Modern & Medieval

By Caroline K Fraser

A medieval monarch finds himself unexpectedly in the twenty-first century with so much to learn to adapt in a new world. Finding new friends and having new experiences he settles in this new place but soon tragedy forces plans to change. The former monarch finds his way in the present day and struggles along the way but eventually begins to plot his way back to his rightful place. Alliances are formed and broken as a country is divided and the main goal of government is to find a way to bring the nation together. Help arrives in the form of the former monarch whose reign ended more than five centuries earlier but his influence is not well received across the whole country. The former monarch works with the current prime minister to put plans into action but their relationship is far from straightforward and at times threatens to divide the country even further.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Austin Macauley Publishers
• Release date: Sep 30, 2022
• ISBN: 9781398460768

Caroline K Fraser

Caroline K Fraser is a Scottish fictional story writer. She reads a lot and enjoys historical fiction stories; other genres she enjoys are science fiction and horror. In her spare time, Caroline likes to play tennis and go hiking.

Book preview

About the Author

Caroline K Fraser was born in Scotland and enjoys writing fictional stories. In her spare time, she enjoys tennis and hiking. She reads a lot and especially enjoys historical fiction stories. Other genres she enjoys are science fiction and horror.

Copyright Information ©

Caroline K Fraser 2022

The right of Caroline K Fraser to be identified as author of this work has been asserted by the author in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publishers.

Any person who commits any unauthorised act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages.

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

A CIP catalogue record for this title is available from the British Library.

ISBN 9781398460751 (Paperback)

ISBN 9781398460768 (ePub e-book)

www.austinmacauley.com

First Published 2022

Austin Macauley Publishers Ltd®

1 Canada Square

Canary Wharf

London

E14 5AA

Chapter 1

1485

It was a warm August morning as the place burst into life. Suddenly, there were men in a rush and chaotic panic as they tried to prepare themselves for what they were about to do. The morning mist had cleared and there was now sunshine. The King was tired. He had not slept well and had a bad feeling of what was to come. There was no time to think of things which worried him now because King Richard knew he had to focus on readying his army for battle as everything was on the line here and now. He was determined and he was not going to leave this battlefield any other way but victorious. He had gone through too much to gain his crown to simply allow it to be taken away.

Messages continued to arrive for the King but he was still unsure if he could rely on the support of the most powerful nobles and their armies. The place was a constant din but even though it was filled with a lot of noise Richard heard none of it as he went into his tent and started to prepare himself in his armour while his ranks assembled. He was visited by some of his commanders who brought information and some speculation about what course of action other leaders on the field that day were likely to take. Giving his orders, Richard began to pray and he asked God, My lord, please may you let this day end as it is meant to in accordance with your will and I pray that your will is to have me on the throne.

Leaving his tent and making his way to his horse, Richard could see that the invading army were taking their lines in preparations for the battle so he knew that he would have to hurry his men; he commanded his nobles to ready themselves and make for the field. They were soon taking position on the hill and from the vantage point, Richard had a good view of what was before him. He could see that his forces far outnumbered his enemy and so he was hopeful but there was still a small niggling doubt in his mind and he could not get rid of it.

He had divided his army into three, one under his own command, another under the command of the Duke of Norfolk and the other under the command of the Duke of Northumberland. He could see the enemy had not done the same and were grouped closer together but that was not his main concern. The cause of his nervousness was the third army on the field this day and that belonged to the Stanley family. Richard knew of the Stanleys and their commonly used tactic, during which they would withhold commitment until the very final moment and bring their forces in on the winning side.

It was well known that this would be what they would do and so Richard had applied leverage to his cause by kidnapping Lord Stanley’s son to use as a hostage to ensure their support. Richard was well aware that as Lord Stanley was married to his enemy’s mother, it was likely that he would have sided against him and supported the invading army but now that his son was captured, it was thought that his own son would be more important to Stanley than the son of his wife.

The invading army was starting their advance and they advanced quickly, which was not what Richard had expected due to how heavily outnumbered they were by his own army but as they approached, they started to come under fire from Richard’s cannons. The front group of Richard’s armies started moving forward at pace and soon clashed with the invaders, the combat was intense and many were killed, the sounds of battle were something most men here had heard before many times.

Richard was a seasoned solider and had served in many military campaigns and so was sure that he had judged this one correctly. The leader of the invading army was Henry Tudor who had never been on a battlefield before and so was keeping away from the fighting and had left the command of his army mainly to his nobles; he too was unsure of which way the support of the Stanleys would go but was quietly confident that he could rely on it.

