Hugo pulled out a pair of binoculars from his bag, homing in on the medieval town below while lying on his stomach. He laid inside a historical tent he'd stollen a few weeks ago from one of the townspeople, the animal skin flaps open for him to look out past.
So far, he hadn't been noticed yet, blending in without too much trouble. Getting food and clean water was difficult, but he'd found a pawn shop to sell some of his odd modern things off for coin, and he had a water purifier from his camping kit he'd brought with him. His glasses were stored away, since the present-day style would draw too much attention, and he'd already suffered through weeks of disposable contact lenses. His usual ponytail was down so the blond hair would cover his undercut and helix piercing.
It was nice, chilling in his own little quiet space, getting the most accurate information possible for his thesis project. At this point, he didn't even care if he ever finished the damn paper or not. Just being able to see for himself how people lived in 16th century Old Corona made him giddy beyond all reasoning.
He glanced over at the little foldable table beside him where sat a strange, small golden chest with rose carvings on it. It hummed and glowed, and Hugo still couldn't comprehend its power. Odd his adopted mother just had the thing lying around in her basement.
There was a cry from the town below, and Hugo's eyes snapped back to his binoculars. Green eyes widened as he saw the long line of armored castle guards marching down the street in front of an ornate carriage being pulled by four white horses.
The royal entourage was causing quite a disturbance as people came out of their houses to greet it. Many carried buckets of water forward, raising them over their heads while shouting.
Hugo squinted at the outrage. He'd learned by now that the townspeople had been drinking infected water for months, not yet realizing in this time period that purification was a thing that was important. Many had died already, and the kingdom was in quite the turmoil. The blond set down the binoculars and pulled out his laptop which was connected to a portable battery he'd brought along. Grinning in delight, he typed away as he watched the drama go down.
This would be perfect for the sixth chapter of his paper!
After a while, he looked up with his binoculars again, seeing that the carriage had stopped. Hugo gaped as the king himself stepped out. "Oh, shit," he whispered. "Things must be serious if he's all the way out here." The monarch began making a speech, but Hugo couldn't hear a word of it.
He bit his lip. He really wanted to get in on the tea. Hesitating only a moment longer, he sprung up, and gathered a few of his research things. Throwing a tattered hood over his head that he'd bought in a costume store in the modern world for like five dollars, he made his way down the hill and over a cobblestone path.
After several minutes, he was at the bottom, pushing through the crowd to get closer to the king. Now in earshot, he discreetly pulled out his phone and began recording.
"...It has been brought to the crown's attention that the people of Corona are suffering at the hands of a great curse brought by the devil himself. Something foul has come upon this land and for a reason we know not. Have great sins and lasciviousness been committed by the king's people of late to bring down God's wrath?"
There was a grave pause as everyone gazed at the lavishly dressed man seriously.
"Your Highness," an older man stepped forward. "Perhaps it is that women's skirt lengths have shortened the past decade, and this has made God angry."
Hugo snorted as several people murmured in agreement.
"Cover the virgins that man may not be tempted!" a sour looking woman shouted. "Save the eyes of our pure young men."
People shouted in agreement as Hugo chuckled to himself while writing something down in a small notebook he'd pulled from his pocket.
"I believe it is because of the odd stranger that lives on top of our hill," another villager chimed in, "stirring up mischief with his piercing gaze and all manner of things witchcraft."
The smile melted from Hugo's face.
"Yes, I've seen him peer through metal cylinders filled with glass," another said. "It is he who has brought this curse on us!"
Uh oh. Perhaps it was finally time for Hugo to take his research and return home. He gave a soft sigh and put the notebook away. It'd been so nice not worrying about rent or anything back in the modern world. It was almost bittersweet looking at the literal shit covered streets.
Taking out his phone and pausing the recording, Hugo made to turn when someone snatched him by the arm, causing him to drop the device.
"Hey!" he cried out, watching as it tumbled into a pile of what he hoped was only mud. The phone was quickly stepped on and Hugo made a pained face at the sound of the glass cracking. "Fuck. I just paid that off."
"This is the man!" the person holding him cried out, clenching his arm in a death grip. "The one with the strange devil devices."
"Get off me!" Hugo cried, trying and failing to shove him off. His scrawny ass was no match for this hardened beet farmer.
"Bring him forth!" the king cried. "Show the witch to me."
The blond was dragged forward against his will and thrown down on the ground at the king's feet. He looked up through long bangs at the decorated man, his heart pounding.
"Who are you, stranger? Why have you wrought such woes against my people?"
Hugo looked around for a way out of this. "Um, I am not a witch, Your Majesty. They have it all wrong. I don't live on the hill."
"He lies!" the farmer cried. "I have seen him up there myself."
"Prove you are not a witch," the king ordered. "Guards, search him for any dark moles on his skin. Everyone knows those heathen spots are where the devil's creatures go to suck."
"The fuck?" Hugo whispered as he felt hands on him, forgetting just how bizarre the ideologies of the time period really were.
As they went to remove his hood, the Velcro holding it closed ripped apart with a loud crimping noise that left the guards gasping and pulling their hands away.
"What trickery is this?" one of them cried as the cloak slid off his shoulders to reveal his track pants and sneakers paired with a green graphic T-shirt. Okay, so maybe he should have tried harder with his disguise. Nothing he could do about it now.
"Your cloak made the sound of rats running beneath your clothes, or perhaps your skin, Devil spawn," a woman said, and Hugo shot her a concerned look.
"You guys are really reaching here..." he muttered.
"Stay bowed before the king, insolent welp," the guard commanded, forcing him back to his knees. "What shall we do with him, Sire?"
