The doorbell rings earlier in the morning than is healthy for the ringer. Ydoc and Enelia stir. It rings again. They groan and open their eyes. It rings a third time.
"What time is it?" Enelia asks.
Ydoc rolls over to look at the clock. "Seven."
The doorbell rings.
"Who visits people at seven o'clock in the morning?"
"I'll get it." Ydoc gets out of bed, yawns and stretches and goes into the living room. He looks through the peephole.
Enelia calls out from the bedroom, "Who is it?"
"I have no idea."
"Tell them to go away."
Ydoc opens the door just wide enough to talk to Qiro and Hoscunamun.
He yawns. "What can I do for you?"
"We are looking for Ydoc and Enelia Smith," says Qiro.
"And you are?"
"I'm Qiro and this is my wife Hoscunamun. We have an urgent message for you."
"It couldn't wait a couple hours?"
Qiro shakes his head. "We almost couldn't wait this long."
"Alright, come in."
They come in. Ydoc invites them to sit.
"Is Enelia awake? We need to talk to her too," asks Hoscunamun.
"Just a sec." Ydoc goes to the bedroom. "They say they have something urgent to tell us."
Enelia rolls over. "The one day I get to sleep in." She sighs. "I'll be out in a minute."
Ydoc goes back out to the living room to Qiro and Hoscunamun.
"She'll be out in a minute. Can I get you anything?"
"No thank you," says Qiro.
Ydoc goes to the kitchen and gets a drink of water. Enelia comes out of the bedroom. Ydoc brings her an glass.
"Thank you. So, what brings you two to our door this morning?" she asks.
"Your dreams last night-" says Qiro
"What do you know about our dreams?" asks Enelia.
"They weren't dreams. They were information."
"Uh-huh. What are you selling?"
You dreamt about Orean, and the people there. You about the Elves and Ydoc about the Gnomes. I even added some information about King John and the Dwarves.
Ydoc raises an eyebrow. "You added?"
"I sent the information. Orean is another world, and you two are from that world."
"Enelia is the Elf Princess and Ydoc is the Gnome Prince," says Hoscunamun.
Ydoc and Enelia look at each other and laugh.
"Yeah, It's been entertaining, but if you don't mind we would like to get on with our morning," says Enelia.
Hoscunamun places her hand on the wall. It shimmers and a hole opens into a cavern where a couple of Dwarf women wait for them. Ydoc and Enelia back away.
"We don't have time to convince you. People are literally dying to meet you," says Hoscunamun.
Qiro shakes his head. "She's blunt, but she's right. Those dreams are real. They happened in a real world and you are part of it."
"The Gnomes are consumed with civil war. The only thing holding them together is the person who caused it."
"The once proud Elves are a broken people, afraid to even talk to each other."
"They need you."
"Then why are we here and not there?" asks Ydoc.
"Because this is a safe place. You needed to grow up," says Qiro.
"We didn't expect you to marry each other. But, whatever. Shall we go?" says Hoscunamun.
Enelia scoffs at her. "No. How do we know you're not a couple of psychopaths with a neat camera trick?
At this point one of the Dwarves enters their home from the hole. "Take a good look at me."
Enelia gasps. "Mother?"
"I am not your mother, but I took care of you when you were young. We need to go. Kari says Jarthan's men are close."
"We're not going anywhere," says Enelia.
"Yes, you are." Hoscunamun's eyes glow red. The cavern walls melt and flow into Ydoc and Enelia's home, covering their walls and front door, then solidifies into solid rock. "I assume you would rather not travel in your pajamas, so I will allow you the time to pack."
"That wasn't really necessary, Hoscunamun," says Qiro.
"It was that or arguing all day."
Ydoc and Enelia go into the bedroom.
"What do we do?" she asks.
"Do we have any choice?"
"I am not going with those people." She picks up her cell phone and dials 911. "No signal." She tosses it aside.
Ydoc pulls out a suitcase and starts packing.
"What are you doing?"
"I don't want to travel in my pajamas. Do you think she'll let us shower first? I doubt they have plumbing on Orean."
Enelia breaks down in tears. "How can you be so calm about it?"
"I'm not, but at least we're going together."
Enelia sighs. "Ask her if we can shower first. I think you're right about the plumbing."
Elizabeth Williamson Copyright © 2010
2 comments:
i adapted this from one of my scripts so there's a fat lot of dialogue. i hope it makes sense.
I think she would have been convinced after Hoscunamun turns her house into stone. Some people are just so hard to convince.
I esp. like the line about them not wanting to travel in their pj's. Funny given the circumstances being so serious.
A fun read. When do we get to see the book in print?
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