Richard’s men were starting to be pushed back by the enemy and he knew he would have to send in reinforcements so ordered his rear army to charge but to his horror, their leader simply ignored his orders and remained where he was. He did not move at all. Richard’s heart sunk as he could clearly see what was about to happen, one of his most powerful nobles had just betrayed him on the battlefield and he now had a very bad feeling that there were going to be more betrayals than just this one. Looking towards the Stanley army which was split into two groups spread across the hillside with one group under command of Lord Stanley and the other under the command of the younger Stanley brother, had still shown no signs at all of which way they would go when they came into the battle.

Richard could see his men in the fighting were being pushed back and he looked back to the rear army which had still not moved and he told himself, I will execute that traitor once this battle is done with and every one of his men. That was a concern for later. Richard knew he still had a job to do here and now. The order was given by Richard for Lord Stanley to come into the battle and the threat was made to execute his captive son if he did not. The response was not what Richard had wanted and since Stanley made it clear that he would not enter the battle for the King, the order was given to execute Lord Stanley’s son.

Looking across the battlefield, it suddenly felt as though his prayers had been answered when he spotted Henry Tudor and it seemed strange because he was not with his main army but in fact a short distance away with hardly any men surrounding him and that was when Richard made his decision. He had always been a very determined and decisive leader and that was what he had to be now so he ordered his close guard and a group of around one hundred knights to charge and that was it; he had committed himself.

Richard charged and his knights followed. They galloped down the hill and made their way around the marshy area and around the chaos of the fighting. Richard could feel his heart beating faster as he charged past the Stanley army which still had not moved and all Richard could think was that they were not going to have the chance to get involved because he was going to finish this battle now and was going to do it quickly by killing Henry Tudor right here. The royal charge clashed with Henry’s group and all were immersed in the bloody combat.

Henry himself was on foot trying to keep a distance from the fighting while Richard struck the Tudor standard bearer with his lance, killing him outright and that was closely followed by another conquest in which Richard struck a large knight in the head with his broken lance unhorsing and killing him. He was getting ever closer to achieving his goal and winning this battle and he had almost reached Henry when suddenly it all went wrong. Out of nowhere, Richard felt himself falling from his horse and he hit the ground hard.

This was a disaster, now he was vulnerable and could feel and see his enemies approaching. His own soldiers circled around him but it was not long until some of his closest nobles started to be killed as they all fought on but the fighting was now a defiant act of desperation in hope of a miracle. A soldier screamed to the King, Majesty, take the horse and flee.

But Richard refused knowing that if he fled then he will lose his throne and he did not want to flee. He had never fled a battle field and this will not be his first time. He continued to fight, exchanging blows with enemy soldiers, when there was a shout that will undoubtedly change everything when one of the Stanleys ordered his men to charge. No-one fighting in the battle was aware of which Stanley ordered the charge yet but this was what everyone had been waiting for but to Richard’s horror, they had not come to help him. They had chosen Henry and now Richard knew that it was over.

He was furious and as he continued to fight, he can feel his emotions overcoming him in what he now knew were his final moments and he can feel his tears as they flowed down his face. He was a King of England and he had been betrayed by his own nobles who had committed treason against him. He had lost his throne and was about to lose his life as he heard the approaching charge; he was soon overcome by blows to his head and body. Richard can feel heavy blows and can feel the pain and his ears were ringing as he was hit in the head but now, he was worried because he can feel his helmet starting to come away and he knew that once that was gone, he had no protection and one blow will mean the end.

There was no escape as death was coming ever closer and Richard awaited the sight of his wife and son which will mean his suffering was over but they just did not seem to be coming. All he can hear were abusive cries from angry men and all he can feel were painful injuries being inflicted on his now near naked body as he was kicked and hit over and over again. His thoughts now were only one, My lord God, why do you not free me of this pain? A sudden blow to his head left Richard barely conscious and now he can hardly see as the blood was running into his eyes, everything around him was a blur and he knew that he was about to pass into the next world.

Chapter 2

2025

Rebecca walked into the room holding a bottle of champagne and, with a smile on her face, popped the cork. It was a warm autumn day and in Rebecca’s country house in England, she along with her team of scientists and historians were celebrating as they had finally managed to make a long-held dream a reality and achieved their starting goal after more than ten years of work and they all felt good as the sense of achievement bubbled in all of them. They had finally achieved what had been thought to be impossible; they had managed to create a working time machine and now they knew that history was theirs for the taking and they would be able to witness historical events first-hand and see for themselves what the truth was.

The test they had just completed had been the very first in which they had managed to transport a human being back in time and although it had only been by one day, it was the biggest achievement yet and now, they could relax as all the fears they had been bottling up in the build-up to the final test were gone and the stress could be relieved for a while. The lucky man who had been the first person to time travel was Jake, a scientist who had worked with Rebecca and her team for twenty-two years along with his twin brother Rick and he had been chosen for the task by simply drawing names from a hat so each team member had an equal chance of being chosen.

