"Even good kings, good men can be corrupted by the simplest of things: doubt."

Chapter 1: Arthur

The dream began like always: I was running, from what I didn't know. I could barely breathe. I heard screams all around me. Fire and smoke consumed the buildings around me. Finally a soldier appeared, he wore medieval looking armor and carried a long sword and shield, and he shouted in my direction, "The city has been evacuated, my liege!" Liege? Before I could process this and respond the smoke blurred my vision. The knight called out into the darkness, "We must leave, now!"

Next, I felt the cold ground against my back. I opened my eyes and was staring up to the sky. An elderly man with white hair and a long beard knelt over me. A sharp pain flooded through my body. The man looked sad. A tear slowly traveled down his cheek. He seemed to be whispering something but I couldn't quite catch it. The chaos from before seemed muffled. I could barely make out what was going on around me. Finally the man laid his hand on my forehead.

He said, "Until we meet again, your grace."

Then everything went black.

I awoke to the loud, irritating noise of my alarm clock. In my groggy state I reached over and tried as best I could to find the button that turned it off. After struggling awhile I smacked the thing off the table and sent it flying to the floor. Fortunately, the beeping stopped, unfortunately, I would probably have to buy a new alarm clock.

I sighed and looked up at the ceiling. Every time I had the dream it seemed so real. I felt the heat of the fires on my skin, tasted the soot of the smoke in my mouth, felt the warmth of the old man's hand on my forehead. But I still couldn't understand what the dream was. At first I thought I'd simply watched too many fantasy movies or read too many age-old romance novels. But this was different. Even after waking I felt the power of the dream in my bones. As if it was still calling me.

"Wow, I really need to start taking medication," I shook my head and ran a hand through my sweaty bangs. "Well, time to get up!"

My dreams might have been focused on fantasy but I had a reality to focus on. Namely, a job that involved teaching several hundred teenagers about historical events they could care less about. I was a history teacher at Falling Meadows High and had been for the past three years. And if I wanted to keep that job I had to hurry up because there was a meeting taking place this morning before the kids arrived.

I rushed into the bathroom, took a quick shower, brushed my teeth, etc. I stopped in front of the mirror on my dresser to confirm the unruly state of my shoulder-length brown hair. I had very fine hair and it would almost never conform to the shape I wanted. I decided to go for a tight bun today. A few strands of my hair escaped but I tamed them with several pins. Despite the unruly nature of my hair, its color went well with my crystal clear blue eyes. I also had a dusting of freckles across my cheeks and nose.

Looking at the clock and seeing how little time I had left, perhaps two or three minutes before I had to race to my car, I slipped into the first set of clothes I saw: black dress pants and a blue elbow-length sleeve peasant top. I also grabbed a shawl on my way out in case the AC was turned up high today. Shoes. Check. Keys. Check. Teacher ID. Check. Purse. Check.

And out the door I went.

I made it to school with a few minutes to spare. As I raced into the school I almost ran down my coworker and best friend, Catherine Hughes, or Cat as I liked to call her.

"Whoa! Where's the fire?" Cat laughed.

"Sorry," I said sheepishly, "Just afraid that I would miss the meeting."

"Oh, you don't need to worry. Hasn't even started yet," she reassured me.

I sighed with relief and smiled. "You always known what to say."

Cat stuck her tongue out and patted me on the shoulder. "I've got your back, girl. I even saved us seats together."

Cat really was the best. She kept me grounded amidst all the craziness.

"Also, I picked us up some coffee since I assumed you were in a rush this morning."

I hugged Cat tight. "Thank you! How did you know?"

Cat laughed. "You mean besides the fact that I couldn't get you on the phone?"

I gasped and began searching frantically for my phone. Damn it. I'd left it at home. Just my luck. I blamed the dream from last night for this.

"I'm so sorry, Cat. Ugh, I haven't been sleeping well lately. Awful nightmares."

Cat's face became concerned. "It's alright, honey. Do you want to talk about the nightmares? We can talk over coffee while we wait for the meeting to begin."

I smiled at her weakly. "Sure, just let me use the restroom first then I'll meet back up with you in the auditorium."

