How about everyone chip in for a whole new story

Gryffin was glad she'd thought to wear her leotard under her jeans and sweater this morning. At least she wouldn't be traveling back in the all-together. She dropped the dark red gown over her head and stepped into the machine.

Whoosh! Before she knew it she was outside a stony castle, riding a large black horse. She looked around her and found that she was in a small group of knights. There were two other women, one with a bow across her shoulders and one in a gown much like Gryffin's. Everyone seemed to have quite serious looks on their faces, and looked around warily. Gryffin made a slight gesture with her wrist and thigh, turning her horse so she could look around. There was a large clearing around the castle with woods further out. Patches of grass were charred and torn up, as if from battle. One of the knights urged her not to linger and she heard the note of fear in his voice. "Come, m'lady, do not dally. The bandits could find us at any time and we must make the castle by sundown." Sure enough, the sky was starting to color towards sunset and now that she looked more closely she could see that there were specks of blood on the knight's weapons. Clearly they'd already encountered trouble.

She nudged her horse into a canter and headed toward the castle. It was lit up and there was much activity. A groom took her horse's reins and held them while she dismounted. She patted the horse on his neck and told him what a good boy he was. Stepping back she could see that he was quite large and muscular.  Perhaps something like a Fresian, or some other war horse.

She was urged to enter the left-most tower where the women and children were staying. She hung back, though, wondering if she could help with the fight. After all, she'd always been a fair hand at archery as a kid, and had been thinking of joining a medieval re-creation group. It couldn't hurt to try. She sought out an archer and was given a longbow and arrows. She tried drawing it, and although it was difficult for her, she thought  she could get off a few accurate shots, which is probably all that could be expected while enemies were storming a fortress.

She climbed the stairs to the battlements and kneeled in a spot with little coverage but a good view of the gate. She checked her arrows for straightness and good fletching. And she waited. This was far more than a bandit attack. There was an army approaching and they looked strong and ready. The castle inhabitants looked tired from long fighting, and Gryffin's heart sank to look at them. "I can't believe I'm here, and I wonder what I'm fighting for?"

When the army got close, Gryffin took aim and shot at an enemy's legs. She found that she couldn't take a killing shot, but if she could slow them down it might help.

A long time later, after endless screaming and fighting, the enemy breached the gate. Gryffin sunk in despair, realizing that she had two wounds on her. A graze on her upper arm and another on her waist. They didn't look bad, but the castle was overrun so it was time to go.

She yanked off her dress and stumbled out of the machine. Blood ran down her arm and her side and she was dirty with sweat and soot. "Well, Spar, that was interesting ..." and she stumbled into her friend's arms, her dogs licking at her face.

Harley also hadn't thought about the possibility that they might get hurt.  I guess since they were traveling into the past, it didn't seem real.  She is going to have to think this over.  So she does what she usually does when she needs to think; she takes a walk on the beach.  There is a full moon, and the moonlight reflects off the ocean.  It's beautiful!!

wow!  Harley thinks this is getting kinda scary!!  The girls sit around the table talking, and Gryffin keeps sketching...   

Spar gets up and walks over to examine the portraits that are hanging on the wall.   She gets shivers running up and down her spine!   The people in the pictures look eerily almost identical! 

So we will be going into the past and meeting the people who own this place!!  WOW!

Gryffin finally sat back, satisfied that she'd captured at least the essence of all that she could remember. She already knew that she'd be painting that gorgeous warhorse, and at least one of the knights. Perhaps tomorrow, if the weather cooperated, she could set up on the beach to paint.

She looked around at her friends and at the little girl with her dogs. She smiled at the girl and quietly wondered to her friends if she'd been in any of the time travel journeys. "I can't wait to go back in and see what else we can learn! Now that we know it can be dangerous, we can be more careful." She paused and blurted out, "Is there any ice cream? I don't know why, but whenever I work I get a hankering for something cold and chocolatey!"

Gryffin looked from Harley to Spar. "That IS eerie. I wonder who he is?"

Looking thoughtful, Gryffin went to the kitchen and raided the freezer. She exclaimed in joy at finding some chocolate fudge brownie ice cream. She dished up a large portion and returned to the others. She sat, took her first spoonful, and closed her eyes in luxury.

