7 September, 2165

Maidie's Flat, Edinburgh, Scotland

MAEVIS POV

Maevis yawned and stretched as she overcame her jetlag, having only just returned to Scotland after making arrangements to take a semester off of school to focus on finding her mother. When she left the guest room in Maidie's flat, she was surprised to find a cork board standing against the wall and both Maidie and Rory standing over a table filled with documents and the like. She raised an eyebrow as she glanced at the board, which was divided into four sections: 1740s, 1750s, 1760s and 1770s. "What's going on?" she asked the pair of them, and Maidie paused in the midst of pinning something to the '1760s' portion of the board.

"We figured we would organise what we know about Cat and see if we can pinpoint where she might've gone," Maidie explained to her.

"She must have gone back te Jamie, aye?" Rory chimed in.

"I thought we established it would be 1766," Maevis said with confusion.

"Oh, we did, Duckie. That's what I was just pinning to the timeline here," she said, pinning a notecard to the board. Maevis approached it to read the three postcards that were up there already:

May 1743 - Cat arrives in 18th century through Craigh na Dun

October 1751 - Cat leaves 18th century through Pobull Fhinn

October 1766 - Cat arrives in 18th century in Edinburgh (through what?)

"Huh," she said as she examined the notecards, and Maidie pinned two under the 1770s section: 1770 - Brèagha stops painting in Barra. Moves somewhere? and 1773 - Cailean gives up Laird title and moves to North Carolina.

"It's strange, isn't it? Cailean giving up his title to move to North Carolina, of all places," she said.

"That's my part of the research today," Rory chimed in. "Once we iron out what we know fer certain, I'm going to the archives te see if I can find any reason why Cailean would have gone te North Carolina."

"His name might be on a ship's log," Maidie told him.

"Most likely. I'll look. I doubt any ships left from Barra te go to America, so he would have had te have gone through a different port, like Inverness or Edinburgh, Dundee, Fife, maybe even Oban," Rory replied. "But the main question is, why North Carolina? What was there in 1773?"

"I dunno," Maevis replied, picking up a stack of notecards. On it were things like Archie being born in 1743, Brèagha being born in 1746, Eairdsidh Ruadh dying in 1759, and so on. Brèagha would have been twenty-three in 1770, so it was possible she married, but there wasn't any mention of the marriage in the family bible. "What… What if Mama's there?" Maevis said suddenly, looking up at both Maidie and Rory. "Well, why else would Cailean go to North Carolina for no reason other than to be with his family? Brèagha stopped painting in 1770 in Barra , but what if she continued in America? What if she stopped painting in 1770 because she left Scotland in 1770?"

"It's a possibility," said Maidie, adding that information to the notecard. "Come to think of it, there wasn't really any mention of Archie at all after a certain point, was there?"

"He wasn't painted on Barra after 1757," Rory said, having made a list of every painting Brèagha did of Archie as well as the year it was painted. "Maybe he left at some point to go somewhere. But where?"

"Wherever Jamie was, probably," Maidie chimed in. "But where was Jamie through all this? Wait, pull up the Ardsmuir records you found last week."

"Huh, I didn't think of that," said Rory, digging through the files, pulling out a manilla folder and opening it. "'1751, Cailean Fowlis of Castlebay' is listed… hmm… Oh, what's this?" He paused as he read. "Ah, just a… Murtag Fraser."

"A what?" Maevis asked, looking at the list and seeing a 'Murtag Fraser' with a smudge at the end of the first name. "How long was he there?"

"Let me see…" Rory said, flipping through the lists. "Looks like… 1748… 1749… 1750, 1751… 1752… 1753… Wait." He froze for a moment, scanning the page, then pointed out a name right below 'Murtagh Fraser', which didn't have a smudge. "James Fraser of Broch Tuarach."

"Broch Tuarach? Where's that? Is that him? How long was he there?" Maevis asked quickly, now excited.

