41. Chapter 41 - Magnus

CHAPTER 41 - MAGNUS

ON THE WAY TO KIPPEN - JUNE 20, 1291

I climbed the steps tae m’chamber and entered. I put a log on tae beat back the chill and then I crept tae our bed. Kaitlyn was asleep, Jack was sprawled in the middle of the bed with his arm thrown out looking verra pleased with his comfortable position. I knelt beside the bed and smoothed back Kaitlyn’s hair tae wake her up.

She mumbled, “Hi… you’re back?”

“Aye, and I still hae Sean, Fraoch, and Hayley with me. They couldna leave, the vessels arna working.”

“Oh no.” She raised her head and peered around in the darkness, “It’s late at night, are you coming to bed?”

“Nae, I hae tae meet with the English King. I will leave at dawn, tis only a few hours away. I will sit up and take a guardsman’s nap.”

Her face drew down in a frown. “What is a guardsman’s nap?”

“Tis when ye sleep sittin’ up with yer eyes open.”

“Ah… you’ll be tired.”

“I will be, but there is too much tae do, I must be ready. Where are Archie and Isla?”

“Sleeping with Ben and Zoe.”

I leaned over and kissed her, then went tae the hearth in the outer room. I sat, leaned back, watching the fire. My elbow rested on the arm of the chair, my chin restin’ in my hand. I watched the fire and considered what I was goin’ tae do.

I might have slept… though I felt like I dinna at all. But then there was a soft rap on the outer door. I got up as my page entered tae help me dress. I washed m’face in the bowl and toweled off, while the page passed me a fresh shirt. I pulled it on over m’head and brushed m’teeth while he tied the back of my hair. We worked quietly in candlelight.

I had recently shaved, so my beard was close cropped, and twas too dark tae do it again, anyway. I pulled my arms intae the sleeves of a coat and the page buckled my sword belt around my waist. I pulled on my boots. He helped me put on the cloak. “There will be rain, Yer Majesty.”

“Aye, the weather has turned.”

I returned tae the bed and kissed a sleeping Kaitlyn on the cheek. I kissed Jack on his forehead, then shuffled down the hall tae relieve m’self in the garderobe.

I wondered if I ought tae wake Archie and Isla, but the castle was verra quiet, and I dinna want tae bother nor needlessly frighten them. I was certain this would be the first of many negotiations with the English King. He had been interferin’ in Scottish succession for years, and I doubted he would remove his troop from m’lands after one meeting. But I would threaten him. Twould be a good start. Then I would use my power as a time traveler tae…

Why dinna the vessels work?

Twas unsettling, I had been strong, just yesterday, and now I was weakened.

I left the stairwell tae find a large contingent of m’men in the courtyard, gathered near the stables, preparing tae go. Fraoch and Sean met me and Cailean passed me a bundle of cloth wrapped around a bread and a sausage. “For yer breakfast Magnus.”

I said, “Nae coffee?”

He said, “Nae, though tis needed this morn. Instead ye hae ale.”

I sighed. “Coffee is one of the things Colonel Quentin had promised tae bring.”

“I will pray for his arrival, Yer Majesty, I hae acquired a taste for the bitter drink with a bit of white sugar.”

I asked, “Tis one of the greatest things in the world. Where is Chef Zach?”

Fraoch said, “I expect him down any minute now.

We gathered our men and horses and moved toward the gate when suddenly I heard Kaitlyn’s voice, “Magnus!”

I turned tae see her with Jack in her arms, leading Archie and Isla, rushing across the courtyard, wearin’ a robe and lookin’ disheveled yet beautiful. “You were leaving without saying anything!”

I swept her intae m’arms. and kissed her ear. “My apologies, mo reul-iuil, I am not thinking straight, twas tired… a great deal on my mind.”

She nodded. “I understand.” She kissed me. “Jack wanted to say goodbye.”

Jack put out his arms and climbed into mine. He waved at Kaitlyn. “Bye-bye.”

I said, “Jack, ye canna come, ye must stay here with yer ma.”

Archie said, “Can I come, Da?”

I narrowed my eyes, considering, as Isla hugged me around the waist.

I ruffled her hair and said tae her, “Ye hae a good day, I will see ye at dinner, wee bairn.”

