Lots of thanks to Annie, silence0100, midheaven, justawriter, Kennedy Leigh Morgan, Flirtatiouspriss, and Kate.
Firstly, I am sorry it's taken me this long to update. But now that school is starting up again, you know how it goes with the work… However, I will try my best to keep updating this at a relatively consistent rate.
Historical Note & Disclaimer: As I'm sure you can imagine, I may be taking some liberties here in order to advance the plot and keep it interesting. For the most part, however, I have tried to base it in reality. King Edward IV was really a British king who reigned from about 1461-1483. His reign was largely uneventful save for some small incidents with killing cousins, so I thought it would be a good setting. I apologize in advance for any mistakes I might make. If there's anything glaring that bothers someone, please let me know. Overall, though, I hope you enjoy it regardless.
Now, on with the story!
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Chapter 3 – England, 1475
"Scully?" Once again, he fought to shape off the sleep that held him. He took a deep breath, and once again opened his eyes.
Suddenly, his face lit up and his hazel eyes twinkled. "Scully! Hey! You're here too. Great! I thought I was going crazy there a second."
She gaped at him. "I… I'm still not sure that you're not. I may be going crazy too. I… Where are we?"
He lowered his voice to a whisper, barely managing to keep the excitement out of it. "We time-traveled, Scully! We're in fifteenth-century England."
"What?" She tapped the soldier in front of her. "Forgive me, Sir, but what year is it?"
His eyes widened, but his tone remained neutral as the man responded, "Why, 1475, of course, Miss."
"Ah. Thank you." She smiled vaguely, then turned back to her partner. "1475!"
"Yes. During the reign of King Edward IV. We are going to see him now, actually."
"Mulder, this… It defies logic."
"Exactly."
"But how can you be so excited? Aren't you worried?"
"I was at first, when I woke up alone in the woods, but these guys found me pretty quickly. And as soon as I realized that you were here with me, I had nothing to be scared about."
Scully looked at him incredulously. Shaking her head, she blinked and raised her eyes to the sky as if in prayer.
Mulder grinned and remained quiet until they came within view of the castle
Before he knew it, the procession had arrived in the surrounding town, and everything was chaos. Soldiers walked hurriedly in various directions, stable boys tried to keep horses from bolting, and others continued their afternoon stroll, unaffected by the havoc.
"Mulder!"
He turned to see Scully being led away from him by the arm. "Hey, where are you taking her?"
"To the women's quarters, of course, Sir. She will be well-taken care of. I promise."
"But..."
"No exceptions, sir, commander's orders."
Scully looked confused, but put on a brave face. "I suppose that I'll see you later then, Mulder. See what you can get accomplished and let me know."
She gave him a weak smile, before turning to walk with her escort. Another soldier approached Mulder and said, "This way, please, sir."
Everything took on a dreamlike quality again as he was led through a long series of stone passageways until they reached a large room. Within, a crowd of courtiers fanned themselves as a tall man draped in jewels and gold conversed quietly with another man who was standing next to him.
The soldier who had led in Mulder cleared his throat, and announced, "Your majesty, King Edward IV, I humbly present to you a Mister Fox Mulder. He is interested in joining your noble ranks. He has a strong recommendation from your captain of the guard."
"Yes, I see. So, why did you bring him to me? Can't the commander take care of that himself?"
"Well, your majesty, he felt that you best hear the situation yourself, as it is quite unique. We encountered this man in an empty field. He claims to be from the distant land of the future…"
Some muffled laughs escaped the courtiers, who were now paying full attention. The King raised an eyebrow. "You, Mister Mulder, do believe that you have traveled here from the future?"
Mulder, well aware that he could not afford to appear ridiculous at this particular moment, decided to alter his story for the king. "Um, no, your majesty. There must have been some sort of confusion. I am indeed from a faraway land, however."
"I see. And you intend to serve me why?"
"Where I am from, I specialize in dealings with supernatural circumstances and the like. I figured that you might be interested in exploring these possibilities…"
"Ah. To me, that seems a quite plausible design. We have been having many recent occurrences with witches and demons and the like. Is it with those types of things that you work?"
