by Kit Morgan
“So much for being sworn to secrecy,” Dallan said. He drained his cup and eyed the teapot. Shona brought it over and poured him a second serving.
“Please understand,” Maddie said. “They told us because they remembered things that happened years ago to Andel and me. Our courtship.” She turned to her husband. “Andel’s origins.”
Dallan nodded. “Aye, but did ye believe them? About what Shona and I can do?”
Andel took a shaky breath. “That you can travel through time as easily as taking a carriage? Yes. I think we’ve always suspected. How else do you two manage to show up just when you’re needed?”
Dallan smiled but said nothing.
“That explains what we do,” Shona said. “But it doesn’t explain how we do it or what we are. Did Grandma or any of the others tell you in their letters, or at least what their guess was?”
Andel and Maddie shook their heads.
Shona glanced at Dallan, who nodded for her to continue. “Then let me explain.” She stood before Andel and Maddie. “We are able to do what we do because of me.” She motioned to Dallan. “Because he and I are joined. We can’t travel through time individually. It takes both of us to make it happen. And it happens because …” She paused.
“Go on, Flower, tell them.”
She swallowed and turned back to Andel and Maddie. “Because I am a Muiraran. Not a human. A member of a completely different race.”
“That’s … preposterous,” Andel said without confidence.
She took a deep breath. “Let me show you.”
Lany rolled his eyes. “Oh, boy, here we go.”
“What is that supposed to mean?” Maddie asked.
Dallan stood before Lany could answer. “Shona.”
She looked over her shoulder at him and waited for the command.
“Show them, lass.” He took two steps forward and repeated the command in Gaelic: “Seall dhaibh, lass.”
Shona began to flux, her features changing from human to the more elfin Muiraran.
Andel was the first to faint.
Chapter Eighteen
Asger waited for his father in the council chamber. When the door opened, he sighed in relief. He wanted to get this over with, go to his own rooms and figure out the mess he was in.
“Your Highness.”
He spun around. “Hal, what are you doing here?”
“I thought I’d find you with your father. Where is he?”
Asger sat in a chair. “I have no idea.” He reached for a goblet on a tray – a servant had brought refreshments earlier. He drank some water, picked up a pear and bit into it.
“I see your enthusiasm for this meeting knows no bounds.” Hal joined him at the council table. “Not that I blame you. You probably feel like you’re about to face a firing squad.”
“That would be preferable to my predicament.” Asger took another bite.
“What predicament? It’s not like you didn’t know this was coming,” Hal said. “I know you think you’ll never love Velta, but you can learn.”
He tossed the pear onto the tray and stood. “And what if I love another?”
Hal stared at him, eyes wide. “Don’t tell me … not the stranger?”
“The stranger, a barmaid …” Asger tossed his hands in the air. “… Lady Mildred …”
“There’s no reason to shout,” Hal said.
Asger ran his hands through his hair. “What’s the matter with me? It’s not been two days and this woman … I can’t get her out of my mind!” He leaned against the table as if he might fall over.
“Are you all right?” Hal asked in alarm and got to his feet.
“Do I look all right?” Asger snapped.
Hal looked him over. “I’m afraid you don’t, my friend. What’s wrong?”
He looked Hal in the eyes. “I don’t know. I only know that when I’m near Mitzi I feel better, and the moment I step away from her I feel horrible pain.”
“Pain?”
“I can’t explain it. It comes out of nowhere and stabs me right in the belly, then the heart. It’s like some invisible assassin is trying to kill me.”
Hal looked into Asger’s goblet. “Maybe you’d better have something stronger than water.”
“Don’t joke, this is serious.” Asger sighed. “After I spoke with Father, I planned to talk to Mitzi. She’s feeling the same things I do. You can’t tell me it’s coincidence – we both recognized it this evening.”
“She feels this pain too?” Hal leaned against the table and rubbed his chin. “Most curious.”
