A Kiss in Time (9 page)

I
trip for about the fifteenth time on the overgrown trees and bushes (and, once, a pig).
God, this is the darkest place Ive ever been.

It is nighttime, Talia points out unhelpfully. Yeah, but where I come from, we have lights
at night. We do, too. They are called stars. They are quite romantic. Like Id want to get romantic with her. When I stopped to change out of that monkey suit they gave me, she spent the whole time whining about how
it was improper for me to disrobe in her presence, even though I went in the bushes to
change. And Im back to carrying the jewelry box, because when she was carrying it, she
slowed to a crawl. No. Not stars, better than stars. Lights in the houses and outside on
the streets. Fire? We have had that for quite a while here as well. We Euphrasians are not as primitive
as you might believe.

At least theyve discovered fire.

Electricity, I tell her. See, there was this guy, Benjamin Franklin. He was a little bit
after your time, maybe fifty years, and he was American. He discovered electricity one day
when he was out flying a kite in the rain.

She chuckles. Whats so funny? It sounds a mite foolish to fly a kite in the rain. He did
it on purpose. He was trying to discover electricity. If he had not yet discovered it, how did he know he would discover it by flying a kite in the rain? He must have gotten very wet, and he
sounds very silly.

This girl is totally annoying, and I dont even really remember the whole story about Ben
Franklin. We learned it in fourth grade. Still, I say, He wasnt silly. He discovered
electricity, and a hundred years later, a guy named Edisonanother Americaninvented the
lightbulb. So now we have electricity, and if you were sneaking out of the castle in the
dead of night, youd at least have a Watch out! Talia screams just as I bonk into some- thing large and wooden. A tree? Yep.
Roots. Bark. Really big trunk. Its a tree. I just crashed into a tree.

I rub my forehead. Howd you know that was there? Was it there in your time? In my time, we can see ahead of us. I suppose we are used to darkness. She laughs.

Its not funny.

Oh, I am sorry. In my time, a man running into a tree was considered the height of
amusement, indeed. She giggles. But I suppose everything is better in your time.

I rub my forehead again, to show that it still hurts and that I dont appreciate her
laughing. Well, yeah. Lets see . . . we have electricity, indoor plumbing, fast food,
cars, airplanes, computers, movies, television, iPods. Yeah, I think its pretty much
better.

You think so? Her voice rises an octave. Well . . . we have things in Euphrasia that are
better than what you have now.

Like what? Chamber pots? Indentured servants? Bubonic plague? Name me one thing you had in
your time thats better than what we have.

Love! she cries. Respect for one another. In my time, people did not go around kissing
other people they did not love and had no interest in marrying. In my time, a man who did
such a thing would be considered a cad and thrown in the dungeon for his crime. In my
time, ladies were respected!

If your time is so wonderful, you should go back there!

I cannot. You have ruined everything with your selfish, selfish lips!

Im selfish? Im not the one who touched the spindle. You said that was not my fault!

That was before I knew you. I changed my mind after I saw what a self-centered brat you
are! You probably did it on purpose, just to ruin things for everyone else!

Oh! She stomps her foot. Thats right. Stomp your foot! Brat! I shall never speak to you
again! Good! Ill enjoy the quiet. I shall . . . I shall go home! Good! Go! Thats exactly
what I want! She stops walking for a second, and I think shell turn around, that Ill actually be rid of her. I keep walking. Maybe I should throw her jewelry
box on the ground. If I dont, shell probably accuse me of stealing it.

But a moment later, I hear her footsteps, running to catch up.

Forget something? I say. I cannot go home. You know I cannot. Why not? Theyll get over it.
Youre their little princess. They will not get over it! All is ruined! I must go with youdistasteful though the prospect may be. She starts walking.

Im distasteful. I like that. Im not the one who begged her to go with me. I could just
ditch you, you know? I dont have to take you with me.

She gasps. A gentleman would. A gentleman of your time, maybe. They sound like saps. In my time, we dont think girls are fragile flowers. We think they should be
responsible if they mess upjust like guys.

All right, then. You will take me with you because, if you do not, I shall scream. I shall
run to the nearest house and cry to the people theremy subjectsand they will come out with
pitchforks and torches. They will hold you until my father comes.

