Get Caught Reading — The Sign of the Ape 4 (2016 Rerun Conclusion)

Image courtesy of Chris Graham

Welcome, one and all — to this re-run of last year’s Get Caught Reading mini-series. Without further ado, here’s the conclusion!

***

It’s been fun participating in Get Caught Reading Month. I hope my zany and bizarre story encouraged people of all ages to read. Last week my real-world schedule caused me to put blogging on the shelf. But look what grand company I had, thanks to Chris Graham!

When we left our heroes…

As many of you know, a few elite bloggers (and their pets) banded together with one quest — catch the Story Reading Ape reading. During the first chapter, I found a shimmering airship outside my window. The pilot looked suspiciously like Cornelis Drebbel. Before I knew it, I was in Time Square beginning a chase to “catch” the Story Reading Ape in the act of reading.

In Chapter 2 Suzanne from A Pug in the Kitchen and I met a number of author-bloggers (and their pets) who joined the quest to catch the illusive Ape. Mary J. McCoy-Dressel , Christoph Fischer, John W. Howell, and blogger Dan Antion.

Then last time a new duo was added to the intrepid band of bloggers – Hugh Roberts and adorable Toby. But to the astonishment of our intrepid band, everyone became anime characters when Cornelis Drebbel’s alchemy went wrong. Now for the conclusion of The Sign of the Ape.

Sign of the Ape 4

Image courtesy of Chris Graham

Toby barked frantically at the pavement and scratched at it with his little paws. Doubtless, the dog could hear John W. Howell, Dan Antion, and their pets in the tunnel beneath the street. Finally, Hugh couldn’t take seeing the Corgi so upset. He jumped back onto the big construction loader and started digging a hole in the road — much to the dismay of the drivers in the area.

My phone buzzed at me. When I answered, I was greeted with a loud chorus of meowing from Annette Rochelle Aben’s cats. I couldn’t make heads or tails of it. And yes, that did remind me of the fuzzy ears and long tail that came with the anime version of me. I shot Cornelis Drebbel a nasty look and muttered that I’d get him for it. Then a second call got patched onto the meow-wow. The four naughty chimps translated for Annette’s kitties via text message.

“You’ve got to figure out how to get to London. The Story Reading Ape is there. He left Tokyo before your airship even touched down!” came the message from the chimps.

London? Well the chimps should know. They were tight with the Ape. But London? I hadn’t figured out how to stop being an anime yet! How could I possibly get to London? I sure couldn’t go as an anime — and especially not in that horrid schoolgirl uniform!

Although I was rather shocked that Mary J. McCoy-Dressel and Suzanne DeBrango seemed to take their cartoon situation in stride. Their dogs, Kasha and Percy, didn’t seem to think it was worth barking about. Maybe I would feel differently if I were a beautiful goddess or a cute giant-robot-driving future girl, I thought. I steamed and stewed… I’d never forgive Cornelis for putting me in such an outfit.

Toby caught reading

Toby gave an excited yip and Hugh turned off the loader. Once again I heard that crazy, funky guitar music of the original James Bond theme. Then a sports car roared up through the big hole dug by the construction loader.

Thanks again Chris!

John W. Howell and Dan Antion, along with dogs Lucy and Maddie, and MiMi the tuxedo cat were in the sports car. Oddly I could have sworn I saw the Boxer, Lucy driving the car. But who am I to say that was strange. After all, I was an anime schoolgirl with cat ears and a tail…

Lucy, who owns John W. Howell

I could see Dan wave from the back seat that everyone in the car was okay. John leaned out of the passenger window. He had a weird looking guitar. I asked where he got it.

Maddie who owns Dan Antion

MiMi caught reading

“A strange taxi driver with bushy eyebrows gave this guitar to me,” John told me. “But no matter what notes I strum, it will only play that James Bond theme,” he added and played the chorus to demonstrate.

However, the music abruptly changed to the Goldfinger theme. Glittering clouds of golden dust formed in the sky. John put down the guitar, but it continued to play. The golden dust settled on everyone (and every pet) who had become anime.

I felt my stomach expand and contract like the beginning of a very unfortunate gastritis attack. The most embarrassingly loud belch escaped my lips. However, everyone else produced similar burps, so I was a little less mortified. We were anime no longer, but the dratted costumes remained. I muttered a new curse to Cornelis Drebbel about my uniform.

“Thank heavens you’re a redhead again,” John Howell commented. “The raven locks were nice, but it just wasn’t right.”

Then with sharp popping sounds, one by one, my friends began to disappear. Frightened beyond reason, I screamed at the alchemist for an explanation.

“My dear, do calm down,” he said in that droll voice. “Everyone is perfectly safe. I sent each of them directly to their homes,” the alchemist explained as I stammered and tried to ask why. “Darling, remember it is Get Caught Reading Month. May is almost over! How can they read anything if they are trotting around the globe with you? And you still haven’t finished “The Sign of the Four” for that matter,” he told me, adding a tsk-tsk sound for good measure.

Cornelis took my hand and suddenly we were inside the giant robot. “I’ve always wanted to pilot one of these,” he confessed with a giggle. “Next stop, London!”

As Cornelis flew the alchemically powered robot, I wandered, exploring the many nooks and crannies. It was more spacious than I expected. The sound of deeply pitched chuckling caused me to stop in my tracks. I strained to hear. It seemed to be only one voice, like someone talking on the phone. Ever so carefully I moved closer.

“You four truly are naughty,” the voice rumbled. “Sending all those bloggers on such a wild goose chase. Although I must admit, a free ride back to London in a magical giant robot is a memorable adventure. I will see you naughty rascals when I get home, but for now I have reading to catch up on. I think Gwydion may have just gone too far for Ralda to forgive him. I really must see what happens next in Atonement, Tennessee“

With a silent gasp I realized the Story Reading Ape was hiding right under my nose! I removed my cell phone from my skirt pocket and switched on the camera. I crept around the corner… Gotcha!

As I checked the image, the spoils of my victory, my long tail swished in a self-satisfied rhythm.

…Tail? I looked behind myself. The tail was still there…

“Cornelis Drebbel!” I yelled.

Here ends The Sign of the Ape.

***********************

Thanks to all of you for tuning-in for this zany chase. I’m glad you were “caught reading” here at Teagan’s Books. As you know, this is a workday, so I might be delayed in answering comments.

Special thanks to all the bloggers who participated in this madcap adventure — and to their pets as well!

The Sign of the Ape, furry family cast

Row 1: Percy, Crystal, Lucy, Kasha

Row 2: Claudius, Oh Kitty, and Sweeney, and Toby

Row 3: Wilma, Greta, Maddie, MiMi

No part of this work may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without permission. Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the author’s rights.

All images are either the property of the author or from Pinterest unless stated otherwise.

Special mention to Christopher Graham for the marvelous “Atonement, Tennessee” images.

Get Caught Reading — The Sign of the Ape 3 (2016 Rerun)

Crystal pointing to a clue

Hello everyone. Welcome back to my rerun of last year’s mini-series, in support of Get Caught Reading Month. It’s about the escapades of our intrepid band of bloggers and their pets. Who could resist those fur babies?

If you were here last year, I’m delighted that you’ve stuck with me. If this is new to you, then hang onto your hats, because it’s a wild ride! I hope you’ll visit the bloggers included in this post. Now for the rerun. Enjoy!

***

Wow! May is nearly half over already. However, it’s still Get Caught Reading Month. Welcome back to the zany and bizarre story I’ve been writing to encourage people of all ages to read. As many of you know, a few elite bloggers (and their pets) banded together with one quest — catch the Story Reading Ape reading.

When we left our heroes…

During the first chapter, I found a shimmering airship outside my window. The pilot looked suspiciously like Cornelis Drebbel. Before I knew it, I was in Time Square beginning a chase to “catch” the Story Reading Ape reading.

Last time Suzanne from A Pug in the Kitchen and I met a number of author-bloggers (and their pets) who joined the quest to catch the illusive Ape. Mary J. McCoy-Dressel (Cowboy Boss and His Destiny), Christoph Fischer (The Gamblers.), John W. Howell (John J. Cannon Trilogy,) and blogger Dan Antion.

This time a new duo gets added to the intrepid band of bloggers – Hugh Roberts and Toby. Now, let’s join our adventuring bloggers.

Sign of the Ape 3

Image courtesy of Chris Graham

I couldn’t see anything when I looked out the portholes of the dirigible. No, I don’t mean that it was nighttime. There was nothing to see, just flat blackness. I supposed it was just as well. The airship was traveling outside the laws of nature with the alchemist, Cornelis Drebbel, at the helm.

That gave me a very unsettling feeling. However, the steady whir of the engines was comforting. The sound was almost hypnotic. I wondered aloud how long it would take us to get from New York to Tokyo, even with the magic Cornelis used.

“I don’t feel very well,” Mary J. McCoy-Dressel murmured, and her fur baby, Kasha, put her head on Mary’s knee.

“Air sickness, Mary?” Suzanne DeBrango asked the author in a concerned voice, but Percy the Pug barked a decisive yip.

Tilting my head, I studied the little dog. It seemed like he sensed something, but we humans were not picking up on it.

Suzanne made a face. “Now that you mention it, I don’t feel quite right either. Maybe it was the hors-d’oeuvres back at the Fictional Heroes exhibit,” the blogger-chef suggested. “My stomach feels all wrong, but then so does my head.”

Abruptly we experienced a sharp bump, an air pocket, I thought. However, the pressure inside my ears immediately did something strange, causing me to shake my head. With a sinking feeling I knew that was no air pocket. It was the blasted alchemy going awry.

“Cornelis Drebbel!” I shouted, much as Felicity, the woman in trousers, would have. “What have you done?”

Before the words had left my mouth, I felt the sensation of horrible pressure. It was like having a giant vice in front and in back, pressing hard against me from both sides. I thought my head might explode, but my ears finally popped, giving me some relief. It effected my eyesight as well. Everything blurred and twisted. Then my eyes bulged painfully, so I squeezed them shut.

After a moment I the dirigible bumped lightly. I heard soft groans from my companions. Snuffling sounds told me Kasha and Percy were sniffing everything excitedly. My eyes were still closed against all the unpleasant sensations I had just experienced, but I felt a little paw on my knee. I put my hand out and knew it was the Pug’s sturdy little body, so I petted him. Then he ran back to Suzanne.

Finally I opened my eyes, but I had trouble focusing.

“Teagan, are you okay?” Mary asked. “You know, I never realized how huge your eyes were before,” she commented in a puzzled tone.

