Myths and legends
hurt more than injuries
five
Gawain sat in class with them, a rather fitting subject, or so he deemed; British history beginning from the middle ages and ending at the present time. Though, since it was nearly the end of the semester, they were already at the present. He sat still, amazed by the speakers, projectors, computers and students themselves. He was very attentive to the professor, hearing her speak about the regime and 'commonwealth'. He also grew astonished by the fact that there was land beyond the thick Atlantic waters. In fact, he had even been more surprised when the professor spoke about a 'constitutional monarchy', which he ruled was absurd and took the power away from the King and all the monarchy.
"How unjust," he breathed, "I think that this is truly something horrible."
Jeanne shrugged. "You should read up on the French revolution; I think that's worse."
Gawain's eyes widened. "The French? Who are the French? And they revolted? Oh, how depressing!"
"Shush, the teacher is trying to explain something," Arturia hissed.
Jeanne had lent him a pencil and a piece of paper, so that he could scribble and what not if he got bored, but he found the class interesting and did not really lose focus, although he sometimes noticed some people were looking at other things.
Gawain had said that the class ended much too soon, but he'd heard others complain that it had been long and boring.
"How can they say something like that? I believe the lesson was informative and interesting. Do you ladies not agree?" He asked as the young women packed their things and prepared to leave the classroom.
"Yes, it's interesting." Jeanne smiled.
Gawain looked at the teacher, seeing that there was a line of people. "What are they doing? What do they wish to speak with her about?"
"Well, if they have questions, they go and ask her."
"Could I ask her a few questions about my King? I wish to know more about him, see how he succeeded and how my fellow knights grew to be legends." Gawain could not wait, so he excused himself and ran towards the line, waiting his turn.
"Who was his king?" Arturia asked, keeping her eyes on Gawain as he spoke to the teacher.
Jeanne frowned. "I forgot. He said his name, but I was still very dazed when he told me. Honestly, he really looks up to him, so it must be a great guy."
Arturia narrowed her eyes, seeing as the smile on the knight's face faded. "Well, it didn't go so well." She shrugged as they walked down the stairs of the auditorium and reached the knight, who was frowning, brows furrowed with watery eyes.
"What happened?" Jeanne asked, tilting her head.
Gawain did not reply, instead he walked to the door, ignoring the ladies and opting to leave.
"Who could it have been?" Arturia scoffed. "The poor man feels let down."
"Artie," Jeanne nagged, "don't rejoice in his pain. He's obviously sad. You shouldn't rub salt on the wound."
Arturia shrugged and they went after the young man who was just sitting in front of the classroom, sulking in the corner.
"Hey," Jeanne called, sitting down next to him, "what happened?"
He looked away, out the window and at the snowy terrain outside. He took a deep breath, "Your professor," he spat the title, "said that my king is nothing more than a mere legend. A myth. How could she call herself an expert in British history when she has been taught wrongly?"
Arturia sat down at the table as well. "Who was your king?"
Gawain looked at Arturia. "You resemble him quite a lot, lady Arturia."
Arturia raised an eyebrow, glancing at Jeanne for a second. "How so?" She asked.
"My king has blond hair, like the golden sun on a warm afternoon and his eyes are as green and vibrant as the jewels adorning his crown and he holds himself in such poise and grace. He is a great king as well as a great man. He is called Arthur of the House of Pendragon."
Arturia furrowed her brows. "Arthur Pendragon? As in the one who made the Knights of the Round? That king Arthur?"
"Yes, I was a Knight of the Round. King Arthur is the king England has always hoped for and in his reign, England is the best it can be."
Her laughter burst. "Oh please! Jeanne, I don't know who he is, but he is no knight."
"Excuse me, lady." He sat straight. "I am a knight; how dare you speak like such? That is a rude and horrible thing to say! I don't take such offences lightly."
"Arthur Pendragon is a legend. Just like the Prof said; he's a myth. It's a story told by mothers to their children, so they could believe in magic and justice. How absurd! You should've chosen another king if you wanted to make this believable." She rolled her eyes.
Gawain stood. "He is real, as real as your right hand and the very boiling water that burns you."
"Are you being serious?"
"I do not jest when it comes to my king!"
"King Arthur is not real! You should just accept it."
He glared at the Englishwoman. "How dare you? I implore you to stay silent on a matter you know not! I take back what I said, you are nothing like King Arthur. You are a sad little lady that has no knowledge and is ignorant to reality. You know nothing."
"Excuse me? Which one of us is educated?" She too stood, challenging him.
"Guys, please calm down." Jeanne tried to intervene, hoping they would just listen to her.
They both ignored her.
"You may be educated and know whatever fancy things they teach you, but you are a fopdoodle!"
