The Empire and the Wolf King (Kaitlyn and the Highlander #21)

Prologue - Fraoch

PROLOGUE - FRAOCH

INNIS CHONNEL CASTLE - 1301

H ayley was full of excitement when I walked in. “Finally, a storm, right? Finally a rescue!”

Emma was in bed, under the covers. “Thank God!”

Hayley continued, “Are we packing? We’re packing, right?” She looked around the room taking stock of their few possessions. “Not much to pack, will take just a minute.”

Jack pushed past me, rushin’ in and climbin’ beside Emma in her bed. He lay beside her, with his arm under his head, staring up at the ceiling. Och nae, his countenance was morose. He had just been told he dinna get tae leave the dark ages — it broke m’heart tae see him suffer it.

Hayley said, “Uh oh, is Jack okay?”

Emma nudged him. “Jack, is everything okay?”

Ben, Isla and Zoe entered, they were all frowning.

Zach sighed and kissed Emma on her cheek.

Emma looked up at him. “Zachary, where’s Archie?”

Zach said, “Well, Em, here’s the thing, that was a storm, yes, it was carrying two people?—”

Hayley clapped her hands. “A working vessel! Wow, but not Magnus and Kaitlyn? That’s fine, we’re cool with that, right? We just get out of here…” Her words trailed off.

I put down the bag I had been carryin’ and took a deep breath. “Nae, not Magnus and Kaitlyn, twas a man named Liam?—”

“Liam, Lizbeth’s husband?”

“Nae, dost ye remember when I went tae see Liam Campbell in North Carolina? He is a descendant of Sean?”

Hayley shook her head. “I don’t remember him.” She sank down on the floor against the wall.

I sat down on the floor beside her. “It daena matter. He is the caretaker of Balloch castle in?—”

Hayley interrupted, “But when do we leave? ”

Ben slumped down in a chair. “We daena leave. Archie left with the couple and the only vessel.”

Hayley looked around at all our faces. “Archie left with them?”

Chef Zach said, “He is going to return them to Florida — Man, I am so jealous — then he will rescue Lochie and Quentin and James and... us, just…you know, at a different time.”

Emma frowned, deeply.

Zach said, “I know, hon, but... we’re going to be rescued before your accident. We all decided.”

Her hand was smoothing Jack’s hair soothingly. “But you had the chance to be rescued, and you let him leave without you? Because of me? ”

“ Kind of…? But also for Jack, you know, everyone would be better off if the rescue came earlier than?—”

She exhaled loudly. “But what if something happens and the rescue doesn’t come? I just... I don’t think I will forgive myself — you should have asked!”

Jack leaned up on his arm and looked down on her, solemnly. “Aunt Emma, Archie is goin’ tae come back, he promised.”

She nodded. “But you all could be in Florida right now. You’d be eating chicken nuggets and mac and cheese.” A tear slid down her nose.

Zach said, “I think on our first night back we could eat something much more exciting than mac and cheese.”

Zoe asked, “What’s mac and cheese?”

I said, “Och nae, ye kids are goin’ tae break this auld man’s heart. I canna take it, ye need tae ken what mac and cheese is.”

Hayley said, “So Archie is going to rescue all of us, Magnus and Katie and… this is good news, but…” She blew out air. “Who am I trying to kid, this is depressing. I mean, I get it, I’m just not happy about it, plus it’s — is it going to be dangerous for Archie?”

Isla said, “Aye, twill be verra dangerous I think, I am verra worried for him.”

I patted beside me and Isla sat down and put her head on m’shoulder.

I took Hayley’s hand and held it on my knee.

She said, “I wish I could have said goodbye... we really don’t get the option? He already left?”

I nodded. “Aye, tis done, the wheel of time is rollin’ on.”

Hayley was quiet, then she asked, “Ben, how did he talk you out of going with him?”

“He told me I was needed here.” Ben huffed. “I daena think he understands how often I save his arse, like at Stirling Bridge and Falkirk.”

Isla said, “Ben, ye and Archie werna fightin’, ye were messengers.”

