Disclaimer: I do not own anything
AN: Mordred and Arthur are referred to as him/he/his by other characters. The MC refers to both as female (she/her) since he knows their actual gender. If the story is in 3rd person, then they are both still represented as female. Also the '-' represents the thoughts of the MC being transmitted to Mordred.
A morning wouldn't be right without rolling for some 2D characters on your favorite gacha game. Be it single or 10x rolls, the adrenaline I get from clicking a single button is fantastic. Then came the crashing disappointment when my waifu failed to show up. The terms of rolling and crashing did not translate well in the context of my chest against a car. First comes the crash and annihilation of my bodily functions; then comes the rolling and scraping across the concrete road. My only solace is my nervous system being overwhelmed by the initial impact. It was not a pleasant experience...Not at all.
My body ragdoll across the pavement like a Tom and Jerry flick. I blackout during my uneventful suffering, only to regain consciousness seconds later. The instant my eyes shot open, I was bewildered at the change in scenery and void of any pain. My body was wrapped in a sort of cloth and held in the arms of a giant. I was a healthy mid-20 male so anyone who could engulf my entire being with their arms must be huge. What replaced my murder scene was a medieval room containing lit candles and a woman. Now that I thought about it, the woman looked particularly familiar. She had the face of a character from the money sucking gacha game called Fate Grand Order.
The stranger who carried me held a stern voice as she spewed forth strange noises, which I assumed to be a language I had no understanding of. From what I could infer, they were probably demands or promises of the future.
"%$! ! ^! %%&()# Mordred."
I understood that name and the realization of my predicament dawned on me. I was literally hit so hard by a car that my very soul was forced out of my reality. Apparently, the driver had a godlike aim because I was catapulted directly into the body of the Knight of Treachery in the exact moment of her supposed birth. I was an inbred baby of two females because magic is bullshit. Did I mention the fact that my father was female? The Fate series has a unique way of removing genitals from historic figures. My current body also faced the same treatment. If I didn't try to change anything I would be killed by my female father.
My baby self began crying and raised her arms, grasping at the hair of my new mother. An act that I had no control over. I tried to shut my mouth to no avail. My mother Morgan glared at me, which worsened the screams coming from my lungs.
It became obvious that I had no power over our body; in fact, I was a mere spectator viewing the world from the eyes of the original Mordred. This restriction would definitely get me killed by gender-swap Arthur.
Just like that, we reached adulthood in a short span of 2 years. In those times of Mordred's and my new childhood, a few interesting facts were found. We, the two beings in one body, held a strange relationship. I became more than a spectator and in a way, was and was not Mordred. It's accurate to describe myself as the subconsciousness of this body. We were technically different entities so I referred to my partner as Mordred and myself as the hitchhiker. She probably was the original owner of this body, and I just happened to be here by accident. Mordred never noticed my existence as if I was always part of her. We could never communicate with each other so maybe I was just part of her imagination. Or at least, a human turned into a piece of Mordred's split personality.
For most of our childhood, Mordred was the pilot of our body. Yet, I still experienced every action, pain, and emotion confronted by Mordred. Her beliefs and outlook on life mixed with my own, conflicting with the morals of my past life. In return, some of my habits were inherited by her. A simple case was my dislike for radishes. There was a time when Mother decided to feed us steamed radishes. I violently recoiled when the vegetable was presented to me and Mordred twisted our body in disgust as well. Of course, being Morgan, she was not pleased with our response and forced the horrid things down our throat. That memory would forever stay in the deepest parts of my mind.
As time passed, the restraints over my influence lessened. Our two personalities became more intertwined, but still separate enough to be different. In rare moments of our homunculus adulthood, I suddenly gained bodily functions during mock battles and bloody conflicts. I could confidently say that not all of my fighting prowess came from my roommate. Our life proceeded as explained by the Fate series and normal historic lore. Mordred joined the Knights of the Round Table without issue and successfully gained the trust of Arthur Pendragon. We fought for the nation and protected it from barbarians. Sadly, this included the dirty deeds that were given to us.
Flashback
"Please, Sir Mordred." An elder man kneeled upon the muddied ground. "Please spare this village."
