The Guardian by Diana Knightley

Three - Magnus

We sent James and Quentin tae the year 2387 tae see what had changed, begging them tae please bring coffee when they returned.

I sent them tae the location of the safe house. Though it had been embattled at one time, I hadna been there since, and keeping it hidden had been General Hammond’s top priority. I doubted Sir Padraig kent of it and I guessed Mrs Johnson would hae remained there as caretaker if she could.

We loaded Quentin and James up with gear, weapons and ammunition, and outfitted them in bullet-proof armor — things we kept in our armory in case they were necessary. Quentin carried a letter from me, allowing him safe-passage and giving permission tae m’subjects tae share their knowledge of the current state of the kingdom.

My hope was that the war had ended, and the dispute had passed, and the worst case was that the king was in exile without reason. This would be a good problem tae hae.

So we sent them away, and expected them back the following day. We needed them back, we couldna do without two of our guards for verra long.

* * *

Our day was watchful.

I dinna like having a vessel out from the cave and being used. It caused me tae feel exposed. Tae protect us, they had traveled a distance away before leaving, so the storm would nae be associated with our castle. I sat on the walls, with the binoculars pressed tae m’eyes, scannin’ the horizon for the storm, and also focused on the caves.

The walls of Kilchurn were different from the walls of Balloch, older. This castle had a five-story tower house with a long view of the loch and the mountain passes. There was a large courtyard defended by a high outer wall.

By the time I was here, guarding the castle, the stones along the parapet were already aged and ancient. Watchmen through the years had marked and grooved the stones with their blade points, out of boredom, or tae keep track of scores.

From where I liked tae stand in the center of the parapet, there was a good leanin’ wall, and a row of letters: F, Z, Q, J, M with notches beneath them. The objective was ‘How long can ye go without complainin’ about the food’? Fraoch was beating us handily. The letter M had so many notches below it, I would never come close tae winning.

My stomach growled.

Twas difficult tae be hungry, when I kent twas m’own fault for having brought us here.

There was plenty of fish though. Kilchurn sat upon a peninsula scarcely larger than the castle itself, almost completely surrounded by water. Access tae it was along the causeway, barely more than a road.

We had another score, farther down, that James had started, a notch for every time ye won an argument. All had tae agree that the argument had been won, so far there was one notch, below his name.

There was a stone, farther down the parapet that had the year, MCDLVI. One of our arguments, tae pass time, had been: was 1456 the year this castle had been built? Or were they the initials of the six men who had stood guard long before us, a way tae keep score on their arguments?

I believed this castle tae be at least that auld so I argued that MCDLVI was the year. I kent Sir Colin, the man I met at Balloch in the year 1551, had improved this castle by adding chambers to the north of the tower house, and remodeling the parapet. I figured that he couldna improve it if it hadna been built long before.

Plus, the circular corner turrets had many carvings from this time.

But I hadna won the argument yet.

I raised the binoculars tae m’eyes once more and looked out over the loch and Ben Cruachan tae the stone-covered entrance tae the cave. Then I swept the binoculars along the shoreline and then the southern horizon.

Nothing.

I thought about Sir Colin’s son, Sir Duncan, the bairn that Kaitlyn had once nursed. He had built the Great Hall along the inside of the south wall, and the chapel in the southeast corner.

It caused me an immense sense of pride tae stand upon the parapet of my forebears and guard m’family inside. There was a long history here, of Campbells under the shadow of Ben Cruachan, and tae hae Archie growin’ strong on the hills around Kilchurn felt comfortable. Much of this felt as if I had come home.

There was a connection here — the wind sweeping m’hair as I stood under a blue sky, on hills covered in their deep green. The colors of the Campbells. Twas a land that was etched inside of me. I could remember racing up the stairs tae see m’Uncle Baldy standing right here, on this spot, guarding his family.

Liam and Sean, young men and long friends, had once carved their names and scores intae the stones.

I had wanted tae be just like them.

I remembered calling them tae come tae the hills and they would say, “Nae, Magnus! We are tae be on watch!”

And I would be angry and resentful, but would get halfway down the causeway tae hear them yell down, “We are comin’, Young Magnus! Wait for us!”And they would race down tae the causeway. “Baldie told us we could go!” And we would rush tae the hills, racing up and near tumbling down, and exploring the woods and streams. I loved those days.