"Easy, I can only answer one thing at a time," he said as he flipped through the document. "Ardsmuir closed in 1756, and both James Fraser and Murtag - no, Murtagh - were listed as still residing there."

"Well, where did they go?" Maevis asked him.

"I don't know , Maevis. Hold on, let me look up Broch Tuarach," said Rory, pulling out his phone to Google the name. "Broch Tuarach was a parish in Invernessshire from the sixteenth century to the early nineteenth, when it became a part of the parish of St. Kilda. It looks like there's an estate there, called Lallybroch. I can look into it, see if it has any connection te Jamie or the Frasers."

"Do that when you go to the archives," Maevis told him, and Rory added it to a list of things to look into at the archives.

"I'll see, too, if I can find out what happened te the men at Ardsmuir when the prison closed," Rory told her.

"Should Elton be a part of this? This is his family, too," Maevis chimed in.

"Oh, he's busy, I think, but I can ask him to come and visit soon to go over the timeline," Maidie replied.

"I can text him," Maevis replied, turning her attention to the timeline. In 1743, Mama met, married and had a baby by Jamie Fraser, then did must have gone to France in 1744, where she became St. Catherine the Red, and ended up in Barra by June of 1746, according to the document saying that Archie would be Laird. By November of 1746, she had another baby, presumably also by Jamie, and must have been impregnated by him again in 1751 before she left in order for Maevis and Elton to have been born. That meant that no matter what, Jamie had to have survived Culloden, and perhaps spent some time at this Lallybroch, or went to Barra with Mama since they owned a home together there in 1747. Finally, she most likely woke up again in 1766, but it was only an assumption - they had no idea if she actually did end up in that year. Oh, Mama… Where are you? Please help us find you…


9 September, 2165

"Ah, finally!" Rory exclaimed as he checked his email and went to the computer. "I've been waitin' for two days to get these scans emailed te me."

"What scans?" Maevis asked him as she worked out more details of the timeline.

" These scans," said Rory, printing out the documents and taking them over to the table. "When I was at the archives a couple of days ago, I did find somethin' of interest pertainin' te Lallybroch. Firstly, there's this - a Deed of Sasine, handin' over ownership of the estate from a James Alexander Malcolm Mackenzie Fraser te a James Alexander Gordon Fraser Murray, dated 1745. And here's the interestin' part, see the witness names?" Maevis looked over the document.

"Murtagh Fitzgibbons Fraser and… and Catrìona Mairead Alba Muirreach Fowlis Fraser! Rory, that's her!" Maevis exclaimed with joy. "Oh my God, it's her! No one has that sort of name! It would be too much of a coincidence!"

"Aye, I agree. I also found this - a letter written by an Archie talking aboot Lallybroch and mentioning a bastard child of Cailean called Calum," Rory said, pulling out the copy of the letter in question, which Maevis picked up. It was written in Gaelic, but she could understand a few words here and there. "It was found in an old desk that used to be in one of the rooms in the castle."

"Who was his aunt?" Maevis asked. "I recognise this word - it means 'aunt'. If this was written in Barra, it wouldn't be about Cailean's wife, so this must have been written to Jamie's sister."

"I didn't see any mention of a sister," said Rory. "Speaking of the castle, there was a bundle of old letters found written between Cillian Fowlis and a Caoimhe. They were spaced months apart, so she either lived somewhere in Europe or lived in America.

"Cillian and Caoimhe," said Maevis, taking the letters from Rory and reading over them.

(?) 1774

Dear brother,

Everything is going swell. The Ridge is beautiful and there are so many tenants now from the isles. They don't trust Uncle Jamie and they're hesitant about Auntie Cat, but they trust me because I, too, am from the isles.

I have told you about Allan, and you might be glad to know that I am reconsidering my position on marriage. I once believed I did not want to give up my freedom, yet, when I'm with Allan, I still feel free. He understands that I am not a woman meant to be confined to the house, but I do still believe that he will need more time to open his mind. If he proposes, that is. Tell me, brother, is it unusual for a woman to propose marriage? Daddy has told me many times that if I were to ever find a man lucky enough

"Is there any more to this one?" Maevis asked, flipping over the paper and looking through the other three, but it seemed that none of them were connected.