A knight, clad in full red and silver armor, loomed over the dirtied village chef. A confrontation between Britain's army against the barbarians would occur near their location. The army had mouths to feed and food must be replenished from outside sources. The unfortunate supplier usually fell on the closest settlement to the upcoming battles.
Soldiers were loading up the stored food of the village, taking anything that could be of use by the army. The leader of the village kept begging for mercy. The summer had passed and the winter winds arrived early. This village would not survive until the next summer season without their harvest. The meager food they had could barely sustain the entire village through the winter. Now that it was being taken away, there was no possible way for the settlement to survive.
"I beg of your Lord Knight. We can only provide so little, or our families will starve if we give you more." The elder wept as he continuously bashed his head onto the ground, streams of blood flowed from his forehead.
"Is that treason, worm?" Mordred gave a stern response and raised her sword. The elder saw the danger and shuddered in fear. Nevertheless, he continued his plea for mercy.
"We paid our dues and volunteered our young in service of our nation. We have done so much. Please allow us this one mercy." The knight listened to every word spoken by the man. She could feel his desperation and the weight of his duties straining his health. In a cruel future, the deaths of his loved ones might be on his shoulders as well. That was, unless Mordred took the lead in killing them off for treason.
The armored knight brought her sword down on the kneeling man. The village chief shut his eyes in trepidation. However, the strike never came. He slowly reopened his eyes to see the gleaming blade between his legs and inches from his face.
"Very well." Mordred sheathed her blade and faced the blood stained man. "You may keep some of your food, though we will still be taking a small portion to sustain the war effort."
Hearing those words, the elderly man streamed praises towards Mordred before leaving his kneeling position to tell the wondrous news to his people.
In another reality, Mordred would have slaughtered the villagers for their defiance. Here, the body held two separate entities: one pushed for the deaths of the humans to please her King, while the other could not stand the suffering of the innocent trying to feed their families. The latter seemed to have won out and appealed to the former to spare the villagers. They compromised on the option of taking a portion of the supplies, allowing the settlers a chance of survival and partially fulfilling her mission from the King. Her standing in the eyes of King Arthur may be tarnished by her extended supply run. It was still worth the cost of the guilt of killing the innocent. All of this was possible because of the extra soul within Mordred. Without it, she would have viewed the humans as nothing but livestock to be killed and used for the benefit of her King. It gave her a consciousness beyond the desire to please the king. It gave her an understanding of kindness and family not taught by her biological parents.
"Mister Knight?" A tiny voice rang out as Mordred was contemplating her actions. She looked for the source and saw a little girl timidly making her way towards the homunculus. The child was young, her height not even reaching the knight's waist. Curious about the intentions of the youth, Mordred knelt down on one knee.
"So little one. What brings you here?" In response the little girl extended her arms to reveal a small gem stone upon her palms.
"Papa says Mister Knight protects us from getting hurt." She sheepishly replied. "Thank you for protecting me and papa."
The statement caught Mordred off guard as she was never genuinely thanked for her actions as a knight. At least, none she had known of especially coming from children. Villagers and usually children tended to avoid her, unless contact was necessary. To say Mordred was amused by the girl's gift was an understatement. She was filled with gratitude, for the girl was the first to ever give thanks to the Knight of Treachery without any underlying goals.
"There you are Lena". A bearded man rushed towards the pair and hugged the child.
The girl, Lena, embraced her father before pointing a finger at Mordred. "Look papa, I found Mister Knight from the stories you told me about."
"I'm sorry that my daughter has disturbed you Sir Mordred". The adult bowed his head, fearing for his daughter's safety. Within this era, many of noble status despised commoners and all who were beneath their power.
Mordred shook her head. "There is no need to apologize. You have a very courageous and beautiful daughter, Countryman…"
"Egbert, Sir Mordred." He straightened himself and looked at his daughter. Egbert motioned for his daughter to introduce herself. "Lena is my shining star. She is my everything."
"Hello Mister Knight. I am Lena. Thank you for protecting me and papa". She smiled and presented her gift once more.
Mordred took off her helmet; her blond hair fell onto her shoulders as she did so. It was an act forbidden by Morgan, alas she might reveal her true gender (and heritage). Yet, she wished to return the unique kindness she was given by Lena. And did so anyway.
"And I am Knight Mordred." She proclaimed and patted the child's head. Egbert jolted by Mordred's actions, but nothing else as he realized Mordred meant no harm to Lena.
