Journey to the Past Chapter Seven
When Time Stopped
After Stayne finished his story, Alannah noticed that Michael was curled up on the floor, sound asleep. She quietly got up from the couch, and scooped him up, carrying him to his crib. "Sleep well, little lad." She gave him a kiss, and then returned to her place on the couch, leaning against Stayne.
Katarina, who had been listening with rapt attention while her daddy told the story about how he had lost his eye, spoke up in a scared, sad voice. "Were you really scared, Daddy?"
Stayne looked over at her, a serious expression on his face. "I was more scared than I had ever been before. I thought for sure that dam…darned bird was going to come flying out of its cage and hurt me some more. Luckily, it decided that once I was out of its cage I was no longer of any interest to it, so it settled instead for attacking its dinner."
He looked over at Alannah. "It was about five minutes before I was found, and the whole time I kept thinking that I was going to die. Fortunately, I was found and treated in time."
Alannah smiled sadly. "You were very lucky, you know."
Stayne snorted. "I didn't think so at the time. To be honest, the only reason Iracebeth allowed the Doctor to treat me was because her infatuation with me had grown into an obsession, and since she was Queen at the time, the Doctor couldn't refuse her."
Alannah frowned. "So Iracebeth was Queen when you lost your eye. How long had she been Ruling?"
Stayne shut his eye in thought. "Hmm…If I recall, it was only about six months-and it was actually a joint rule with Mirana. She wasn't exiled to Marmoreal until years later." He grinned savagely. "Of course, Tarrant's curse threw everything off as well. You see, Time decided later that He was mad at everyone in Underland."
Alannah nodded. "I remember that. He can be quite the temperamental deity. I think I got stuck with it being three o clock on a Sunday for about three years."
Katarina looked at her parents, confused. "When was Uncle Tarrant cursed? What did he do? How long was he cursed for? And what does cursed mean?"
Alannah and Stayne looked at each other in concern. Stayne turned to his daughter, a serious expression on his face. "I don't know if your Mum and I are the ones that should be telling you that, little bit. It's something Tarrant should tell you."
Katarina pouted. "I tried asking him yesterday when we were visiting him and Aunt Alice, but he wouldn't tell me. He just got real quiet."
Alannah frowned. "Tarrant quiet is never a good thing. Was it an angry quiet, or a sad quiet?"
Katarina bit her lip in solemn thought. "It was a sad quiet. But he said after that you would be able to tell me what I wanted to know."
Stayne frowned. "Well, all of Underland did know about the Curse, so I suppose it wouldn't hurt for you to hear about what happened. To be honest, I'm surprised you don't know the full story yet-even now it's a great source of gossip." He took a breath, and then spoke.
"Tarrant had been asked to perform for the Red King and Queen at a Concert, and had already decided that the song he was going to sing was Twinkle, Twinkle Little Bat. Well, no sooner had he started singing then the Queen starts yelling 'He's murdering the time! OFF WITH HIS HEAD!' Time didn't take too kindly to being 'murdered', and as punishment for what Tarrant did, cursed him to a never ending Tea Party. Thackery and Mallymkun weren't cursed, but they stayed with Tarrant to keep him company. A few years later, Tarrant and Time reconciled, only to have Time curse him yet again while he was waiting for Alice to return. But now they seem to have worked out all their differences."
Katarina smiled. "Is that why Uncle Tarrant's watch is so funny looking?"
Alannah laughed. "That's exactly why Tarrant's watch is so funny looking."
Katarina giggled, and then climbed onto the couch and into her lap, looking up at her with childish solemnity. "Momma, has time ever stopped for you?"
Alannah smiled softly. "Yes. The first time I saw your Daddy, in fact. Everything seemed to stop, and all I could see was this tall black figure. This rather handsome, extremely intriguing tall black figure." She looked at Stayne. "I always wondered if time stopped for him as well."
Stayne leaned forward, kissing her gently. "It did, as a matter of fact. I didn't actually see you until you were heading towards the front of the ballroom to sing, but when I did, I think not only time but my heart stopped as well, and after the Masquerade was over, I still could not stop thinking about you. Luckily, I was able to convince Iracebeth that my occasional lapses of attention were merely the result of being tired after a long day."
Alannah grinned, then giggled, then went off into peals of laughter. "She really did believe anything you told her, didn't she?"
Stayne nodded. "She did. Then again, intelligence never was her strong suit. Neither was patience."
Katarina looked over at him. "Daddy, Momma told me once that you were put on trial, and because of that you had to go and work for the Bloody Big Head. What were you on trial for?"
Stayne smiled sadly. "For a very foolish reason. I had been accused of stealing tarts."
