The Battle for Duncragglin

by Andrew H. Vanderwal

  His arms a blurry windmill, the guard teetered on the edge. His shout turned into a scream as he dropped. Alex winced as he heard the heavy thump. It was followed by silence.

  The crowd was leaping with excitement. Its attention was diverted yet again by another extraordinary event: the stable master had charged up onto the gallows and was swinging his sword at the executioner. He swung again and again, forcing the executioner away from where Willie stood precariously.

  The executioner grabbed the priest and used him as a shield. With each jab from the stable master, the executioner thrust the frail priest from side to side. The priest did the same, except with his Bible.

  The executioner ripped the Bible from the priest's hands and flung it at Willie, hitting him on the back of the head. Willie fell, his shriek abruptly cut off when the noose clenched around his neck. His feet swung in the air and kicked frantically. The stable master leaped over and held him up by the middle to keep his weight off the rope. The executioner advanced, still using the priest as a shield.

  All the while, the outraged document reader was shouting for soldiers, guards, anyone to come up onto the platform and seize the stable master. Soldiers rushing through the crowd were rapidly closing in.

  The stable master abandoned his fumbling, one-handed efforts to loosen the noose. Still holding Willie with one arm, his sword with his other, he shouted to the crowd: “I am the stable master. Ye know me. I am one of ye. It's Hesselrigge and the English who are our enemies. Help me, my friends. Stop them from killing us. William Wallace is outside these walls preparing to attack. In the name of our exiled King John, I say we rise up against these tyrannical usurpers who take our lands and our lives! Who is with me?”

  A deathly silence hung in the air. Suddenly, a daggered hand rose from the crowd, pointing up to the sky. “King Johhhnnn.”

  “We're with ye, Stable Master,” shouted another. More and more daggers flashed as people held them high over their heads, chanting, “King John, King John, King John….” The chant became a roar.

  The soldiers in the crowd found their path blocked. They turned back, but there, too, daggers were raised against them. The crowd closed in quickly. The few flashes from the soldiers' swords disappeared as the crowd filled in over them.

  Men were boosted up onto the gallows platform; others charged up the steps.

  The document reader threw down his document and leapt off the rear of the platform. Still holding the priest before him, the executioner was surrounded by an angry mob. Seconds later, his black-clad body dropped lifelessly off the side of the platform onto the dirt below.

  Alex struggled to find Willie in all this mayhem. He was overjoyed to see the stable master had lowered him safely, the noose no longer around his neck. The stable master stood at the front of the crowded platform, his arm around Willie and his sword raised high above the crowd. “The guards,” he roared. “Take down the guards at the gate!”

  The crowd surged for the gates. A cluster of guards and soldiers moved quickly into a protective semicircular formation, their backs to the gate, their sharp pikes fanning out before them. These were well trained soldiers. It would cost more than a few lives to overwhelm them. But the soldiers faced a determined and vengeful mob – one that looked as if it would stop at nothing.

  When the first of the attackers fell to the pikes, those behind leapt over the impaled to battle with small daggers against the soldiers' swords. Arrows rained down from the blockhouse. Alex watched in horror as arrows stuck into one person after another. With so many in the crowd, the archers could hardly miss.

  Hasty barriers were erected from materials removed from market stalls. Awnings held up by poles provided some refuge from the arrows' deadly deluge.

  Alex crouched against the stone barrier of the elevated roadway with Annie and Katie. He knew they were still exposed to arrows from some of the archers, but hoped they would be overlooked. Alex shielded Katie's body with his. Annie lay beside him, her arms over her head and eyes squeezed tight.

  It sounded like the end of the world. Screams, moans, and battle cries mingled; arrows clattered against the stones. Through the chaos, a soldier cried out from within one of the guard towers: “The gates! Open the gates! Sir James approaches with his men!”

  “Stop them! Close those gates!” The stable master rallied another charge, but the soldiers held them off and pushed open the gates.

  Beyond were armored riders, dozens of them, dirt billowing around them as they careened towards them at full gallop. The stable master was the only one to stand his ground. He cried: “Fight! Fight! Charge!” but the falling back had turned into a stampede.

