AGELESS CAMPAIGN, Episode II, Part VI.

[orchid blossom]

While looking at the painting Callum says, "Mary Stuart had that painted, it was her vision. She saw the division between wizard and clerical magic as a temporary one, feeling that in a short while it would end and all magic would be accepted by all nations. She wanted to create a special place here, twenty miles east of Paris, where all magic would be studied and celebrated. She called it her Magic Kingdom. That castle was to be the centerpiece, created from the description of the castle in the classic fairy tale Sleeping Beauty."

"I wish her dream had come true. This separation is ridiculous. People are people, we will separate and divide ourselves by whatever lines we can find. But it still astonishes me how far people will go to destroy what they don't understand. When I come upon something I don't understand, my first instinct is to try to understand it."

She looked at the painting for another moment. "Don't you have to get something else to wear beside that Legionnaire's uniform?"

 

[Silver Moon]

"I wish her dream had come true. This separation is ridiculous. People are people, we will separate and divide ourselves by whatever lines we can find. But it still astonishes me how far people will go to destroy what they don't understand. When I come upon something I don't understand, my first instinct is to try to understand it."

"The real irony is that that it probably would have if it wasn't for her own impatience. During the reign of her son King James I all of that could have been accomplished if it had not been for Mary's treason against Queen Elizabeth. That created such a delicate political situation for James that he was forced to abandon any interest in what was viewed as "his mother's evil magic" and embrace clerical magic. So she was her own worst enemy, and it cost her everything."

She looked at the painting for another moment. "Don't you have to get something else to wear beside that Legionnaire's uniform?"

He looks down at this clothing and laughs "I had completely forgotten I was wearing this! I will be right back." He heads up the staircase.

 

[orchid blossom]

"So she was her own worst enemy, and it cost her everything."

He looks down at this clothing and laughs "I had completely forgotten I was wearing this! I will be right back." He heads up the staircase.

Abby moved over to the statue to examine it. "Her own worst enemy. Aren't we all?" she said quietly.

She couldn't help but imagine what it would be like to live here, like this. To have the power to affect the lives of so many with the smallest decisions. It wasn't that she wasn't familiar with it, she had spent her life examining the past and it was a primer on the power of the noble over the common. But what was it like to be the nobility? Was her own America's system any better, with it's shouting and chaos? America had her own noble and powerful after all, still affecting the common. At least the common had a slim chance of fighting back.

Abby shook her head. Deciding whether she wanted the man would be far easier than if she wanted the life. And even if he offered it to her, his family could decide to deny it to them both. "Don't get ahead of yourself," she said quietly. "It's just a night out."

 

[Silver Moon]

Abby looks over at the tapestries. The east wall has two large ones, both of which appear to have been from the time of Mary Stuart and one possibly earlier. The first depicts the Battle of Bannockburn from 1314, when Scotland gained its independence from England. An army of Scots wearing great kilts of the Stewart tartan follow Robert the Bruce into battle.

Abigail saw many questionable things in this particular tapestry. Several types of the pole arms and armor depicted are of styles beyond the 14th century, the Stewarts were allies of Robert the Bruce but not his primary force, and no Scotsman would have actually worn his great kilt into battle, it was his most prized possession and he would not want to have gotten it torn or bloodied. It would have been left neatly folded back at his base camp, where it could be later passed down to his son if he died in battle.

The other tapestry on this wall depicts the Coronation of King Francis II of France. The artist here did a remarkable job of accuracy, as both Mary Stuart and her husband look very much the teenagers that they were at the time, rather than the older depictions usually done of royalty.

 

[orchid blossom]

Abigail saw many questionable things in this particular tapestry. Several types of the polearms an armor depicted are of styles beyond the 14th century, the Stewarts were allies of Robert the Bruce but not his primary force, and no Scotsman would have actually worn his great kilt into battle, it was his most prized possession and he would not want to have gotten it torn or bloodied. It would have been left neatly folded back at his base camp, where it could be later passed down to his son if he died in battle.