"These were the only ones that were readable," Rory told her.

"Hm," said Maevis, looking over the letter again. ' The Ridge is beautiful and there are so many tenants…' "What's the Ridge?"

"The Ridge? I'm not sure," said Rory, taking the letter back from her and scanning through it.

"Wherever it is, it sounds like Cailean is there, too. This is dated to after he had gone to North Carolina and if Caoimhe's mentioning him, he must be living there," said Maevis.

"That's something else I can look into. If there's tenants, it must be a large estate, so there must be some mention somewhere aboot a place called the Ridge," Rory replied. "I don't know how long it'll take, though. These might be records that can only be accessed in America."

"Of course it would be," Maevis said with a sigh. "At least we definitely know that Caoimhe lives in America and so does Cailean, and the fact that she mentioned Mama and Jamie means that they live there, too. So they live in North Carolina! At least by 1774."

"I'll add it to the board," Maidie chimed in, picking up her sharpie and writing that new information down on a notecard. "'1774 - Cat lives on the Ridge in North Carolina with Jamie, Cailean and Caoimhe'."

"We've gotten so far already," Maevis said, smiling down at the letter. "Mama's in North Carolina…"

"At least in 1774," said Rory. "If they have tenants, it's likely they'd lived there fer a few years by that point. And I'm assuming this Allan is a tenant of theirs."

"That must have been such a common name," said Maidie with a soft sigh, pinning the notecard to the board.

"I guess next is look into where in North Carolina the Ridge is - at least we have it narrowed down te one state," Rory replied. North Carolina… It was a start. North Carolina in colonial times must have been so big. Where would they have lived? Probably not in a city if they lived on a big estate. Maybe a plantation? A farm? Was the Ridge their own town? There must have been so many towns with 'Ridge' in their name… At least there was one place that she knew for certain, other than Barra, that Jamie and Mama lived in together.

Lallybroch.


12 September, 2165

Lallybroch, St. Kilda, Scotland

It was a bit decrepit, but the castle that made up Lallybroch was tall and elegantly beautiful. Above the gate was the Fraser crest, along with the year '1702' etched in the stone. There were rose bushes and vines climbing up the wall, and some of the windows in the estate were broken. The door was boarded up, despite having been used during the second rebellion, but a bomb had gone off nearby and put the cracks that Maevis could see clearly climbing the sides of the historic building. This would have condemned the building, meaning it was a dangerous structure and could come down at any point. Maevis looked up at the grand building and let out a sigh, closing her eyes and picturing the life that used to occupy this home. She tried to picture Jamie and Mama here making a home together, having children… having her and Elton.

She couldn't go inside, but she did check out the nearby cemetery, which was filled with Murrays that had lived in the estate. She saw the grave of a James Murray, born in 1740 and died in 1789 - that was quite young. There were a few other Murrays, such as an Ian Murray, who lived from 1720 to 1778, but it was a Brian Fraser that caught her interest.

BRIAN DUBH

BRIAN ROBERT DAVID FRASER

BORN IN INVERNESS-SHIRE SCOTLAND IN 1691 AND DIED IN HIS 49TH YEAR OF HIS AGE AT FORT WILLIAM 1740

GUS AM BRIS AN LA ACUS AN TEICH NA SCAILEAN

He died in 1740 at 49 - he must have been Jamie's father, Maevis's grandfather. Buried next to him was an Ellen Fraser - her grandmother? Maevis knelt down and delicately touched the ground above the bodies of her grandparents, who were easily bones and dust by now, over four hundred years later. "I'll find him," she muttered to her grandparents, wanting them to know that she was trying. She had a feeling they knew, and were proud of all she had achieved thus far. She stood up again, looking up at the sky, and realised that there was one more place that she knew her mother had been - one more place that she needed to see.