Mordred picked up the stone held by the girl and examined it. "It is a wonderful gift." She clamped her hand around the gem stone and placed it upon her chest. "I will surely treasure this, Lena."
Hearing these words, Lena's eyes sparkled and embraced Mordred. Her little arms wrapped around the knight's neck. Both Egbert and Mordred were surprised by the boldness of the little girl. Egbert feared for what's to come, but Mordred accepted it and returned the jester. The culprit giggled and smiled.
In the end, the experience was strange but it was a welcomed one. As Egbert was about to leave with his daughter, Lena made one final wave to send Mordred off.
"Thank you Mister Knight. I hope to see you again." She yelled as she waved goodbye.
"I hope so as well." Mordred replied with a smile. She looked at the stone within her armored palm. "I truly wish for it."
As the two villagers left, Mordred felt many eyes upon her. She surveyed the surroundings to see her soldiers pausing in their tracks with gaping mouths.
"The hell you looking at. Get back to work!" She angrily ordered and her soldiers swiftly obeyed.
Mordred later traveled to other villages to obtain adequate supplies before returning to her king. King Arthur was displeased by the time it took for her to achieve her mission. It had taken Mordred nearly 2 days to acquire enough to feed the marching soldiers, enough time for the barbarians to entrench themselves within Britain's borders. Mordred was condemned for her failure. Though she was humiliated, the gratitude she received from those villages warmed her heart. She didn't believe to be deserving of their thanks, but the chiefs of each settlement argued that any other knight would have taken everything. Mordred did not and that meant she possessed moral courage higher than the rest. The gem stone she was gifted by Lena was her most prized treasure. The gem was made into a necklace, worn by Mordred at all times and hidden under her armor so that no one would see it.
That was not the last nor was it the most unpleasant task we were given. In the many conflicts with foreign powers and internal fighting, we had done many regrettable tasks. The actual worst was the genocide of a group of rebels. Calling them rebels was a stretch; they were merely famers taking up arms due to heavy taxation laid upon them by the royal court. The memory of those days and those to come soured my mood. Yet, the respect towards King Arthur overwhelmed all of Mordred's doubts and wrongdoings; those deaths were for a greater cause.
Not everything was bad. The good we were able to impart onto our life soothed our hearts. Lena was the sweetest cinnamon roll we had ever met in this life. Maybe we should visit her again. We promised to visit her and did so many times. It was a time of relaxation and our little secret. And hey, since I had deviated Mordred's original story, perhaps we could move ourselves from our path of destruction.
Now, all I had to do was convince Mordred to go on our little vacation.
Mordred POV
My king was displeased by my performance in the subjugation of the rebellions. Perhaps I was not thorough enough in my actions to weed out the spies and rebels within our lands.
'We should take a break from this and visit Lena again.' A thought ran through my mind. It wasn't a bad idea to visit the sweet village girl. She and her father were the few who had seen my face and had made no moves to reveal my secret. They were trustworthy and caring people, but there's more important matters that must be handled before a trip to Lena was possible. My King's desires took priority and I, as her loyal knight, would accomplish it. I sighed at my predicament and went onto my day of work. Maybe a visit is possible at a later date.
'Success'. The word popped into my mind. Success for what, was my question if anyone had asked me. Though it was myself that had thought of it, I was confused on why I considered my future plans to be successful. I suppose I was successful at fulfilling my duties as an honorary Knight of the Round Table.
Lena POV
Papa was working right now and I was left inside our home by myself. I was a big girl now so papa trusted me to watch the house.
I never did see mama. Papa said mama loved me so much and she would always be there for me. Papa was never wrong so I knew mama would always protect me, just like Mister Knight.
*Knock* *Knock*
Someone was at the door. Papa should still be working right now so who could it be?
"Hey little squirt. It's me." It's Mister Knight's voice. I rushed to the door to open it. Outside, was Mister Knight holding a big boar. Mister Knight smiled and ruffled my hair. "Look how you have grown. Your father must be really proud of you to be able to leave you by yourself."
"Papa sure is." I puffed my chest before tackling Mister Knight into a hug.
