We were given a selection of pictures to choose from as a writing prompt.
I chose 4 of them:
There was a Time…
Margaret stared at her reflection in the window. Her father was gone again. She was used to his leaving for extended periods. But he always came back. You see, he was a time historian. That meant that he would travel back in time to record historical events. He even took part in some of them. As Margaret stared at herself, she wondered where he was this time.
Each time her father returned, he would bring her something from that time period. She received a laurel wreath from the Roman Empire. She once got a bracelet from Queen Victoria. There was the time, more recently, when she was given an aviator helmet from World War II. She never knew what to expect because her father never told her where he was going.
So she would sit each night by the window, staring at her reflection, wondering.
—–
Carl was a time historian. He stood in his workshop staring out the window, wondering what his daughter Margaret was doing at that moment. He loved her so much. In his workshop, he had all the tools and resources to make any authentic period clothing or tools needed for his journey into the past. His assignment would be sent by a special messenger, and he usually had a week to prepare for his transformation and journey. He never knew what to expect when given these assignments or what dangers they entailed. Therefore, he didn’t share any of this information with his family. He didn’t want them to worry.
This time the assignment was different from the others he’d been on. The time period was the 9th century. He was to research and report on a battle that took place in Wessex, England, in 851 a.d. Carl was assigned to go into the battle as a Viking. It would be the only defeat Vikings ever had in England at that time.
So he stared out the window of his workshop, wondering about his daughter and his fate on this assignment.
—–
You prepared for the time portal by ensuring you had all the equipment needed to record what happened and to fit in with the people there. The portal took care of your looks and appearance to others in that era. The recorder was activated as soon as the portal was turned on. It was set so that in the event anything happened to you, it would send a signal for an immediate return.
Carl sat at the entrance to the portal cross-legged and crossed his arms. He closed his eyes as he was drawn into the transfer field. All the personnel in the room with him could see was a bright purple light filling the portal and another blue light encompassing Carl. His physical features began to fade. All they saw was a blue shadow of someone sitting there, and as the blue light faded, so did Carl.
—–
When Carl emerged, he was much younger-looking than his actual age. He had a rugged physique, his beard was gone, he had long dark hair, a heavy fur coat, and both a sword and a shield in his hands. His eyes beheld a battle that was going on right in front of him.
Carl was skilled in most activities needed for a historical recording. In most cases, he was a bystander, an observer, of whatever event was happening at the time. For this assignment, he was unprepared for what was about to happen. He was a participant in an actual battle, and he knew he was on the losing side.
The English were on him before he could signal a time portal recall action. He fought valiantly and, in fact, even slew some of those opposing him. Having never killed anyone before, this was very upsetting to him. The enemies’ numbers and skill far outmatched his. He did not know who struck him first, but he heard the cry from the embittered soldier, “Here’s for what you bloody Vikings did to my wife. For Margaret!” Carl felt the sword go into his chest. And then everything went black.
—–
Margaret stared at her reflection in the window. She wondered where her father was and when he would return.
