Mack

Some people are born into wealth. Some are born into fairytales. Neither was the case for Macy Duffington. Jenny Duffington, an unwed spinster, knew her daughter would have to repay her debts. That didn’t stop the family though. Macy and Jenny worked hand in hand to pay off their debts. Macy didn’t know a lot about her father, and in some ways, it was better that she didn’t know. Then, when Macy turned thirteen, Jenny got sick. Macy was now responsible for both their personal debts as well as her mother’s declining health. Overworked, Macy never gave up hope. Later that year, Jenny called her daughter to her. Macy was told about the day she was born. “On the day you were born,” Jenny began, “three women came into my home. They told me that while your father did not know you were born, you would restore his legacy and bring peace to the world.” Macy was confused. “Mom, I don’t understand. How can I restore what I do not know?” Jenny wasn’t sure what to tell her daughter either. “My love, you are stronger than you think. You are braver than you know. You will do incredible things.” The next morning, Jenny had died. Macy, working harder than ever, would eventually lose her home. 

Macy was walking around the village, looking for shelter during a storm. No one would let her inside, and she eventually found refuge next to a wall of the castle. The next morning, she was gagged, bound, and thrown into a carriage before being brought before the king. “Your majesty,” a soldier said, “we found this peasant trespassing. No doubt she’s an assassin to kill you.” Macy was bewildered. She tried to speak up, but couldn’t do to her restrictions. The king walked down to her. Macy began sobbing. She lost her mother, her home, and now she was accused of something she would never know how to do. The king took off her gag and watched her sob. “Please, your majesty. I’d never do that.” He allowed her to continue. “My mother died a short while ago, and while I was working to pay off her debts, I lost my home. The only reason I was at your castle was to find somewhere to rest my head for the night. I would never dream of assassinating you, my king.” She was filthy and cold, but she was going to defend herself. The king looked in her eyes. “Captain… bring her to the basement.” Macy began fighting the soldiers, and ended up kicking on the guards onto the ground. The king stopped the brawl. “Peasant! What are you doing?” Macy spoke up. “I will not be imprisoned for something I could not do. I will not honor my mother by dying in this castle.” Those words struck the king. He was a man of integrity and honor, and watching Macy fight for the same changed his mind. “Guards… bring this child to the servants quarters. If this woman seeks to work, so be it.”

Macy was brought to the servants quarters, where she saw at least twenty maidens washing clothes, folding laundry, dusting, and performing other tasks. One soldier, apparently the Captain, pushed her onto the floor. “Ladies, you have a new recruit today. Please inform her of her courtly duties, and please clean her up while you are at it.” The maidens bowed before the Captain. The head maiden picked her up from the floor. “Are you alright, you poor, young, sweet child?” Macy shook her head. “I have no idea what is going on.” The head maid smiled. “Well, my name is Gertrude. What name belongs to you?” Macy took a deep breath. “Macy.” Gertrude took her to the lake outside and helped her in. “The king must’ve been impressed by you. Normally, people get thrown into the dungeon or worse.” Macy was shivering, so Gertrude took her out of the lake and dried her off. The two went back inside, and Gertrude got her ready for her first day. “There you are.” Macy choked. “What is it, darling?” Macy almost began to cry again. “I watched my mother die in front of me. I couldn’t keep our home. I don’t belong in this castle, and I certainly don’t belong in this crew.” Gertrude hugged her. “Macy, we all have struggles. However, while you are here, you will have a roof over your head. You will have food, and you will have clean clothing. This is exactly where you are supposed to be.”

Years have passed, and Macy would work her way up in the castle. She advanced from stripping the beds to taking inventory to the royal library. One day, she was reading a scroll. “Aren’t you supposed to be working?” Macy shot up and dropped it. The king had surprised her. “My king! I am so sorry for slacking off.” The king laughed. “My dear, it is alright. I know the temptation well.” He picked up the scroll. “Ah, you were reading the Ballad of Mulan?” Macy was embarrassed. “My mother used to sing me the song when I was a child. I wanted to read more about it.” The king smiled. “Well, there is plenty of time to read when you are on your break. Get back to work.” Macy nodded. Even though the king was strict, he was kind. However, she was then transferred to work in the stables. Macy assumed she would never have a chance to read again. In the following years, Macy would work around the castle, watching the soldiers train, and knowing the ins and outs of the kingdom. One day, the king called upon Macy. He asked her to be around him personally. During that time, the two became great friends. The king began affectionately calling her “Mack”. When Macy asked why, the king said that he always wanted a child with that name. 

Then, the king was murdered. 

The kingdom was stricken with grief, and Macy was especially hurt. Somehow, the king was assassinated. The guards were knocked out, so no there were no witnesses to the crime. Macy was immediately questioned. She knew nothing of it. When the new king was named, she found out that the murder suspects were also dead. She approached Gertrude. “We have to leave. Something is off about this whole affair.” Gertrude refused. “My home, Macy, is here. My duty is the crown.” Macy hugged her, and Gertrude knew that this was the last time they would see each other. Macy, trusting her gut that something was wrong, fled the castle before the coronation. The new king asked the maidens who was missing, and one of them gave her up. “Who was she?” the New king asked. The traitor maid spoke up. “She was a nobody that the king took a well liking to. It was almost as if she were his daughter.” The new king got furious. “Where is she?” No one could respond, not even Gertrude. Because she could not answer, the king had Gertrude imprisoned for conspiracy against the crown.

On the road, Macy ran into rogues and thieves. She spoke about what she saw in her final weeks in the castle, and she was accepted onto a crew. They traveled to another kingdom to gain reinforcements. On the ship, Macy would learn the art of the sword. It was also on this journey that she adopted the name “Mack” in honor of the fallen king. Mack and her crew would fight off the royal family’s guards, winning every strike. After a strong battle, Mack and her crew would break into the throne room. The king screamed at the top of his lungs for help. “Guards! Seize the intruders.” Mack held out her sword and stood in front of the king. “They aren’t coming for you, but I am not here for your throne.” She placed her sword back into her belt and kneeled before the king. “Your majesty, I fear a wrong has been committed.” 

