At Last I See The Knight(s)

The next weekend, the two couples made their way down the sidewalk towards home after a movie. Night had settled in, though the streets were anything but empty, with many people milling around outside the various pubs, taking in the warm, summer night.

After a long week of working and searching (and still finding nothing in regards to Morgana or impending danger) Elia, Merlin and Gwen thought it time to introduce Arthur to the cinema. And to be honest, they all needed another night off. He had taken to watching movies and documentaries, with Gwen patiently answering all his questions when she came by after work. She had practically moved in with them, not wanting to spend even a night away from Arthur. She had also invented a grave family illness so that she could take indefinite leave from work starting that weekend. But watching movies on the television did not prepare him for the splendor that was going to the movie theater for the first time.

"I still can't understand how they make it so big," he said as Gwen chuckled from his arm. "Giants exist, then?"

"Ehm, no. Those aren't giants. Just… the screen is rather large so they look that way," Merlin said, smiling at him. Elia chuckled as well as she popped a bit of licorice in her mouth.

"He might enjoy the West End while we're here," Elia said, looking up at him. "We can get some box seats."

"You've got box seats? Please, can we go?" Gwen begged, looking over at her. Elia winked.

"'Course. Nothing like a good night out at the theatre," she said, grinning.

They continued chatting about the movie, with Elia, Merlin and Gwen all taking turns answering the never-ending stream of questions from Arthur as they continued on - and telling him numerous times that no, superheroes were not actually real and Merlin could not make a person fly. While at times Arthur still seemed hesitant about the idea of magic, he was starting to come around to the wonder of it. Though more often than not, he marveled at something that was technology rather than magic.

As they neared the entrance to another pub, Elia couldn't help but go silent as she felt a niggle of something in the back of her mind. She stopped suddenly, looking over at the door.

"What is it?" Merlin asked, looking down at her and then over at the pub entrance.

"I… don't know," she said. "Just… got a feeling all of a sudden."

"What sort of feeling?" Gwen asked, stepping over to her.

"Like… something I'm supposed to see… is here," she said.

"Are you sure that's not your mind wanting a drink?" Arthur asked. Elia shook her head, too focused on the feeling to get annoyed with him. It felt like there was a soft buzzing in her head. She took a step towards the door and it got a bit louder.

"I feel it too," Merlin said, now staring at the door as well. It wasn't all that different from the day Arthur returned.

"What could it mean?" Arthur asked.

"I don't know, but I feel like we're meant to go inside," Merlin said, starting towards the door.

Before he could reach it, the door burst open and three men tumbled outside, with one falling onto the sidewalk. Merlin barely had time to pull Elia out of the way before they went careening passed them.

"For the last time, Ian, don't come back here!" a large, disgruntled man shouted down at the man on the ground. He rolled over and started laughing.

"Ah, but then you'd be out of entertainment," he replied as the other man held his hand out and helped him up. The two couples were frozen in place as he shook his head slightly and looked back over at the third man, who was presumably the owner of the establishment.

"No, I would finally have a bit of peace and no broken bottles," the man shouted. "Stay away." He then turned on his heels and strode back into the bar.

"Wonder what's got his knickers in a twist," Ian said, brushing dust off his trousers, his curly hair falling into his face.

"Pretty sure it's you, mate," the other man said. He was much taller and broader, though he looked down at his friend with clear annoyance on his face. "Do you seriously have to get into a fight every night? We're banned from nearly every pub in the neighborhood!"

"Then suppose we can start on the next neighborhood, Michael," Ian said with a grin. He then noticed the four people standing frozen nearby watching them. "Ehm… can I help you?"

Merlin was the first to move, quickly smiling.

"Sorry, just… gave us a bit of a scare is all. Though no harm was done," he said. He then elbowed Arthur in the ribs, trying to get him to shut his mouth that had fallen open. Ian nodded as he studied the group, suddenly frowning slightly.

"Do I know you? You seem a bit familiar," he said. "Have we met before?"

