The Portal
Disclaimer: The standard words that someone else owns all of the main characters in this story.
Rating: R (Where's the fun, if you can't push the boundaries a little further.)
Chapter Eleven
[Author's Note: Like several of the characters, I assume many of the readers don't read Latin or Ancient Greek. So the readers can follow the dialog and still know which characters know what is being said and which ones don't, I am implementing the following simple method: " Text " = English "L text " = Latin "G text " = Greek
Now on with the story.]
"Ahh," began Clark, as they gathered around the horses, which had just been led into the small courtyard behind the magistrate's palace. "Where are the stirrups for the saddles?"
The others looked closer at the saddles and then Lana was the first to speak up, "Wow, finally a question I know the answer to."
Putting one hand up onto the saddle of the nearest horse she continued. "The stirrup was not introduced into Western civilization until the time of Attila the Hun in about, oh say, four hundred years." The last part was said in a slightly hesitant tone and a glance to Chloe, who nodded.
Clark had grown up on a farm, but had not spent a lot of time riding. He asked, "How do you stay in the seat without stirrups?"
Lana gestured towards the top of the saddle. "By a combination of using your knees and these four horns. The traditional 'Cowboys and Indians' western saddle has a single center horn in the front and a curved up back piece to help keep you in place. These Roman saddles have two widely spread, curved horns in the front which wrap over the top of your thighs and two curved horns in the back that wrap slightly around your waist. It is suppose to keep you pretty securely in place. The only time I have seen a similar one in use was during a demonstration at the big Fort Worth Stock Show five years ago when Nell and I took Mr. Ed down for the Junior Jumping Championships. I got to try the Roman saddle briefly, but that one was designed for an adult, not an eleven year old girl so I am not really sure how well the design works."
Lex jumped in; "You had a horse named Mr. Ed?"
"Of course, of course, a wonderful horse, the incredible Mr. Ed," responded Lana with just a hint of the theme song in her voice. "And after feeding him the meteor rock enhanced, Luthor horse chow, he could even talk!"
"Ha, ha, very funny, your highness," responded Lex with his usual deadpan expression.
Clark picked up on Lex's comment and realized no one had explained the new version of the cover story to Lana yet. Perhaps a little fun to get the day started off right.
"Yes, your Highness, that was very humorous," Clark said with a small bow. "May we have another song?"
Lana looked from Clark to Lex, who both had silly grins, and then to Chloe, who was obviously trying to maintain a straight face.
"Okay," Lana demanded, putting fists on her hips. "Who wants to explain all of this 'Your Highness' crap?"
Chloe started giggling. "I bet you never expected to go to bed last night a commoner and wake up this morning a member of royalty."
"What?!?"
"Oh, and your father is Elvis and he is the king," said Lex. Then after pausing for a beat, he added, "Of Caledonia. Therefore you are a princess, hence, 'your highness'."
Lana looked back and forth between the others and finally fixed her gaze on Clark. Of the three, he was the one most likely to break down and explain, if she held the stare.
As she expected, Clark finally cracked. "Last night, after Lex and I got back from searching for info at the taverns, Chloe decided we needed a new cover story to address the meteor rocks, the bounty on Lex's head, and why we are looking for the professor. Since my Latin is non-existent I only got it second hand, but once she got started she seems to have gotten a little carried away. Now you and I are no longer from Britain, but from some imaginary kingdom north of there called Caledonia."
"It is not imaginary," interrupted Chloe. "It is a real kingdom located in present day Scotland."
"And is Elvis really the king, too?" asked Clark.
"Well, he is the king of rock and roll. Isn't that enough? Okay, so I didn't happen to know who the current king of Caledonia is, sue me. Elvis just happened to pop into my head." answered Chloe still smiling.
"So now I am Princess Lana of Caledonia?"
"Yeah, but you are traveling more or less incognito as my handmaiden. At least until the rumors start to spread."
"Is there more to this cover story?"
"Yeah, but it can wait for later." Turning towards the horse, Chloe said. "Getting back to the saddles, the curved horns do a better job of holding you in place than you would expect, if they are properly fitted to the rider. All professional riders, like cavalrymen, have custom-made saddles. However these general-use saddles are pretty easy to adjust by tightening and loosening a couple of straps."
As Chloe was demonstrating how to adjust the straps for the horns, the horse swung its head around and nipped at her arm. Chloe jumped back and angrily exclaimed, "Damn, fucking horses."