Or at least it sounded like Mary. Her hair was blond, but there was something different about it. When she moved I realized that her hair flowed almost to the floor. Something else wasn’t wright, but everything was still blurry.

“I think I’m okay,” I told Mary. “I’m having trouble getting a deep breath though.”

She and Suzanne helped me stand. Suzanne led us to the portholes.

Terrence Mann as Cornelis

“Look at the lights,” Suzanne exclaimed. “It’s Tokyo! We’re there.”

Cornelis called out that we should sit down. The airship was about to land. The three of us staggered to our seats. Apparently I wasn’t the only one experiencing my unfortunate symptoms.

“Teagan, could I ask you something?” Suzanne began hesitantly and my affirmative came out as a groan. “Oh, here – these might help,” she added handing me my glasses. “Are you feeling a little… deflated? Because I sure am.”

Putting on my glasses I looked at Suzanne. I was speechless. Her hair was suddenly short and bluish-green. She was dressed in a turquoise metallic futuristic outfit with matching tall boots. There was one other thing. Suzanne was flat. So was Mary. So were the dogs! They all looked like anime characters. I started to hold my hand up in front of my face to see if I had been effected, but I was afraid to look.

I turned to Mary, who was shifting uncomfortably in her seat. Mary made a complaint to that effect. She wore a flowing airy gown. Indeed there was something that prevented her getting comfortable.

“Erm… that might be because of your wings,” I told her. “I think maybe you’re some sort of goddess character.”

Mary reached frantically behind her and gasped when her fingers came into contact with her wings.

For a moment I studied Suzanne in that futuristic outfit. I asked her if she thought perhaps somewhere nearby there was a giant robot that belonged to her. The oddest expression came to her face.

“I know it sounds crazy,” Suzanne admitted. “But I think maybe there is!”

“Don’t you all look delicious?” Cornelis exclaimed as he strolled into the area.

He was dressed as a Victorian gentleman, but that would not be unusual for him. However, it was certainly odd that he looked like an anime Cornelis Drebbel. He reminded me of one of the male characters I might see on the Black Butler series.

“Am I supposed to be some kind of goddess?” Mary asked the alchemist. “These wings!” she added, still uncomfortable in the seat.

“Darling Mary, all women are goddesses,” Cornelis replied slyly with bobbing eyebrows.

“But what about you, Teagan?” Suzanne asked worriedly.

Inuyasha (& Kagome) manga, v. 1, 1997

Looking down, I saw that I wore loafers and knee socks. I was dressed in a pleated skirt, and white blouse with a sailor collar. It was like an anime schoolgirl uniform. I groaned even louder than I had when the air was squeezed out of me. I was barely aware of hearing a rhythmic thumping sound.

“Cornelis Drebbel,” I growled pushing my skirt into place. “You’d better be glad this skirt was not a mini! Else you’d be a dead man.”

“I don’t mean the outfit,” Suzanne told me as she gestured to her head, just above her ear.

Moving a strand of my hair, I realized it was long and black. I gasped, but apparently that wasn’t the full extent of my transformation.

Finally Suzanne added, “Ears? Tail!”

I put my hands to the top of my head and felt two soft furry ears. The thumping sound grew faster and louder. I put a hand to my backside. The noise was coming from my anxiously swishing, thumping tail!

“Your character may have gotten a little… crossed,” Cornelis said in a droll voice. “You were actually supposed to be a Neko character.”

Percevil Ulysses Holmes

“Come along. There’s a city square we must get to. It has a number of billboards bearing images of our quarry. We can take the giant robot as transportation, if Suzanne will kindly drive him,” Cornelis told us all, with a bow to the blogger-chef.

The turquoise anime version of Suzanne scrambled to the porthole and gasped in excitement. I followed and my tail swished, knocking over a small table. Mary glanced at her wings, murmured something about what damage she might do with her wings, and stayed in her uncomfortable seat. When I reached the window, I saw a huge flatbed being pulled by a heavy duty construction loader. Stretched out on the flatbed was a giant flying robot.

Cornelis moved to help Suzanne and Percy as they disembarked the dirigible, though they both scampered down the gangway without need of assistance. Mary’s wings presented more of a problem. A gust of wind caught her and she was lifted into the air.

“Mary!” I screamed and Kasha barked.

A thread of magical glowing green shot from the alchemist’s hand and wrapped around Mary’s ankle. Cornelis and Kasha walked down the ramp, with the anime version of Mary in tow via the magical lead. Once safely on the ground, Cornelis helped her touch down.

My tail swayed as I descended. It was amazingly useful for balance. Then my cat ears picked up a familiar voice and barking. Kasha and Percy also heard it and barked their replies. A man and a Corgi hopped out of the construction loader. It was Hugh Roberts and Toby.

Toby caught reading

Moments after I introduced everyone, my new cat ears picked up muffled sounds. It was the same music I’d heard back at the wax museum. I heard the funky guitar music of the original James Bond theme, and I remembered the tunnel back at Time Square into which John W. Howell, Dan Antion, and their pets had gone. It seemed impossible that it could be them. Then I heard two dogs barking and a cat’s meow. It had to be Lucy, Maddie, and MiMi.

Finally the sounds grew loud enough for the other humans to hear.

“Isn’t that ruckus coming from below ground?” Hugh commented in surprise.

“Yes. It sure is,” I replied, feeling very worried.

End Chapter 3, The Sign of the Ape

I begin to think the Ape won’t be caught until he simply allows us to do so. Now that I’ve seen his image all over billboards in Tokyo I think maybe he’s in charge! Stick around to see what happens to our intrepid bloggers next week!

By the way, it is a work day, so forgive me if I’m slow to answer comments.

The Sign of the Ape, furry family cast

Row 1: Percy, Crystal, Lucy, Kasha

Row 2: Claudius, Oh Kitty, and Sweeney, and Toby

Row 3: Wilma, Greta, Maddie, MiMi

All images are either the property of the author or from Pinterest unless stated otherwise.

Special mention to Christopher Graham for the marvelous “Atonement, Tennessee” images.

Copper, the Alchemist, & the Woman in Trousers: Conclusion

99 Things

A few days ago I posted a heads-up that Copper, the Alchemist, & the Woman in Trousers would have its concluding episode today. Then I had the “brilliant idea” to use a poll, asking you to vote on which of certain features you’d like to see on the posts I’ll be doing while I work on book-2 of the Atonement series. Well… as I told KR Big Fish, I seem to have a bad case of “foot in mouth disease,” because now I can see huge problems, like spoilers, with most of the feature ideas I suggested.

What kind of feature will it be? Drumroll please…

Annie’s Antiques & Consignment Shop

I will rotate between (or possibly do both)…

Recipes from Bethany’s Kitchen

and

Annie’s Inventory Notes

More about these features when the time comes. Once Atonement in Bloom is finished, I’ll do another “three things” serial, with your things driving the “pantser” plot.

Now back to our serial story. As you know, all four of the serials I’ve so far published on this blog are pantser stories. They are completely unplanned. I let the “three things” readers send drive the plot of each episode. This conclusion is the exception. It was not driven by three things — rather it was formed by the 3 things from the 33 previous episodes — so that’s 99 Things!

You can see how that might make for a longer than usual episode. Some of you will be pleased. For those who don’t like longer posts, be ready to mark your place, maybe by remembering the closest picture. I hope you’ll be interested enough to finish this final episode. This conclusion is about twice as long as most of the other chapters in this serial; so not really all that long.

The steam locomotive to the Victorian Era has reached the platform one more time. I’m happier than you can know that you’ve been on the train with me, and that you are here for the finale today. Are you ready?

All aboard!

34. Conclusion of Copper, the Alchemist & the Woman in Trousers

The alchemically enhanced, large version of Leonardo da Vinci’s aerial screw powered-on, and with a screech the threads began to turn.

“I’m sorry my friend, there’s no time for proper goodbyes!” Corenlis Drebbel called to Cal Hicks, the amethyst ape. “It will save an enormous amount of energy if we take the aerial screw through the opening the villains created.”

“I understand, Lord of Alchemy,” Hicks told him.

Just then Itsy ran back into view. The chimpanzee rushed straight for Cal Hicks and I thought she meant him harm. I yelled for Cornelis to do something, but he only gave me that pucker-faced contemplative look of his. Itsy slipped as she ran at Hicks. She slid to a stop, sobbing at his feet.

To my astonishment she turned her tear-streaked face up to Hicks and handed him the mystic people harmonic tuner. Itsy seemed to be apologizing, but it was difficult to distinguish her words with all the weeping and wailing.

“What the devil?” I began.

Terrence Mann as Cornelis

Cornelis cast an impatient gaze on me and I didn’t finish my sentence. “You really mean to tell me that you didn’t know?” he asked with a sardonic twist of his mouth.

“Know what?” I sputtered.

The alchemist gave a negligent waive of his hand at the contrivance above our heads. The threads of the device glowed yellow-green and the noise was magically silenced. I could hear Itsy clearly as she spoke to Cal Hicks, repeating her remorse.

“They said they’d kill you!” she cried. “Ced told me so. Those people are the ones who enslaved Ced. Thinking he was only a stupid animal, the fiends discussed it in front of him. They plan to kill your doppelgänger, once they get what they want. And we think you will die when your double is killed!” Itsy bawled. “I couldn’t bear it if anything happened to you Cal— I mean Mr. Hicks.”

“No, no dear child,” Hicks told Itsy as he patted her hand. “It doesn’t work like that with the doppelgängers. If they wanted to kill me, then they’d have to kill me.”

Bitsy as we “thought” she was

The villains, including Bitsy the erstwhile maid at the Belle Inn moved closer. Abruptly Itsy gave a horrified look at Cal Hicks, and put both hands to her mouth, desperately trying to avoid sicking-up. Still halfway across the burned out yard, I saw Bitsy being less successful at controlling her reaction to the nearness of her double.

“Do you mean to tell me Itsy was in love with Cal Hicks and you deduced it that quickly?” I demanded crossly of Cornelis Drebbel.

The Dutchman of course, only gave a self-satisfied smirk. “I know what they were after too,” he added with a wriggle of his bushy blonde eyebrows at the foes who chased us all the way into the amethyst world.

I tapped my foot, silently waiting for him to answer. I wouldn’t give the man the satisfaction of asking.

“What did they want?” Copper asked, spoiling the point I was trying to get across.

“Why you are standing in it, Copper!” Cornelis said and tousled her new penny colored curls. “We all knew it was a potential, we just didn’t really think they knew about the drawings of Leonardo da Vinci.”

“So they wanted to make one of these things? Will it really fly enough to carry us?” Copper asked.

