13. Text Books and Rapiers

Marcel's wounds were taken care of and the next day, the girls invited him to join one of their lessons. The subject to be covered was history. Gretchen pulled out a monster of a book called "World History" and flipped it to where they last left off. "Now. Who can tell me what happened in 1776?" Anastasia raised her hand. "Constitution of United States." Dan nodded. "Yes, but what about the Constitution?" Anastasia thought for a moment, then spoke again. "It was piece of paper signed by old men to make freedom legal." Gretchen had to bite her tongue to avoid laughing. "Eh, almost," Dan sighed. Marcel looked very lost. "Can anyone tell Mr. Marcel what happened in 1805?" Franny raised her hand. "The Battle of Trafalgar." "Correct. Who was involved?" Franny stood up. "It was fought by Admiral Lord Nelson against the French." Marcel spoke up. "What did Nelson have against us French, hm?" Franny answered as best she could. "Napoleon was being quite rude to the British and wanted to take over as emperor." Now Marcel was even more lost. "Who's Napoleon?" he asked, dead serious. Some children began to giggle. "Why Mr. Marcel, I thought you would know," said Franny. "You are from 1688, right?" Marcel nodded. "Well," she said snootily, "you ought to know who he was. You've been around all this time!" "That will do, Franny." said Gretchen. "Apologize to Mr. Marcel and sit down." Franny curtseyed and quickly churned out a sorry before sitting down.

Dan stood up. "Now girls, Mr. Marcel may have been around since 1688, but it's clear he does not know what has happened since then. We have to help him get caught up to 1870. Do I make myself clear?" "Yes, Old Man Dan." they replied in unison. As the lesson progressed, Marcel learned about everything he had missed out on. The lesson covered everything from Bach's first cantata to the Louisiana Purchase to the publication of Moby Dick. He learned about the American colonies, the War of 1812 and the East India Trading Company. He even learned about the French Revolution and of the guillotine that served its purpose with great efficiency. He thought the revolutionaries would have made great pirates when it came to brutality.

When it was time for recess, Marcel lay down on his coat. Dan sat next to him. "What do think?" He looked up at her. "About what?" "Everything you missed." "Mm. I think it was very enlightening. No more pirates, horse-less carriages, books about every word we use..." Dan giggled a little. "Is it a shock?" He shook his head. "No, not a terrible shock. 1688 is better off without me." Dan hugged her knees. Her wrist had improved since it was set and no longer hurt her. Marcel reached up and took her hand for a look. "Any pain?" "No." He unraveled the bandages and gently rotated her hand. "It healed quite nicely, no?" He rubbed her hand to help with any remaining soreness. He noticed how soft and delicate it was and began to feel guilty about their first meeting. "I want to apologize to you too. I am sorry I hurt you that night." Dan smiled. "Why are you apologizing again?" "I wasn't sincere the first time." Marcel sat up. "I am now. So, I am apologizing for real." Dan could tell he meant it and hugged him tightly. "I forgive you." After some silence, Marcel spoke. "Forgive me for asking, but Old Man Dan?" Dan winced a little. "Its a nickname the girls gave me. I get too strict at times and they compare it to an old man." Marcel gave her a funny look. "I didn't know you were that old." he said, jokingly. "I am not! I am 19, if you must know." "Oh, I beg your pardon." He laughed.

Nearby, Franny was verbally engrossed in a newspaper clipping. She was reading a story about archeologists. " 'Their doubts are high about the existence of such a prize. No evidence has ever surfaced to prove that the hilt exists at all.' Marcel? What is a hilt?" Marcel drew his sword and scooted over to Franny. "See this covering here? This is a hilt. It sort of protects the hand while in use. What are you reading?" "This old clipping from last year." She continued to read. " 'The Hilt of Serbia has been notorious for causing those who search for it to disappear miss-terr-ee..." "Mysteriously." he corrected. "Wait, where did you say the hilt was from?" Franny showed him the clipping. "It is says Serbia." The article was about the very thing he had set out to find for himself before he got stuck in his current situation. "It isn't true is it? The hilt I mean?" Franny asked. "It is, indeed. How do you think I ended up here?" Franny's eyes widened. "Really?" "Really." he said. "It's covered with priceless jewels and it's worth a fortune." Suddenly, he realized that he did not care about the subject as much as he had before. He had a more pressing subject to worry about. These children and the cannibals. "I just remembered something."

He called for the rest of the children. Playtime was over. "You lot have had your normal lessons but now it is time for a different lesson." He picked his sword up and held it behind his back. "You all know about the other side of the island. You must also know that they are after us. They know where we are." The children exchanged worried looks. "Don't fret, though. There's more of us and we have better weapons than they do." "But we don't know how to fight!" cried Emily. "Ah, that is where I come in." He whipped out his sword and jumped into a stance, startling some girls. "I will be teaching you how to use these." Joanna raised her hand. "Yes?" "But we don't have any swords." she said, shyly. "How can we practice with no swords?" Gretchen left for a moment and came back with a pile of sticks. "We use these! They're all about the same weight of a sword." Marcel was pleased. "These will do nicely. Everyone get a stick." Each one grabbed a stick from the pile and Marcel began to show them basic moves. His goal was to injure and weaken the enemy. Not to kill. Those kids wouldn't be able to handle the idea.

The afternoon turned into night. Everyone was tired and sore but had gained enough knowledge to sufficiently block attacks from all sides. Dan and Gretchen put everyone to bed. Marcel checked in on Marianne and said goodnight. He was so tired he bumped into Dan. "Ah. Sorry love." "It's alright." She yawned. "Haven't you anywhere to sleep?" Marcel realized he couldn't go back to his ship without the possibility of another surprise. "Eh, I will be out here." "Outside?" she asked, incredulously. "Yes. Goodnight."