Ursula's Earthly memories surface in the early hours of the morning, and she wakes to wonder what she has gotten herself into. Everything around her seems impossible, from her own body to the information provided by Maralin, whom she is sure has a hidden objective. How can she prove what is real and what is fantasy?

The Voyage of the Visund

A tale of Anmar by Penny Lane

10 - Ursula Remembers

Disclaimer: The original characters and plot of this story are the property of the author. No infringement of pre-existing copyright is intended. This story is copyright (c) 2018 Penny Lane. All rights reserved.

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She awoke and lay there, her eyes blinking in the early light of dawn. At first, what she could see confused her, until she remembered what had happened some time earlier.

Or did it? How much of what I see is real? Am I dreaming now or was I dreaming before?

This has to be a dream! This is not the body I had before.

And what's with all the swords and hairy Vikings? Not the kind of thing I usually dream of!

Only... I think I was beginning to understand their tongue, which is strange. Since I don't speak Norse, then this must be a dream!

Blin! The headache is gone! Does that mean... of course it does! But... this body isn't mine!

The final horrifying thought came: Have I finally gone insane?

There came the sound of nearby bells, clanging out a coded sequence.

Sounds like a clock. I think there was a clock in that house with the pervert. I do not recognize what it says, though.

Shortly after that, there was a gentle knock on the bedroom door and a sleepy Bennet appeared, yawning.

"I am sorry, Mistress, I am not properly awake yet. Have you been awake long?"

"Not very long, I think. There were some strange bells."

Bennet nodded. "Aye, there is a clock in the tower over the gatehouse, I recall as we passed beneath. It said half a bell before dawn, so it is about time to rise and prepare ourselves for the day." She considered. "We bathed last night, so you may wish to leave it this morning, it is your choice... oh, unless you have needs of a female kind."

Needs of a female kind? What? Oh... what do I do?

Bennet noticed the frown. "Mistress?" The tone then changed. "Mistress, I should have realized, you have your memory back now, do you not?"

How did she know that? I tried to hide it! Is this another indication that this is all a set-up?

"You are right. How did you know?"

"Your eyes look different, Mistress. Oh, I don't mean physically, but the way you are looking at everything. And your voice has changed. I cannot imagine what you are thinking now, even after Maralin described his own coming. The Duke will be pleased, I'm sure."

Mention of Maralin and the Duke sent Ursula's mind racing.

I have no idea what is going on! Is this some kind of advanced virtual reality, or have they got me high on mind-altering drugs? Am I just insane?

Why are they doing this to me, anyway? Why not just shoot me and get it over with?

Oh... maybe they want to find out what I know, first.

Only, I don't know anything! Even if they tortured me, there isn't anything I can tell them that isn't public knowledge.

Only, maybe, how I got to Canada. Is that information worth all this play-acting?

She temporized, falling back on her previous responses. "It's all very confusing."

Bennet smiled. "Of course, Mistress. But it would be a pity to stay in bed, especially as the day promises to be a fine one. If I may help you to dress?"

She certainly acts as if she doesn't know what's going on, but then that may be deliberate. I need to play along until I can find a way to escape.

"I guess you are right, Bennet."

Ursula hauled herself out of bed and stood, feeling her revised body shape properly for the first time. Bennet was a little taller than her and seemed to be about the same age, mid to late twenties. The guardswoman had a solid muscular body, as might be expected, but her own was more slender without the obvious muscle tone of a trained warrior.

It was also a unambiguously female body. She wondered if there was one of the little metal mirrors somewhere in the suite, so that she could look at her face properly.

"You look as if you could do with some loosening up exercises, Mistress. I do not think that we will be doing the Tai Chi this morning, but you might want to consider joining us in the future."

Ursula looked at her suspiciously. "If this world is not Earth, then how do they know about Tai Chi?"

"Why, Lady Garia brought it, of course! Um, she is Princess Garia now, of course. Mistress, I ought not to answer any more of your questions since I do not have the knowledge." Bennet turned and walked into the attached dressing room. Her voice came out, "Do you have any preference as to which dress you would like to wear? It could be a warm day but I do not know how warm it will be inside the Duke's mansion."

Stretching herself, she joined Bennet in the dressing room. The guardswoman had lifted the lids of three chests and was pulling out some of the garments inside.

"I am remiss, I should have hung some of these up last night, to let the creases come out. I am no maid but I should know how to look after my own clothes! Look, this one you have not yet worn, it may be more suitable today than any of the traveling dresses."

The garment indicated was pale blue, with a frill around the wide neckline and a flounce at the hem.

"Oh!" Bennet continued, "Of course you have no bras yet. I will have to ask Her Grace if her seamstresses have received the bra patterns from Palarand yet."

Bra patterns? Don't they have shops? Oh, maybe not. I've seen market stalls so far but nothing like a mall or even a strip of shops. Can it be possible that everything here is made by hand?

Ursula's shoulders dropped. I have to go along with this nonsense. It may be the only way to find anything out... though that could be difficult. These people are stuck in the dark ages!