Clark, Lana, and Lex all just stared at her, never having heard that kind of language from her. Feeling the stares, Chloe sheepishly shook her head and explained. "For some reason horses and I have never gotten along well. Thousands and thousands of years and in all of that time I have had exactly two horses, which I could more than just tolerate. Usually, I would try to travel by carriage or boat or even by walking. Finally, starting about 150 years ago railroads, streetcars, subways, and automobiles became available, and I haven't been on a horse since. Now, joy of joys, it's back to my favorite mode of transportation, horseback."
As she finished talking, Chloe vaulted into the saddle she had just been adjusting. With one hand lightly grasping the reins and using just her knees for control, Chloe backed the horse up about ten feet, had the horse do a quick 360 degree spin in-place, and then had it walk back up to the others.
Noticing the nod of appreciation from Lana for this demonstration of equestrian skill, Chloe grinned, "Oh, horses and I may not be the best of friends, but I have had a lot of practice."
Chloe then proceeded to continue her demonstration, this time explaining the various commands that Roman horses were trained to recognize. As she was finishing, Marcus rode up with a cavalry squad of 20 riders.
"LCoelia, are you ready to hit the road?" shouted Marcus.
"LYeah, I'm anxious to be on our way." Motioning to the others, Chloe remounted her horse. Lana gracefully vaulted atop her mount. Lex and Clark also climbed onto their horses, but with a lot less skill than the girls did. When Nicholas mounted his ride, it was obvious he had spent a fair amount of time in the saddle. After he was comfortably seated, one of the stableboys handed him the leads to the two pack animals Marcus had also provided.
Chloe led the others over towards Marcus who turned and headed out of the courtyard. They quickly headed out of the town and took the road leading to Narbo and the Mediterranean Sea.
After thirty minutes of steady riding, the party was seven or eight miles from town when Marcus reigned in at a fork in the road. Marcus turned to Chloe; "L Here's where we part ways, unless you have changed your mind. I would like to swing north and check out the defenses at a couple of the nearby mining operations before returning to Tolosa."
Chloe shook her head, "LNo, we will be fine." She reached over and clasped his hand. "LIt has been nice seeing you and Marina again. If our business works out, we should be passing back through this area in a few weeks. Perhaps we will have a little more time then."
"L I look forward to it. Although, these are unsettled times and who knows where I will be in a few weeks," Marcus responded with a warm smile. "LAnd I will take care of that other matter we talked about." Then with a wave to the others, Marcus and his troops turned and head up the road to the northeast.
Chloe and the others continued down the main road to the southeast while picking the pace up to a canter. Fortunately the slower pace set by the troops had given everyone a chance to get use to riding again and the feel for the unconventional saddles.
For the first time since this adventure had begun, Lana started to relax and feel like she had something to contribute to their efforts to get home. With thirty minutes to observe the others, it was obvious she was the strongest horseman of the group.
Clark had to work a lot harder than the others just to stay in the saddle. So she gave him several pointers to make it easier for him.
Lex had ridden some in the past, but from the way he was holding the reins too tightly, he also benefited from a couple of suggestions.
Finally Lana pulled up next to Chloe. She, of course, had tons of experience, but even she admitted she didn't have a natural affinity for horses. Like just sensing right now that the horses would be more comfortable at a slightly faster canter.
Catching Chloe's eye, Lana said, "The horses would be happier at a little faster pace." When Chloe nodded, Lana tapped her heals on the flanks of her horse and took the lead.
Chloe quickly pulled up beside her. At this pace they had to ride with their knees almost touching to converse comfortably. "Thanks for the suggestions," said Chloe. "If you have any more, just jump right in."
"I'm just glad I finally have something useful to add," replied Lana.
"I understand how it can be to feel like a fish out of water. It has happened to me a lot of times before in my life. Well, not the whole time travel thing, but the part about being suddenly thrust into a new culture where you don't speak the language. Speaking of which, on horseback at almost a gallop may not be the best time, but let's start some Latin lessons for you and Clark. Particularly since it looks like we are going to be here for more than just a day or two." When Lana nodded, Chloe twisted back in her saddle and called to Clark to come ride on her other side.
When Clark caught up to them and finally got his horse fully back under control, Chloe said, "Okay, students, Chloe's accelerated Latin school is now in session. Do you remember the 'Do-Re-Mi' song from 'The Sound of Music'? They had the right idea. At least for me, singing works better at quickly memorizing the basics. Let's see if I can come up with a song with some of the basic phrases you will need."