"Whoa. Careful, don't want to drop our dinner. I got an extra after distributing the game I caught on my trip here"
My eyes sparkled at Mister Knight's words. We were going to have meat today. "Thank you Mister Knight!"
We both grinned and laughed together. Mister Knight was really awesome.
I watched as Mister Knight skinned and chopped the meat for dinner. Papa came back just in time to see Mister Knight prepare the fire for the meat.
"Welcome back Papa." I ran up to him for a hug. "Mister Knight is back with meat."
"Indeed Egbert. I hope your day of duties was fulfilling." Mister Knight said to papa.
"It truly was wonderful to see everyone happy. You have done a great service to our village for providing food for us in these trying times." Papa replied. "Lena, go help prepare the table. We can't enjoy our meal without plates."
I nodded and went to grab some and place them onto the table. I sat down with anticipation for the food. Mister Knight brought a huge piece for me.
Papa sat to my left and Mister Knight to my front. We made our prayers before digging in. I bit into my food and was overjoyed by the taste.
"Slow down, Lena. It's not going to run away from your plate." Papa softly spoke. Mister Knight laughed and gave me his thumb. I didn't know what it meant, but I gave my thumb to him too.
After dinner, Mister Knight and I lied onto the grass behind the house to look at the stars in the night sky.
"Mister Knight?" I asked.
"Yeah." He softly replied, gazing at the stars and moon.
"Do you think I can also be like you?"
He softly looked at me and cracked a smile. "If you try hard enough anything is possible."
"Really?"
"Sure is, because you got the best knight here to help you out." He winked and pointed his thumb up. "And I'll protect you until you become a great knight."
"Just like in the stories Papa and you told me about?" I also gave him my thumb up.
"Just like the stories." Mister Knight confirmed.
"Can you please tell me the stories again?"
"The same ones from last time."
I shook my head. "No. I want a new story."
Mister Knight scratched his cheek. " I'm not really good at making stories."
"Please~."
"Fine. I guess ummm." Mister Knight took a glance into the night sky. "How about the story of The Knight of…the Round Table."
"Ooohh~."
"Once upon a time, there was a child driven by her dreams to be a knight. He was driven by the miracles of the king and the support of his mother. The king saw potential in the child, and soon enough, he was invited to join the king as the nation's great protectors. The end." Mister Knight ended the story very quickly.
"What happened next?" I curiously asked.
"I'm not really sure. I did say I am terrible at storytelling." Mister Knight replied with a frown.
"But there's no happy ending. All good stories have happy endings." I pouted.
"Then what does Lena think a happy ending should be like?"
I thought for a bit and spread my arms towards the night sky. "Everyone should be happy in a happy ending."
"But what if not everyone can." Mister Knight laughed for a bit.
"Ummm…Then the knight should feel happy." I decided. Mister Knight gave me a warm smile and complimented me for being so smart.
I hugged Mister Knight as he tried to think of new stories. His cold armor was a nice feeling under the summer night.
Lena fell asleep while we were laying upon the grass under the night sky. We sucked at making stories so why not talk about ourselves. Most of it, including the ending, was made up by Mordred and cringe as hell, but it was enough for little Lena. Mordred princess-carried her back into the house and tucked her into bed. As we left her room, we saw Egbert sitting at the dinner table with two cups and a large bottle of wine. Mordred understood the gesture and took a seat at the table.
Egbert poured us some wine before taking a swig of it from his cup. We followed his lead.
"Lena's mother, my wife, died after she gave birth to our daughter. Lena is all I have left of her. If she was here, she would be overjoyed to see how our little girl has grown." He took another gulp of wine. "Lena has always been the outcast of the group of children. She was bullied for not having a mother and pitied by others. I am ashamed for not always being able to be there for her."
Me and Mordred, we listened to his tale of tragedy. "Now though, Lena is so energetic and happy. All because of you Sir Mordred."
He got up from his chair and knelt down. With tears in his eyes, he bowed his head. "You have done so much for us. To Lena. I don't know how to repay your kindness."
We walked towards the man and led him to his feet. "There is nothing you need to repay for my actions. They are mine to decide." We directed my attention towards the sleeping figure of Lena. "I am also grateful to have met you and Lena. It has brought me great joy just to be here."
We looked at Egbert and grinned. "Besides, I am a knight who made a promise to protect her."