  All was lost.

  Riders thundered through the gates, the first bearing the standard of Sir James, plumage streaming back from his helmet and visor. Ignoring the carnage about them, they charged past the soldiers, the stable master, and the crowd as if they were not even there, their horses trampling without pause over the dead sprawled in the dirt.

  The riders swept up the ramp, speeding past where Alex lay huddled with Annie and Katie. They stopped, their steaming horses stomping impatiently as they waited for the drawbridge to lower. One reared and a small barrel-shaped rider with a short bow slung across his back struggled to keep it in check.

  “Annie, that looks like one of Wallace's men.”

  Annie shielded her eyes and looked from rider to rider. “Which one?”

  Alex pointed furiously. “Him – that one. Traitor! Yes, you. Traitor!”

  “Quiet!” Annie hastily pulled down his arm. “Are you trying to get us killed? Look, he's seen us! Oh, you've done it now.” She covered her head with her arms.

  The rider was staring straight at them. There was no mistake: it was Donald. He raised a finger to his lips and winked.

  Alex was shocked. How could he change sides like that? Perhaps he was one of Sir James's men all along and had been spying on Wallace the whole time. But Donald had fought alongside Sir Ellerslie and the others at the beach … could it all have been a sham?

  Fists clenched, Alex fought back tears of outrage.

  The horses jostled for position. One shouldered Donald's horse aside, blocking him from view. Horrified, Alex recognized first one, then several other men he was sure he had seen at Wallace's camp.

  All was truly lost. Not only had Sir James successfully returned from his encounter with Wallace, it would appear that Wallace's men had deserted him or, worse, had been with Sir James all along. There was no hope for help from Wallace now.

  24

  A TURN OF EVENTS

  Alex crouched against the stone barrier with Sir James's horsemen towering over them. These horsemen did not care about the three terrified children huddling by the roadside, but Hesselrigge did. And Hesselrigge would soon be free: Sir James's first priority would be to find him and release him.

  Hesselrigge would stop at nothing to hunt them down. And once he caught them, he would not be content to merely have them hanged. No, he would more likely be in the mood for torture: torture for the men who opposed him, like Don-Dun, the stable master, Duncan, and the professor; torture for those who aided Wallace, such as Willie, Annie, and Katie; and torture for the one who, in his mind at least, tricked him and his father into the caves and caused his father's miserable death. No doubt he would save the worst for that person.

  Will Hesselrigge ever tire of inflicting all this agony? Alex felt ill.

  The drawbridge boomed and laid flat, a cloud of dust rising from where it had slapped the roadway. Sir James and his men surged forward. Hooves thundered on the bridge, clattered on the stones of the blockhouse, and faded away altogether.

  Annie sat up. “Where did they go?”

  “I think they've gone to find Hesselrigge. They'll be back.”

  Shouts came from within the blockhouse.

  “Don-Dun?” Alex breathed. “Oh, no….” He blinked back tears.

  Annie put her hand on his arm. “He might have gotten awa
y….”

  Alex pulled his arm away furiously. “And how would he have done that – with the help of some fairies?” Scowling, he stood to look over the stone barrier. The arrows had stopped. Below, the stable master had rallied some men to throw cobblestones at the soldiers guarding the gates. Nowhere did he spot Willie or the professor or Duncan.

  “There!” Annie pointed excitedly.

  Alex squinted. In amongst the cluster of people who had taken shelter under the gallows was Willie. “Let's go,” he said.

  Annie was already up and running. “Willie!” she shouted. “Willie!”

  Alex looked back up to the blockhouse. There was still no sign of anyone manning the arrow slits. Where could they have gone? He tugged on Katie's arm. Her glassy eyes looked up at him blankly.

  “Leave me here.” She coughed.

  Alex pulled her up and supported her with his arm. He wanted to run, but the best he could do with Katie hanging from his side was a hobbling walk. Annie and Willie were with the professor and Duncan under the gallows. She rushed out to help Katie.

