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Chapter 1
Casper walked home from school feeling miserable. He was 12, and he knew he shouldn’t be so miserable. After all, it was just a speech. But he was. He had never liked public talks, even when he wasn’t doing them. They made him feel very nervous.
‘Hey Casper!’ yelled a voice behind him, ‘scared of a simple speech about Mars?’ It was Tommy, or Tommy Terror (as everybody called him behind his back), the school bully.
‘Hey, Tommy,’ Casper said, while groaning under his breath, ‘and no, I’m not scared.’ Casper knew that everybody knew he was afraid of speeches. One time, he was doing a presentation about bugs, and in the middle of it, had gotten so panicked that he leapt out of the window. He turned around, and groaned again as Tommy was joined by Nick, his sidekick.
‘That’s pathetic you know,’ Tommy said, ‘being afraid of speeches.’
He looked like he was about to say more, but Nick jumped in, and said, ‘Yeah! What he said.’
‘Shut up, Nick,’ Tommy growled, staring at Nick so hard he was boring holes into him. Nick shut his mouth.
‘Let’s see what’s in the bag, shall we?’ Casper didn’t want to show his bag’s contents to Tommy, but he had no choice. He handed over the bag. Hopefully, he wouldn’t see the secret pocket where he kept all his snacks and money. Tommy tipped the bag over, and shook it, spilling the contents. All Casper’s books, and school stuff. Thankfully, the ten dollar note stayed put, and the Mars bar. Tommy looked disappointed, then started feeling around the bag.
Just as Casper was thinking he wouldn’t find the catch, Tommy said, ‘What’s this?’ with a triumphant shout, he pulled out the Mars bar and the ten dollar note!
‘Give those back,’ Casper said.
He didn’t realize he had said it, until it was too late.
‘What did you say?’ Tommy asked, with an edge to his voice. Casper, realizing he couldn’t turn back what was muttered, ‘I said, give those back.’
‘You know, Casper,’ said Tommy, ‘I’ve got a better idea. How bout I put you in the bin where you belong, and keep these. THAT, is a MUCH better idea.’
Before Casper could run, Tommy grabbed Casper by the armpits, dragged him to the nearest bin, threw him in, and walked off, calling, ‘So long, sucker! Thanks for the Mars bar. No, Nick, you can’t have half.’ Casper didn’t answer, partly because there was no point, and partly because he realized, this bin was not a bin. It was much more than that. It was a time machine.
Chapter 2
The bin was bigger in the inside than out. As he looked, he saw the red words “Time Twister 3000”. He couldn’t believe this was a time machine! Was he hallucinating? He pinched himself, and found he wasn’t, because it hurt. He decided to have a look around.
There were lots of buttons, switches, panels, and for some reason, a power-board. In the centre of all of them, there was one huge button, and one big switch. The button said “Time Travel, and the switch said “Nuclear Level”. The nuclear level was currently at 0.
Casper realized he really wanted to time-travel. It would be great to stop Tommy from coming to his school. Also, he had always wanted to go to the Middle Ages. Casper decided to have a go at it.
‘OK,’ he said, ‘in three, two, one, zero.’ Casper hit the button as hard as he could. Nothing happened.
Suddenly, everything lit up in a very bright pink.
‘Time destination?’ asked a droning female voice.
‘The medieval period in Europe,’ Casper said, hoping, but also not hoping that it would work.
‘Turn nuclear level to three, start the turbo drive, and press time twist button,’ the female voice said. The buttons and switches each lit up blue in turn. Casper did as the voice said, and the bin blasted up into the air.
Suddenly, Casper felt himself zoom into something. A window opened up, and he saw a whirling storm of colours. The time twister bolstered forward, straight for the heart of the tornado of colours. As it passed through, Casper saw a bright flash of blinding light, and knew no more.
Chapter 3
Casper awoke on the ground, with a bin lying next to him. The bin slowly faded away. What had just happened? Then he remembered everything, got up, and stared around in shock.
‘Where am I?’ Casper muttered, as he looked through the forest, ‘is this the Middle Ages, or is this just some kind of mean trick?’ He walked through the forest… and came face to face with a bear.