Jake had been nervous in the build-up to taking a trip back in time and his brother Rick even more so, they had always done everything together and this had been the first time that had not been the case so Rick’s worry was almost unbearable while Jake was gone but he had later admitted that he had known he was fine all along but was only satisfied when he had Jake back with him and could see him with his own eyes to be sure.

Rebecca had been filled with a sense of terror that she had not felt since her army days as that was the last time she had feared for a colleague and friend in such a way. The group’s historian was called Sarah, she had worked in the group for eighteen years and was the most nervous of them all apart from Rick but she always had a nervous disposition and was a natural worrier, she had not been able to eat until Jake had returned and often spoke nonsense by just rambling on and on due to nerves. The last group member was a scientist and mathematician named Melissa; she had been Rebecca’s friend since school and had worked with her in the group since the very beginning along with the twins. She was not as nervous as the others since she was a very calm person; since she played a lot of poker, she was very good at holding her nerve and keeping a straight face.

Now that the celebrations were over and done with, it was back to work. There was more work to do and then they were going to test the machine again by sending a person back by more than a day, perhaps by a few years to start with and see how that went before possibly sending a person back by a few decades and then maybe longer, depending on what the results showed. The whole team knew that it was ambitious and they each had a different idea about the best way to handle things.

They had all agreed what they were working towards on this very secretive project but the disagreements in the group were over the timescale of the project and how much time should be dedicated to it at the expense of other projects which were where they earned their livings; it was all a difficult balancing act to try to please everyone but Rebecca seemed to have managed it for this long and she knew that if she could find a point of agreement between her team members then she would continue to keep things running as well as they had been. The enthusiasm was becoming stronger as the team could not wait to get another journey in the machine underway. They knew that they had to put their differences aside and get on with everything that needed done and they were happy to do that because they knew from previous experience that there would be time to argue about it later.

As the twins and Melissa dealt with the practical side of the science and computer side of things, Sarah did all the reading up on historical periods and Rebecca floated between the two jobs and helped where she was needed, usually in the lab but since she was not a scientist, there was only so much she could do. Sarah was very fast at reading and could easily finish most novels in a day; she often spent long periods of time reading books and looking through historical documents which she managed to source using contacts she had from her years at university and when she had worked at the museum archives for a time.

Rebecca was also very interested in history; in fact, all of the team were and their shared interest was what had brought them together and led them to where they were now. Rebecca’s favourite period of historical interest was the Wars of the Roses, which was something she and Sarah had in common, they both had found themselves fascinated by all the twists and turns and changes and battles and other unpredictable events of the time. That was why they all knew that the Wars of the Roses were definitely the priority period for their time-travelling machine once they knew that it was up to the task of travelling that far.

It was so strange that the whole team had even agreed to which event that should be the destination when they travel to that time period if they ever did make it. The twins’ historical period of interest were the Tudors and so was Melissa’s so they had all decided that since the shift between the two periods was the Battle of Bosworth then that would be where they would aim to travel too. The battle was famed for ending the Wars of the Roses and the beginning of the royal House of Tudor but it was also famed for the brutal slaying of King Richard the Third who had suffered a violent death and was degraded and humiliated after his death.

Sarah had found the details of these gruesome events upsetting but she had been obsessed by the battle ever since she was a child and had visited Bosworth field on a school trip and what she had learned on that trip had been the catalyst for her decision to become a historian. Rebecca had learned about all the battles during the Wars of the Roses at school and had become very interested and had gone on after she had finished school to research these topics further and that was where she had met Sarah who she had been drawn to immediately due to their shared sense of passion for the topic and Sarah began working as member of the group soon after.

It was now the moment they had been waiting for and the whole group was ready to put the time machine through its toughest test yet and transport an actual human being not just by a day as before but by five years. Rick had volunteered for the task as it had been Jake’s turn last time so he was not going to miss out this time if the names were to be drawn. It had been agreed that the time he would travel to would be five years earlier to 2020, a year they all remembered well and so did the entire world as it had been hit by a devastating new virus which had killed millions and shut down whole countries including England as world leaders tried desperately to save people.

All five had lost loved ones during this time, Sarah her step-brother, Melissa her lover, the twins their mother and Rebecca her grandmother. They had given much consideration to changing the intended destination of travel to a time they may find less upsetting but had decided that it was best left to the time they had chosen since they had all dealt with the losses and moved on and so had all thought that they would be able to handle seeing that year again. As well as the terrible fear that year had brought and the grief it had left so many people with, they could also remember the sense of optimism as the country had started coming out of lockdown in July and after months of negativity, a nation felt that they had turned a corner in the battle with a deadly virus.