Cat gave me a quick hug before going back to the auditorium. Falling Meadows High was a pretty big school. Bigger than any Cat had worked at before apparently. We had a total of 3,000 students and they came from all walks of life. Since the student population was so large we had to have a big staff to match. Therefore, we held all our staff meetings in the auditorium. There were some seventy teachers in total. The principal, Mr. Havers, was a tough man, strict on those who misbehaved but also supporting of those who deserved praise. Cat and I liked him quite a bit even though he seemed forever in a state of unhappiness. I'd heard he was going through a rough divorce with his wife of twenty some years. Rumors spread like wildfire amongst the students and the teachers alike.

As I came out of the restroom, I noticed a man milling about near the entrance of the school. He seemed lost.

"Can I help you, sir?" I walked up to him.

His confused expression turned to one of relief when he spotted me. His bright green eyes instantly connected with my blue ones. I felt a shiver go through my body. Who was this man?

"Oh, hello!" The man chuckled and ran a hand through his hair.

His locks were rather long. Almost as long as mine but he kept them tidy in a loose ponytail at the base of his neck.

"I must look suspicious just standing here, huh?" He shot me a grin.

I cocked my head to the side and smiled. "A little bit. Should I be calling security?"

I made like I was about to walk off and do just that when he reached out and touched my forearm lightly. I felt a pulse of electricity shoot through my entire body. The charm bracelet I wore on my wrist felt hot for a second. What the hell?

"No need for that! I promise I'm an upstanding gentleman. Although, saying that makes me sound even more suspicious. Oh, my, I am not very good at introductions."

He fidgeted a bit more, scratching the back of his neck, then continued.

"My name is Lee Pierce and I am the new English literature teacher here."

He held out his hand. I hesitated for a moment and caught his gaze once more. His skin was rather fair, almost alabaster. It created a striking contrast with his dark hair. He wore a cream-colored shirt with a brown tie, brown slacks and dark shoes. The fabric folded nicely over his body. He wasn't overly muscular but lithe, like a swimmer. The ladies in the secretarial office were most certainly going to have a field day with him. I chuckled a bit at this thought.

"Nice to meet you, Mr. Pierce. I'm Erin Sommers, history teacher extraordinaire."

I took his hand in mine and gave it a firm shake.

"Please, Ms. Sommers, call me Lee. I am not one for formalities with my students or my coworkers."

I let go of his hand and nodded.

"Alright, Lee. And you can call me Erin."

Before either of us could say anything further a voice interrupted.

"There you are! Mr. Pierce, I heard you'd had car trouble. Is everything alright?"

It was Mr. Havers, the principal. That must mean the meeting was centered on the newcomer, Lee. I flushed. How had I not made the connection? Of course! I wanted to mentally slap myself. Lee stepped around me to shake the principal's hand.

"My deepest apologies, Mr. Havers. I just moved to this area and apparently my car suffered worse from the traveling than I thought."

"That is quite alright, Mr. Havers. Just don't be late again."

Mr. Havers gave Lee shake of his finger before guiding him towards the auditorium. I followed closely behind, breaking off once we entered the auditorium to find Cat and take my seat next to her. She handed me my coffee with a confused look on her face.

"What kept you? Did you fall in the toilet?" She smiled.

"Ha ha, very funny." I took a sip of my coffee and poked her lightly in the shoulder. "No, I got caught up talking with the new teacher, Mr. Pierce."

Cat arched an eyebrow. "New teacher? So that's why we're all here before the crack of dawn. What's he like?"

"You are about to find out."

I motioned to the front of the auditorium where Mr. Havers led Lee onto the stage and towards the podium.

"Good morning, everyone!" Mr. Havers' booming voice washed over us.

Murmurs of good mornings followed in reply. No one was completely wide awake yet. I sucked down the caffeine in my cup.

"I apologize for the late start. We only have a few short moments before the students arrive but I wanted to introduce to you all to the newest teacher working here with us at Falling Meadows, Mr. Lee Pierce!"

Half-hearted clapping followed. Lee approached the microphone and gave us his best apologetic smile.

"My apologies to everyone for delaying this little shindig."

A few chuckles could be heard for the use of "shingdig." I smiled a bit myself.

"My car broke down and I had to have my sister drop me off at work. My older sister. Fun, right?"

