Let's Live A Little

'Come on Chloe, it's late!' I call out, 'it's going to be dark soon, mum will kill me.'

'Oh, don't be such a Winnie worry' she shouts back, I can almost hear the eye roll that no doubt accompanies her voice. 'We won't be long.'

I follow her down the path, wondering what on earth had gotten into my best friend. She had been acting strangely all day and then, just as were leaving college, she pulled me into the toilets and begins checking the cubicles.

'What on earth are you up to?' I had asked incredulous. I had a lot of maths homework to do, and mum was getting on my back about History A-level revision. The Stuart's wouldn't learn themselves! I didn't have time for Chloe's dramatics.

'Oh, Win' she had gushed once satisfied we were alone, 'I've seen HIM'

'Who?' I asked, now thoroughly confused.

'HIM! The One! I was out walking Paps near Trinker Woods yesterday afternoon and HE was ahead of me going into the woods. I only needed one look to know he was special. So, I followed him.'

'You. What?'

'Followed him. But here's the thing, he disappeared.'

'Disappeared?'

'Yes, one minute he was there, a few metres in front of me, hurrying along. And the next he had gone. But…' she's gripping my hands tightly now, 'when I got to the spot where he disappeared there was a door. IN THE TREE'

'A door?' Friends since year one, I was used to Chloe's over active imagination, but this was a new level.

'Yes. We need to go find it'.

So here we were, half walking, half running through the woods after college one Monday evening. The one place my mum had told me never to go. Especially at night, and especially not to try and find random men that may or may not have disappeared into a tree. Ok, she hadn't said that last part, but I was fairly sure she would have if she'd known what I was up to that evening.

Ahead of me, I see Chloe stop and begin examining the bark of one of the trees. As I draw closer a strange sensation surrounds me warning me off, but at the same time pulling me closer.

'It was right here', she muses, as she begins another circuit of the tree.

'I don't like this Chlo, let's just go back. It was probably your mind playing tricks on you' I beg, as the feeling gets stronger.

'Come on Winnie, I know what I saw. Besides, don't you always wonder why everyone tells us to avoid the woods?'

That was true, all the kids in our school were told to avoid the woods, but noone had ever told us why. I'm not even sure our parents themselves knew.

Deciding that the quickest way to end this madness would be to play along I move closer to the tree. Tripping on a root in the process. As I land on the floor, I hear Chloe squeal with excitement, and looking up I see one of the small branches transform into a door handle.

As I pull myself up, I see Chloe reach out to grab the handle.

'Wait' I shout, jumping between her and the tree, 'are you really sure this is a good idea? We have no idea what this is, or why it's here. What if it's a drug den?'

Chloe rolls her eyes, 'It's not a drug den Win, I'm pretty sure they don't have magical doors'.

Ok, so she has a point there.

'Let's live a little Win.'

Knowing it was pointless to argue I step back. Once again, I watch helpless as Chloe reaches for the door handle, becoming more and more aware of the quiet around us. Slowly I realise that the birds have stopped singing and the trees have stopped rustling, almost in anticipation of what's coming next, the only sound being the distant rumble of the motorway the other side of the woods. The strange sensation I'd felt earlier takes a tighter hold on me a Chloe grasps the handle and pulls.

The door swings open, and then… Nothing.

Chloe peers into the dark space behind the door. 'I can't see a thing' she huffs, 'I'll use my phone'.

Content the world wasn't about to end, and with curiosity building up I pull my phone out my pocket and step forward. Activating the torch, I raise my arm towards the space.

'What the f-' I scream as something whooshes past my outstretched hand, causing me to drop my phone onto the ground. My heart pounding, I turn around.

'It's an arrow' Chloe's words pull me out of my trance. 'An arrow came out of the tree'. Sure enough an arrow is laying on the ground.

'Oh, don't be ridiculous' the shock has made me snippy, 'it's probably just some kids messing around. There's nothing here, let's go home'

'No chance, I'm going in'.

Ok, this was going too far now. Lunging forward I grab Chloe by the foot but as she clambers up through the door, an unbelievable force takes hold and instead of pulling her backwards on to the forest floor we're both propelled inwards, into the black space inside the tree, and, suddenly, out again.

We land with a bump, back on the forest floor. But things seem different, something isn't right. The woods look the same, so I listen for any familiar sounds. But instead of the motorway, the sound of distant shouting reaches my ears.

'See, I told you there was something going on' dazed I look over to where I can hear Chloe's voice and blink. Slowly I begin to make her shape out in the gloom. Gone are her tight jeans and faux Gucci jacket, and in their place… well it's like something from a history book. One of those pretty, long dresses Ladies of the Court used to wear. Looking down it turns out I'm wearing the same.

