Writing part of this chapter made me cry. It gets a little emotional at one point.

Disclaimer: I own nothing but Natalie and Adria. Oh and the plot. I will state once more that the idea of counterparts was borrowed with permission from one of my favorite authors. While the idea is similar, I did tweak it in my own way.

~The Calling~

Mordred was a lost soul. He would never see it for himself, but anyone who knew his story would be able to. His mother was a ruined woman. She was married but bore a child while her husband had been away for over a year. Her indiscretion was hidden by one of the maids who had stowed her away once she began to show late in her pregnancy. The maid had raised Mordred as her own leaving him to watch his biological mother live the life of luxury. He was fortunate to favor his father; else Uther would have cast him out. When her husband returned, she was soon with child once more and named him Artorius, they called him Arthur.

Mordred was blissfully ignorant of his actual lineage until the night when his "mother" lay on her sickbed. She revealed to him the truth of his family and he grew resentful of Arthur's life, the life he deserved. He resented being treated like a servant in his own mother's house and he resented his own mother looking down upon him in that way. When she died that faithful day, Mordred ran away vowing to get his revenge upon Arthur. He could not take it out on his mother as she was already dead. Her beloved son would serve the perfect vessel however.

Mordred stared out of the window of his tower and over his land. Arthur was far away. However, his treacherous plan would send tremors throughout the land and into the heart of his half-brother.

~The Calling~

"You have already seen the tavern Natalie so first I'm going to start with the castle itself. Arthur is planning to have another built not too much of a distance from here. He wants to build up the country first. There are still some issues that need to be solved," Galahad said as he showed her through the halls. "When Guinevere first moved here, she would get lost just as often as you do. So, at the end of each hall, she had a cloth hung so that she could remember where she was." He gestured to a rich green fabric that was nailed to the wall. It was not rather large, but still Natalie felt foolish at not having noted that.

"Your rooms are right around the corner from ours. So, you're at the hall with the red cloth. Ours is the blue cloth. The stairs located at the end of our hall lead down to the table room. The stair at your end lead to the training grounds," He continued. Natalie fought the urge to let out a frustrated groan. She had wasted so much time that morning, when the solution was quite simple.

"I want to show you the training grounds," He said growing excited and grabbed her hand. He led her at a brisk pace down the stairs and out the door. Snow still covered the ground, but lit torches lined a large square shaped area; on one end stood several targets for archery and daggers, while the other end was a cleared space for melee. "The armory was the last door we passed he explained." Natalie nodded and he took her by the hand back into the castle. They stopped in the knights' hall in front of a door.

"I'll show you through the city, but first I need a cloak. So do you actually," He said thoughtfully before entering the room. Natalie stayed in the hall but peeked into the room. It was sparsely decorated with only a bed and a chair. He had a small rug and a wooden chest for his things. She noticed that on his bed there was parchment and coal. In fact, there was a drawing that was hanging from the wall with a young woman drawn on it. "That's my mother," Galahad said quietly when he noticed where her eyes were drawn. "I drew that when I could first get the materials, so that I wouldn't forget her face. My father was already dead by the time the Romans came to get me from my tribe. He had been nearly twice her age, but young men were sparse and they needed sons. He was one of the few to return and she was young and very pretty. He died the winter after I was born to sickness."

As he spoke, Natalie entered the room and laid a hand on his arm. "Will you go back to find her?" She asked curiously. Galahad shook his head. "What purpose would it serve? She's either dead or she has moved. My people were Nomads. We only returned to the same place when it was the season for Romans to come fetch the boys. Now that the Empire has fallen there's no need to." Natalie did not know what else to say, but hugged him slightly. It was odd, as she wasn't prone to affection. It seemed to be the right thing to do. Galahad stiffened at it, as it was not appropriate. He briefly hugged her back and used their closeness to wrap a cloak around her shoulders. "There." He said with a tight smile before donning his own and leading her out of the room.

They walked in silence until they reached the town. "So, this is the village really. The tavern is sort of like the center. The entire left half of the wall is where the people live. A lot of that area is simple housing and farm area. The right side is dedicated to merchants and craftsmen. Our healer and blacksmith work there. Every year a caravan full of merchants stops by and there is a festival of sorts. It was honestly the only real good thing about being at the wall when I was younger." Natalie gave him a small smile. "It sounds like a lot of fun. I would love to see something like that," She said.