Arturia gasped, "Whatever that means I know it's bad! And right back at you!"
Jeanne too stood. "Guys, come on, let's not fight."
Gawain glanced at Jeanne. "I do apologize that you had to see something like this," he frowned, "and I do know my excuse is not enough, but surely you must understand how hurt I am by her lies."
"How about we go search for a solution? Yeah? That would make you feel better, wouldn't it?" Jeanne glared at Arturia and then gave Gawain a smile.
"My lady, you are truly kind and patient, unlike other ladies."
Arturia huffed, "Stop acting like a child."
Without anymore insults or pleads, they made their way to the library and immediately headed for any articles on time travel or intensive physics. They were directed to either science fiction or some of Einstein's works. They opted to search Einstein's works first. Though, it was hard searching through all the aisles of the third floor of the library. It was about three in the afternoon when they found something of substance.
Jeanne had continued to read the literary work while Arturia and Gawain watched each other.
"What happened to your arm?" Arturia asked, seeing as he had it in a sling.
Gawain ignored her words, he only continued to stare at her.
"Oh, give it up already. I'm trying to make peace, alright?"
Gawain huffed, "I am still furious, and, in my England, we apologize for the wrongs we have done before anything else."
"Your England? You aren't still pretending to be a knight, are you?"
He gritted his teeth. "Oh, how I wish to go back now."
Arturia rolled her eyes once more. "You're acting like a child; my brother is much more mature than you and he is only five."
There was a ring once more, much more different than Jeanne's phone but it still sounded nearly similar, so Gawain guessed it was another phone.
Arturia dug into her jacket's pocket and pulled out a blue phone, sliding her finger across it and answering.
Gawain was still in awe with such an apparatus and he loved to see it working or when Jeanne let him play on it. He was not really paying attention to what Arturia was saying but she seemed to be talking with someone dear to her. Even if Arturia was rude and skeptical, Gawain admired her smile and he thought that she really did resemble his king by appearance.
"Here, I found something," Jeanne piped as she walked towards Gawain. "Here, Einstein explains that time travel is possible, although highly unlikely. The fabric of space and time could have tears and through a blackhole we have a timeless, space-less place; it's odd yes, but maybe the equinox did something. Maybe the fabric tore last night, and you passed through into this world. But it doesn't say anything about how to go back."
Gawain frowned. "What if I must really stay forever?"
"I'm sure you won't. Let's look at some English Folklore, we could probably find something…this could be a spell that was cast if it isn't science." Jeanne closed the book. "I'll take this book out anyway, and—although I hate magic and spells—Arturia could help us with the folklore."
Arturia walked back to them. "Dia is coming."
"What? Arturia, please don't tell him about this." Jeanne frowned.
Arturia blinked. "Personally, I think he would be very helpful. I can tell that you both are serious, but if we're to help him get back, he needs clothing and a place to stay. He cannot possibly stay with you as we know how horrible that would be and I can't keep him at my place. We could say he's a student who comes from the countryside and specializes in medieval history."
Jeanne sighed, "You do know how much I hate lies, right? We'll get caught. What about when they ask us for family or siblings?"
"Only child whose mum is much too old and has to remain in the country."
"Arturia, that's a big lie that we can't cover, I swear."
"If Diarmuid houses him, then he could lend him clothing and we give him money to keep him healthy. He'll join us for some classes and what not. I know it sounds difficult, but we can do it! Plus, Diarmuid can be trusted; he's smart and he's studying injuries. Which, seeing by Gawain's arm, he needs all the help he can get."
Jeanne looked at Gawain.
"My lady, I trust your judgement, and whatever you choose I will support your decision. I don't want to cause you trouble or for your parents to harm you because of me."
Arturia shot her head towards Jeanne.
"Right," Jeanne nodded, "I didn't actually mean that they would kill me, it's a figure of speech, Gawain."
"Oh," he held a hand to his heart, "I feel much more at ease now."
Arturia fixed the bag on her shoulders, giving a confident look. She always seemed to have authority. "So, have we settled it? Will we be telling Diarmuid?"
Jeanne was silent for a while, but she nodded, looking up at Gawain. "I think if Dia knows, we'll be able to make this work better and hopefully get you home very soon and back to your king. As well as fix your shoulder and check if anything has happened to it that might need medical attention."
Gawain nodded. "I agree, my lady."
"Great," Arturia nodded, "so let's head to the folklore section and I will tell Diarmuid to meet us there. What exactly are we looking for?"
"We are looking for time travel enchantments, there surely must be something," Gawain replied, "Or of odd disappearances that were attributed to a particular place, or enchantment."
Arturia nodded. "Let's begin then, I'm sure we wouldn't want to waste too much time."
