19 October 1123

　　William could make the return journey to the cave in half a day, if he marched. His treasure burned in his hand as he headed along the nowfamiliar path.

　　Surely Matilda would accept his trade this time.

　　He`d returned to the Stranger`s camp several times since their first meeting but she had rejected each of his previous offers for the knife. An assortment of vegetables swiped from Ma`s garden. A handful of Pa`s best arrowheads. His grandmother`s precious silk. William had even tried sneaking an iron ingot from the blacksmith, only to be chased through the village square. Yet still his offers were rejected.

　　It was frustrating but William welcomed the chance to continue seeing Matilda and used the opportunities to ingratiate himself. Their conversations became easier as he taught her proper words and corrected her pronunciation, though she still often used her strange new language. She was undoubtedly odd but her eccentricities intrigued William, compelling him to keep his discovery to himself.

　　He still knew so little about her. She had slowly opened up to him, even letting him look at the remarkably lifelike pictures within her Book. Yet she remained coy about her past and their conversations remained one way exchanges where William bombarded her with questions only to receive answers for one in ten. He`d tried to learn more by watching from a distance as in the early days but Matilda quickly detected his presence.

　　She was cooking when William arrived.

　　"Come down from there William. If you must watch, do it where I can see you."

　　The Boy scurried out from his bush and took his regular log by the fire. Matilda fished some meat from the boiling pot and carved him off a piece.

　　"You don`t seem to have any qualms eating the Baron`s deer," she mused in her bizarre accent as he savoured the meaty treat.

　　"The beast is already dead," William replied matter-of-factly. "It`d be a bigger crime to let it go to waste. I rarely get to eat venison."

　　Matilda smiled and the pair chewed the tough meat in a companionable silence until William judged she was sufficiently relaxed for him to begin his questions. How was the meat still fresh? How long did it take to prepare? How did she know he was up there?

　　She was in a pleasant mood and humoured him with some scattered answers before asking a question of her own.

　　"What`s clutched in that hand of yours?"

　　"Payment, for your knife," William replied simply, handing it over. Matilda`s face lit up immediately.

　　"William, this is incredible! It`s&Roman! Where`d you get it?" she asked.

　　William beamed. Ma`s father had found the lucky coin years ago, while building an extension for his granary. Mama kept it squirrelled away with the rest of her dead husband`s belongings, saying it was too painful to look at. William doubted she would notice it missing.

　　"Pa says Holford was originally a Roman settlement," William replied with disinterest.

　　"Is that your village?" Matilda asked absentmindedly, still entranced by the coin in her palm. "Holford?"

　　"Yeah, it`s not far from here. Where are you from?" William asked opportunistically, not really expecting an answer.

　　Matilda went silent, considering William and then the coin.

　　"Having an independent confirmation of my arrival could prove useful," she whispered, as if to the coin. "And I`ll be long gone before any blabbing could cause trouble." She looked at William with a twinkle in her eye. "Very well. I`m from the future."

　　"The future?" William asked, confused. "What does that even mean?"

　　"Another time," Matilda said, as though he was simple. "Like tomorrow or next week, but much further away. You are as old to me as this coin is to you."

　　William considered this new information. "How?"

　　"I fell from the sky in a metal egg."

　　"Now you`re just poking fun," William complained.

　　"I`m not!" Matilda said earnestly. "I can show you."

　　William weighed the risks of venturing into the woods with a potential witch. "Only if you give me the knife. To keep."

　　Matilda judged him once again before handing over both the knife and coin. "This treasure belongs with your family. Put it back where you found it. And promise to take care of my knife."

　　William excitedly strapped the knife back onto his belt and the pair set off into the forest. Their path seemed random but Matilda walked with purpose, her limp all but gone. He was puzzled when she stopped at a mass of dead branches piled at the base of a random tree but excitement swelled as Matilda removed branches to reveal a giant metallic egg.

　　"You weren`t lying!" William cried. "You really are from the future!?"

　　Matilda simply smiled as William clambered over the branches to inspect the egg. He ran his hands along its smooth surface and yelped when he discovered how to open it. He quickly manoeuvred it upright and clambered inside before thrusting his head out of the opening. "So you`re really from the future?"