"Ahh, Chloe," said Clark with just a hint of a nervous whine in his voice. "You expect us to sing when we need to say something in Latin?"
"Come on, Clark, get into the spirit of things." said Chloe with a distracted look on her face as she concentrated on creating a song.
"Yeah," said Lana. "Your voice isn't that bad. Is it?"
"I guess not. At least as long as you stay in my three quarters of an octave range." admitted Clark.
Meanwhile, Lex was riding about 20 feet back with Nicholas when he started hearing singing coming from the others. At first the words weren't clear, but it was definitely from 'The Sound of Music'. He started grinning when it became clear what Chloe was doing.
Nicholas gave him a questioning look. Lex responded, "LMy friends Clark and Lana don't know Latin. Coelia is trying to teach them in her own unique way. With a song."
Nicholas thought about it for a minute. "L Coelia does seem like a special woman."
"LOh, she definitely is that," said Lex. More than you can possibly imagine, he thought. Hmm, that first day after we came through the portal I was wondering if I could find a spot to use Chloe in Luthor Corp. after she got out of school. But with what we found out yesterday, there doesn't seem to be any reason to wait. Like waiting five years would make any difference to someone over seventeen thousand years old. Seventeen thousand years, could I handle that without going crazy? Could I handle working with Chloe without going crazy? Clark's comment yesterday about not trying to take advantage of Chloe seemed so out of character, but after seeing Chloe with the freedom to be her true self and how naturally she takes command. Perhaps I better be careful about inviting Chloe to join Luthor Corp. or I might find myself working for Chloe Corp. Of course, it might be fun to drop a 'Chloe-bomb' on Dad and see his reaction to a 16 year old girl who could probably run his organization better than he can. Lex got a small smile and a sparkle in his eye as he imagined his father cut down to size by an apparent young girl.
Realizing that Nicholas had been watching him expecting a response, Lex said, "LSorry, that melody," and he nodded his head towards Chloe, "Ljust brought back some old memories. So, tell me a little about yourself, Nicholas."
"LWell, I can if you like, although I would like to hear more about the princess." answered Nicholas.
Hmm, thought Lex. Am I looking at an admirer, a potential gold-digger, or something else?
End of Chapter Eleven
Disclaimer: The standard words that someone else owns all of the main characters in this story.
Rating: R (Where's the fun, if you can't push the boundaries a little further.)
Chapter Eleven
[Author's Note: Like several of the characters, I assume many of the readers don't read Latin or Ancient Greek. So the readers can follow the dialog and still know which characters know what is being said and which ones don't, I am implementing the following simple method: " Text " = English "L text " = Latin "G text " = Greek
Now on with the story.]
"Ahh," began Clark, as they gathered around the horses, which had just been led into the small courtyard behind the magistrate's palace. "Where are the stirrups for the saddles?"
The others looked closer at the saddles and then Lana was the first to speak up, "Wow, finally a question I know the answer to."
Putting one hand up onto the saddle of the nearest horse she continued. "The stirrup was not introduced into Western civilization until the time of Attila the Hun in about, oh say, four hundred years." The last part was said in a slightly hesitant tone and a glance to Chloe, who nodded.
Clark had grown up on a farm, but had not spent a lot of time riding. He asked, "How do you stay in the seat without stirrups?"
Lana gestured towards the top of the saddle. "By a combination of using your knees and these four horns. The traditional 'Cowboys and Indians' western saddle has a single center horn in the front and a curved up back piece to help keep you in place. These Roman saddles have two widely spread, curved horns in the front which wrap over the top of your thighs and two curved horns in the back that wrap slightly around your waist. It is suppose to keep you pretty securely in place. The only time I have seen a similar one in use was during a demonstration at the big Fort Worth Stock Show five years ago when Nell and I took Mr. Ed down for the Junior Jumping Championships. I got to try the Roman saddle briefly, but that one was designed for an adult, not an eleven year old girl so I am not really sure how well the design works."
Lex jumped in; "You had a horse named Mr. Ed?"
"Of course, of course, a wonderful horse, the incredible Mr. Ed," responded Lana with just a hint of the theme song in her voice. "And after feeding him the meteor rock enhanced, Luthor horse chow, he could even talk!"
"Ha, ha, very funny, your highness," responded Lex with his usual deadpan expression.
Clark picked up on Lex's comment and realized no one had explained the new version of the cover story to Lana yet. Perhaps a little fun to get the day started off right.
