And thrones.
A man with burden and purpose wanted safety. Tae ken a certain peace. Life these days seemed tae be a quest for strikin’ balance between the purpose and burden and peace, tae hae balance of all.
I had achieved it, yet...
Long live the king, long live the king, long live the king, echoed still.
The shifting sands of time seemed tae be signaling that the balance was becoming dislodged.
I returned Jack tae his bed.
And returned tae m’own.
As I climbed in under the covers, Kaitlyn mumbled, “You’re cold.”
“Aye, I need yer warmth.” I pulled her hips close, and settled m’mouth beside her ear. She woke up kindly, and warmed me mercifully, providin’ the release I needed tae return tae sleep, m’arms around her in the darkness of our room. A guard stood on the roof, the bairns slept soundly down the hall. All was well, the balance of burden and purpose and peace achieved.
The following morn I was early in the gym, workin’ out.
Fraoch, James, and Quentin came in a bit later, tossin’ their towels on the equipment, using dumbbells tae warm up their shoulders. Lochinvar entered, “Everyone here already?”
“Aye.”
Quentin sat down on the bench and put on gloves. “Did you guys feel anything weird last night?”
I was curling. I said, “Aye, I had fitful dreams, I was up more than I slept.”
Quentin lay back and pressed 225 pounds for a few reps, with Fraoch spotting. Then he re-racked it, sat up, and toweled off his face. “It made me think of using the Trailblazer, same sensation, much vaguer, but still, the same...”
My brow drew down. “Anyone else notice that sensation?”
Lochinvar shook his head, “But what would I know? I slept like a log, woke early for guard duty, dinna feel anythin’ but a headache.”
Fraoch said, “The headache is part of it.”
“Tis? Then I change m’answer, aye, I noticed it.”
James said, “I didn’t notice anything, but Sophie said the baby was really active, she barely slept.”
Fraoch said, “My knees ached.”
Lochinvar said, “Because ye are auld.”
“Tis not, tis because the weather is changin’ and not the normal kind of weather, the weather of time.”
James laughed. “That’s still because you’re old, young people don’t feel weather in their knees.”
“I am verra certain I am only a few years older than ye, James Cook.”
Lochinvar said, “A few centuries beyond that...”
While they argued, a common practice while workin’ out, I did more curls, up and down, up and down. Then I put the weights down and moved tae the bench. “I had a dream, where I was a king of an ancient land, and the people were chantin’, ‘Long live the king!’”
They all turned tae look at me.
Fraoch slid another plate on the bar. “An ancient land? Dinna that happen once afore?”
I nodded. “Aye, I feel certain of it. I was called Mag Mòr. I was crowned king at Scone.”