Both twins knew the 4th of July had been the first night out either of them had had since the start of March that year; it still remained a clear and vivid memory for both even five years later so they were sure they would be able to identify the same scene as soon as they saw it again.

The lab was full of nervous energy but at the same time a lot of excitement due to no-one knowing what to expect because they had not tested the machine before covering such a long distance through time then had to come back again but now, they would know if they could do it. The twins were terrified as they knew the risks and Jake was almost unable to bear the thought of his brother putting himself at such risk but he knew that this is what it would have been like for Rick when he was the very first to take a journey back in time in fact he knew that it was probably worse for Rick because with it being the very first time they had tried it with a person they had no way of knowing that he would survive it but now they knew that Rick could survive and he was bubbling with excitement.

He was afraid but also so keen and spurred on by the idea of going into the unknown. He also knew that he had to go through with it because he could not bear the thought of chickening out of something his brother had already done. Rebecca began loading several weapons into the machine; there was no intention of them being used but they were to be there just in case a situation arose in which Rick’s life was in danger. Jake had done this but it had been a different situation because he had only travelled to the day before and had arrived in the garden while Rick would be arriving in a busy city and could cause alarm so he had to be ready to defend himself and he was travelling over a much greater time distance.

Melissa programmed the necessary computers and made the correct time settings for the intended dates and the team gathered and began saying their goodbyes and wishing Rick luck. Jake hugged his brother tightly and cried telling him, I love you so much and I hope to see you soon.

Rick said the same but also reminded Jake, I have already been where you are and I got through it so you should be less worried than I was when you did what I am about to. Jake smiled and with that Rick took his seat inside the machine. Sarah and Jake then began safety checks to ensure he was restrained and as safe as he could be. With all checks completed, it was time to begin. Everyone cleared the area entering the safety room with Melissa as she began turning on the machine.

A bright blue light began shining and a loud humming noise could be heard this lasted for almost ten minutes as the team all looked on nervously knowing that when they had tested in the past, it had only lasted two minutes so they were starting to think that they had failed when suddenly, there was a white flash of light and a very loud bang and when they looked through the observation window, the machine had disappeared with Rick inside it.

Jake sat down telling the others how afraid he was for his brother while the others were silent for a few seconds but then asked why he felt so anxious when he already knew what it would be like to which Jake responded by telling them, I always worry about Rick when I can’t see him and I won’t be able to settle until he is back here with us.

Rick was more terrified than he had ever been as his stomach felt like it was tied in knots; the tingling sensation was more intense than he could have ever imagined and he felt as if he were going to be sick but tried desperately to avoid doing that. The light was so bright that he had to close his eyes but it felt like only a few seconds until everything stopped and he found himself in silence and darkness. He thought that he did not know how Jake had managed to get through that without being sick since he still got sick travelling on a bus. He opened his eyes unsure of where he was or even if he was still alive but he knew that he would have to open the door to find out so after a nervous minute, that was what he did.

He began to turn the unlock valve then took a deep breath and pushed the door open, not sure of what to expect but once he looked outside, he could not believe his eyes. It had worked! Rick recognised this scene immediately, it was Soho in London and he was in 2020. This was July 4th the first weekend of lockdown lifting. He had been here that weekend along with Jake and four other friends, they had been anxious about being out in a crowded place again after so long but had also felt they needed to be out and once they had arrived, they had become worried as so many people were on the streets that they feared a resurgence of the virus which of course did happen the following year but not as aggressively as they had feared. The fear did not seem so prevalent among others though as he could hear people talking about how good it felt to have beaten the virus and remembered feeling the same way at the time as did his companions.

In the lab, the team waited as Melissa constantly checked her computer monitors for signs of what was going on but as far as she knew, everything seemed fine but that did nothing at all for her nerves which were totally wrecked at the moment. Jake paced the floor and muttered to himself words of encouragement and tried in vain to steady his nerves while Sarah and Rebecca waited anxiously near the computers so they could see straight away if there was any problem.

After a while, Sarah approached Jake trying to reassure him by saying, All the test runs we have carried out seemed to have gone fine so we have every reason to be hopeful. But deep down she knew nothing would make this an easier time for him because the last time he was the person on the journey and everyone was worrying about him so this situation of sitting helplessly waiting for news was something he had not yet experienced in the way the rest of the team had.

He did not seem to be handling it well as he could not remain calm and continued pacing and muttering louder as time went on but he told the others, Right now, I do not wish to talk to anyone. I simply want to wait alone as I find it easier.