"Yes, your Highness, that was very humorous," Clark said with a small bow. "May we have another song?"
Lana looked from Clark to Lex, who both had silly grins, and then to Chloe, who was obviously trying to maintain a straight face.
"Okay," Lana demanded, putting fists on her hips. "Who wants to explain all of this 'Your Highness' crap?"
Chloe started giggling. "I bet you never expected to go to bed last night a commoner and wake up this morning a member of royalty."
"What?!?"
"Oh, and your father is Elvis and he is the king," said Lex. Then after pausing for a beat, he added, "Of Caledonia. Therefore you are a princess, hence, 'your highness'."
Lana looked back and forth between the others and finally fixed her gaze on Clark. Of the three, he was the one most likely to break down and explain, if she held the stare.
As she expected, Clark finally cracked. "Last night, after Lex and I got back from searching for info at the taverns, Chloe decided we needed a new cover story to address the meteor rocks, the bounty on Lex's head, and why we are looking for the professor. Since my Latin is non-existent I only got it second hand, but once she got started she seems to have gotten a little carried away. Now you and I are no longer from Britain, but from some imaginary kingdom north of there called Caledonia."
"It is not imaginary," interrupted Chloe. "It is a real kingdom located in present day Scotland."
"And is Elvis really the king, too?" asked Clark.
"Well, he is the king of rock and roll. Isn't that enough? Okay, so I didn't happen to know who the current king of Caledonia is, sue me. Elvis just happened to pop into my head." answered Chloe still smiling.
"So now I am Princess Lana of Caledonia?"
"Yeah, but you are traveling more or less incognito as my handmaiden. At least until the rumors start to spread."
"Is there more to this cover story?"
"Yeah, but it can wait for later." Turning towards the horse, Chloe said. "Getting back to the saddles, the curved horns do a better job of holding you in place than you would expect, if they are properly fitted to the rider. All professional riders, like cavalrymen, have custom-made saddles. However these general-use saddles are pretty easy to adjust by tightening and loosening a couple of straps."
As Chloe was demonstrating how to adjust the straps for the horns, the horse swung its head around and nipped at her arm. Chloe jumped back and angrily exclaimed, "Damn, fucking horses."
Clark, Lana, and Lex all just stared at her, never having heard that kind of language from her. Feeling the stares, Chloe sheepishly shook her head and explained. "For some reason horses and I have never gotten along well. Thousands and thousands of years and in all of that time I have had exactly two horses, which I could more than just tolerate. Usually, I would try to travel by carriage or boat or even by walking. Finally, starting about 150 years ago railroads, streetcars, subways, and automobiles became available, and I haven't been on a horse since. Now, joy of joys, it's back to my favorite mode of transportation, horseback."
As she finished talking, Chloe vaulted into the saddle she had just been adjusting. With one hand lightly grasping the reins and using just her knees for control, Chloe backed the horse up about ten feet, had the horse do a quick 360 degree spin in-place, and then had it walk back up to the others.
Noticing the nod of appreciation from Lana for this demonstration of equestrian skill, Chloe grinned, "Oh, horses and I may not be the best of friends, but I have had a lot of practice."
Chloe then proceeded to continue her demonstration, this time explaining the various commands that Roman horses were trained to recognize. As she was finishing, Marcus rode up with a cavalry squad of 20 riders.
"LCoelia, are you ready to hit the road?" shouted Marcus.
"LYeah, I'm anxious to be on our way." Motioning to the others, Chloe remounted her horse. Lana gracefully vaulted atop her mount. Lex and Clark also climbed onto their horses, but with a lot less skill than the girls did. When Nicholas mounted his ride, it was obvious he had spent a fair amount of time in the saddle. After he was comfortably seated, one of the stableboys handed him the leads to the two pack animals Marcus had also provided.
Chloe led the others over towards Marcus who turned and headed out of the courtyard. They quickly headed out of the town and took the road leading to Narbo and the Mediterranean Sea.
After thirty minutes of steady riding, the party was seven or eight miles from town when Marcus reigned in at a fork in the road. Marcus turned to Chloe; "L Here's where we part ways, unless you have changed your mind. I would like to swing north and check out the defenses at a couple of the nearby mining operations before returning to Tolosa."
Chloe shook her head, "LNo, we will be fine." She reached over and clasped his hand. "LIt has been nice seeing you and Marina again. If our business works out, we should be passing back through this area in a few weeks. Perhaps we will have a little more time then."
