author's note

Welcome back to my fic! I hope you like this chapter. I really loved it myself and hope you all do too.

In other news, I have started writing my own original story. It's just a creative piece that I'm doing on the side; nothing serious but I do intend to update it regularly and keep i in main focus. If you're interested in reading it, send me a message and I will give you the link or you can check it out on my tumblr!

sincerely,

Ms. AtomicBomb

morning brings what night often hides
new adventures, with ample exploration

three

Jeanne awoke, the loud alarm on her phone filling the room. She rolled about, reaching over towards the phone, taking it in her hands and silencing it. She sat up, hair a complete mess as she looked about her room lazily, she already knew that campus was open, seeing that there were no notifications on her home screen that belonged to the university.

She stood from the makeshift bed on the floor. "I guess it really wasn't a dream…" She mumbled as she looked upon the body occupying her bed. The knight had put up a great fight after she had given him the bed. He said it was not 'chivalrous' of him to let a 'lady' sleep on the floor, but after her persuasion (and she was very persuasive) he had agreed that only for that night he would accept her bed.

Pulling open her closet, she checked if it had finally opened to the other world, but after accepting defeat, she pulled out her outfit for the day and a winter jacket. Glancing at the man once more, she gave a sigh and headed off towards the bathroom, obviously locking the door. Her morning routine commenced (although the washroom was a mess), and she took her shower and commenced the tedious process of drying her hair.

After she was done, she exited the bathroom. "Oh, good morning." She greeted the man who was now sitting on the bed, rubbing his eyes.

"Good morning, my lady," he yawned.

She rubbed her neck. "You can't stay here alone. My mother usually stays home and if you make any noise she won't fail to come in and investigate."

"We must find a way for my return. I can't idly stay here and do nothing."

"Though," Jeanne frowned, "there's a huge problem. If you want to come with me… you can't possibly leave the house wearing…well, your clothes…you need something more…modern."

Gawain looked down at his clothing. "I beg your pardon, my lady? This is the latest fashion, as granted to us by the king himself."

She smiled, "Yes, but sadly, they aren't in fashion anymore, although the outfit is lovely. I'd have to borrow some clothing from my brother or possibly ask Artie for some clothing."

The knight just stared at her. "Women…they wear trousers?"

Jeanne looked down at her jeans, nodding. "Yes, they do. They also wear very revealing clothes."

He frowned. "How disappointing. I think that a dress compliments a lady nicely, but times have changed, and I don't expect them to stay the same for me."

"Well, women also work now, so don't be surprised to see women lifting things and doing hard labour jobs."

"What? A woman shouldn't be driven to this. Of course, they are strong and, well…men should be the ones to…truly the world has changed."

Jeanne nodded, "Yes." She walked to the door. "Now, please stay put. I will get you a change of clothes and a towel for you to change out of that."

He watched as Jeanne left the room, closing the door behind herself. But curiosity washed over him, he was dying to get to know everything around him, it was a whole new world that he could've never imagined. He stood, glancing down at his discarded armour plates, he would have to put them on after the shower. Finally, the knight explored the room, for all he knew was the washroom.

Gawain took light, calculated steps. Such wonder, such…perfection. The structure of the room was very well thought out and he looked at all the symmetrical structures—the window, the door frames, everything… His eyes landed on a mirror, which he had already analyzed the night before.

"It captures your features so…precisely." He stared at his reflection, reaching out towards it, fingers grazing the smooth, reflective surface. He disliked the mirror, he thought it was a bewitching thing and he had true dislike for it, but he wanted to acquaint himself with such an enemy. After he had deemed he'd given the mirror enough of his time, he looked around a little more. There were pictures that he saw on the corners of the vanity and he looked at them in awe.

"How fascinating! To think the artist of these really captures the essence of the Lady Jehanette…without a single brush stroke. What material is this made of? Parchment or canvas does not feel so smooth…" He saw the many pictures of Jeanne, seeing that there was another reoccurring lady next to her. "How much do portraits cost nowadays? Although they are small, they have fine details and richness of colour. Such splendid work, I would love to get one of myself."

Something made a sound; he identified it as some sort song but stranger—more pitchy and strained. It was strange. He thought it was possibly the sound of a xylophone or another instrument, but it was quicker, a human could not play at such a speed and he couldn't see anyone that made such a noise. Something vibrated and the ringtone persisted.

Gawain caught a flashing light that came from the bedside table. He walked to it with caution, taking a hairbrush from the vanity. He peaked at the rectangle that lit up, made noise, and moved. "What are you?" He asked, pointing the hairbrush at it. "I demand an answer in the name of our King; Arthur of the house of Pendragon!"

The object continued to make noise.

It seemed to be alive, as anything that lives makes noise and moves. Though, it never answered his request. The object became still and silent and stopped flashing, thus he reached for it; poking it.

It did not move.

He picked it up. It looked to be lifeless; it had no heartbeat or breath.

