He inhaled and let out a low breath. “Until a few moments ago we were tae live out all of our days in sixteenth century Scotland. I canna think straight on this. I am takin’ m’horses.”
As we closed in on the trees on the south side of Holyroodhouse, he said, “What took ye so long?”
She shrugged. “Ye told me I had a year, I meant tae use the time.”
Magnus’s face turned furious. “‘Twas nae fair tae do tae us, I will make ye pay for it.”
She walked primly, her head held high, and huffed loudly. “Ye hae threatened me before. I daena think ye should threaten me now when I am in the middle of a rescue of ye.” She added, “Ye are m’son and ye arna tae be threatenin’ me.”
“I am not only yer son, first of all I am yer king.” He stopped still in the road. “Ye must get down on yer knees.”
“What dost ye mean?”
“I command ye tae get down on yer knees and beg for my forgiveness, I am yer king.”
I took a step back, to get out of their way. I honestly wondered if a fight might break out. But then, surprising the hell out of me, Lady Mairead pulled her skirt up a bit and demurely lowered down onto her knees in the dirt. Her head bowed, she said, “Your highness, I beg ye tae forgive me.”
Magnus stood staring down at the bowed head of his mother. “Give me one reason why I shouldna hae ye brought up on charges for this. Ye would leave me in the past, tae teach me a lesson?”
“Nae.”
“Ye hae just said twas done on purpose. Were ye lyin’ tae the king?”
“Nae, I—”
“I am yer king, hae ye grown used tae believin’ I am tae obey ye? Dost ye think ye are above me?”
“Nae, I believe ye are above me, my king.”
“Explain what has happened, what took ye so long?”
“Tae come this far has been verra difficult. I had tae make a bargain with some verra bad people, I hae brought danger tae the kingdom. I hae risked your bairn’s safety and security, all tae gain the machine. I just — I couldna manage it afore this.”
Magnus stood in silence making her wait before he would speak, then he said, “Ye may rise.”
She stood, brushing off the front of her skirts. “Thank ye.”
“There is danger to the kingdom?”
“Aye, I will tell ye of it when ye come.”
“I am tae come on the same date?”
“Aye, until then make sure tae hae good security around the bairn. I told Quentin already, he kens.”
Magnus nodded.
She pulled a vessel from a bag hanging from her waist. She twisted the ends. “The date you must go to is November 24.”
I said, “Yay!” and clapped my hands.
There was a gleam in her eye when she said, “The year 2021.”
I blinked, “Wait, what?”
She raised her brow.
“I don’t understand, that’s a whole year! Why do we have to wait a year? We can go back any time, right?”
“Nae.” She pulled another vessel from her bag. “Ye canna, Kaitlyn. Fraoch and Quentin were in grave danger tae make yer rescue happen. Ye canna loop back before the time it was accomplished. Ye ken this. Ye canna.” She held both vessels in her hands.
I gulped. “But it’s been a whole year! Without Isla!”
She continued, “Chef Zach and Emma hae welcomed another bairn. Ye canna loop back. Ye canna take a chance on the bairn’s life.”
“But—”
“Daena argue with me, Kaitlyn!” She gestured with a vessel. “Twas verra difficult tae accomplish. Ye owe all of us a debt of gratitude for bothering tae rescue ye at all.”
Magnus said, “Lady Mairead ye lower yer tone. I demand more respect when ye are speakin’ tae Kaitlyn.” He shook his head. “Ye hae dropped tae yer knee and convinced me of yer fealty, but if ye continue tae harangue the queen I will hae ye charged with a crime. Ye waited tae rescue us tae make us suffer, ye did this tae be cruel. What am I tae do, stand for yer cruelty?”
“Son! You think so poorly of me? I came as quickly as was possible.”
“I am nae yer son, I am yer king, and I will think highly on ye, unless I am tested. Dost ye want tae test me? I haena had a proper meal in a year and I am in a foul mood about it. Dost ye want tae test me?”
“Nae.”
She added, “I canna change the laws of time, they are immutable. Ye must ken that tae be true. Ye hae tae follow the rules, ye must go after the work was done tae rescue ye.”
He nodded. “I ken the rules.”
She handed Magnus one of the vessels.
She twisted the ends of her own and we backed away as the storm grew around her, wind and swaying trees and dark clouds and cracking lightning. Her hair wild, her skirts flying, she could barely stay on her feet as she was buffeted by the wind. We moved into the trees to get away and she called after us, “Tis rather poetic though, if ye think on it, Magnus, that though I tried in haste tae rescue ye, twas only possible tae take the full year tae do it!”
Eighty-five - Kaitlyn
She was gone.
Magnus and I were left standing there, vessel in hand, stunned into silence.
Finally I said, “A whole year.”
“I ken.”
“I won’t even recognize her.”
He nodded.
I folded into his arms. Standing in the shadows of a sixteenth century woods, our feet in the leaves and muck of a forest floor.
“I’ve sacrificed so—” I shook my head against his chest. “We have — we have sacrificed.”
“Aye, we hae lost a great deal of time.”
I nodded, and clutched his shoulders, holding him close. “What are we going to do?”
He squeezed me. “We are goin’ tae do our best. We will need tae hug them close and tell them we are sorry tae hae been gone.”
“I promised Archie I would never leave him.”
“Ye will hae tae beg his forgiveness. He has lost his mother, he will need ye even more.”
“I killed her.”
“Aye.”
“He can’t ever know.”
“We canna hide it from him. He is too young but we canna hide it from him. One day he will be a king and a time traveler. He must ken his history. Tis hard enough tae trust when ye hae this much power. We canna lie tae him.”
“True. Yeah, I can see that. But what about Isla? She won’t know me at all.”
“Ye will need tae be ready for that. And ye will need tae be prepared tae fight for her love again.”
“How can I bear it?”
“Ye can, ye are the motherfuckin’ matriarch, ye can do anythin’.” He smoothed back my hair and kissed me.
“Thanks. I would like to add, since this is about to get even more emotional and complicated and there might be moments that are sad and rough and probably a lot of regret, definitely regret — I want you to know that I loved this time with you. As awful as the circumstances were, you and I, we lived through it, and I really like you, still. Even the sixteenth century version of you.”
He chuckled, “I hae nae taken a bath in a verra long time.”