“Oh yes, Copper. This one will fly and carry us wherever we want to go,” Cornelis Drebbel told the girl and grinned before turning to me.

Copper looked preoccupied with her surroundings. The alchemist moved closer to me and spoke in a faint whisper. “They knew about the valuable drawings all along,” he told me. “But they needed a talented inventor if they were to have any hope of making it work. Calvin Hixon slipped through their fingers. So they set out to kidnap his daughter, planning to use Copper to force her father to do their bidding,” Cornelis finished.

Basil Gill (1877-1955) as Ignatius Belle

“Ignatius,” I hissed accusingly. “Bitsy got the information from him, one way or another, didn’t she,” I said and Cornelis nodded. “Hixon surely told him about the drawings when he tried to bring Ignatius into the family fold, if he in fact didn’t tell him before.”

“Wave goodbye, Copper. We must hurry and be off,” Cornelis told her and she waved and blew kisses to Cal Hicks, who looked very sad to see us leave.

A horrified expression came to Copper’s blue eyes. “Absinthe hurry — come here! Aubrieta!” Copper yelled to the little fairies.

The last time I noticed the Green Fairy and his mate the two skunk-looking fae fluttered around the upper parts of the aerial screw, making adjustments. However, I followed Copper’s gaze and saw them through the tall window of the laboratory. They were inside the building and investigated the array of gadgets on the long worktable.

Aubrieta, the Purple Fairy who had been trapped in a transformation as the one-eyed-one-horned-flying-purple-people-eater when she first came to this realm, chirped as she darted from one instrument to another. Absinthe, the Green Fairy behaved similarly. The two moved a few strange looking implements aside for reasons only they knew.

Absinthe, the Green Fairy

The acute hearing of the fae caused them to stop what they were doing and turn toward Copper’s voice. The fairies dotted on the girl. A purple and green aura surrounded the small collection of implements. Absinthe shook his fluffy striped tail at the aura and it disappeared — along with all the devices it covered. Aubrieta nodded to her mate in a satisfied seeming way and the two fairies popped out of sight.

An instant later Absinthe appeared on Copper’s shoulder. Aubrieta fluttered in the air beside her, delicately playing with a strand of her coppery hair. The display was charmingly affectionate, but it seemed sad to me.

A tear rolled down each of Copper’s cheeks. Absinthe kissed one and Aubrieta kissed the other. Without realizing I spoke aloud, I had murmured the word no. Absinthe flew to me and playfully pulled the bright purple streak in my hair. I knew the metering device would turn completely purple if we stayed too long in the amethyst world. But the alchemist never warned me that my hair might begin to turn ultra-violet!

Absinthe turned his bantam backside toward me and fluffed out his tail, pretending he was about to spray his potent potable of super-powered absinthe poot. Aubrieta chirped a warning at him, but both still seemed playful to me.

“They’re not coming with us?” I asked Cornelis, but I already knew the answer.

“Felicity, I do believe you’ve become attached to our farting fae,” Cornelis said. “No they aren’t coming,” he continued. “Well, not right away. They’re far too fond of Copper to stay away. No, they’ll make sure the portal closes properly behind us. We don’t want all manner of riffraff from our world coming into this idyllic purple place.”

“So they’ll join us again in moments,” I said hopefully.

Copper shook her head sadly, but then brightened. “They have a surprise for Cornelis,” she confided in an over-loud whisper that immediately got the alchemist’s attention. “They’re going to stay and fix his submarine. Then they’ll bring it with them,” she told me as a grinning Cornelis turned his back, pretending he didn’t hear.

As the threads of the contraption whirred the gondola lifted up into the air. Cornelis didn’t take it up very high though. The portal through which the hydrofoil entered was not far above the ground. The aerial screw entered the edge of the bright pink aura that outlined the opening to our world. Copper looked intently all around at the crowd of simians.

“Viola’s not here. I didn’t get to say goodbye, and I really liked her. Can’t we go back so I can tell her? Maybe she’d like to go with us,” Copper pleaded.

“No child,” Cornelis told her looking genuinely regretful as the flying machine began to enter the gateway. “This portal can only be used once. If we tried to go back now, we’d be lost between.”

“Between what?” I had to ask.

Jamie Murray as Felicity

“Between here and there,” Cornelis said and my mouth twisted, because I should have known he’d say something to annoy me. “I hear it’s not a terribly pleasant place,” he added.

When I looked back toward the laboratory, I saw the lavender sky. Turning my head the other direction I saw a sky of blue. I sighed a relieved, happy breath. Sometimes I wondered if I would ever see that blue sky again.

Just as the gondola finished traversing the gateway, I looked back and saw the hydrofoil charging toward us.

“Oh no…” Cornelis muttered.

I could see Bitsy’s angry face. The men with her held up guns aimed at us, ready to fire the minute they got close enough.

“Cornelis, shouldn’t you put some kind of shield around us. Those guns fire real bullets, you realize,” I reminded the alchemist.

“He wasn’t oh-no-ing about the guns,” Copper said with a light of comprehension in her blue eyes as she watched the scene in wonder.

The hydrofoil entered the portal and immediately the view was dimmed by a foggy veil. The craft lurched violently. Then it rocked as if in slow motion. The fog became so thick we could no longer see inside the portal. The fog bulged out from the gateway and then drew back. I heard the hydrofoil’s engine cough and muffled yelling from the people manning the craft. After a moment there was silence.

Copper, the alchemist, and I stared dumbfounded. Finally the shrill cry of a hawk broke the silence. I gave an involuntary shudder, pondering the kind of place that must sit between the two worlds. I wondered if Bitsy and those men deserved whatever their fate actually was. However, I reminded myself that they were willing to do harm to Calvin Hixon and to Copper to get what they wanted. Suddenly the idea of their fate didn’t bother me so much.

When I looked down I expected to see the tops of giant redwood trees, or the beaches of the Pacific coastal area where we were before we accidentally entered the amethyst world. Yet I didn’t see anything of the kind.

“Cornelis, that doesn’t look like California or Oregon or any part of the Pacific coast,” I pointed down and declared.

“No?” he said and nonchalantly looked down from our vantage point, which was much higher after we went through the portal. “Well, it is not exactly to be expected that the flying machine would return us to the place where we left in the submarine. That portal was opened haphazardly, without professional design or calculations,” he said, finally looking a little bit concerned.

“Actually there’s no telling where it opened or where we are,” the alchemist said with that sardonic twist that curled his upper lip while his lower lip twisted to the side.

“There’s something down there that looks pretty large,” I commented, trying to see through a feathery white cloud.

Cornelis pulled a lever and twisted a crystal knob and the aerial screw moved gently lower. I saw a massive complex of stone buildings.

Windsor Castle

“Well I’ll be a monkey’s uncle!” Cornelis exclaimed to gales of laughter from Copper. “It’s Windsor Castle. We’re in England. I haven’t been to England in at least a hundred years! Shall we pay them a visit, Copper?”

“I don’t know Cornelis,” I began. “That seems like a bad idea. One doesn’t simply drop in on the Queen.”

Naturally the Dutchman paid no attention whatsoever to my protest. The aerial screw hovered above a green area within the castle walls. They seemed to be holding a small faire on the lawn. I thought it must be to showcase inventions, as several large and unusual things were on display on each side of the lawn. Sm Steamboat I saw a boat dry docked that looked a lot like the paddle steamer that belonged to Ignatius Belle, as well as a dirigible tethered by a rope so that it floated twenty feet above the ground. There was something made of gleaming metal that I supposed was a steam powered motor car. Then I saw what I could have sworn was our road locomotive!

Our flying machine slowly drew closer to the ground and I could see the people clearly. A tallish Asian man stood before an elaborately decorated seating area. He wore a brocade of a white lion and a very tiny woman stood next to him. “Alastair!” I cried in astonishment when I recognized Alastair Wong and Victoria.

With my shout, everyone on the ground turned to look up at us. I was even more surprised, if less pleasantly so, to see Sheriff Bullard and Ignatius Belle inspecting the strange looking motor car.

However, it was no surprise when the alchemy went awry and Cornelis began having difficulty controlling the aerial screw. Our craft loomed dangerously close to a tall model of the Eiffel Tower. The gondola became ensnared on the tower.

Alastair Wong, nimble as ever, rapidly climbed the scale model of the French wonder. In a moment he freed the gondola and hopped onboard. I stared in stunned appreciation of his feat.

Sessu Hayakawa as Alastair Wong

“I hope you didn’t expect me to climb back down,” Wong commented jokingly. “It’s only fair that I get to experience this magnificent machine from up here.”

Of course we assailed him with questions about the event below and the people we knew. We already knew about the money problems of Copper’s father. Alastair informed us that Calvin Hixon had reached out to nobility all across Europe, looking for a benefactor for his inventions. He had kept that mostly to himself, in fear of rejection.

It turned out that Copper’s father had not abandoned her at all. Hixon got a response to one of his requests for a sponsor. He arranged for a woman to take care of his daughter while he, on last minute notice in the form of a royal command, sailed across the Atlantic to meet his new benefactor.

Unfortunately, the woman he hired to take care of his daughter was Bitsy. The conniving maid had already been at work on Ignatius, having overheard conversations between the two men that revealed Ignatius was Hixon’s illegitimate son. She also heard them discuss re-creating Leonardo da Vinci’s inventions. She suspected that Hixon possessed the priceless drawings.

Bitsy intercepted Hixon’s communications so no one knew where he had gone. She made it look like Copper had been abandoned. Bitsy went to Ether Farthing of Merciful Haven Orphanage and put a bug in her ear that Copper had been left on her own. Bitsy had thought that if the orphanage took Copper, the girl would be neatly out of Bitsy’s way. Then Bitsy could search for the drawings and anything else that might be of use in her scheme.

One thing in Alastair’s narration surprised me. I would have thought the mean spirited people from Merciful Haven were involved in the mess. However, it seemed that they were simply bad people, and not otherwise involved.

Cornelis regained control of the aerial screw and the threads twisted smoothly again. We floated slowly closer to the grandstand where Alastair and tiny Victoria were standing when we arrived.

I gasped. “Oh! That’s the Queen isn’t it? Queen Victoria?” I said excitedly and Alastair chuckled and confirmed my brilliant bit of deduction.

Cornelis really didn’t need to snigger at me the way he did. Looking down I saw an elegant man of middle years. He bowed down on one knee before the Queen of England. He seem completely focused on the monarch, hardly even noticing our flying machine.

Copper

Abruptly Copper gave a shrill cry, “Daddy!”

