Evie and the Knight’S Tale

By Suzanne Marriott

This book is about a young lady who unexpectedly discovers that she has a special gift. She doesnt know that she has the ability to become a guardian angel. The story follows the often-humorous and adventurous journey that transforms her from an ordinary citizen to one who is destined to look out for others.

This book is intended to entertain the young at heart who have a sense of humor.

Many of the incidents are based on true events.

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse UK
• Release date: Jun 15, 2018
• ISBN: 9781546288213

Suzanne Marriott

Suzanne Marriott is a memoirist and deep-travel writer who shares her transformative experiences with her readers. Her writings on compassionate caregiving have been published in The Union newspaper, and Writer Advice awarded her the “Scintillating Start Prize” for the first chapter of Watching for Dragonflies. Her personal essay, “Indian Summer,” was included in the ebook anthology Seasons of Our Lives: Autumn and won the 2012 Fall Memoir Writing Contest for Women’s Memoirs. Suzanne’s stories of deep travel have appeared on the award-winning website Your Life is a Trip and Soul of Travel Magazine. Suzanne holds an MS in education and an MA in transpersonal psychology, and is a former teacher and grant proposal writer. She lives in an ecologically conscious cohousing development in the Sierra Nevada foothills. Visit Suzanne at www.suzannemarriottauthor.com for more on compassionate caregiving and www.transformativetravelwriting.com for more on deep travel. She lives in Grass Valley, CA.

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AuthorHouse™ UK

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Bloomington, IN 47403 USA

www.authorhouse.co.uk

Phone: [phone]

This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

© 2018 Suzanne Marriott. All rights reserved.

Cover designed by HOLLY MITCHELL

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

Published by AuthorHouse 06/14/2018

ISBN: 978-1-5462-8822-0 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-5462-8821-3 (e)

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models,

and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Contents

Evie

The Staff

The Gift

Lunch

The Dormitory

Jimmy

The Afternoon

The First Evening

The Commander’s Office

The Next Morning

Reporting Back

The Rest of the Day

First Progress Tests: Preparation

The Assault Course

First Tests

The Results

Jumps and Whispering

The Day Out

Animals

The Briefing

The Second Progress Tests

The Meeting

Evie’s Subject.

Simon

The Final Assignment

Banks Senior, Banks Junior and Jennings

Maz And Jimmy

Evie’s Subjects: Mrs. Miles, Family and Friends

The Journey

Selling the Helm and the Sword

First Few Days at Sea

The Commander and His Wife

Auction Preparations

The First Port

The Journey Home

Ashore with Lizzy

The Reception Committee

The Commander’s Confession

The Caravan

Jimmy makes Contact

Catching the Crooks

The Auction

Evie Saves the Day

The Graduation

This book has been written for Lorna.

I wish to thank all relatives and friends whose help has been invaluable in the production of this fantasy adventure.

For their patience, encouragements and thoughts, thanks Michael and Jim. For the many cups of coffee, wanted or not, thanks Phil. For all the time spent painting, thanks Holly and the laughter shared when discussing the stories, Carole, Mum and dear friends, Elin, Jane, Sue, Annabelle, Jan, Nicky, Joan and Richard, Josie and Jim.

Evie

E vie was dreaming. Not for her the sun-kissed sands, soft cooling breeze and sounds of the waves gently lapping against the rocky beach. Nor was there that salty smell and taste that you feel at the water’s edge. No definitely not! For in this dream, Evie’s sunbed was far too lumpy and uncomfortable. She couldn’t feel the warmth of the sun, in fact she felt decidedly chilled. Not so much as to wake her up, but cool enough to know that she wasn’t warm, so she pulled the bed covers closer around herself. The sounds weren’t right either. In her dreams, they were always soft and comforting like the sounds of small children gurgling when tickled or the sounds of a church choir practicing on a summer’s evening. Instead, tonight, the noises she could hear were more like snores and grunts and other bodily functions best not to mention. And the smells! Well they were some of the vilest she ever experienced! No, this was not one of Evie’s better dreams.

She couldn’t remember falling asleep. She knew that she had gone to bed exhausted after another long day at work, followed by a couple of drinks in the local with some of the staff, just to be friendly, but then she went home to bed.

Sleep was being intruded upon by this dream. It was rather annoying. She was too tired to open her eyes. So, she lay there, keeping her eyes closed, trying to think of more gentle sights, sounds and smells. But to no avail.