"I'll wear that dress, Bennet, and one of those... bodices, did you call them? What else will I need?"

"Well, you'll probably need a pair of tights, Mistress, and some of these flat slippers for indoors. You can always come back if there is need for stronger footwear."

Ursula felt strangely comforted by the dress, even though her mind screamed out that everything was somehow wrong. It fitted her well and showed off... the figure of her new body. That would be hard to accept.

And hard to let go again, once I am free once more. I have wished for this for so long!

She helped Bennet put her own clothes on, noticing that the guardswoman wore a tie-side panty along with a bra, whereas she wore nothing but a silk bodice. Unexpectedly, the bra had no hooks but long tails that crossed over and were brought to the front to be tied under the breasts. The low, soft boots were different too, offering a sure footing should action be required. Finally Bennet added a belt with a short sword, one of three in her 'arms chest', on one side and a long knife on the other.

The other looked her over again. "I'm sorry, there is no real time to attempt something with your hair. I'm sure that there will be a salon in the mansion, to provide you a suitable style."

"Oh. I suppose... I had it done at that town, what was it called? But we have traveled a while since then." She had an idea. "Is there a mirror here? I want to have a look at it."

"Surely, Mistress. There is one in the bathing chamber."

Stupid! I saw it last night and completely forgot.

Her face surprised her, because of the strong resemblance. It wasn't who she had been, but that made a strange kind of sense. That face didn't go with this body. It couldn't be called beautiful but it wasn't ugly either. Just... normal. Well, that suited her for now. Normal faces can move around without being noticed, if need be.

I have my mother's eyes. Why? I look more like my sisters than I do my brother. Or me. Why?

She had an overpowering urge to examine in detail the body that she now had, but now was obviously not the time. She turned. "Where do we eat, then? In that room where we ate last night?"

"It is likely, Mistress. Are you ready to go?"

When Bennet opened the door, Ursula had another surprise, because an armsman in blue-and-white stood outside, ready with a short spear.

The man bowed. "Good morning, Mistresses."

"Good morning to you," Bennet replied. "I am Bennet and this is Mistress Ursula."

"And I am Dirgan. You will probably be seeing most of the Duke's men around while you are here, there are not so many of us. I am sent to show you the way to the dining room." He smiled. "Though the mansion is not hard to find your way around, I deem. If you would follow me."

Has somebody stood guard there all night? I wonder what would have happened if I had opened the door in the middle of the night? Would they have let me explore?

They followed Dirgan down to the same room they had eaten in before. The table was laid with breakfast foods similar to those that had been served at the wayside hostels, but was obviously of better quality. The plates and cutlery were of silver and the serving bowls of beaten copper, not wood.

The Duke and Duchess were already there, although Eriana was not. Some obscure impulse made her curtsey to the Duke, though she could not have said why.

"Good Morning, Your Grace."

Now I have a decision to make. Do I tell them or do I pretend it hasn't happened yet? No, they expect it to happen today so that wouldn't work, even if Bennet says nothing. Here goes.

"My memory has returned. I think it happened in the early hours of the morning, though I couldn't tell you when."

Wallesan smiled broadly. "Well, that is good news! You must be relieved that you will have no more of those headaches, I will wager."

"I can only agree, Your Grace." She looked around.

"Eriana and the others have yet to come," Fanis explained. "Why not come and sit down beside me, dear? The last few days must have been very upsetting for you."

Fanis took Ursula to the chair next to her own, slightly better upholstered one and they both sat. She noticed that the other diners remained standing.

"You said a strange word before, dear. When you were talking about the early morning."

Ursula thought back to what she had just said, puzzled. "I don't know, Your Grace. All I said was it happened in the early hours of the morning."

"That was it! Hours. What are hours?"

Ursula stared at Fanis. Didn't the woman know about hours? Did they call them something different here, then?

Wallesan heard and walked over to the table. "My dear, hours are a different way of measuring the day. As you may expect, Garia brought them from Earth with her. It seems that it makes it much easier to construct clocks and they are simpler to install and operate. It also makes it easier to allot time to tasks during each day."

"Oh, I see. Thank you, Wal."

He smiled. "I have been convinced that hours and minutes are the way of the future, my dear, and a party of Clockmakers will arrive here soon to teach our craftsmen how to make the new kind." He held up a hand. "Before you object, all the clocks now installed in the palace show both the traditional bells and the new hours, which will make it easier to learn the new method. I propose to have the same here."

"All the clocks? Do they not just have one, as we do?"

Wallesan grinned. "Aye, they did, and I have seen it. It is a monster that occupies a whole tower the size of the Galdarin Gate. But now another clever girl, who is high in their guild structure, has invented a way to... repeat the clocks around the palace, so that there would be a semblance in most of the bigger chambers. One need not wait for the distant sound of bells but merely look at the clock on the wall to know exactly what time it might be."

"I will need convincing, Wal. You know how I feel about machinery."

He snorted. "Machinery! Fanis, you have no idea."

"Your Grace," Ursula asked Fanis, "What are these bells, then? I have heard bells but thought them something to do with local churches."

