Okay and wow! I can’t believe it is January 16 and I’m still here, plugging along for Linda Hill’s Just Jot it January event. I had a lovely day with a drive into the scenic areas of the mountains. Then we had a nice lunch in town, followed by a quick trip to the new supermarket they just opened.

Now we’re chillin out and I thought I’d spin out a new segment of my accidental potential novel. Let’s see, when we left Noni and Dechlan, they were enjoying a small meal in the secret room upstairs of the physician who set Noni’s ankle after her fall when they mysteriously ‘landed’ in Medieval Vatican City Rome, sometime around the reign of Pope Gregory… or not. Let’s peek through the tiny window upstairs.

”Oh my god, that was so good,” Dechlan sighed as he swallowed the last crumb of crusty bread from the plate. Wasn’t it Non?” he asked, looking at his girlfriend who only moments before was making love to a bit of hard cheese and an olive, but who now leaned back on the pillow looking a bit pale. Dech took the tray and put it on the rickety table under the window. He smirked at the bird still perched there as though waiting for a scrap. “Sorry Chicken Little,” he teased. “You gotta get up early to beat us to the grub.” As if insulted, it fluffed its feathers and flew off into the sunlight. He hurried back to the bed and sat down beside Noni.

”Oh, ouch,” she winced as she tried to reposition her leg. “The pain is coming back with a vengeance.” Dechlan knew it would be uncomfortable for awhile, and he hoped when Doc Italy returned with an Interpreter that he might also bring some of that la la juice he gave Noni before. He stroked her upper arm gently, hoping to distract her from the pain, and she closed her eyes. “Dech?” she whispered, “do you think we’re being punished for trying to escape the reality of our life?”

”Oh pooh,” he retorted. “You no more believe that than the argument that we can all abuse the planet as much as we want because that’s why God gave it to man.”. She opened one eye and turned it on him with seriousness. “Of course not,” he went on. “Shit happens, and we both know it. The doc will be back soon with someone who can understand us and maybe give you another spoonful of that magic red elixir, eh?” He pushed her hair back from her forehead and kissed it. She smiled weakly and nodded.
“When do you think that might be…” she started, but the sound of the sideboard scraping across the floor, followed by clumsy footsteps on the stairs stopped their conversation as they looked at the door expectantly. A second later it opened, and the smiling doctor bustled in with a younger man in tow. He looked about their own age, with dark curly hair and hazel eyes. He had a smooth olive complexion, and his clothes looked ‘adapted’ period. Dech and Noni looked at each other hopefully. Had someone followed them in through that strange train portal? The doctor spoke rapidly in Italian, too fast for her to understand any of the words until he said “amico” and “aiuto”.
“Okay, so this ‘friend’ can ‘help’,” she said, struggling to sit up straighter. The stranger stepped around the old man and extended his hand to Dechlan.
“Hello, my name is Parsec. Doc here says you don’t speak Italian?” His eyebrows went up in question, and they both grew suddenly wary. What if he was there just to confirm they didn’t belong and would turn them in to the Pope’s soldiers? “And you are…” the young man continued, flashing a smile too brilliant to find malice in. Dechlan took his hand and shook it.
“I, my name is Dechlan. And this unfortunate beauty is my fiancee’, Noni.”
Her brow wrinkled as she thought, ‘Fiancee’? He’s never introduced me that way before. She held out her hand, and the man calling himself Parsec took it and bowed, kissing it briefly. Now she understood. She gave Dech a sideways glance. Spraying his territory huh? How unlike him, she thought.
“Noni broke her ankle in the fall when we arrived, and the good doctor there was kind enough to fix her up. But, we heard the soldiers downstairs and… well, since we’ve literally come from the other side of nowhe…” but the stranger put a finger to his lips and put his hand on Dech’s shoulder.

“Best to not say too much in his company. Even though he doesn’t speak English, maybe he understands English, if you get my drift,” he winked and nodded. 
“But I thought he was your friend,” Noni interjected.
“Let’s just say we have a mutually satisfying acquintanceship, if you will. No one here is really a friend, I’m afraid.” He looked sorrowful for a moment then brightened. “I’ll send him down for tea and we can hear your story.” As he turned and spoke to the doctor in perfect Italian, Noni interrupted.
“Uh, could you ask him if I might have some more of that liquid for pain relief? I really am hurting again.” Parsec shrugged and nodded, speaking once more in Italian. When they heard the word ‘morfina’, Dech and Noni looked at each other, wide-eyed. The old man nodded and shuffled down the stairs, closing the door quietly.
“I’m sorry,” Dech said, “but did we just hear you ask him for morphine?” When Parsec nodded and grinned they were dumbfounded. Dech knew from his ancient history studies that medicine was not developed enough by the late 1500’s to perform proper surgery or formulate effective treatments, let alone have a pain killing drug as modern as morphine. “I don’t think I understand,” he started, but their new acquaintance cut him off.

”I would really love to extoll the value of modern medicine in the time of your First Earth, but our time here is very fragile and limited. So tell me, exactly what year did you leap from and by what method?” Dech was nearly struck dumb, but when Noni pinched his arm he jumped and found his voice.”
“2024,” he blurted. “The year in the United Sates of America and, well, on all of Earth is 2024. What do you mean ‘First Earth?’”

Parsec sat on the end of the bed, being careful not to bump her foot. “ As I said, not a lot of time here, but in a nutshell you have not only traveled through time but across dimensions.”

“What the hell are you saying, man?” she asked, trying to lean forward. “Are we talking extreme quantum physics?”

“Whew,” Parsec quipped, “finally a traveler with at least a working knowledge of all things science. Listen, still not much time here. I am from Earth too, but not yours.”

“You mean you come from a future Earth, like 3036 or something?” Dech asked. The other young man looked him dead in the eye and leaned in close.

“Nah, man, I’m talking Final Earth, as in one of millions. You see, you didn’t just travel through time, like going backward or forward. You guys caught an interdimensional loop.”

“Okay, but then why did we land in Medieval Rome?” Dech insisted. “It seems like a fairly backward jump to me”. Parsec grinned mischievously and grabbed his arm.
“Oh are you guys in for a few surprises. Is this the first place you stopped? You haven’t roamed the city?” Dechlan shook his head.
“No, only to snag our robes from a random clothesline.” Parsec’s ‘s eyes flew open wide.
“Uh oh,” he snapped his fingers. “That’ll land you in the rock house for sure.”

”Why? For taking a few tattered robes off a line?” Noni asked, incredulous. The other rubbed the cloth between his fingers.

”Dude, these are monk’s robes. In short, you brave idiots stole from the Pope himself! We need to get you out of here and back to a leap hole before…” he stopped and cocked his head as the pounding on the doctor’s front door echoed up the stairs. There was shouting and a thud, followed by a muffled grunt. They all heard the door below swing open and stared at each other. Noni squeezed Dech’s hand and Parsec grinned sideways.
“Well, you might just get to see what I’m talking about first hand. But, hey, what’s that old expression from First Earth? ‘Variety is the spice of life!’ Get your senses ready for some stuff that’ll knock your socks off!” Noni screamed when the door burst open, and the men stood up, blocking the bed….

to be continued…

Copyright Cheryl K Pennington 2024

Today’s prompt, variety was given by John Holton