She turned over, knowing that she had to get some sleep. She knew in the morning there was work to do and Mr. A. wanted all those reports completed and on his desk by the end of the day. She also knew and dreaded the fact that, even though her reports were ready, she had to collect the reports from the rest of her team. Past experience had taught her that this was going to be difficult. She knew she would have to cajole and even stand by and wait whilst her staff completed the required reports, that were already a week late. Her staff had never yet handed in anything on time and this time was no exception. Numerous reminders about deadlines, zilch. Deadlines were always ignored. Reports and time didn’t matter. She sighed in her ‘sleep’ that wasn’t. She turned over.

Evie knew the morning was going to be the start of a very, very long and tiresome day and some sleep was extremely important. Even a few hours free from this ‘nightmare’ would help.

Now then Evie, she told herself, relax. Count to one hundred and breath slowly. Let your body flop. Relax from your toes upwards. Feel the sleep return.

This was Evie’s mantra whenever she couldn’t sleep easily, and which since she started her latest job, was a nightly occurrence. Whenever she had trouble getting to sleep, she’d had an extremely difficult, tiring and stressful day. She could usually fall asleep again after a dream, but tonight, was different. Evie felt herself drawn into the dream again and as much as she tried, she just couldn’t shake off the feeling of the lumpy bed and unaccustomed sounds and smells that had begun to permeate her environment. She put her head under the bed covers. Perhaps that would help.

After a while, Evie had begun to feel herself drifting off, when suddenly an extremely loud clanging sound could be heard. At first it seemed far off, but fairly quickly it arrived just where Evie thought the bottom of her bed would be. It sounded like the hand bell her teachers would use in the playground to sound the end of playtime. Evie wished it would go away. She wanted to sleep. But it didn’t stop until Evie, unable to stand the noise any more, poked her head above the duvet.

When Evie opened her eyes, she realised that it was still quite dark. It took a shade longer than normal for her eyes to adjust to the dim light. The sounds had changed. No longer were there grunts and snores, but moans and groans as ‘others’ awoke from their slumbers too. There were even some bewildered screams. Evie herself had taken in a sharp breath, in readiness for a scream, but what came out was a high- pitched squeak.

She looked around the room. It was more long than wide. There were beds on each long side of the room. There were wardrobes and lockers at the foot of each bed. There were others too. Different ages, both male and female, not children but not too old either. Some looked older than Evie and some looked younger, but you can never be too accurate about ages nowadays. This she had learned the hard way. At her first parents evening, she had assumed the parent stood in front of her looked so old, that she had asked the pupil if his grandad would like to sit down.

Nay lass, I may have had a hard life so far, but I’ve a good few years left before you can call me Grandad. I’m his father.

Thus, had Evie learned never to judge a person’s age on looks alone. She was always careful never to make the same mistake again!

Still confused, Evie started to panic. What had happened to her bedroom? Why were there other people in there with her? Why was her room so much bigger than usual?

Wait a minute, she thought to herself, what has happened? Where am I? Who are these others? What’s going on? I’m definitely not dreaming.

Evie by now was absolutely terrified. Had she been stolen by Aliens in the night? No there’s no proof of Aliens. That’s not it. Had she been spirited away by the police? She’d only run the red light the other day because it was raining and in her opinion too dangerous to stop. She’d only been going a little too fast because she was late after all, and in trying to stop she might have skidded and caused an accident. No, not likely she thought to herself. They would have got to me sooner than this.

Maybe her arch enemy from work had spiked her drinks last night in the pub and kidnapped her. Thus, preventing Evie from going into work today and demand that she writes the reports, whilst Evie hovered over her shoulder and watched her write them!

Yes, decided Evie. That’s it. Rosemary is behind this. She has finally resorted to extreme measures to avoid doing what I’ve asked her to do! It is the most reasonable answer to this situation I’m now in. It’s her fault. I’ll disappear and never be heard of again. No-one will know where I am or what happened to me. I’m just gone! With this thought, she really did feel scared out of her wits. She couldn’t think what to do for the best. Her mind was in turmoil.

Breathe, she told herself, Breathe. Before she could think any further, the decision about what to do was made for her.

A tall, frumpy looking woman had marched into the room and along the centre, to halt at the foot of Evie’s bed. A more reptilian sight you would struggle to find in the human race. And yes! There was a school bell in her hand.

Her face was not pretty. Her bulging eyes made her look most froglike. Her glasses were perched on the end of her nose, so that she could see over the top of them. Her mousey coloured straw like hair, stuck out at all angles like a cat that had been dragged through a bush backwards, held in place only where the red sparkly head band touched.

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A woolly twin-set in purple set off by a regulatory string of pearls was accompanied by a long and flowing reddish skirt which hung just above what appeared to be a pair of walking boots, laced up to meet her skirt.

She looked down at Evie. Evie tried to shrink back into the bed frame, making herself as small as possible, but the woman continued to stare.

If looks could kill, Evie thought, I’ll soon be dead!