Archie said, “You didn’t answer, does that mean I can come?”

Kaitlyn raised her brow. “Are you considering taking him with you?”

I nodded, thinking… He was only eight, but he had been consumed with worry. I dinna want him tae spend the day worryin’ about this. The ride tae Kippen was a ride he could do. He could watch the meetin’ and the negotiation... Twould be a lesson in ruling.

I said, “Twill be a long ride, then a longer meetin’. Twill be verra borin’ and ye winna hae Ben with ye.”

Just then Chef Zach came up with Ben following him. “Sorry Magnus, slow getting going, but I’m ready. Let’s go kick some English ass.”

“We arna kickin’ ass, we are discussin’ with arses.”

“Damnit, that doesn’t sound nearly as fun.”

Archie ignored us, his gaze directed at me, earnestly. “Da, I still want to come, can Ben come too? Me and Ben. I won’t bother you, I promise.”

I considered. Then I looked at Chef Zach. He shrugged.

I nodded. “Okay, ye and Ben can come, but ye hae tae listen, ye canna speak up, ye hae neither the vocabulary nor the accent, and twould be dangerous. Ye must not cause any trouble, ye ken?”

Kaitlyn asked, “Are you sure?”

“Aye, I am sure, twill be a good lesson for the lads tae see kings speak. And we will hae many guards.” I said tae Archie, “But twill likely be cold and wet, both of ye grab cloaks and nae complainin’ on the rain.”

Ben said, “Complain about the rain? This sounds awesome!”

Chef Zach said, “Alright boys, let’s go get cloaks and your horse. Katie, you’ll tell Emma I took Ben with us?”

She said, “Yes, but be careful, bring them back if it’s... if it’s too much.”

Archie hugged Kaitlyn goodbye. And then we took our leave and went tae the men gathered near the gates. Fraoch put out his fist and he and Archie and then Ben fist-bumped.

We all climbed on our horses to go as the first beams of dawn emerged on the east horizon, with Haggis joggin’ along beside us.

I had gathered around me an army of men, most were from this century. Fraoch and Sean were from the eighteenth century — Chef Zach was tae be my only modern advisor, traveling with two young lads who had been raised on chicken nuggets and Fortnite. I watched them riding on the same horse, cloak hoods pulled over their heads as it was beginning to mist. They were pointing around at cool things they saw in the fields as we crossed King’s Park under the gray sky of a moody dawn, promisin’ an unrelentin’ day of rain.

The lads were goin’ tae learn a lesson about long cold wet rides and medieval treaties. Twould likely be a verra boring day.

I asked, “Did ye get a lot of sleep, Chef Zach? I am livin’ vicariously through ye.”

“I got a lot, though I was nervous about today. You get any?”

“None, except a moment here and there while ridin’.”

“Why do you think the vessels aren’t working?”

Archie said, “Da, the vessels aren’t working?”

Ben said, “Uh oh.”

I said, “I daena ken, but I think it has something tae do with Arsegall.”

Fraoch said, “Aye, tis definitely his arsery.”

I said, “But I canna focus on it right now, now we hae Edward tae deal with.”

Fraoch said, “Eddie loves tae be the center of attention.”

Zach rubbed his hands together causing his horse to veer. “Whoa, oh… whoa!” He pretended tae almost fall off while he directed the horse back to the path. “Phew, that was close. Follow the army, horse! Come on now, you have one job, follow all the other horses.”

The boys laughed.

Ben said, “Dad! You have to hold the reins with both hands!”

Chef Zach held the reins in both hands up high. “Like this?”

The boys giggled again. “No Dad, you look ridiculous.”

Haggis barked as if he were insulting Chef Zach too.

Chef Zach laughed. “I know how to do it, Haggis!” He held the reins in one hand, looking like a pro. “What I was going to say, before the boys started micromanaging my driving, was I can’t wait to watch you school the English King. Then I can’t wait to watch you deal with Asgall.”

“Aye, first, I hae tae deal with a medieval king — there will be a medieval solution, then I will deal with the time traveler with a time travel solution. First one, then the other.” I pretended tae snore.

The boys giggled again.

Fraoch said, “Og Maggy, ye need a nap already? We just left the castle!”