Ok, great. No need to panic. Just breathe Win. In, out, in, out. How has Chloe not noticed?

'Err, Chlo?' pull myself up and shake out my dress.

'This is so cool, I look like I belong in the royal court or something!'

How is she not getting this?

The voices are coming closer.

Two men arguing.

'Chloe, we need to go now.' I'm beginning to panic now.

'Not until we find him, aren't you at least a bit curious about where we are and WHEN we are? Win, we might actually have time travelled. Don't see you see how amazing that is?'

She's standing in front of me now, hands on her hips and disappointment in her eyes.

'You love history, don't you? Well now we might actually be in it!'

She's right of course, I love history, so much so I've been accepted on a course to study it at university next year. But surely, we've not actually travelled through time? Come on! This must be some sort of weird dream.

'Fine, but what exactly do you propose we do?' This is not the first disagreement we've had since becoming friends, but I can feel the tension mounting, a battle of wills is being played out in our eyes. Nonetheless, face to face like this I could almost kiss her, but I know I can't, not now, not ever.

A shout breaks into our personal debate and Chloe lifts a finger to my lips.

The voices are getting closer.

We jump behind a nearby bush.

'I'm telling you, now we have an heir, and a spare, there's no need for her'

'But it's regicide, we'll never get away with it'.

'Look, the Catholics hold is drawing tighter round our King. Do you want a return to the old ways?'

'No, of course not. When?'

'Tonight.'

The two voices begin walking away, and we climb out of our hiding place.

Suddenly we hear two more voices.

'It has to be here somewhere!'

It's a male voice.

'It's just an arrow Charles, there are plenty where that came from - let's go back and join the others.'

This one is female.

They're really close now.

'And miss my chance for a fumble in the woods with my wife? Let's be normal people for a while my love and leave the fawning masses to wait for us.'

Chloe looks at me in a panic, she goes to run but my feet are glued to the spot.

'Oh, hello'

Our hearts pounding, we turn to the voice.

It's a man standing in front of us, with long black hair and moustache. He's dressed nobly, like a prince. A woman follows him out of the trees. God, he looks familiar.

Neither of us can speak.

'Darling, look what I've come across.' He doesn't take his eyes off us as he speaks, a small smile plays on his lips. 'Are they yours?'

The woman he's with looks us up and down, her dress shimmering in the fading light. Her hair is curled up in such a way it's clear she has numerous attendants. She looks cross, maybe amused?

Ah. I know where I know him from. I drop to my knees pulling on Chloe's dress as I do so.

She tumbles down next to me.

The woman looks over at the man, 'If they are they certainly need a whipping'

'You don't know your own ladies’ dear heart?'

'Humph, I had some new ones join the household last week. They've not been presented yet. Well come along, you might as well make yourselves useful'

I still can't speak.

I glance at Chloe and slowly we rise to our feet to follow the pair, who I'm now fairly certain are King Charles I and his wife Henrietta Maria, Queen Consort.

What the hell is going on?

'Who's that?' I see Chloe mouth at me, pointing to the back of the pair.

Cautiously I mime a crown and, because I know of no better way to convey exactly who this is, someone getting their head chopped off.

I see Chloe's looking around to see if there's a way out of this mess, her eyes as wide as a saucepan. I'm not sure I can think straight.

This can't be happening? Right?

As we reach the edge of the woods, I feel Chloe's elbow dig into my side and she points at a man a few metres away, yelling at servant.

'That's him' she mouths.

So he's the reason we're in this mess. Handsome, yes, but worth falling into a tree, time travelling to the seventeenth century and accidently overhearing a plot to kill the Queen? Probably not.

We continue walking towards the crowd, watching as one by one they drop to their knees. A young boy bounds up.

'Mama, Papa! Look' He's waving a sword, fighting an imaginary opponent. 'I'll protect you papa!'

'Very good Charles' the Queen smiles indulgently.

Oh, so this is the future Charles II. Good grief, this is all getting too much.

Maybe we've been forgotten, oh please let her have forgotten us!

Or maybe not. The Queen turns. 'You two. Go join the other ladies, you can answer to the Countess for your behaviour'.

Chloe and I both drop into a low curtsey.

I just manage to croak 'Your Majesty' before she stalks off, the King pauses and glances back at us, the small smile on his lips before following the Queen.

Now what do we do? Chloe is already heading towards the ladies who have now noticed the strangers. My mind is whirling.