It rung once more, lighting up and shaking in his hands. He threw it unto the bed, shuddering and taking a few steps back.

"Answer me!" He commanded.

It only continued ringing.

Seeing as it did not make drastic movements, he reached once more for it, seeing a portrait of the other lady in Jehanette's paintings and two circles below it; one green and one red. "How does such a portrait appear and disappear…fascinating."

He touched the green circle.

"Jeanne!" It talked. It bloody talked!

He threw it back onto the bed.

There was a sound of distorted shuffling. Then it spoke, "Jeanne?" The voice was softer now.

"What are you?" He asked the voice. "Speak up!"

"Who is this?" It was the voice of a woman, definitely!

"I am Gawain of Orkney, the Ladies' Knight! I ask once more, what are you?"

"Who? Excuse me, who are you? Where is Jeanne? I'm sure this is not the wrong number."

He looked around. Wrong number? Is that what they called jests? "I am not the lady Jehanette; she has stepped out of her chambers."

"What?"

"Lady…Glowing Rectangle, I ask again, what are you?"

Precisely, the door opened, and Jeanne gave a mortified expression. "What's going on?" She asked, "Who are you talking to?"

Gawain shot his head toward her, mirroring the petrified look. He pointed with the hair brush at the talking object. "Lady Glowing Rectangle," he replied. "A most frightening thing."

Jeanne ran to the bed, dropping the clothes at the door. "Hello?" She brought the thing to her ear. "Artie, oh my goodness. I am so sorry."

He gave her a distressed expression. "My lady! I daresay, step away from that…thing. It could be dangerous!"

"Shush! It's a phone, it isn't going to kill anyone." She frowned. "—No, sorry. That's uhm. His name is Gawain…yeah, sorry. I…I'll talk to you about it later." She gave him a glare. "Yeah, I know. Honestly, he's an acquittance of sorts. I met him yesterday…Ye—No! Arturia, please, why would you say something like that? Please. Okay, bye, I'll see you at school and we'll talk about it then. Yeah, okay. Bye…Yes, bye."

Jeanne pulled the phone away from her ear and poked it before she turned to him. "I told you to stay put." She gave a frown.

"I do apologize, lady Jehanette. Though, the 'phone' began to squeak? And it truly frightened me. I may seem…ridiculous to you, my lady, but you must surely understand that I have never seen something such as a 'phone' before. How does it speak and move without so much as a heartbeat?"

She looked at him, accepting the fact that he was unfamiliar with technology and well…everything. "You see," she held up the phone, "this thing is used to communicate with people, like letters or something…" She unlocked it. "It also does many other things. You can play games on it, take pictures, access the internet…and obviously talk to other people. So, if my father is at work and I am at home and need him to bring me something, I can call him or write to him (we call it texting) to ask him to bring me what I need. Or if I am far away I can speak with my friends and family to keep in touch."

He just stared at her again, then looked at the unlocked phone. "So, it connects people? How superb! This world is such a…I have no words."

"Yes, now, you have to take a shower and change into the clothes I brought you. My mother will wake up soon and when she does…well, you'd need to be out of the house by then. I brought some of my brother's clothes as I know that Jean's would be a bit too small on you. So, do you know how to use the shower?"

He blinked in response.

Jeanne sighed, picking up the clothes from the floor and leading him to the bathroom. "Now, ignoring the mess you made, the shower is simple to use. You just turn it. The more you turn the more water it shoots out. The water comes from the shower head which is right there. Now, if you turn the knob to the right there will be cold water, to the left you get hot water."

"Hot water? You needn't boil it?" He asked.

She shook her head. "No. There's a furnace in the basement which heats the house and the water."

"This world is made of so much opportunities and everything is at your fingertips! How fascinating!"

"Yes, it is all pretty cool if you think about it. So, another thing. When you need to use the bathroom, remember to flush the toilet."

"Ah, what does that do?"

"It gets rid of everything in the toilet," she pressed her lips together. "So, take a shower and change into these clothes. I will have to give you one of my father's winter coats; I'm sure he won't miss it. Please, again, don't make a mess."

"I can't thank you enough, my lady, your patience is outstanding!" He gave her a smile, which made him look healthier. Now that he was well rested, the bags under his eyes had slightly disappeared but his lips were still chapped.

"Do not leave the bathroom until you are fully dressed; remember that."

"I would not even think of it."

Jeanne nodded. "Good, now I'll be back soon and wait in the bedroom until you're finished."

"Thank you…oh! The…" He looked at the mirror, "the mirror. Is there a possible way to…cover it maybe? I do not like it very much."

Jeanne frowned. "I will find something but for today you will have to settle with it the way it is…"

"Thank you, it is very kind of you." He gave her another smile.

She hoped that the clothing would fit him. If he was going to stay, she needed to buy him some clothing and find a place for him to stay. There was no way that he could stay in her house unannounced, unless Arturia came up with something. Arturia, oh how skeptical she would be when she heard the story.