There was a complete disconnect in her head then, as the word churches came out sounding different and it jarred.

"What are churches, dear?" Fanis mangled the word. "I don't know that word. Bells, well, there are twenty bells in a day but the numbers start again at dawn and dusk. You will hear the clock bells every, well, bell, and also at the halves and quarters. There is a special bell rung at noon and midnight as well."

"But... I thought I heard a kind of code."

"Why, of course. If there was not a way of coding the bells, as you say, they would become very long and tedious by the end of the day, is it not so? And everybody would have to stand and count, and maybe make mistakes. This way we all get to know the groups, and it is plain what the time might be."

"Oh, I see. Thank you, Your Grace."

That explains some of the obscure references I have heard the last few days, then. So, I must remember to call them bells and not hours.

Why bother? Why invent a whole new system of marking time just for me? Or have I missed something? Is there more going on here than just for me?

Eriana, Semma and Kalmenar entered the room and greeted those already there.

"Eriana, Ursula says that her memory returned this morning just before dawn."

"Oh, did it? That is good news." The Princess came and sat down on the other side of Ursula. "And do you feel well now? No more headaches?"

"I do feel much better now, thank you." Ursula thought and remembered. "Your Highness."

"I cannot think what it must be like to have something like that happen to me. Maralin has explained but that is not the same, is it?" She leaned forward, a light hand on Ursula's arm. "If you have need of someone to talk to, then you may always come to me, you know that."

"Thank you, Highness."

Maralin entered beside Hambran. Maralin wore a nondescript outfit that looked like it had come from an old Hollywood drama. He bowed to Wallesan.

"Good morning, Your Grace." He turned. "Good morning, Your Highness, Your Grace, Mistress Ursula."

Hambran wore a strange uniform and saluted the Duke by raising the palm of his right hand up as though he was going to say an oath. The uniform looked vaguely odd, a short-sleeved tunic of bright blue with a diagonal white sash, over gray tights and strange mesh boots apparently woven from white string. There were epaulets and unit badges on the shoulders of the tunic.

"Good morning, Your Grace."

"Good morning, Hambran." The Duke rubbed his hands. "Now that we are all here, let us eat. Find yourselves seats, please, we have no order of status at my table." He grinned at the others. "Except that I have the biggest chair, of course! Oh, Fanis, it is good to be back home!"

As they sat down he added, "Maralin, Ursula says that her memory has returned. There are pressing tasks I must needs attend to after breakfast, so I will leave her in your care to explain what you think fit. Have a care, you will need a female companion with her should you choose to speak to her alone."

"As you command, Your Grace."

Maralin's brow creased with thought as he sat down. It had been easy to speak with the Duke, with Keren and even Robanar whenever he wanted, since they were all men. All of Garia's retinue knew what was going on - well, most of it, anyway - so there was no problem talking to her, but Ursula would have to have a chaperone with her... one who knew the score.

It was apparent that there could be only one choice, and that was a person he had only briefly met since he had returned. As the meal progressed, he called to a footman and gave some instructions.

"Your Grace," Maralin then addressed Fanis, "Is there a private room I may use to talk to Ursula? I am not familiar yet with the mansion."

"Of course, Maralin. I'll show you once we have risen. Oh, unless you have need of it, Wal?"

"Hmm? No, Ursula is the most important matter now, Fanis." He swept a careful arm over the table. "If necessary I can hold my court in here."

When the diners rose Wallesan took Hambran aside while Fanis guided Ursula and Maralin out of the room. She led them a short way along the corridor to a newly-finished door on the other side.

"This is a small chamber Wallesan will use for private conversations, Maralin. It's slightly different to what was here before but that should not matter to either of you. If you need anything, you know the ropes to pull."

"Thank you, Your Grace. Uh, we have to wait until Ursula's chaperone arrives. Ah! Here she is."

The footman came down the stairs at the end of the corridor with a small woman in her mid twenties. As they approached, her face asked a question.

"Maralin?"

He smiled at her. "Thank you for taking time to join us, Renita. If I may introduce Mistress Ursula, who we... Um, that can wait. Look, I have need of you for a bell or two because I have to talk to Ursula. Alone. In there." He pointed. "She comes from the same place I do."

"Oh!" Renita put her hands to her cheeks. "Another one! Aye, I understand. Your Grace, by your leave?"

"Of course, Renita. Maralin? If you have need, pull the rope."

"Thank you again, Your Grace."

Maralin opened the door and gestured the others to enter. Inside was a small chamber of stone, like most of the new building, with a window facing a different courtyard that backed, it seemed, onto the walls of Joth. In the center was a small round table with four chairs, and there was a jug of water and four beakers on a tray on the table. He gestured again.

"Find yourselves a seat, please. If I may complete the introductions, now that we are alone. Renita, this is Ursula, who we found on an island in the Sirrel as we sailed here from Dekarran. We know she comes from Earth because of the way she was dressed and what she had on her. Like myself and others, she had lost her memory and only regained it early this morning, so she is probably wondering what is going on.