Casper cried out, stumbling back in shock. He felt its breath on his cheeks, and knew that THIS. WAS. REAL. The bear was huge! It was a dark brown colour, and had shaggy brown fur. As he looked up at the bear, he noticed a boy and a girl were sitting on the bear.
The boy was tall, with green eyes, and a blonde fringe. He was also wearing a page’s uniform. His sister was similar, but was wearing a dress instead of a page’s uniform, and had blue eyes.
‘What are you doing in Lord Ambergur’s forest?’ he said, in a loud British accent, ‘you’ll be imprisoned for trespass.’
‘Lord Hamburger?’ Casper asked, amused.
‘No!’ said the boisterous boy, ‘his name is pronounced like this. Am, Bur, Gur. You get that?’
‘But that sounds a lot like hamburger to me,’ Casper said.
‘It does,’ the boy agreed, ‘but what is this hamburger thing? Is it some kind of exotic creature?’
‘It’s,’ Casper said, before realizing that he couldn’t explain it to him without telling him that he was from the future. He decided to tell the two siblings.
‘The hamburger isn’t a creature, it’s a food and I’m from the future,’ he said. The boy stared at him for a second, then started to speak.
‘Whether you’re from the future or not, you’re not gonna live without my help. So I’m Brandon and my sister here,’ he pointed at the girl, who smiled shyly, ‘is Narcisa.’ Casper smiled awkwardly.
‘My name’s Casper,’ he said. Then, he realized they were looking at him expectantly.
‘What?’ Casper asked.
‘Well, what are you waiting for,’ Brandon said impatiently, ‘get on Zadie!’ Casper looked around for a second, before realizing that the bear was Zadie. He clambered on with some difficulty, and flopped down between Narcisa and Brandon. Then, they set off.
Chapter 4
It was comfortable, riding on a bear. The movement was very rocking, and Casper was just feeling like there was nothing on his mind, when a question popped in his head.
‘Why are you riding a bear, not a horse?’ he asked.
‘We have come to check on her, because she’s our pet’ Narcisa said, patting Zadie’s back.
‘Like a dancing bear?’ Casper asked.
‘NO!!!!’ both Narcisa and Brandon yelled at the same time, startling Casper so much that he nearly fell off Zadie, ‘our mum stopped dad from killing her, and tamed her as a cub. We have to take her on regular walks.’
‘Oh,’ said Casper.
Soon, they came across an actual road and there, Zadie stopped, and stayed. There were two horses waiting patiently behind a crop of trees.
‘So Zadie isn’t coming?’ Casper asked, looking back at the bear.
‘She’d be killed if she came,’ Brandon said, ‘bears are supposed to be raving, fierce, bloodthirsty things. You can ride on my horse.’
Brandon and Narcisa both mounted easily, using the stirrups to pull themselves up.
‘Now it’s your turn,’ Brandon, ‘just use the stirrup to pull yourself up, and sit on the back of the saddle.’ Casper tried without success to get on the horse. It was just too tall, and he was on the short side. In the end, Brandon pulled him up by the hand. Then, they rode off, leaving Zadie in the forest.
As they went through the road, they passed some houses along the way.
‘Hey, Dax,’ Brandon called out, looking at a man who was pounding a sword into shape, ‘how’s the business going?’
‘Great,’ Dax replied, ‘and who have you got there, clinging onto your back?’
‘This is Casper,’ Brandon said, ‘we found him in the forest. I’m going to see if he can stay in the castle.’
‘Good luck then!’ Then they rode on, towards a castle looming up ahead.
Chapter 5
The castle came closer and closer as they rode towards it. Casper saw that it was bigger than he thought it was. It seemed like the walls stretched on forever. They came to a moat, and Brandon yelled up at a figure on the wall, who in turn yelled down to someone on the other side of the wall. Soon a drawbridge came down, and they rode across to a pair of opening doors. Then they rode into the castle.
It looked magnificent. The keep was in the centre, surrounded by another wall. Around the walls sat houses, which were probably the servant’s quarters. Casper could see dog kennels, and stables, and people milling about the area.
