Page 15 of The Dawn

“Yeah, andifthis is my story, that Ihaveto be a part of... I could fight it, I could be a brat and not play along nicely,orI can be the hero of it, you know?”

“Aye, I ken, with power comes a great deal of responsibility.”

He laughed. “Da, you just quoted Spider-man.”

“Did I? I dinna notice, I am a man from the past, I daena ken what a ‘spider man’ is.”

“You do too, it’s one of your favorite movies.”

“Aye, I love that movie. Tis true. My favorite though is Thor, he is verra heroic even if he is a Norseman.”

We turned and headed tae the castle.

I added, “So, what ye are saying, Archibald, is ye hae become accustomed tae the idea of becoming a king?”

“I don’t know, how did you get used to it?”

I chuckled. “I daena think it came easily. I fought against it, tried tae hide from it, I dinna want tae do it — ye ken why I finally decided tae become the king?”

“Why?”

“Tae keep ye and yer brother and sister safe, that is the whole reason. Ye hae a royal bloodline coursing through yer veins, ye hae tae sit on a throne or ye winna ken peace.”

He nodded. “That’s what I mean, we are in a story and we can’t get out of it, so we ought to make it good — like you might as well call yourself the Wolf King. That sounds like a good story.” He howled, “Aarh-ooooooooooh!” Then said, “And if you are worried about an English attack, you can think like a Wolf King.”

“Where did ye hear about an English attack?”

He shrugged. “I hear things. If an English attack is like a Viking attack, we need to wake the wolves.”

“Tis true. And the men.” I smiled.

He howled again, bent back, aloud to the sky, “Arwhoooooohhooo!” Then said, “You just have to Wolf King it. That will make the best story.”

“I agree. So ye will remind yerself, Archibald, when ye hear things that frighten ye, that ye are just the prince — ye hae long years afore ye must be king, more long years afore ye are a Wolf King.” I teased, “And ye canna even ride a horse fast at all. Ye will be strong and wise long afore ye must be king. And in the meantime ye can think tae yerself, ‘I daena want tae be king,’while telling yerself, ‘but I must, and so I will make it the best story.’”

“And you will keep riding fast, Da, but occasionally you will let me win, sometimes... I promise if you do, I won't try to overthrow you.”

I laughed. “Tis a deal.”

Then he asked, “The King of England is starting a war?”

“There are rumblings that he is wantin’ war, how frightenin’ do ye find it?”

“Terribly.”

“Tis nothing we canna handle, Archibald, and think of the story we will tell of it after we kick his arse.”

He laughed as we rode through the castle gates.

CHAPTER 6 - LOCHINVAR

THE HIGH WALLS - BALLOCH CASTLE - MAY 27, 1710

Ash asked, “So, what do we do in a castle in the... what century is it?”

“Tis the dawn of the eighteenth century.”

She counted on her fingers, “Okay, so it’s the early 1700s, that is crazy. I wouldn’t believe a word of it if I wasn’t wearing a too-tight bodice and looking down on a cart rolling through a gate from up on a castle wall.” Her eyes scanned the horizon, “I can’t believe this horizon, it’s gorgeous.”

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