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

18. Chapter 18 - Archibald

CHAPTER 18 - ARCHIBALD

THE KINGDOM OF RIAGHALBANE - 2391

W e walked over to the table and I sank intae a chair, lifted my knife, and speared the meat.

Grandmother cleared her throat loudly. “Do ye hae the manners of a barbarian? Nae, not the prince, not Prince Archibald, I winna stand for it. Ye place yer napkin on yer lap and ye smooth it out. Then ye lift yer fork.”

I pulled the knife from my steak and smoothed my napkin over m’lap with my knife still in my fist. She gave me a withering look.

I stabbed the steak, lifted it tae m’mouth, and gnawed at it.

“Ye daena hae any manners! I am surprised Madame Emma haena taught ye better, she seems capable of raising young men tae be civilized.”

“I hae manners. I just daena want tae use them right now, because ye are judgin’ me, and I am hungry. Ye ken, twould be good manners on yer part tae ignore that I haena eaten modern food in many long years and allow me tae get intae it.” I gnawed off a large hunk and chewed, smiling.

She rolled her eyes. “I suppose I will hae tae try tae ignore ye.”

“Twould be best.” I dropped the knife tae the plate with a clatter and ripped a piece of bread in half. I stuffed it in my mouth and chewed. “Och, the bread is not as satisfying, I ought tae stick tae the steak.” I jammed the knife point intae the meat again and lifted it tae my mouth, gnawing off another bite.

“Is it cooked tae yer liking, Prince Archibald?”

“Aye, but I feel I hae tae hurry. I need tae leave afore the vessel is turned off — is it turned off?”

She had it placed on the table beside her. She jabbed it with her finger. “Nae, tis still working.”

She lifted her fork tae her mouth and chewed daintily.

“I need tae solve this, tae rescue my Ma and Da, my whole family, tae kill Asgall, and then return tae Innis Chonnel. I hae a battle tae wage for my kingdom.”

“What is yer plan tae win yer kingdom?”

“Tis not important, tis a good plan.”

“Why winna ye tell yer grandmother of it?”

“Because ye are a woman, ye will find it borin’.”

“I assure ye I hae listened tae the battle plans of men for many long hours. I am always interested, often dismayed, but never bored. Tell me.”

“Uncle Wallace and I want tae meet Edward at Earnside near Crieff, but we will bring half of our men around from the south and we plan tae push him back intae the river. They will be surrounded and will hae tae beg for us tae allow them tae escape.”

She raised her chin and laughed.

My brow drew down. “Why are ye laughing?”

“Tis the plan of a young man! It all depends on yer winning. If ye daena win ye will be dead in the dirt, Prince Archibald, with a bloom of blood from yer chest. This is not the wise planning of a seasoned military man, of a general, a king, the kind of plan that will win a war and give ye back yer throne.”

“What dost ye think I ought tae do?”

“What do I know, I am just a woman.”

The corner of her mouth twitched, close tae a smile.

I chewed a bite of steak sullenly. Then I sat up straight and used the fork and knife tae cut a small piece, and I ate it like a gentleman.

She said, “Ye learned tae read, Archibald?”

“Aye.”

“Then I will give ye yer father’s favorite book, the Art of War. Tis verra useful, I hae read it many times. Is the English king still armed with modern weapons?”

“He has some, but I daena think Asgall arms him anymore.”

“Good. When ye return tae the past, I will give ye armaments. Dost ye hae many men?”

“Uncle Wallace and I are able tae raise a large army.”

“Ye will need tae exploit Edward’s weakness, ye must know yer enemy. Hae ye determined what it is?”

I shook my head. “I daena ken much about him. We thought tae meet him in the field and outmatch him, as he will hae tae travel farther and we will be fighting near our homes. I believe that will give us the upper?—”

“Edward’s weakness is that he wants tae control ye, he wants tae rule over a large empire, he wants all of England, Scotland, and Wales. He is stretched beyond his capabilities. That is how he is weak. If ye fight him in more than one place ye will best him, do it all at once, on the same day. Call his army tae meet ye, and if ye want tae push him intae the river as well, fine, it might work, but ye must exploit his weakness.”