Rick continued to watch the festivities from a distance as he knew that he could not interact with anything or anyone so simply kept out of sight as best he could but people were so focussed on getting to the pubs that they took no notice of what was going on around them he could easily hide in the crowds and the noise was almost overwhelming. Rick even found himself thinking at one point that he could have arrived with the machine in the centre of London and no-one would have noticed him unless he had landed in the doorway of a bar and blocked the entrance.

There was a creeping temptation to try to look for himself in the crowds five years earlier since he had such clear memories of the great night it had been and he so wished to repeat it but he knew better as he believed it could have been very dangerous to meet his past self and was unsure of the consequences of such an interaction. To avoid succumbing to temptation, Rick decided to start his journey back to 2025 so he returned to the machine, fixed his restraints and hit the reset and return keys to make his return journey.

The machine began to make the humming noise it had made on the first journey but it was slightly less nerve-racking this time around but Rick was not very much less terrified as he closed his eyes once the light began to become too bright and he clung tightly to his seat as that sickening feeling returned to him. An alarm sounded in the lab and everyone knew that meant Rick was on his way back.

This was a nervous time in a time travel experiment because they had no way of knowing what condition Rick was going to be in when he arrived back. Jake was on the verge of tears, he was so scared, so Sarah held his hand and was surprised by how tightly he gripped hers back; it really hurt and she wanted to tell him to let go but she thought for his sake, it was best that she endured the pain for a few minutes.

Suddenly, a loud bang echoed through the lab and with a bright flash of light, the machine had returned; after a few seconds of silence which felt like it had lasted an hour, Jake ran out of the safety room closely followed by Sarah and then Rebecca and Melissa. Jake was about to open the machine door but Melissa stopped him saying that it was safer for Rick inside to open the door himself if he was able to so they waited while Melissa returned to the monitors to observe the situation and that was when the door began to open and so she ran back out of the safety room and into the lab.

As Rick emerged from the machine, Jake grabbed him and hugged him as tightly as he could telling him how scared he had been. Rick had done the same when Jake had returned from his journey but now, he was glad to be back but was also excited to tell the team that it had worked. I made it back to 2020 and I have seen Soho in London for the second time. He talked in a very loud and enthusiastic voice which was a far cry from his usual mannerism.

This caused Jake to worry but Rick reassured him that he was OK and that he would just take a while to calm down and he was right as he spent the next couple of hours in a highly excitable state until eventually getting tired and started feeling that he wanted to rest. This reaction had not been the same as Jake’s because while Jake had been keen to celebrate with the team he had not been anywhere near as excited as Rick was but they were not sure if the change in behaviour had been caused by the journey through time or if he was simply just feeling very excited due to the success of the mission. They were all so happy because they had completed another step in the testing program and were so keen to undertake the next step of testing but they knew that there was some work to do first.

Over the following six months, several more test journeys were carried out to certain dates over history, VE Day in 1945 which had been an enormous celebration like nothing Melissa had ever seen and while she was there, all she could hear were people cheering and spirits were so high and so many drunk people she thought that there could never have been a party to match this one and the excitement of her first time travel journey combined with the jubilant crowds and a sense of joy was almost too much for her and she was very close to making the mistake of joining in with the fun because she really did want to but she knew that she could not.

She knew that her grandmother had been in London celebrating on VE Day and she thought about trying to spot her in the crowds but there were so many people that she knew it would be impossible so she settled for watching some of the entertaining events from a distance and even found some amusement as the alcohol began to take effect on some and fights began to break out between small groups. She saw one young man being knocked out by a punch from another man in an argument which seemed to be about nothing at all which on VE Day was something she would not have imagined happening because the country had come together to celebrate defeating an enemy but some were now starting to fight among themselves. She had always heard the stories of the jubilant days at the end of the war but now she could see that even in a moment of national celebration alcohol managed to ruin it for some people.

Melissa was sorry to leave such a fantastic scene behind but she knew she had to and so returned to the machine to make her way back to her own time but the thought entered her mind that perhaps it did not have to be her only trip here and she hoped that eventually, she may return. The execution of Anne Boleyn in 1536 was the next event the team had chosen but due to the date being a lot further back in time, it took slightly longer to get the machine ready. This event was not actually witnessed and the journey simply took Sarah close to London on 19th May where she heard people talking in a state of disbelief about what would be occurring in the tower that day and some were heard to say that they did not think that a queen would actually lose her head and there were many who were saying that they would not believe it would happen until it did.

She had to settle herself with being nearby because the execution was not a public one and only selected nobles were invited to witness it. She managed to gauge the mood of most people was that what had happened was karma due to Anne Boleyn’s behaviour towards the previous Queen and for the charges against her of which they all seemed to believe her guilt and had believed the guilt of the five men who had been executed previously accused of adultery with the Queen who many people clearly believed had been a witch.

