33. Chapter 33 - Magnus
CHAPTER 33 - MAGNUS
THE PHYSICIAN’S OFFICE - CHARLOTTESVILLE 1775
A rchibald said, “I suppose I daena hae tae return tae Grandmother anymore. She kens Asgall is dead and has his vessel back… Tis just as well I daena need tae go, Riaghalbane is too grand and luxurious, I would never want tae return tae 1301.”
I said, “Ye plan tae return?”
“Aye, tis where my life is, tis where I need tae go.” Then he groaned. “Och nae! I still hae her monitor!”
He returned tae his seat beside his bag and dug through it, pulling out a battery-powered lantern, and turning it on. Beside it he placed some folders and loose papers and dug around until he found his vessel and Lady Mairead’s monitor.
“Grandmother made me promise I would return it…” He exhaled. “I suppose I hae a lot tae tell her. I will hae tae go.”
I looked all around the parlor and turned tae look at the wall of apothecary jars. “Maybe ye daena hae tae, if ye daena want tae. We can leave the monitor here in this room and... we can let Lady Mairead come and get it, she needs the adventure.”
It looked as if there would be room up on the top shelf behind the smaller jars. “I think twill fit up there. Do ye hae a book for leavin’ her a message?”
He pulled two books from his bag. “She gave me a couple tae read: The Art of War and?—”
“I am glad ye hae the Art of War, tis a good book, twill serve ye well.”
He picked up the other book and turned it tae read the spine in the lantern light. “Gulliver’s Travels by Swift. I haena read it yet, hae ye read it?”
“Nae, but dost ye remember watchin’ the movie?”
He said, “Aye, tis why I asked Grandmother for it, I thought I could read it, och, I miss movies. The last one I watched was Star Wars.” He flipped through the pages, then pointed, “I could leave a message here.”
“Ye write while I hide the monitor.”
I ripped the bottom off a piece of paper from Archibald’s folder and wrote with a flourish:
For Lady Mairead, from M
and taped it tae the monitor with first-aid bandage tape.
I dragged a low footstool tae the shelves and climbed up, reachin’ tae the top shelf, and feeling along the top of the jars. I checked m’fingers. “Tis dusty, good, it haena been dusted for a time, they winna find it.”
I moved a few of the ceramic jars forward, shoved the monitor with the note behind the jars, and rearranged them so nae one would notice. “They are behind the jar labeled: Mandragora officinarum, put it in yer message.”
I sat down in the chair to see what Archibald had already written.
Kaitlyn said, “Reminder, make it small, please, or Lady Mairead will get irritated.”
I said, “ Or , we can write it as a verra big note with extra large drawings, she loves when I draw on valuable books.”
Archibald chuckled. “I did... and Grandmother is goin’ tae be furious, since tis something I already told her on the dead man.”
He showed us the page. It read verra large:
Archibald
Killed
Asgall
June 18, 1775
I said, “Tis never a bad thing tae say something important twice.”
Underneath it was a large drawing of a jar, labeled Mandrake. The monitor was behind it, with an arrow, and the word ‘here’ and then ‘Doctor Everett’s house.’
Kaitlyn said, “You got your talent from your father.”
I asked, “The talent for drawin’ or upsetting Lady Mairead?”
She said, “Both,” with a laugh.
I said, “Ye are feeling better?”
“The painkillers have kicked in. Don’t let me drive or make decisions. I’m getting loopy. Speaking of, if Lady McBitch’s doing a do-over we can’t let her decide when , who knows what date she’ll pick. She might want to start over before Magnus met me, add our choice, Magnusy-sugar-lovey.”
I chuckled, “Magnusy? Ye are growin’ loopy, but aye, I will add it.”
Archibald passed me the book.
“I also feel Lady Mairead will be disappointed if I daena add m’own drawing. It ought tae be of Archibald, victorious, I think.”
“Hopefully with a sword not a vial of poison.”
“Aye, sometimes ye hae tae resort tae less heroic means tae win, but the art commemoratin’ the battle should always include the hero with his sword.”
