Lancelot

"It has been a while..." I had to whisper, my voice wasn't very strong right know.
Arthur took a look, only let his gaze wander to notice I was there but that changed quickly. "You... What the hell happened to you?"
"The same thing that happened to a lot of others." I moaned in pain and sat down quickly. I was dsiplayed in his mind like I was outside of it. In a simple red dress, merely good enough for a maid and stained with blood. My arm bandaged, the sleeve ripped off right beneath the shoulder. My leg had a very unhealthy angle, it was fixed with a few branches. At last I had several cuts and bruises on my face and neck and a part of my right hand was burned. Arthur got up and kneeled down next to my chair. We were in his chambers again. The place he wanted to be when he didn't want to be anywhere else.
"What... why are you in pain? I thought that wasn't possible in this realm?" He looked like he wanted to touch me, but he pulled back his hand before he could.
I smiled, visibly strained. "I never actually said that... But you are half right. You wouldn't feel any pain. It is your mind. With all my power I am only an intruder. Your mind does not protect me." I closed my eyes and tried to push the pain away. I opened them in surprise when I felt a soft touch at my shoulder.
Arthur looked at his hand, irritated like he didn't know why it moved. Then he realised. "I can touch you!"
I tried to focus on his face. The blood loss was getting more severe and my real body was asleep. "I am hardly able to focus enough to keep us connected. Right now I can't stop you from anything else..."

I yelled in pain when Arthur made up his mind and took me on his arms. He carried me across the room to his bed and layed me down, very gently. Much more gently then I would have thought. He went to his table and returned with the obligatory bowl of water. He put an piece of cloth in and hesitated. I watched him, not showing any emotion. Arthur fought with himself but eventually he would get the cloth out and started to clean and cool my face and neck. He was a bit clumsy and hesitant while doing it but I smiled brightly. He blushed.
"You are getting better in here."
"What do you mean?"
"That bowl of water. I have nothing to show you today so it didn't appear because I wanted it to."
Arthur took a moment to realize what that meant but eventually he got it. "So I have control over this place? Same like you?"
I coughed. "Actually way more when you would know how..." I could barely keep it together, the blackness began to close in. "You have to do me a favour...", I whispered. Arthur pulled his hand with the cloth back, getting distrusting again.

"What kind of favour?"
I gestured him to come closer. I was getting too weak. "I made a mistake coming here tonight... You have to break our connection this time..."
"You want me to throw water at you?" His tone was disbelieving and I had to grin.
"No. It works different the other way around... more like when I woke you up in the woods."
He thought briefly and nodded. "What do I have to do?"
"Come here... put your hands around my face and close your eyes."
He followed my orders more quickly than I would have in his position but I would not argue about that. His touch was barely there but I could feel the warmth of his hands. "Visualize our bond. It is like a strong, white rope tying us together... do you see it?" I was in his head, could see it how he saw it. How I saw it last time. His body, standing still on one end and mine across him. And the thick bundle of ropelike strings coming out from my body going into his.
"Good, very good. Now take your hand and cut through most of it, leave a few." My voice almost sounded a bit hypnotic and he did what I asked. With a flowing move he cut through stopping right before the very last string. I could feel the push back and used the last moments to whisper "Lancelot..." in his ear.

"We have to talk." It was Arthur who greeted me this time. Unusual but okay.
"Yes, I believe so."
He was standing in the middle of the room while I appeared by the door. He used the time I needed to get to the table to watch me.
"You look a lot better.", he stated without any emotion.
I smiled. "I got a vision that was strictly for myself this time. And it was actually a vision, not a memory. It showed me something that helped me heal." I was wearing a different dress. I was lumping a bit, moved my arm very slowly and still looked a bit beaten up but I was a complete functional human being again.
"Did you heal yourself with your magic?"
I was irritated by this question because I thought I said that before. Maybe I was wrong. "My powers don't work like that. I am not a sorcerer like Merlin. I can't do what he does." I sat down by the table but Arthur remained leaning against his wardrobe, arms folded.
"Than what can you do? Besides hypnotizing me in my own mind of course."
I bit my lip. I was hoping he wouldn't have noticed that but here we go. "My powers are limited to mind and soul only. I can do nothing physical. I can't create anything, make magic potions or enchant somebody. I can't even take any influence on their mind unless I am bonded to them. And the only person I am bonded to right now is you."

