When Artie awoke, he felt a sharp pain in the back of his head and he felt groggy and disoriented.
When he lifted his head, his body felt sore.
But when he tried to rub his head, his hands didn't move.
He moved his hands again, he looked down to see they were tied down by rope and so were his ankles.
He struggled against his binds but it was useless.
What happened?
How did he get here?
But most importantly, what was he doing here?
He looked around his surroundings.
It didn't have much light but enough to make out where he was.
He seemed to be in a barn based on the hay and wooden walls.
It smelled of animal manure.
"Hello?" He yelled.
Not a noise.
He tried to remember what had happened.
He left the castle for a meeting, kissed Anya goodbye, got into his carriage and...
That was it.
He couldn't remember anything else.
When he tried, his head started to pound.
"I hope you are well, your Highness."
Artie froze and saw a shadow move closer to him.
"Who are you?" He asked fearfully.
The shadow moved closer to him.
"Who are you?" Artie asked again as his heart started to pound.
"Release me at once or you will go to the dungeon for kidnapping the king." He threatened but the shadow laughed.
"You were always the dramatic one, Artie."
There was something familiar about that voice.
It tickled his memory but he couldn't place the voice with someone he knew.
"What do you want?"
The shadow laughed again.
"Two things really. But I'm wondering if you remember me, considering how many times I used you as a practice dummy for our jousting."
Something clicked in Artie's mind at what the shadow said.
Back in Worcestershire, he was always picked on by the entire school and chasing after Guin.
The only person who used him for their jousting practice was...
"Lancelot?"
"Ding-ding-ding! You're not completely a moron, are you?"
It was then that he stepped out.
Lancelot was wearing an armor suit with a cape.
His brown hair reached his shoulders.
His eyes showed resentment.
"What do you want?" Artie asked as he got over his shock.
Lancelot laughed again.
"You still haven't figured out? And you're the damn king. A waste of time if you ask me. But no worries, the kingdom will have a new king."
It took Artie a while to understand what Lancelot was saying.
"You'll never be king." Artie said angrily.
"That is where you're wrong, Artie." Lancelot said as he walked around him.
"You see, I have something that will make me king and no one will know the difference."
Lancelot snapped his fingers and a small figure stepped out.
The air was knocked out of him as he realized who it was.
"Joanne?" He asked, surprised and shocked and hurt.
She cast her gaze downwards.
"Give me the potion!" He demanded.
Joanne slowly walked up to him, bowing before Lancelot and stepping back slightly.
"Why? Why Joanne? How can you do this?"
"I'm sorry. I had no choice." She whispered.
Artie could hear the apology in her voice and the regret.
"There's always a choice, Joanne."
She stood quietly, looking anywhere but at him and said nothing.
"You trust the wrong people, Artie. Unbefitting for a king really. You shouldn't have been king at all. Out of everyone from Worcestershire, you were chosen."
"What do you want from me? What can you possibly gain from kidnapping me? The kingdom will know of my disappearance if I'm not back. Especially my wife."
When he spoke of his wife, he felt an ache at his chest and already he missed her.
"I have a lot to gain from this. No one will be the wiser. No one will know of your disappeance because I will take your place."
Artie couldn't help but laugh at the sheer craziness of his words.
He couldn't possibly take his place.
"You can't possibly fool the kingdom. You look nothing like me and even if you could, which I highly doubt, people are going to notice the differences." Artie said truthfully without hesitation.
"People change, Artie. Even the king."
Artie rolled his eyes. "You may fool the guards and my servants but not my wife."
Lancelot smiled crookedly at him that sent a small sliver of fear in his body.
"You see, Arthur." He began walking around him again.
Artie hated his full name.
"I've been following you since you've become king. Studying you, watching you, learning about you. I was a patient man. I studied about potions and elixirs, trying to find a way to be king when it hit me. The fairy godmother had infinite wisdom on potions but unfortunately she was killed. But I had a way. I asked a witch to help me contact her spirit and she gave me this." He pulled out two vials. One red and one blue.
"This," he said, shaking the blue one. "Changes my appearance to whoever I want and this one lets any woman fall in love with the man she kisses before midnight."
Artie was confused at first but when his mind had started to put the piece together, hot anger surged through me.
"You'll never get away with this. I'll make sure your head is on a silver platter!" Artie struggled against the rope but it cut into his skin painfully.
"I don't need your cooperation. I just need a drop of your blood which I'll get it with or without your help."
"Bastard! I'll kill you myself before I even let you get a drop of my blood."