Calvin Hixon looked upward toward his child’s cry and a broad smile split his face. Finally he noticed the aerial screw and wonder lit his eyes. The Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and Empress of India was utterly forgotten the moment Calvin Hixon saw his daughter.

It wouldn’t have been Cornelis Drebbel if we had landed smoothly. The contrivance that carried us gave a loud screech. The Dutchman said he’d have it fixed in a jiffy.

“Cornelis, no! Please, let’s just land as best we can. We’re not that far above the ground,” I pleaded.

“Actually Felicity, we’re at enough of a height to risk serious injury,” Alastair said in a reasonable voice. “I know you wouldn’t put Copper at risk,” he added and I slumped in resignation.

A yellowish green aura surrounded the alchemist. Cornelis climbed to balance on the edge of the gondola. He was doing something to the threads of the screw, but I couldn’t see what he did. The machine stopped making that shrill sound and it appeared to run smoothly.

“See!” Cornelis exclaimed proudly, still balanced on the rim of the gondola. “Simple as that,” he said with a satisfied nod.

Jamie Murray as Felicity

The threads of the screw began to rotate rapidly. “Alastair! The brass lever behind you,” Cornelis cried.

Alastair Wong whirled to move the lever. When he touched it the aerial screw lurched violently, but immediately slowed to normal and continued to descend.

However, Cornelis Drebble fell from the gondola when the craft lurched. I saw his body falling rapidly toward the ground. At the last instant he popped out of sight. Sometimes when he popped away like that it was a while before the alchemist could return. I never understood how the pop works.

Alastair Wong, ever a gentleman helped me alight from the gondola — not that I needed assistance thank you. I was just being polite. I was not conforming to the constraints of society.

Anna May Wong

The diminutive Victoria Wong rushed to join us, delighted to see Copper again. Not to mention the fact that she was quietly pleased with Alastair’s theatrical rescue of the air machine from being snared on the tower.

Copper and her father had a joyous reunion. Hixon had sent an excited telegram to Ignatius Belle when Queen Victoria asked him to take part in the faire that was in progress. Ignatius hurried to join him and let him know the fullness of what was happening at home. However, none of them knew about the amethyst world.

“So where is this amazing alchemist?” Calvin Hixon wanted to know.

I looked around, beginning to feel worried that Cornelis hadn’t yet reappeared. Then I heard a sharp pop. A woman screamed and Palace Guards hurried to her side. When I got a look between the broad shoulders of the guards, I cringed and shook my head.

Cornelis Drebbel had rematerialized. The Dutchman sat in the lap of Queen Victoria.

The Queen’s eyes narrowed as she looked at the strange man who appeared out of nowhere and landed in her royal lap. I feared she’d demand his head right then and there. Then I remembered his skull was safely in my hatbox. He wasn’t exactly alive, so he couldn’t precisely be killed.

I was absolutely aghast when Cornelis Drebbel wriggled his bushy blonde eyebrows at Queen Victoria.

Her eyes widened as she looked at the alchemist. “We are not amused,” she said evenly.

It was even more surprising when a wicked glint came to her eyes and abruptly the Queen pinched his bottom and Cornelis shot up from her lap. For the very first time, I saw shock paint the face of Cornelis Drebbel.

The end

***

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Copper, the Alchemist, & the Woman in Trousers: Episode 29

The Flying Scotsman

Chugging Along Slowly

The steam locomotive to the Victorian Era is almost at the platform to take you to Copper, the Alchemist, and the Woman in Trousers. Although, it’s chugging along rather slowly. One of the landslide of things that derailed the locomotive last weekend was the cold I had Saturday. Happily I managed to fight it off in a single day. Not so happily, the wretched thing sneaked up on me and grabbed me by the throat (not so figuratively either) Wednesday night as I prepared my “Thriving Thursday” post for LinkedIn. Dratted sneaky cold…

Like Uncle Joe the steam locomotive is moving kinda slow.

The three things for this chapter are from a talented writer you have seen featured here in the past. I can always count on Daniel (aka Randstein) at “Hyperion Sturm” to send marvelous things to drive the serial. Be sure to check out this talented writer’s amazing blog.

This chapter ties all the way back to Episode 3. Several elements of this new episode are rooted in the third installment of this serial. We’ll finally learn more about the dead man in the study! There was also the little matter of a signet ring that suggested the corpse was someone in Copper’s family. (You might want to skim Episode-3 for all the details.)

The locomotive has finally reached the platform. All aboard!

From Episode 3

First things first, I told myself as I turned my attention back to the dead body slumped over Calvin Hixon’s desk. I had expected to see a pool of blood, but the top of the desk was clean. The dead man’s left hand rested on the desktop. Something seemed wrong about the position of the hand. It had been moved.

Hadn’t Cornelis said he wore a signet ring? Without looking I could feel the cool metal of the ring the alchemist placed on my finger. “You’ll need this,” he’d said. My eyes went back to the naked hand of the dead man.

“You moved a ring from the finger of a cadaver and put it on my hand?” I exclaimed, but Cornelis was nowhere to be seen.

“Cornelis Drebble!”

From last time

We had a measuring device. It looked like a silver toothpick holder. It was shaped like a little gazebo with a domed roof supported by columns. Within was a crystal bird with wings outstretched. Tiny holes in the rounded roof held toothpicks. If the toothpicks started to turn lavender, it was a warning that we had been in the amethyst world too long. If all the toothpicks turned purple we were in serious danger of being unable to return home. Should the bird turn purple, it would be too late.

I quickly took the detector out of the Dutchman’s bag so I could examine it. The toothpicks were lavender.

29. Cornbread, Champagne Glasses, Astrolabe

The amethyst ape looked to the direction in which his violet complected chimpanzee housekeeper had ridden away on an aubergine coated horse. Viola went back to his grand house to make sure the doppelgängers of Copper and myself did not come any closer. Their proximity had made us quite ill, but Cornelis alchemically altered some green Chartreuse, which set us back to rights. I wondered if the ape versions had also felt ill.

Cal Hicks shook his head regretfully. “Poor Viola,” the ape murmured, causing me to ask what he meant.

“She showed you the locket containing a bit of her dead son’s hair,” he said as a reminder, so I nodded. “He was lost in the battle with the one-eyed-one-horned flying-purple-people-eater; the dragon. Though I cannot reconcile that in my mind with the tiny Purple Fairy, Aubrieta. Whatever changed her form to the dragon must have also held uncontrollable sway over her personality as well. We should feel pity for her, not resentment,” Cal added as if to himself, then cleared his throat.

“Forgive me, I digress. Viola’s son was not in the chapel with the apes that disappeared that day,” Cal said, going back to his point. “Nor was he among those returned by Aubrieta’s magic. Viola said she felt his death a short time after the chapel apes disappeared. I hoped she was wrong, but she must have been correct,” Cal told me.

“More’s the pity,” the amethyst ape commented, again shaking his head. “Viola’s son was a scoundrel, though I liked to believe he had a good heart. He never got the chance to correct the path on which he’d put himself. He never reached his potential,” Cal spoke sadly.

Cornelis Drebbel got that look on his face. Though his skull was safely ensconced my hatbox, I knew the expression on his face meant the gears in his mind were turning. Abruptly he held an ancient looking leather portfolio. That was where he kept his drawings. He opened the folio and handed two sketches to Cal Hicks. One drawing was of a chimpanzee and the other of a man.

First I recognized the man in the drawing as the person we found in the study at the Hixon estate. The man had been dead when we arrived. The rogue chimpanzees carried away his corpse. The second thing I noticed was a strong resemblance in the drawings of the dead man and the chimp.

“Is this, by any chance, Viola’s son?” the alchemist asked Cal Hicks of the sketch of the chimpanzee.

Cal gasped. “Why yes! As always, Lord of Alchemy, your talents astound me,” Cal replied. “Do you have news of him?”

“We found his doppelgänger dead, but that’s as much as I can say,” Cornelis told him.

The Carson Mansion, Eureka, California

A few of the returned apes moved uneasily, but they were reluctant to leave. They stayed nearby, hiding their nakedness as best they could. Their coloring had fully reverted to various shades of purple, as was natural for them. Cal Hicks stepped into the laboratory and quickly returned with several pairs of coveralls for them.

Hicks invited them to go to his house for a hot meal. However they refused, saying they couldn’t take advantage of his hospitality. They watched Cornelis Drebbel closely, almost as if mesmerized.

“At least have some bread and wine then,” Cal Hicks told them.

The amethyst ape uncovered a basket containing all manner of loaves, muffins, and cornbread. Hicks insisted that the returned simians at least eat some bread. He told them that being translocated had surely depleted their reserves. Since Hicks wouldn’t take no for an answer, they drank and ate a little, but they looked much more interested in Cornelis and the two fairies.

Aubrieta and Absinthe cuddled near the laboratory building. The Purple Fairy and the Green Fairy were both tiny now. The alchemy that imploded the dome of fire also allowed Aubrieta to remain in her natural winged skunk-looking form.

Absinthe stretched and touched his green nose to the golden unicorn-like horn that was above Aubrieta’s single amber eye. They both made muttering noises that sounded remarkably like giggles. The erstwhile purple-people-eater she-dragon and Absinthe entwined their fluffy tails as they muttered and snorted softly to one another.

Cal Hicks looked at them wonderingly. “It’s a pity Viola isn’t here to witness that,” he murmured.

Cornelis gave a wicked grin. He reached into nothingness and produced a tray with etched champagne glasses. His arm disappeared up to his elbow as he reached into that magic space again and came back with a bottle of champagne.

“I wouldn’t pop the cork on that just yet,” I told him.

To remind them, I held out the measuring device Absinthe had insisted we take with us when we left the submarine. It looked like a silver toothpick holder fashioned to have a gazebo with a crystal bird inside. Tiny rods that resembled toothpicks protruded from the roof of the gazebo. It measured how much we were being influenced by the amethyst world. If we stayed too long, we might not be able to return home.

The words of the alchemist echoed in my mind.

“Many of the effects can be mitigated,” Cornelis had said, dismissing my concern. “For instance, a little lavender hue is of no real concern. But if all the toothpicks turn purple we are in serious danger of being unable to return home. Should the bird turn purple,” he added pointing to the crystal ornament in the center of the gazebo. “Well, then it is too late,” he’d finished with a wry twist of his mouth, which suggested that was a real possibility.

The metering toothpicks had turned to a saturated lavender, and not a pastel lavender like they were the last time I looked. Cal Hicks gasped, his face painted with concern. Absinthe and Aubrieta fluttered over to me and inspected the device closely, muttering the while. Cornelis puckered his lips in an expression that made me think he was about to sidestep something.

