In Brist's Time - Chapter 9

Chapter 9

Finally, the family arrived home. Brist was surprised by her family and how they had managed to maintain a cheerful attitude as they walked in what the considered such dismal conditions. Lucas had sensed that he needed to make his family forget that he had been shot until they were in a position to do something about it, and so he cracked jokes and carried on as if he hadn’t a care in the world. In turn, his family did the same.

David told the twins to go amuse themselves, then ordered his sons – excepting Lucas and Nicholas – to wait for the doctor’s arrival. Regina naturally remained at her husband’s side. Strangely, Brist was almost ignored completely. No one had any idea what she should do!

David eventually suggested that she might like to keep the twins company, which Brist agreed would be helpful, but asked to stay just long enough to be of help if needed. David agreed absently, his attention focused on his son.

“The bleeding has slowed greatly, although it has not stopped. I imagine that it hurts a great deal. The wound itself seems to be clean enough, and I am relieved to say that it doesn’t appear to be poisoning him yet,” David assessed, having quite a bit of experience caring for wounds while at sea.

“It’s fairly odd, Father, but now that I’m lying down, it seems to hurt all that much more,” Lucas said, grimacing.

“That’s because your attention is focused on the pain in your arm. In kick-boxing, one of the techniques taught to students is: you must know that you are going to win and that the blows you receive will not hurt. Also, that if you focus on your opponent, devoting your attention to detecting her weaknesses, you will win. The part that you should try is the part that says ‘If you know that the blows you receive do not hurt, they will hold no pain for you.’

“Try imagining that you are somewhere you love being, such as at the helm of your ship. Feel the wind tugging at your hair, taste the salt of the sea water as your ship dances over every wave.”

Brist described a different aspect of sailing for every sense as she stood by the bedside, her voice as soothing as the imagery she was creating. After she ran out of senses to describe, she fell silent for a moment. She noticed that Lucas’ eyes were closed and he seemed completely relaxed. She wondered if she had put him to sleep.

“Lucas, tell me, where you are going?” She asked, testing his consciousness.

“I’m about to stop at St. Eustatius for supplies. I also have a request from one of my most valued clients to initiate trade between himself and the most influential man on the island,” Lucas answered, evenly. His voice was soft and nearly monotone.

“Oh Lord, he’s delirious!” Nicholas exclaimed in concern.

“No he’s not; the coolest thing has happened. Somehow he’s hypnotized!” Brist said excitedly. “Watch this. Lucas you feel no pain. There is no pain in your entire body and you feel better than you have in you entire life. Do you understand?”

“I feel wonderful,” Lucas agreed slowly.

“Perfect! Also, your arm is not bleeding. There is no blood flowing out of your arm, and the bullet is not doing it any harm.” Brist watched as the small trickle of blood pooling around the wound ceased, and even drained back into the arm!

Brist wondered just how much a body under hypnotism could do. “Let’s see if we can get the bullet out. Lucas, the muscles in your arm – the ones surrounding the bullet – are pulsating with minor contractions. Those contractions are pushing the bullet out of your arm, back the way it came.” Brist held her breath as she watched to see if what she had just told Lucas was happening, would happen.

She was just as amazed as everybody else when the bullet slowly made its way out of Lucas’ arm. Brist picked up the small round bullet once it was far enough out of the arm, and then set it on a tray on the bedside table.

“I’m impressed! My 10^th grade psychology teacher mentioned this possibility, but I never believed it until now,” Brist muttered to herself.

A few moments passed in awed silence. The doctor, who had finally arrived, broke the silence as he entered the room. Brist, who was still seated on the bed, stood up to leave the room.

“Don’t leave me,” Lucas insisted, feeling her leave even in his hypnotized state. Brist sighed and took a seat on the opposite side of the bed.

“Whoever took care of this wound has skill. All that is left for me to do is clean and bandage it,” the doctor announced. “I am curious as to what you gave him for the pain.”

The doctor looked at David for an answer assuming he was the one in charge. David merely shrugged and looked at Brist. The doctor followed his gaze.

“Aren’t you the girl I was called in to look at this morning?” He asked her. She shrugged and nodded. The doctor scrutinized her, making her uncomfortable, so she stood to leave once again.

“Please don’t go,” Lucas repeated. Brist sighed and took Lucas’ hand in hers.

“You are tired, you need to sleep,” she told him.

“Yes, tired,” he agreed slowly.

“Very tired,” she insisted.

“Very tired,” he agreed.

“You are going to sleep deeply and allow your body to heal itself. You will awake when you are rested and ready to wake. Now sleep,” Brist ordered, racking her brain for a way to tell him to sleep without any adverse effects, like subliminal messages.

“Sleep,” Lucas mumbled, as if he were already asleep. Brist waited a few moments to be sure, and then left the room, relieved that he didn’t stop her again.

“That, Doctor, is exactly what he was given for the pain,” David explained absently.

The doctor muttered to himself. “I've heard of such a thing – there's a man in France who uses such a technique – but never before have I seen it with my own eyes...”