She has a good point, I guesseven though she makes it like a brat. I look around, and I
can see houses full of peopleextremely well-rested people who will probably rush to defend
their princess, since they dont know what shes really like.

And, the fact is, I shouldnt have kissed her. I know its wrong to take advantage of girls
who are passed out. If I hadnt done it, I wouldnt be in this mess. So, okay, Ill take her
across the border. Thats it, though. After that, shes on her own.

So I say, Okay. Come on. But take back the jewelry box. I dont want anyone to think I
stole it if they catch us together. And go faster.

She starts to protest but then says, Oh, all right.

We keep walking. I wonder how far we are from the border or whatever that giant hedge is.

Im about to ask Talia when she says, Why did you kiss me?

Look, Im sorry. I didnt know Id wake you. That is not what I meant. I meant why did you
kiss me? I was supposed to be awakened by my true loves kiss, and then we were supposed to
marry.

I got that.

So if you did not love me, why did you kiss me? Some- one else might have, if you hadnt.

I hear her implication, someone better. I shrug. What does that mean? I forgot she can see
in the dark. I dont know. I just wanted to. In my time, we sometimes just kiss for fun. She doesnt answer for a minute.
Then we both say, I like our way better. She reaches toward me to touch my forehead. Her hand is cool and soft. Does it hurt very badly, where you hit the tree?

I pull away. I dont want her touching me, even though it feels good. Ouch.

I want to ask Talia why she kissed me back, if it was so horrible, but Im not speaking to
her. Besides, maybe someone will hear. Someone with a big dog. Or a dragon or something.
So we trudge along, and the only sound I can hear is my feet hitting the dirt and the dirt
hitting my feet, over and over with no light in sight.

After about a thousand more footsteps, we reach the hedge.

I
am trapped in a bramble bush and have been for the past hour! I am bruised. I am
scratched. I am bleeding. I can see nothing on any side. I hear nothing but my thoughts.

And Jack is no closer to falling in love with me than before. If anything, it is worse.
When I tried to touch his foreheadhis forehead!he pulled away. He must think me a very
silly young girl.

I am a very silly young girl.

Father loathes me. Mother is disappointed. My suitors- to-be are dead.

And now I am stuck in a thicket with a boy from a coun- try of which I have never heard,
who is wearing a costume suspiciously resembling brightly colored undergarments.

And I have reason to believe that everyone else where we are going will be dressed thus. A thorn nearly jabs me in the eye. Ouch! I told you it was prickly. You have to go in the
direc-

tion the branches grow. Jack has been pushing ahead of me, doing a poor job of parting the
branches so I can make my way through. The oaf obviously has no idea how a prin- cess
should be treated.

This isnt even as big as it was when we first came through it. It seems to have shrunk.

Yes. That was part of Flavias spell. She said that after the spell was broken, the kingdom
would become visible to the world again. I daresay the hedge is shrinking.

Jack does not answer this. I do not think he believes in fairies. Or spells. Or,
certainly, that he is my destiny. Still, he has taken me with him. I should be patient,
lest he leave me in the middle of all this. And he is to be my true love, no matter what
he thinks.

I apologize for complaining, I say. Itthis hedge is not what I am used to.

I think you should go back.

I note that he does not say that we should go back, only me. He wishes to be rid of me,
like everyone else.

You know, he continues, its not going to be easy out there. It would be better if you went
home.

I sigh. It will be difficult anywhere, but I prefer to go somewhere where no one knows me.
I want to go some- where princesses do not exist.

Yeah, sure you do, he says. It is true. At least, I think it is, although it will be hard to be a commoner. They have
to do a great deal of work, and sometimes they smell bad. I want to go someplace where
everyone is not angry with me, then.

He laughs. I get that. People are always mad at me, too. They have this weird idea that Im
a slacker. And then, suddenly, he stops pushing. Hey!

What?

Jack moves aside and draws my hand toward him. We made it.

I emerge from the brush. I can see his face because, even though it is still nighttime,
there are lights in the distance, lights almost like daylight but twinkling like stars.

