Not An Unqualified Success

Standing in front of her was Leo the archivist. He seemed to be looking at something behind her, and he seemed startled. Turning to see what had caused him such surprise, she readied her spear in case it was a dangerous wild animal of some kind. What she saw startled her too. Scrambling to their feet and rubbing the sleep out of their eyes were Fred, wearing only a nightshirt, and Astra, wearing only a nightdress.

"Checkers!" Fred said when he saw her. "What on earth is going on?"

"I don't know. At midnight back in Themyscira I recited the spell that I hoped would take me home, and it has. I knew that Leo might come with me, as he was also in the barn. He was happy to come, of course, or he wouldn't have been there. But I don't know why you and Astra have been brought here too. The description of the spell said: 'The East Wind - For the lonely traveler abroad, who wishes to revisit the homeland, for a short time. Effects depend on the presence of the audience, and size, if it exists.' I am sure that I have that right. Nobody outside the barn could possibly have heard me recite the spell. Perhaps I mispronounced an important word. Pronunciation can change over time, and we can't be sure how every word of Old High Dolomite was supposed to be pronounced. Or perhaps the scribe who originally wrote down the spell made a mistake. I'm afraid that the Queen is going to be furious with me."

"I'm sure she won't be," Astra reassured her. "But everyone is bound to be very worried about my and Fred's mysterious disappearance."

"I have an idea as to why it might have happened," Leo said. "Lord Frederigo has some of Checkers' blood running in his veins. [26952] That has perhaps created a link between them, so that when the spell transported her he was dragged along too."

"But that doesn't explain why I was brought here too," Astra objected. "There is no blood link between myself and Checkers."

"Not a direct one, no. But, like Checkers, you gave some blood to Lord Frederigo, perhaps creating a similar link with him, so that when he was brought here you came too."

"I suppose it's possible," Astra conceded, though she did not look altogether convinced.

1. The tome on its wooden table, as well as the other objects that Checkers had arranged to be placed in the barn in the hope that they would come with her, had come through.
2. The tome had come through and was lying on the grass nearby, but the other objects had not.
3. All that had come through with them were their clothes and Checkers' spear, presumably because she had been holding it.

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