Arthur and Merlin walked closer to the mouth of the crater and peered inside. Merlin was a combination of shocked and confused at what he found. In the center of the still smoking crater lay a young lady. She couldn't have been more than a year younger than him and her long legs put her just a few inches shorter. She lay curled in a ball but Merlin could see that she was slender. She wasn't; however, the weak sort of slender. Her tanned skin made him think that she might work as a farmer but her perfectly trimmed nails begged to differ. She was certainly dressed strange. She wore tight blue trousers, tighter than he had ever seen before, which made him feel as though he should look away. And so he felt even more uncomfortable at noticing her fitted top that hugged her petite frame. The other knights had recovered and surrounded the crater, some with swords drawn. Arthur was about to move forward when the girl seemed to wake up. A soft groan sounded from her lips as she looked up and around. Wide hazel eyes framed her slender face while long, dark auburn hair fell to the middle of her back. Upon realizing that she was in the middle of a crater and surrounded by men with weapons she shrieked and searched frantically for some means of escape.
"Wait!" Arthur called, "We mean you no harm."
He motioned to the other knights and they quickly sheathed their swords. The girl seemed a bit less about to have a panic attack so Arthur presented his most welcoming smile.
"First things first, what is your name?"
The girl hesitated a moment before answering, "Jane." Her voice seemed relaxed despite her obvious fear. A soft melody that was easily carried by the wind yet seemed to command power and attention.
"Well Jane," Arthur said, offering his hand, "Let us help you out of this hole, then we may talk." Merlin skidded down the steep slope to an uncertain Jane and held out his hand. It took a while but eventually both Merlin and Arthur managed to pull Jane from the deep crater. Once she escaped the hole she turned to the knights with a spark in her eye that demanded answers.
"Where am I? And why are you guys dressed like you're from a renaissance fair?"
The knights shot each other the same confused look. Renaissance fair? Maybe she was mad. But she didn't really look mad, in fact she looked perfectly sane.
"You are just outside the border of Camelot," Arthur told her, "Morgana was using a spell that must have brought you to the middle of that crater."
Jane looked over her shoulder at the deep hole and turned back to the knights with a smirk on her face. "You're shitting me, right?" The knights looked at her. She couldn't be a lady if she used such language so freely. She turned a circle as she scanned the surrounding trees,
"Am I on Punk'd? Where are the cameras?" Merlin shot Arthur a look, maybe she was crazy. He had no idea what a "camera" was. Jane looked at the knights with a grin that slowly disappeared at their straight, even confused, faces.
"Are you for real?" She asked, incredulously.
"I assure you that I am real," Arthur said with a look of confusion.
"Fine then," Jane called with a mocking tone, "If this is Camelot then where is Arthur?" Arthur gave a grin, at least she knew who he was.
"King Arthur of Camelot, at your service," he said as he extended his hand. She, however, did not shake it. She just stared at him with an astounded look on her face.
"Wait, if you're claiming to be Arthur," she looked at the knights amassed around her,"Then are you supposed to be the knights of the round table?" Each knights gave a slight bow in acknowledgment as Jane's face slowly sank deeper and deeper into horror. She immediately reached into her back pocket and pulled out what looked like a burnt and melted block.
"My phone is roasted!" she gasped in shock,"But, but, but, the flashy thing and the crater and the noise and ,and, and," she re-examined her surroundings with wide eyes until she turned back to a nervous Arthur."But this can't be right," she claimed, "It's supposed to be 2014. I'm supposed to be studying for a biochem exam tomorrow!" Jane babbled on as Arthur turned to Merlin and his knights. This girl had to be mad.
He motioned Merlin away from the group as the knights stood awkwardly watching Jane grow more and more frantic. When they were far enough away Arthur turned to Merlin.
"What in the kingdoms did the grimward do?" Arthur questioned. "Did Morgana mess up the spell and bring in some crazy girl and not the intended person?" Merlin paused and thought for a moment. The spell looked like it was going fine until the last few moments. Morgana had said it takes powerful magic, and she had plenty of that. So maybe she wasn't trying to gain a weapon. Maybe she was trying to gain information.
"What if," Merlin started as he looked at Arthur,"What if the spell worked? I mean Morgana's been on the losing side for so long, maybe she was trying a new tactic." Arthur just gave him a confused look and silently urged him to continue with his crazy idea. "Did you hear what Jane was raving about? She was talking about cameras and phones and the year 2013! I've never heard of any of those things but she sure seems to know what they are. Maybe she really is from a different time. Just think, if Morgana wanted to know what we were going to do, wouldn't it be easiest to find someone who had already learned about it?" Merlin could see Arthur slowly comprehending his theory as he cast backward glances at Jane, who was now sitting down and trying not to hyperventilate.
"Fine then," he resigned, "If she is from the future then she should know the answer to the questions I ask her." He strode back to the group and looked down to the young lady. "So Jane," he prompted, "It appears you are from the future." She looked up to the Arthur's eyes and slowly nodded.
"It seems to be the only explanation."
"OK," the young man said," Then you won't mind answering a few questions, just to make sure?" She hesitated a moment but nodded in agreement. "An easy one to start, name two knights of the round table." Her face scrunched up as she thought and confidently looked up at Arthur.
"You, Arthur, and Lancelot." The knights now looked intrigued, it had been a while since Lancelot had died and not many talked about him.
"OK," Arthur continued, "Tell me something you know about me." He'd have to hope she said something that had already happened or else he would not be able to tell if she was right. She didn't even hesitated as she launched into a detailed account of how Arthur removed the great sword of Excalibur and took back Camelot from evil. Arthur was impressed, she got many of the details right but, it was the way she told it that convinced him. She got this far off look in her eyes as though she were retelling an old bedtime story that she'd heard a million times, even though it only happened a few years ago.
"Alright then," Arthur announced to the group. He walked toward the crater in the ground where the grimward had been dropped and broken, and retrieved the two pieces. "How about we take Miss. Jane back to Camelot until we can think of a proper plan to get her home." Arthur offered Jane his arm, which she gladly took. He then proceeded to announce each member of the group. When he reached Merlin she paused and her face displayed a new look of interest. Then it dawned on Merlin. If she was from the future then she might know about his magic! He was tense, waiting for her to reveal him, however, she just smiled and continued on with Arthur. As the knights retrieved their horses she went up to Merlin.
"Don't worry," she said, grabbing Merlin's attention, "I don't intend on ruining Camelot's best asset so early in the game." Merlin smiled, he was starting to like her. Maybe it was because she grew up in a different time but she was bolder than most of the ladies he knew. Who knows, maybe she could become a friend.