44. Chapter 44 - Kaitlyn

We met in the dining room at the agreed upon time, where they were serving a buffet table of finger foods for all of us. The little kids had napped, the bigger kids had explored, when we walked into the room we saw Lochie standing near the table, chewing some food he had been picking from the trays, completely dressed in historical garb, with a duffle bag packed beside his feet.

I said, "Ye are packed already, Lochie?"

"Aye, even if I hae tae go alone."

Magnus said, "Ye winna hae tae go alone, I will attend ye. I am mostly packed?—"

Lochie said, "We hae a moment tae eat first and we must decide where we are goin'."

Magnus looked at Fraoch and back at Lochie. "Ye got clarity in yer discussion with Fraoch?"

"Aye, he calmed m'arse down, and I prayed on it. We need tae eat for our strength, we need tae discuss our plan, first, and we need tae make certain the family is protected while we are away, then we will go."

Magnus opened his eyes wide, "Good, I will dress as soon as we eat."

"Thank ye, Magnus."

Fraoch was scooping chicken wings and fries onto his plate. "I am goin' as well. M'bag's packed. Og Lochie just needs tae tell me where we are headed." He plopped dipping sauce on his plate with a flourish. "Are ye impressed, Og Maggy, with his calm demeanor?"

"I am, I thought we would hae our swords unsheathed, tearin' through a Scottish forest in a long ago kingdom by now."

Fraoch tapped the side of his temple. "But is that where she is?"

"I daena ken. Tis why I am glad ye talked tae Lochinvar instead of me."

Lochie said, "The auld man has lulled me intae a stupor with borin' stories about fishing, but within the story was a seed of truth that I hae decided tae heed."

Magnus said, "And what is the truth?"

Lochie said, "If I do anythin' rash she is likely tae die."

Magnus put his hand on his shoulder and squeezed.

Quentin said, "I suppose if you three are going, then Zach and James and I are responsible for all the rest of these peeps?"

Magnus grinned. "Everyone but Lady Mairead she prefers tae?—"

She walked in. "I think I heard my name, Magnus." She stopped short. "Och, look at the people teeming in the dining room, we hae become barbarians." Her eyes dropped onto the table. "Tis your idea, Kaitlyn? We must eat from the trough?"

I rolled my eyes.

Zach said, "I ordered this, I knew the kids would wake up hungry and?—"

"If ye design your meals around the bairns, Chef Zach, ye will hae hungry adults and undisciplined bairns. Trust me, I hae raised a few barbarians myself. Ye must learn, a child is tae eat when, and what, he is told tae eat."

Zach pulled his collar from his throat. "Yes, ma'am."

Lady Mairead's eyes swept the room, she shook her head. "Och, I need tae go elsewhere."

Magnus said, "As soon as we eat we will discuss our plan, gettin' ye far away from the joyous bairns will be our top priority."

She raised her chin. "Tis not that I daena feel fondness for my grandchildren, tis simply that they are too much for hours on end and that they are accompanied by a menagerie of animals is unnerving."

Isla marched by, singing, "Too much! Too much!" Haggis trotting along behind her.

Magnus stifled a laugh.

We went down the buffet line, filling our plates. I helped Isla with Archie right behind me, he whispered, "Da is leaving?"

"Yes he is, but don't you worry, Archie, he will be back in a few days."

Magnus said, "Archibald, I will be gone for a few days, and while I am gone I will assign some jobs for ye and Ben tae keep yer hands occupied and your mind tired, dost that sound good?"

Isla folded her hands together under her chin, and batted her eyes. "Da, will you let me do a job with the animals?"

"I will make a list that ye will abide by, but I will take yer preference intae account."

He winked at me.

And then we both glanced at Archie. The color had left his face, he shook his head. "Nae, you can't go, Da, I won't let you! You can't! You won't come back. I know it. This is just like my dream! You'll be gone and they will make me take the crown!"

I glanced at Magnus's face — he was shocked, his mouth opening and closing.

Isla was watching, intent, thankfully quiet and not adding to her brother's outburst.

Ben looked frightened. Everyone was looking.

Lady Mairead stood close, listening.

It all made me nervous. I talked more when I was nervous, so I said, lying, knowing that time travel trips were never easy, but saying it anyway, "Archie, that was just a dream, you don't have to worry about it. This is just going to be an easy trip. Right, Magnus? Just an easy trip, you'll go in and come back."

Archie leveled his eyes. "Da, will this be an easy trip?"

Magnus glanced at me, then shook his head slowly. "I am sorry, Archibald, but nae, it looks tae be difficult, this is why I canna take ye with me. But I will come home. And ye must wait patiently until l do, and ye canna be afraid. If ye are afraid ye canna let anyone ken. Except yer ma, ye can tell yer ma, but ye canna scare Isla. Ye canna show Ben yer weakness. Ye must raise yer head high and hae courage. Ye hae a job tae do. Dost ye ken what it is?"

He shook his head.

"Tis tae be the crown prince."

"Aye, Da. I will do my best."

"Good, Kaitlyn would ye like tae add tae it?"