The king approached Hugo wearily. "Execute him at once. It is clear a truly evil being has wandered into our virtuous Corona. Perhaps it is out of jealousy of such a prosperous and fruitful land that this creature has come upon us."
Hugo eyed the filth on the cobbled streets inches below his line of sight. "Yeah, that's definitely it," he said under his breath.
"Do it swiftly," the king insisted, "so that we may be rid of this curse immediately."
One of the guards drew the long sword at his hip and Hugo struggled as many hands held him down. "Woah, wait! I'm just a poor research student with a hundred dollars and forty-six cents in my savings account. Oh fuck, my life has been a pathetic one. I'm so sorry Mittens that I gave you a bath after you rolled around in that pile of dead rats." Closing his eyes in preparation for the blade, he froze when a young male voice pierced the air.
"Father, wait!"
The guard holding the sword hesitated as the carriage door opened, and Hugo saw a fancy silver buckled white shoe touch the filthy street. Glancing up, his breath was taken away before he was being forced to bow his head again.
What he'd seen was a sickly young man with shoulder length raven hair and blue eyes. The man wore a white men's soft bonnet with a golden feather sticking out of it and a red and white doublet with tight pants, white stockings, and a golden codpiece. All very traditional for the time period, but none the less gawdy and glamorous. He was pale, like he may fall over at any second, but he stayed upright as he kneeled in front of Hugo after shooing the guards away.
A hand was placed under Hugo's chin, and his head was gently forced up until their eyes met. "This is the witch?" The fancy man looked surprised as he searched the face curiously. "God does not make ugly creatures, Father. Why would the devil send such an angel?" Hugo blinked at that. "Surely anyone can see that this man is a gift from heaven itself."
"Prince Varian," the king said seriously. "The accusations against him are woefully serious. Look at his clothing!"
"Yes, very odd indeed. I would, however, wish that this man be brought to my chambers as a manservant. I can think of many ways he could serve the crown." A glint of desire flashed across the blue eyes, and Hugo felt like he'd been slapped silly with the whiplash of the situation.
"Varian! I will not support this! Your grave condition has made you weak and ill willed in making wise decisions."
"You're ill?" Hugo questioned, his heart sinking as he realized the royal water must have been contaminated as well—Wait, why was his heart sinking? This hot medieval prince was probably going to die at thirty from the plague anyway.
"Do not speak directly to the prince without prior permission," the guard warned, but Varian waved his hand in dismissal.
"You may speak, fair one," he cooed, and the king's jaw tightened at that. "They say I must endure another week or two of leeches and then I will begin to make progress to health again." Hugo made a face at the mention of the blood drawers. "My life has never seemed so bleak and yet they insist I am doing better. I feel it has become worse though. What do you think, flaxen godsend?"
Hugo stared at him, surprised by his candidness. "You caught what those in town have?"
He shook his head. "I drink only wine. It cannot be from the water. Nay, it is something else entirely."
"Do you have a fever?" He stared at the sweat on his forehead, even though it was slightly chilly out.
"Yes. Fever, chills, extreme pain in my abdomen so I cannot rest comfortably at night. It is a pity, because I am most active at night." He gave him a small wink and Hugo couldn't believe this dying medieval man was flirting with him, especially after that old woman had just gone on a tirade about covering up virgins. "I have found blood as well, leaving my body."
"Blood? Wait, you said you had pain in your abdomen? Is it painful when you urinate?"
There were a few gasps from the crowd. "How dare you ask the prince—"
"Yes, the very same," the prince cried. "You have heard of this ailment?"
He glanced to the side. "It sounds like a UTI, but of course, even if I'm right, the cure doesn't exist in this time period, so there really isn't anything anyone can do. Yeah, sorry about that."
He blinked. "You know of a cure?"
"Yes, but like I said, you don't have access to it."
"And you do?"
"Prince Varian, if you would," the king barked, and the prince straightened at the request, finally letting go of Hugo's face. "My people have suffered enough. Something needs to be done, and I'll be taking this one's life, no matter how beautiful he may be. God would not send such an improper man to us. No. This is trickery of the highest degree, and I will not stand for it."
The guard was raising his sword again. By reflex, Hugo shoved the pocket taser previously in his, well, pocket, into the man's gut, making him halt where he stood and fall over. Oh, right. He had a taser. How could he have forgotten? Silly.
The crowd was shocked, and they moved out of Hugo's way as he made a run for it, saying things like, "Do not let him touch you!" and "He struck a man dead with his touch!"
Sprinting up the cobbled path, the crowd was close on Hugo's heels. Some of the rocks beneath his foot came loose, and he stumbled. Catching himself, he continued on. Crashing into the tent, he seized the golden chest in his hands and retrieved the small key from his pocket, but not before a blade was put against his throat.
A brave guard had beat him to his spot and now held him, pressing dangerously on the delicate skin of Hugo's throat. The blond stayed very still, his key hand hovering just above the lock to the chest.
"Drop your spells and witchery and accept God before you are sent to eternal damnation."
"Man, you guys are intense, but you're giving me so much to write about, it's unfair." He regretted saying it as the blade was pressed down harder and he felt as a bit of blood dribbled down his neck. "Thank you all," he said in a more strained tone, "for being unwilling subjects in my field study. Can't really file an IRB with a group that no longer exists, but hey, most researcher's sources are dubious at best anyway."
Shoving the key into the lock and turning it, everyone was knocked off their feet, including Hugo who thankfully kept a hold on both items. Inside the now open chest, a ball of white light escaped, and Hugo quickly shoved his hand into it. Immediately his world went white.
If he'd been paying attention, he'd have seen that someone else had also shoved their hand into the glowing ball, subsequently following him back into the modern world.