“Aye, we are just tae midday! Then we spend the afternoon trainin’ with our horses and Max likes tae challenge me in archery, and then…”
He smiled.
“In the evenin’ we go over our battle plans.”
“Well, I don’t know if my gym membership will be quite so robust, but we can at least get you a little bit of it. That’s a long day.”
“I dinna even mention that I will hae guard duty in the night.”
“Really? When do you sleep?”
“Ye ken, I will sleep when I can.”
I said, “I think you’re going to be bored.”
“How can I be bored when I hae yer gardens tae explore?”
“While I do enjoy that a great deal, my love, that’s not going to keep you busy for a full week.”
“I also daena ken what anything is!” He looked around. “Twill take a full month for ye tae tell me how it all works.”
“That is true. And though I do like sitting here, want a tour of the house? We can leave the dishes.”
As we got up I added, “I guess now I see the use of having a housekeeper.”
5
MAXIMILLIAN
SEPTEMBER 15, 2185 - NEAR RIAGHALBANE KINGDOM
Iguessed I was lyin’ in the dirt, but I dinna ken because I was frozen, my mind unable tae move my body. M’eyes wouldna work. I tried tae see and winced, twas too bright. I had dirt in my mouth, I spit, some mud dribbling down my cheek. Och nae, I couldna move, everything ached, pain pressing in on me. I would need tae recover from this hellish journey afore I did anything… when there was a stern voice. “Who are you?”
I startled, twisting to see who was beside me — a lean, sun-hardened man of about thirty-five, with short-cropped dark hair streaked with premature silver, sharp hazel eyes, and a gun pointed at me. Behind him my horse, Apollo, and the saddlebags where most of my weapons were. I had my dirk, but the stranger was above me and I couldna draw m’weapon and survive.
I pulled my arms up over my head and gasped out, “Not armed!”
“I don’t care, I’ll shoot you, armed or not, what are you doing here?”
It dawned on me that I needed a back story that was not,I am the rightful king.
“…tae visit m’family.”
“You travel by storm, boy?”
Och nae.“Twas by chance, um… sire, ye ken. I was knocked out by the storm, I daena ken?—”
The man growled, “I repeat, who are you — where are you from?”
I scanned my mind.Where was I from?I had nae idea what tae say. All I could think of was Muckhart.
“In Clackmannanshire.”
His eyes narrowed. “Clackmannanshire — Scotland?”
“Aye.”
The man exhaled sharply. “That’s a weird way to put it, you’re not from here... clearly. What are you doing here, that’s what I want to...”
