Warning: This chapter is rated M for domestic violence.
Chapter 34: 2:36
Adair came walking down the steps in her blue ensemble, lacking the warrior face paint and celtic knots in her hair. Patrick was waiting for her and offered his arm. "Ya ready?" he asked.
Adair stared at his arm. "What are you doing?"
Patrick raised a brow in amusement. "Offering my arm."
"For what purpose?"
Patrick chuckled and intertwined his arm with hers. "Just because."
Adair smiled at him and nodded. "Okay."
"So, where should we go first?"
Adair squinted an eye as she thought for a moment. They both left the hotel and started walking down the street. "I want to try something called pie."
Patrick laughed. "Okay, I know just the place."
"What's that, Daddy?" Junior said as he pointed at an animal, sitting on his father's shoulders.
"That's a giraffe," Arthur replied.
"Oooooh." Junior took a bite of his fairy floss and licked his lips. "Yummy."
Arthur walked along with Dutch, Hosea and Aoífe in the African exhibit section of the zoo. They'd been there for hours and Arthur was surprised the kids weren't tired yet. "Ain't this the life, Arthur?" Dutch asked. "Goin' through a zoo with the kids, not lookin' over our shoulders anymore as outlaws?"
"Sure is," Arthur replied.
Hosea had Aoífe on his own shoulders. "Seanathair! Look!" she squealed. "Doggies!"
Hosea looked over at what she was pointing at and chuckled. "Actually, those are hyenas, dear."
Arthur looked over at the animals and smiled. "Funny lookin', ain't they Aoífe?"
"Pretty."
Arthur chuckled and they went to the last African exhibit. It was a bunch of monkeys. Aoífe and Arthur Jr. clapped their hands in excitement and Arthur smiled to himself. He was extremely happy with his life. This was definitely better than being an outlaw or a miner. "Hey, you got that map of the zoo, Dutch?"
Dutch nodded and pulled out the zoo map. He started skimming it. "Where would you like to go next?"
Hosea glanced at the map. "Oh look. They have a petting zoo with farm animals. Let's go there."
The family left the exhibit and walked down the pathway towards the petting zoo. Arthur saw goats, pigs, chickens, sheep, and the kids squealed in delight. The men entered the goat pen and set the kids down. "Okay kids, go say hello to some goats," Arthur said.
Junior gave Arthur his fairy floss and both the kids went waddling over to some baby goats to pet them. Arthur smiled as he leaned his back against the wooden railing. Dutch and Hosea did the same. "Now who would've thought we'd be livin' life like this, Hosea? Going to not only Ireland, but England too? And meeting a king and queen!"
Hosea chuckled. "I know. I never expected anything like this. What about you, Arthur?"
Arthur looked at the men. "Me neither, but I'm just happy I got a second chance, you know?"
Dutch nodded with a grunt. "We all got a second chance."
Arthur chuckled and looked over at his kids. Junior was facing off with a goat. The goat knocked into his stomach and knocked him over, making him cry. Arthur jogged over and picked him up. "Jesus, you okay Junior?"
Junior kept crying as Arthur hugged him. Aoífe saw what was happening and scolded the goat. "Bad!" she yelled, pointing at the animal. She stormed away from it to her father then she clung to his leg. "Bad animal, Daddy."
Arthur laughed as he comforted his wailing son. "Yes. Bad animal."
Patrick watched with a pleased expression as Adair stuffed her face with pork pie. He took a bite of his own then looked at his timepiece. It was almost noon. "Are ya enjoying yer pie?"
"Yes!" Adair said with her mouth full.
Patrick snickered at her. "Ya eat like Lilly."
"How's that?"
"Like a little piglet."
Adair smirked at him, took a small bit of crust from her pie and threw it at Patrick. "Shut up."
Patrick caught the crust and chuckled. He watched Adair finish her pork pie then she leaned back and rubbed her belly. "Mmm, that was delicious."
Patrick took another bite of his pie, chewed, then swallowed. "Yes, pork pie is a popular dish here."
Adair took a drink of her tea and smiled. "The tea is fantastic, too!" Suddenly she started sniffing the air.
"What are ya doing, lass?" Patrick asked her with a quizzical brow.
"I smell something good." She got up and started following the smell. Patrick watched in embarassment as she went to someone's table, bent down and sniffed their food. "Ooooh, what is that?"
The lady at the table gasped at the behavior and Patrick got up. "I beg your pardon, miss!" the woman snapped. "Get away from my food!"
Patrick quickly grabbed Adair's arm and pulled her up. "My apologies, madam. She's uh...of a different culture."