　　"I`m afraid so. The year 2037."

　　William sat back in the pod as he considered the absurdity of her claim. And yet it seemed to make sense.

　　"Good lord! You really are going to see the King!"

　　"Yep. I`ll teach him everything from my Book and make gadgets much more exciting than the torch or my bow."

　　"But how? You can`t just stroll into London and demand to see the King."

　　Matilda shrugged. "True. I haven`t worked out the specifics but I`ll make my way to London and then find a way into his court. I`d hoped to meet a baron on my way and request a letter of recommendation."

　　"Pa has to go to the castle to deliver our taxes this week!" William interjected excitedly. "And our new bishop was in town only a couple days back. There was a special Mass and everything. He`s a foreigner too, Pa said he travelled to England with the new Queen. Surely he could help you meet the King."

　　"That makes sense. Bishop John would`ve died what, last year? His successor would probably tour the parishes." Matilda pondered William`s proposal. "An introduction from a bishop could be even better than a baron," she whispered to herself before giving a big sigh. "I guess my chair carving will have to wait."

　　William`s mind raced. He`d prayed for more excitement in his dull life but never dreamed that something so amazing could happen. To him! He was so full of questions that he struggled not to blurt them all out at once.

　　"So you`ll come back to my home and Pa can take you to see the Bishop?" he asked with absolute restraint.

　　Matilda thought again before responding. "Ok," she agreed. "I`d better pack my things."

　　Matilda turned back to her cave, not even bothering to cover her egg with branches. Doesn`t she know how valuable that much metal is?

　　"Wait!" William called out. "What about the egg?"

　　Matilda looked around with an impatient look. "What about it? I can come back for it later, if I ever need it."

　　William was baffled. "Surely you jest?"

　　Matilda shrugged, her mind no doubt already planning her trip. But William refused to abandon such an amazing object to the forest. Holford`s blacksmith would pay a fortune for it, provided he didn`t attack William first. He grabbed the open rim and started dragging to test its weight.

　　"Can I have it?" he asked sheepishly.Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.

　　Matilda looked surprised but nodded.

　　William hooted in triumph. It was surprisingly easy to move once it was rolling. William struggled to push it up a hill but hollered with glee when the ball rolled away down the other side, bouncing off trees before coming to a rest in the valley below. Matilda smiled as he bounded down after it and even helped push it up the last few hills. The pair made a more controlled descent into the gully and left the egg by the cave door. Matilda headed inside while William piled rocks around the base.

　　When it was secure, he walked freely into the cave, noting how strange it was to be invited and not need to sneak in. Matilda sat cross legged on the dirt floor, surrounded by a pile of her belongings which she sorted for her journey to London.

　　"There`s too much," she moaned, shuffling piles back and forward. She muttered to herself before throwing her hands up in defeat. "Forget it! Can I trust you to make sure no one else breaks in while I am away?" Her emphasis on the word else cut like a knife.

　　William nodded guiltily.

　　"Good." Matilda said. "It`ll be much easier to travel without all of this. And it will be nice to know that someone is looking after it for me."

　　She bundled some clothes into a sack and added some extra items to her satchel before piling her remaining belongings on the bed and gently shooing William out of the cave. She fastened the latch behind her, taking time to ensure that it was extra secure.

　　"Come on William. Let the journey begin."

　　William trotted after Matilda as she marched out of the gully and guided her to the familiar trail back to Holford. Matilda spent much of the trip lost deep in thought but William couldn`t hold his tongue.

　　"What is it like, in the future?" he asked as casually as possible. "Do the Norman`s rule the world or did us English manage to break free?"

　　Matilda was jolted back to the present but laughed. "Oh no, the English broke free. We actually ended up colonising much of the globe at one stage, unfortunately. It`s no fluke that we`re speaking English."

　　William still found her language puzzling. He didn`t know what a globe was but she definitely spoke English. Something close to it anyway.

　　"There`s a lot more freedom in England`s future. Many people own their own land and even commoners can buy whatever food they want. We`ve cured many illnesses and use machines to swim underwater like fish or fly like birds."

　　Questions came to William faster than he could mentally register them. He blurted out the first one that solidified into a complete thought.

　　"Fly!? Up in the sky? How? How high!?"