Abby chuckled a bit as she examine the tapestry. Depicting the Stuarts in their tartans she could forgive, it was the easiest way for the tapestry-maker to identify just who was rushing into battle. Like all families though, the exploits of Stuarts past seemed to have grown in the retelling. The weapons... well, she supposed someone sewing a tapestry might not have the greatest of familiarity with weapons two centuries older than the sewer.

The other tapestry on this wall depicts the Coronation of King Francis II of France. The artist here did a remarkable job of accuracy, as both Mary Stuart and her husband look very much the teenagers that they were at the time, rather than the older depictions usually done of royalty.

It was always strange when people she thought of as historical figures appeared younger than she was now. Becoming a monarch must have been a tremendous burden for both of them at such a young age.

 

[Silver Moon]

The west wall has three tapestries that are of more recent vintage. The largest one is similar in size to those on the east wall and is situated between the two doors. It depicts the Stuart family monarchs who ruled England as well as Scotland in chronological order: King James I, Charles I, Charles II, James II, William III & Mary II, and finally Queen Anne.

To the right of the northern door on this wall is a tapestry that was obviously commissioned by Charles Edward Stuart, as it shows two men, King Robert II of Scotland, who founded the House of Stuart standing beside Charles Edward Stuart wearing his full Jacobite attire. It is a very flattering depiction of the young man.

Abigail is rather surprised at the final tapestry along the southern end of that wall. It also features Charles Stuart in his Jacobite attire, but is far from flattering. It depicts the Battle of Culloden in 1746, where Scotland lost its independence, and shows the British redcoats defeating the Scots while Charles Stuart is abandoning his troops and running away.

 

[orchid blossom]

Abigail is rather surprised at the final tapestry along the southern end of that wall. It also features Charles Stuart in his Jacobite attire, but is far from flattering. It depicts the Battle of Culloden in 1746, where Scotland lost its independence, as hows the British redcoats defeating the Scots while Charles Stuart is abandoning his troops and running away.

Abby spent a bit longer looking at this last tapestry. Whoever had placed this here, she guessed they'd felt the need for a reminder that the noble family of Stuart had not always comported itself at its best. Or perhaps they felt the incident was so well known that its exclusion would cause more notice than its inclusion.

 

[Silver Moon]

Abby spent a bit longer looking at this last tapestry. Whoever had placed this here, she guessed they'd felt the need for a reminder that the noble family of Stuart had not always comported itself at its best. Or perhaps they felt the incident was so well known that its exclusion would cause more notice than its inclusion.

Meghan comes down the stairs carrying an ice blue gown as Abby is looking at the last tapestry. "There's an interesting story behind that one," she states. "When Charles Stuart was getting on in years, in his sixties and living in Rome, his health began to fade. He convinced his illegitimate daughter Charlotte, who had been born to a Scottish merchant family, to come and be his nurse by legally legitimizing her.

My Grandfather, Charles Godefrey Sophie Jules de Rohan, was thirty-five at the time and became furious, as Charles Stuart had never done the same for him. So he had that tapestry commissioned and unveiled in a public ceremony, to embarrass his father. He tried to donate it to several museums for public viewing, but nobody in Paris wanted to display a depiction of a British victory, so it remains here."

 

[orchid blossom]

He tried to donate it to several museums for public viewing, but nobody in Paris wanted to display a depiction of a British victory, so it remains here."

Abby couldn't help it, she had to chuckle. "Families are families, noble or common. Although I suppose a noble family can make a much larger gesture out of their anger.

"I can't imagine how many gowns you must have if you had some the exact color I wanted."

 

[Silver Moon]

"I can't imagine how many gowns you must have if you had some the exact color I wanted."

Meghan says, "Most of mine are shades of blue or green, if you had asked for one in any of the fire shades you would have been out of luck." She hands Abby the dress and tells her to hold it before her. Meghan then casts an incantation, the words being a distinctive mix of Gaelic, French and Atlantian, after which Abigail is now wearing the gown and holding the clothing that she had on before. She also notes that it has even been altered to fit perfectly, even though she and Meghan had somewhat different body sizes.