Page 118 of Long Live the King

“That’s stupid, you are a king, you have a brewery and you haven’t named it? What am I supposed to write for the place — The cruel king’s stupid brewery in Scotland?”

“I daena care what ye name it, name it whatever ye want.”

“Fine, as the queen I will name it the Tree of Life Brewery. In the divorce I will takeallthe proceeds.”

I signed my name:

Ash

The Tree of Life Brewery, Scotland

I asked, ready to calculate how many days since I had been taken, “What is the date?”

He said, “May twenty-second, the year of Our Lord, twelve hundred ninety six.”

I was leaned over the page, my hand poised, blinking. I stammered, “Wha— what did you say?”

“May twenty-second, the year of Our Lord, twelve hundred ninety six.”

My hands shook as I wrote it, under the place.

May 22, 1296

I asked, “Are you claiming this is some kind of time travel?”

“Yes, it’s time travel.” He put out a hand for the contract.

“Right.You’re a king, I’m a queen, we’ve time traveled to the year 1296. Got it.”

He said, “Tis true.”

I yanked it from the table and held it away. “If this is time travel, how will I get home?”

“Give me the contract.”

His voice, cold and commanding, frightened me. I held it out, then thought better of being so close. I dropped it to the table and stepped back to the wall. I raised the spike again and glared.

He grabbed the contract and looked it over. He put it on the table, bent over it, and used the pen to scratch out the place and date I had written so it was indecipherable. “Why are you doing that?”

“So nae one will ken where or when ye are livin’. Ye canna be too careful.” He folded the contract up and inserted it in his pouch. “Thank ye, ye were verra obligin’. Now I need tae return tae a reasonable age, a place with cigarettes and proper mixed drinks, where tis possible for a man tae enjoy himself. Ye will stay here.” He looked around. “Enjoyin’ my hospitality, verra far back in the past.”

“I hate you.”

He shrugged. “As ye might surmise, providin’ what ye need for comfort in the middle ages is difficult. I am verra cautious about moving objects from one time tae another, I rarely chance it, so there is a degree of suffering ye will feel. I will do my best tae see ye fed and clothed well, considerin’ the limitations of the place, but ye must keep yer origins hidden. The villagers grow frightened by strangers. This is why, up until now ye hae beenguarded by men of this time, but after meetin’ ye I see ye are determined tae cause trouble, I will be putting armed guards on the walls. Ye winna escape again.” He smiled watching the color drain from my face. “And I would behave, if I were ye. If the locals think ye unusual they might declare ye a witch. I winna hae any power tae stop it, even if I were here. And I won’t be.”

“You said you were the king, doesn’t that mean you’ll be here...?”

“Nae, I daena like this time enough tae actually live here.”

I shook my head. “I truly don’t understand. This isn’t real.”

“Tis verra real.”

“I can’t speak the language.”

“Ye will learn, ye will be here for quite some time.”

“What do you mean?—?”

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