and you are invited. After zat, I am sure we can work something out for you and for Jé Kinah and Meredith. I vow zat I will take care of you, my prince.”

“Countess,” Noel spoke up from translating, “the safety deposit box?”

“Of course. In my ‘aste to come I forgot about it.” The Countess nodded. “I was given something to give to you. To keep it safe I put it in a safety deposit box but it is too late to retrieve it now and ze bank is not open on ze weekend. I will ‘ave it delivered to you on Monday.”

“Thank you, for everything Countess.” Evander stood and bowed deeply to her, taking her hand. “I really am very, very grateful.”

She blushed at his kiss on her hand and even gave a girly giggle. “I will die an ‘appy woman, Prince Evander. Zank you.”

Noel stepped up to the wheelchair. “Forgive my insistence on taking ze Countess back to ‘er ‘ome. She is not well enough for long outings.”

“Noel, you fuss too much,” she gave a tired sigh, “but very well. If you need anything, do not ‘esitate to inquire of Amaury. I will see you on Monday.”

“I look forward to it.” Evander gave a dashing smile and it is possible that Constance smiled like a silly school girl all the way to the car that waited for her. He turned and looked at Jé Kinah and Meredith. “There you have it. She has explained everything.”

“Not the passports or the money we had in our satchels.” Jé Kinah pointed out.

“That was before her time. The jinni did that.”

“But how did he know to do it?”

“He was a very clever jinni, even if he was a lesser one.” Meredith remarked.

Their conversation was interrupted by an argument amongst the four friends. Lila was speaking strongly to Penny and Chaz while Mak seemed to be on her side.

“What are they saying?” Evander asked Jé Kinah quietly, their words going too fast for him to understand.

“Lila does not believe anything she just heard.” Jé Kinah explained. “She thinks that this is all a…scam? That the old woman is crazy and…” Lila glared at her, turned and stormed out of the room. Penny leapt up and followed her out, calling her name and Mak chased out after Penny.

“Lila! Come back!”

“Penny Kirk…”

“She’s scared Mak.” Penny said as they spoke in the corridor outside Prince Evander’s chambers. “All that talk in there scared Lila. She doesn’t think any of its real. You have to help me convince her.”

“Why? Why should I? For all we know, she’s right.” Mak felt the hurt in Penny’s eyes but he wouldn’t let himself be swayed. “Look, we did the decent thing. We got them here. Their story is their own and what happens to them is not our responsibility.”

“That answers nothing!” Penny exclaimed. “You’re just dancing around the real issue here Mak.”

“And what is the real issue Penny Kirk?”

“Do you believe them?”

“What? That they’re from over two hundred years in the past? That he’s a prince and that they believe in magic? You saw Noel’s face as he translated. Even he thinks the old lady has lost the plot.”

“I didn’t ask if he believed them or if Chaz or Lila did. I asked if you believe them.”

Mak stopped and swallowed. “No, I don’t. I don’t believe their story is real. It can’t be.”

“Why not?”

“Wh…” He ran his hands through his hand and gave a short laugh. “Penny Kirk, it isn’t real. None of it. There’s no magic, no elves, no snow queens, no beauty and the beasts or red riding hoods. None of it really exists. How can you believe in the impossible?”

“Because I believe that it is possible.” Penny said simply. “Because if I am not prepared for something to be possible, even though logic dictates that it is impossible, I might miss out on something beautiful and special and amazing.” She grabbed his hand. “Mak, you could be missing out on something absolutely amazing here but you’re too caught up on the impossibles to realise that they could be the possibles.”

Mak’s mouth became a firm line and he removed his hand from hers. “No. You just don’t realise that no matter how much you might want something to happen, it can never be. Belief isn’t the only thing that makes things possible or else there would be elves and dragons and dwarves and all manner of creatures all over this earth. There are some things that are never meant to be. And we are fools to believe otherwise.”

Penny’s face cracked, hurt streaking across her sweet, open features. She swallowed, turned and ran from him. Mak watched her go, knowing he had done something he swore he would never do. He had just broken the heart of the girl he’d been in love with for three years. All the joy and life and hope that he adored in her face that made him stammer out her name in full, he had stamped on and called foolish.

Mak closed his eyes and swore quietly, feeling his own heart twist in his chest.

“There’s no point in believing in the impossible.” He whispered. “It just isn’t meant to be.”