Lancelot laughed. It boomed and resonated around the wooden walls.
"I'm afraid you have no choice in the matter."
Without a word, Lancelot took out a small dagger, cut into Artie's arm and let the blood ease out of his skin.
"Ow!" Artie said when the sharp pain of the dagger cut into his skin.
Lancelot opened the blue bottle and captured a drop of his blood and close the bottle, shaking it so the blood could mix in with the potion.
"See, now was that so hard?"
Artie stared at him angrily and spat at him.
Lancelot didn't flinch.
"My wife will figure you out."
"Not if Joanne is helping me. Joanne will convince her that everything will be fine. Won't you, Joanne?"
There was silence and Artie looked to see that Joanne was looking down, her body stiff.
"I said, won't you, Joanne?" Lancelot said darkly and Artie didn't miss the warning in his voice.
"Yes," she sad very softly that they didn't almost hear it.
"Speak up!"
"Yes, my lord." She said a little bit louder but it was still soft.
Why would she do this?
Why would she betray him and Anya?
Before he could ask these questions, Lancelot spoke up again.
"Now, Artie. Let's see if this potion works."
Without wasting a second, Lancelot opened the potion and drank it down in one sip.
Everyone waited anxiously for anything to happen.
In a few moments, Lancelot had started to glow blue and purple and it increased until Artie and Joanne had to look away.
When they felt the light dim down, they opened their eyes and gasped.
Instead of Lancelot, there stood a blue eyed, blonde haired man.
Every detail, every little thing right from the head down to the toe, looked exactly like Artie.
Lancelot could even say they were twins.
Artie was surprised that it had worked, shocked because it felt like he was staring at himself in a mirror and angry because once again, Lancelot could get away with this crime.
"Well, I must say, I hate this body and looks but no matter. If it means winning the heart of the queen..."
Immediately, anger washed over Artie and he yelled at him.
"You lay one hand on her, I swear I'll kill you. I give my word that I will kill you."
Lancelot laughed and wiped his eyes.
"The only difference is my voice but I'll pass it as a cold. No one will be the wiser."
Artie was pissed now.
Anya may or may not know the difference.
Lancelot looked exactly like him.
Down to the last molecule.
"I wonder how Anya will be when I claim as her my own in your bed. She is quite the wild animal between the sheets is she not? I saw your honeymoon and believe me when I say I'll make her really scream."
Artie's anger turned into rage and he kicked and struggled against the binds, ignoring the pain.
No one laid a hand on his Anya and got away with it.
And no one got away with spying on them when they made love to each other.
No one!
"You bastard! I'll kill you! I'll fucking kill you! You touch her and I will rip your heart with my bare hands."
"Kinda dark for you but eh," Lancelot shrugged. "I will, however give you the satisfaction of letting you see what is going on."
Lancelot turned and walked a few steps ahead of him and raised his hands.
He started reciting a spell over and over again until a curtain of glowing light appeared.
Lancelot dropped his hands as the curtain shifted to reveal a room, a room Artie knew very well.
Someone walked in and he saw Anya, dressed in her dress that she at least liked to wear.
It didn't hug her entire body. It hid her body but hugged her breasts.
It covered only the top of her shoulders, so it was a cap sleeve dress.
"This is happening as we speak." Lancelot said.
Artie yelled to her.
"Anya! Anya! Anya!"
"Imbecile, she cannot hear you." Lancelot replied and Artie noticed the hungry look in his eyes.
"I hope you're safe, Artie. I miss you." Anya whispered to no one in particular as she looks out the window.
She sighs and closes the window.
She climbs into bed, hugging her pillow and breathing in the pillow.
He noticed she was smelling his smell on the pillow.
"She'll be overjoyed to see me tomorrow. oh and the letter was fake, I wrote it. Pretty convincing, eh?"
Artie wrenched his gaze from his wife and looked at Lancelot with all the hate and anger he had in him.
"You will not get away with this! I will find a way to show who you really are! And I will kill you! I give you my word!" Artie threatened, shaking with the rage.
Lancelot had already walked to the door and opened it.
"Joanne will come every day at midnight to feed you. I'll be back to visit."
Lancelot motioned for Joanne to follow and she slowly walked to him.
"I can't believe you, Joanne. You betrayed your king and your queen. You won't get away with this either."
Joanne walked past without glancing his way, her eyes filled with tears.
"I'll say hello to your wife for you." Lancelot yelled as he and Joanne walked out, locking him in.