“As I’ve said, the lavender hue is of no real concern. It could be from your doppelgängers being too near, or even from what we consumed at tea,” the alchemist said in an unconcerned tone, but he cast a sidelong glance at the device.

Several feet away, the small group of coverall clad apes conversed quietly but animatedly among themselves. I got the feeling that the group had come to a decision. A very large dark purple chimpanzee came forward. I thought there was something reluctant in the way he moved.

“Begging your pardon, Mr. Hicks. We heard the Lord of Alchemy mention doppelgängers. When we—,” the chimpanzee began haltingly. “Well, it’s Von, sir — Viola’s son. When we were in that strange world Von met his double. They both ended up dead, although none of us saw exactly how it happened,” the chimp said and hung his head.

“You saw nothing at all?” Hicks questioned, pushing for information.

The chimpanzee looked contrite, as if there was something he did not want to disclose. “Von had that family ring he stole from your son. There was a man who seemed to recognize the ring. He tricked Von into giving it to him and then ran off. Von slipped off to track him. We found them at a fine home that looked a lot like yours. But when we got there they were both dead,” the chimp explained.

Chris Graham, The Story Reading Ape’s Naughty Chimps

“We took both bodies and hid them,” the chimpanzee added. “We were afraid of what might happen if the residents of that world noticed the two were doubles.”

Cal Hicks made a tut-tut sound and slowly shook his head. “Von was a scoundrel and a petty thief,” Hicks commented. “But he was Viola’s son. Even after he stole the signet ring from my son Nate, I wouldn’t have wished him dead.”

I still wore the signet ring Cornelis removed from the hand of the cadaver we found in Calvin Hixon’s study. Cornelis gave it to me so I could pass myself off as Copper’s aunt, and prevent the people from the orphanage taking her away.

Jaime Murray as the woman who wears trousers

Jaime Murray as the Woman in Trousers

The ring was much too big for my finger, but I had taken to wearing it on a ribbon hung around my neck. I pulled it out from inside my shirt. Removing the ribbon I handed the ring to Cal Hicks. “Is this the ring?” I asked.

“Lady Felicity! Why yes. That’s the ring I had made for Nate. How did you come to have it?” Hicks asked.

He tried to give the ring back to me. I took the amethyst ape’s large hand in both of mine and closed his thick fingers around the ring.

“It clearly belongs to you, or your son. I only borrowed it as a way of helping Copper. We don’t need it anymore,” I said.

Excited chirping and snorting came from the two fairies. Suddenly Aubrieta popped out of sight. I heard an agitated screech from inside the laboratory. Absinthe snorted and then disappeared. An instant later both tiny fairies reappeared. Between them they supported an intricately designed astrolabe. Aubrieta chirped excitedly. They flew over to Cornelis, and the alchemist gingerly took the apparatus from them.

“What is that thing?” Copper wanted to know.

“It’s an astrolabe,” Cornelis told her. “They’re used by astronomers, navigators, and astrologers. Its many uses include locating and predicting the positions of the Sun, Moon, planets, and stars, determining local time given local latitude and vice versa, surveying, and triangulation,” he explained.

Copper looked blankly at Cornelis and blinked. Absinthe gave an exasperated snort at the Dutchman, clearly dissatisfied with the appropriateness of his definition. Absinthe fluttered onto Copper’s shoulder and nuzzled into her hair.

With a longsuffering sigh, the Dutchman revised his explanation. “They’re used for solving problems relating to time and the position of the Sun and stars in the sky,” the alchemist clarified and Absinthe seemed satisfied that that explanation was suitable for Copper.

The girl looked at the Green Fairy in hopeful astonishment. “We can use this to find my Daddy? Is that what you mean, Absinthe?” she asked the little fairy.

Aubrieta flew to them and hovered near her newly reconciled mate. Both of the fairies chirped happily to Copper in what seemed to be affirming noises.

“Hopefully the astrolabe can help us get home as well,” I said wryly.

Then I held out the measuring device. A third of the toothpicks had darkened from a saturated lavender to royal purple.

***

So… the dead man in the study had an ape doppelgänger — and both seem to be a tad dishonest. The fairies may have found a device to find Copper’s daddy, but in which world is Calvin Hickson? The amethyst world or our own — and how much time do they have to find him if he’s in the purple world? Meanwhile the metering “toothpicks” deepen in purple hues.

What about those awful people from the orphanage? What about the woman with a chimp — she lead one of the groups chasing our trio? And the ape who gestured “Daddy” in sign language?

There are many questions yet to be answered. So be at the train station next time.

***

When I saw a cornbread recipe was needed for this episode, I thought of one of the newer supporters of this blog and serial – Cheryl “Cheffie Cooks” Wiser. I was pleased to find more than one tasty cornbread recipe in her repertoire!

https://clwiser.wordpress.com/

Recipe: Zucchini Corn Bread Muffins

http://tastykitchen.com/recipes/breads/zucchini-corn-bread-muffins/

Sorry – no photo this time. Just browse around Cheryl’s blogs – you’ll find plenty to drool over!

All images are either the property of the author or from Pinterest unless stated otherwise.

Copper, the Alchemist, & the Woman in Trousers: Episode 23

To those of you in the USA…

Happy Independence Day!

In celebration, rather than taking you to the Victorian Era on our usual steam locomotive, this time we’ll bring all our picnic paraphernalia and get on board a red, white, and blue decorated dirigible and soar into our story.

Steering the airship is Kathryn, aka KR Bigfish from Another Foodie Blogger, who gave us the “three things” for this episode. As sometimes happens, a comment also made its way into the episode. Kathryn mentioned a particular purple critter, and I couldn’t resist. But I’ll leave that for a surprise.

Remember to check for fun and informative links in the text and images.

The dirigible is tugging at its ropes — ready to sail through the air, through time and realities. So… All aboard!

From last time…

“It’s an amethyst world!” Copper exclaimed when she saw the strange place where the magically whirling submarine went aground.

A purple ape wearing a three piece suit with a starched collar and a bowler hat came into view. It seems strange to say, but the hat and the suit made me think of Ignatius Belle. However, I was also reminded in an odd way of the portrait of Copper’s father, Calvin Hixon, who turned out to be Belle’s father as well.

The amethyst colored ape moved his hands in sign language.

Copper, the alchemist, and I spoke in chorus. “Daddy?”

***

23. Broken Knife, Sea Urchin, Potable Water

Reading Ape purple “Oh! You can speak. How wondrous!” was the delighted exclamation of the purple ape who wore a man’s suit, hat, and spectacles. “And what remarkable coloring you have!”

“Of course we can talk. But it’s amazing that you can!” Copper called out in reply as she clambered down from the submarine hatch, too quick for me to stop her.

The alchemist stood in gaping astonishment. I pushed past him and hurried after the girl, although I didn’t know how I could protect her from something as strong as the ape. I had no weapon on me, not so much as a little muff pistol.

Abruptly I remembered my pearl handled pen knife. It wasn’t much use as a weapon, but I reached quickly into my pocket. However, the pen knife seemed to have been damaged during the chaos of the spinning submarine. When I tried to open it, the broken knife fell apart in my hands.

The creature seemed genial enough, but who could say? I had no idea into what sort of place we had been cast by the accident of alchemy that sent Cornelis Drebbel’s submarine off course with rogue magic.

“Have a care, Felicity,” Cornelis hissed, as though he’d finally come back to himself.

“Of course I’ll be careful. Why didn’t you stop her?” I said through my teeth, trying to hide my anger with the Dutchman from the strange primate on the shore.

I turned back toward the quickly moving girl. “Copper stop right there and wait until I catch up with you,” I demanded and for once she complied.

“But Felicity! I like him. He’s funny,” the girl pleaded. “I’m sure it’s perfectly safe,” Copper added in a rather good imitation of an adult.

“How can you think a purple ape — in a suit no less, is perfectly safe?” I whispered as I caught up to the girl and took her hand.

Cornelis cleared his throat loudly. “That’s not what I meant. I wasn’t talking about the ape when I told you to be careful,” the alchemist said urgently. “Doppelgängers!” he exclaimed, using his trick of casting his voice directly to my ear.

“What’s a doppelgänger?” Copper wanted to know as she looked from Cornelis to me and then back over her shoulder at the very large purple chimpanzee.

“It’s a sort of lookalike,” I told her.

As I gazed into the shallows of the sparkling amethyst water I noticed a violet colored sea urchin. Here even fishes and such are one color of purple or another, I thought. The water itself took on the hue of lavender from the sky it reflected. That alone was enough to make it a stranger place than anything I had ever imagined.

Cornelis seemed to be permanently adhered to his surely uncomfortable position, halfway out of the submarine’s hatch. I could hear Absinthe inside chirping excitedly, but I couldn’t tell if the Green Fairy was anxious, angry, or simply feeling chatty. Then a bottle levitated up from within the submarine. Cornelis snatched it out of the air and thanked the Green Fairy in a droll tone.

“Absinthe thinks you should take this potable water with you, as it might not be safe to drink anything here,” the Dutchman commented. “I think it’s a bad idea for you to leave this vessel at all.”

Amethyst Walking Stick by Fabergé

At the shore, the chimpanzee shifted his bowler hat and placed his walking stick in front of himself with both hands propped on its crystal top. Naturally the crystal was an amethyst cabochon. He looked curious, but quite patient and relaxed.

“Whatever are you talking about, Dutchman?” I looked up at Cornelis and asked while Copper stood staring at the chimp in a suit.

“If you meet your doppelgänger it could be dangerous,” the alchemist said.

“Why on earth would I meet my double?” I asked feeling piqued, with Copper pulling me forward and the alchemist holding me back.

“I think it’s the nature of this world, this place,” Cornelis explained with exaggerated patience. “It probably has its own versions of all of us. Purple versions, but still…” he added with a shrug.

“Why is it purple?” Copper interrupted. “Is there a purple fairy, like Absinthe is the Green Fairy?” she asked, eyes widening in anticipation.

The Green Fairy stuck his tiny nose out of the hatch and bit onto the alchemist’s sleeve, pulling it as if he wanted Cornelis to get back inside.

Cornelis Drebbel

“Alright, alright,” he told Absinthe. “Copper, I suspect there is a good reason for the purple coloring, but the important thing you need to understand is that everything around us could become — well you could say the place may get unstable, just because of our presence. If any of us met our doubles it could be,” he paused, probably looking for words a young girl would understand. “Bad. It could be very bad,” he finished, but looked dissatisfied with his choice of words.

“Cornelis, aren’t you coming with us?” I asked with an uneasy eye on the large, strong chimpanzee, who had moved forward to the very edge of the water.