"Ursula, this is Renita, a kitchen worker who befriended me when I arrived some months ago. We came to know each other well and I had to let her into the secret of my origins. She has no problem with that and, now that I am back in Joth, we will be married just as soon as it can be arranged." He added, "In the Great Valley, it seems that it is thought improper for a man to be alone with a woman unless they are married. That is why I asked for Renita to join us today."

"Oh? I see."

Another obstacle! A woman can't be left on her own, then. Is that why Bennet stayed with me last night? That will make things much more difficult.

Maralin sat down facing Ursula, with Renita nearest the door. He considered the best way to begin.

"Look. This is going to sound strange, but this is going to be almost impossible to explain. The best way is probably to tell you what happened to me. When I arrived, I wasn't expected. I was found in a ditch when this city was being evacuated. I can explain why that happened another time, I imagine. They all thought I had been hit on the head somehow and that was why my memory had gone. Nobody had any idea of the truth.

"So, when my memory returned I realized that I would be in great danger if I said anything about my origins. That sort of worked for a while but circumstances meant that the secret came out, fortunately among friends. I was brought to the Duke and he understood immediately what danger I was in, which is why I work for him now."

"But?"

"But the problem I had was, is any of this real, or am I dreaming? Am I in the grip of drugs, am I insane or what? It turns out, strangely, that what is the answer."

Ursula stared at him. To have her own thoughts spelled out to her was an indication that he knew what was going on.

That didn't begin to solve her problem, though.

"And what is the answer, then?"

Maralin grimaced. "I'll tell you what you need to know, but it is up to you whether you believe me or not. The truth is, you are in a new body, constructed from your original DNA, on a world over a thousand light years from Earth. Your body is approximately just as it was when you died and left Earth."

"Died? I have died? What is this then, some kind of afterlife?"

"Absolutely not! These are real human bodies and they can be damaged, misused or killed just like the original ones. You have been given a second chance, if you want to look at it that way, and it will be up to you whether you put it to good use." He paused. "It is very unlikely that there will be a third chance, you understand?"

Ursula thought. "But some of this is impossible. You say I died on Earth? How do you know?"

"Because of the transfer mechanism." Careful, here. "Or, at least, what we think we know of it. When you arrived, you would have been carrying exact copies of everything you had on your body at the moment of death. That includes clothes and items in pockets. Your clothes were soaked with blood, ripped and torn, probably by a bear. The marks don't indicate that you could have survived."

"A bear?" Ursula thought. "Very well, that may be possible. Why are the clothes copies? I do not understand."

Maralin shrugged. "A thousand light years is a long way to haul goods, Mistress. It takes a lot of energy. Easier, we think, to just transfer a description of the goods and make fresh copies of them."

"Are you guessing or do you know?"

Maralin hesitated and Ursula spotted it. "I know a little more, but the situation is very complex and I'm not permitted to say too much. I'm sorry. I wasn't sure how much you would understand anyway."

"It is not what I understand but what I believe. Most of what you have just said sounds unlikely."

Maralin spread his arms. "I cannot help that. I didn't design the universe. I'm just telling you what we think is what happened."

"And I am not sure I believe any of it. There are things that don't make sense. For example, on Earth I was not a woman but a man."

Maralin nodded. "We know."

"How?"

He grinned. "Canadian driver's license in your wallet. You don't look much like the picture."

"My wallet! You have all my things? Can I see them? It might confirm what you say."

"Of course, but for now they have been locked away because they might give the wrong idea to people who saw them. I don't even know where they might have been put."

Ursula was frustrated. This whole thing was beginning to look like a huge setup of some kind, but the money that had obviously been put into it was also a problem. Who would spend this much money and for what ultimate purpose?

"I was a man there and I'm a woman here. How is that possible? You said they used the DNA, if that were true that wouldn't happen, I would be a man again. I don't believe your story."

Maralin laughed. "Really? Ursula, tell me my name."

"Your name? Why it is Maralin... oh!"

Maralin stood and bowed. "If I may introduce myself. I am now Maralin of Joth, but formerly I was Marilyn Baker of Chicago, Illinois, United States of America. Yes, I was a woman before I died, in an apartment fire. When I arrived I was wearing nothing but a nightdress and a pair of house slippers."

Ursula was shocked. She had thought her own experience unique, but to find another... but maybe that was part of the plan, too.

"What of this other person you keep speaking about? Garia, is that her name?"

Maralin sat down again. "Yes, she was previously an American boy, Gary Campbell from Hays, Kansas. He was in his final year at school. We don't know how he died, though."

"Don't know? But you know how you died."

Maralin grimaced. "Yes, but as I said I know a little more about the process. If you would let me explain?"

Ursula looked disgruntled. "I suppose so."

He thought. "Let me first tell you what we know about the world you are now on, then. Why we have changed gender follows on from that, in an odd sort of way. Right. This planet is called Anmar by the people who live in this part of it. I would guess, since we don't know, but others on other continents might call it something else.