They rode to the stables, and Brandon and Narcisa both leapt off gracefully. Casper tried to get off the same way they had, but his foot got stuck in the stirrup, and he tumbled off, landing in a heap on the ground. The siblings laughed as Casper got up blushing bright red, and unharnessed the horses. Then they walked through a gate to the keep.
When they got to the keep, they climbed up the stairs to the entrance of the keep. Brandon had a talk with the man guarding the door, and they got in. There was a small room, and another door.
‘Can you get my father?’ Brandon asked another man near the door. He nodded, and walked through it. After about 10 minutes, he returned with a tall intimidating man, with Narcisa’s eyes, and Brandon’s hair.
‘What do you want? I’m busy,’ he said, but there was a twinkle in his eyes. Then he noticed Casper.
‘Who’s that?’ he asked, with a sharp edge to his voice.
‘This is Casper,’ Brandon said, accidentally gesturing to the space next to Casper, ‘Narcisa and I found him in the forest when we were walking You-Know-Who. Can he stay with us? Be my personal servant or bodyguard? Since you’re the Lord of this area, I’m sure you can make an exception.’ Casper’s mouth dropped open as he realized that Brandon’s father was Lord Amburger! Brandon’s father gave a deep sigh.
‘Fine,’ he said, ‘he’ll be your personal bodyguard. But if he causes any trouble, then he’s out of here. Do you understand?’
The kids all gave woops, and ran out.
‘You’re staying!’ Narcisa said, and they raced through the courtyard.
Chapter 6
Casper watched as the sun set over the forest. It was beautiful. The trees were lit, as if they were made of gold.
‘Nice, isn’t it,’ Narcisa, ‘Brandon sometimes comes to watch it with me, but ever since he became a squire, he can’t get away very often.’
They had run around for a while, playing tag, until Narcisa had to go off for lessons, and Brandon had to go off for his Squire duties. Then, Casper went to look at the dogs. He had always been a dog person. The keeper let him exercise them, and he ran around the castle, until he and the dogs were all worn out. Then, he took them back to the kennels. After that, Narcisa came up to him, and asked him to come and see something. And this was where they were.
‘It’s stunning,’ Casper agreed. A bird flew at his head, screeching like a banshee, and he dove to the ground.
‘Don’t worry,’ Narcisa giggled, ‘It’s just a screech owl.’
‘Let’s go back now,’ Casper said, getting up. They walked back to the castle.
Casper lay on a pallet (a mattress stuffed with straw) next to Brandon’s bed. It was comfy, but not what he’d expected. The smell was slightly stale. He would have liked to sleep outside, near the dogs, but as a body-guard, he had to stay near Brandon. He rolled over, and watched the stars out of the window. They seemed to be winking at him. Soon, his eyes fluttered, and he fell into a deep sleep.
Chapter 7
The next day, Casper awoke, and realized that Brandon was shaking him.
‘Wake up,’ he said, ‘we’re going on a hunt.’
‘Whaa?’ asked Casper, sitting up and yawning.
‘I’m finally old enough to go on a hunt, but I can’t go unless you come with me. You’re my body-guard you know.’ Casper got up, and went after Brandon, who was racing down the stairs they had gone up the night before.
Soon, the two boys were ready. Brandon had given Casper one of his daggers, and they mounted a horse. This time, Casper was able to get onto the horse without any help. After that, they waited for a while, while the others got loaded with quivers, and prepared the dogs. Soon, they were off. The boys rode next to Brandon’s father.
‘Is your father Lord Amburger?’ Casper asked Brandon as they rode into the forest.
‘Yeah,’ said Brandon, looking uncomfortable.
‘That means you’re an important person, doesn’t it?’ Casper asked.
‘Yeah,’ Brandon said, looking more uncomfortable,’ It means I’ll inherit the land my father owns when he dies. But anyway, who are your parents?’
‘My father is a minister, but my mother died when I was 3,’ Casper said quietly.
‘That’s horrible,’ Brandon said, ‘sorry for asking.’
‘It’s fine,’ Casper said, ‘I barely remember her anyway.’ But in truth, there was a void inside him that could never be filled.
