Lost in time

redblood

Anxious Tomato Will Bite You!
Original poster
MYTHICAL MEMBER
Posting Speed
  1. 1-3 posts per day
  2. One post per day
  3. 1-3 posts per week
  4. One post per week
  5. Slow As Molasses
Online Availability
Afternoons, evenings and nights.
Writing Levels
  1. Intermediate
  2. Adept
  3. Advanced
  4. Adaptable
Preferred Character Gender
  1. Male
  2. Female
Genres
Historical, fantasy, magic, horror, supernatural, survival, vampires, demons, pirates, mutants, ghosts, romance (FxF, MxM, MxF) (Romance should be part of the plot and not the whole plot in itself), etc.
England, 2010

"Just tell me what it is." Carol insisted. Both her family and her boyfriend had kept something secret from her for over a week. They weren't that good at hiding it though, they had acted weird around her for some time. It was obvious that they were hiding something.

"I can't, it's a surprise. Just wait patiently and you will get to know what it is soon enough." Adam said, they had been going out for six months already and he had always told her everything. She weren't used to be kept in the dark like that. "Just don't tell your family that you know that something is going on. They would be so disappointed if you knew that we were planning something." He told her.

Carol sighted and let the topic rest and started to talk about Saturday instead. They were going to go on a date to celebrate half a year together. After spending the evening together talking they said goodnight and went their separate ways. Adam told her that he could follow her to the door, but she told him not to. They already lived far from each other, if he were going to follow her home and then walk back to his place he would have walk much longer than her. If they had lived closer to each other then maybe she would have accepted.

As she walked home she had an uneasy feeling that someone was watching her even though no one was around. She walked a bit faster than usual, which was a bit weird, she never got worked up. But something felt really wrong so she didn't want to stop.

She calmed down a bit when she came to the bridge, it meant she was only five minutes from her safe home. But Carol didn't get that far. As she walked over the bridge it suddenly felt like someone were pushing her and she fell over the side of the bridge down into the water. Carol had always been a good swimmer but she weren't able to move at all in the water and sank deeper and deeper into the water.

I'm drowning.
She though as she sank, the panic building up inside her. Move, I have to move my body. But her body wouldn't move at all. Then suddenly it was like someone were taking off chains from her body, she could move her arms, and legs. She swam up to the surface.


Egypt, 1279 BC (Shortly before Ramessess II becomes Pharao of Egypt)

As she came up over the water she could barely believe her eyes, suddenly she were in Egypt. Even though she had never been in Egypt in her whole life she knew what it looked like from TV documentaries. How had she suddenly gotten to Egypt from England? She swam into shore and notice immediately how uncomfortable her wet jeans felt. "Lucky it's so warm here, they will probably dry fast." She mumbled to herself, a bit surprised that she were able to keep so calm.

She looked at the people around, they were dressed so weird. She didn't know much about other countries clothes style, but the kind of clothes everyone were wearing didn't match the once she usually saw on TV. It looked like they had come right out of a history book.

Carol walked to the first person she saw. "Excuse me, where am I?" First then she noticed that she weren't talking English anymore, even though she understood the words she was saying it wasn't English at all. The man looked confused at her clothes, he had never seen such weird clothes before. "You are in Alexandria of course." The man said and looked away from her clothes and instead looked at her blonde hair and white skin. He was probably wondering what a foreigner did in Egypt and why she were wet.

"Alexandria? How could I be in Alexandria? I were in England just moments ago." She said even though it was meant as a thought.
"Sorry, I don't know what that England you are talking about is." The man said and excused himself before leaving. What were she supposed to do? Not only were she talking a foreign language but she had just gotten transported to Egypt in seconds and she didn't see a single care or any technology around. She had to find a way out of there.
 
Ramses wandered through the throng of people. It was the busiest time of the day for the market, and even for him it was a bit difficult to get through, despite the people and the guard's attempts the clear the way. Tables full of everything from cloth to pets and food adorned the sides of the walkway. Vendors yelled out to potential customers, flaunting the value or beauty of their product, saying whatever they had to to get people to buy their stuff. The jingle of money, and the raised voices of people trying to be heard permeated into a roar throughout the town. Somewhere behind him, a fight broke out, probably over a product.