"There are Beings, aliens if you will, who have been colonizing Anmar from various other planets for a long time. Various animals and plants have been brought from Earth and who knows where else. You will see some very strange things when you have been here long enough, and... some of them are frankly terrifying. There are creatures called dranakh that look like hippos but live on the land and pull wagons and carriages for these people. The small riding animals you saw are called frayen and we think they evolved from rhinos. There is a wool animal called a pakh which is a direct copy of an Earth alpaca."

"What about us? In this fantasy world of yours, when did we come?"

Maralin ignored the jibe. "Humans have been brought here, singly and in groups, for thousands of years. Groups were brought to colonize regions of this continent, which is called Alaesia. On the west coast, there are people who we think might be descendants of Japanese colonists. Eriana's people are really Vikings who thought they were sailing to North America a thousand years ago. Their ships were wrecked on the shores of what became Einnland."

"You expect me to believe this? I am not that stupid!"

Maralin shrugged. "In the long run it doesn't matter if you believe me or not." He grinned. "Would you like me to show you some genuine Roman remains? You probably think you are still in Canada, can you tell me where the Romans left whole amphitheaters in Canada?"

"Romans?" Ursula waved a hand. "Not Canada, perhaps, but maybe Hollywood. I have heard that some of the old sets still exist there."

Maralin touched a finger to his forehead in salute. "Touché. I forgot Hollywood. But you will see things here that are impossible to make up, I can assure you."

"I still do not believe you. To make me believe, you will have to show me some of these impossible things."

"Hmm. Could be tricky. As I was saying, we have aliens - Beings, we call them - who have been bringing people and stuff over for a long while. Occasionally, the mechanism misfires while reading the DNA and out pops someone with the wrong gender. That's what happened to you and me. Who knows? Maybe other malfunctions occur and they have to start again."

"If there are malfunctions, why didn't these aliens notice and correct them? Start again, make us what we should be?"

"Well, these Beings aren't human, and they aren't all the same species either. There's a kind of Commonwealth of Beings running this big project, and all worlds with life on them have observers or overseers or something of that kind. Maybe some of the observers don't have genders the same way we do, and don't notice what to them would be minor differences."

"Minor differences! You call suddenly becoming a woman a minor difference?"

Maralin shrugged. "What do I know? To a slug, or a sea urchin, or a barnacle, gender is a minor difference. How would such a creature be able to tell what the gender of a human was, let alone distinguish between two different ones? It might just as well think that all people with blond hair are male and those with dark hair are female."

Ursula stared again before reluctantly nodding. "I take your point. Slugs and barnacles are hermaphrodites," she smiled faintly, "at least on Earth. But you haven't solved my problem. How do I tell that I am really somewhere else entirely, and not still on Earth?"

Renita spoke up at that point. "Mistress, if I may. Maralin, if we may take her to the kitchen. Did you not tell us, in Possen's kitchen, that you did not know any of the meats or vegetables? That they did not grow in Shicargo?"

This time it was Maralin who was surprised. "Aye, Renita, that is an excellent idea! Let me think about this for a moment."

Is there any risk in taking her to the kitchens? There is something going on with Ursula that worries me. I don't know if she can be trusted... yet. Though, that Being did say that she was in the right place.

Some minor precautions might be wise, I think.

He rose and pulled one of the ropes hanging against one of the walls. After a very short interval the same footman who had shown Renita down opened the door.

"Kassen, I want to take Mistress Ursula here to have a look at the kitchens, only I don't really know my way around the mansion yet. Would there be a spare armsman or two able to escort us? I'm concerned for her safety."

Kassen bowed briefly. "Of course, Tenant. You require somebody who is familiar with the mansion, aye? I will see who is available."

The armsman who appeared a short while later turned out to be Dirgan, who Ursula had met earlier. Maralin did not know him, however.

"I am taking our guest to the kitchens," he explained to the man. "I'd like you to join us since the Duke is concerned for her safety, as she has now recovered her memory and could be in some danger."

If Dirgan wondered what dangers there could be in the kitchen, he kept them to himself. "Aye, Tenant. Are you all going?"

"Of course. Renita works in the kitchen and it was she who suggested the idea."

They followed Dirgan through the lobby and ante-room into the main kitchen, where preparations for lunch were getting under way. Farren immediately noticed them and came over, looking with interest at the one person he didn't know.

"Master Farren, this is Mistress Ursula, who is a guest of His Grace. Until last night she had lost her memory but it seems that it has now returned. Unfortunately, she has trouble believing where she is now. I wondered if she could have a look at the food in your kitchen, maybe that will help her understand. We'll try to keep out of your way."

"Welcome, Mistress Ursula. I am Farren and I run these kitchens for His Grace. I'm not certain what Maralin expects to achieve, but by all means you may look at whatever you wish. Fortunately we have only just begun to prepare lunch so you should not be in the way."

Ursula just nodded, so Maralin asked, "Let's begin with the vegetables and fruits, then."

"Of course, Maralin. If you would come this way."

At the far end of the kitchen were several walk-in larders and Farren led them into one.

"It is early in the season still, and we do not have the choice that comes later this year. Still, it may be enough for your purposes." He added, "If I may leave you to... whatever it is you are doing. I'm sure that Renita can show you anything else of interest."

