Silence in the Library

Posted on Fri Dec 16th, 2022 @ 11:58 by Claire Cavendish & William McAvoy

Chapter: Days of Future Past
Location: Library
Timeline: Summer of 1989
2200 words - 4.4 OF Standard Post Measure

Claire quietly sat on one of the long wooden tables with an old tome in her hand. It was one of the older prints in what would become the institute's collection of academic works. She was trying to figure out exactly how to get the knight in shining armour from her basement up to speed with current affairs and had found a history book from the early 18th century that she hoped could bridge some of the gap between the start and end of his slumber. She'd hoped for a less awkward and more smooth transition than when the cranes and powerdrills had started showing up on the premises and she'd had to jump in to stop him from charging the besiegers. Which obviously he had screamed at the top of his lungs as he lunged at them in his full plate suit of armour.

The grief that William was feeling was evident along with the confusion that this new world brought. Everything seemed to be at a grasp of his fingers without even a hint of hard work, the man felt a burden on the woman who was unfortunate enough to venture on him. He hated being a burden to anyone let along the woman who was trying to look after him. “I believe your workmen are gone for the evening.” William said stepping into the library determined to just stay there a moment before returning to the room he had been given to brood more.

"Thank you." The keep was huge and empty and William seemingly checked in on her every so often to make sure she was still safe. She appreciated the company and the care. "Would you join me for some tea, perhaps?" She looked up from her book and gave him a smile. It seemed like a safe ask for her, one that hopefully couldn't be misconstrued for something else, something more.

He paused mid thought to consider the option of what tea was again before he nodded stepping further into the room. “The warm drink from the dark leaves is an acceptable drink.” He decided it was not a bad drink seeing things had changed and beer was not as easily brewed in one’s home and water was a more reliable choice for substance.

"Let's boil the kettle." Claire closed the book in front of her and slid it aside. She led the man down the corridor to the kitchen area. She kicked against the small hatch under the stove, which with a creak opened up and showed a pile of ash with just a handful of small ambers smoldering. "Ehm..." she looked around to try and find the bag of coals but could only spot a crumpled up brown paper bag that had contained the fuel. "Do you know if there's another bag of these?"

“Fire coal no but there are logs outside.” William stated already heading towards the back door where the wood was kept. He knew how to light a fire better than the woman did so it made sense that he retrieved. He came back moments later with a pile of small fire logs that would keep things warm for a while.

"I hope they'll install the oil boiler soon." Claire muttered under her breath as William made his way out the kitchen's supply door. She also knew that they couldn't really be using the kitchen until they finished the installation of the system that would allow for them to connect the gas cannisters.

He ripped up the bag from the fire coals and put them in the fire with the logs that he had brought in. It was an easy familiar exercise that he knew well. You were no one feabless, commoner or lord if you could not light a fire to keep warm or keep wild animals away. “Should be thriving soon.” He assured closing the grate on the start of a fire.

Living in a distant Scottish loch came with disadvantages, and not being connected to the national grid was definitely a big one. It came with advantages being completely independent in a way but the logistics were going to be messy. Claire poured bottled water into the kettle and put it atop the stove. Even though it wasn't on full heat it was probably going to help more quickly boil the kettle. "How are you settling in?"

Well that was a question William had been expecting but had not expected it right then and there. It had been dodged around for weeks. He slumped back in the chair and shrugged. “Not exactly something you settle into but I believe I will get there eventually.” He had heard stories and myths of the stand stones but he had never believed in being able to travel through time but here he was living every damn second of the painful grief filled moment. “I will not always be a burden.”

"You are not a burden, Sir William." Even over the past few weeks she had stuck to calling him by his title. Though she wondered if it was a comforting blanket that reminded him of home or just a thorn that kept getting pushed into him, reminding him of all he'd lost. "You can be with the institute for as long as you want." She looked at the kettle starting to softly prattle. "And I can see if I can find some information on trying to get you back where you came from."

William appreciated the notion but he had no skills to offer other than warrior ship and that was not likely a skill that was needed with so much techno magic around the keep. “I believe time has moved on for me in the past. This will be my home going forward. Your library has given me some insight into the events after my disappearance.” He said resolved to this fate.

That was of course an issue that Claire hadn't considered. Couldn't really send someone with his knowledge back into the dark ages, the damage to the timeline would be impossible to predict. "If you have any questions about some of the happenings, once we get started we'll have a history teacher among the faculty, perhaps they would be able to answer some questions for you." She wanted to say there was lots that someone like him could help with around the keep but it seemed like he wasn't really ready for that sort of looking forward at the moment. "I've also taken some time to delve into it, so perhaps if there's specific topics you're wondering about I could help."