I flipped three pages and found a blank half page and drew an image of Archibald on the crest of a hill, holding a shield and a sword. Twas a good drawing and verra large, taking most of the page. I turned it around tae show them.
Kaitlyn laughed. “She’s going to be furious.”
“Aye, but so she daena blame Archibald, I will sign it as well… Mag Mòr. King of Scots. 1291.”
Kaitlyn said, “The historians will be so confused.”
“Aye, this is what will make it noteworthy.”
I wrote some more. “Now I am writing the date we agreed upon, verra large. I wrote, ‘May 15, 2025 is a verra good day.’”
Kaitlyn said, “Yeah, that was a really good day, we had a big dinner on the deck, we had just celebrated Ben’s birthday — do you remember, Archie?”
He nodded. “Aye, I remember, we had a bouncing house. I would like tae go back there.”
I said, “And the inclusion of this date will make it even more confusin’ for the historians, even more noteworthy.”
I closed the book and passed it tae Archibald.
He held it in his hands, lookin’ down on the cover. “Could I leave it in the library at Innis Chonnel — once I finish readin’ it?”
“Nae, that castle becomes a ruin, pretty early on, I think.”
He looked disappointed. “I suppose the safest thing would be tae leave it here. It winna hae tae last through as many centuries.”
I watched him look longingly down on it, then shook my head. “Nae, take it with ye, ye want tae read it. And as I just said, everything important ought tae be written twice.” I glanced around the parlor once more and my eyes settled on the physician’s register still open on his desk. “We hae time, we hae pens, we can leave the message more than once.”
I sat down in Doctor Everett’s chair and under our appointment date and his writing, I wrote:
Thank ye, Physician Everett, for yer care of Lady Kaitlyn.
I admired yer collection of Apothecary Remedies.
Your servant,
Magnus, Duke of Awe
5-25-2025 is good
Kaitlyn giggled when I read it to her. “None of that is going to make any sense to Doctor Everett.”
Archibald asked, “But will Grandmother understand?”
I said, “Aye, she will figure it out.” I dusted off my hands. “The physician on the other hand will hae nae idea what it means.”
Archie walked tae the door, where he peered out. “Nae one yet…”
Kaitlyn said, “We really aren’t returning to Stirling to win back your throne and rescue the kids? Ugh, it hurts my stomach to think of not being rescued and of not going to get them.”
“Aye, tis a hard thing tae do, but tis for the best. We arna getting rescued, we arna rescuin’ the bairns — Lady Mairead will rewrite over it all. Tis fraught, but we hae been talkin’ about it for days. We are decided, mo reul-iuil, daena fret.”
“It’s one thing to be decided, another to put it into action.” She sighed. “It’s wild how we always want a do-over, it’s a dream come true, but faced with it, actually deciding to do a portion of one life over — it’s so complicated . What if we screw something up?”
“We winna.”
“I suppose only the people truly matter, as long as they’re all safe and together it will be good…”
I said, “I daena ken if ye remember, Archibald, but in the months leading up tae Asgall’s villainy, we had peace. We dinna hae much happen at all.”
“I remember goin’ down the gator river.”
I smiled, “Ye remember that? Och, twas a fine day, the water was freezin’ and full of monsters, but the endless rain kept our spirits up.”
We all laughed.
“Dost ye remember Isla wouldna get in the water?”
Archibald nodded. “She really regrets not having a chance tae try again.”
Kaitlyn sighed. “I miss her and Jack and… you so much.”
I slapped my hands down on my thighs again. “So what next?”
Archibald said, “Thank ye, Da, for figurin’ out how I get tae keep the book.” He tucked it carefully intae his bag, then began placing the rest of his stuff on top of it. He said, “So ye are goin’ tae stay here?—”
Kaitlyn interrupted, “But… it dawns on me, we could all go somewhere together, right? We could be a little bit happy while we wait for the… you know the do-over shenanigans.”
I shook my head. “Nae, mo reul-iuil, if there is goin’ tae be a do-over, we need tae all stay where we are, we daena want tae be off the timeline?—”
“Oh, like Auld Magnus.”
