Page 109 of Long Live the King

“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 foryearsafore 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 wouldhaetae 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 themain 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.”

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