Finally, he reached the end. Outside of the market, the streets were calm. Women walked around carrying baskets of food, and children played outside their homes. At this time of day, most of the men would be out in the fields tending to their cattle or crops. He continued along the road until he reached the river. Yet more children splashed about in the shallows of the river. The roar of the market was dulled here now, the sounds of the river overtaking the roar. He looked up and down the river, taking in all the people as he knew his guards were doing. One person in particular caught his eye: a young woman in the strangest clothing he had ever seen. She looked very lost and confused. He approached her. "Who are you. Where are you from?" He asked her. He felt his guards stiffen at the sight of the strange woman. Their hands immediately resting on their blades.
 
After Carol had walked around for only some minutes she had already almost dried completely. Her hair was completely dry but her clothes needed a bit more time. She had tried to ask some people where the airport were, but no one even knew what an airport was. Of course she couldn't believe something so ridiculous as going back in time, even though she had no idea how to explain the weird behavior of the people around her. She had also asked about a buss station or if someone had a cellphone she could use, but they hadn't known what that was either. Carol felt more and more anxious. It couldn't be real, she couldn't be in another time period.

Then a man walked up to her and started to talk to her. The men around him seemed to be some kind of bodyguards. Why did they have blades? Why not guns? She got scared when the guards hands rested on their weapons. It would probably be bad if she didn't answer him.

"I'm Carol, from England." She said nervously. That man must be someone very important if he needed bodyguards. "And who are you?" She asked back trying to get her confidence together again. One of the guards glared at the blue eyed girl as if she were crazy for not recognizing the man.
 
Ramses paused. She was stranger than he thought. "How can you not know who I am? I am Ramses the second." He looked her up and down. He'd never seen anyone like her before. "Where is this... England?" he asked, trying to figure out if he'd heard of such a place before. "I know of no town by that name." He knew the name of most of the towns and countries in that area, and he'd never heard of that one. Her clothes were also alien to him. They seemed to cling to her, and in what country did the women wear pants?
 
Ramses the second? Carol recognized the name from history books, but no one important were named like that in 21st century as far as she knew. And why wouldn't someone important know where England was? Also their clothes were wrong for the 21st century. But how could she have traveled back in time? If that was the case and he actually were Ramses the second then she must be at least 3000 years back in time. No, it was a ridiculous thought. But the proof was all around her.

"England isn't a town, its a country in Europe." He should at least know what Europe are even if his geography were bad. Carol just weren't ready to accept the fact that she weren't in her own time anymore even though there was no other explanation. "And why would I know who you are? I have never seen you making a speech on TV, nor even appearing in any media." She had gotten a bit irritated with this now and had completely forgotten about the guards around the young man.

"Don't you dare speak like that towards the prince of Egypt." One of the guards exclaimed and almost pulled his sword, but he knew that he had to wait for an order for that so he held it for the moment.

Prince of Egypt? But Egypt had a president.
 
Ramses laised a hand in front of his guard. The guard relaxed his grip on his sword only a fraction, his eyes still glaring at the strange woman.

"You've got a lot of guts, woman, talking to me like that. I have half a mind to let my guard show you some proper respect, but I'm curious. Whats a... TV or media?" Ramses couldnt quite figure her out. She spoke of such strange things, and wore such odd clothes. Is this what the people of Europe were really like? Most of the ones he'd met had only been in passing, without an exchange of words, or it had been in the palace in a formal meeting. They were usually all men, however.
 
He didn't know what TV was, nor media. There was no way that such an important person as he seemed to be could not be on any channels. In the 21st century even people who weren't anyone were in some kind of media. Her mind slowly started to accept the fact that she weren't in her own time period anymore, but how could she have been thrown back in time to ancient Egypt? It went against everything logical. No one had invented a time machine and what force in universe could send anyone anywhere so fast? A black hole maybe but a black hole should be taking the whole earth with it.

Now wasn't the time to think about such things, she had to find a way out of that time period and she guessed that no human would be able to help her with that.