After hearing the brave woman’s story, the king believed her. “You believe that our dear friend, the beloved King Duncan was murdered?” Mack nodded. “It is the only way everything makes sense. I spent years in that castle. I could walk through it in the dark. The only way anyone could have assassinated him was someone that knew every corner. That could only be the man that now wears Duncan’s crown.” The king asked Mack to stand up. “You are either brave as the snow hawk, or as dense as the sea. However, I have chosen to listen to you and your crew. We shall grant you soldiers and ships. You shall leave in the morning.” The guards and the maids showed Mack and her crew to their chambers for the evening. However, sleep would not come quickly for Mack, as the king urgently requested her presence.

“We received this note from your king. It appears that he believes you killed Duncan. He sent this note to me asking for my help, and if you should arrive, he wants me to hold you for treason.” Mack was shocked. She had no idea how low this imposter could go, and even more so, how many more lives will be at stake because of her. “Well,” she hesitated, “What are you going to do?” The king laughed. “What he failed to understand is that God assigns the rulers. God decides who sits on the crown. If God kept you from harm this far, you must be in the right.” The king writes a letter and sends it to his messenger. “You and your crew must leave tonight. There can be no more time to wait.” Mack bowed before the king and woke up her crew. As they were leaving, the kind king presented Mack with her own armor and helmet. “The false king won’t know what hit him. Win. For all of us, win.”

They sailed for nights on end before anchoring in the middle of the ocean. Mack climbed the mast and looked at her fleet. She thought about her life and how she ended up here. She thought about her mother, Gertrude, the good King Duncan, and now the soldiers at her command. “Brothers,” she shouted, “we are here to liberate the kingdom. We are here to fight for the divine right of the crown. I do not know who is meant to rule, and I do not know how we are supposed to win. All I know is that too many innocent lives have been lost.” Mack thought about what her mother said to her before she died. “We are stronger than we think. We are braver than we know. We have outlaws and soldiers, noblemen and peasants, names and unknowns. We are what makes this planet great. We WILL liberate this kingdom!” Mack climbed down the mast and raised the anchors. The ships began to head onto the castle. 

Within hours, they were in sight. Mack turned to her fleet, which had ships flanking her on both sides. “We will harm no innocents. We will harm no children. We will reconquer the castle in the name of Duncan’s crown. But whatever you do, leave the false king to me. I shall determine his fate.” Canons began firing on them, and they fired back. Their ships made it to shore, where they were met with the king’s force. Before anyone stopped fighting, Mack stood before them. “Soldiers of the Crown! The king you serve is a monster. He murdered Duncan and he will not end there. If you join us, you will be spared. Fight us, and perish.” The soldiers hesitated, but decided to fight back. Mack’s rogues did not fight according to the way of the soldier, and therefore were unpredictable. The other king’s soldiers were higher ranked, and therefore had the experience the Crown Soldiers lacked. The fighting continued from the docks to the castle, and not one person stopped to rest. It was against truly the normal ways of war, and Mack used this to her advantage. 

By that night, Mack and her army invaded the castle. As her men were fighting, she checked every single room for the king. She had become numb to the screams, the clashing of steel, the scent of blood, but she did not become numb to a draft. She opened a door and found a staircase that led up to the roof. She knew that this was where the imposter was. Mack drew her sword and ran up the staircase, gaining confidence with every single step. When she got to the roof, she walked around. She kicked something, and swung at the air. It was a round object. As she knelt down, she realized it was a head. Mack dropped her sword as she realized it was the head of Gertrude. She began sobbing. 

“All traitors under my rule will face death on this roof. So will you.” Mack jumped up and swung. Her sword clashed with the king’s. The two of them were equally matched, predicting the other’s strikes. The king pushed Mack to the ground. “I have been told by the witches three that no man born of a woman will kill me.” Mack disarmed the king and held his sword in his hand (a trick one of the rogues taught her). She laughed. “Is that so? Well…” Mack ripped off her helmet. The king’s eyes widened. “I am no man.” With her mother’s voice, singing “the Ballad of Mulan” in her head, Mack cut off one of the king’s hands. “That is for Gertrude.” She cut off the other. “That is for framing me.” She knocked him down and held the sword at his throat. “And this? This is for killing the only father I knew.” Mack swung the sword and decapitated the false king Macbeth. She kneeled down and prayed. She prayed for Gertrude to be accepted into the kingdom of Heaven, her mother was proud of her, and that Duncan saw that his legacy was restored. 

Mack placed the crown on her head and kicked the body and head off the castle. She watched the false king fall to steps of the castle, and she saw that both armies looked up at her. She held her head high and screamed for the kingdom to hear, “King Duncan has been avenged. The battle is over.” The armies met in the throne room and watched as Mack walked into the room. She overlooked the two armies she now controls. She walked to the middle.  Mack took a deep breath. “I was born to Jenny Duffington. Though a peasant, she was visited by three witches. A prophecy was given that I would honor my father’s legacy and bring peace to the world. While he was not my biological father, King Duncan was just that to me. My father. If you will have me, I would like to lead this kingdom to a great era of peace. I would like to work with our allies in England. If you will have me, I will serve as your queen.” One by one, the soldiers kneeled before Mack. One of the spoke up. “All hail Queen Mack.” The entire crowd responded. “All hail Queen Mack.” As the crowd chanted, she sat on the throne. Her subjects applauded her as he fought back her tears. She whispered to the heavens “I will not let you down.”