some more.. and yes I am quiet crafty

“Whoa…big horse in my room…” she said as calm as she could slowly climbing out of the warmth of her bed.  The horse had to be 16 hands tall at least. He was massive. She grabbed one of the reins that was haphazardly draped across his massive neck and slowly led him through the obstacle course of her room and down the hall to the kitchen. The kitchen she thought was closest to the barn.

“Where did you come from boy? Someone’s Renn faire?” She asked as smiled at him as she inched her way carefully through the house, with a horse that she had no idea how he got in.  She had no idea if there was even a Renaissance Faire going on in the area.  Loose horse maybe? She got to the kitchen, which seemed like an hour to reach and she heard a crunch beneath her feet. Glass.

The window next to the out of place door was broken and the door was wide open.  She almost fainted from shock what she next saw laying across her kitchen floor; a knight who obviously belonged to the horse, or the other way around.

Chapter 2

Clarise dropped the reins to the horse, who actually just stood there staring at everyone, snorting less, as she leaped to the obvious unconscious body on the floor before her.  His head was bloodied, and dirt caked his armor and mail. From what she could see the colors of his tunic were red, blue and white. He had a small emblem or shield sewn on his shoulder.  It was difficult to make out from the crusted mud, but she saw a gold lion on it.  His helmet was nowhere to be found and his sword was halfway across the kitchen floor. Clarise looked at it and noticed its size and decided not to try to lift it with all her 100 lbs. self.  She herself was tiny or petite. All her 5 foot and 3 inches never seemed to hold her back in vet school.  Her agility and way around the larger animals always seemed to help her when she needed it most.

She shook the unconscious knight by the shoulder. She hoped he wasn’t dead.

“Sir, … sir… are you okay? Umm your horse is in my house, as are you. Please wake up.” She pulled on him again. An arm moved.  Startled, she jumped back tripping on her night gown and fell backwards across the smooth floor. She needed a to get a rug.  Pushing her auburn hair from her face, she tried again.

“Sir. Sir. Please wake up…Are you hurt?” She heard a groan as the body in front of her began to move.

“What is it woman…where am ……how the Christ almighty… am I?” The knight said slowly coming to his senses, “This isn’t a trick is it?  I was traveling the wood…. I am on my way home from crusade…this is some kind of sorcery, is it not?” he muttered quickly and in quiet a different accent from what she was used to hearing.  She had to think twice about what he was saying, while she listened closely to him.

“Sir, you are in my house….” She said promptly.

The knight slowly sat up he didn’t look confortable, least she didn’t think so.

“What is the year?” He said slowly.

“2013…..” Clarise stated still bewildered. 

The knight rubbed his forehead and ran his hands through his hair. She hadn’t even bothered to turn on the lights because she was just in shock with a horse in the house, now a knight. She had no clue how they got there or why her door or window was open. 

She glanced out across her garden, the moon shown full. Very full, and bright. Great a full moon, that explains it. She thought in her head. Least it helped with her seeing in her kitchen. From what she could tell the knight was just about the nicest looking man she had ever seen she would guess in his thirties or so.  Hair thick and dark, and the glimpses of his eyes that she did see, blue and intense. Obviously he had been on the road or something, a shave was much needed. 

“Were you riding home from some Renaissance Faire or something and your horse spooked?” She finally asked.

“Renn.. What faire? My town, their faire is not till harvest time, before winter. It’s too early for such festivities…this is a strange house….”

“It’s my house..” She reminded him.

“It should be year of our lord 1191…..” he muttered again.

“Oh dear…are you mad?”

“Mad you say, perhaps it is you who is mad. Lady.”

Clarise frowned. She hoped he was jesting.

“I am sorry.. But its not 1191, its really the year 2013. I don’t know how to explain it to you. Does your head hurt?” Maybe he needed a CT scan, she thought.

“My lady, my head doesn’t hurt much, I have been through worse, with more stories than you can pathom.  This is obviously not even close to where I was from or going.”   

Clarise had taken a medieval history class as an undergrad and had done some reading. That was right smack in the middle of the conquests and crusades of King Richard the Lionheart.  Her mind started to flood with ideas about the door in her kitchen.  The idea smacked her right in the face…maybe it was possible.

“Sir knight, and nice horse… I think you jumped time through that door into my kitchen….That totally sounded insane..Ugh” She said looking at her funny blue door. Clarise didn’t really believe in magic, but obviously something happened, because there was a knight and his horse in her kitchen, and obviously were not from the town and he defiantly didn’t talk like a modern person, by any stretch of the imagination.

“I don’t know how, but I just moved into this house, and… the old owners just disappeared one day, I think I know how or why.. this door.. Its magic somehow. I opened it earlier with this key.. and now you are here in my house….” She grabbed her keys off the counter and showed him the key.  He looked intently at the key she used to open the door.

“Where did you get this?” he asked.

“You have seen it before?” she asked quickly.

“It’s familiar to me, yes.” He said.

Great, she thought; she had a magic key, and two unexpected houseguest. What a nice welcoming present and no idea what to make of the situation. She needed a drink.

(to be cont...)