"Ehm, yes, er..." Elia said, though wondering just where she was to go from there. "I mean… I think we've met before." Ian continued to study them before clapping his hands together and grinning.

"Rupert's wedding. That was it, wasn't it," he said. His eyes fell on Elia. "We shagged in a closet, didn't we?" Her eyes widened as she blushed slightly and Merlin frowned.

"I should think not. This is my wife," he said sternly, temporarily forgetting who the man bore a strong resemblance to. Ian smiled and put his hands up.

"Apologies. My mistake," he said, though he winked at Elia. "If you'll excuse us, we'll be off then." He started to turn, though Elia stepped towards them.

"Maybe you two would like to join us? We were just off to get a drink," she said quickly, not wanting to let them walk off just yet. Ian looked down at her, an amused smile on his face as he glanced over at Merlin. He found it odd, but his sense of adventure was calling for him to join them. They looked rather harmless to him.

"I mean… we obviously know each other from somewhere," she continued. "I'm curious to figure out where…"

"Suppose there's no harm in that," he said. "Only managed to get a few drinks in at this place."

"Ian, we should be getting back home. And you've had enough to drink tonight," Michael said. "Maybe another night…"

"What's the harm in a couple more drinks?" Elia asked quickly, nearly shouting at the two. They shared a look, with Michael clearly saying with his eyes that this was a bad idea and not to do what Ian was clearly thinking. Ian just grinned.

"Lead the way," he said, starting to walk with Elia. Michael rolled his eyes and moved to follow.

"There's a place just up here a ways," she said.

"What's the name? Need to make sure we're not banned from it," Michael said.

"Perhaps we should just head to ours then?" Elia offered, glancing back at them. "It's nearby."

"Lead the way," Ian said boisterously as Michael rolled his eyes.

"What are you doing?" Merlin hissed in her ear as Ian and Michael struck up a conversation with Gwen and a still stunned Arthur.

"Well… figure if we can get them back to our place, you can do the spell," she whispered back.

"Elia, they're going to think we're mad or serial killers," he whispered back. "Or a cult."

"They won't," Elia said. Michael kept glancing at them, an odd look on his face. "Seems Percival is already starting to get some of his memories back."

"Or he thinks he's about to get murdered," Merlin said. Elia elbowed him in the side.

"At least Gwaine was easy enough to convince," she shot back.

"Pretty sure Gwaine is drunk," Merlin said as the man in question stumbled a bit.

"It'll be fine," Elia said. Merlin just rolled his eyes.

"I hope you're right…"

Truth be told, Elia hadn't thought farther than getting them to the house. But now that Gwaine and Percival were seated in the back garden with Arthur and Gwen, she wasn't sure what to do next. She studied them from the kitchen window while Merlin moved around the kitchen, gathering drinks.

"We can't just tell them," he said. "There's no way they'll believe us. And you remember how long it took for Gwen's memories to start surfacing. Percival's already suspicious of us."

"I know," Elia said, tapping her finger against her bottom lip. "But we've got to do something… you think we could slip the potion in their drinks?"

"I don't think it works that way," Merlin said with a sigh. "Besides, are we absolutely sure it's them?"

"They are the spitting image of Gwaine and Percival," Elia said, turning to him and planting her hands on her hips. "And that was perfect Gwaine - getting kicked out of a pub in front of us." Merlin sighed and shook his head.

"I admit, that was very much like him," he said. "But still… we can't just force them to take a potion. Not until we're sure. You remember the side effects if they aren't them." Elia nodded.

"Fine. Let's just… dunno, see if anything pops up tonight," she said, moving to help Merlin with the drinks. They went out to the back as Gwaine laughed loudly. Percival was silent, watching the couple cautiously.

"What'd we miss?" Elia asked as she started passing around bottles of beer.

"Gw- Ian was just entertaining us," Gwen said, gratefully accepting the beer and taking a generous gulp.