This was a dream come true for Sarah. It was disappointing for her that she did not have a chance to see Anne Boleyn in the flesh with her own eyes but she knew that to try do get into the Tower would mean interacting with people and she knew that was not allowed because it could cause a lot more problems in the long term and could change the whole future and make 2025 unrecognisable to her and so she knew it was too big a risk. Having spent some time around the tower disguising herself by wearing a long robe, Sarah knew there was nothing left to do here and so returned to the machine and made her way back to 2025.

Now all team members but Rebecca had taken their journey in the machine and she knew it was now her turn and she was very nervous but at the same time could not wait. She felt that it was unfortunate that she was last to go because it was not a situation she was comfortable with. She would have much preferred to have gone first but it had not worked out that way so she knew she had to accept going last. During the few weeks when the machine was having all the servicing it required between uses, Rebecca and Sarah spent time researching as much as they could about the late medieval period in England and especially the late Plantagenet and early Tudor periods.

They mainly concentrated on the build-up to the Battle of Bosworth and the immediate aftermath and studied paintings of all known participants in the battle to try to get an idea of who was who and also tried to read as much as possible about medieval warfare to try to get some idea of what to expect at first sight of the battlefield. The others had all done research before their trips too so they would have an idea what they were to expect.

As well as building up her knowledge, Rebecca also exercised each day in order to build up her physical fitness as she knew that too would be important as there was a chance that she may have to use her weapons; none of the previous journeys had required any team member to use a weapon at all but this situation would be different because this was a battlefield and would be far more dangerous than anything previous journeys had encountered and Rebecca knew that her life would be at risk but she was prepared for the challenge.

She had served in a war zone during her army days and even though she had only been eighteen at the time, she still felt that she was the best team member for this mission. Each morning, she ran two miles and would swim one hundred lengths of her twenty-meter pool then train using weights for an hour and finish with some combat training aided by Melissa. She had carefully selected the weapons that she was most comfortable with and had chosen an outfit which she felt was most practical, a black outfit with army boots. The weapons she had chosen were a sub machine gun and an assault rifle, she would also carry a small black pouch which held her grenades of which she had ten.

Rebecca did have an attack of last-minute nerves when she was asked by Melissa, Are you absolutely sure you want to go through with such a dangerous journey?

Rebecca had to confess, If I am being honest, I am a little unsure of it so I would like to have a couple of days to think things through. Over the days off to think, Rebecca went through every eventuality she could think of and she was still unsure but she knew that she was not going to be the only team member to back out of her journey. She did consider changing her chosen destination but she knew that she really had her heart set on Bosworth and she knew that if she did not go then, she would always regret it and so after much thought and deliberation her mind was made up. She was going.

The training and preparations were done and it was now the year 2026 and the whole team were ready. It was the day all their work had been aiming towards. The twins and Melissa were doing their usual jobs of making sure everything in the machine was correct and the computers were all set correctly and Melissa had entered the date 22 August 1485, the location Bosworth battlefield. While they did that, Sarah was giving Rebecca one last talk through the situation and reminding her, You cannot interfere in any way with the battle. You can only observe. If you feel that you are in danger at any time, return to the machine and hit the reset and return keys.

Sarah gave Rebecca two standards to take with her, one a white boar and the other a Welsh dragon as she feared the worst so felt that if it were to occur then she would have a chance if she could reveal a standard to an army in the hope she may survive. Sarah wished she were going but it had been agreed that Rebecca was the best for such a job as her military experience would help her to keep a cool head in a crisis and she would be less likely to act in haste.

Melissa loaded the weapons into the machine and told Rebecca, They are all fully loaded if you need to use any quickly but please remember that you must avoid doing so unless absolutely necessary. They all could not help talking about their own experiences on their journeys and were probably thinking that it was being helpful but in actual fact, Rebecca found that hearing these stories was only causing her to become more nervous but she simply smiled and nodded along because she knew that her friends were only trying to help even though secretly, she wished they wouldn’t she would never dream of telling them that. Rebecca took her seat inside the machine while Jake and Sarah made sure the restraints were secure and Rick made sure all the settings were correct.

Sarah warned Rebecca one last time to prepare herself as best she could because if she reached her intended destination, she would have to endure horrific sights of a medieval battlefield which was going to be a very gory place and would be completely beyond the imagination of their modern minds but Rebecca was sure she could handle it and reassured the team that she was going to be fine as she closed the door and Melissa pressed the button to start the machine.