“There are many topics about the fu… your history that I have need to discuss but tell me about this keep and what happened after I disappeared.” He had many questions but it was hard to pin them down into one statement. The books here were full of so much information that it was difficult to work out where to start so he thought of home. “My wife and children stayed here and she remarried despite knowing I was being healed.” It was not bitterness he felt over someone else getting his wife and children but it was something strong and he distrusted it’s guidance of his emotions.

Claire shook her head a bit. "There's not a whole lot of personal history about the inhabitants of the keep. There's a record of who's the owner when. After you were declared dead the ownership had to go over to another man, women weren't allowed land ownership. I would assume your wife did what she had to do to assure your children could grow up in their home and honour your legacy." It had been one of the first topics she had delved into and even after several weeks there was precious little information that came up. It only picked back up properly a century and a half later, when it was handed over to another lord, unrelated to William. "Do you remember any additional information on how you came to be injured? Or who might've helped with the healing shrine?"

“I remember a rival clan attacked who were scared of faeblessed folk and then blackness. I do not remember even suiting up or anything but I know I thought to save my people.” He shook his head. His wife had not been faeblessed so it could not have possibly been her and he did not think she knew anyone who could have but she must have to do this. “We had many healers but no one powerful enough to weave this kind of magic.” There was no other way to describe it. His land had always been strong in fae magic but nothing as powerful to keep him alive so long.

"Well there was at least one." Claire gave a bit of a feint smirk at that, the fact was that he was sitting right in front of her and unless this was some very elaborate scheme there was a very powerful mage that had put William in stasis since the 1400s. She had sent one of the artefacts to a friend to have verified, the results of the carbon dating would come in any day now to make sure it wasn't a scheme. "You didn't meet this rival clan on the battlefield? Or did you sustain injuries in a fight with them?" They had also not found signs of injuries, though she hadn't really taken the step of getting him to a proper hospital. She was sure the big city and x-ray machines might actually freak him out again.

“No surprise attack here.” He closed his eyes tightly trying to hold onto the memory that the conversation was shifting out of the haze. “It had been dead of night with no warning. They had never been hostile before. I do not have the answers my lady. I wish I did but I have scars but no idea of how they came about.” It was frustrating but his eyes opened as the kettle started to bubble.

Claire moved to take the kettle off the stove the moment it started to whistle and grabbed the teabags to let it steep. "I'm sure we can find out more, given enough time. Let's not give up just yet." As the tea was brewing she grabbed two mugs to pour the tea in. "Would you like a biscuit with your tea?"

“Well I guess all we have is time.” He decided shaking his head at the offer of a biscuit. All the sweetness this time offered was not at all to his liking yet. He was still trying to adjust to the difference in food and drink let alone anything else. “No thank you.”

Claire grabbed one biscuit and put it between her teeth before picking up both mugs and offering one to the knight out of shining armour. She felt the solid wheat starting to get mushy in her mouth and realised she probably made a mistake wanting to take everything with her in one go. William was just in time grabbing the mug from her hand and it allowed her to pulled the biscuit from her lips before it would fall to the ground. No sense letting a perfectly good biscuit go to waste. She took a moment to chew the bite that had broken off in her mouth and sat down at the nearest table. "Speaking of time, It'll only be a few short weeks before we open our doors. I was wondering if you would be willing to help out around the grounds to get and keep things in order."

William paused at her request, slightly unsure that he was being given a purpose and more help. He did not deserve her assistance yet she kept offering it. The grounds were familiar enough that it would not be hard work.

“I would appreciate that and accept. But I request that my tomb is covered somehow to stop younglings looking into it.” He did not want anyone investigating when he had not investigated himself.

"Of course, let's make that our first priority. Put some sort of proper door in it with a good lock. The catacombs will be off limits to our... younglings as you put it, anyway." Claire carefully sipped her tea and smiled. It would be good to have someone familiar with the keep to make sure nobody would be able to get lost in some hidden passage or something. "There's some extensive plans for the catacombs, I'm sure I could use your help there as well." Most of it would be pretty high tech, but a lot of the stuff first required them to put in walls and lighting and all that stuff that she was sure William could help her with.

The man simply raised a mug in salute to her direction. Time was changing and he needed to move with it or he was going to cease to thrive and that would be a waste of whatever had healed him. “I am at your service my lady.” He said simply. It was an oath and one that he intended to keep.