"Thank you, Master Farren."

Ursula picked up fruits, nuts, leaves and vegetables, feeling and sniffing each one. Finally she turned to Maralin.

"You are right, there is nothing here that I recognize, but that still proves nothing. Any or all of these could come from other parts of the world... from other parts of Earth. I don't know fruits and vegetables from everywhere."

Maralin was stumped, and then realized the obvious answer. "If you would follow me. Renita, show us to the room where the meat is kept."

"Surely, Maralin."

She led them to a larger room over the other side of the kitchens from the larders. Opening a thick door, they followed her into a cold room. Straw lined the floor and great blocks of ice were stacked against the walls. Hanging from hooks on iron rails from the ceiling were lines of carcases.

Maralin gestured. "Now explain to me where you would find any of these on Earth!"

Ursula walked confidently over to a line of large carcases and then stopped. She turned.

"How did you do this? These animals are impossible!"

Maralin explained, "That is a gavakhan, one of our meat animals. Think of them as a cow analog, although they don't give milk. I don't know where they came from, but it certainly wasn't Earth."

"Lies! These things are made up by putting bits of carcase together!"

Maralin shrugged. "Fine. They are naked meat. You point out to me where the joins are."

Ursula became more agitated as she closely examined several of the carcases, even using her hands to get a better look inside one.

"I know a little of anatomy and these animals cannot be! How is it done?"

"I have already told you, it isn't done. These animals grew up the same way you and I did, with a father and a mother who made sure they got fed the right amount of the right kind of food. They just didn't evolve on Earth, that's all."

Ursula pointed to the next row. "What are these, then?"

"Those are zinakh, I think. They are the local equivalent of an Earthly pig, or more accurately perhaps a wild boar. I'm told they are extremely vicious but good hunting." Maralin gestured to another row. "What about our avians, then? We don't have birds on Anmar, we have avians instead. There are several kinds we farm and eat regularly."

Ursula walked across to the two lines of avians hanging ready for use. None had yet been skinned or jointed.

"These aren't feathers... four legs?" She spun to Maralin. "Explain!"

"As I said earlier, these don't come from Earth. I don't know if the six-limbed animals evolved locally or if they were brought in from a different world. There is no fakery here, Ursula." The word fakery came out in English and it startled her. "If you like, we can take a trip out into the countryside and I can show you living versions of these animals."

Her shoulders slumped and she shook her head. "I have to believe but I cannot believe... take me back to that room, please."

As they passed back through the main kitchen, Maralin asked Farren to provide pel for three.

"Surely, Maralin. And, if I may ask, will Renita be able to return to the kitchen soon? Normally we might manage, but with His Grace newly returned home, I want to make sure there are no mistakes."

"Renita? Oh, of course. I am planning to have finished before lunchtime, if that is what is worrying you."

Farren bowed slightly. "Thanks to you, Maralin. And I see now that I am delaying you."

Maralin smiled and made a dismissive wave. "Not by very much, Master Farren. I will think of something interesting to tell you next time I call in."

The group retraced their route to the small meeting room. Ursula and Renita went in while Maralin had a brief word with Dirgan, who took up a post outside the door. Maralin closed the door behind himself and the three resumed their seats.

"This all appears real but it cannot be real!" Ursula said. "Is this some weird kind of virtual reality or am I completely insane?"

The words virtual reality came out in English and it puzzled her. "Why do certain words sound different?"

Maralin shrugged. I need to get her to accept before I can get technical. "They are words that aren't in the local language."

"Local language?" Ursula was outraged. "There is no local language! All this time we have been speaking in perfect Russian -"

The shocked look on her face told Maralin that Ursula has just realized that she was not, in fact, speaking Russian or any other Earth language.

"But we are not, are we?" he said softly. "When we arrive here, we are obviously going to be at a disadvantage so the Beings give us a kind of internal translator. You think in your native language, which I assume from your remark is Russian?"

Ursula nodded, stunned.

"But something happens between your brain and your mouth, so what comes out is the local equivalent - if there is one. If there is not, then the... English word, or in your case the Russian word, will be used instead, and from that time forward that will be the word you will hear. On the way in, you will hear what the locals say and the translation happens in reverse. Once you have been here long enough you should start to think in the local tongue and the translation drops away."

"But that is impossible!"

Maralin smiled. "But it gets better, too. You may have noticed that you have started to pick up what the Norsemen say to one another. In fact, Garia and I think we now have inside us translators for any local language we may come across. She spoke to me a few words of a people who live... four or five thousand... kilometers away, say, and I understood it right away."

Her expression was sullen. "Now you are making fun of me." Then a grudging, "I did understand some of what they said, and I wondered why."

He held up a finger. "It only works for spoken words, mind. If you need to learn to read and write you have to do it the hard way, although your improved memory should help there."

"Improved memory?"