“No, Felicity. Were I to meet my doppelgänger it wouldn’t be dangerous,” he replied, and closing his eyes he took a deep breath. “It would be catastrophic.”

Seldom had I seen the Dutchman so serious. I don’t pretend that I fully understood his vague explanation, but I knew it had something to do with alchemy. So I didn’t press.

“Do I have a doppelgänger?” a giggling Copper wanted to know, and I realized she’d found a new favorite word. “The monkey might be Daddy’s doppelgänger,” she added, giggling even harder.

When I looked at Cornelis he curled his lips inward in a rueful grimace and raised his bushy blonde eyebrows. Then he pursed his lips and inclined his head pointedly toward the purple primate. The ape shifted his stance. Suddenly he reminded me very much of the portrait of Calvin Hixon.

The purple primate saw us looking at him and raised his voice to make sure it carried to us. “I’m sure it’s most unsettling, having your vessel run aground. And clearly you aren’t from here,” the ape began. “Or from any place of which I’ve ever heard…” his voice trailed off as he shook his head wonderingly. “But I assure you it really is perfectly safe, just as the young err… the young lady said.”

Had the ape hesitated to call Copper a young lady? Could it be that he perceived us as we saw him — as strange animals? Profound thoughts crowded my mind.

The ape looked remarkably like the portrait of Copper’s father. With of course the exception him of being an ape.

The suit-wearing creature bumped his palm to his forehead as if something obvious had just occurred to him. “Oh! If you are concerned that you don’t see people like yourselves, please don’t fear. We thought your species was extinct. I can’t tell you how delighted I am to know that is not the case! And that extraordinary coloring you have. This is so exciting! But pardon me. I digress,” he said in a gracious apologetic voice.

“As I was saying, there’s no need to fear. The one eyed one horned flying purple people eater is surely dead. None have been seen for a hundred years!” the ape said, adjusting his spectacles.

At the primate’s comment Absinthe fluttered up and out of the submarine. He chirped and grunted excitedly. The Green Fairy hovered around Copper’s head briefly. Then he darted toward the purple ape. Absinthe made several passes around the primate to inspect him, grunting the while.

“How delightful!” the very large chimpanzee exclaimed, taking off his spectacles since Absinthe was mere inches from his face. “What a colorful little chap. Why you’re like a very tiny, very green version of the purple people eater,” he said and Absinthe gave a disagreeable chirp. “Well no, I suppose that’s not true at all. But you seem to be the same sort of fae being.”

I couldn’t sense any animosity from the ape… and judging by the crash landing of the submarine we were going to need some kind of help. So I allowed Copper to lead me to the shore where he stood. The suited primate bowed politely to us, doffing his bowler hat.

Absinthe settled in his protective position atop Copper’s head. However, the ape’s attention wandered to the submarine. He was so intrigued that he waded out into the shallows for a better look. “You know,” he said in a self-deprecating tone. “I’m something of an inventor myself. What sort of vessel is that? It looks almost as though it’s meant to sail under the water,” the ape marveled.

Cornelis never could resist showing off one of his inventions and the ape was clearly a willing and eager audience. Abruptly the alchemist appeared at his elbow. The purple primate jumped with a start.

“Allow me to introduce myself,” the Dutchman said. “I’m Cornelis Drebbel and I’d be delighted to show you the submarine.”

The ape gasped. His eyes grew large and his mouth opened silently. The primate’s eyes narrowed and he looked intently at Cronelis. “With this outlandish coloring, how could I suspect,” he murmured. Then he bowed extravagantly to Cornelis.

“Cornelis Drebbel, Lord of Alchemy, I welcome you to these shores. Please accept my humble apology for not recognizing you. No one has seen you for over a hundred years. It was feared that the purple people eater had… well… But how foolish of us to think you would have been bested by any beast, no matter how fearsome.”

***

Will this newfound status go to the alchemist’s head? Will a doppelgänger of one of the characters show up and wreak havoc? How will they get back home so they can find Copper’s daddy? And what about that one eyed one horned flying purple people eater? Be at the train station next time to find out what happens to Copper, the Alchemist, and the Woman in Trousers!

Don’t forget this episode’s recipe! Since the food related thing, or ingredient, was “potable water” I chose one of Kathryn’s seafood recipes. I really appreciate that she often shares simple recipes made from things I might have on hand. I know you’ll enjoy this one.

Recipe: Spicy Canned Tuna Ceviche

https://anotherfoodieblogger.wordpress.com/2015/06/07/spicy-canned-tuna-ceviche/

Photo and recipe credit: Another Foodie Blogger

All images are either the property of the author or from Pinterest unless stated otherwise.

Copper, the Alchemist, & the Woman in Trousers: Episode 22

Energy!

Early this year I had a very unpleasant head cold. So I gave my characters, Felicity and Cornelis, nasty head colds too — and funny, sneezing chaos ensued. Abandoned Locomotive Santa Fe

Last weekend I barely found time to write Episode-21, and was a day late with it. This weekend I had my every-other-Friday off. But all that day I couldn’t manage to find enough energy to get myself to write (or much of anything else). I’m just really tired… So I related to these images of old rusted abandoned trains.

It occurs to me that this is neither inspiring nor energizing to the reader…

Anyway, I wondered what would happen if once again, I gave some characters my own issues. An exhausted Copper would simply take a nap. Felicity would probably get grumpy with Cornelis. And he would likely pop off somewhere for alone time. But what might Absinthe, the Green Fairy do?

So I opened my master document file for Copper, the Alchemist, and the Woman in Trousers — ready to explore what a tiny magical green skunk-like creature would do if he was fatigued.

However, to my surprise I didn’t give my characters my weariness. Quite the contrary — they energized me! So our steam locomotive is still on the tracks.

Here’s another energizing tidbit. Recently I reblogged a friend’s announcement of her new book. Well, she just got the greatest birthday present ever. Happy birthday and congrats to Mary J. McCoy-Dressel, because that book hit #1 on Amazon‘s list for her genre!

Thanks to my dear friend R.C. for sending the three things for this chapter. They’re so perfect for the Victorian Era setting of the story. R.C. has more creative vision in one little finger than most people have in their entire bodies. I knew the “things” she sent would lead me to find fun and informative links to include in this chapter. I’ve even included a link so you can get a free copy of a pioneering science fiction book.

I just heard the big whoosh and screech as the steam locomotive pulled up to the platform. Are you ready for another trip to the Victorian Era?

All aboard!

From last time…

Cornelis Derbbel accidentally uttered the incantation “Yadadarcyyada.” It mixed with the other magic he worked and caused the submarine to spin at unimaginable speed.

Absinthe seemed to realize Copper was in distress. He fluttered down to land on Copper’s shoulder. Then he wrapped his tail protectively around her head. A bright green light formed around us. When I touched the aura, I was surprised to find it felt as hard as steel.

As the world around me whirled I saw Cornelis frantically working with the perpetual motion machine and the magical finial. The submarine whirled so fast that everything became a blur. As the force and pressure created by the maniacally spinning vessel became too great, darkness overtook me.

***

22. Corded Stays, Pickled Beets, Cold Cereal

Through the velvet black of unconsciousness I heard my name called. I shook my head to clear it, but found I could barely move. Some unseen force held me fast. I managed to open my eyelids and vacantly looked straight ahead.

Absinthe, the Green Fairy clung protectively to Copper’s head. All I could think was what an odd sight it was. Then memory surged back, filling my mind. The pressure that held me still was from the force of the violently spinning submarine. Even if I could have moved spryly, the Green Fairy had created a protective barrier around Copper, himself, and me.

“Thank God you’re awake. It took you long enough,” Cornelis called from across the chamber where he moved like a maniac to correct the damage of his inadvertently spoken incantation, yadadarcyyada.

The multi-armed contrivance whirred and hummed, shooting rainbow light everywhere. It also shot colorful sparks now and then, which Cornelis adroitly ducked.

I muttered a rude response to the Dutchman’s ill-mannered comment.

“Don’t just sit there!” he complained. “I only have two hands. Have you a corset, woman?”

“I beg your pardon!” I said warningly.

“This is no time to suddenly become delicate,” Cornelis chided. “The thingamajig is on the verge of coming apart. I believe I can use the corded stays from a boned corset to keep its arms in place.”

“The thingamajig?” I repeated incredulously.

“Well, that is the name of the device after all. It is the original thingamajig!” the alchemist said in a tone that suggested that fact should have been obvious. “Didn’t Copper put a corset in that big carpet bag when you had her collect her belongings before we left the Hixon estate?” he asked.

“I believe she did at that,” I answered in a mystified tone. “But how did you know?”

“Never you mind,” Cornelis said and abruptly broke eye contact. “Absinthe, dear boy, could you release that shield enough to let Felicity out?”

The tiny skunk-looking creature snuffled and grunted sounds of uncertainty, but after a moment the bright green light he had formed around himself, Copper, and me flickered. When I had touched the aura before, it felt as hard as steel. I raised a hesitant finger and touched it to find it felt pliable.

“Go ahead,” Cornelis said through gritted teeth, apparently having to put great concentration into what he was doing. “You should be able to move about now.”

Terrence Mann as Cornelis

As I struggled to my feet, the Green Fairy’s magical shield stretched and preceded me while I moved. It caused everything I saw to take on a greenish cast. I spotted the black bag with a floral design. If I had not been looking through the green of Absinthe’s shield, the flowers would have been embroidered in a shade of mauve. My movements were sluggish as I made my way to the carpet bag. It felt like walking in waist deep water.

When I opened the bag I had the passing thought that Copper had an eye for fine things. She had packed my nicest undies. Despite the fact that I felt corsets were horrid, barbaric torture devices, I looked from the garment to Cornelis regretfully. It really was well crafted…

“Don’t look at me like that, Felicity! You know you’ll never wear the blasted thing,” Cornelis said sounding strained.

I sighed and plodded over to him as if in slow motion. At least two of the gemstone capped arms on the thingamajig waved erratically. They seemed in danger of flying off.

“Do I need to cut the stays out of it?” I offered; trying to be helpful as I hesitantly passed the corset to the alchemist.

“Oh for Pete’s sake,” he complained. “Don’t sound like such a martyr. No, just put it in my hand and I’ll take care of it.”

“But both your hands are on the machines,” I said just as his hand darted away from that cast iron finial and grabbed the corset from me.

As Cornelis grasped the corset it became engulfed in the rainbows of light produced by the multi-armed contrivance. Then my under garment disappeared before my very eyes. The arms still whirred at blinding speed, but the machine’s movements didn’t seem as erratic.

