Page 44 of The Empire and the Wolf King

She raised her chin. “This is the only way I can see out of this situation.”

“Aye, because ye are too emotional. Ye want tae mourn for Sean and ye are alone, ye arna thinking straight. For example, ye dragged me here while I was in the middle of yer plan. Ye might hae made it impossible tae continue it.”

“Ye hae nae right tae speak tae me like this.”

I looked down at my utensils, four were sitting unused beside my plate. I adjusted their handles tae make them line up, a modern convention, elegant shiny utensils perfectly in a row. “I am sorry, Grandmother, that I hae been too blunt, but hearin’ ye recount the plan it suddenly strikes me as… ludicrous.”

“Ludicrous!”

“Aye.” I leveled my eyes.

“Tell me then, Mister Medieval Man, how ye think it ought tae go.”

“I hae a workin’ vessel and I daena ken how long it will work. I will go kill Asgall first — Nemo me impune lacessit, ye ken, Grandmother. Nae one attacks me without retribution.ThenI will rescue my family.”

She shook her head. “Yer father would not agree, Archibald. He would want us tae rescue everyone first, and as the regent of his kingdom, it behooves me tae rule and advise ye in a manner that he would approve of. He is king, and ye are but a young prince. He would want tae personally take revenge. I believe he would want tae save ye from doing it?—”

I said, simply, “Da would be wrong.”

She exhaled.

I said, “And ye really think Da would live any other way than, nemo me immune lacessit? Tis the motto of Scotland: no one attacks us with impunity. Daena wake the wolf — we fight back. Yer way, Asgall might notice what I was up tae, he could turn off this vessel, or drag me elsewhere with devices he stole from us?—”

“He is using my Darner… tis theft. And he is using our trail tae the medieval age thatweblazed withourTrailblazer atgreatdiscomfort to ourselves. He has nae honor, he daena care that he is a lying, thieving scoundrel.”

“Aye, he daena care, he is an arse, and I hae decided. I should leave everyone where they are, and then use the element of surprise tae end him. I need tae do this and I need tae go fast.”

I saw a slight tremor tae her hand as she lifted her glass. “Hae ye considered how the rescue would go, after ye succeed in killing Asgall?”

“Aye, ye winna hae tae rescue each member of the family in a different place, once I kill Asgall ye could rescue our whole family long beforeanyof this happens.”

She raised her brow. “Before any of it?”

“Aye, before Mom and Dad are taken, before the castle is destroyed, before Sean is killed.”

She looked down at the table then raised her eyes and leveled them on me. “Ye want tae overwrite all of it?”

I nodded.

“Hae ye thought this through, Archibald…? What will happen taeyeif we intervene before that fateful day?”

I gave her a sad smile. “I was hoping ye would ken.”

“I daena, but I hae a guess and tis not what I want for ye. Tis too great a sacrifice.” She tapped her fingers for a second, looking in my eyes. “Twould be as if we are cutting off a branch of the tree. I think ye would live out yer life on this earth in an alternate time. Yer family would be gone tae ye, living elsewhere, inaccessible, and… it happened tae a thread from Magnus’s life, a branch of himself who became known as Auld Magnus. He rattled around the villages of Kenmore without much tae do. Twas a hardship considering he had once been a king.”

“Auld Magnus remembered being a king?”

“Aye, tae be on another branch is tae hae all the same memories.”

“So I would become Auld Archibald, I would remember I was a Prince… would the young Archie remember anythin’ about the ten years that I lived in Innis Chonnel…?”

“I think sometimes there are vague overlaps of memories, things that can be written off as déjà vu or dreams, but Archibald, listen tae me, ye wouldna hae a vessel. We couldna hae ye looping with young Archie, causing trouble. Ye would be stuck living a life without us?—”

I nodded, givin’ her a sad smile. “I understand, Grandmother, but I remain decided. This is a sacrifice I will make.” I raised my glass. “I will kill Asgall, I will get the devices he stole from our family, and then ye will overwrite history by rescuing us before the Siege of Stirling Castle on June 20, 1291, that terrible day of infamy, so that history will forget Mag Mòr was so defeated?—”

She said, “But then history might forget Mag Mòr ever existed.”

I leveled my eyes.

---