"A TV is kind of a box, that shows pictures and does sounds. Its very common where I come from. And I should probably return to there now so if you excuse me." She tried to keep her voice calm. She were in ancient Egypt, and the person before her were Ramses the second, they called him prince so he weren't yet pharaoh. Carol knew a bit about Ancient Egypt from the documentaries she had seen and books she had read. She knew that they had slaves and the pharaohs and royals usually were brought up to be cruel so that they could rule with a strong hand.
 
Ramses blinked, taken aback at her attitude and strange description. A box that shows pictures and sound? What kind of nonsense was that? And who did she think she was, talking to him like that anyways. "Where do you think you're going? I didnt say I was done." He said sharply, glaring at her. Everyone else was always honored to be around him, but this girl didnt seem to care either way. "You have a lot to explain." He motioned to his guards. "You're coming back to the palace. You can explain yourself in detail there."

The guards smiled, obviously pleased at the order, and grabbed her arms roughly. Ramses headed back towards the palace, the guards hauling her behind him.
 
Carol looked at him like he had said something ridiculous. No one except the police would have been able to say something like that to her in the 21st century, and since she still were new in that world she weren't used to the way she would be treated. "What? You can't just force me wherever you want. I'm not coming with you." She outburst when the guard took her arm, but then she remembered that she weren't in the 21st century anymore. She didn't have the same rights as she had in her own time period.

"Shut up, if you keep speaking like that to the prince of Egypt you will be thrown in prison." The guard warned her angrily and kept pulling her. Carol was pretty certain that they actually would throw her into prison, or even kill her, if she kept resisting. For the moment it would be better to just follow them and try to be obedient, then later she maybe could get out of there and try to find her way home again.

As they got closer to the palace Carol were about to lost her jaw. She had only seen it in documentaries and it didn't look so big on TV as it did in reality. If she had been in her own time period and visited Egypt then she would definitely have enjoyed to watch the palace, but now it wasn't such a funny experience.
 
Ramses led them through the large front doors of the palace, past towering stone pillars and through massive hallways. Slaves carrying everything from linens and clothing to food passed by them, each one giving a polite bow as best they could and a quick welcome as Ramses passed before continuing on their way. Large statues of various egyptian gods adorned the hallways.

Ramses veered towards an elaborately carved doorway. A passing slave hurried over to the door and held it open for them. Ramses entered the room without stopping. Inside was a cosy sitting room. Bookshelves full of scrolls and books adorned one wall, while the one across from it held paintings and tapestries. In the wall across from the doorway sat a small fireplace that looked to be little used. Spaced throughout the room were small groupings of couches and chairs, allowing for some privacy among different groups. Ramses took a seat on a comfortable looking couch and motioned for the guards to seat Carol on the chair in front of him.

"Now you will tell me the truth. Who are you?" He demanded.
 
Carol followed the prince, even though she rather would have gone back to the Nile river and try to find a way home. The people surrounding her, clearly from a different era than her own, were carrying stuff or working on something. But everyone seemed to take the time and greet the prince with a respectful bow. She must have seemed out of place with her clothes and blonde hair. She wondered if they all thought she were a thief or a foreigner that was there to talk about peace between Egypt and her country. On the other hand, few countries in this era would rely that on a woman, if there even was one. Maybe they thought she were something else, slave maybe.. but a slave wouldn't walk with the prince like that.

Soon they came to a room, a slave hurried to open the door for them. As the prince signaled to the guards to make Carol sit down on the chair they did as ordered. Carol would rather have stood up in that situation, but she didn't have much of a choice and that matter. She took a fast glance around the room while being taken to the chair. So many scrolls she would love to read. So many paintings she would love to look closer at and so many books she wished she could at least hold. Would she be able to read them as easy as she had spoken their language?

She knew some ancient languages since she had studied them, maybe the Egyptians would have books from those countries, then she would be able to put her skills to test. But that had to wait, actually she would probably never ask of it. She had to get home, nothing else. Even if curiosity took over her a bit.

"I have told you nothing but the truth. I am just Carol Strandford and I am from England." She started. England and most Europe countries still weren't countries. People were mostly farmers and traded things for other things. They probably had no contact with any countries over here. She knew that Rome had some contact with Egypt, but that probably hadn't happen yet and wouldn't for some hundred years more.