It is as he said. It is wondrous!

We have walked at least a mile since pushing through the hedge. Rather than bringing my
jewels, I might have been better off stealing a sturdy pair of boots. But I dare not
complain. Finally, we reach the edge of the wilderness, and Jack says, We should find
someplace to hide you until morning.

Hide? Why?

This may come as a shock to you, but in the twenty- first century, girls dont dress like
that. Itll freak people out.

I examine Jacks attire and shudder to imagine what ladies must wear in his time. Brightly
colored corsets, perhaps? I cannot wait here, I say. What if they see me? If you hear someone coming, you could
hide. With no other argument, I voice my greatestmy realfear. How do I know that you will not abandon me here?

He shrugs. You dont. I was thinking about it, actu- ally.

You were? There is nothing I can do if he leaves. Noth- ing. Now that we have escaped, I
cannot make him stay.

Yeah, but Im not going to. If Id wanted, I could have left you in the bushes. Or back
there, when you were walk- ing so slowly because of your shoes. But I didnt.

Why not?

He shrugs. Dont know. I feel sort of sorry for you, I guess. Besides, this is the most
adventure Ive had since I got to Europe.

Truly? Despite myself, I thrill at this flattery. I have spent little time in the company
of boys. But what if it is merely a trick to get rid of me? He is being nice now, but I
still remember that he called me a brat.

I wont leave. I feel sort of . . . responsible. He thinks of something and reaches into
his pocket. Here. Take this.

it.

A present! I take the object from him. Its a telephone, Jack says. You can talk to people
on I recognize it from before. But it did not work.

It will now. Watch. He takes it from me once again and presses several numbers. He waits. Travis, he says. Her Royal Highness wishes to speak to you. A pause. What? Tell them Im
puking my brains out. I had some bad cr�me bržlŽe last night. . . . I just told you, Im
with Talia . . . we ran away after she got me out of the dungeon . . . dungeon. . . . Its
not like you did very much to help me when I was trapped in a dungeon. . . . Soon. Okay.
Just . . . here. Talk to her. Im showing her how to use the phone. He hands me the object
. . . the telephone.

Hey, Talia.

I shriek and drop it. It bounces once, then falls to the ground. Jack grabs it.

Whats the matter? Jack says. Your telephone! Your friend Travis is inside it. Jack shakes
his head. Geez. Is it . . . witchcraft? I expected him to sound far away,

but he is inside it! Jack speaks into the telephone. You still there, Trav?

Shes freaking out. He looks at me. Hes not in the phone.

He is.

Nah. Into the phone, he says, Tell her where you are, Trav. He hands it to me.

Im back at the hotel, trying to sleep for once. I gave your guys the slip last night. They
couldnt get through the hedge with that horse-drawn carriage. And then, when I tried to
tell the police to come back and get Jack, they didnt believe me about Euphrasia. They knew nothing about Euphrasia, I say. I look at Jack, and he shrugs, then takes the
phone from me.

Cover for me, Trav, huh? Im leaving her with the phone. Dont let anyone call me. Okay? A
pause. A few hours. . . . Hey, can you call it once, so I can show her how it works?

He hands it back to me.

An instant later, the phone begins to jump about in my hand, and another mans voicenot
Travissbegins to shout from it. He sounds so angry.

Do it to me! Do it to me!

I cannot help it. The phone leaps from my hand, and I begin to scream. Who is that? What
is he saying?

Jack catches it. He speaks into it. Trav, you there? Yeah, shes a little freaked around
technology. Call back in a sec and Ill put it on vibrate . . . yeah, I know.

I have the distinct impression these young men are making jokes at my expense.

You need to lighten up, Jack says. Lighten? Nothing is heavy. Its an expression. It means
chill . . . dont take every-

thing so seriously. Jack does something to the phone, then hands it back to me. Okay. Its
gonna move around. When it does, dont throw it. Just open it up, say hello, and dont throw
it. Okay?

I nod. What are you not going to do? Throw it. I smile. He thinks me a simpleton. Perhaps I am. The blessed thing commences vibrating and, once again, I am seized with the urge to toss
it aloft. I restrain myself. What now?