She took another bite of meat. “Tis the same with Asgall. He is stretched thin, but his weakness is his hubris, he believes he is winning, but he daena realize we hae a vessel. He also is a madman driven tae torment your father and his family. Madmen daena reason, and are bound tae make a mistake. I believe he already has and he will be beaten.”

I chewed thinking and then swallowed. “If we can see his weaknesses, can he see ours?”

“Aye, of course he can. He saw that Mag Mòr the King of Scotland and Riaghalbane was weak because of his affection for his family, that is how he captured him.”

“Tis my weakness as well. I want tae get back and make sure Emma is well.” I sighed. “I ought tae hae come directly tae the future and procured medicine, nae, I should hae carried her tae a doctor, ye could hae fixed her foot, couldna ye?”

She nodded and said, “Aye, the surgeons could hae fixed her foot.”

I groaned.

She asked, “Why dinna ye take her directly tae a modern hospital?”

“Because I want them, I mean us, tae be rescued long before it happens.” I pushed my plate away.

“See, Archibald, that means ye arna weakened by yer family, ye are going tae do what ye feel is best, even if it means not saving Emma immediately — twas a verra callous decision and I mean that in the best way. Twas the choice of a warrior.”

I scowled. “I am nae proud of it.”

“I am proud, my pride is all that matters.” She paused then leaned forward. “This is the plan as I see it, Archibald. I hae activated ye, ye will rescue yer family beginning with Lochinvar?—”

“Tis what I was doin’ when I was interrupted.”

“Aye, I see that, even I make mistakes, but as a gentleman tis best for ye not tae point them out?—”

“I am a gentleman? I thought I was a warrior.”

She waved her hands. “…ye will return and rescue them, then ye will rescue Colonel Quentin and James Cook, ye will secure their assistance in rescuing Magnus, then ye will return tae yer home, Innis Chonnel, and Magnus will rescue those of ye stuck in medieval times, including yourself, much earlier than the age ye are now, thereby saving Emma the hardship, and rescuing Magnus’s beloved,” she cleared her throat, “ dog and Fraoch who is a necessary warrior for the coming battle as our family seeks revenge against Asgall, unified.”

“What happens tae me?”

“Yer current form would cease tae exist, ye will be rescued not long after ye lost yer parents, ye would exist as a young boy again, rescued before ye grow up tae become a warrior, battling with yer Uncle Wallace, long before ye fight for yer throne as the exiled Wolf King…” Her eyes went far off, she considered, “This is the correct way tae do it.”

I nodded.

She continued, “Up until that point I will not be involved. I need tae remain separate from the timeline in case something goes wrong and I need tae fix it, but then I will go tae Balloch. I will comfort Lizbeth and Maggie and my grandchildren, and we will memorialize Sean. We will lay him tae rest, or if we canna find his body, we will erect a cenotaph, something that breaks my heart anew. But we will hae a kind of closure, an end tae this chapter of our story, tae close the book on this time, and then?—”

“Then we will kill Asgall.”

“Aye.”

I watched her, she was so sure of her plan, overly confident.

Then I chuckled, shaking my head. “This is the plan of an auld lady.”

Her eyes widened, “What on earth…? Archibald, tis verra rude!”

I shrugged. “Tis. But yer plan inna good, tis full of reunion and broken hearts, ye are weakened by Asgall and he is going tae kill us because ye arna strong enough tae do what needs tae be done.”

She dropped her fork, clattering ontae the fine plate. “How dare ye speak tae me this way?”

I asked, pointedly, “What if halfway through yer plan Asgall turns off our only working vessel?”

She averted her eyes. “I daena ken.”

“Aye, because yer entire plan depends upon our winning. Ye arna considering his weakness. Ye just said yerself, Asgall wants tae torment us. Is he goin’ tae just allow us tae all reunite merrily afore we seek revenge? He would hae tae be senseless! So far he has been malicious, brutal and cruel, what makes ye think he will suddenly become senseless and make a mistake?”

She raised her chin. “This is the only way I can see out of this situation.”

“Aye, because ye are too emotional. Ye want tae mourn for Sean and ye are alone, ye arna thinking straight. For example, ye dragged me here while I was in the middle of yer plan. Ye might hae made it impossible tae continue it.”