"Maybe he's trying to tell you something? I wonder if you ask him to come to your dreams tonight if you'll get anymore information?"

Gryffin realized she was really tired from her ordeal, and when she finished her ice cream she begged the others good night. The little ghost girl followed her and her dogs outside for their walk, and back up to her room. Gryffin thought the child was becoming very comfortable, so she asked her her name. The girl's mouth opened, Willow jumped up and licked her face, and then the girl disappeared.

Oh well. Tomorrow is another day. With that thought, she got under the hand-made quilt and settled down for sleep. Willow and Merlin leaped up onto the bed, snuggled under the covers, and made themselves comfortable. Before she knew it, Gryffin was back on the battlements at the castle. It was a warm, sunny day, and there were no signs of battle. Today her gown was a soft peach, instead of the red in which she had traveled. There were ladies outside the battlements collecting flowers, there were farmers entering the outer gates for a marketday, and there were smells of baking pastries in the air. Gryffin took a deep breath, and wondered what was going on. She gathered her skirts in her hands and walked down the stairs to the ground level. It was quite noisy as the merchants set up their wares, and she wandered around trying to see as much as she could. She recognized one of the knights from her journey and spoke briefly to him. She looked at some beautiful pottery, and then realized she was being watched. It was the little ghost girl. With a smile, she asked the girl, "Hello, how are you today? What do you think of this green ribbon? Should I get it, or the off white?" The little girl shyly pointed to the soft, minty green. Gryffin smiled back and picked it up, prepared to haggle with the merchant for it.

The next thing she knew, Willow was rolling over and shoving her paw into her belly. Gryffin looked around in confusion until she realized she was back at the mansion in her beautiful room and both her dogs were restless. The little girl was sitting in the corner, accompanied by an older woman with white hair. They both smiled and disappeared.

Gryffin leapt out of bed and grabbed her sketchbook. She quickly sketched the old woman, whose face looked so warm and friendly. She set the paper down when she was through and sat deep in thought for awhile. Despite her fatigue, she took out one of her canvases and paints, lay down a drop cloth, and started laying down some color. There was something about the old woman that seemed familiar and important. She wondered if the others had seen her. Finally she could keep her eyes open no longer and set down her brushes. She'd captured the old woman's essence, so cleaned up and went back to sleep.

Next she woke, the sun was streaming in her window and her stomach was growling. She got up, took the dogs out, and went down to the kitchen. No one was up yet, so she decided to make a big batch of pancakes for everyone. She was just setting the table and putting out the butter and syrup when she heard the others stirring. She heated up the pan to start cooking the pancakes.

Halrey finished cleaning up and follower her friends out the door, and down to the beach.  They do their best thinking while they are walking along the beach.

Gryffin dreamed only of whales. Joyful, leaping, dancing whales. She woke with a smile on her face and looked out the window at the ocean. It was pouring rain! A perfect day to travel. She chose a plain grey leotard to wear under her clothes, covering them with a big, bulky white sweater and jeans. She walked the dogs for awhile, ate breakfast with the others, and then smiled over at Spar. "Ready?"

They went upstairs and searched through the clothing chests. Gryffin pulled out all the gowns that she thought would be appropriate for the period. Gryffin chose a medium blue linen, and Spar chose a soft green. Gryffin tied the misty green ribbon into Spar's hair for luck. They held hands and stepped into the machine. They were peering out of the castle doorway at a rainy fall day. They shivered at the chill in the air and turned to enter the castle. They approached a roaring fire to warm up, and there was a young man at the fire watching them as they approached.

The girls were glad to be back at the mansion.  They just sat and chatted for hours.  It was so exciting to go back in time!! 

There will be more things to talk about, so Harley put on a pot of coffee, and made herself some of her Tazo green tea that she loves so much.

Harley said "I'm in!"  It's been kind of cool here...

So they changed into the tropical outfits and stepped into the machine.

Let's stay a bit. It's so beautiful here! And I'd love to try to figure out when in time we are, and if it relates to the people at the mansion. Perhaps we could stay the day and then pop home tonight after dinner?