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“By sendin’ spies ta keep tabs on ye,” Murdoc replied.

“Again wit this,” Skye muttered in exasperation.

“If that’s all they’re ordered to do.. Marco brainwashed one of the Scouts, a Tamer named Raymond. He’s been with me for three years, and was a good soldier.. Marco’s gonna pay for this..”

Tidas’ words were filled with hostile intent, which worried Skye greatly. If he openly threatened Marco in front of anyone but who was present, he could be charged with treason, and conspiracy to commit regicide.

After she had insisted on knowing the whole situation, Tidas told Skye everything. From Zazzy telling her about the spy, to the conversation, all the way to Arthur reading the scroll out loud. Amara and Gavin had even quit their bickering to listen to his tale.

Hearing about the letter’s contents made Skye almost as furious as Tidas, except she knew that she’d never chose to be with Marco for any reason. Even if the creep tried to use his powers on her again, Skye knew how to counter it..

‘Hell will come ta Alcon before I Ever touch that man willingly..’

“Like hell that asshat’s gonna rule anythin’, or anyone through me! Murdoc is King! He’ll have ta go about it like any other ruler!” Skye yelled, frustrated that Marco wasn’t just a regular person that she could beat the crap out of.

.....

As Skye ranted, Amara and Gavin shared a worried glance between themselves. Skye had told her about Marco’s advances he’d made on her, and Tidas had told Murdoc mostly the same thing. The only difference was that Skye was still na?ve enough to think all he wanted was her power.

All three Highlanders had discussed what they should do when the current king died. Magnus would keep his word and honor the treaty, but they didn’t believe Marco would. If it came down to the worst case scenario; they could always revert to their yearly skirmish wars, but another option was emerging..

Skye had the Northern right to the throne, and Tidas had the Southern right to the throne; should Marco not be able to fulfill his kingly duties. From their own reconnaissance they knew that the people preferred Tidas, and that the majority of nobles supported the Crowned Prince.

The Highlanders knew their history, and knew that if the people of a kingdom or nation were mistreated enough; revolutions happened. If Marco turned out to be a tyrant, then it would be easy for the Highlanders and the general populace to rally behind Skye and Tidas.

The nobles may have money, but Skye could single-handedly feed an army, and Tidas was a proven leader of one. If it weren’t for Alcon’s pre-established alliances with the Ruscovic and Meccano kingdoms, they might actually win..

The Highlanders didn’t know who the middle brother would side with, even though Petrie said that he felt that King Lawrence would side with Tidas. He’d said that working together during the Summer Games had given him a small understanding of their brotherly bond. According to Petrie: neither liked the oldest.

That gave Murdoc hope for when he approached the Ruscovic King this summer. The more alliances he could create with other kingdoms, the more secure the Highlands would become.. ‘Establishin’ a kingdom is easy, it’s the maintainin’ part that’s hard..’

As Skye calmed down from her rant, Tidas asked what they were doing; drawing Murdoc from his thoughts...

Gavin beamed as he enthusiastically replied; “We’re doin’ experiments!”

Amara scoffed; “Ha! Skye’s doin’ an experiment, you were tryin’ ta kill us!”

“I already said I was sorry! What more do ye want from me, woman!” Gavin yelled back.

Amara’s ball-up fists went to her hips in a very Peggy-like fashion as she chewed out Gavin again. It made Skye think of her, and how this would be her first Yuletide away from her. A sharp pain rippled through her heart as she thought about Moonshire, and Moonstone castle tressed up for the holiday..

‘I hope Peggy went home fer the holidays.. I shoulda ordered her ta go back ta Da’s after she recovered.. Ah, but she and Genie thought that they’d be takin’ care of Zazzy while we were away..’

Skye couldn’t help but giggle as she imagined Genie’s face again. It helped her to feel better, and to focus on the time and place she was now. However, still in need of further distraction; Skye interrupted Gavin and Amara’s arguing.

“Before Gavin tried ta kill us, long story short: we figured out that the paralysis effect of the sludge can be nullified by findin’ it’s opposing energy signature on the magical energy spectrum.”

Murdoc, Tidas, and Ralph stared at Skye with obvious confusion, so Skye added with a deflated expression; “We made a fake Light magic machine so our soldiers won’t get stuck in monster muck..”

Enthusiasm shined in their eyes as the implication clicked into place. Light magic was rarest next to Water and Ether magic, and the only two mages that Skye knew existed were from the Meccano Kingdom, and Warrick Forest. Skye had never met the mage from Meccano, but had heard of him.