I staggered as the spinning submarine abruptly slowed. Apparently the corset and its corded stays had been a proper fit to fix the wayward spell that caused the submarine to violently whirl.

“That’s better,” Cornelis murmured as the limbs of the machine slowed somewhat. “Now I just need something to set it. Um… Felicity do you notice anything missing?” he asked in his best professorial voice.

Jamie Murray as Felicity

“Cornelis, I hardly think this is the time for an educational lecture,” I began.

“Just look, Felicity,” he said impatiently.

Watching the thingamajig made me queasy, but I could see that something wasn’t right. One of the jewel endcaps was missing. Looking at the rainbow lights cast by the machine I noticed there was no purple amid the numerous colors.

“The amethyst is gone!” I said feeling downright proud of myself, since Cornelis usually got the better of me when he went into professor mode.

“Ah… So it is,” he said sounding drolly bemused.

“You don’t have to sound so surprised,” I countered. “And you needn’t be smug either.”

“Now I need something purple,” he said looking all around.

“I saw a jar of pickled beets inside the desk — or rather the bridge as you called it,” I suggested.

Just as the words left my mouth, Absinthe shrieked. He left his protective perch on Copper’s head and fluttered upward to be at eyelevel with Cornelis and me. The Green Fairy muttered and grunted in an angry sounding way.

Typically the fairy’s striped tail curled over his back, rather like a squirrel’s tail would. The moment he started making those irate sounds, his tale stood up straight. I kept a worried eyeball on Absinthe’s bantam backside and eased backward. However, the submarine had no place where I could escape if the fairy let loose another spray of super concentrated absinthe fumes.

“What’s wrong with him?” I hissed at Cornelis.

The Dutchman hit his own forehead with the heel of his hand as if something he should have remembered had just come back to him.

“How could I forget? Beets are his favorite treat,” the alchemist muttered.

Absinthe fluttered threateningly in front of the bridge.

“Come on old chum,” Corenlis implored, but the fairy hissed. “It’s ever so important,” he encouraged, but Absinthe grunted an irate sound. “I only need one or two. I promise not to take them all,” Cornelis pleaded as the thingamajig swung erratically. Copper curious w-green

The Green Fairy’s emerald eyes narrowed as he looked skeptically at the gyrating contrivance. He fluttered down to the drawer where his pickled beets were stored and with a dramatic sigh opened the drawer. The jar of beets levitated up to my hands. Hurriedly I went to the alchemist and opened the jar.

Meanwhile Absinthe turned his back. He refused to look at any of us or what we did with his cherished beets.

When the spinning submarine slowed, the Green Fairy dropped the protective barrier he had created. Copper went to the alchemist’s side to watch what he was doing to the thingamajig. She looked closely at the faceted gemstone caps that adorned the machine’s limbs.

“The beets aren’t the same color of purple as an amethyst,” she pointed out the difference.

“So you know your gems then?” Cornelis commented.

“Daddy has a tie pin with a purple stone. He said it’s amethyst,” Copper explained.

“You make a valid point,” Cornelis replied, surprising me, as I didn’t expect him to take the girl’s comment seriously.

The beet was momentarily engulfed in a green glow. When the verdant aura dissipated, the reddish purple hue of the beet became a vibrant royal purple.

“Now if I can just attach the beet to the proper arm without stopping the motion of the thingamajig,” Cornelis murmured.

His hand darted out so fast that I couldn’t say exactly what he had done. However, the wonky motion of the multi-armed contrivance smoothed. Gradually the machine slowed to a gentle rhythm. I spotted the perfect amethyst, which only a moment before had been a pickled beet.

I had not seen the Green Fairy move, but he suddenly fluttered at my shoulder. He made a few clicking sounds that seemed to be a grudging compliment to the alchemist’s skill. Absinthe flew to the opened jar of pickled beets making tut tut noises until Cornelis put the lid back on the container. Then in a rapid blur of motion the fairy grabbed the jar and put it back into the drawer.

Quickly he fluttered from the bridge to the submarine’s brass periscope. Tiny paws made lightning fast adjustments to the crystal knobs on the apparatus. Uttering a nonstop stream of grunts and chirps, Absinthe turned it this way and that, taking a 360 degree view of the surroundings. Abruptly the fairy fell silent. He darted backward a pace, staring at the periscope. Then he shrieked.

“Absinthe! What’s wrong?” Copper cried in concern as she hurried to the tiny creature.

The Green Fairy didn’t appear to be hurt in any way, so I felt puzzled but very anxious. “Whatever is the matter with him?” I asked Cornelis.

The Dutchman seemed rooted to the spot where he stood. Like me, he dreaded what might have upset the fairy to such a great extent.

“I don’t know,” Cornelis began. “But I haven’t seen him this agitated since I tricked him into eating cold cereal.”

(About packaged cereal in the Victorian Era.)

I didn’t move any closer to the fairy for fear that he would fart more of his ferociously potent fumes. One false move and I knew from experience that I might startle him.

Cornelis gently moved the tiny fairy aside and looked through the periscope. He drew back, frowning, eyes narrowed, and brow furrowed. Then he looked again and shook his head slowly without taking his eyes away from the periscope.

The alchemist started whispering to the fairy. Absinthe muttered a series of chirps, seeming to insist that his opinion was correct. Cornelis whispered again and waved one arm emphatically. Absinthe chirped once then widened his emerald eyes and screeched a warning. Cornelis took a step backward, and raised his upturned palms, conceding the argument to the Green Fairy.

Finally the alchemist turned to me. “When yada— ahem… When that incantation worked itself into the spell I was crafting with the thingamajig,” Cornelis began.

“You mean when you accidentally spoke the incantation?” I couldn’t resist inserting.

Cornelis pursed his lips, narrowed his eyes, and looked to one side. He refused to take my bait.

“Ahem!” He cleared his throat pointedly. “As I was saying. Something went wrong with the thingamajig, and we have been transported.”

“Isn’t that good? That woman with the hydrofoil and that vicious trained chimpanzee were right on us,” I reminded him.

“Well, yes. Yes, I suppose it is at that!” Cornelis stammered but Absinthe hissed a warning at him. “All right, all right,” he said to the fairy and then turned back to me. “I admit that the mechanics of the situation are beyond me.”

“What are you trying to say Cornelis?” I insisted worriedly. “Where are we? Oh no-no-no… You are not telling me that we’ve moved through time are you? Like Edward Bulwer-Lytton’s novel Vril, the Power of the Coming Race or some other science fiction story?” I asked, my eyes widening.

(Get Vril, the Power of the Coming Race free at Project Gutenberg)

“No Felicity. We haven’t fallen in with some sort of superior subterranean master race,” Cornelis said drolly. “And it’s not so much about where we are, or even when we are. And we haven’t gone to some other planet. Or at least, not exactly,” he said incomprehensibly and climbed the ladder to the hatch.

“Well, don’t just stand there,” the alchemist said. “It’s much easier to show you than it is to tell you.”

He turned the brass wheel that opened the submarine’s hatch. Copper scurried up the ladder behind Cornelis. I took a look over my shoulder at Absinthe, hoping for some hint that would help me understand what was happening, for some pearl of wisdom. The fairy plopped down on the desktop of the bridge in a dejected seeming way. His wings settled on his back. He looked at me and gave a resigned sounding chirp. Then he started eating the rest of the pickled beets. They were clearly his comfort food.

“We’ve run aground,” Cornelis said in concern.

Copper’s musical voice came down to me when she beheld to landscape before her. “It’s an amethyst world!” she exclaimed, but I couldn’t imagine what she meant. So I climbed up to the opening.

My first concern was that the people from the hydrofoil would be there to attack us, but there wasn’t another soul in sight. I looked all around, speechless.

Everything was purple. It was like looking at the world through rose colored glasses – except I saw a landscape in purple, rather than pink.

I tensed as the vegetation parted about fifty feet away. A figure wearing a three piece suit with a starched collar and a bowler hat immerged. The hat and the suit made me think of Ignatius Belle, but I was also reminded of the portrait of Calvin Hixon. But the person’s gait was nothing like either man. He moved awkwardly in a loping walk.

He started motioning with his hands, repeating a pattern of movements that I had seen before. As he came closer the three of us gaped in astonishment. It was no man. Rather it was a very large purple chimp wearing a suit, hat, and spectacles. He made the motions again. Sign language.

Copper, the alchemist, and I spoke in chorus. “Daddy?”

***

Well now… What have our characters gotten themselves into this time? Be at the train station next weekend to find out more about the “amethyst world” and the chimpanzee in a three piece suit.

Before you go – here’s the recipe for this episode. Bon appétit!

Recipe: Pickled Beets

Photo and recipe credit: Megan at “Homestead Living“

All images are either the property of the author or from Pinterest unless stated otherwise.

Copper, the Alchemist, & the Woman in Trousers: Episode 21

Thanks for waiting
Welcome back everyone. I’m so glad you waited for the steam locomotive to the Victorian Era.

The “three things” for this chapter are from Donna Parker at Yadadarcyyada – Vague Meanderings of the Broke and Obscure, a truly wonderful blog. In Donna’s posts she shares her thoughts on a variety of things. In one post she’ll have me laughing so hard my stomach hurts, and with an another I’ll be climbing up onto the soapbox with her as she gives voice to her feelings. So be sure to visit her blog and look around, read a few posts. I think you’ll be glad you did.

The “things” Donna sent created a new twist for the story. I really wasn’t expecting it — but you’ll have to read on to learn what that is!

Now the locomotive is back on track, so without further ado, I present Episode-21.

From last time…

“There are places that are not nearly deep enough for this submarine,” he commented and Absinthe hissed as if scolding Cornelis. “But with a little shifting of ‘the in to the out’… Tucking a bit from this reality into the next… Together Absinthe and I should be able to make it work,” he said.

“I don’t like the sound of that. You know full well how often your tricks go awry,” I warned him.

21. Ginger Beer, Cast Iron Finial, Backgammon

Cornelis Drebbel’s submarine traveled quite smoothly, I was relieved to note. After having been inebriated by the vapors of Absinthe the startled Green Fairy, I was feeling queasy. So I had worried about travel on — or rather under water.

To my astonishment, the tiny skunk-like fairy led me to a bottle of ginger beer. With a sharp pop, Cornelis suddenly appeared at my elbow.

“Where did you run off to?” I asked, referring to the fact that a moment before the alchemist wasn’t there.

“Good idea, Absinthe,” he told the fluttering fairy, but ignored my question. “Do try and drink it, Felicity. It will help settle your stomach.”

Cornelis absently tossed what looked like a cast iron finial. I raised my eyebrows, silently prompting him for an answer.