"It won't be for a few more months, but if you stay here to see it I'd like it if you'd accompany me," Galahad offered as he led her back towards the castle. It had started to snow, and they needed to go inside. Natalie did not want to disappoint him, but she smiled and responded with, "We'll see." She felt her heart plummet a bit with the beaming grin she'd received at that. Hand in hand they walked back to the table room and he brushed the snow out of her hair. When she went to give him back his cloak, he held up a hand to stop her. "Keep it. One is enough for me, and I feel better with the thought of you having use of the other," He explained and kissed her hand before walking away.

Morien watched the exchange with a heavy heart. The smile she had on her face was filled with more joy than he could ever hope for her to show around him. Perhaps Lancelot was correct. He coughed to get her attention, and she quickly turned to see him. She gave him a small, pained smile. "I guess we have much to discuss."

~The Calling~

"I was not one of the Sarmatian knights. I was brought over as a soldier under a Roman general who was in fact my father. He was part of a small army sent to protect a Bishop who was doing holy work in the land of the Moors. He there met and fell in love with my mother who was beautiful. You look a lot like her actually. He bedded her and soon she was with child. By the time she had found out, he was already gone, returned to the land of his fathers. Being the daughter of a wealthy merchant, she packed up and parted with her dowry which was now useless. Upon arriving to Rome, she found my father to be already wed. He did not love his wife, but he also could not leave her due to the ties she had. So, he kept my mother and me in another house in the country. He visited often and laid with your grandmother. He trained me and helped me to become a great fighter. When my mother passed, your grandfather brought me to this land. I was fifteen summers old at the time," He paused at this point with a smile.

"You have similar friends in my time too. You all entered the force at the same time, before the younger men started joining," She interjected. Morien nodded despite not knowing what the "force" was. "This was a good six years before the arrival of the knights. The day I arrived, I met your mother. I'm sure you know of Arthur's angels? Well, she is one of them I believe. Beautiful, kind, and loving. I love your mother and my heart does ache for her. After she gave birth to you, I had her moved to a safe village that is not very near to the wall. Now that peace is restored, I seek to have her returned. First, we must solve the issue of Adria. We need to go find her and bring her here as well. I do not like idling here, but we only received the news yesterday."

Natalie nodded and looked him in the eye. "Morien, I know that you are my father and that you wish for me to stay. You must realize that if I were to make that decision, Adria would have to abandon all that she has known to go to my time. That would cruel of me to have the best of both worlds but she would be utterly lost in one but not truly belong to the other. I admit that at times, I felt like something was missing. I did have facilities to help me past that. I cannot allow her to suffer due to my selfishness. I also really miss my home and the mother and father who raised me."

Morien flinched at her words but reeled in his growing temper. "Do not try to make Adria's decision for her. You have to let her decide that for her own. Besides, I am sure Merlin would have a plan to help her better assimilate to the bounds of your time as well. Natalie, I love Adria. She is my daughter, but in a different time. Anthony is your father, but in a different time. You and Adria are one in the same separated by time. No one is to blame but time itself! Do not push me away because I feel the need to be who I really am, your father. I love you now just as I loved you when you were born. I just need to learn more about you. I'm asking you to give me that chance," He was breathing heavily at this point and tears were building up in his eyes. He clutched his daughter's hands desperately. "I will say it again. I love Adria but I will always know from this day on that she should be Natalie; just the same as you will know that Anthony should be Morien. I cannot live with that sort of pain and neither can you."

At this point Natalie was biting back tears and abruptly stood. "You do not know what I can live with. I have to wake up every day from now on and live with the reality that I'm stuck in a different time for who knows how long. I have to realize that when I was a bloody baby I was switched from where I was supposed to be to somewhere else entirely. The man who I love as my father is, to be technical, not my father. This entire situation sucks to be honest with you. I'm nearly two-thousand years in the past and I have to go off on a whirlwind adventure to save, for all intents and purposes, myself," She raved gesticulating wildly to emphasize her words. "I do not even know how I'll survive. Sure, I can pack a punch well enough but that's about it. That's only useful if some twat is peeking the wrong way at a pub. But what good are fists when you're fighting with swords? Regardless, I have to go. My heart is telling me so." Morien understood a small percentage of what she was saying but he stood and rested his hands on her shoulders. "Natalie. We will figure this out. All will be well once more. I swear." With that, Sir Morien pulled his daughter into a hug and hoped that it would not be their last.

