I swept the sights along the tree line. “Their formation looks tae be from m’kingdom’s military guidance for siege. We hae planned this, tae surround, comin’ through the woods, as these tanks daena need roads.” I lowered the sights. “Och, I ken how this battle goes, but we arna armed for it.”
Quentin said, “So if this is Roderick — did you use this against Roderick, could he have learned it that way?”
“Nae, this was logged in our guidance. Against Roderick we used city strategies, this is countryside warfare.”
“So if this is Roderick he has commandeered your weapons and is using your guidance?”
“Aye.” I raised the sights tae m’eyes again. “Until they shew themselves we winna ken, but they are likely tae want me. I should turn m’self over.”
Sean overheard me and joked, “We arna turnin’ ye over tae them, brother. They arna askin’ nicely.”
James said, “Yep, exactly, they’re being total dicks, riding up like this shit. Where’s the parley?”
I asked, “What is the parley?”
“That’s the negotiation with your enemies. No one shoots while you meet to talk. You know it, Quentin, from Pirates of the Caribbean.”
Quentin said, “Yeah, well that’s bullshit. That’s not really how war works, not anymore.”
“Yeah, but this isn’t the future, this is the eighteenth century, right? This is the time of pirates, this is the time period of parleyin’. Right Magnus? Right Fraoch, Sean?”
Sean said, “We will send men tae learn the conditions they would like tae meet under.”
Fraoch said, “I will go.”
Quentin said, “I appreciate that, Fraoch, but these are weapons from Magnus’s kingdom. Whoever goes should be able to report back what we’re up against. I’ll know them, sort of, I’ll be able to understand what their forces are like. I’ll take James, we can investigate. We’ll need plenty of men here. James, want to go parley?”
“Och aye!”
Sean said, “I should go as well. If ye are negotiatin’ for Young Magnus, I should be involved tae speak for the family, and as they are threatenin’ the Earl’s castle his interests must be defended.”
We couldna see the tanks yet, but there were deep canyons of felled trees through the forest headed our way. There was nothing we could do but watch as this played out.
Fraoch said, “Will they come all the way tae the walls? We hae nae way tae stop them.”
“Nae, I said, they winna. They daena want tae destroy us, they want tae scare us.”
Chef Zach who was now standing with us on the walls said, “Consider me fucking scared shitless.”
We laughed.
After a long time, the rumble stopped. Quentin yelled, “Everyone down, get down!”
Men ducked behind the parapet. Quentin crouched, looking up and down the rows of men. “Shit, wish I had some helmets for you guys.”
James said, “Wish we had some missiles too.”
I said, “I wish I had m’army.”
Quentin added, “Air support.”
The tanks remained hidden within the trees, we could only make out their front ends, and the guns protruding from the forest. Verra large, they were designed tae mow down trees, to shoot long distances, tae terrorize with their size and their weapons. A brutal force. Hammond and I often discussed the level of fright they would incur, their might, the brute force of them, enough tae win a war.
Taegether with the drones they were formidable. The drones had settled below the tree canopy, hidden within the limbs. Once they took tae the air the castle was lost.
We had naethin’ tae fight them with.
I was as good as captured.
Then they dinna do anythin’ but sit there menacin’ us from the trees.
Fourteen -Kaitlyn
The two-way radio squawked. Magnus’s voice: “Tis me.”
“Hi, what’s happening?”
“The army has arrived. I ken they hae weapons from m’kingdom, I daena ken who is commandin’ them or what they are after.”
“This is really bad, right? I mean, I can’t see, I’m in the nursery, I don’t know...”
“Nae, tis nae so bad, we will be fine, I will figure it out. Keep the bairn safe in the nursery.”
“Okay...”
“I will call when I ken more.”
And then he ended the call.
Hayley said, “That does not sound good.”
“I know, there’s an army.”
“Well we knew that. We had one here already.”
“I think that was just the warm up, that’s why they dispersed so easily. This is a full blown army. From the future.”
“Shit, and first off, not easy, but I get it. What does Magnus say?”
“He says we’re going to be fine.”
“Shit. Does he say that very often?”
“No, it was like he was saying something he heard people say, and just repeating it. Usually he would say something like, ‘daena be worried, Kaitlyn, I will protect ye.’”
“Yeah, we will be fine sounds kind of ominous.”
We both leaned our heads back on the wall.
“I mean, I know he’ll keep me safe, I know he will, but what will he do to keep me safe? That’s the question.”
“Yeah, these barbarians go fucking berserker when they have to fight.”
I sighed heavily. “I’m so bored and worried, what can we do? I need my phone. I need to scroll mindlessly through my feed.”
“Let’s practice sword fighting.” She crossed the room for two wooden swords.
“All right, challenge accepted.”
I passed Isla into Emma’s arms and stood, en guard, the way Quentin and Magnus had taught me. And then Hayley and I attempted to beat the hell out of each other with wooden sticks.
“Ow!” I rubbed my wrist. “That’s going to bruise.”
“Oh yeah, well I just chopped off your hand, bitch, whatcha going to do?”
I tossed my sword to my other hand, “Ha! I am not right-handed.”
She laughed, “Princess Bride, funny, but you’re not left-handed.”
We banged our sword together. I said, “It’s okay, I’m ambidextrous, not my first time at the rodeo.”
We swung our swords to meet with a loud thwonk sound. She said, “You’re mixing a bunch of metaphors, is it your first sword fight?”
I said, “Guaranteed I’ve done more with a blade than you.”
“Yeah, probably right. My weapon of choice is a gun.”
I swung my blade catching hers and causing it to fly from her hand. We doubled over laughing, but then she pirouetted, picked it up and brandished it.
I said, “That’s how ya going to be?”
We swung, arced, thrust, and generally tried to beat each other, without wanting to actually hurt each other. It was fun, we kept going, spinning, arcing, sometimes dancing, a whole lot of laughing. Archie and Ben and some of the other kids watched us, too.
Emma shook with laughter while holding Isla.
Lizbeth entered the room and joined our audience as I jumped across two chairs and jumped off, swinging my sword, while Hayley went Matrix, bending backwards. My sword crossed right over her chest.