Welcome, the woman croaked (her voice was deep and crackly) with a sneer on her face, as her eyes moved to each person in the room in turn.

Welcome to your new home for hopefully the next twelve months. All will be explained after breakfast. It is now 06:30 and you have until 07:40 to get yourselves ready for the day. Showers are at the end of this room, lads to the left and lasses to the right. Your clothes, you will find in the wardrobes, shoes in the locker at the foot of your bed. You will also find other equipment there too, but you won’t be needing it today. I expect your beds to be made and I will be inspecting this dorm when I return to take you over to the dining hall. If all is not spick and span, you will lose some of your breakfast time. My advice to you, she said peering over the top of her glasses, is to be ready.

With that, she turned on her heel and marched out. She had with her, two other women, who had stood as if they were her personal guards. One was a looked older; taller and thinner, with a pointy looking pinched face and a chin that stuck out. The other, was a lot shorter and more rotund out of the three; she looked nicer somehow. Her face looked kinder than the others. Perhaps that was because there were some ‘laughter’ lines around her eyes and there was a hint of a smile on her lips that she seemed to be suppressing. This one didn’t look as frightening as the other did. Evie hadn’t noticed the two ‘guards’ when she had first woken up, the frog woman’s presence demanded that you look at her and pay attention. It was only when the frog-woman was leaving, that she realised there were others. They had quietly stood by the door, and when frog-woman left, so did they. The door was shut with a bang. Evie thought to make sure everyone was awake.

Everyone looked around at each other in stunned silence. Evie could tell most were bewildered and seemed scared, like herself. But there were, she noticed two or three who had a more ‘knowing ’look on their faces. Why would they react differently to the rest of us? She pondered. It suddenly occurred to her that unless they did as ordered, they wouldn’t be ready, and scared or not, Evie for one, was hungry and curious as to what this was all about.

The same thoughts must have been flowing though the others head’s too, because everyone started scurrying around, looking in their wardrobes for towels, washing gear, and then dashing to the showers. Evie, ever the sensible, thoughtful, analytical one, stayed by her bed. She thought that if everyone went at the same time, there might not be room for everyone So, she made her bed and studied the clothes and equipment that had been provided. She laid some clothes to wear once showered.

It appeared that Evie had been correct. The shouts and noises that came from the shower rooms proved that there were too few showers. She could see a sort of queue by the entrance.

Hey, why don’t you just get your stuff ready first? We can shower when they come out, she called. Three of them turned and looked at Evie. One shrugged his shoulders and thought about it. Yes, it did make sense.

Hi he called, I’m Thomas. I think your right.

He and a few of the others returned to their beds. They examined the cupboards and wardrobes. Evie, Thomas and the remaining few went to get washed when the others began to return.

By 07:30 most of the newcomers were sat on their beds, ready and waiting for the frog like woman to return. There was a certain nervousness mingled with fear in the atmosphere. They most certainly did not want to disappoint her. Beds had been made, some not as well as others and wet towels hung on various radiators or bed frames to dry. They didn’t know where else to put them. The stragglers soon joined them, just in time.

An icy silence descended as the woman (whom Evie had decided looked like a frog and therefore would refer to her as ‘Frog’ from now on), entered with her two ‘guards’. As before, Frog marched up and down the room stopping at each bed and humming and tutting as she went past. Her colleagues, again stood by the door, as if to prevent escape. Suddenly, Evie wondered why no one had tried to run away? She did feel scared, but was she so terrified they she felt the need to escape? No, she decided. She was as much scared as she was curious. This thought had occurred to her as Frog studied her space in the dorm. Evie tried to shrink into the background with a small look of defiance, as Frog scrutinised her efforts.

Mmmmm, Frog hummed, as her eyes took in the sights of the dorm and her lips pursed together, nose wrinkled, as she smelt soggy towels and wet hair. Mmmmm she sighed again. Without another word, she abruptly turned toward the centre of the dorm.

Head swivelling about, to make eye contact with everyone present, she announced,

Not too bad for the first day, but wet towels need to be washed and hung out in the drying rooms, next to the showers. Remember for tomorrow. Come, breakfast awaits.

Without another word, she spun around and marched out.

Maybe Frog wasn’t as bad as first impressions had led Evie to believe, or was she? Evie had an uncomfortable feeling about this woman which nagged at her, inside her head. Evie couldn’t pin it down. Maybe it was the way Frog looked at Evie, or maybe it was just her mannerism as she took control of the room. Whatever. Evie decided to wait and see before making any further assessment.

The tension in the room swiftly dissipated as they rushed to catch up with Frog and the other two. They were, after all, very hungry and desperate to know what had happened to them.