~The Calling~

Natalie skipped lunch and instead stayed in her room. Eyes closed in thought as she lay upon her bed; it was quite reminiscent of Sleeping Beauty. That had been one of her favorite tales while she was a child. Listening to her mother tell the story over and over was a thrill. The blond haired green eyed woman shared a special bond with her daughter. The slight emptiness of her childhood made sense now knowing that her mother…wasn't her mother. She wondered if her biological mother had the same green eyes that she thought her mother had given to her.

A knock on the door interrupted her musings and Natalie's eyes snapped open. The door creaked as it was pushed open and a man she was unfamiliar with looked in. "Sorry milady. My name is Jols and I was asked to escort you to dinner," He explained quickly with a bow of his head. Natalie slid off of her bed and straightened her dress. "Thank you Jols. Let me just put on my shoes," She replied and hastily put on her boots. She took his proffered arm and they walked down the halls. "My name is Natalie by the way. No need to call me a lady. I've yet to earn such a title."

"Very well then Natalie. I would have gotten to meet you sooner, but unfortunately I was ill. The healer just rewarded me with leave to return to my duties. If I may say, Sir Galahad was looking forward to the opportunity of escorting you, but he was detained by a meeting with Arthur and the other knights," Jols stated grinning as he saw the younger woman blush.

They walked into the room and Jols announced her before bowing and walking away. Natalie took her normal seat next to Galahad who gave her a small smile. She was not surprised to see Bors gone as they would be eating formally at the Round Table and he preferred the company of his lover. She greeted the other knights and they responded in kind. Morien gave her a warm smile and she simply nodded. The talk helped, but the void was still there regardless.

The silence in the room was awkward as everyone sat there. It was obvious that something needed to be said; only no one knew how to say it. Natalie found herself growing impatient and she tapped her nails against the table for a few seconds before scrunching her eyes closed. "Oh this is bloody ridiculous. I can't just sit here quietly and act like nothing is going on. We have an issue. Adria is out there clueless and defenseless about what the hell is going on and I'm prancing around the fort in pretty dresses having a grand ol' time. We need to get her before something happens. Merlin said as much. When are we leaving?" She asked looking straight and unabashedly into Arthur's eyes.

Morien chuckled to himself quietly at her outburst and Arthur's inability to completely form a sentence. Once he collected himself, the king replied. "Well, Natalie before you entered the knights and myself discussed what was going on and we decided that a select group will be departing tomorrow to go retrieve her." Natalie grinned at this and nodded. "Good, then when are we departing?" She asked and Morien's smile immediately dropped. "You really don't think that we are going to be taking you along do you?" He asked earning a scathing look from the young woman. "I don't see why you wouldn't. I may not be able to wield a sword or anything but I do well enough with horses. I wouldn't be in anyone's way seeing as how this is supposed to be a time of peace. Furthermore, I am far more involved than anyone else in this situation yourself included Sir Morien," She said voice climbing. "I dare you to try to keep me from going because I will follow you. This situation needs to be solved now. If there is someone after myself and Adria then wouldn't it be easier if we were kept TOGETHER after all." By the time she finished, she had been standing and near shouting. Galahad had slid his chair a bit away from her.

Morien stood too and all thoughts of decorum were gone as he began to argue with his daughter. "You would very well much be in the way young lady. You are inexperienced and do not know this land. You said as much when we talked earlier. It would be for the best if you let us go retrieve her and return to sort this out in three days' time rather than dragging you along the countryside. You would be much safer here," He argued. "I know you felt the need to go, but it's just not smart." Natalie replied, "Look, I am not just going to accept this. One of the many blessings of being from my time is a great amount of stubbornness. I will not just sit here quietly and let you go gallivanting off. If you leave, I might as well ask Merlin to toss a couple of spells around and send me home."

"I do not wish to hear another word. Adria, you are not going and that is final," Morien said firmly not noticing the flinches that rippled around the room. Natalie bristled and stared at him for a few moments. "My name is Natalie!" She yelled before bursting out of the room and exiting into the city. It had grown dark at this point. Morien paled as he realized his mistake and fell back limply into his chair. Galahad looked conflicted, unsure of whether to follow her or stay in his seat. He decided on the former before nodding at his monarch and following after Natalie.

"Sir Morien," A voice said and the large knight looked up at his queen. "I will have a bag of supplies prepared for Natalie for the trip. I will also send for some of my own men to accompany specifically for her protection in addition to the men that are already going." Morien simply nodded knowing that there was no point in arguing with the Queen. He stood, bowed and left the room.

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Next Chapter:

Drunk Natalie.

The Journey Begins.