　　Matilda laughed again. "As high as you can imagine! We`ve flown to the moon, the sun, to other planets."

　　William was mesmerised. He stared through the canopy and up at the sky where the sunset created brilliant shades of purple and red. A crescent moon was shining and the first stars had come into view. People could go there? Surely not. William was so enthralled that he failed to notice an exposed root and went tumbling to the ground.

　　"Careful!" Matilda dashed forward and helped him up. William`s ego was battered more than his knees.

　　"Tell me about your family," she said gently.

　　"Well, there`s Pa. His family have always farmed for the Baron but he got his own plot of land after serving the King. He`s on the town jury now too. Ma runs our home, always juggling at least three things at once and making sure us children do our share. And then there`s Mama, Ma`s Ma. She`s ancient and grumpy, always yelling and saying us children are in the way."

　　"So you have siblings?"

　　"Three sisters, all older than me. Rachel`s the oldest. She`s&difficult." William paused, trying to think what to say without sounding too whiny. "We don`t really get along. She`s never really liked me."

　　"That`s disappointing," Matilda said, her tone understanding.

　　William shrugged. "She spends most of her time with her friends or Mama. There`s also Margery. She keeps to herself most of the time but helps Ma run the house. And then there`s Elizabeth. She`s my favourite. She`s only a little older than me and sometimes joins me in the woods, collecting flowers or singing with the birds."

　　"She sounds nice," Matilda replied with a warm smile.

　　"What about you?" William asked. "Do you have a family?"

　　"Yeah, I do&I did." Sadness fell across Matilda`s face. "My Dad was a doctor. Helped heal sick people. And Mum was a librarian. She looked after a building full of books."

　　Matilda`s Book had been the first William had ever touched. He struggled to imagine more than two books in one place at once, let alone an entire building full of them.

　　"Then there was my little brother Richie," Matilda continued. "He was much younger than me. Younger than you even. But it was fun having a younger brother."

　　She sounded sad. William gave her a consoling smile but let her walk on in silence.

　　The pair eventually reached the familiar fields at the outskirts of Holford. People had long since retired for the evening and William only crossed paths with a handful of villagers as they walked to his family`s cottage.

　　Each person they passed looked intrigued by the Stranger`s mass of red hair and unusual clothes. They eyed her up and down before throwing William either reproachful or bemused expressions. It was only then that William realised the rashness of his decision to invite a complete stranger to stay with his family overnight. A strange woman no less.

　　"We`re almost here," William told Matilda whose spirits lifted as Holford came in view. "It`s not much, but its home," William added, feeling a need to defend his simple village to someone who had travelled through time.

　　"Not at all," Matilda replied enthusiastically. "This is one of the most amazing places I`ve ever seen."

　　William didn`t believe it but she sounded surprisingly genuine. Matilda commented on mundane things like the thatched roofs or the glow of rush lights cutting through the twilight haze.

　　The silhouette of the family`s cottage came into view. Light flickered through gaps under the shutters and door, promising a warm fire within.

　　William and Matilda passed through the vegetable garden and stopped at the door. William didn`t know how he would explain the Stranger to his family, with her bizarre accent and unusual clothes. Bringing unannounced company after dark was rude. A stranger even more so, no one trusted outlanders. A female stranger was even ruder again, and one as unconventional as Matilda&William knew he`d be hearing about it for a while.

　　Matilda gave him a quizzical look, wondering why they had stopped. With a big sigh, William pushed the door open.

　　The family were scattered around the cottage`s single room, eating their evening meal by the light of the central fire pit while Elizabeth`s cats begged for scraps. Their conversations continued uninterrupted when William entered but abruptly stopped as a second figure ducked under the doorway after him.

　　Ma`s back was turned to the door and she called out joyfully as she ladled a scoop of stew into a bowl, "Look who`s finally back, late as usual. Honestly Willy, how often must I ask that you at least return before dark? Oh..."

　　Pa gave a cough and Ma froze when she saw Matilda, William`s meal still held outstretched in her hand. She was momentarily speechless and William`s sisters stared at Matilda disapprovingly. Even Pa shot William a raised eyebrow.