Soon, a hunter saw a stag, and the horses increased their pace from a trot, to a canter. The dogs were let loose, and the hunt began. The dogs bayed as they ran after the stag, which had also increased its pace. The hunters chased the stag, and shot some arrows at it, until they came to a clearing. They then surrounded it.
The stag snorted, and scraped its foot against the ground. Suddenly, the dogs ran forward and tackled the stag! It bucked and reared, but the hounds were too many, and the stag was already wounded. Soon, it was overcome. A man ran forward, and stabbed it in the neck. The stag kicked once, and then lay still. The men cheered, and blew their horns in victory. Soon, the stag was slung over the back of a horse, and they went back, tired, hungry, and victorious.
Chapter 8
After the hunt, the boys went and told Narcisa all that had happened. Then, they went to the feast. They had boars head (which tasted like pork), salmon, bear (which had a taste Casper couldn’t place), and finally, cakes with honey (which tasted like cakes with honey). Minstrels played music, and traders talked with Lord Amburger.
Eventually, the people started leaving, and Casper got up with Narcisa. Brandon had got stuck in a chat with a trader about life in the castle, so he said he would come to their room later. The two kids walked up the stairs, and waited there for Brandon. After a while, he came and said, ‘Father told me that Lord Dickson declared war on him, because he wouldn’t give him a piece of land. We need to prepare for battle. Now, I need to stick close to Casper.’
‘What does the war mean?’ Casper asked, looking worried.
‘It means the people in father’s area will come for shelter in the keep, and that the men will get ready to fight,’ said Narcisa, ‘but we don’t have to worry. Dickson won’t break through the walls. The children sat worrying, until, one by one, they fell asleep.
A week passed by, as the men got ready for war, and collected food, and the women and children came to the castle. Then, the war began. The castle was put under siege, and the men got into position. Casper watched as the soldiers dumped buckets of super-heated water on the attackers. The fighting continued through the night. Casper lay awake for a while, then fell into a troubled sleep.
Suddenly, he was woken up. At first, he thought it was the sound of the war. Then he realized that there was a struggle near his pallet. He turned his head, and saw a man wrestling with Brandon. The man got the upper hand, and knocked Brandon out. Then, he stuffed him into a sack, and hurried down the steps. Casper waited a beat, then followed after him.
Chapter 9
Casper followed the man as he hurried out the door of the keep. He was sure that he had seen the man before. Then, he realized it was the trader talking to Brandon the day before the war preparations. The trader walked casually to the wall, then crept through a door in the wall. Casper followed. When they came out the other side, Casper saw that the door looked exactly like the wall around it. The trader was walking quickly away, so he ran after him.
When the man got to the edge of the forest, there was a party of men waiting. They all gave silent cheers. Casper ducked down before the men could see him, crawled through the grass and looked up. The trader was exchanging Brandon for a bag. By the noise it made, Casper guessed that it was money, and lots of it. Suddenly, Casper had an idea. Then, he ran into the forest.
He walked through the grass and leaves, and found the place where he had seen Zadie last.
‘Zadie,’ he called softly. There was no reply.
‘Zadie? Zadie!’ Casper called again. Soon he grew desperate, and started speaking louder.
‘Zadie! Zadie!’ Finally, when Casper thought there was no hope left, a huge shape lumbered out of the trees. It was Zadie!
‘Come on girl,’ said Casper, ‘Brandon’s in trouble, and we need to go quickly!’ At the sound of Brandon’s name, Zadie followed Casper. When they reached the spot where Brandon was, and Zadie saw Brandon tied up and gagged, she roared so loud it shock the trees, and charged.
As the men looked up, Zadie reached the first one, and swatted him off. She slammed into the next, and shook the one after him. Casper ran and untied Brandon.
‘What’s happening?’ he asked, looking scared.
‘You’ve been kidnapped,’ Casper said, ‘but you’re safe now. Go back to the castle. There’s a secret entrance in the wall.’ Suddenly, Casper felt himself fading away. He knew then that his job here was done. That he had been brought here for a purpose, and now it was complete. And he returned to his own time.