Archie and Ben, along with Sean and Lizbeth’s sons were now the ones tae race off and explore. Because they were younger, they were told always tae stay within sight of the castle, but with this high wall they were easy enough tae find.

These were my thoughts as I stood watching, massagin’ my left hand — somethin’ recently developed and now persistent. Twas disconcerting that I had been resting and yet my left hand had a numbness that needed tae be rubbed. The numbness bothered me, and I had seen the concern in m’fellow guardsmen’s eyes, so I tried tae hide it, tae give m’self somethin’ else tae do. I raised the binoculars tae my eyes once more, watching the sky, the mountain, and along the shore.

Fraoch and Hayley were already in the clearing, waiting for them tae arrive, and then finally, mid-afternoon they returned.

* * *

They rode up the causeway tae the walls, and looked freshly washed and smiling. I met them at the gates, “What say ye? Ye look fresh and well!”

Quentin swung down from his horse. “About that, Boss, you want the good news or the bad news?”

“I expect the bad news first, but there are ears around, let’s go intae the office.”

We climbed the steps tae the second floor, but then I found myself gripping the rail and haltin’ mid-climb.

“You cool, Boss?”

I gasped but tried tae swallow it in so they wouldna see. “Aye, I am fine, the lunch dinna agree with me.” I pulled against the railing tae hoist m’self up the steps.

Twas the way with my stair climbs these days. I was often winded from them, and dinna think they were getting better, but rather worse as the days went by.

I dinna want tae mention it tae the men.

* * *

Once in m’office, pokin’ the logs tae get the fire going, Quentin reported, “The bad news: Your kingdom is being ruled by Sir Padraig.

“Och, all this effort and nothing has changed?”

“Nope.”

Everyone looked dejected.

“So what is the good news?”

“Well, if you think about it, we’ve been here for almost two months and no one has messed with us. I believe it means we are hidden well enough.”

I nodded. “I dinna want m’best skill tae be ‘hiding well enough.’ I want tae fight him.”

Quentin shook his head. “That’s not possible. He’s amassing power and strength, and you’re still not in condition—”

“Are ye callin’ me weak?”

James and Fraoch both shifted in their seats.

He said, “No, but I am calling it as I see it. You aren’t ready to fight. You aren’t strong enough yet and he is—”

“Ye are calling me weak. Tis nae a question anymore, Quentin, ye think me weak.”

He exhaled. “Look, Magnus, I went and saw it with my own eyes. I interrogated Mrs Johnson. She told me about how the kingdom has changed since you were driven into exile—”

“Och, this is nae the way the history should go.”

“As soon as you are strong enough we will fight him—”

Fraoch said, “I will fight him. Ye could make the challenge, Og Maggy, I will fight in yer stead.”

“All m’enemies would ken I am weakened, they would all challenge m’throne, ye would be fighting all the time, Fraoch. I canna ask ye tae trade yer life for mine.”

“The offer is always there.”

“I ken, all I ask is that ye fight alongside me if I am in need.”

Quentin said, “James and I were talking about assassination — It wouldn’t be that hard. We just have to plan it well and sneak up on him. Until then, we hide. We hide well and then sneaking up will be easier, that’s all I’m saying. You’re not weak, you’re just playing the long game.”

Fraoch said, “I agree with Quentin. We are nae weak, we are playin’ a verra long game, like World of Warcraft, a game James introduced me tae one rainy afternoon in Florida. We are just strategizin’.”

James chuckled. “I love it when you ancient guys talk about video games.”

Fraoch said, “Speaking of video games, ye look verra clean?”

James said, “Hell yeah, we stopped in Florida on the way back, got hotel rooms. I took a luxurious shower, bought a couple of coolers full of food just for Fourth of July, and even some fireworks. We’re going to have a good old fashioned or in this case, since the country wasn’t even founded yet, a good old modern Independence Day barbecue.”

Fraoch said, “I am jealous about the hotel room, I get tae go next.”

I nodded. I had lost interest in the conversation because m’mind was ruminatin’ on m’kingdom. “Can ye leave me? I need tae do some thinking on it all.”

Quentin said, “Aye Boss, but don’t let it bother you too much. This is exactly what you thought was going to happen: nothing changed.”

“Aye, I thought it, but I hoped I was wrong.”