"You don't talk much, do you?" Gwaine said, looking at Arthur. His eyes widened as he looked over at Merlin and Elia for help. "Why do I get the feeling that you usually talk more?" Elia glanced at Merlin and smiled as she sat next to Percival.

"Usually he does," she answered. Gwaine turned to look at her, a funny look coming over his face.

"Didn't your hair used to be longer?" he asked. Elia's grin widened.

"Yea, it did," she replied. "Suppose we do know each other."

"Look, this has been… fun, but I really think we should get going," Percival said, starting to stand.

"Sit down, Michael," Gwaine said good-naturedly. "We just got here."

"Yea, and we're at a perfect stranger's house," Percival replied. "No offense."

"None taken," Merlin said, giving Elia a look. Percival reached for his beer and then stopped, his eyes widening as he froze for a moment. Elia felt her heart leap as she studied him. It was obvious that he had remembered something. He looked over at Merlin and Elia, then over at Arthur and Gwen. He then returned to looking at Elia and Merlin.

"Your name… why do I feel like it's Merlin and not Leo?" he asked. Elia grinned as she sat up in her chair and looked at Merlin.

"Because it is," she said.

"What kind of name is Merlin?" Gwaine asked, laughing. "Let me guess - your parents were Arthurian scholars."

"It's just... my name," Merlin replied. Gwaine continued chuckling.

"We have met before, haven't we?" Percival continued, intently studying Elia. "I mean, Ian meets folks all the time when he's drunk, but… I would remember… I'm not sure why I'm struggling with it." Elia took a deep breath and slowly let it out.

"That's because we have met. Though it was a long time ago. In another life," she started. Merlin glared at her. She had given him a hard time about barging in with the truth with Gwen and now she was doing the same thing with the knights.

"That makes no sense," Gwaine said.

"It's true," Elia continued. "You see… there's no way around this but, I'm Elia, queen of The Willows. And this is Merlin, the Merlin. That's King Arthur and Queen Guinevere." Percival continued to gape at her as Gwaine laughed harder.

"Let me guess, that makes us Lancelot and Galahad," he replied.

"Close. You're Gwaine and you're Percival," Elia said. "King Arthur's knights. Or at least, you're reincarnations of them." Gwaine stared at her a moment, blinking. He then started laughing again.

"Christ, I must be drunk," he said. "This is entertaining, though…" He then realized that Percival was still quiet, staring at Elia. "What is it, Michael?"

"I was at your wedding," he said softly. "You got married in a garden." Elia grinned as she glanced over at Merlin.

"He's remembering," she said excitedly. Gwaine studied Percival a bit and then looked over at Elia.

"I don't remember this wedding," he said.

"You weren't there," Elia said, though stopped herself before she said anything more. She didn't think it smart to mention that he had died before the nuptials took place.

"How do I know these things?" Percival asked. "It's… all of a sudden, I'm remembering things… things I shouldn't…"

"Think you've watched one too many movies, mate," Gwaine said before taking another drink of his beer. Percival then looked over at him, a look of horror and sadness coming over his face. Elia held her breath, knowing what he was remembering.

"What is it?" Gwen asked softly.

"He was there when… he's remembering… that," Elia said. Gwen's eyes widened as she looked back at the two knights.

"Okay, this has been fun, but I think it's time we left," Gwaine said, starting to stand. Elia quickly jumped and moved over to him, sitting him back down. "You're rather strong for a spritely thing."

"You know how strong I am," she replied. "It's the truth. All of it. The great dragon said that Arthur would return when Albion's need was greatest and tasked myself and Merlin with waiting and preparing for his return. He's back and so is Gwen. Now it seems that you two have returned to help as well."

Gwaine blinked as he stared up at her, her words not quite registering.

"And I thought I was the drunk one," he finally said before grinning. "You are clearly more drunk than I am. Or high… not sure which it is." Elia sighed, and rolled her eyes.

"I think… I think they're telling the truth," Percival said. Gwaine looked over at him, his eyes widening.