Casper walked home from school feeling miserable. He was 12, and he knew he shouldn’t be so miserable. After all, it was just a speech. But he was. He had never liked public talks, even when he wasn’t doing them. They made him feel very nervous.
‘Hey Casper!’ yelled a voice behind him, ‘scared of a simple speech about Mars?’ It was Tommy, or Tommy Terror (as everybody called him behind his back), the school bully.
‘Hey, Tommy,’ Casper said, while groaning under his breath, ‘and no, I’m not scared.’ Casper knew that everybody knew he was afraid of speeches. One time, he was doing a presentation about bugs, and in the middle of it, had gotten so panicked that he leapt out of the window. He turned around, and groaned again as Tommy was joined by Nick, his sidekick.
‘That’s pathetic you know,’ Tommy said, ‘being afraid of speeches.’
He looked like he was about to say more, but Nick jumped in, and said, ‘Yeah! What he said.’
‘Shut up, Nick,’ Tommy growled, staring at Nick so hard he was boring holes into him. Nick shut his mouth.
‘Let’s see what’s in the bag, shall we?’ Casper didn’t want to show his bag’s contents to Tommy, but he had no choice. He handed over the bag. Hopefully, he wouldn’t see the secret pocket where he kept all his snacks and money. Tommy tipped the bag over, and shook it, spilling the contents. All Casper’s books, and school stuff. Thankfully, the ten dollar note stayed put, and the Mars bar. Tommy looked disappointed, then started feeling around the bag.
Just as Casper was thinking he wouldn’t find the catch, Tommy said, ‘What’s this?’ with a triumphant shout, he pulled out the Mars bar and the ten dollar note!
‘Give those back,’ Casper said.
He didn’t realize he had said it, until it was too late.
‘What did you say?’ Tommy asked, with an edge to his voice. Casper, realizing he couldn’t turn back what was muttered, ‘I said, give those back.’
‘You know, Casper,’ said Tommy, ‘I’ve got a better idea. How bout I put you in the bin where you belong, and keep these. THAT, is a MUCH better idea.’
Before Casper could run, Tommy grabbed Casper by the armpits, dragged him to the nearest bin, threw him in, and walked off, calling, ‘So long, sucker! Thanks for the Mars bar. No, Nick, you can’t have half.’ Casper didn’t answer, partly because there was no point, and partly because he realized, this bin was not a bin. It was much more than that. It was a time machine.
Chapter 2
The bin was bigger in the inside than out. As he looked, he saw the red words “Time Twister 3000”. He couldn’t believe this was a time machine! Was he hallucinating? He pinched himself, and found he wasn’t, because it hurt. He decided to have a look around.
There were lots of buttons, switches, panels, and for some reason, a power-board. In the centre of all of them, there was one huge button, and one big switch. The button said “Time Travel, and the switch said “Nuclear Level”. The nuclear level was currently at 0.
Casper realized he really wanted to time-travel. It would be great to stop Tommy from coming to his school. Also, he had always wanted to go to the Middle Ages. Casper decided to have a go at it.
‘OK,’ he said, ‘in three, two, one, zero.’ Casper hit the button as hard as he could. Nothing happened.
Suddenly, everything lit up in a very bright pink.
‘Time destination?’ asked a droning female voice.
‘The medieval period in Europe,’ Casper said, hoping, but also not hoping that it would work.
‘Turn nuclear level to three, start the turbo drive, and press time twist button,’ the female voice said. The buttons and switches each lit up blue in turn. Casper did as the voice said, and the bin blasted up into the air.
Suddenly, Casper felt himself zoom into something. A window opened up, and he saw a whirling storm of colours. The time twister bolstered forward, straight for the heart of the tornado of colours. As it passed through, Casper saw a bright flash of blinding light, and knew no more.
Chapter 3
Casper awoke on the ground, with a bin lying next to him. The bin slowly faded away. What had just happened? Then he remembered everything, got up, and stared around in shock.
‘Where am I?’ Casper muttered, as he looked through the forest, ‘is this the Middle Ages, or is this just some kind of mean trick?’ He walked through the forest… and came face to face with a bear.