"L I look forward to it. Although, these are unsettled times and who knows where I will be in a few weeks," Marcus responded with a warm smile. "LAnd I will take care of that other matter we talked about." Then with a wave to the others, Marcus and his troops turned and head up the road to the northeast.
Chloe and the others continued down the main road to the southeast while picking the pace up to a canter. Fortunately the slower pace set by the troops had given everyone a chance to get use to riding again and the feel for the unconventional saddles.
For the first time since this adventure had begun, Lana started to relax and feel like she had something to contribute to their efforts to get home. With thirty minutes to observe the others, it was obvious she was the strongest horseman of the group.
Clark had to work a lot harder than the others just to stay in the saddle. So she gave him several pointers to make it easier for him.
Lex had ridden some in the past, but from the way he was holding the reins too tightly, he also benefited from a couple of suggestions.
Finally Lana pulled up next to Chloe. She, of course, had tons of experience, but even she admitted she didn't have a natural affinity for horses. Like just sensing right now that the horses would be more comfortable at a slightly faster canter.
Catching Chloe's eye, Lana said, "The horses would be happier at a little faster pace." When Chloe nodded, Lana tapped her heals on the flanks of her horse and took the lead.
Chloe quickly pulled up beside her. At this pace they had to ride with their knees almost touching to converse comfortably. "Thanks for the suggestions," said Chloe. "If you have any more, just jump right in."
"I'm just glad I finally have something useful to add," replied Lana.
"I understand how it can be to feel like a fish out of water. It has happened to me a lot of times before in my life. Well, not the whole time travel thing, but the part about being suddenly thrust into a new culture where you don't speak the language. Speaking of which, on horseback at almost a gallop may not be the best time, but let's start some Latin lessons for you and Clark. Particularly since it looks like we are going to be here for more than just a day or two." When Lana nodded, Chloe twisted back in her saddle and called to Clark to come ride on her other side.
When Clark caught up to them and finally got his horse fully back under control, Chloe said, "Okay, students, Chloe's accelerated Latin school is now in session. Do you remember the 'Do-Re-Mi' song from 'The Sound of Music'? They had the right idea. At least for me, singing works better at quickly memorizing the basics. Let's see if I can come up with a song with some of the basic phrases you will need."
"Ahh, Chloe," said Clark with just a hint of a nervous whine in his voice. "You expect us to sing when we need to say something in Latin?"
"Come on, Clark, get into the spirit of things." said Chloe with a distracted look on her face as she concentrated on creating a song.
"Yeah," said Lana. "Your voice isn't that bad. Is it?"
"I guess not. At least as long as you stay in my three quarters of an octave range." admitted Clark.
Meanwhile, Lex was riding about 20 feet back with Nicholas when he started hearing singing coming from the others. At first the words weren't clear, but it was definitely from 'The Sound of Music'. He started grinning when it became clear what Chloe was doing.
Nicholas gave him a questioning look. Lex responded, "LMy friends Clark and Lana don't know Latin. Coelia is trying to teach them in her own unique way. With a song."
Nicholas thought about it for a minute. "L Coelia does seem like a special woman."
"LOh, she definitely is that," said Lex. More than you can possibly imagine, he thought. Hmm, that first day after we came through the portal I was wondering if I could find a spot to use Chloe in Luthor Corp. after she got out of school. But with what we found out yesterday, there doesn't seem to be any reason to wait. Like waiting five years would make any difference to someone over seventeen thousand years old. Seventeen thousand years, could I handle that without going crazy? Could I handle working with Chloe without going crazy? Clark's comment yesterday about not trying to take advantage of Chloe seemed so out of character, but after seeing Chloe with the freedom to be her true self and how naturally she takes command. Perhaps I better be careful about inviting Chloe to join Luthor Corp. or I might find myself working for Chloe Corp. Of course, it might be fun to drop a 'Chloe-bomb' on Dad and see his reaction to a 16 year old girl who could probably run his organization better than he can. Lex got a small smile and a sparkle in his eye as he imagined his father cut down to size by an apparent young girl.
Realizing that Nicholas had been watching him expecting a response, Lex said, "LSorry, that melody," and he nodded his head towards Chloe, "Ljust brought back some old memories. So, tell me a little about yourself, Nicholas."
"LWell, I can if you like, although I would like to hear more about the princess." answered Nicholas.
Hmm, thought Lex. Am I looking at an admirer, a potential gold-digger, or something else?
End of Chapter Eleven