"You can't possibly buy into this, this… bollocks," he said, finally turning serious. Percival looked up at Elia and then over at Arthur.

"I… I feel like we were all great friends at one point," he said.

"We were," Arthur finally said, his voice thick with emotion. "You were some of my best friends."

"There is a spell we can do," Elia said. "It would bring back all of your memories from before." Gwaine looked up at her, still not believing her.

"Christ, you're not one of those wiccans, are you?" he asked.

"No, I'm an elf," Elia said, glaring down at him.

"Then why are your ears not pointy?" Gwaine replied, motioning to his own ears. Elia glanced over at Merlin, who muttered something under his breath, his eyes flashing. Elia's ears grew, causing Gwaine to curse as he scooted back from her suddenly, managing to topple out of it. Percival took the change in a much calmer manner.

"You're… a queen?" he said, frowning as though he were struggling to grasp onto the memories.

"Yes, I already said that," she said, turning her attention back to Gwaine, who was still on the ground. "And you are Gwaine, a knight of the round table."

"No, I'm Ian. And I work at the docks," he said.

"You are Gwaine and you're a bloody knight!" Elia said, stomping her foot.

"Elia, I think he's had enough for tonight," Merlin said, standing up to pull her back. As Gwaine watched the two of them, it was as though something dawned on him. He pushed himself up from the ground and watched as Merlin led a frowning Elia over to her chair.

"You two… you were sneaking around. I caught you," he said, seeming surprised at the words coming from his mouth. Elia and Merlin paused, looking over at him. "I was supposed to keep it from…" he looked over, meeting Arthur's eyes. "You. You couldn't find out for some reason."

"Don't remind me," Arthur replied, frowning at Merlin and Elia.

"We weren't going to keep it from you forever," Elia said, rolling her eyes again. Gwen started smiling in amusement.

"And you… why do I remember us running away from some blokes at a pub?" Gwaine said, looking at Merlin.

"Because it happened more than once," Merlin said. Gwaine sat back down and began rubbing his face.

"This makes no sense. None of it," he said.

"Don't you want to know more?" Elia asked, taking a cautious step towards the two. "Don't you want all your memories back?" Percival looked over, meeting Gwaine's eyes.

"It couldn't hurt," he said.

"I can't believe you're buying all this… magic potion shite," Gwaine said. Percival sighed.

"But you have to admit that it makes some sense," he said. "Why are we suddenly remembering all these random things?"

"Probably because they've drugged us and we're hallucinating," Gwaine said. "Next they're going to kill us for some sort of sacrifice or spell."

"We haven't," Elia said. "And, god. No." Gwaine looked over at her and then back at Percival, who seemed to be pleading with his eyes for them to go with it. He finally sighed and sat up.

"Fine. We'll take this… potion," he said. Elia grinned as she turned to Merlin. He walked back inside, running down to the basement where he kept extra stocked, just in case of this very reason. Gwen and Arthur stood with Gwen gazing up at him hopefully.

"It won't hurt, though you'll likely be a bit disoriented for a bit," Elia explained.

"Will we forget who we are?" Percival asked.

"No. You'll keep all your memories as you are now. Just the old ones will come back as well," she replied. Merlin rushed back up, two small bottles in his hand. He handed them to Gwaine and Percival. The two knights stared at them for a moment before glancing at each other.

"Bottoms up," Gwaine said with a small smile as he pulled the stopper out and downed his. Percival followed as they both looked over at Elia and Merlin. Quickly, Merlin performed the spell as the other three watched on.

After a few moments, Gwaine fell over, the two of them breathing heavily.

"How do you feel?" Elia asked cautiously.

"Like I'm hungover," Gwaine said, his eyes screwed shut. Percival looked around the group, a smile starting to appear. He then launched out of the chair and took Arthur in a bear hug.

