The Mirror Mage | ONC2022

16. Lucian

(Author's Note: dedicated to Evergreen_Ebony and her ONC story, The Roseview High Rumors, a delightful YA teen romance)

The colour drained from Lucian's face and Ben feared he might faint. He reached out to steady him but Lucian flinched away from the proffered hand.

"Two hundred years? That cannot be! I know the years here are different from how we measure them in England but even so... This is only my eighth year in Rhillion."

Ben gave a helpless shrug. "I don't know how that can be, either. But Lucian Wentworth disappeared in 1820 and it was 2022 when I visited Luke's home, and came through the antique mirror."

Lucian looked shell-shocked by the news. "So, my mother... my sister... Charlie?"

"All passed, a long time ago, I'm afraid," Ben said awkwardly. "There are still Wentworths living at the manor, though. Your many-times great niece, Melissa, and her son, Luke."

"I can't believe it! Two hundred years cannot have passed." Lucian was shaking his head. "Is this some sort of trick? Thou are trying to confound me!" His shock was beginning to turn to anger.

"It's no trick, I promise you." Ben hunted in his pockets. "See? Here is a coin from my time. The year on it is 2010."

Lucian took the coin with some reluctance and stared at it. Ben didn't know what sort of coins they had in 1820, he had some vague recollection of sovereigns and pieces of eight, but Lucian must surely be able to tell this one was different.

The Rider had been watching the exchange in silence, his eyes widening in astonishment at the story. Now, he went across to the table, poured a large measure of wine into a glass, then passed it to Lucian.

"Here, have this, Master Athol. I can see this news has been a shock to thee."

Lucian took the wine and swallowed half of it in one gulp.

"How can this be?" he asked the Rider.

But the Rider shook his head. "I'm sorry but this is all strange to me, too. Perhaps the Guild Master will have answers."

"That's true!" Lucian exclaimed, his face lighting up. "If anyone knows the answer, he will."

He started to open his satchel but then stopped and seemed to pull himself together. "That can wait. We should take advantage of this excellent meal thou have prepared. If thou approve, I would like to begin the return journey this afternoon with Ben Lucas."

"Thou would not prefer a night here, to rest?"

"No, but thank thee for the offer. I'm still hoping to reach Vierrac before the solstice. Does an early departure suit thee, Master Lucas?"

"Fine by me, it's not as if I have anything to pack! That is, of course, if it's alright with you, my lord?" Ben asked the Rider politely, after all, despite what had happened, he had been his host.

The Rider was only too happy to give his consent and a couple of hours later, Ben found himself seated next to Lucian on the driving seat, trotting out of Rider's Keep. His feelings were mixed. On the one hand, he was looking forward to seeing what Vierrac and the Guild Master had to offer, but on the other, Rider's Keep was the only home he had known since his arrival. And he would miss the horses.

As for Lucian's presence, Ben still couldn't quite get his head around the fact that this was the man he had seen in a portrait, a man who had supposedly died centuries ago. What were the chances? Yet here he was, very much alive and apparently highly skilled in the magic of this place. He was looking forward to all the information he might share over the next three days, once they got to know each other a little better.

Lucian interrupted his musings with an abrupt question.

"Have thou driven a coach before? Can thou take the reins for a few minutes?"

"Sure, I can do that."

Lucian handed over the reins, waited for a minute to check that Ben knew what he was doing and then opened his satchel. He pulled out a mirror, and carefully unwrapped the cloth which had been protecting it. He stared into the glass for a few moments and gradually his reflection disappeared to be replaced by the face of an older man, complete with a grey beard. The apparition spoke.

"Athol? Is there a problem?"

Ben jumped at the sound of a strange voice seeming to come out of nowhere. He glanced across at Lucian and nearly dropped the reins at what he saw. It looked for all the world like he was holding a modern day tablet. More glass magic, he supposed.

"No problem, Guild Master, but I have a question for thee. The new transition, Ben Lucas, comes from my own world, my own country in fact. But... he says two hundred years have passed, two hundred years since I left England. How can this be?"

The Guild Master sighed.

"The only answer I can give thee is that our worlds move in different time wheels. For people living on each wheel, time seems to move at one pace, but if you were able to stand back and see both wheels at once, you would realise they are spinning at different speeds."

"So it's true then, Ben Lucas is from my future?"

"It would seem so."

Lucian rubbed his temples.

"I find it hard to comprehend. Nevertheless, we are on our way back now and should reach Vierrac within three days."

"I'll be here," the Guild Master gave a wry smile.

Lucian wrapped the mirror once more in the cloth and slipped it back into the satchel.

"I've been here eight years," Lucian said, looking straight ahead. "I thought I had come to terms with my exile, accepting that I could never return, never see my friends and family again, but always in the belief that they were still alive. Living their own lives to the full, and now-"

"But they did!" Ben assured him, earnestly. "I don't know a lot about them, but I do know that your sister went on to marry and raise a family. The people living in the manor now, are her descendants. I think you can rest assured that although the time differences are confusing, they lived for a normal time span."

Lucian sighed. "I suppose so. My sister married, you said? She was ten when I left."

"I can't remember the name of the man she married, but I do know he changed his last name to Wentworth. It was a condition of their marriage."

Lucian gave a faint smile. "Now that I can believe!"