“I still carried a sword.”

I tried tae keep the conversation light, for the bairns. “Our Archibald has run off on a hero’s journey, leavin’ us here tae be guards of Innis Chonnel while he goes tae rescue the other uncles. Important tae note, he came tae rescue Zach and me first.”

Zach joked, “Yep, we’re winning in the uncle battle. Of course he did leave us without actually rescuing us…”

I said, “But if ye look around the room and think on it, we are doin’ the most important of the work, guardin’ the bairns.”

Ben groaned. “I am not a bairn, Uncle Fraoch, in just a month I am goin’ tae fight with Uncle Wallace and Archie for the throne.”

I said, “I ken, ye werna the bairn I was talking on.”

Jack said, “I am nae a bairn either.”

I laughed, “Nae one are bairns, I misspoke! Besides if ye think on it, Magnus likely thinks I am the most important person tae be rescued?—”

Hayley said, “He probably thinks Chef Zach is the most important.”

I said, “Och nae, this conversation is gettin’ even more ridiculous, I am Fraoch and I am his brother. I saved his life in a Florida Swamp from a log monster?—”

All the bairns groaned.

“Fine, we are all guardin’ Chef Zach, he is the one who has the magical recipe for mac and cheese. And Ben, ye are allowin’ Archie tae go on his verra easy journey, because ye are bein’ selfless. Tae bide yer time ye will continue preparin’ for the comin’ battle, by the time he returns ye will be a much stronger fighter.”

Zach said, “Besides, it’s better for only one of us to go: we want to keep people together and looping to a minimum. Who knows how often we’re going to need to do this all over?”

He sat down on the edge of the bed. “I know, Em, that this is not optimal, and it was hard to tell a rescuer to move on and come back for us later?—”

I said, “Or earlier as it were.”

Zach nodded, “It’s risky, we know it. But we wanted to save you the decision.”

Isla pulled from her pocket the gift she had been given from the visitor. “We all decided.. and, Aunt Emma, look what we got!”

Emma said, “Chapstick, wow! From where?”

“The woman who brought us the vessel had it. Plus some gum.”

Jack said, “We ate the gum.”

Emma smeared some chapstick on her lips. “This feels so good, that is awesome. Totally makes up for the fact that we didn’t get rescued right away. I forgive all of you for making the decision.” She smacked her lips, then asked, “So what do we do now?”

I said, “Nothin’ for us tae do, but ken that we are goin’ tae be rescued long before this.”

Zoe narrowed her eyes, “ Then what happens tae us?”

I shrugged. “I daena ken, naething.”

Zoe asked, “Will we forget this time? I would miss it, winna ye miss it, Isla?”

She nodded. “But I miss Ma and Da more.”

We all nodded quietly.

Jack climbed up from the bed. “Do ye still need me for hugs, Aunt Emma?”

She said, “No, I feel much better. Where are you going?”

“I am goin’ tae wait for them at the window.”

He padded across the room and sat down in front of the window with his chin on his arm, watching.

Haggis lumbered up, padded over, and slumped down beside him. Jack said, “Hey auld boy, ye good?” Haggis put his head down to sleep.

Hayley put her head on m’arm. “We just wait?”

“Tis all we can do, I look forward tae when Cailean calls on Ben and me tae come do chores tae take our minds off?—”

Hayley put her head on my shoulder. “He came by earlier looking for you, he wanted you to direct the gong farmer.”

“Och nae, not the gong farmer! He is the worst, tis the worst job. It took a week afore the scent left m’nose. We ought tae install some plumbin’ tae flush our feces tae the sea.” He muttered. “Why canna we invent plumbing, m’bean ghlan?”

Hayley said, “Because we can’t change history or some other nonsense.”

“And we are centuries away from someone inventin’ it and so I canna pretend tae be the one… but I suppose dealin’ with the gong will keep m’mind off the waiting.”

Isla asked everyone, “What dost ye think will happen tae us?”

Jack mumbled with his chin on his arm, “Naethin’, Archie is goin’ tae rescue us.”