Casper cried out, stumbling back in shock. He felt its breath on his cheeks, and knew that THIS. WAS. REAL. The bear was huge! It was a dark brown colour, and had shaggy brown fur. As he looked up at the bear, he noticed a boy and a girl were sitting on the bear.
The boy was tall, with green eyes, and a blonde fringe. He was also wearing a page’s uniform. His sister was similar, but was wearing a dress instead of a page’s uniform, and had blue eyes.
‘What are you doing in Lord Ambergur’s forest?’ he said, in a loud British accent, ‘you’ll be imprisoned for trespass.’
‘Lord Hamburger?’ Casper asked, amused.
‘No!’ said the boisterous boy, ‘his name is pronounced like this. Am, Bur, Gur. You get that?’
‘But that sounds a lot like hamburger to me,’ Casper said.
‘It does,’ the boy agreed, ‘but what is this hamburger thing? Is it some kind of exotic creature?’
‘It’s,’ Casper said, before realizing that he couldn’t explain it to him without telling him that he was from the future. He decided to tell the two siblings.
‘The hamburger isn’t a creature, it’s a food and I’m from the future,’ he said. The boy stared at him for a second, then started to speak.
‘Whether you’re from the future or not, you’re not gonna live without my help. So I’m Brandon and my sister here,’ he pointed at the girl, who smiled shyly, ‘is Narcisa.’ Casper smiled awkwardly.
‘My name’s Casper,’ he said. Then, he realized they were looking at him expectantly.
‘What?’ Casper asked.
‘Well, what are you waiting for,’ Brandon said impatiently, ‘get on Zadie!’ Casper looked around for a second, before realizing that the bear was Zadie. He clambered on with some difficulty, and flopped down between Narcisa and Brandon. Then, they set off.
Chapter 4
It was comfortable, riding on a bear. The movement was very rocking, and Casper was just feeling like there was nothing on his mind, when a question popped in his head.
‘Why are you riding a bear, not a horse?’ he asked.
‘We have come to check on her, because she’s our pet’ Narcisa said, patting Zadie’s back.
‘Like a dancing bear?’ Casper asked.
‘NO!!!!’ both Narcisa and Brandon yelled at the same time, startling Casper so much that he nearly fell off Zadie, ‘our mum stopped dad from killing her, and tamed her as a cub. We have to take her on regular walks.’
‘Oh,’ said Casper.
Soon, they came across an actual road and there, Zadie stopped, and stayed. There were two horses waiting patiently behind a crop of trees.
‘So Zadie isn’t coming?’ Casper asked, looking back at the bear.
‘She’d be killed if she came,’ Brandon said, ‘bears are supposed to be raving, fierce, bloodthirsty things. You can ride on my horse.’
Brandon and Narcisa both mounted easily, using the stirrups to pull themselves up.
‘Now it’s your turn,’ Brandon, ‘just use the stirrup to pull yourself up, and sit on the back of the saddle.’ Casper tried without success to get on the horse. It was just too tall, and he was on the short side. In the end, Brandon pulled him up by the hand. Then, they rode off, leaving Zadie in the forest.
As they went through the road, they passed some houses along the way.
‘Hey, Dax,’ Brandon called out, looking at a man who was pounding a sword into shape, ‘how’s the business going?’
‘Great,’ Dax replied, ‘and who have you got there, clinging onto your back?’
‘This is Casper,’ Brandon said, ‘we found him in the forest. I’m going to see if he can stay in the castle.’
‘Good luck then!’ Then they rode on, towards a castle looming up ahead.
Chapter 5
The castle came closer and closer as they rode towards it. Casper saw that it was bigger than he thought it was. It seemed like the walls stretched on forever. They came to a moat, and Brandon yelled up at a figure on the wall, who in turn yelled down to someone on the other side of the wall. Soon a drawbridge came down, and they rode across to a pair of opening doors. Then they rode into the castle.
It looked magnificent. The keep was in the centre, surrounded by another wall. Around the walls sat houses, which were probably the servant’s quarters. Casper could see dog kennels, and stables, and people milling about the area.