"Yes. Because of the fact they have to grow you a new body, they also have to put your original memories in it. That's the reason you have had all those headaches, because the physical brain isn't identical to what you had before so the memory has to adapt, and that takes a few days. You end up with a memory that is so good you can probably remember every single meal you have ever had, what you wore on any day, who you spoke to and so on. It is very useful but it can also be uncomfortable." His face changed. "There are some things that are best forgotten."

Just then one of the kitchen servants knocked on the door and came in with a tray with three mugs of pel on it. After depositing the tray on the table, he bowed and withdrew. Renita passed round the mugs and they each took a sip.

Ursula picked up Maralin's last remark. "There are things you wish to forget?"

"Of course. Doesn't everybody have things best left behind?"

He put down his mug and shifted to English. "In my case, at the end of my short life on Earth I was a drug addict, a junkie. I had a good career as a chef in Chicago but fell in with the wrong man and he essentially ruined me. If I died in an apartment fire it was probably an accident while I was high." He gave her a look. "The good part of that is, because only my DNA was transferred, I have no dependency problems here or anything like that. If you had any parasites, diseases, whatever, they all got left behind. Your body here is perfectly clean - until, of course, you start picking up local diseases and parasites."

She stared at him again and then nodded before responding in English.

"If only DNA is used, then of course there is no dependency. Of course, this could all be fake-up story to get me to reveal secrets. Maybe you were never drug addict."

Maralin winced at the accent. "Ouch! And you managed to get a driver's license with an English accent like that? Nobody would believe that it was yours."

She shrugged. "If stopped for car problem by traffic policeman, probably not. Was good enough for checking in hotel, though."

"Well, maybe. I think that I can guarantee that your name isn't Dugald Fairbairn, would you agree?"

She became instantly wary. "Interrogation starts now, yes?"

Maralin smacked the palm of his free hand to his forehead. "Mother of God! What do you think this place is? We're trying to help you, make you understand the new world you've arrived in, keep you safe from all the dangers you are unlikely to understand for a while. I'm not interrogating you, I'm just trying to find out where you fit in the bigger picture."

"What bigger picture? Associates, you mean? Contacts, means of travel? Why should I tell you?"

Maralin sighed. Why me? How did this happen? And the Beings said this seemed to be a 'good opportunity'!

"Look, Ursula, I'm not interested in how you got to wherever you met that bear, or who you met along the way. Nobody here is. In fact nobody else apart from me is likely to even understand any of it, because they don't have a Earth background. They don't know about planes or steamships or cellphones or modern stuff, in fact steam engines, electricity and railroads have only been known about on Anmar for about six months.

"As far as I am concerned, it is just a background story like my own that no-one else will care about. I don't give a shit about who you were or what you did, only that you arrived here and you were carefully placed so that the only two people in the area who know about Earth found you. That means that you have some kind of value here, and it would be a good idea to let us know what that is before somebody bad finds out and abducts you."

"Is all story to make me tell you what you want to know. You will keep me here until I give you knowledge."

"No, we won't. I can almost guarantee that. I say almost because I serve the Duke and he may have different ideas. What he'll tell you is likely to be the same thing he told me, that we serve a higher power and if required by them then we may go wherever we need to. If you choose to stay in his lands, then he'll accept your fealty and give you a position here, as he did for me. If you choose to leave, then I'm guessing, but I think that first he'll want to make certain that you can look after yourself.

"Remember two things, though. The first is that you are now a woman and there are certain expectations about the way you behave and do things. It isn't so bad, but this part of the world isn't like, for example, Saudi Arabia, thank God. There will be customs you'll have to follow, some of which could get you into trouble if you don't.

"The second thing is that you have knowledge of Earth matters, even if you won't tell them to us now. You may think that you don't, but Gary Campbell was in his senior year at school and had no practical experience of almost anything. Garia, on the other hand, has almost completely overturned society in the Kingdom she now lives in. Personally, I have almost completely rebuilt the armed forces of Joth from the ground up, despite being a drugged-out twenty-five year old restaurant chef in Chicago.

"The third person, Yves Perriard, appeared in the country of Yod, further upstream, and he stayed a boy as far as we know. That country had a warped society that was a little like Nazi Germany in the '30s. They didn't treat him kindly but tortured out of him the knowledge of gunpowder weapons. Fortunately he didn't tell them everything and we managed to beat them. It was Yod who captured this city last fall and drove everybody so that they could use its resources to launch an attack on Palarand, for the main purpose of obtaining Garia by force or, if they could not do that, to kill her to prevent her giving away more knowledge.

"Mistress Ursula, this is a very dangerous world and you know nothing about it."

She seemed less certain, but her response came back. "Could still all be story."

Maralin shrugged. "I don't know what more to say. You'll have to make your own mind up, and I hope you do that soon. Just remember this, though. If you are unconscious somewhere on Earth, still in a coma in a hospital bed, perhaps, or high on drugs, or in some kind of virtual reality that I can't even imagine, think of it this way. You can't affect anything real if you are unconscious or out of it. Would you agree with that?"

She thought about the proposition for a long moment and then reluctantly nodded. "Is true."

"So forget that, and deal with what you see before you. You can't ignore what you might think of as a dream, because even dreams have rules. Whatever the real world is doing, you have to deal with the reality that you seem to exist in, until you can do otherwise, do you understand?"