　　William grabbed his food and tried to make light of the situation. "Thanks Ma, I`m starving. Family, this is Matilda. She`s a, uh, foreigner. She`s travelling to London and thought she would try catching the Bishop in Stowey town. Can you take her with you tomorrow Pa?"

　　William knew it was a stretch. The family had endured many of his eccentric appeals for assistance, most recently with an injured hare that eventually ended up in their stew. But requesting assistance for an unknown woman was probably a plea too far.

　　Never one to miss a jab, Mama leapt in with a snide remark. "You`d have to be foreign to dress like that! Where`d you come from?"

　　Matilda glanced down at her clothes but ignored Mama`s rudeness and replied politely. "From Exeter, dear lady. I was seeking word about rare herbs from a local apothecary."

　　"Not more herb nonse&" Mama began but Pa interrupted.

　　"So you`re a herbalist? A useful skill, very practical. Our Elizabeth loves plants, don`t you Beth? You should show our guest your garden in the morning."

　　Elizabeth gave a meek nod, uncomfortable at being dragged into the tense conversation.

　　Ma also sought to defuse the situation, though her own disapproval was thinly masked. "I`m sure she`s much too busy for that. And you`ll need to depart early if you`ve any hope of avoiding additional penalties from the Baron." She swatted Pa before turning to Matilda. "So you`re just passing through Holford on your way to London?" Ma`s inflection made it clear she wasn`t really asking a question.

　　William was impressed by his parent`s quick composure. He`d never seen them act as such a fluid but synchronised team.

　　"I hope you`re planning to change into something modest before your see the Bishop," Rachel squawked from her perch on the bench next to Mama.

　　"Be nice Rachel," Pa said. "I`m sure the Bishop would be more interested in her herb lore than her clothing."

　　Mama grew further agitated. "I don`t care what she knows about weeds! What is this whore doing in our house?"

　　"Come now Agnes," Pa interjected firmly, shocking Mama into silence. "That`s no way to talk to a guest, no matter how they might be dressed. It is our Christian duty to provide hospitality to a traveller, and perhaps some gentle encouragement should we find their morals&lacking."

　　Mama huffed and abruptly crossed her arms but remained silent.

　　"Now, Matilda was it? Please join us for a meal. Emma, another serving please." Pa passed Ma his own bowl to fill and stood from his stool. "I`ll happily accompany you to the town in the morning, though my dear wife is correct as ever. We`ll need to leave early to deliver our family`s tithe on time." Vacating his seat, Pa left the hut to collect firewood.

　　William sat at his normal place at the hearth and Matilda accepted the bowl from Ma before sitting on Pa`s stool, oblivious to the blatant violation of the family`s normal hierarchy. The family watched in silence as the pair ate, their own food abandoned. Mama and Rachel seethed quietly in the corner, Elizabeth fed her cats and Ma wondered what exactly had just happened. The sound of Pa chopping firewood echoed from outside.

　　Ma collected the family`s empty dishes, taking William`s before he had even finished. He mentally thanked Matilda for their venison lunch.

　　Pa returned with an armful of wood and threw some larger pieces on the fire. "Time for sleep. It`ll be an early morning for Matilda and I, and I need you all working in the field while I`m away if we`re ever going to finish the harvest."

　　The family didn`t need to be told twice and no one complained at the unprecedented omission of their bedtime bible tale. There was a rush of activity as everyone prepared for sleep. William settled into his regular corner while Ma set Matilda up next to his sisters on the opposite side of the room.

　　Everyone said their goodnights, though their breathing betrayed that all remained awake and on edge. Mama and Rachel whispered rapidly to each other, matching the sounds of Ma and Pa`s own back and forth. True to form, Margery was the first asleep and her snores reverberated around the small room. One by one, the others eventually drifted off as well.

　　But not William. After all the excitement, his mind could finally process the day`s incredible experiences. A beautiful woman from the future lay in his family`s simple hut. A woman about to meet the King! William hoped that Matilda would remember him and his family. That they`d been the first people she met before journeying to London.

　　William tossed and turned late into the night, stressed that he would sleep through Matilda and Pa`s departure and miss his final opportunity to make an impression before she departed. When sleep eventually claimed William, he dreams were filled with futuristic visions of magnificent birds that flew beyond the moon to lay their giant metallic eggs.