  Ducking under the platform, Alex cuffed Willie on the shoulder. “Lucky you! How's that for the nick of time?”

  Willie gave Alex a weak smile. His clothes hung in tatters. His eyes had a fearful, anxious look and his hands shook. Alex regretted having made light of the situation.

  The professor clapped his hands. “Come, we'll have to make our way back to the caves now.”

  “But, what about Craig?” Annie cried. “We can't leave without Craig!”

  “I'll stay behind to look for him,” the professor replied. “But first you lot have to get out of here. It's impossible to get everyone together first.”

  “Hesselrigge said the time chamber takes you back in time, not forward,” Alex said. “Who knows where we'll end up if we go there again!”

  The professor paused. “Using the time chamber will be risky, make no mistake. But Hesselrigge has not made a study of it as I have. Where time crosses over with space and energy crosses over with matter, anything is possible. The creators of those caves knew how to bring together fundamental building blocks of this universe and, in so doing, rearrange them in ways our science is only beginning to fathom –”

  “None of that matters if we cannae get out of here,” Duncan cut in impatiently. “We need to wait and see if the stable master and his friends can defeat the soldiers at the gate.”

  “We must find our way into the caves from within the castle,” the professor said. “I know there is a way in, if we just –”

  “The castle! We can't go back there!” Alex was aghast. “Didn't you see Sir James go in there with his men? He will have released Hesselrigge by now. Don't you know what he will do to us?”

  “Ah, but the castle is where he won't expect to find us.”

  Willie's head swiveled from speaker to speaker. “No!” he burst out, his voice shaky. “We can't just hide – we have to get out of here!”

  “And find Craig,” Annie added.

  “We should go back into the castle now,” the professor persisted. “I think I know where the entrance to the caves can be found.”

  “The gates, we've got to get out of the gates!” Duncan shouted.

  Alex put his hands to his head. He felt an overwhelming sense of despair. When they were working together, he was sure, at least, that they were taking the right direction. Now, every direction seemed impossible.

  Hooves thundered on the bridge.

  “Oh, no! They're back already,” Annie cried.

  Riding fully armored, Sir James charged from the blockhouse. He held a huge sword high with one hand, skilfully controlling his spirited horse with the other.

  “That rules out entering the castle,” the professor said sadly.

  Alex knew it also eliminated any chance of overwhelming the soldiers at the gate. Their only hope was to find a place to hide, perhaps in the stables or somewhere in the back of a market stall. Either way, he was sure it would not be long before Hesselrigge found them.

  Sir James drew in his horse while still high on the ramp. The horse reared and he deftly brought it back down. Both the soldiers and the stable master's men stopped to watch as Sir James lifted his helmet off his head and threw it to the ground. There was a stunned silence. Alex moved out from under the platform to see more clearly. Confused, he saw it was not Sir James holding his sword high, it was … could it be?

  “I am William Wallace!” thundered the big man on the horse. He leveled his sword at the soldiers. “My men have taken the castle. Lay down your arms now and ye will not be slain, on that ye have my word.”

  Alex's head spun. It was the same big commanding William Wallace he had met in the rebel camp. Suddenly, he understood. Wallace had tricked his way in, disguised as Sir James – and he'd taken the castle! No wonder he'd seen so many of Wallace's men with the man he thought was Sir James! Joy welled up in Alex – he felt like he was floating.

  The effect of William Wallace's words on the soldiers was remarkable. To a man, they dropped their weapons. The townspeople surrounded them, daggers raised.

  “Stop!” Wallace shouted. “I said these men would be spared, and I mean to keep my word. Open the gates.”

  The gates were opened. Alex's heart soared to see scores of Wallace's men waiting outside.

  “Yes-yes-yes-yes!” Alex whooped, fist in the air. “They did it! The castle is ours!”

  All around, people were pouring into the courtyard, emerging from market stalls and from wherever they had taken refuge. Women waved their shawls, children skipped and danced, and the elderly thrust their staffs to the skies in triumph. Cheers and shouts of “Wallace! Wallace!” and “King John! Long live King John Baliol!” filled the air.