They rode to the stables, and Brandon and Narcisa both leapt off gracefully. Casper tried to get off the same way they had, but his foot got stuck in the stirrup, and he tumbled off, landing in a heap on the ground. The siblings laughed as Casper got up blushing bright red, and unharnessed the horses. Then they walked through a gate to the keep.
When they got to the keep, they climbed up the stairs to the entrance of the keep. Brandon had a talk with the man guarding the door, and they got in. There was a small room, and another door.
‘Can you get my father?’ Brandon asked another man near the door. He nodded, and walked through it. After about 10 minutes, he returned with a tall intimidating man, with Narcisa’s eyes, and Brandon’s hair.
‘What do you want? I’m busy,’ he said, but there was a twinkle in his eyes. Then he noticed Casper.
‘Who’s that?’ he asked, with a sharp edge to his voice.
‘This is Casper,’ Brandon said, accidentally gesturing to the space next to Casper, ‘Narcisa and I found him in the forest when we were walking You-Know-Who. Can he stay with us? Be my personal servant or bodyguard? Since you’re the Lord of this area, I’m sure you can make an exception.’ Casper’s mouth dropped open as he realized that Brandon’s father was Lord Amburger! Brandon’s father gave a deep sigh.
‘Fine,’ he said, ‘he’ll be your personal bodyguard. But if he causes any trouble, then he’s out of here. Do you understand?’
The kids all gave woops, and ran out.
‘You’re staying!’ Narcisa said, and they raced through the courtyard.
Chapter 6
Casper watched as the sun set over the forest. It was beautiful. The trees were lit, as if they were made of gold.
‘Nice, isn’t it,’ Narcisa, ‘Brandon sometimes comes to watch it with me, but ever since he became a squire, he can’t get away very often.’
They had run around for a while, playing tag, until Narcisa had to go off for lessons, and Brandon had to go off for his Squire duties. Then, Casper went to look at the dogs. He had always been a dog person. The keeper let him exercise them, and he ran around the castle, until he and the dogs were all worn out. Then, he took them back to the kennels. After that, Narcisa came up to him, and asked him to come and see something. And this was where they were.
‘It’s stunning,’ Casper agreed. A bird flew at his head, screeching like a banshee, and he dove to the ground.
‘Don’t worry,’ Narcisa giggled, ‘It’s just a screech owl.’
‘Let’s go back now,’ Casper said, getting up. They walked back to the castle.
Casper lay on a pallet (a mattress stuffed with straw) next to Brandon’s bed. It was comfy, but not what he’d expected. The smell was slightly stale. He would have liked to sleep outside, near the dogs, but as a body-guard, he had to stay near Brandon. He rolled over, and watched the stars out of the window. They seemed to be winking at him. Soon, his eyes fluttered, and he fell into a deep sleep.
Chapter 7
The next day, Casper awoke, and realized that Brandon was shaking him.
‘Wake up,’ he said, ‘we’re going on a hunt.’
‘Whaa?’ asked Casper, sitting up and yawning.
‘I’m finally old enough to go on a hunt, but I can’t go unless you come with me. You’re my body-guard you know.’ Casper got up, and went after Brandon, who was racing down the stairs they had gone up the night before.
Soon, the two boys were ready. Brandon had given Casper one of his daggers, and they mounted a horse. This time, Casper was able to get onto the horse without any help. After that, they waited for a while, while the others got loaded with quivers, and prepared the dogs. Soon, they were off. The boys rode next to Brandon’s father.
‘Is your father Lord Amburger?’ Casper asked Brandon as they rode into the forest.
‘Yeah,’ said Brandon, looking uncomfortable.
‘That means you’re an important person, doesn’t it?’ Casper asked.
‘Yeah,’ Brandon said, looking more uncomfortable,’ It means I’ll inherit the land my father owns when he dies. But anyway, who are your parents?’
‘My father is a minister, but my mother died when I was 3,’ Casper said quietly.
‘That’s horrible,’ Brandon said, ‘sorry for asking.’
‘It’s fine,’ Casper said, ‘I barely remember her anyway.’ But in truth, there was a void inside him that could never be filled.