"Yes, let's talk about that, shall we?" He came closer, obviously angry. "When you showed me last night how to cut our connection I thought 'Great! That might be an option to get rid of her and be in control of me and my memories again!' And I remember that I wanted to completely cut through those strings, completely separate us. But I didn't. You might want to tell me why!" He reached me during his talk and slammed his hands at the table with his last words.
I tilted my head, thoughtful. "It is not really easy to explain-"
"Try me!", he snapped.
I was feeling fond of this dominating site of his, so I quickly continued: "The room where we went together is like a deeper level of your mind. It shows every bond you have to everyone around you. Your relationships with Merlin, your father, the knights..." I paused to see if he was following.
"But I only saw you and me."
I nodded. "Our bond is special. To be more precise, we were not exactly in your room of bonds, we were in that one room where our minds are overlapping. This room is where our bond connects us, where it lives. And you were right, if you would've cut through all of it, it would have been over. I would have gone to great lengths to connect us again, but maybe I couldn't even be able is why I used every ounce of power I had left to manipulate you."

"I would have remembered?"
"Not instantly, you would have dreamed of our meetings again, but those dreams you would have remembered. And anything it told you in it. You maybe wouldn't believed it right away, but eventually you would have known what Merlin is and what he did. Without any grip on your mind I there is nothing I can do."
Arthur was very silent. "If that place is where our minds are overlapping, does that mean that is the entrance to your mind as well?"
I felt like I knew Arthur for years, but he managed to surprise me. "I didn't expect you to come to this conclusion, but yeah in fact it is. I will not explain to you where though."
He glared at me before his expression changed and he looked almost amused. "Fair enough."
"When you are done, I have a question."
He looked at me, warily.
"Why did you take care of me? I was hurt, vulnerable and you still seem to think of me as something to get rid of. So why did you do it? If you would have wanted to make any move that would have been the time."
He blushed, strongly, and mumbled something I could only hear "Girl... hurt... honour... knight" of.

I had to smile. Even giggle a bit. If you thought about it, of course that would be the reason. Yet I didn't expected it to be. He surprised me quite often.
"Okay, now this is settled, interested in this nights occasion?"
His blush began to fade and he cleared his throat, sitting down. "Yes. You whispered something but I couldn't understand it."
"Lancelot."
"Lancelot? The new candidate to be a knight?"
"Yes. What do you know about him?"
"Not much. He is the fifth son of Lord Eldred of Northumbria. Merlin claims he is good with a sword."
I nodded. "He is. He faced the very same beast that messed me up to save Merlin. Who would have been dead without him."
Arthur glared at me, disbelieving. "Seriously? What beast?"
I sighed. "It will come to Camelot. And you should be very glad to have Lancelot here. Maybe it is time to see for yourself what he can and cannot do."
Arthur looked a bit through me, lost in his own thoughts.
"Maybe we should call it a night here. We can continue our talk as soon as it becomes necessary." I got up and stood before Arthur, who looked up to me warily. I smiled, walked around him and before he got the chance to stand up, I grabbed the back of his chair and pulled.

"And here we are again." I looked around. Some clearance in the wood. I smiled.
"Why are you smiling?" Arthur was leaning against a tree, not very far from me.
"Because although you already said you can't track this beast through the air, you actually wish you were out on lookout. And that is another proof they made the right choice."
He frowned. "Who? What choice?"
I refused to give an answer, just smiled.
He sighed deeply. "You are really starting to get on my nerves you know?"
I had to laugh. "I am starting now? I thought I was already on top of them from the get-go."
He grinned, not even trying to hide it. Good. Very good. Then his face became more serious.
"Greenswood."
I blinked. "What?"
"The creature. It hit Greenswood, then Willowdale. I saw hundreds of people today who looked very similar messed up like you did. But for you it had already been a few days. So you must hide somewhere around Greenswood."
"I...", for the first time since I started this, I was not very sure what to say. "Yes. I have. But I moved when the creature attacked." It was a lie, but I surely planned to do so, now that he figured out my current location. He couldn't remember, but I did not survive this long without playing it safe.