Patrick started dragging her back to the table. "But wait, I want what she was having!"
Patrick sighed. "Okay, I think it's time tah go. I have other places tah show ya."
Patrick paid for the meal and they walked out of the restaurant. Adair pouted at him. "But I want more pie."
Patrick frowned at her. "Ys canna just go around smelling other people's food."
"Why not?"
"It's rude."
"Oh. I'm sorry."
Patrick sighed. "Over five thousand years old and yer mannerisms are like a child's."
Adair scowled at him. "Now who's being rude?"
Patrick gave her a frown. "I'm not trying to be rude, lass. I'm merely surprised at how...innocent ya are with proper decorum."
"Well, I never liked mingling with mortals so I never did it that much."
"Why's that?"
"Because people are nasty creatures."
Patrick burst out laughing. "I canna argue with that. Come on, let's go get you some dessert," he said, hooking her arm with his.
"Ooooh, I love sweets."
Arthur, Dutch and Hosea returned from the zoo to his hotel room. The kids were passed out in Dutch and Hosea's arms. Arthur opened the door to the sitting room and the grandfathers laid the kids down in their bassinets. They left quietly and shut the doors. "Well that was fun," Dutch whispered. "I hope they have a zoo in Scotland. Which city are we goin' to?"
"Edinburgh."
"Ah. Well, Hosea, we better start packin'."
Hosea and Dutch left the room and Arthur spotted a note on the nnightstand. He went and read it.
Arthur,
Adair and Patrick went out on the town. We'll be back later.
Lilly
P.S. Tá grá agam duit. [I love you.]
Arthur smiled at the note and sat on the bed. There were scratching noises at the door and Arthur walked over. He opened the door to see Brian and James and arched his eyebrows. "Hey boys. You have a good time huntin'?"
The boys came in and Arthur shut the door. He decided to start packing for their trip to Edinburgh. As he did, though, a memory flash hit him. It was when Lilly was burning at the stake. Then more memory flashes hit and he shook his head, stumbling over to the bed. More kept coming and it hurt his brain. His whole life flashed before his eyes and he suddenly remembered everything. Arthur laughed a little. He was finally his old self...but then he remembered what his wife had been doing while he was in Annesburg and he instantly became livid. She broke their vows and while that discussion had already been covered, it tore open a wound that only just scabbed over. Arthur sat on the bed and held his head, bending down at the waist. After a few moments, a thought crossed his mind. Maybe he should take the kids and go to Darach ar an gCnoc...or maybe to America. Maybe Lilly and him should get a divorce.
No. First he would listen to what she had to say, but he got up and started packing his things. And to mention divorce to her again, well...could he even do that to her? Could he really question the strength of their bond? And he had slept with other women, so he wasn't exactly in the right...but that was different. Arthur had no clue he broke his vows, but Lilly wasn't the one with the memory problem. She knew full well what she'd done even though she thought Arthur was dead. No, he couldn't keep thinking this way. She'd almost tried to kill herself, she'd had bad dreams about him, and she became an alcoholic over his death. But there was something new to consider. Adair and Patrick were possibly alone together at this moment...or had Lilly lied in her note? Was she still cheating? He was being paranoid, he felt, but Arthur couldn't help himself. He walked out of the room and went to Patrick's door. He knocked a few times but there was no answer. They must have been out still.
He walked back to his room and went back to packing. When that was done, he went to the sitting room to check on the bairns. They were still asleep. He went to the bar and grabbed a glass and a bottle of bourbon. He took a shot and set it down. Arthur poured another glass and drank. By his fifth shot, he checked his watch. It was two thirty six. Arthur heard the door open and shut. Lilly was home. He poured another glass and walked to the sitting room door to see Lilly changing from last night's clothes. He watched her take off the dinner jacket and he stared at her scars. He leaned against the door frame and when she took off the pants, Arthur ahemed to get her attention. Lilly turned around and smiled at him.
"Hey. How was the zoo?" she asked. When he didn't answer, Lilly frowned and spotted the drink in his hand. "Rough day?"
Arthur took a drink before shutting the sitting room doors with the boys in that room. He approached Lilly with a calm anger. "Where were you?"
Lilly arched a brow. "Didn't you see my note?"
"Yes, but I'm asking where you were."
"Oh." Lilly walked over to her chest and browsed around for clothes. "Well, Patrick took Adair out for pork pie, then for chocolate, then they went for a walk in Hyde Park. After that, I stopped by Buckingham Palace and had a talk with the king. You know," she grabbed a maroon colored shirt and slipped it on, "he actually apologized for touchin' me." Lilly began to button up as she turned to Arthur.