“Ye hae nae right tae speak tae me like this.”

I looked down at my utensils, four were sitting unused beside my plate. I adjusted their handles tae make them line up, a modern convention, elegant shiny utensils perfectly in a row. “I am sorry, Grandmother, that I hae been too blunt, but hearin’ ye recount the plan it suddenly strikes me as… ludicrous.”

“Ludicrous!”

“Aye.” I leveled my eyes.

“Tell me then, Mister Medieval Man, how ye think it ought tae go.”

“I hae a workin’ vessel and I daena ken how long it will work. I will go kill Asgall first — Nemo me impune lacessit, ye ken, Grandmother. Nae one attacks me without retribution. Then I will rescue my family.”

She shook her head. “Yer father would not agree, Archibald. He would want us tae rescue everyone first, and as the regent of his kingdom, it behooves me tae rule and advise ye in a manner that he would approve of. He is king, and ye are but a young prince. He would want tae personally take revenge. I believe he would want tae save ye from doing it?—”

I said, simply, “Da would be wrong.”

She exhaled.

I said, “And ye really think Da would live any other way than, nemo me immune lacessit? Tis the motto of Scotland: no one attacks us with impunity. Daena wake the wolf — we fight back. Yer way, Asgall might notice what I was up tae, he could turn off this vessel, or drag me elsewhere with devices he stole from us?—”

“He is using my Darner… tis theft. And he is using our trail tae the medieval age that we blazed with our Trailblazer at great discomfort to ourselves. He has nae honor, he daena care that he is a lying, thieving scoundrel.”

“Aye, he daena care, he is an arse, and I hae decided. I should leave everyone where they are, and then use the element of surprise tae end him. I need tae do this and I need tae go fast.”

I saw a slight tremor tae her hand as she lifted her glass. “Hae ye considered how the rescue would go, after ye succeed in killing Asgall?”

“Aye, ye winna hae tae rescue each member of the family in a different place, once I kill Asgall ye could rescue our whole family long before any of this happens.”

She raised her brow. “Before any of it?”

“Aye, before Mom and Dad are taken, before the castle is destroyed, before Sean is killed.”

She looked down at the table then raised her eyes and leveled them on me. “Ye want tae overwrite all of it?”

I nodded.

“Hae ye thought this through, Archibald…? What will happen tae ye if we intervene before that fateful day?”

I gave her a sad smile. “I was hoping ye would ken.”

“I daena, but I hae a guess and tis not what I want for ye. Tis too great a sacrifice.” She tapped her fingers for a second, looking in my eyes. “Twould be as if we are cutting off a branch of the tree. I think ye would live out yer life on this earth in an alternate time. Yer family would be gone tae ye, living elsewhere, inaccessible, and… it happened tae a thread from Magnus’s life, a branch of himself who became known as Auld Magnus. He rattled around the villages of Kenmore without much tae do. Twas a hardship considering he had once been a king.”

“Auld Magnus remembered being a king?”

“Aye, tae be on another branch is tae hae all the same memories.”

“So I would become Auld Archibald, I would remember I was a Prince… would the young Archie remember anythin’ about the ten years that I lived in Innis Chonnel…?”

“I think sometimes there are vague overlaps of memories, things that can be written off as déjà vu or dreams, but Archibald, listen tae me, ye wouldna hae a vessel. We couldna hae ye looping with young Archie, causing trouble. Ye would be stuck living a life without us?—”

I nodded, givin’ her a sad smile. “I understand, Grandmother, but I remain decided. This is a sacrifice I will make.” I raised my glass. “I will kill Asgall, I will get the devices he stole from our family, and then ye will overwrite history by rescuing us before the Siege of Stirling Castle on June 20, 1291, that terrible day of infamy, so that history will forget Mag Mòr was so defeated?—”

She said, “But then history might forget Mag Mòr ever existed.”

I leveled my eyes.

She sighed. “I suppose that might be for the best, though I never got tae enjoy the fruits of our Empire. I never even got a tour of Stirling castle from my son, or tae enjoy being a Queen Mother at both ends of time.”

“The castle is a pile of rubble after the siege. That is not how Mag Mòr’s mother should want herself, or her family, tae be remembered.”

“True.”