“Aye, he lived for too long as a man out of time, like an echo?—”
Archibald said, “Like me, I will be the one out of time.”
I nodded, “I am verra sorry for it, Archibald.”
He looked tae be blinkin’ back his grief. “Tis fine, I chose tae do it, and I am proud tae make the sacrifice. I had a mission and I finished it.” He wiped his sleeve against this cheek. “The good news is I was successful, I killed Arse-gall. And it dinna take that long. Grandmother was right, the poison was effective. Now I can return home, twill be m’last time jump.”
Kaitlyn said, “But you could go anywhere .”
“Anywhere, aye, but it needs tae be away from all of ye, of course. I wondered about picking a place with all the comforts of the modern world, but I would be alone, so I hae made my decision. I will return tae Innis Chonnel castle in 1301 — will I see Ben and Isla, Jack and Zoe? Or will they be gone?”
I said, “I daena ken.”
Kaitlyn shook her head. “Once the do-over shenanigans happen, I think… I think you will be out of time and they won’t be around.”
Archibald said, “Aye, that is what I think as well.” He rubbed his knuckles. “Dost ye think the do-over shenanigans will affect Uncle Sean? I think it will. I hope twill.”
I said, “I daena ken, I hae never brought anyone back, tis…” I wanted tae say ‘unlikely’, but I couldna bring myself tae.
Archibald said, “We never recovered his body, we erected a stone but he inna laid tae rest in the earth under it. I believe Edward carted his remains away, twas heartless.”
I scowled. “The English king deserves tae be ground intae the earth for doin’ it.”
“Uncle Wallace and I are planning it… aye, we hae verra big plans. But I can still do them, I will return tae Innis Chonnel and live there with Uncle Cailean.”
Kaitlyn asked, “Is that how it works?”
He chuckled. “I assumed ye would ken, ye daena ken?”
“No, I don’t.”
“What if they daena remember me?”
Kaitlyn said, “This is all distressing. That is a worst case scenario.”
He said, “Aye, it would be… if Uncle Cailean daena ken who I am, what will I do? Would I be a stranger tae them? What if Uncle Wallace has forgotten that he trained me tae fight?”
I said, “Ye winna allow it tae happen. Ye will tell Cailean, ‘I am Mag Mòr’s son and I am here tae live with ye and ye must take me in.’ Then ye will tell William Wallace that he ought tae let ye fight with him, that I demand it.” I continued, “What if I gave ye a letter of introduction, from Mag Mòr, that tells them tae take ye in and treat ye as their own… twould help? Ye daena hae tae give it tae them, if they remember ye, but tae be certain.”
“That would be good, aye, if they remember Mag Mòr, but if not…”
“I can be persuasive.”
He passed me a piece of plain paper from his folder and I got out my pen once more.
I began writing the letter tae introduce m’son tae my auld friend Cailean, in the small pool of light from a battery-powered lantern.
I said, “Will ye look out the window, is anyone comin’?”
He got up and looked, “There is a commotion, sounds like it is beginning tae move this way.”
I wrote as fast as I could.
Dear Cailean Mòr,
I am yer friend, Mag Mòr, writing tae ye from our shared wheel of time. I heard that ye hae sacrificed a great deal tae assure the safety of my bairns. I deeply appreciate all the dutiful support and allegiance ye hae given me and my family.
This is my son, Archibald. He canna be with us anymore, the wheel of time has rolled on, and he wishes tae align himself with ye and yer sons. I beseech ye, Cailean Mòr, tae accept him intae yer castle and tae feed and quarter him. I also beg ye tae introduce him tae Sir William Wallace and ask that he be admitted unto his ranks, for he is not only my son but a warrior born for the fight for freedom.
Please take care of him.
Thank ye,
Mag Mòr
I read it over. “Mo reul-iuil, would ye like tae read it?”
“My heart might break, but yes, if it will help.”
She sat up on the cot with the light beside her. Then asked, “Archie, do you have money for them?”
“Aye, Grandmother gave me enough.”
She nodded and passed the letter back tae me with a sniffle. “This is good.”
I folded the page and passed it tae Archibald, he tucked it intae his inside coat pocket.