"Da. Is logical. Very well, Maralin. I must act as if in movie. I understand. But that does not mean that I tell you anything."

He sighed. "There's nothing more I can say or do. You'll probably manage on your own, since we all did, but I would think that you won't be anywhere near as effective than if you co-operated with us. We're only doing this to protect you, after all."

There was an uncomfortable silence as they sat and drank their pel while staring at each other. Renita, who had not understood the English part of the conversation, was only able to watch the others with concern. She trusted Maralin but the situation was beyond her imagination. It did prove that he knew what he was doing and, by extension, that he was who he had claimed to be. This in turn satisfied her that she had made the right decision in following him into the Duke's service.

Ursula put down her mug and reverted to the local tongue. "What happens now?"

"I have no idea. I'll have to report all this to His Grace, of course, but that can wait. He's been away from Joth for some months and he probably has a lot of things to deal with right now. Have you any questions that I can answer?"

"What about me? Can I go where I want to? That is what you said, wasn't it?"

"Hmm. Let's talk to the Duke first, okay? This is his house and he makes the rules here. My feeling is that you'll be able to explore, within reason, but you'll have to have someone with you when you do so, for the reasons I mentioned before. One, you're a woman and you can't go anywhere without a chaperone, and two, you could get lost or end up somewhere which could be dangerous - like the chamber where his armsmen are training, for example. Do you accept that?"

She thought about this. "If I must. I have other needs. Apparently Bennet and Semma wear bras but I have none." A thought occurred to her. "Am I embarrassing you by speaking of such things? I can wait and ask the Duchess if you like."

"You do remember that I used to be a woman, right? In public, it probably would be embarrassing but not in here. You're right, thinking about it, you only have the clothes that we managed to buy at the markets along the way, and even then you had to borrow some from the others, didn't you? If you're going to stay here you'll need a full set of underwear appropriate for the season and location and some dresses and gowns fit for a Duke's mansion." He stood up. "Let's go and find Fanis."

They opened the door and filed out into the corridor, which was full of people in various kinds of uniform and attire. Maralin released Dirgan and led the way back to the dining room, pushing his way through those waiting to have words with the Duke. Hambran saw them and made a space to one side. Looking across at the line of people waiting, Maralin thought that his quest was not going to be successful, but Hambran had other ideas.

"Can you not wait until lunch, Maralin? Most of these will have left by then."

"I actually wanted to speak with the Duchess, sir. Since we picked up Mistress Ursula along the river, she has almost no wardrobe, and even less that is fit for His Grace's court."

"Why, of course! Her Grace is speaking to some women from the city over there but I'm sure she can find a moment to have a word with you."

The small group made their way through the throng and waited until the Duchess had come to a break point in her current discussion. Hambran waved and caught her eye.

"Can I do something for you, Captain?"

"Your Grace, if Maralin may have a word. It concerns Mistress Ursula."

"Oh, as you say. If I may have a moment."

Fanis finished off her conversation and bid the women farewell, before beckoning the party to join her.

"Maralin, what is it you need? Ursula, how do you feel today?"

"I am feeling well, Your Grace," Ursula replied. "Maralin suggests that I ask you for clothing. I only have what we found in markets along the river."

Fanis raised an eyebrow at Maralin, who responded, "Your Grace, Ursula is right, we had to obtain what we could in the local markets after we rescued her from the river, since her own clothing wasn't suitable. However, now she is here, she hasn't anything that would be good enough for a woman in your court or around the city. She also has very little underwear, and nothing that will help when Kalikan comes. Do you know if the bra patterns have arrived from Palarand yet?"

Fanis nodded. "They have, and I have given them to our seamstresses in the city to deal with. They are having trouble with the instructions, I deem. Perhaps this is the wrong question to ask you, but do you have knowledge of the patterns and how they work?"

"As it happens, Your Grace, I do, but only because I was involved in some of the design for printing them. Do you want me to help?"

Fanis grinned. "Please, Maralin, though the worthy wielders of shears and needles may not care to take instruction from a mere man. I will summon those who have the patterns to the palace this afternoon, and we can find a quiet chamber where you shall explain all."

Maralin grinned back. "That... could be interesting, Your Grace. We can but try. What about other clothes for Ursula? She'll need petticoats, nightdresses, day and evening gowns at the very least, I would guess."

"Surely. I will ask for a dressmaker to attend tomorrow morning, then, and she can be properly measured for all that she will need. How say you, Mistress?"

Ursula briefly curtseyed. "Thank you, Your Grace... but who is to pay for all these clothes?"

Fanis waved a hand. "Do not think of coin, dear. You are a castaway in our care, we are obliged to help as we would help anyone with such needs. Is it not so where you came from?"

Maralin answered, "Your Grace, that is not usually how things are done on Earth. I will explain at a more private time."

"As you say, Maralin. And now, if you would all excuse me, I must needs speak with this couple before we finish the session and clear the room for lunch."

Hambran and Maralin bowed. "As you command, Your Grace."