"This will sound crazy but I am not from this world or time period. Somehow when I fell into the water I suddenly got to Egypt, I don't even know how. I'm from 3000 years into the future." She knew that what she said probably would sound crazy or insane and that maybe she would get beheaded for lying. But if she lied then he would probably think she were lying anyway. And she had no good lie to give. One of the guards already had his hand on the sword.

"How dare you lie in front of the prince." He almost shouted and were ready to kill her if ordered.
"I am not lying." Even though the situation was bad she still raised her voice at the guard and glared at him. Something someone from that time probably would never do. But she wouldn't take it when people said that she were lying, nor would she die a pitiful death if it came to that.
 
Ramses put up a hand, stopping the guard. The guard reluctantly quieted, but his hand remained on his sword and his glare continued to pierce Carol as if that would make up for not getting to kill her. Ramses looked at the strange woman in front of him. He tried to find evidence of a lie in her story or behavior, but he couldnt help thinking she was telling the truth. But that was impossible. She certainly didnt look like a farmer or trader's daughter. She was too clean for that, and neither was she royalty. Her clothing, her attire and even the color of her hair were something he hadnt seen before. Everything was strange about the girl. She had to be lying, with a ridiculous story like that, and yet she was telling the truth. Somehow.

He leaned back in his chair, fixing a curious gaze on her. "I'm not one for ridiculous stories such as yours, but if you can prove to me that your story is real, I'll let you live."
 
Carol glared back at the guard and even gave him a smirk when he didn't get to attack her. She noticed that the guard flinched a bit when she smirked even though it was for just a second, but he didn't move since he was ordered not to do anything. She turned back to the prince shortly before he started to speak again. Proving that what she said was truth? How were she supposed to do that? She could tell him what would happen in the future, but that didn't prove that she were from the future. People from this time believed in prophesies and such things, they could as well think she had contact with the Gods. If she told them things that had already happened then they would just think that she had lied about coming from the future and simply knew Egypts history.

She took a deep breath to calm herself before she started to speak. "Where I come from we have learned a lot about Ancient Egypt by studying the remains of pyramids and all that's left from those times. From studying hieroglyphs and figured out what they mean we got to know most of your history. For example that Ramesses the second reigned for 66 years before he died and his 13th son got to take over since all his older sons had already died from age. It was said that he became the greatest and most powerful pharaoh of the Egyptian empire." Even if the last sentence was true she only said it to try and satisfy this prince ego a bit. The slightest mistake could kill her so it was important to just say the truth and only the truth that he would like.

"You will go to war against Asyria and eventually win, also after disagreements with Hittite they will write a peace treaty and not go into battle again. Also you won battles against Nubia and Libya. Of course this is something that will happen in the future, and it's probably years before any of it will happen. I can't give you any proof, I can only tell you what I know from my time." She said and awaited the reaction. Most pharaohs got killed long before they were able to reign for so long, which was a reason why they may think it wasn't true.
 
Ruins? Ramses wondered. Did it look like their great pyramids were in ruins? More questions popped up the longer she spoke. How did she know how long he would rule? 66 years seemed impossible. He tried to think of a pharaoh before him who had reigned so long, but she was onto other topics almost immediately. It all seemed so impossible. Although her compliment to his future ruling did make him smile. Going to war was something that didnt surprise him too greatly. He knew better than to trust treaties and agreements too much. She had said before that she had come from a time nearly 3000 years in the future. If this were true, then who could say what they could and couldnt do by then? Maybe they had figured out a way to travel into the past. But that was all too impossible. There was no way she was from the future.

He remained silent for a long time, his dark eyes studying her critically. Should he believe her? Everything about her, her clothes, her way of talking, her knowledge, and certainly her attitude spoke of a culture much different than any he knew, an further pushed him to believe at least some of her story. "The only people who could know such things are prophets. Perhaps that is what you are, and you are just confused."
 
Carol waited for the man to judge her story, this could end in two ways. Either they would think she was lying and kill her or put her into prison, or they would think she was lying or confused and feel pity for her and only throw her out of the palace. She hoped for the later but believe that the first one would most certainly happen.