“It’s not just physical pain. There’s an emptiness, a loneliness that threatens to consume me.” He looked into Hal’s eyes again. “It’s the most frightening thing I’ve ever experienced.”
Hal retook his seat. “And you’re sure she’s experiencing these things as well?”
“I confirmed it this evening, and I’ll speak with her about it further.” He looked at the door and back. “But first I must speak with Father. I don’t know what’s keeping him.”
Hal picked up Asger’s half-eaten pear by the stem and twirled it back and forth.
“What are you doing?”
“Well, Their Majesties’ friends the MacDonalds showed up. I recently delivered them to your parents’ private sitting room.”
“What?” Asger headed for the doors.
Hal jumped up and blocked him. “Leave them be, Asger. I don’t know why they’re here, only that unusual things happen when they show up. And I have standing orders from your father that whenever they arrive, they are to be taken directly to him and your mother. If these are important matters that need to be taken care of, let them do so.”
Asger twisted away. “I’d like to see them too. No doubt they have something to do with this. By the way, Albert and Mitzi do know each other and quite well.”
“Are they betrothed? Did he lie to us?”
“No, they’re but fond friends. Still, she was as surprised to see him as he her, and they both told the same story as to how they got here. As far as I can tell, they’re not lying.”
Hal went back to leaning against the table. “This is becoming more curious by the minute. Do you know if your parents have written the MacDonalds about your betrothal to Princess Velta? As I understand it, these friends of theirs offer them counsel.”
“That is true. But as to Mother or Father telling them about my arranged marriage, I couldn’t say. As far as I know, no one was told except my siblings and you and me, but thanks to the servants’ wagging tongues, most of the village knows.”
“After tomorrow it will be all too true. Your betrothal will be announced, the wedding date set and all will know that Dalrovia and Lacona have joined forces. I pray King Bjorn doesn’t get it into his head to usurp Her Majesty.”
“A marriage does not make him king of both kingdoms.”
“No, but it sets things in motion. It might take King Bjorn a little time and a healthy dose of propaganda, but the man could try it. You know it, and I know it.”
“Then why do you insist I marry Velta?” Asger asked.
Hal shook his head. “Because we both know your father and King Bjorn want their kingdoms united, for monetary and military reasons. The rest is just rumor.” He gave Asger an exaggerated wink. “But one never knows. In the meantime, the German threat grows. Are you willing to face them without Lacona’s help?”
“Lacona needs our money to build their might,” Asger said to himself. “They want this to happen too.”
“Exactly. So you see, Your Highness, you must marry Princess Velta. Get this other woman out of your head and your heart, if she’s truly managed to get that far. The lives of thousands depend on it.”
Asger sighed. “Deuce take it, how did I let things get like this?”
Hal laughed. “You carried the woman into the castle, that’s how. Maybe you ought to carry her right back out.”
Asger looked at him, then the doors. “I’m going to find my fath
er.” Before Hal could comment, he was hurrying down the hall.
The first thing Andel saw was Dallan looming over him. He reacted accordingly and swung at him. It was like hitting a tree. “Ow!”
“Dinna fash my friend, I’m used to it. But ye’re not.” He helped Andel to his feet. “Are ye all right, then?”
Andel stared at Dallan, then at Shona, and paled. “What … what is all this?”
Shona and Lany helped Maddie to her feet. She blinked a few times, then looked at Andel. “Don’t you remember?”
“Remember what?”
“The caves. The outlaws. Clear Creek!”
“Dallan, what’s happening?” Lany asked warily.
Shona, still in all her Muiraran glory, gave Andel and Maddie a sympathetic look. “You remember what happened in the caves all those years ago, when Dallan and I first showed up in Clear Creek?”
“I think I do.” Maddie gulped. “The night Cozette and some of the other women and I were kidnapped by those outlaws, there was a … well, it was … big and white and …”
Andel’s eyes popped wide. “A dragon! There was a dragon in those caves!” He glanced at the others. “Wasn’t there?”