Hayley and Emma both frowned.

I said, “Och nae,” under m’breath.

Ben said, “I daena want tae think about it.”

Hayley asked, “So, he’s going to go get his Da, is that the plan?”

I shrugged.

Zach said, “Who knows, do you think he’ll be able to find them? And where are Quentin and Lochie? He needs to locate everyone so they can help.”

Emma said, “Does Archie even remember what Lochie looks like?”

Isla said, “I canna remember. Was he a ginger?”

I said, “Aye, he was, I canna believe ye daena remember yer Uncle Lochie?—”

Emma said, “They were young when the great separation happened.”

“I ken, but still, a man hopes he will be remembered, even by the bairns. Do ye lassies remember Quentin and James?”

Isla shrugged, “A wee bit, I canna tell if tis because of yer stories or because I remember them.”

Chef Zach sighed loudly. “This sucks, it was almost a decade ago, a lot has happened.”

I glanced at Jack, sittin’ forlorn at the window. “Tis a lifetime for some of us.”

We all nodded.

Isla was looking at the chapstick and pulling the lid on and off with a little click, click. “I would like tae go home again, tis somethin’ I really want, but I will be sad if tis without Ma and Da.”

Jack said, “Ye daena hae tae think on it, Isla, Ma and Da are goin’ tae be there.”

She said, “I hope so.... But what will happen tae us?”

Jack came from the window and sat beside her. She put her arm around him and he put his head on her shoulder.

Hayley said, “Nothing will ‘happen’ to us. Archie will come back and we will be... it will be back a while ago, easy.”

I said, “And we will celebrate that we hae been rescued and we winna worry about anythin’ — nae drafty passageways, nae garderobes clogged with gong, nae English kings. When I am rescued I will never come tae the dark ages again.”

Zoe asked, “Would we remember any of this?”

Emma said, “I don’t know, honestly. I think we might, as a lingering memory, sort of shadowy, or misty, but probably not. The path would be overwritten.”

Zach said, “Except it’s a wheel, rolling away, and as it rolls we might be reminded of things... maybe.”

Emma said, “I know I want to remember, Zoe, when you gave me the beautiful embroidery for my birthday.”

I said, “I would like tae keep the memory of the battle of Stirling Bridge. I hope ye all remember the story of it — Wallace and I kicked the English king’s arse. He scurried away in defeat like a rat from the storerooms when ye turn on yer headlamp. Och I miss our headlamps.”

Jack said, “Of course we remember, Uncle Fraoch, ye told us the story many times!”

I laughed, “Jack, are ye sayin’ I told the story too many times?”

He looked serious. “Never, Uncle Fraoch, ye can never tell a story of a battle too many times.”

I said, “Ye are a good lad, that’s the main part of the glory of battle, the stories ye tell after.”

Jack said, “Someday I will fight alongside Ben and Archie and we will cause the English king tae beg for mercy, but I will laugh and I winna give him mercy, instead I will run him through with m’sword because of what he did tae Ma and Da.”

I nodded. “And Sean.”

Emma said, “So what we’re saying, Zoe, is honestly we don’t know what we will remember, but we hope we remember some of it. We really hope we do.”

Chef Zach said, “Though I would like to forget all the food. Cailean has tried to make us feel at home, but, man, I can’t wait to get back into a modern kitchen.

Emma said, “Amen to that.”

Jack asked, “What would ye make me first, Uncle Zach?”

“I would make you a big big big pan of the homemade mac and cheese that we were talking about with a tall layer cake, a layer each for all the birthdays you missed?—”

Jack’s eyes went wide. “Ten layers! Would it be taller than me?”

“Yes it would, and in honor of your da, I would give you a full ice cream station so you can fill up a bowl with as many flavors as you want.”

Jack nodded, looking thoughtful.

Zach said, “…and all the toppings.”

Jack said, “I hope Da will be there tae eat it with me.”

I said, “Aye, he will be, we canna bear an ice cream station without Magnus tae share in it.”