"How exactly do you live?"
"Pardon?"
He thoroughly studied me, nothing escaped his gaze. "I have already seen you in three different dresses all good enough for a maid at the royal court. Your hair is mostly loose and soft, but your hands are not. You seem like you always had enough food and water and no trouble sleeping. It has been a few weeks since we met and you never were wounded or sick. You give a bunch of mixed signals and I am not sure what to do with that. So I ask frankly: How exactly do you live?"
I was stunned. And I had no idea how to respond. "I am not sure what to say." Twice in one meeting.
"How about the truth?"
I sighed and sat down, leaning against a tree, looking up to him. "You want to know how I live? Fine." My voice hardened. "I have a job. In a tavern in Greenswood."
His eyes lit up and he slowly got down on my level, focusing on my words. I knew that it was probably pretty stupid to tell him my pattern but I couldn't gain his trust without trusting him. And I got the memory erase as precaution. Hopefully that was enough.
"I could keep all the money I made as waitress and bartender and spend it on these dresses. I have a few of them, laying in my trunk." He seemed like he wanted to ask a question but I continued before he could do so. "I do not have to pay for a home or food or water. Because I live in a cave."
"You do what?"
I smiled at his face. Whatever he expected, it wasn't that.

"I live in a cave in the woods. Its entrance is very well hidden and it is a very deep cave. I have access to an underground stream and firewood all around me that I only have to collect. I made myself a comfortable bed with hay, leaves, moss and feathers some birds loose."
"But how do eat?"
"I bought everything I need to cook over an open fire. And for food... well animals are very helpful."
"You hunt?" His voice was mixed with disbelief and interest.
I shook my head. "No, not by myself. But I told you that I can influence someone's mind as soon as I have a connection."
He nodded, suddenly suspicious again.
I sighed in my head. Men. "It is a lot easier to get this connection to animals then to humans. They see me and are instantly afraid. And that is all I need. I can get in their heads and make them trust me."
"And then you kill them?" He was shocked and horrified, even for someone who hunts regularly it seemed wrong to make something trust you only to kill it.
"No! No, of course not! Is that what you think of me?" I stared him down, waiting for an honest answer.
"No... but I still do not know you very well. I don't know who you are, what you are up to and what exactly it is you want. So I am suspicious."
Ouch. That was in honest answer. I sighed.

"I have a connection to a bunch of animals. Mainly rabbits and squirrels. They bring me nuts, berries, stuff like that. And I managed to gain the trust of a free living eagle I took care of when I found him hurt. Our bond keeps him in the area which I think is a bit unusual for his kind but I am very grateful. Summer hunts for me. He brings me rabbits, chicken and sometime he even leads me to a small deer he killed and we share the meat. I love him very much."
Arthurs gaze burned into my eyes and I suddenly get a bit embarrassed. I never told anyone how I lived why would I?
"So, let me get this right: You live in a cave in the woods, have a job so you can afford clothes but actually the animals of the woods take care of you. Especially an eagle you named Summer, who hunts for you and brings you meat."
"Yeah, sounds about right." I could still feel his look.
"You are the strangest person I ever met", he stated suddenly almost sounding impressed.
"Is that a good thing?"
"I don't know yet."
I had no idea what to make out of this entire conversation, but I knew I felt uncomfortable so I quickly changed topics.

"How come you are so interested in that? I would have bet you would interrogate me about information on the creature, what it is, how to find it and so on."
"Would you have told me if I did?"
I shook my head.
"See. Why bother then?"
I glanced at him. "You give up much faster than I thought you would."
He looked angry. "I am not giving up! I just know better than to fight a match I cannot win! At least in that case."
I remained silent. "But there is something that bothers me. You are obviously able to influence animals. Yet this creature hurt you pretty bad. Why didn't you stop it?"
I pulled a face and tucked some hair behind my ear. "Let me answer that question on a later occasion. I promise I won't forget it."
It took a while, but eventually he nodded. I got up before he could, offering my hand to help him. He stared at it thoughtfully, but then he took it. It was a symbolical move but I appreciated it. And I used it to pull him up with much more strength than necessary, causing him to stumble right through my body and fall. I had to giggle again. That was always funny.

Although we always met at night, it was only the second time it was dark. And just like the first time it happened Arthurs body was also here.
"What happened?" He stood up from his body, searching for his sword. And he found and drew it. He turned around, searching for the griffin when he noticed me. He looked at me, than at the sword in his hand, than at me again.
"What is going on?"
I came closer, but out of distance for his sword. I had actually no idea if he could and would hurt me, but I was not taking any chances.
"This meeting is different", I told him. "We are not in your mind. I used my power to pull your spirit out of your body while you are unconscious. This is the real world, so you have your sword. You are here because your body is here and I am here because you are here."
"Why?"
"Because we are able to actually see for ourselves what happens right when it happens. That opportunity won't be there very often and I plan to use it." For a moment we just stood there until I raised my hand. "Look."