Lany sighed in relief. “Well, at least that doesn’t need explaining after all this time.”
“But it does, Master Lany,” Dallan said. “And so do a lot of other things in a very short time.” He went to Andel. “Forget about the dragon ye saw back then, we ken ye’ve arranged a marriage between Asger and a lass from another kingdom. And we ken ye did it because of the threat of war.”
Andel nodded. “I did.” He looked at his wife. “That is, we did. These are uncertain times, Dallan. We can’t take any chances. Dalrovia has a small army, and too much to protect.”
“We ken. But we also have things to protect – your son, for one.”
Maddie stepped forward. “Asger? What are you talking about?”
“Mitzi, the young woman your son brought home?” Shona said. “We brought her here because she’s like me. Mitzi’s Muiraran, not of this world.”
Now Maddie backed up a step. “I think I need to sit down.”
Lany quickly slid a chair behind her. She just as quickly fell into it.
“We brought her for Asger,” Dallan explained. “They’re compatible. One canna live without the other.”
Andel rubbed his temple. “You’re confusing me. She … she’s like Shona?” He pointed at her.
“Yes.” Shona looked at Dallan and back. “My race has two hearts. One of which I share with Dallan.”
Maddie and Andel both looked shocked.
“I was afraid of this,” Lany commented.
“All right, the short version,” Shona said. “There are people like me scattered around the planet in different times. Many of them don’t even know they’re Muiraran – they were stolen as infants and hidden by a very evil man. Several evil men. When one of them reaches a certain age they must marry – we call it ‘joining’ – someone compatible to our inner heart. That inner heart then joins with the other person and together they take care of it.” Her eyes darted between Andel and Maddie, looking for a hint of understanding.
At this point, Maddie was trembling. “And … Asger … is compatible with Mitzi? One of your kind?”
“What does that mean?” Andel wasn’t trembling – he’d shifted into a battle stance. Great.
“It means they must join, or both of them will die. A Muiraran’s inner heart must bond and join with another heart, a Muiraran’s or in some cases a human’s. They must see it through.”
“If they don’t, they die?” Maddie clarified.
Shona looked at the floor. “That’s correct.”
Maddie gasped. “Asger!”
“So d’ye see why yer son canna marry this princess ye picked for him?” Dallan said. “He must join with Mitzi.”
Shona saw their still-shocked faces and tried another approach. “We explained all of this to Colin and Belle. Their son Jefferson was compatible with a Muiraran girl we were charged with.”
“Lorelei?” Maddie whispered.
“Aye, but she has less Muiraran blood than Mitzi.”
Maddie gasped. “Mitzi and Asger have both been in pain. We thought it was because of something they ate, or that they caught something …”
Shona, looking grave, shook her head.
“Why does that happen?” Andel asked. “How do we stop it?”
“We can’t,” Shona said gently. “We let it run its course, see them joined, then let them live a happy life.”
“But that can’t happen,” Andel said. “Asger has been promised to Princess Velta of Lacona. We must see that through.”
“Nae, my friend,” Dallan replied. “Asger must join with Mitzi. I’m afraid ye’ll have to figure out what to do about the other lass.”
“But King Bjorn will be furious! It could mean war! We aren’t equipped to fight Lacona!” Andel got in Dallan’s face. “What have you done to us? What disaster have you brought?”
Shona sighed. “If your son and Mitzi do not join, they will die.”
Andel shut his eyes tight. “If our son does not marry Princess Velta, thousands will die.” He opened his eyes and looked at them. “Which would you have me choose?”
Lany looked at Dallan. “None of us saw this coming.”
“Nae, we didna,” he agreed. “But the bonding is well underway if Asger and Mitzi have been in a lot of pain. There’s no we can do to stop it now.”
Andel’s entire body shook. “Why did you not speak to us about this first? Now you’ve brought ruin to our kingdom!”
Dallan shook his head. “The ruin’s no here yet. We still have time.”