The journey for Rebecca was sickening. She felt so sick that she prayed it was over quickly. She was surprised by how loud the humming noise was and had her eyes tightly closed due to the brightness of the light. It had been the same for the others but this was the first time Rebecca had been through it and she was feeling worse due the fact she suffered from motion sickness but fortunately it was over very soon, everything went dark and was completely silent.

Rebecca was terrified as the sense of fear she felt since the machine had stopped caused her to forget all about the sickness feeling she had been experiencing and now her focus was on what she was going to find when she opened the door. Knowing that she could not stay in there much longer she removed the restraint belts, picked up her grenade bag securing it onto her belt and opening the zip so she could get a grenade out quickly if she needed to.Everything the others had said about how they had felt right before emerging in a strange place had now come flooding back to her and it was flying around in her head in slow motion but it was not going to be of any practical help right now so Rebecca decided that this was it and she took a deep breath as she unlocked the security hatch and pushed the door open. The first thing she noticed when she took her first look at the outside world was that it was a beautiful sunny day but Rebecca did not have to chance to enjoy it as she had landed close to the battle and it was a melee of violent murderous mayhem with mutilated bodies everywhere and all Rebecca could hear was the crying and anguished screams of injured and dying men and the noise was almost deafening; never in her combat years had she seen or heard anything on this scale it was beyond anything she could comprehend even now as she was seeing it with her own eyes, she was still in disbelief that it was actually happening.

The smell was the strangest thing she had ever smelled and she could recognise the smell of gunpowder from canons but there were so many other smells she had no idea what they were and she was not sure that she would like to find out because some stenches were so overpowering that they were almost sickening and she was really finding it hard to stomach them. It took her several seconds to even begin to fully take in and accept the sights before her eyes but thankfully, her training as a soldier kicked in and she knew that she would have to focus and move because by standing here, she was putting herself in grave danger and she knew that she would have plenty of time to think about the sights and smells later as she was sure that these would never leave her.

All it would take was for a knight to spot her and it would mean the end for her this was what she had to keep at the front of her thoughts always and she nervously clutched her grenade bag and thought to herself that should anyone notice her then she would be ready but she also knew that unless there was a direct threat to her life then she did not need to use a weapon. She had landed at the top of a hill behind a huge number of knights on horses where she had a pretty good view of the battle so she was not shielded at all from the gruesome sights she now had to witness.

The noise and chaos of the battle had covered the noise made by the machine and it was not hard to hear why since the noise from the cannons was loud enough to drown it out easily as well as the loud shouting and the noise of blows on armour but Rebecca was thankful for the din as it had given her a chance to think but not long as she knew that soon someone would spot her and that would be when she would have to act as she glanced around she could see thousands of horses on a hill and she noticed a group of knights on horseback break away from the main cluster and begin a charge down the hillside where they looked as though they were going around a marsh passing another group of knights on a nearby hill as they went but the knights they had passed on the hill were not doing anything, just standing there as if they were waiting for something and that was a strange thing in a battle like this but Rebecca soon realised what was happening here because she had heard this story before; it was the infamous cavalry charge so she knew King Richard had to be near the front so she tried to look for the crown he had famously been wearing in the battle but she was too far away to be able to see it and she also knew that the charge meant King Richard would soon be meeting his end.

She knew that she had to stay away but the temptation of witnessing the death of the King was beginning to prove too much to resist because she really wanted to see it for herself but she could hear Melissa in her head telling her to get back into the machine and return to 2026 because she could cause the end of the world if she were to change anything. The sense of excitement was becoming more and more intense and the idea that she was going to be able to witness such an important historical moment first hand was a thrill like nothing Rebecca could have ever imagined and she could feel butterflies in her tummy as she felt her heart rate increasing and her breathing was becoming heavier as she stood watching the cavalry charging towards their target, she knew how it was going to end but that did not matter to her at that moment because Rebecca found herself unable to do anything else but cheer for them, hoping against hope that Richard would get to his target and be the victor.

She wasn’t sure what had made her think that, perhaps it was just feeling caught up in the moment when seeing such an exciting event as the charge and she really didn’t know how but her entire opinion of this battle had changed by witnessing the few moments of it that she had because up until now she had always believed that King Richard was a tyrant who was rightfully defeated and that Henry had earned the right to be King by winning the battle as Richard tried to flee while screaming for a horse but Rebecca also knew that there had always been people who had insisted that those stories were not true and now she knew they were not true because she could clearly see that Richard deserved his crown and a glorious memory, not the reputation history had given him.