An older woman is approaching us now, followed by a couple of gentlemen. She looks severe.

'And who are you?' She asks

Oh crap, what do we do now? I see Chloe step forward out of the corner of my eye. She can be bold as brass under pressure.

'I am Chloe, madam, and this is Winnie. We're new to court.' The woman's eyes flick over to me And I drop into a low curtsey.

I quickly tell her what we'd overheard in the woods. She's looking at us sceptically.

Before she can reply, the young man Chloe had followed joins the woman, a glimmer of recognition in his eyes they fall on my friend.

He knows who we are.

'Who are these two young women, Countess?' he's asking.

I recognise that voice from the woods. Glancing sideways I see Chloe's face is one of horror.

'Two new ladies for her majesty apparently. Say they were in the woods and overheard a plot to kill the Queen. Though God only knows why they were there.'

'Did they now?' My heart is pounding so hard I can hardly heat him speak. 'I'll take it from here Countess, and get to the bottom of the plot.'

'Thank you Henry', she smiles before sweeping off.

'Who are you? And why do you want to kill the Queen? You've seen the future, you know the country doesn't convert back?' Chloe is on a roll. Oh, I wish she'd shut up.

I don't think she realises the danger we're in, we're now at the mercy of a man who is a) planning to kill the Queen, and b) knows we'd not exactly be missed at court if something happens to us.

Suddenly he's upon us, and I'm struggling against his grip on my arm.

'I don't care about religion, I want to abolish the monarchy and if there's no Queen then Cromwell's revolution might well end up being permanent. Besides, I'm not going to do anything. You are. If you ever want to go back to your time again, that is'.

'And if we don't?' Chloe's asking.

'Who'd miss you? Come with me.'

He's dragging us across the field now, it's all I can do to keep up. We need to escape and warn the Queen, and then get home. But how?

We're inside the palace now, it would be magnificent this wasn't the worst situation imaginable.

Along the corridors we go, ooh, is that a Holbein? Until we reach his rooms, and he pushes us inside.

He releases me and hands me a vial. His grip around Chloe is still tight.

'You'll give this to the Queen tonight', he's looking at me. Your friend here will stay with me, once it's done, I'll slip you both out in the panic'

'And if I refuse?' I'm trying to be bold here, probably failing given my voice is shaking. He doesn't reply. 'How?' I'm now just croaking.

'Slip it in her drink, or her food. Ram it down her throat for all I care. Just make sure she takes it. Now go.'

What the hell do I do now? I lean against the door outside of the room, counting my breaths to try and slow my heart beat. I need a plan.

'Help you?' Looking up at the voice I see a young man. It's the servant I'd seen earlier receiving a telling off from our mystery traitor. 'Friend of yours, is he?' he asks nodding towards the door.

What are my options here? One, I tell him the truth and hope he can help, two, I lie and find some other way to fix this. What should I do? I can't take this anymore, tears are streaming down my cheeks. I don't have a choice. Gasping for air through my sobs I explain my predicament, leaving out the bit about time travelling though.

He's staring at me. He doesn't believe me. My legs giving out I collapse on the floor, sure he's going to run for the guards. Instead he speaks, 'I have a plan'

'If we can get the vial on him as he visits the Queen later, we can find a way to get him out of the picture.'

Can I really trust him? Probably not. Do I have a choice? Nope.

'Here's what we'll do…'

It's a few hours later and I'm approaching the Queen's rooms, the vial carefully hidden in the folds of my sleeve. Slowly I enter the outer chamber, I clock my new friend in the corner and the traitor's way just ahead of me. He steps out the corner and blocks the way of the traitor. I speed up and knock into him releasing the vial as I do so, it smashes on the floor burning the carpet.

'You. Stupid. Girl' he reacts angrily, he's not noticed the spill on the floor.

'Poison!' Someone yells. They're pointing to the floor.

'It came from his pocket' I hear my new friend speak. The room stills. I take a deep breath, one second, two. Commotion breaks out, as planned I slip out the door and go to find Chloe.

The door is unlocked when I get there, Chloe tied to a chair inside. I find a knife and as I’m to cutting her free, I hear shouts. There are people coming, we can't get out by the door. We glance at the window, Chloe grabs my hand and we jump.

The woods aren't far away, we can make it. We only have one thing on our minds.

We're run across the field and into the woods, I can feel my dress trailing behind me. Where is the damn door?

Suddenly my foot hits a root and I'm on the floor with in a yelp. Has Chloe heard? She's turning back. Wait, that shrub looks familiar. Disbelieving, a door materialises above me. Chloe yanks it open and pulls me through.