"Yes, I love you, Archie, you can talk to me at any time."

Lady Mairead said, "I would like tae say, I ken I wasna asked, but I hae never been more proud of my grandson, Archibald."

"Really?" He looked around the room. "Basically everyone is staring."

"Of course they are. Ye behaved like a frightened lad at the beginning of the conversation but by the end ye gathered yerself up and straightened yer back and I could see the grown man in ye. Ye reminded me of yer grandfather, he was a horrible man in many ways, but when he needed tae do something dire, he set his mind. I see ye got it from him."

Magnus said, "I actually think he has a lot of his grandmother in him. I hae seen ye raise yer chin and ride intae battle before."

She raised her brow, and her eyes went far away. "Tis true, I once had tae lead a man tae the upper floor with the intent tae put in his drink a drop of—" She noticed everyone looking and finished, "I did what needed tae be done."

Magnus said, "That is my point. Ye must do what needs tae be done, Archibald, and I as well." He teased, "Daena worry on thrones, ye arna goin' tae hae a throne under yer arse, not yet, ye are too wee."

Archibald said, "I see it clear though Da, you are not there, they are saying, ‘The king is dead, long live the king!'"

Lady Mairead said, "Tis yer dream, Archibald? Och nae, ye canna foretell the future! The future is being written, ye are going tae jump tae the end of the story? Only God will ken, the rest of us must be content with the living of it."

"It feels real."

"But ye see, it canna happen, not how ye are thinking on it, and do ye ken why?"

He shook his head.

"Because I am here. First, if something happened tae Magnus, ye are forgetting that I would seize power. Ye think I would let ye, a lad with only eight years of life, rule Riaghalbane? Ye think I will just step aside? Nae, grandson, I would seize power until ye were of age. So the crowd would be likely cheering something else, like ‘All hail Lady Mairead, Queen of Riaghalbane and ruler of all time.'"

Archie chuckled.

"And then ye would hae tae wait for years afore ye could get the throne from me, think on how wily I am. If something happened, God forbid, ye are too young tae be king I would hae tae take charge. Everyone can see it."

I laughed. "What am I, just an afterthought? I'm the queen, why am I not the queen in this scenario?"

Lady Mairead said, "Ye could hae the title of Queen Mother, the sort of queen who spends most of her time at social functions."

I could see she was being humorous, so I didn't let it bother me instead I chuckled. "I suppose that does fit my personality better."

She said, "Of course, I spend many a night thinking it over. I will seize power, Colonel Quentin would assist me as m'Secretary of Defense, all would be well."

Magnus said, "Colonel Quentin, did ye ken ye were Lady Mairead's ally in a plot tae overthrow the kingdom?"

"I had no idea."

Lady Mairead said, "I require not one word of approval, Magnus, I will simply do it. Fraoch would be my Secretary of the Home Department and Lochinvar will be my Secretary of State. Dost ye see, Archibald, ye winna hae tae worry, yer grandmother will hae it all under control. Yer uncles will assist, yer entire family will help, and we will make certain that ye daena hae tae behave like a king until ye are ready."

Her brow went up, as if she were asking him tae think through what she said.

His eyes narrowed, "You said that I wouldn't have to behave like a king, but I would be a king, even if I were young, so my dream might be true."

"I am glad ye noticed this, as it means ye are astute, but it still daena mean that yer dream is true, yer dream is just that, a dream. Yer father will return, and the rest are just the feverish dreams of a wee prince and the well-laid plans of a grandmother in her quest for power."

Magnus said, "While I am intrigued and exasperated by learnin' of m'mother's plans tae wrest power, I agree with the main point, yer dream daena mean anything. Besides, ye told me yer dream was about the past, the kingdom is here in the future, it daena make sense as I am not a king in the past."

He nodded. "Ye were though, perhaps you will be again."

"Where did ye hear that I was a king in the past?"

"I remember it."

Magnus nodded, watching his son, then said, "Perhaps, but it still daena make the dream true. The important thing is that the crown prince kens that this is not tremendously worrisome, the dream he is having is wrenching but also unrealistic. I am goin' tae be here tae run everything, and when it comes time for him tae take the throne he will be so auld that he will be grateful that I am gone, finally."

Archie threw his arms around his da's waist and held on. Magnus patted the back of his head. "I ken, son, I ken."

After a few minutes, Archie released his grip and wiped his eyes and said, "Bug Man! Want to go explore?"

Ben put down a chicken wing. "Yep, coming!"

They ran off with Isla yelling, "Wait for me!" But they were already gone.

Lady Mairead was left muttering, "If they get chicken grease on my tapestries I will murder them and not give it another thought."

Magnus said, "Thank ye, Mother, for the help with him, ye set his mind at ease — mine however is fully tormented."

She smiled, "This was my plan. It will help ensure ye work verra hard tae return, as ye will be driven by fear of me. Ye will be taking the dog and pig and chicken?"

"I will be leavin' them tae guard the family."

"I thought twas worth a try."

We finished our buffet meal and I watched Magnus, looking thoughtful and concerned. He seemed distracted as if he were coming up with a big plan.