  Alex spotted Sir Ellerslie on horseback, a woman riding sidesaddle before him.

  “Over here!” Alex waved.

  Sir Ellerslie urged his horse forward. The crowd parted, quickly filling in behind him. At first, Alex thought she was the lady he saw with Sir Ellerslie at the rebel camp, but as they approached, he saw she was not.

  Loud and exuberant people jostled them, and Sir Ellerslie pulled up in their midst.

  “Hello, everyone,” he called out. “I believe I have someone here whom ye may know.”

  He sprang from his horse and reached up to assist the woman. She climbed down awkwardly.

  Annie gasped through white knuckles. “Mother?”

  Mrs. McRae took hold of Sir Ellerslie's arm. “But, m'Lord,” she said, looking dazed. “That child seems so very familiar – how can that be?”

  “Is that perhaps your daughter?” Sir Ellerslie asked gently.

  “Is she?” Mrs. McRae stepped forward and squinted. “Oh, I really wish I had my glasses; I can't see a thing without them.” She paused. “Do I have children?”

  Sir Ellerslie shrugged apologetically.

  Tears sprang to Annie's eyes. She rushed to embrace her mother.

  “Wait!” Mrs. McRae cried, regarding the girl that held her tightly. “I do have children – at least I will have them.

  But that will be a long time from now. I won't be having children for hundreds of years!”

  “Mother, it's us,” Annie said, looking up at her tearfully. “We've gone back in time too, and now we're all together again.”

  “It is so nice to meet you. My, you do remind me of the daughter I will have. And look over there – that lad looks like the son I'll have one day.”

  “It's me, Mother. It's Willie.” He held out his hand hesitantly.

  “Willie. What a marvelous name.” Mrs. McRae tousled his hair pleasantly. “I do believe that one day I will name my son after William Wallace.”

  “Some farmers had taken her in,” Sir Ellerslie explained. “Apparently, she had been wandering about lost, cold, and hungry for some time and had become deathly ill. She was babbling about the horrors of hell and other such things.”

  “I didn't deserve to go there – really I didn't.” Mrs. McR
ae pulled at her hair with both fists. “I was just walking my dog. It was his fault. That's right, it was the dog's fault. Maybe he was a little demon sent by the devil to trick me. He led me into that cave….” She sobbed. “I got trapped in there by the rising tide. I was just trying to get out, really I was….”

  “It's okay, Mum,” Annie said, gently pulling down her mother's hands and holding her close. “Don't worry – you're out now. We're all together again.”

  “We are?” Mrs. McRae's glazed eyes slipped into focus for a moment. “Is that really you, my dear, or am I going mad …?”

  Annie's lip quivered. “It's me, Mother, and Willie.”

  “Oh, good.” Mrs. McRae sighed with relief. “I was so worried. But, my how you've grown. You're both so big, I can hardly believe it. Well, let's go do some chores, shall we? It must be time for milking cows.”

  Annie turned to where Katie lay under the platform. “Mum, that's Katie.” She tugged her mother's hand. “We have to get her into a bed – she's not well.”

  Sir Ellerslie called two of Wallace's men. He directed them to take the McRaes to chambers within the castle's inner keep. “William Wallace will want to question them before long. Make sure they are kept comfortable until he arrives.”

  Alex looked hopefully past Sir Ellerslie to where the men had entered the courtyard. Could his parents be among them? A hollow sensation gripped him.

  “Have you seen any others that look like they might not belong?” he asked, not knowing why he did – he already knew the answer. “You know, wearing strange clothes, speaking like me?”

  Sir Ellerslie shifted uncomfortably. “No, sorry.”

  “Are you sure, no one?” Alex fought back tears.

  Swinging back up onto his horse, Sir Ellerslie extended a hand and hoisted Alex up behind him. He gently tugged the reins and turned the horse about. “I am most impressed,” he said. “Ye set out unarmed and single-handed this morning and, over the course of a day, ye raise a fighting force, put many of Hesselrigge's men behind bars, and nearly take the entire castle.”

  “We were done for,” Alex replied. “You came in the nick of time.”