Mulder tried not to wince. "Um, something like that, Sir."
Well, than, I would permit you to have a place in my service to do this, so long as you are willing to undergo a program of the utmost swiftness that shall train you to be fit to serve as an officer of my kingdom."
"Yes, your majesty, thank you. My partner and I will be very able to meet your requirements…"
"Who is this partner to whom you refer?"
"The woman I arrived with – Dana Scully."
To Mulder's surprise, the king actually chuckled. "Ah, good show. Quite an amusing notion, I confess. In actuality, my chief of training will pair you with someone who seems to exhibit a compatible nature."
"Sir, I was being serious – Scully has always been my partner. She and I work exceptionally well together."
"Ha. I know not from which barbaric society you may come from, but here we keep women in their proper and respectable place – the home."
"May I see her, please?"
"When you complete your training, you shall see her again. That is all. Guard, please lead him to the barracks."
"But…"
A guard not-so-gently took Mulder by the arm and led him from the room. "His highness said that was all. Did you not hear? Come now."
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Scully watched plaintively from her stone window in a tower as Mulder was led away to the training fields. Annoyed, she shifted around in the big skirt and scratchy undergarments forced (or in their words, "bestowed generously") on her. She felt like one of the spineless damsels-in-distress that she had always abhorred in movies, just waiting for someone to go rescue her.
She snorted in amusement. Mulder would give his life for her, but he was no knight-in-shining armor. And she didn't foresee herself growing fifty-foot-long hair anytime soon, either.
"Guess I'll just have to deal with this myself," she murmured. Turning, she planted a big smile on her face for her chambermaid.
"So, when would be the time that I would be allowed to go for a walk? In the garden or something, I mean," she amended at the sight of the maid's horrified face.
"Mam! That would be completely inappropriate. You may not leave the castle without a male escort."
"See, that's the thing. I have a, umm, 'male escort' as you call it. He's just downstairs…"
"He is your husband?"
"Well, no, but…"
"Your brother? Cousin?"
"No. Why…?"
"When the men downstairs spoke of you being from some barbaric country, I believed them not, but now… I reconsider. You would allow yourself to travel alone with a man who is not you husband?"
"He's a close friend, I trust him completely. Really. Customs are very different where I'm from."
"Well, here, you must learn to adhere to our customs. In accordance with them, you shall not be seeing that particular gentleman anytime soon. He is going to be trained to work in the king's service. And once he enters it, doubt not that he will be far too occupied to engage in any more of your trysting."
"We were not trysting! We work together… You know what? Never mind. Everywhere we go we get mistaken for a couple, no surprise that it would happen here at the least convenient time."
"Please, calm down. It is not becoming for a lady to be flustered and prattle on so. You will never get a husband if you continue on like that!"
Scully bit her lip and turned away again, using all of her willpower not to strangle the woman. "Thanks for the advice," she said, not quite managing to keep the sarcasm out of her voice.
"I mean, if you really do like that man you arrived with, and he proves himself of worthy status, I'm sure the King would be happy to arrange a marriage for you both. For, if you don't mind me saying so, he is quite dashing…"
"Dashing? Ah." Not necessarily the word I would have used, but I guess I could see that, especially in those clothes they gave him…
"Anyway, mam, I must go attend to another young woman here. I will be back to take you down to dinner in approximately an hour. Now, please behave as a genteel lady would and do not do anything stupid, such as attempt to escape by jumping down to that balcony right under the window. Okay?"
Scully smiled genuinely for the first time and suddenly felt the need to hug the older woman. "Okay. Thank you for everything."
She watched the maid leave, then added, "Especially for telling me how to get out of here."
As she searched the room for any other clothing, Scully idly wondered if the woman simply lacked intelligence, or if she was sympathetic to her plight on some level. Finally, she uncovered a cotton shirt with pants that had apparently been made for a very small man in a drawer. She promptly changed into this, locked her door, and proceeded to the window.
The jump would be a risk, but she felt it was well-worth taking. Drawing in a deep breath, she uttered a brief prayer, then stepped determinedly over the window ledge.
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