"You're alive!" he exclaimed. Elia smiled as she wrapped an arm around Merlin's waist. Percival then let go and looked to Gwen, hugging her next. Elia glanced over, seeing Gwaine looking up at them. He blinked, his eyes seeming to fill with tears as he gazed around the group. He had not had a quiet, easy death while he was old and gray. Not like Percival and Gwen.

"Am I really here?" he asked softly, looking over at Merlin and Elia. Elia smiled as she felt a couple tears slip down her cheek. "Is this… really another chance?"

"It is," Merlin said. Gwaine then pushed up out of his chair and walked over as Merlin hugged him, letting go of Elia in the process. "This is… I don't know what this…"

"How about, welcome back," Elia said, grinning up at him. Gwaine couldn't help but smile as he turned to hug her.

After the hugs and such had gone around, they settled back at the table after the knights started feeling a bit lightheaded again. Elia had quickly gone in to grab them some water and aspirin as they calmly filled them in on what they had been up to the previous 20-something years. They had both had relatively normal, quiet lives, it seemed, working at the docks together. They were only children and neither were particularly close to their families, spending most of their free time together. Elia couldn't help but feel grateful that they had at least found each other.

"So why are we all back?" Gwaine finally asked some time later, returning to sipping at his beer.

"Well… I think it's because Arthur's back," Merlin said, glancing over at him.

"Any idea why Arthur's back?" Gwaine then asked.

"We're still working on that," Elia replied.

"Is Morgana here?" Percival asked. "I assume she's behind this." The group looked at each other.

"We don't know," Merlin said. "If she's back, we haven't come across her yet." The two knights nodded.

"Well, whatever it is, we are here to offer our help," Gwaine said, grinning.

"And we're glad for it," Arthur said, now smiling broadly. The group continued talking, reminiscing and such. Elia sighed as she leaned her head on Merlin's shoulder.

"I think it's finally coming together," she said softly.

"That it is."

I'll admit, I'm not completely happy with this chapter, but after attempting to re-write it about 20 times, I've just given up and committed to what I have. Probably because I made it happen so quickly, but at the same time, I didn't want to have to spend as much time on Gwaine and Percival as I did with Gwen since I thought it might slow the story down too much - or have to make drastic changes to the following chapters. So, here we are. Others are coming back as well, but I have more plot points to work with later on so am able to spread it out more. Thought if I spread this out too much, it would be a lot of sitting around and reading books or taking Arthur around to stuff, and I was already getting tired of writing that. Didn't want you guys to get bored reading. Probably going to be another plot hole on my part later on, but whatevs…

But, yay! Gwaine and Percival are back! The gang is coming together!

And also, finally got around to starting up a Fictionpress account (same username). Can't post yet but planning to get my original story "A Walk Among Goddesses" up as soon as I can. Maybe some others as I've garnered a rather large collection of stories over the years…

Gaylelbf – Thanks!

Radwood (Guest) – Thank you! More is coming!

AndreKl - Oh my god, explaining that is hard. I'm still not completely happy with the final reason for Arthur's return that I came up with (mostly because I feel like there's a better reason out there, I just can't come up with it). I mean, in terms of magic dying, I went with a "well… people gradually stopped believing in it over the centuries…" excuse. But at the same time, it's addressed by different characters throughout this story that it's not REALLY gone, just not as visible. (Not sure if it's come up a lot yet, but I do have it in upcoming chapters – I'm now writing the last 4 chapters of the story, though I've got it plotted out to the end. Also going through and doing some editing and re-writing now that final details have been set.)

And yea, I think I interpreted the show differently, but it's cool. At the end of the day, this is a fanfic, so I'm just going wherever I want with it – even if it doesn't make complete sense. And I fully acknowledge that there are things that don't make sense, even though I try to smooth them out as best I can as I write and edit (main reason that I try not to start posting a story until I'm mostly done writing it, though I sometimes get ahead of myself). I'm just writing this for fun. If other people end up liking it too, then that's just icing on the cake. ^_^ If not, eh, it's cool.

OechsnerC – Haha, well, you got Gwaine!

Thanks for reading, following and reviewing!