I rubbed my hands up and down on my face again tae wake m’self up. Then pulled my hood over my head, so the drips of rain didn’t roll down my face.

Sean said, “Except yer time travel vessels are broken, Young Magnus — twill be difficult tae find a time travel solution without a working vessel.”

Fraoch said, “This is true.”

I remained quiet as we rode.

Archie and Ben rode well on the same horse, talking and laughing with each other, and sometimes talkin’ tae Haggis. There were moments when it was easy tae forget what we were doin’. We knew it had tae be past sunrise, but the sky was covered in fat gray clouds, weighty in the sky. A drizzle greened the forest. Quiet all around, damp and soggy, the air was heavy with the fresh scent of rain.

I had drawn back tae ask Cailean a question, now I sped my horse tae pull up beside the boys, “Ye stayin’ dry?”

Archie said, “This is fun!”

I chuckled and drew ahead of them on the path.

I loved ridin’ on a rainy morning. But then m’eyes settled on my surroundin’ soldiers, dressed as if for battle. Twas jarrin’. We were meeting an adversary, the men depended on me tae negotiate well, tae stop a battle afore it had a chance tae begin.

There were long periods of quiet, and as we drew near we began tae hear the noise of a large encampment.

Some of my soldiers returned from scouting ahead. “The camp spreads well beyond the field where ye will be meetin’, Yer Majesty.”

How did it grow so large without notice?

“Still fifty men, ye counted?”

“Aye, seems that way. Though there may be more in the tents.”

“Let me ken if ye hear anything more.”

They rode on ahead.

I pulled my horse alongside Archie. “Archibald, I want ye tae ken, ye are tae be quiet and tae stand in the back, daena draw attention tae yerself. Dost ye understand?”

He nodded. “Yes, Da.”

I said, “Ben, ye understand?”

“Yes, Uncle Magnus.”

“Good, ye are about tae meet the English King. He is full of self-importance, but I will do m’best tae prove him unimportant. Ye are tae watch and listen.”

Chef Zach said, “You got this Mags!”

“Thank ye, Chef Zach, did I tell ye I hae met him before?”

Archie asked, “When?”

“At a tournament. Yer Uncle Fraoch competed in the sword fighting, I partook of the joust.”

Archie said, breathlessly, “You jousted ?”

“Aye, I won the day, and then Edward called me tae dinner and wanted me tae bow in front of him and I refused. I told him that I was goin’ tae be the Scottish King and I wouldna bow in front of any Englishman.”

Chef Zach said, “Hoowee, I would have liked to have seen that.”

Fraoch rode up, and brushed rain off his face. “Ye tellin’ stories again, Og Maggy?”

“Aye, I am tellin’ about m’meetin’ with Edward after the joust.”

“Och, I thought ye were goin’ tae get us killed, Og Maggy. Boys, tis rarely good tae bad mouth yer betters, but in this case twas Og Maggy, standin’ before the King of England, who inna his better at all, and deserved every bit of grief that Og Maggy piled upon him. Twas a sight tae behold! Except we had tae high-tail it out of there without havin’ one bite of dinner. I was terribly disappointed.”

The boys laughed.

We came tae the meeting place, a wide field along the River Forth. A large impressive tent had been erected, but in the terrible weather it stood soggy in the middle of the field. The Edward’s standard had been raised tae the tallest center pole, but it hung dripping. The bottom of the tent was mud-splattered. I wondered if the canvas was keepin’ the interior dry, or if there would be rivulets runnin’ from the canvas roof down the walls. The whole scene was rain-soaked, and too dreary for a king — for two kings.

I ordered my soldiers tae line up along the edge of the field. His men lined up along the opposite side.

Up and down the line m’men were tense, eyeing the soldiers across the field, prepared tae fight if it came tae it.

The rain became a dampening downpour.

Fraoch grumbled, “Och, I canna lay m’eyes upon a medieval tent without rain pourin’ from the sky. It inna fair.”

My line parted as my royal guard rode forward carryin’ m’standard tae the tent.

I rode behind the flag bearer. Archie and Ben were riding behind me. Chef Zach rode beside them, watching over them. On my right hand I had Fraoch, on my left was Sean. Cailean rode beside Fraoch, keepin’ his eyes on all of us and especially helpin’ tae guard my son.