Page 43 of The Empire and the Wolf King

“Edward’sweaknessis that he wants tae control ye, he wants tae rule over a large empire, he wants all of England, Scotland, and Wales. He is stretched beyond his capabilities.Thatis how he is weak. If ye fight him in more than one place ye will best him, do it all at once, on the same day. Call his army tae meet ye, and if ye want tae push him intae the river as well, fine, it might work, but ye must exploit his weakness.”

She took another bite of meat. “Tis the same with Asgall. He is stretched thin, but his weakness is his hubris, he believes he is winning, but he daena realize we hae a vessel. He also is a madman driven tae torment your father and his family. Madmen daena reason, and are bound tae make a mistake. I believe he already has and he will be beaten.”

I chewed thinking and then swallowed. “If we can see his weaknesses, can he see ours?”

“Aye, of course he can. He saw that Mag Mòr the King of Scotland and Riaghalbane was weak because of his affection for his family,thatis how he captured him.”

“Tis my weakness as well. I want tae get back and make sure Emma is well.” I sighed. “I ought tae hae come directly tae the future and procured medicine, nae, I should hae carried her tae a doctor, ye could hae fixed her foot, couldna ye?”

She nodded and said, “Aye, the surgeons could hae fixed her foot.”

I groaned.

She asked, “Why dinna ye take her directly tae a modern hospital?”

“Because I want them, I mean us, tae be rescued long before it happens.” I pushed my plate away.

“See, Archibald, that means ye arna weakened by yer family, ye are going tae do what ye feel is best, even if it means not saving Emma immediately — twas a verra callous decision and I mean that in the best way. Twas the choice of a warrior.”

I scowled. “I am nae proud of it.”

“I am proud, my pride is all that matters.” She paused then leaned forward. “This is the plan as I see it, Archibald. I hae activated ye, ye will rescue yer family beginning with Lochinvar?—”

“Tis what I was doin’ when I was interrupted.”

“Aye, I see that, even I make mistakes, but as a gentleman tis best for ye not tae point them out?—”

“I am a gentleman? I thought I was a warrior.”

She waved her hands. “…ye will return and rescue them, then ye will rescue Colonel Quentin and James Cook, ye will secure their assistance in rescuing Magnus, then ye will return tae yer home, Innis Chonnel, and Magnus will rescue those of ye stuck in medieval times, including yourself, much earlier than the age ye are now, thereby saving Emma the hardship, and rescuing Magnus’s beloved,” she cleared her throat, “dogand Fraoch who is a necessary warrior for the coming battle as our family seeks revenge against Asgall, unified.”

“What happens tae me?”

“Yer current form would cease tae exist, ye will be rescued not long after ye lost yer parents, ye would exist as a young boy again, rescued before ye grow up tae become a warrior, battling with yer Uncle Wallace, long before ye fight for yer throne as the exiled Wolf King…” Her eyes went far off, she considered, “This is the correct way tae do it.”

I nodded.

She continued, “Up until that point I will not be involved. I need tae remain separate from the timeline in case something goes wrong and I need tae fix it, butthenI will go tae Balloch. I will comfort Lizbeth and Maggie and my grandchildren, and we will memorialize Sean. We will lay him tae rest,orif we canna find his body, we will erect a cenotaph, something that breaks my heart anew. But we will hae a kind of closure, an end tae this chapter of our story, tae close the book on this time, and then?—”

“Then we will kill Asgall.”

“Aye.”

I watched her, she was so sure of her plan, overly confident.

Then I chuckled, shaking my head. “This is the plan of an auld lady.”

Her eyes widened, “What on earth…? Archibald, tis verra rude!”

I shrugged. “Tis. But yer plan inna good, tis full of reunion and broken hearts, ye are weakened by Asgall and he is going tae kill us because ye arna strong enough tae do what needs tae be done.”

She dropped her fork, clattering ontae the fine plate. “How dare ye speak tae me this way?”

I asked, pointedly, “What if halfway through yer plan Asgall turns off our only working vessel?”

She averted her eyes. “I daena ken.”

“Aye, because yer entire plan depends upon our winning. Ye arna considering his weakness. Ye just said yerself, Asgall wants tae torment us. Is he goin’ tae just allow us tae all reunite merrily afore we seek revenge? He would hae tae be senseless! So far he has been malicious, brutal and cruel, what makes ye think he will suddenly become senseless and make a mistake?”

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