As the Uber driver drove through the Scottish countryside, he began to slow down and made a turn down a road with a sign that read 'Craigh Na Dun' pointing up the road. It was a tall hill, but the road stopped only halfway up, where, sitting at the top of the hill, was the stone circle of Craigh na Dun, where her mother had fallen through time. "Thanks. Would you mind waiting? I won't be long," Maevis said to him, and he raised an eyebrow.

"Aye, lass. Thought ye might. There's no' much te do up there on the faery hill," said the driver. "I assume ye havenae heard the auld rhyme?" Without taking her eyes off of the stones, she recited the rhyme from memory:

"Ring of stone, ring of stone;

The faery king was overthrown.

Through the stones to the other side,

To stay or go you must decide.

Dance with the fae beneath the moon,

There on the hill on Craigh na Dun."

"Ah, ye do ken it," he said. "Right, I'll be waitin' here." Maevis nodded, then got out of the car and closed the door behind her. The stones were quite intimidating. Maidie had said there was a buzzing noise, and truth to be told, Maevis was afraid of hearing it. She took out her earbuds and put them in her ears, selecting a song by Joni Mitchell to accompany her up the hill.

"There's a man who's been out sailing

In a decade full of dreams

And he takes her to a schooner

And he treats her like a queen,

Bearing beads from California

With their amber stones and green.

He has called her from the harbour;

He has kissed her with his freedom;

He has heard her off to starboard

In the breaking and the breathing

Of the water weeds

While she was busy being free."

She climbed the hill slowly, thoughts of her mother passing through her head. Did she walk up the hill like this? With her arms crossed across her abdomen with nerves shaking her to her very core? Was she fearful? Did the buzzing frighten her, or did it captivate her, drawing her closer and closer to the stones?

"There's a man who's climbed a mountain

And he's calling out her name

And he hopes her heart can hear

Three thousand miles he calls again.

He can think her there beside him;

He can miss her just the same;

He has missed her in the forest

While he showed her all the flowers,

And the branches sang the chorus

As he climbed the scaly towers

Of a forest tree

While she was somewhere being free."

Jamie Fraser's love for Catrìona Fowlis was so strong, he was able to bring her four hundred years and deliver her right into his arms. How long he waited for her… And now, they would spend the rest of their lives together, despite having been robbed of so many years. How long were they apart? Were they truly together now? They had to be, they lived on the Ridge together in 1774. Would their love for Maevis as their daughter be enough to bring Maevis to them?

"There's a lady in the city

And she thinks she loves them all.

There's the one who's thinking of her,

There's the one who sometimes calls,

There's the one who writes her letters

With his facts and figures scrawls.

She has brought them to her senses,

They have laughed inside her laughter.

Now she rallies her defenses

For she feels that one will ask her

For eternity,

And she's so busy being free."

Maevis stopped before she reached the stones, afraid to step foot inside the circle. It looked ancient, peaceful, quiet and calm. It didn't look like a portal to another time, to another world. It didn't look like fairies danced here under the moonlight or that dark things happened here. There weren't any signs of destruction or death, but in fact was full of life - grass was everywhere, there were wildflowers sprouting up, including beautiful blue ones at the base of the tallest stone in the center. She took her first steps into the circle.

"There's a man who sends her medals;

He is bleeding from the war.

There's a jouster and a jester

And a man who owns a store.

There's a drummer and a dreamer,

And you know there may be more.

She will love them when she sees them,

They will lose her if they follow,

And she only means to please them

And her heart is full and hollow

Like a cactus tree…"

She stood in front of the tallest stone and removed her earbuds. The music faded, then was replaced by the thick, faithful sound of buzzing, telling Maevis that the stones called out to her, too, beckoning her to touch them. Feeling drawn, the reached out a hand, palm first, and right as her hand was about to contact the stone…

…her phone rang, and the buzzing silenced.