Celestia was the other, and Skye liked her very much. She had heard that the Meccano mage was a good and just man, and one of the few that openly challenged Karena’s brother’s rulings. He was a Duke, and an indispensable asset to their military might, so the Meccano King couldn’t just make him disappear like so many of his other ‘troubles’ did.

Without Light magic, they wouldn’t stand a chance against Richard, and still didn’t know of a definitive way to kill him yet. Murdoc kept saying something about a big red button, but Skye brushed it off when she had asked if it would cause damage..

Murdoc turned grumpy when Skye said it wasn’t a viable option; “What would it matter if the Old Capital is blown away? Tis nothin’ but a gateway ta Hell anymore..”

Skye sighed out of exasperation; “Because it’s a piece of our history, and I don’t wanna take it away from future generations. I should be able ta clean up the mess-”

Murdoc huffed; “But what of the restless souls that’ll definitely be stuck there?! How do ye plan ta ‘clean’ them up?!” Murdoc asked with a strain to his voice.

“What’s the matter, Murdoc? Don’t like ghosts?” Tidas teased.

With a completely serious expression, Murdoc looked at Tidas and said; “No I do not.. They’re not pleasant ta meet, least not the one..”

Tidas looked at him skeptically; “You’ve seen a ghost?”

“Not seen ’em, just felt their angry presence. The house I live in has one. Likes ta break me things when I’m home, so I know it was the one who done it..”

Skye stepped forward a bit; “Did it start on the sixth day after ye moved in?”

Murdoc looked at her with obvious surprise as he nodded in the positive. Skye chuckled for a moment, then said; “Ye ain’t got a ghost, ye got a pissed off House Brownie..”

“Set out a plate wit some sweet snacks, a roll of gold-colored thread, and a jug of cream, and all yer troubles will stop. Keep feedin’em once a day, and they’ll do a goodly portion of yer housework for ye, too.”

Murdoc’s jaw dropped. His family home had a Brownie in it, but he didn’t think about it when he moved. He had donated it to the Highlander Historical Preservation Society, but still had large amount of sweets delivered every other day.

The Brownies kept the place clean, and he got a nice check for for unloading his troubles. The Campbell House should’ve been called a mansion, it was so big. It took most of Murdoc’s earnings just to maintain the damn thing, and that was after closing off a bunch of the wings.

Both the Campbells and Winchesters had owned it over the centuries, so it was a historical landmark to their kingdom. It made Murdoc happy to know that his childhood home was still available for him to see, just without having to pay to maintain it.

As Skye told Murdoc how to appease his angry brownies, Tidas considered the conversation awaiting him when he returned..

‘The RMC Generals will want answers, but what am I to say? My brother covets my wife, and wants to rule the Highlands through her?! ..They’ve probably already figured that part out. It’s not like anyone around here kept her bloodline a secret..’

‘So what do I say? Do I just be honest? That will most likely put them all in danger.. But they’re already in danger because of what they know.. What’s the right corse of action here?’

Seeing her husband’s distress, Skye walked back over to stand at his side while Ralph told Murdoc about the Brownie spies that the Fae used. Tidas had told him about them along the trip, and that Aero had assigned a few to follow Marco. He didn’t tell Murdoc that detail, but he did tell him everything else that he knew about them.

They talked for a bit about unimportant things before switching back to the subject at hand. Skye said it would take them a while to build all of the machines they would need to go up against Richard, but they knew what they were doing now.

After Skye helped clean up the mess a bit, she, Tidas, Murdoc, and Ralph all headed back to the bunker to deal with their next situation. The group took their time walking back so they could talk options. After all was said and done: they decided to be honest with the RMC Members..

Tidas didn’t tell them of the various plots that he knew his brother had had a hand in, but what he had said still riled up his men. Most had heard the rumors that Skye was the Crowned Prince’s lover, but none believed it, even before. Anyone that spent five minutes with the two could clearly see how in love they were with each other.

As he spoke, Tidas had made it clear that Marco would kill them if he knew that they knew what kind of a person he really was. A few of the soldiers even had horror stories of their own to share about their personal encounters with Marco.

It made Tidas think of when he had saved Lieutenant Radcliff from him. As the memory popped into his mind, the details about the magistrate seemed blurred to him. To the point that he couldn’t remember most of the details about him, or the incident with Alfred.

As realization dawned on him, Tidas muttered; “Son ofa bitch..”

“What’s wrong?” Skye asked.

Tidas shook his head as he replied; “Just need to check some things in my personal journals after we get home..”