“Time?” Maddie said with a laugh. “King Bjorn will be here tomorrow with the princess. We’re to present Asger to them shortly after they arrive.”
“Isn’t it usually the other way around?” Shona asked.
“No,” Maddie said. “A prince is presented to a princess and tells her why he is worthy of her hand.”
Shona smiled. “Just like a storybook.”
“Are your storybooks full of bloodshed and war?” Andel spun on Dallan again. “This disaster is your fault – fix it!”
Dallan nodded. “Aye, it is. Ye’re right, we should’ve spoken to ye first, explained things, then brought the girl. But to be honest, we didna think ye’d believe us. We wanted to make sure the bonding was in place first.”
“Of course you did,” Andel snapped. “So we couldn’t back out of it, so we’d have no other course but to let them marry or join or whatever you call it. You didn’t expect so many lives to be on the line, did you?”
“You’re upset,” Lany said. “We understand.”
“You stay out of this, Mr. Mosgofian,” Andel bellowed. “And you …” He pointed at Shona.
She arched an eyebrow, looked him in the eyes and began to sing. Andel dropped like a stone.
Lany saw Maddie’s shock and smiled reassuringly. “He’ll be fine, we promise.” He turned to Dallan and Shona. “So any ideas about what to do when he wakes up next time?”
Dallan frowned. “Give me a few moments. I’ll think of something.”
“Well, think fast,” Shona commented. “Because when he does, he’ll be very angry. And I can’t keep knocking him out like that.”
“No, ye canna.” Dallan rubbed his chin. “But can ye help him to see reason?”
“I can try.” She looked at Maddie. “He really is fine.”
Maddie nodded silently.
Shona took Dallan’s hand. “What do we do?”
He heaved a sigh. “Think, that’s what. Think verra hard.”
Lany rolled his eyes. “Why am I not encouraged by that?”
Dallan slapped him on the back. “Weel, I guess it depends on what we think about.”
Lany winced and readjusted his shoulder. “That didn’t help me a bit.”
“Dinna fash, Master Lany. We’ve been in tougher scrapes than
this.”
“Really? Name two.”
“Boys, stop it,” Shona said. “We need to fix this –”
The doors burst open and a handsome young man entered. “Mother!”
“Asger!” Maddie cried.
Lany stared at the newcomer. “Could his timing be any worse?”
“Nae, it’s perfect.” Dallan glanced at Andel on the floor. “Well, except for that.”
“That was my point.” Lany stood in front of Andel’s prone body, as if his thin frame could block it.
“What’s going on here?” Asger asked.
Maddie hurried over and flung her arms around her son. “Oh, Asger!”
“Mother, what is it? What’s going on?”
She looked into his eyes. “We have a problem.”
Shona quickly joined them, her features human again. “One that we will explain at length. Right now, your father seems to have, um, passed out.”
Asger took one look at Andel and gasped. “What happened?”
“It’s as Shona says,” said Maddie. “And your father is fine.”
Asger stared at his father’s unconscious form. “He doesn’t look fine.”
“Trust me, he is.” Maddie looked at Shona and blinked a few times. She’d just noticed her features had gone back to normal. “Help me get him into bed.”
“I’ll do it.” Dallan picked Andel up like he was a child and headed for the other room.
“Mother,” Asger said in alarm. “What happened?”
“Your father’s fine,” Shona assured him, hoping it would stick. This was turning into a big mess. “We seem to have disrupted your household, but we’ll explain everything as soon as we can. Right now, the best thing for your father is rest.”
“Is he sick?” Asger asked, resting his hand on his belly.
Shona spotted it, smiled, then quickly covered her mouth to hide it. “He’s quite well. I’m afraid we gave him a bit of a shock.” She looked guiltily at Maddie. They’d screwed up again. If only this matchmaking business came with a set of rules or a guide book – then maybe this sort of thing wouldn’t keep happening. For now, they’d just have to deal with it.