Lancelot and Mordred were practicing their sparing when suddenly; a voice could be heard singing. And it seemed to be coming from Merlin's direction.
I've got the magic in me. Every time I touch that track it turns into gold. Now everybody knows I've got the magic in me. Merlin smiled at their confusion and reached into his pocket to pull out his phone. He flipped it open. "Hello?" Mordred and Lancelot lowered their swords and walked over. "Yes, Heather, I remember you. What have you heard?"
The two knights could hear a muffled voice coming from the phone, Merlin had called it. They still didn't understand how it worked but they knew it meant you could talk to someone a long ways away. "I'll send Lancelot over tomorrow. Have a good day, Heather." He put his phone back in his pocket and looked at Lancelot. "Do you remember how to drive the car like I showed you?"
"I think so, why?" he asked.
"The rest of the knights seemed to have found each other in a town near Heather. I have some business to do here, so I was going to send you. That way you can tell Heather how much you enjoyed her strawberry jam."
"I don't know how to get to Heather's though."
"I'll have Peter plug it in to the GPS for you. It will talk to you while you drive and tell you how to get there."
"I can do that."
"Come, I'll walk you down to the docks and tell Peter the plan. Mordred, why don't you change into some comfortable clothes; I've got something I wanted to try with you here."
Lancelot made it safely to Heather's house and pulled up her driveway before walking the rest of the distance to the house. It was just as he had remembered, quaint and quiet. "Heather?" he called out.
"In the house." He heard a voice reply. He walked inside and found her in the kitchen. She turned and handed him a cup of tea. "Just in time." He accepted the drink gratefully; though he made it in one piece, the driving had been very stressful.
"I really enjoyed your strawberry jam, Heather."
"I am glad; it's your jam too." They drank the rest of their drinks in silence. "You will need to find your fellow sailors now," she said.
"Could you plug in the address into my GPS?" She nodded and they walked out to his car. She typed in the address and he got in. "Thank you again, Heather. Even if I never see you again, I shall not forget your kindness."
"And I won't forget you either. If you ever need anything, please stop by." She gave him a quick hug and he drove off. Following the GPS, he was lead to a bar, The Wild Stallion, in the center of town. He carefully parked the car inside the yellow lines as Merlin had taught him, and walked in. As his eyes adjusted to the dark, he could see his fellow knights drinking at the bar and laughing uproariously. He rolled his eyes and walked over.
"Lancelot!" Gawaine called as he saw him. He nodded in greeting and grabbed the stool next to Elyan sitting on the end. He typically drank the least and so Lancelot knew he could get a reasonable conversation out of him.
"Do you know where we are?" asked Elyan.
"We are in the future." Elyan raised his eyebrows. He turned to Leon. "Lancelot says we are in the future!"
"To the future!" Gawaine yelled.
"And to Andrew's 21st birthday!" Percival screamed in response. They slammed their mugs together with a young man sitting between them and poured their beer down their throats.
"Who is that?" Lancelot asked.
"His name is Andrew," Leon explained. "He came to the bar to celebrate turning 21 years of age and being able to drink, but he had no one to celebrate with. Then Gawaine saw him and it turned into a true celebration. You said we are in the future Lancelot, I can believe that. Everything is so confusing. But do you know why?"
"Merlin does. He sent me to get you guys. He will explain everything."
"Then we need to get to Merlin before they get any more drunk," Elyan said as they finished another beer. The three sober knights stood and pulled their friends off the stools.
"Where we going?" Gawaine slurred.
"Home. You've had enough." Lancelot said. It took both Leon and Elyan to steady Percival. Together they walked out to the car. As Lancelot tried to push the drunk and confused knights into the car, another voice spoke.
"Sweet ride." It was Andrew. "Where are you going?"
"I've got to take them back home before they cause any more trouble," Lancelot responded.
"Can I come? I've always wanted to be a knight." Lancelot looked at him uncertainly. "I have some skill with a long bow and I've taken Tae Kwan Do." Lancelot didn't know how Merlin would react, but something about him seemed familiar. Maybe it was the same dream to be a knight that Lancelot had for so long before Merlin helped him achieve it. He glanced at Leon who shrugged his shoulders.
"Sure. Hop in." And with that, the five knights and Andrew, all squeezed into the car, drove back to Merlin's house. Singing all the way.