"Did he?"
"Mm hmm. The man isn't so bad, I guess. A lot of people like him."
Arthur scoffed. "Do you? Did you let him touch you again or did it go further?"
Lilly finished buttoning her shirt and gave him a confused look. "What the hell kind of question is that?" She shifted around to look for pants, Arthur guessed.
He approached her and stood behind her. "Did you fuck the king?"
Lilly sighed and grabbed blue jeans, then put them on. "I'm blamin' the drink for your questions."
Arthur grabbed her arm aggressively and forced her to turn around, glaring into her face. "I asked you a god damn question, woman."
"No, I didn't fuck the king. What is wrong with you?"
"Did you fuck Patrick today?"
Lilly's mouth dropped. "Are ya bein' serious? Arthur, what's wrong?"
"Answer the fucking question!" Arthur snapped.
"No, I didn't! Now stop bein' an arse and-"
Something came over him and Arthur suddenly slapped Lilly in the face. making her yelp in surprise. "Don't lie to me, you god damn whore!"
Lilly stared at him in disbelief. "I'm not lyin'!" What the hell did he just do? Why did he slap her? This wasn't like Arthur to hit his own wife no matter how mad he got at her, but this was a powerful anger that seemed beyond his control. He grabbed her and threw her to the floor. "Arthur! Stop it!"
The wolves started barking and clawing at the sitting room door. The bairns started crying but Arthur ignored them as he stalked his wife. "I remember everythin', Lillian. How could you cheat on me?"
Lilly got up and glared at him. "We already had this discussion! Now stop! You're scarin' the-"
"I don't care! This is different now!" He slapped her again and she cried out as she hit the wall. Brian and James started growling and the babies cried even louder, but Arthur continued to ignore it as he saw only his wife before him. "You fucking slut!"
Lilly scoffed and shoved Arthur across the room. "Just what do ya think yer doin' slappin' me about like an abusive husband?! What the fuck is wrong with ya?!"
Arthur only got angrier as he marched over to her and back handed her so hard she hit the floor. He grabbed Lilly and threw her into the wall. Lilly cried out when he pinned her and started choking her. She struggled in his grasp and fought to breathe. "I'm allowed to discipline my cheatin' wife! And this is the way I'm goin' about it!"
Tears fell down Lilly's face as she clawed at his hands. "Mo chuisle, please...I...didn't...I swear..." she uttered through a closed throat.
"Don't you call me that, woman!"
"Arthur...yer eyes...what's...wrong with...yer eyes?"
Arthur blinked. He glanced at a mirror and saw his eyes were pitch black. What the hell? He let go of Lilly and she collapsed to the ground, holding her throat and choking. Arthur walked over to the mirror to examine himself. He'd seen the same thing with Lilly when Willow attacked her with a dark orb. His eyes suddenly returned to normal and his anger left him to be replaced by guilt and shock at what he had just done. He looked at Lilly who was staring at him bug eyed and with tears streaming down her face.
"Jesus Christ, Lillian...I...I don't know what-"
"Shut up!" she sobbed. "Just shut up!" Arthur went to her but she got up and shoved him away. "Stay away from me!"
Arthur watched as Lilly ran to the sitting room and opened the doors. Brian and James came bolting out and growled at Arthur. He put his hands up and frowned. "Lilly, I don't know what just happened, but that was not me, I swear!"
"I said shut up!" Lilly picked up Aoífe and Arthur Jr. "Brian, James, let's go!"
"Lilly, I'm so sorry! I don't know what's wrong with me! Please believe me!" Arthur begged.
There was a knock on the door and Lilly walked to it. Arthur went to touch her but the boys snapped at him angrily with a snarl. Arthur backed up as the boys cornered him towards the wall. Lilly opened the door and Patrick was there.
"Hey, I forgot to...oh my God, Lilly. What happened?" Lilly ran out of the room with the babies and Arthur lowered his head as Brian and James went after her. He looked at his hands as Patrick approached him. "What happened, Arthur?"
Arthur sat on the bed. "What have I done? I..." he looked up at Patrick with a stunned look. "I just beat her...and I don't know why."
Patrick inched closer and looked at Arthur's eyes. "You did what?!"
"I-I-I don't know what got into me, but I beat her up. What..." Arthur grasped his hair as his eyes began to water. "What have I done?"
I know this chapter ended a little dark, but he did get hit with a dark orb in the last chapter and that makes people go a little cuckoo. I hope that explains why Arthur went on a rampage even though it was very uncharacteristic of him. Anyway, let me know what you think, guys. Fav, follow, review, and thanks for reading!