Even though he was trying to lighten the atmosphere, you could tell that he made fun of his sister in a loving way. It came through in the tone of his voice.

"Uh oh, older sister. Off limits for me," Cat joked.

I shushed her playfully with a nudge in the side.

"Hey! What was that for?"

"You know what for, silly. Concentrate!" I giggled and finished off my coffee before returning my gaze to Lee.

"Anyways! I just wanted to thank you all for your patience and tell you how excited I am to be working here at Falling Meadows. I look forward to getting to know each and every one of you!"

Everyone in the auditorium clapped. Apparently, Lee's little speech had roused everyone out of their drowsy states. It didn't hurt that several female teachers were making a beeline for him as he left the stage. I rolled my eyes and turned to Cat.

"Well, better get to my classroom. Will you walk with me?"

"Only if you're sure you don't want to get Prince Charming's autograph."

She gestured over to Lee and his growing throng of fans.

I shook my head.

"I already had plenty of time with him earlier. I need a break," I joked.

Cat feigned shock, "Oh Erin, you minx!"

We both laughed it off as we made our way out of the auditorium.

During lunch time I had a few moments to myself. After eating a sandwich and banana, and downing some water, I decided to grade some homework. I pulled out papers from an earlier class and began checking them. I had just finished the first one when the charm bracelet on my wrist caught my attention. Earlier, when Lee touched my forearm, it had felt hot. Almost as if the bracelet was responding to something. It'd never done that before.

I examined the bracelet. I'd had it for longer than I could remember. My parents told me that they'd received it anonymously a few days after my birth. The bracelet itself was rather simplistic. A few red beads attached together by pieces of leather with only one charm hanging from them: that of a sword. I didn't know why a sword of all things. My parents tried to track down who had sent the gift to possibly explain the significance but no such luck. I'd carried the thing with me now for twenty-seven years.

A knock at my door pulled me from my thoughts. I looked up to see Lee standing there in the doorway. He seemed a bit out of breath.

"Are you alright?" I asked.

"Oh, fine," he panted while sauntering into the classroom. "Just had to escape from some demanding office ladies."

"Having it tough on your first day, I see." I smiled.

He sighed and gestured to a student's seat.

"May I?"

"Be my guest. But I'll have to sanitize it afterwards," I chuckled.

Lee made a face and sat down.

"How generous of you. I'll hide out here for just a little while if that's alright."

I nodded my consent then went back to checking papers. A few minutes later the bell that signaled the end of lunch rang. Lee stood up, stretched and bowed to me.

"Thank you milady for the safe haven."

"You are most welcome, good sir," I replied.

"I'll see you around, Erin."

He started to make his way out when he stopped and turned around. I looked up from my grading and was shocked by the intensity of his gaze on me. For a moment it felt as if we'd known each other for a lot longer than a couple hours.

"Erin, do you know a good car mechanic in town?"

I don't know what I was expecting to happen but he asking me that question surprised me for some reason.

"Oh, right! You mentioned some car troubles this morning. Here" I scribbled a phone number and address down for a relatively cheap place.

When he took the post-it note from my hand our fingers touched briefly. Once again a jolt weaved its way through my body and the bracelet on my wrist grew warm. I tried to remain composed and act as if I felt nothing. Lee didn't seem phased in the least. He thanked me for the information and left. I really needed to sleep better tonight. Or stop shocking people I touched.

After classes ended I met up with Cat in the teacher's lounge. She was seated at a table, nursing a cup of coffee.

"You look a little worse for wear. What happened?" I asked.

She looked up at me and sighed. "Oh the usual. Anthony is acting up again in class. Throwing stuff at other students. Refusing to do any pair or group work. Angry all the time."

Ah, yes, Anthony Baker. A 12th grader with a penchant for disrupting class and making his teacher's lives chaotic. He was the model student until a few months ago when his parents started divorce proceedings.

"I have given him detention before but I feel like that isn't helping at all. I would recommend he see the school counselor but I am not sure he will talk with a complete stranger."

Cat pushed a strand of hair out of her face.

Catherine Hughes was the most beautiful woman I'd seen in my entire life. She had bright red hair with highlights of blonde running throughout. Her eyes were a chocolatey brown so warm you wanted to sink into them. Long sweeping lashes framed her eyes and no finer complexion could one ask for. Seeing the lines of worry and frustration etched into her brow now made her look several years older. She really was stressed out.