“I went to get this,” he said, giving the ornament another toss.

I tried to look at the thing, but Cornelis gave it a spin when he threw it. Several strands of iron reached up and twisted to come together at the tip making an open teardrop shape. Those twisted strips combined with the spin Cornelis gave his throw, made the shape seem to shift in an odd way as it went up and down with his tosses. I thought my stomach would lose its contents.

Absinthe glided down for a closer look at the finial. Then the Green Fairy gave a series of discontent sounding grunts at Cornelis. Apparently he didn’t like the finial to be tossed around.

“Oh, Absinthe. Don’t get testy,” the alchemist told the fairy with as his mouth twisted in a derisive way. “No harm will come to it. Besides, it helps charge it.”

Terrence Mann as Cornelis Drebbel

“Why did you need a bedpost finial?” I wanted to know, despite another nauseous lurch from my stomach.

“This is no ordinary piece of cast iron,” Cornelis explained. “At least it is not any more. Once it crowned one of the posts of my bed. You see, many of my ideas come to me as I sleep. For some reason this particular finial gradually took on unexpected properties, although the other three did not,” the Dutchman said with a shrug. “I thought we might use it to help the submarine over the shallow places.”

The Green Fairy sniffed delicately at the finial, or whatever it was. Then he fluttered back to the ginger beer and chirped at me. As I took the proffered bottle, I gave the Dutchman a contemptuous look.

“Have you no shame, Cornelis? You could at least pretend to have a hangover,” I complained.

“As I have no real stomach, I don’t tend to digestive upsets,” the alchemist explained merrily. “But as you know, my skull does exist in this world. So I can get miserable headaches.”

“And head colds!” Copper chimed in, and giggled over the magical results of Cornelis sneezing when he and I were afflicted with that ailment.

The little skunk-like fairy snuffled and grunted in a way that sounded a lot like chuckling. I gathered that he had also witnessed the alchemist under the influence of a head cold.

Copper

Copper was giggling so hard it was difficult to understand her words, but the fairy seemed to know what she said. The only words I could pick out from the jumble of chortles were frogs and pancakes.

“You don’t act as though you have any sort of headache now,” I said, unwilling to laugh at the memory that so amused Copper, as I was feeling a bit put upon.

Cornelis chuckled. “I developed a tolerance to Absinthe’s frightened flatulence. When he and I first met, I startled him many times. One begins to get used to the effect,” he said.

As I sipped the ginger beer I gave Cornelis an arch look. I wondered if he may have deliberately “startled” Absinthe on more than one occasion, to cause him to produce those potent poots. The Green Fairy wrinkled up his pointed nose and made a grumbling sound at Cornelis that led me to believe my assumption was correct.

A pinging sound interrupted the conversation. It came from that multi-armed machine. Its limbs shifted. Those capped with blue and green gems lifted and spun while the arms adorned with warm colored jewels lowered unmoving.

“We’ve come to a shallow area,” Cornelis commented moving toward the device. “Umm…” he pondered. “The water is deeper than I expected. We should be able to navigate it without much assistance. However, if anyone should look, we will be easily spotted,” he added. “Absinthe, have we caught up with any of those three groups yet?”

The Green Fairy fluttered to one of the two perpetual motion machines. The glass dome filled with green fog. After a moment the haze cleared. A blurry figure lurched and bobbed. When it came into focus I saw that it was the hydrofoil! I saw the big chimpanzee jumping around and the woman who commanded that small group. I tried hard to get a look at her face, but the image was too small. She again wore rain gear, so I couldn’t even make out her figure to help me ascertain her identity.

The Dutchman looked uncertain. “Absinthe, perhaps we should slow down. We don’t want to get too close to them,” Cornelis said.

Absinthe chirped then made a tut-tut sound. That worried me. Surely we hadn’t…

“What! They’re right behind us? Do you mean to say we’ve gone under the hydrofoil and gotten ahead of them without even knowing they were there?” Cornelis exclaimed and the Green Fairy gave an indignant shrill warning.

Cornelis caught himself and quickly tried to calm the skunk-like fairy before he could spray that intoxicating vapor of highly concentrated absinthe. Fortunately Copper had a soothing effect on the creature as she gently stroked his tiny head with a finger and murmured compliments to him. Absinthe hopped onto her shoulder and snuggled down under her ear, making an occasional snuffling sound. I heaved a sigh of relief.

“I need to create a very good illusion to keep them from seeing us,” Cornelis began. “I think a mirror trick will suffice. A few illusory reflections so that it seems to them that they see the route ahead, but they do not see us. But we’ll have to be absolutely quiet,” he said emphatically. “This illusion will amplify any sounds we make,” he stressed. “We’ll have to maintain silence for quite some time. I suppose that will be easier if we occupy ourselves somehow. Ah! I know,” he said as he hurried to open a drawer in the submarine’s desk-like bridge.

The Backgammon Players by Jean Beraud 1849-1935

He looked rather pleased with himself as he produced a backgammon set.

“Unfortunately Cornelis, I don’t know how to play,” I told him. “And teaching me will defeat the purpose of being quiet. Oh, but you have some books over there,” I said noticing a bookcase in the corner. “You and Copper can play while I read,” I suggested, knowing that the girl would enjoy the act of pretending to play even though it was unlikely that she actually knew the rules of backgammon.

“Yes, I want to play,” Copper added quickly. “Absinthe and I can play against you Cornelis,” she offered, and the Green Fairy chirped and settled on the backgammon board the Dutchman had just opened.

Absinthe seemed to guide Copper in arranging the pieces on the game board. Meanwhile Cornelis went to the second of two perpetual motion clocks. It was a good deal larger than the first machine. He gave the thing that looked like a cast iron finial another toss and then twisted it onto the base of the clock. It began to spin slowly. It had a rather hypnotic effect. Looking at it made me queasy again.

Jaime Murray as Felicity, the Woman in Trousers

A green aura surrounded Cornelis. From out of nowhere the alchemist produced postcard sized images of the waterway, the shorelines, and the sky. He placed one hand just above the images and rested the other on the crystal dome of the perpetual motion clock. As the glow around him intensified, one by one the images disappeared and then reappeared inside the dome.

“Wow!” Copper sighed and the Green Fairy made a soft shushing sound.

“I’m sure it’s important that we don’t interrupt Cornelis,” I whispered to Copper.

“Oh really?” Cornelis muttered drolly. “My skills aren’t that limited. Do go about setting up the game. I’ll join you shortly. Felicity, select a book and relax.”

I glanced at the titles. Everything on the first three shelves was dry and scientific sounding. When I looked at the fourth shelf I couldn’t suppress a chuckle. The Dutchman had a small collection of Jane Austen books.

“You’ve an Austen collection?” I murmured in surprise.

“Yes. I met the lady and several other authors. She gave me the books. You’ll see an inscription inside each, written in her own hand,” Cornelis said in a rather smug tone.

I was impressed. “Pride and Prejudice,” I commented. “My favorite,” I said reading the brief note from the author to her “dear friend, Cornelis Drebbel.”

“What’s it about?” Copper asked, moving to my side, apparently already bored with waiting for Cornelis to begin the game of backgammon.

“Shall I read a bit to you while Cornelis sets up his trick?” I asked the girl and she nodded.

“It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife.

However little known the feelings or views of such a man may be on his first entering a neighbourhood, this truth is so well fixed in the minds of the surrounding families, that he is considered the rightful property of some one or other of their daughters.”

Abruptly I paused. The term “rightful property” was trying to work past my headache and connect itself to a half formed suspicion about Calvin Hixon. However, Copper interrupted my thought and it was absorbed into my aching head.

“So is it about a man getting married?” Copper asked when I paused, causing me to lose that train of thought.

I gave my head half a shake to clear the jumbled notions inside it, and immediately regretted the motion. “It’s about a young woman, and yes it’s also about a man. Fitzwilliam Darcy,” I told her with a smile as I anticipated enjoying a favorite story.

Copper looked intrigued. “Is he handsome?” she wanted to know.

“Oh yes,” I answered. “Darcy is noble and handsome, and smart too.”

I saw Cornelis emitting a bright green aura as he worked his spell. He paused in making some very intricate looking adjustments to the perpetual motion machine. The alchemist looked at us and rolled his eyes heavenward.

“Oh yada Darcy yada,” he said derisively, cutting off my praise of the character.

Absinthe suddenly looked up when the alchemist made the comment. The fairy’s emerald eyes grew large and he shrieked.

“Oh bugger,” Cornelis said in frustration as the tiny fairy flew over to him making a series of very irate noises.

“What’s wrong with our tiny friend?” I asked worriedly though my voice came out in a sardonic tone.

“Yadadarcyyada is an incantation. I can’t believe I just said it aloud. If you hadn’t picked that blasted book it would never have happened,” Cornelis complained and the Green Fairy screamed again when Cornelis said the magic word a second time.

The submarine started to vibrate. It shuddered every few seconds. Everything around me looked like reflections from a funhouse mirror; stretching, expanding, contracting, becoming triplicate reflections.

Drebbel Perpetual Motion Clock

It was more than my upset stomach could take. Apparently the nausea was plain on my face. Absinthe gave a sputtering grunt and a wastebasket appeared in my hands, just in time for me to retch into the container. I had the sneaking suspicion the tiny fairy was more concerned about keeping his submarine home clean — that he wasn’t so worried about my upset stomach.

Cornelis was yelling something about shifting of “the in to the out” and tucking a bit from this reality into the next — just as he had mentioned before.

The submarine began to spin. I lost my balance and landed on the floor. Copper fell down next to me, and I held the child with one arm and used my other arm to deflect books that fell down from the shelves and onto us.

Absinthe seemed to realize Copper was in distress. He fluttered down to us, and landed on Copper’s shoulder. Then he wrapped his tail protectively around her head. A bright green light formed around us. When I touched the aura, I was surprised to find it felt as hard as steel.

***

What has the unintended incantation “Yadadarcyyada” done to the submarine and its passengers? Might the magical effect extend beyond the submarine? Will it be enough to allow our friends to get away from the villains on the hydrofoil? Be at the train station next time!

Now here is the recipe for Episode-21. Bon appétit!

Recipe: Ginger Beer,

A Probiotic Summer Drink

Photo and recipe credit: A Real Food Lover.com

Next weekend the three things are from the wonderful R.C. in the Land of Enchantment. See where Pickled Beets, Corded Stays, and Cold Cereal take our characters.

All images are either the property of the author or from Pinterest unless stated otherwise.

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Tag Archives: Cornelis Drebbel

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Recipe: Ginger Beer,

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