Soon the young prince spoke. He thought she were a confused prophet? She wasn't certain if she should feel angry about it or happy that she still hadn't been thrown into prison, or worse. Carol noticed that some of the guards looked at her skeptical while others were astonished of how she had predicted the future. But no one seemed to be stupid enough to think that she were from the future. Even she thought that someone who believed such a story must have a screw loose.

"Confused? How could I be so confused so I would believe that I had traveled in time if it hadn't happened?" She asked while raising her voice. She hadn't even noticed that she had rose from the chair before one of the guards pushed her down on it again.
 
Ramses raised one eyebrow at her and leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. "I dont know what you prophets do out there, and frankly, I dont want to know, but you need to quit with this ridiculous time travel story and return to the present, or I wont have a choice but to lock you up. The last thing we need out there is a crazy prophet spouting all of our secrets. Do you understand?" He didnt like that she knew so much about Egypt and their history, despite the obvious fact that she wasnt egyptian. Locking her up to protect his country's secrets and plans would certainly make him sleep better that night, and perhaps he could get her on their side on another day. Having a prophet up your sleeve was a great advantage over the other countries who might seek to attack them.
 
Carol swallowed hard, even though she hated when guys, or people in general, ordered her around she knew that it would end really bad if she didn't obey this time. He wouldn't believe that she were from a different time period even if she built a car. "I understand." She said almost whispering.

Return to the present he said, but how were she supposed to do that when she knew nothing about the present she were in? She didn't have a home nor knew anyone and no money at all. She would surely end up dead in the desert or killed if she didn't find her way home or a way to fast adapt to the new time period. Maybe there was a way for her to adapt to the time period if she weren't able to get back to her own. He already thought she were a prophet and knew their secrets, she might be able to use that. Though it could also cost her her life.

Carol forced herself to pull herself together and stop looking scared. "I won't tell anyone about your secrets, if you pay me the right prize." She said with confidence, hiding how scared she actually was at the moment. It wasn't like a prince and a future pharaoh couldn't get money, but he might not forgive that she hurt his pride by threatening him. But if she were going to find her way home then she needed money so she could get new clothes so she wouldn't stand out so much, food for the days while she searched and roof over her head. If she couldn't get that money, then she would probably be as good as dead anyways. She wouldn't last long under the hot sun without food after all.
 
Ramses narrowed his eyes at her. The girl had guts, he had to give her that much. Her threatening him didnt bother him too much, it happened too often for it to ruffle him anymore, nor did her demand for money dent him. There was a simpler way to ensure her silence while keeping her useful. "I wont give you money. Instead, you'll take up residence here in the palace until further notice." He stood, not bothering to wait for a reply. "You will stay in one of our guest rooms. You may come and go as you please, so long as you notify me first." He knew his father would have things to say about this arrangement, but he didnt think he'd cause a fuss. This was for the good of their kingdom afterall.
 
Carol had almost dropped her jaw down to the floor. What did he mean she would stay there? If she stayed there then it was just a matter of time before she said something that would get her killed. A 21st century woman wouldn't let a man rule her life, and in this time period every man would rule the woman. It was only a few women that had been able to become the Pharaoh because of their husbands deaths that didn't had let themselves be ruled by the men.

"What? Wait." She protested. "I can't stay here. I have places I need to go to." If she were going to find a way home then she maybe would have to travel. And if she had to stay in the palace then she wouldn't be able to travel further than that she could get back before she needed food, water or sleep. Why did he want an insolent girl in the palace as guest anyways?
 
"If you prefer, you can remain in the dungeon, unable to leave the palace," he offered, raising his eyebrow. "I can guarantee the food is terrible, and sleeping is nearly impossible, especially for someone such as yourself." He'd never come across someone who would refuse to stay at the palace. Most people would have taken it as an honor, and readily accepted. The more he talked to this girl, the less he understood her. "If you need to go on a trip, you need only discuss it with me." He nodded towards the door. "Now, unless you have any more complaints, I will lead you to either your room or your cell. Which do you prefer?" He doubted she'd pick the dungeon. It was no place for a woman, even a crazy one.