Everything on the battlefield seemed to be happening in slow motion, even the charging horses but that was when Rebecca finally spotted King Richard and now, she could see him very clearly approaching Henry’s army, striking down enemy soldiers as he went which made Rebecca look at him in a way that she would never have imagined; she had in mind the historical portrait which had often been painted of the King as frail and sometimes weak. Rebecca watched thinking that he was a real man and not only a brave King but a great warlord, valiantly leading his army into battle and seeing that made her feel sad but she knew all she could do was watch, which is what she did until she lost sight of the group and because she could no longer see King Richard but knew what was happening, Rebecca felt an overwhelming urge to help but was unsure if she could and knew that she should not.

It felt like the right thing to do but she knew the consequences would be dire and she felt as if she were being torn in half by the burden of her choice. There was no more time to think about it Rebecca knew she had to act now or it would be too late and that was it; her decision was made she was going to rescue the King from the battlefield. She was unsure of how easy it would be to cover such a large distance in such a short space of time but she knew she had to try.

She began to run onto the battlefield where thanks to some good luck she spotted some horses whose riders had been unseated and probably killed so Rebecca grabbed one and jumping on, she began riding across the battlefield only to find the saddle was so hard and rigid that the lower half of her body ached and it was not long until she knew she had been spotted as she could hear the cries from the confused soldiers but she did not care; she just wanted to get to the King and was silently praying that she was not too late or she would have sacrificed her life for nothing and soon she could see that she was getting close but she still had many soldiers to find a way past.

She began to scream the King’s name and the crowd of enemy soldiers began to part to look at the woman before them which was something puzzling to all of them as this was a sight none of them had seen on a battlefield. A group of knights began to approach her but Rebecca, ever the soldier, reached for her gun and told them, Stay back; I am here for the King. They were totally confused and she was not sure if they even knew what she was saying.

That was when she could hear some men beginning to shout WITCH and raising their weapons as they began to run towards her with some of them even calling out that she must be burnt and Rebecca knew that she was left with no choice but to fight for her life so drew her sub machine gun and fired. The armour-piercing bullets went straight through the medieval armour killing several soldiers outright which shocked all those around into silence. A knight called for archers and when Rebecca saw them pulling back their bows, she knew that again she had no choice and pulled a grenade from her bag, quickly pulling the pin and throwing it so the carnage was quick and devastating. It had the desired effect as the men who had been running towards her now stopped in their tracks, unsure of what she would do next and some even turned and fled away from her so she knew that this was her chance and she had to take it.

The group of men who had been violently attacking the unseated King had dispersed and had begun moving towards the strange situation, leaving his battered body lying on the ground as they did so and due to the risk of being overwhelmed as more soldiers began to approach slowly, Rebecca had now drawn the assault rifle and called for the King; thankfully, the threat of these strange weapons which were able to cut through armour kept the soldiers back since none dared to risked being fired upon by this larger gun after they had seen what the smaller one had done to the men but Rebecca knew their fear would not keep them at bay much longer so she wanted to remove herself from this situation as quickly as she could.

That was when she saw him, not very far away was King Richard 3rd. Despite having been violently beaten, he had managed to scramble to his feet but just barely. Rebecca called out King Richard and he was very unsteady on his feet as he staggered towards her, gripping tightly to the crown he held in his hand, determined not to give it up; he was bleeding heavily from cuts to his head so Rebecca knew that he was more than likely concussed which meant he would not really be sure of what was going on or even what she was but when he was close enough, she reached out her hand not knowing what she expected him to do but very much to her surprise, he took it and she helped him onto the horse behind her while he was still clinging to his crown; both armies stood in silence unable to believe what they were witnessing.

Rebecca felt the King’s head resting on her back which she really had not expected at all but did find rather comforting although she did not have time to enjoy this intimate moment because now, she knew she had gone too far and this could be a disaster and ruin everything so she knew that she was going to have to think quickly in order to have a hope of salvaging something in desperate hope that she had not destroyed the whole future and had nowhere to return to. Think quickly is what she did as she shouted loudly that, The King is coming with me.

Upon hearing that there were shouts of protest from some soldiers but as Rebecca raised her assault rifle, the shouts began to silence as they had seen the damage these new strange weapons could inflict on armoured men and so none wanted to anger Rebecca and risk her wrath. She then instructed them of what was to happen telling the knights, You will dress a dead soldier in the King’s armour. You will behead the corpse before displaying the body while telling people it is the dead King. This was the only way Rebecca could think to preserve the belief that King Richard 3rd died at Bosworth and she knew that there was no way that could be allowed to change and it soon had become obvious to Rebecca that they believed she was a witch, she had heard some men say it so she also decided to use that to her advantage and announced, It is true that I am a witch and if any man is to speak of what has happened on this field, I will return and lay a curse on him and his entire family which will doom them for all time, even in the afterlife, they will burn eternally.

This struck many with fear as Rebecca