I sat down next to her.

"Why don't you try taking him aside after school and talking one on one?" I suggested.

"I've thought about doing that. Not sure he will go for it and I can't force him but it is worth a try."

"Let me know if you need any backup." I added.

"Thanks, Erin. I appreciate it. But enough about my issues! You still haven't told me about your nightmares and we have a little bit of time before clubs start up."

Two weeks went by without any more incidents between Lee and me. The nightmares persisted though and I was losing sleep. Despite my haggard appearance at work, I managed to fool everyone but Cat that I was fine. Lee seemed to be settling in well and all the teachers, even the men, loved him. I had to hand it to him: he could get along well with almost anyone. Then, one day after clubs finished, Lee and I were both finishing up and leaving at the same time.

"Erin, wait up!"

I stopped and looked back at Lee racing to catch up to me.

"Good, I'm glad I caught you."

He smiled at me warmly. I couldn't help but find myself smiling back.

"What's up, Lee?"

"Well, you see…I thought that since we are both finishing work at the same time…" He let his sentence drop off and fidgeted with his bag.

"You thought that because we are both done work and probably hungry, we might go to dinner together?" I suggested helpfully.

Lee nodded, a pleased grin spreading across his face.

I laughed softly. "You know, I don't usually go out on a date with a guy who can't properly ask me out in the first place."

"I see…"

"But," I interjected, "I'm rather hungry and I could use the company."

We ended up eating at a little Japanese place close by. I ordered an assortment of sushi while Lee ordered some rice, miso soup and a fish dish. At first it was pretty awkward but after fifteen minutes or so we began chatting about odds and ends. Lee told me how he was adjusting to the school, the students, etc. He seemed to really care for his students and invested in the club he'd been assigned. I told him about a few students I'd had some trouble with this week and what I planned to do about it. We both talked about our teaching subjects before moving on to which office workers were the easiest to deal with. We even chatted a little about Mr. Havers. This dinner didn't feel like a first date at all and I think we both were better for it. We were just two colleagues eating together and enjoying a respite from a tough week.

I excused myself from the table after we'd finished our main dishes and made my way to the restroom. Once inside I pulled out my purse and skimmed through the meager cosmetics I carried. I looked into the mirror at my disheveled hair and weary eyes. I looked awful and suddenly felt very self-conscious about my appearance. Did I like Lee? Maybe. Did I have time for romance? Probably not, especially with these horrid nightmares lately ruining my beauty sleep. I sighed and began applying a little mascara, blush and lip coloring. After that I trotted into the nearest stall. As soon as I had the door closed I heard someone else enter the restroom. They seemed in a hurry. Suddenly they were pounding on the door to my stall.

"Excuse me! Someone is in here!" I shouted over the banging.

"Erin! Get out here now!" The person responded.

It wasn't just any person either. It was Cat. What the hell?

"Cat? What are you doing here?" I quickly finished my business and opened the door.

Cat stood there in full armor. REAL armor, like the kind from the old medieval days, yet it was updated a bit and seemed more like a Kevlar body suit with bits of metal strapped here and there. On the right should pad there was an image of a castle with a sword through it and over the heart area on the chest pad there was some kind of coat of arms. Cat's coat of arms seemed to be stripes with a sun in the middle. I was so amazed by the armor that I failed to notice a beautiful sword strapped to a belt on Cat's waist. And on her back a massive shield.

"Cat…what's going on?" I grew concerned.

Cat pulled me out of the stall and towards the bathroom exit.

"No time to explain right now but we have to get out of here before the Ursum finds you and puts all these people in danger, including you."

I think my brows shot up into my hairline.

"A what? Finds me? Why?" I stammered as Cat dragged me along.

Just as we made it to the exit a giant crash sounded in the restaurant. People started screaming followed by a roar of tremendous proportions.

"Is that the Ursum?" I asked, a shiver of fear running down my spine.

Cat nodded and held a finger to her lips asking for silence. I nodded and tried to keep myself from whimpering as we nudged our way out into the restaurant. It wasn't long before we caught a glimpse of the Ursum creature Cat mentioned earlier. The Ursum looked like a giant bear but with eyes glowing green and a shield of spikes along its collarbone.