The Staff

T he Commander sat behind his desk, on a tilt and turn chair. His desk was placed in front of a large south-facing window, through which sunlight streamed for most of the day. He liked sitting at his desk, basking in the warmth of the sun. He could swing around between window and desk as required and tilt back when he needed a rest. He did, obviously, have work to do, completing reports, signing off orders and checking status returns and any other business and paperwork that was required of a base Commander, but being skilled at his job, he delegated most of these activities to his deputy.

It’s good for your CV, he told her. You’ll be able to demonstrate that you have a vast experience of all necessary duties, when you apply for promotion.

Due to this delegation, he was free to pursue his favourite activity. He liked betting. In his college, he would decide which trainee would be most suitable for The Best Newcomer Award, place a bet and collect his winnings! This entailed him having to monitor the trainees to find the best candidate. However, sometimes the choice had been made for him and he had to work hard to ensure that the candidate ‘won’. He also bet on other things, but this part of his life was unknown to most who worked for him. He didn’t like losing, so he made sure that his betting habits covered several outcomes. This cost a lot of money, and he had had to find ways to supplement his income. He had to let the Squad Leader know whom he considered worthy of the award, without arising her suspicion. This obviously took a lot of concentration and ‘observation’ time.

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His second favourite activity was eating. His large girth testified to the fact that he couldn’t help himself. Really. In fact, this morning, whilst Evie and her companions were eating their first breakfast of porridge and toast, he was contemplating his second breakfast of the day. His first, the healthy version, prepared by his wife of thirty years, had been eaten before he’d left for the office.

Now however, he sat at his desk, warmed from the rising sun, (and the central heating radiator on which he was resting his feet); his nostrils filled with the aroma of the steaming coffee and chocolate croissants which were laid out in front of him. This was his second breakfast, always far more pleasant than the first.

Today, instead of being left to take his time to enjoy his second meal of the day, he would have to be quick. Today was another Induction Day. The new cohort had arrived during the night and they needed to be told the about ‘The Gift’. He loved telling the story of ‘The Gift’. It warmed his heart to retell the reason as to why the newcomers were there. It filled him with a strong sense of belonging to a large family. He was an only child and his marriage childless meant that ‘The Gift’ family was the next best thing. Only a few in all of Human Kind had it. And not all of those knew. Observers and serving G.A.’s were expected to spot any potential new recruit.

GAs had been on Earth for many, many centuries, having been left behind by a benign visiting race from the stars far away, and charged with the task of ‘helping mankind without interfering with ‘Free Will’. Over the centuries they had inter-married and become embedded in the Human Race, but not all the offspring had inherited the necessary ‘Gift’. Thus, fully qualified GAs had to work to identify and train, future generations of GAs, to ensure their original task was not lost forever.

He also had to introduce himself, the staff, college and its purpose. The newcomers needed to know why they had been whisked away from all they held dear (or not), what reason they had for being there, and what was expected of them. He had to warn the newcomers that some would fail to complete the course, which was always disappointing to those who failed. He didn’t like to upset folk, especially when he had to tell them they ‘weren’t up to scratch’ and therefore had to leave.

And, all this had to be done, before he could sit down to his ‘elevenses’, his snack before lunch. He thought he’d better get started on Breakfast Number Two.

Meanwhile, Frog and her guards were busy in the dining hall. They were studying the newcomers very carefully.

The older, taller guard, Wendy, was watching one girl in particular. A smile slowly spready across her face.

Look over there, at the end of the table. That’s Sarah Billingsby. She looks like her mother. Do you remember her?

Her partner, (the shortest of the three), Lynda replied, Yes, I seem to remember Fiona Billingsby. There was a lot of controversy about her Graduating, wasn’t there? What was the problem…… Oh yes! Of course, Fiona was always too ill for any of the longer physical exercises. She was excused nearly all the Jump training. Didn’t the Commander allow her to perform a small transition jump in order to complete the course instead?

Frog or rather, Marylyn as was her real name, sniffed and rather tersely replied, Yes, that’s correct. But that was because she kept getting travel sickness, so it was a medical excuse. It wasn’t because she couldn’t do the Jump!

But, Lynda retorted, she only tried the Jump once and failed. She never went back to practise.

That didn’t matter. Her medical certificate covered the exemption. She deserved to Graduate, replied Marylyn in a very agitated voice.

Do you remember Javid Johnson and his twin friends, Xavier and Xander?, asked Wendy? Goodness me, Marylyn answered. How could we ever forget those three! It’s a wonder they ever passed out of here. Where work, study and practise was concerned, they always seemed a bit lazy to me."

It wasn’t laziness, replied Lynda, I think that they were just not as committed as the rest of our students. They never caused any harm, unlike that Wendy you took a shine to, Marylyn.

Marylyn sniffed. "I wasn’t