Soon, a hunter saw a stag, and the horses increased their pace from a trot, to a canter. The dogs were let loose, and the hunt began. The dogs bayed as they ran after the stag, which had also increased its pace. The hunters chased the stag, and shot some arrows at it, until they came to a clearing. They then surrounded it.
The stag snorted, and scraped its foot against the ground. Suddenly, the dogs ran forward and tackled the stag! It bucked and reared, but the hounds were too many, and the stag was already wounded. Soon, it was overcome. A man ran forward, and stabbed it in the neck. The stag kicked once, and then lay still. The men cheered, and blew their horns in victory. Soon, the stag was slung over the back of a horse, and they went back, tired, hungry, and victorious.
Chapter 8
After the hunt, the boys went and told Narcisa all that had happened. Then, they went to the feast. They had boars head (which tasted like pork), salmon, bear (which had a taste Casper couldn’t place), and finally, cakes with honey (which tasted like cakes with honey). Minstrels played music, and traders talked with Lord Amburger.
Eventually, the people started leaving, and Casper got up with Narcisa. Brandon had got stuck in a chat with a trader about life in the castle, so he said he would come to their room later. The two kids walked up the stairs, and waited there for Brandon. After a while, he came and said, ‘Father told me that Lord Dickson declared war on him, because he wouldn’t give him a piece of land. We need to prepare for battle. Now, I need to stick close to Casper.’
‘What does the war mean?’ Casper asked, looking worried.
‘It means the people in father’s area will come for shelter in the keep, and that the men will get ready to fight,’ said Narcisa, ‘but we don’t have to worry. Dickson won’t break through the walls. The children sat worrying, until, one by one, they fell asleep.
A week passed by, as the men got ready for war, and collected food, and the women and children came to the castle. Then, the war began. The castle was put under siege, and the men got into position. Casper watched as the soldiers dumped buckets of super-heated water on the attackers. The fighting continued through the night. Casper lay awake for a while, then fell into a troubled sleep.
Suddenly, he was woken up. At first, he thought it was the sound of the war. Then he realized that there was a struggle near his pallet. He turned his head, and saw a man wrestling with Brandon. The man got the upper hand, and knocked Brandon out. Then, he stuffed him into a sack, and hurried down the steps. Casper waited a beat, then followed after him.
Chapter 9
Casper followed the man as he hurried out the door of the keep. He was sure that he had seen the man before. Then, he realized it was the trader talking to Brandon the day before the war preparations. The trader walked casually to the wall, then crept through a door in the wall. Casper followed. When they came out the other side, Casper saw that the door looked exactly like the wall around it. The trader was walking quickly away, so he ran after him.
When the man got to the edge of the forest, there was a party of men waiting. They all gave silent cheers. Casper ducked down before the men could see him, crawled through the grass and looked up. The trader was exchanging Brandon for a bag. By the noise it made, Casper guessed that it was money, and lots of it. Suddenly, Casper had an idea. Then, he ran into the forest.
He walked through the grass and leaves, and found the place where he had seen Zadie last.
‘Zadie,’ he called softly. There was no reply.
‘Zadie? Zadie!’ Casper called again. Soon he grew desperate, and started speaking louder.
‘Zadie! Zadie!’ Finally, when Casper thought there was no hope left, a huge shape lumbered out of the trees. It was Zadie!
‘Come on girl,’ said Casper, ‘Brandon’s in trouble, and we need to go quickly!’ At the sound of Brandon’s name, Zadie followed Casper. When they reached the spot where Brandon was, and Zadie saw Brandon tied up and gagged, she roared so loud it shock the trees, and charged.
As the men looked up, Zadie reached the first one, and swatted him off. She slammed into the next, and shook the one after him. Casper ran and untied Brandon.
‘What’s happening?’ he asked, looking scared.
‘You’ve been kidnapped,’ Casper said, ‘but you’re safe now. Go back to the castle. There’s a secret entrance in the wall.’ Suddenly, Casper felt himself fading away. He knew then that his job here was done. That he had been brought here for a purpose, and now it was complete. And he returned to his own time.