"I'll distract it and get it away from these people while you escape out the back," Cat whispered.

"What?! No way!" I protested. "I am not leaving you alone with this thing!"

I wasn't sure what the hell I could do to help but I didn't want to leave my best friend behind while I ran away.

"This isn't up for debate, Erin. Your life is more important than mine!" Cat's words made my heart twist in on itself. How could my life ever be more important than hers?! Did she know how important she was to me?

Unfortunately, I had no time to argue as Cat shoved me away from her, in the direction of the kitchen in the back, and raced towards the Ursum to get its attention.

"Hey! Ugly! If it's a fight you want then come after me!" Cat unsheathed her sword and waved it in the creature's face.

The glowing green eyes immediately turned to focus on Cat. The giant bear monster sniffed the air then spoke in a deep voice, "What do we have here? The blood of a knight flows through your veins. How nice." The Ursum then spread his mouth wide displaying a frightful amount of large teeth. "If you're here then that must mean his royal highness is not far away."

"Enough talk! Come get me!" Cat dashed through a broken window and the Ursum shot after her.

I could barely breathe as I lie there on the floor of the restaurant. What the hell was going on? As I tried in vain to wrap my head around the situation an image popped into my thoughts. Lee! He'd still been at our table when the monster attacked. Was he okay? I got up and looked around.

It seemed that everyone had escaped successfully before the Ursum had a chance to hurt anyone too badly. The restaurant itself on the other hand needed repairs. I breathed a sigh of relief then decided to follow Cat's wishes and head out the back. Perhaps I could find Lee and make sure he was alright. I could also call the police or something and get Cat help.

The back door deposited me in an alley. I quickly made my way to the street where crowds of people were milling around talking with authorities. Apparently someone had already called the police. I walked over to the closest officer.

"Excuse me, officer. My friend is in danger. That "thing," chased after her. I think they both went in the direction of the park." I tried to not sound too frantic but failed miserably. My adrenaline was at Mach 10.

"Miss, I need you to calm down. You said your friend went in the direction of the Mayberry Park?"

"Yes!"

"Don't worry we have officers following the creature as we speak and a helicopter tracking its movements."

"Really?! Oh thank God!" The police were a lot more proactive than I thought they would be. I collapsed against the police car.

"Miss? I think you are in shock. We need to get you to a hospital. Medic!"

The police officer called over an ambulance medic who handed me a blanket to keep me warm and started to check my vitals. I was too freaked out to fight her off so I just stood there as she rattled off my situation to the officer. As the medic began to walk me towards an ambulance a group of two men in armor similar to Cat's approached us.

"My apologies but you can't take her," said the man with closely cropped dirty blonde hair.

"Who are you?" The medic asked.

"Let's just say we're the good guys." The platinum blonde man slipped his arm around the medic's shoulders and brought his face close to hers. He put on his most award winning smile.

The medic pushed him away. "Look here, this woman is in shock. She needs medical attention. Now, excuse us."

The dirty blonde haired man sighed and stepped forward.

"We don't have time for this." He mumbled some kind of foreign words and waved his hand in front of the medic's face.

The medic's eyes seemed to glaze over and when she spoke next it was in a monotone. "I am sorry for delaying you. Please take the woman." The medic then walked off.

"What did you do to her?" I asked.

"Nothing permanent or damaging," replied the dirty blonde. "We just need to get a move on."

"Right! Allow me," said the platinum blonde one. He scooped me up into his arms. I had no energy to resist even though I was shouting curses at him in my mind. WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU ARE DOING?!

All I could manage was, "What…what are you doing?"

"Saving you, of course! Cat would never forgive us if we didn't!" The platinum blonde explained.

"Shut up, Maxwell. Let's just get out of here." The dirty blonde grumbled.

"Sorry about him. He's a little irritated right now." The platinum blonde, or Maxwell as the other man referred to him, smiled.

"Wait! What about Cat?" I could barely keep my eyes open.

"Don't worry! We sent Tucker after her. The two of them should be able to handle one Ursum," Maxwell said.

"But…" I tried to protest but my brain was already shutting down.

"Sleep now, your majesty. We will explain everything later."

And sleep I did.