*******

Brist wandered absently to her room, or rather her room in the future. From the looks of it, it was the twins’ room. That made sense because her mother had told her that it was traditionally a girl’s room. It had been her mother's before her, and before that it was her mother’s aunt’s room.

Brist just now realized that it had been designed and built for the twins. That was why it had always seemed to be two rooms in one. Brist vaguely wondered what other details had been lost over the years, since the story of her family had obviously been severely edited. For instance, Brist had had no idea that her really great grandfather David’s wife had been named Regina, or that he’d had 10 children. In fact, the only one ever mentioned was Nicholas, and it was assumed that he was an only child.

Brist shook herself from her thoughts and left the room, since the twins weren’t there anyway. Not knowing what else to do, Brist decided that she should just go back to Nicholas’ room – which was where her bag was – to wait. Brist thought that it was funny that Nicholas had returned her bag to his room rather than find a better place for it. Does he want me to sleep in his room with him? More than likely, Regina would remember that Brist’s bag was in his room before long and assign her a room. The twins greeted Brist as she walked into Nicholas’ room.

“What are you two doing here?” She asked them.

“We were waiting for you or Nicky to return so that we could ask how Lucas is doing,” they answered in unison.

“He’s doing great; he’ll be healed in no time,” Brist informed them. “How would the two of you like to go for a walk with me? It’s nearing lunchtime; we could have a picnic.”

“What about the rain?” They asked.

“It’s nearly over now. See the rainbow?” She pointed out the window.

“Oh how beautiful!” They sighed as if it was the most romantic sight. Brist finally got them to agree to a picnic when she promised that she knew of a place that would be dry.

“Well, if we're going on a picnic, then we’ll have to change our clothes,” Brist informed them as she dug through her bag. She removed a pair of shorts for each of them and various shirts to go with the shorts. Under her direction, the twins soon changed out of their dresses and into Brist’s clothes. She thought they looked cute in the matching tees. As for herself, she decided against wearing the same thing as them, opting for a slip dress instead.

“Where’s the rest of it?” Raven asked about Brist’s dress.

“This is all of it,” she replied with a giggle.

Knowing that the twins might be averse to being seen in the outfits they now wore, Brist led them down the servants’ stairs to the kitchen. They were in luck for the cook was not there. As quickly as she could, Brist located a suitable basket and filled it with food for the picnic. The twins added a few things that they liked. Soon, they were out of the house and on their way to the place Brist had in mind for their picnic.

“Now where?” Regan asked when they stopped in front of a thick copse of pine trees. Brist studied the pines a moment before deciding that they were in essence the same as in her time, only not as high off the ground. Brist led them to a spot near the middle of the copse where there were a few taller trees. The lowest branches formed a canopy, and were high enough up that the girls could almost stand.

“It’s dry here!” Raven exclaimed.

“That’s because the trees are so dense that the rain couldn’t penetrate them. Let’s set up here.” Once they were comfortable, the twins let their curiosity about Brist loose.

“Why don’t you like our brother?”

“Where’d you learn to fight like that?”

Brist had to think about both questions a moment to decipher them, for the twins had each asked one at the same time.

“Well, I have been taking kickboxing classes since I was 5. I didn’t know this at the time, but my mom had been attacked one day, and she vowed that I would know how to defend myself. So, she enrolled me in the class, and I’ve been doing it ever since,” Brist explained.

“Your mother wanted you to fight?!” Raven’s eyes bulged slightly with disbelief.

“Yes. And in answer to your question, Regan, I do like your brother... he’s just so easy to argue with! Sometimes arguing can be fun. Besides, all the men in this time have such a chauvinistic attitude that I feel compelled to change their minds.”

“Did you love the boyfriend that dumped you?” Raven asked.

“Yes, but I don’t want to talk about him right now.”

“Did he ever kiss you?” Regan asked not quite willing to let the subject go.

“Yes. Have either of you ever been kissed?” Brist decided to ask a question of her own.

“The stable boy.” Raven admitted shyly.

“You too?!” Regan exclaimed.

“He thought I was you. I must admit I liked it,” Raven confessed. “Are you mad?”

“No. See, the cabin boy on father’s ship thought I was you, and so he kissed me. I liked it a lot.” The twins giggled a moment.

“I wanted to tell you, but I thought you would be upset,” they explained to each other at the same time. Brist giggled.

“You two are so cute.” Brist remarked with an amused smile. They grinned charmingly back at her.

“Tell us more about your time,” they insisted.

For the next two hours they chatted. Brist answered their questions, and they answered hers.

“Your favorite dance is the waltz?!” Brist exclaimed.

“The only reason she likes the waltz is because our dance instructor was extremely handsome, and he would hold us closer than propriety allows,” Regan explained.

“Ah! Like dirty dancing,” Brist said, smiling, as she recalled one of her favorite movies.

“Oh my! We’ve been gone for hours! Mother must be looking for us by now,” Raven lamented.

“Well then, I think we should head back,” Brist suggested sensibly.

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