Merlin and Lancelot approached us, Lancelot in full armour. They saw the knights first who were laying around but then Merlin discovered Arthurs body and quickly moved towards him. He got down, Lancelot right beside him.
"Well?", he asked.
"He's alive", Merlin stated, clearly relieved. The hiss of the griffin made them stand up, trying to discover it. The hiss repeated itself and Merlin got down again, almost like he wanted to protect Arthurs body. The creature approached them towards the fog and Merlin got up. Lancelot has been heading towards the horse and now he came and took a stand between the two of them. He had a very long lance, like the ones used in tournaments. And just like a tournament Lancelot and the griffin were facing each other, Merlin at the side of the road.
Arthur and I were standing next to Merlin, I had to grab his arm to hold him back.
"Look!", I whispered, "Just look. There is nothing you can do, your body is unconscious!"
He glared at me angrily but my grip tighten and I gave him a warning look.
The griffin screamed and Lancelot closed his visor.
"Okay Merlin it's now or never", Merlin said to himself and took a step forward. He said the magic words but nothing happened. Lancelot came closer. He said them again, another fail. Lancelot rode past him and he shouted them after them. The creature began to fly and Lancelot got closer and closer. Merlin said the words a fourth time, almost whispering the eyes fixated on Lancelot. And it worked. With the sound of electric power if anyone knew what that was, Lancelot's lance lit up in blue flames. The griffin came directly forward, impossible for the fake knight to miss. He stroke it right to the chest, causing the griffin to overturn and crash to the ground. Merlin laughed out loud, relieved and amazed. Lancelot turned the horse around and came back, the lance normal on the ground.

I grinned and looked at Arthur who's eyes were extremely big, looking between Merlin and Lancelot.
"Time for you to wake up", I grinned and pushed him. I could see his expression change when he fell back in his body and smiled at his annoyed look he gave me just before I dissolved.

"I think that was the first time you were ever seen strongly against your father in an argument." It was the aftermath, things returned to normal and I appeared in his chambers.
"He was wrong.", said Arthur staring out of the window.
I stood next to him. "Even with everything you know?"
He glimpsed at me and nodded. "I remember Gaius saying only magic could defeat the creature. Merlins magic that he cast on the lance Lancelot was bearing. But I was still right about him. He served with honour and he fights like a knight. I need men like him."
I noticed that he didn't say Camelot needs but I need. Another indication he didn't hide his true thoughts from me anymore. "He still lied."
"Yes, but only so he could serve! Only noblemen can be knights so that is what he became to do his duty!" Arthur got loud and turned towards me. He stopped his attempt to say more when he saw the approving smile on my face.
"You really feel strongly about this. You truly think that code is wrong." It was a statement, not a question. He just stared me down and my smile deepened. "One day, you will have your own knights. And most of them will be men like Lancelot. Who will also be your knight, by the way."

He looked positively surprised.
"May I ask what your current thoughts on the 'All magic is evil' topic is?"
"Why?"
I shrugged. "Merlin just saved all of you. With magic."
"From a magical monster", Arthur pointed out and I bit my lip.
"Then what about me? You have a pretty good idea now of what I can and cannot do. What do you think about me?"
His look got so intense I had to avoid it.
"I do not think you are evil. You said you only need a simple thought of instinct like fear associated to your face to get into someone's head. With that power you could simply march into Camelot and get control over my father as soon as he sees you as a threat, right?"
I hesitated, but nodded.
"But you didn't do that. And I can think of only two reasons for that." He turned his whole body towards me and came closer, clearly invading my personal space. He bent down and caught my eyes. I blushed, strongly. Hey, I was only a girl and I had never been this close to a man. And Arthur was a good looking man.
"You aren't doing it because your power is too limited to control everyone you would need to rule, like my father, Gaius and myself for example or..." He came even closer putting a finger under my chin so I couldn't avoid his gaze.
"You do not want to rule." His eyes were jumping between mine, looking for an unsaid answer behind my eyes. I was extremely insecure, already regretting asking and I just couldn't take his closeness. I shoved him, hard, and closed my eyes. I did not want to see his changing expression when the room faded away.

So many feedback! Thanks a lot guys, I just squeaked a little when I saw there were 8 reviews. For that, and to apologize that I am a little late is an extra long chapter. Maybe it will clear up a few questions, maybe it will create new ones. I am really glad you are all on this journey towards the answers with me. Enjoy!