20 years went by before Kenneth II even thought about trying the warfare angle of being king again, and he ruled his kingdom with diplomacy and calm. But this isn't the reason why his reign was somewhat longer than most - around 873 he murdered Culen's brother Olaf before he even had a chance to try it first.

So the peace wasn't what it seemed, and eventually in 994 Kenneth was tempted to hit out at the south again. Unfortunately for him this crusade was a failure and he too had to cut his vacation short in order to come home and clear up a revolt which was underway in his own land while he was away.

Kenneth II's death was somewhat different from the others and more gruesome than usual too. When trying to keep the peace in one of his regions, he slew the son of Finella the wife of that regions controller. Finella, bittered and saddened by her loss, set a trap for him. She built a room within a tower and lined it with beautiful tapestries, but behind the tapestries she had hidden loaded crossbows which all pointed to a statue placed in the center of the room. In the hand of the statue was a golden apple, and it was set up so that when the apple was picked - the bows would unleash their darts. One night whilst entertaining her king at a feast, she lead him to this room and offered the apple as a symbol of their lasting friendship. The unsuspecting King took the apple and was instantly killed in a hail of arrows.

He was most certainly killed, but as for who did it - the mystery remains. His death at Rathinveramon could have been caused by Dubh's son Kenneth and some even say that it was by an illegitimate son of Malcolm I. Who Knows? But his sudden and quick demise opened the gates for Kenneth III.

He lost at Lothian and England was now governing the land south of the Clyde and probably the assassination of Kenneth III was a good ting for Scotland, as now only the Highlands was obeying (occasionally) the royal command. Finally Kenneth III was killed at Monzievaird, near the river Fearn and his son Giric was taken with him.

It might seem by this remark that Malcolm II was completely different to his predecessors, but in fact he wasn't in his early days. He had gained the throne by murdering Kenneth III and his son in the town of Perth.

He even tried the usual march south to claim back the southern regions, but was swiftly defeated and forced to return home. So he turned his attention north and tried his hand at the Scandinavians based in Moray. Again he was unsuccessful.

Now rather than war he set about the plans to marry off his daughters to the Scandinavians and at least try and get some kind of foot hold in the north. This was not such a hot idea, and after many 'in-house' fights and battles he once again turned his attentions to the south and Lothian. This time with success.

He regained the lands and struck a bargain with the English that Lothian and south of the Clyde would be his so long as he didn't change the traditions and language of the area. Thus formed the border between Scotland and England again which remains today. As for who was next in line for the crown? Malcolm II sorted that one out for good. He himself had no sons and so he named Duncan - the son of his eldest daughter Bethoc to be king after him, and then proceeded to slaughter the remaining male descendants of Kenneth III.

When Malcolm II finally died in 1035, at the ripe old age of 80 (which was amazing for a king), Duncan was proclaimed King of Alba and inherited the lands from the Tweed in the south, to Moray in the north - and this is where we leave the unflagging efforts of the 'House of Alpin' and what they managed to achieve.

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