Back in his bedchamber, Philip slowly became aware that he was laying on his bed, a pleasant change from the cold stone floor he last remembered lying on. The light from the window on his left was shining directly on his face and all he could see was the color red. After a moment of reflection, he realized that was because his eyes were closed, and he slowly opened them- blinking rapidly to adjust to the bright light.
He stared at the ceiling for a moment, taking it all in. His fingers unconsciously rubbed against the cloth bandage on his hand, the feeling suddenly bringing back the memories of what had happened before he had passed out. With a squeak, Philip bolted upright. He had to go check on Sir Steven! With new determination, Philip grabbed the blankets covering him and flung them aside, jumping down from his bed. As he started towards the door, a low groan coming from the corner of the room made him freeze in his tracks. Slowly, he turned towards the second bed, and was greeted by the sight of Sir Steven sleeping on it.
"He's...he's...HE'S IN MY ROOM?" Philip screamed internally. He exhaled a breath after realizing he had been holding it in. Philip's thoughts jumped around in his head like grasshoppers, never quite coming together to form a complete command for his body to obey. He still found it hard to believe that his childhood hero had been found- he never dreamed that he would actually be able to meet him, much less share a room with him!
As Philip stood motionless by the foot of the bed, Steven stirred. Philip's eyes grew wide as he saw Steven's eyes flicker open- looking around the room before focusing on the boy by his feet. He was disheveled, and confused, but the look he gave Philip was kind. "Hello," he greeted him. His voice was soft, a bit raspy after a long time of being unused.
Philip's heart pounded against his chest. For a second, he was worried it might burst out of him and fall on the floor. "That would be embarrassing," he thought to himself. He brought a hand to his chest to keep the beating muscle inside. "Okay, Philip. Your hero just spoke to you. Now's your chance. Say something that will leave a good impression. Astound him with your wit and grace. Be calm, cool, casual."
Philip swallowed hard. He opened his mouth; ready to smoothly return the greeting, or ask if he needed assistance, or tell him how much he admired and looked up to him. Instead, what came out was something entirely different. "MARIAAA!" he screamed in a high pitched voice.
The door burst open and an exasperated Maria jumped through sword-first, ready to take on whatever threat caused the screech. The sight of the blade only succeeded in causing Philip's screech to go up a few octaves, leaving one to wonder how great his lung capacity was. The sudden noise and commotion caused the knight on the bed to yell out of reflex, his cry filled more with confusion than fear. The chorus of screams that greeted her took Maria by surprise as she let out a shriek of her own and quickly backed out the door, slamming it behind her.
After a few moments of awkward silence, a quiet knock was heard on the door. It slowly swung open as Maria stepped in. "I believe I heard you request my presence, Philip?" she spoke calmly with her hands behind her back and her sword sheathed.
Philip took a few deep breaths to compose himself, clearing his throat. He planned out in his mind a rational explanation for what had just transpired, and was ready to communicate to Maria that their guest had just awoken, and was most likely in need of some post-traumatic care. However, he ended up just pointing to Sir Steven on the bed. "He woke up," he explained sheepishly.
"I noticed. Thank you for that observation," Maria spoke, trying to regain a professional manner. "I am surprised he refrained from fainting again given what just happened." She gave Steven a warm smile as she approached the bed. "It is an honor to have you with us, Sir Steven. I am Dame Maria Hill." He leaned forward to take her hand, but she gently pushed him back down. "Please take your time adjusting, you have been through a lot recently. We will explain everything soon. Ask for whatever you need and I will see to it that you get it."
Steven relaxed, leaning back into the pillows of the bed. "My most sincere gratitude, madame," he said softly. "But- would you mind… telling me where I am?" His question sounded apologetic, as if he felt that his condition was somehow his fault, and he was now burdening these kind people that were having to care for him.
"Most certainly, Sir. You are in the kingdom of York. In the fortress of Lord Nicholas Fury to be precise, the home of the Royal Order of the Shield, but Lord Nicholas will explain all of that too you," Maria answered before crossing the room to the doorway. "I will inform him of your awaking. Philip will attend you while you rest. Let him know if you need anything as he will be more than happy to oblige," she smiled at Philip then walked out into the corridor.
Philip nodded in quiet agreement as Maria left. Steven ran a hand through his hair, taking in everything he had just heard. "The Royal Order of the Shield..?" he mumbled to himself, remembering. "Does that mean- is Margaret here? Or Howard?" he asked Philip, brightening a bit at the thought.
Philip gave him a sad look. "I- I'm afraid not, sire." he stammered reluctantly. Steven looked at him in concern. "I've upset you," he observed. "My apologies. Do you know where they are?" Philip thought for a moment. "Wait here," he instructed. An empty command given the knight's current ability to do little else. Philip bounded to a bookcase beside his bed, tossing papers aside before retrieving a thick leatherbound book. He heaved the weighty object over onto Steven's bed, dust flying in all directions as it landed on the mattress.
"This.. should explain everything," Philip said, opening the cover. "I've been collecting all official news about you since you went missing- and there's a lot in here about what happened to everyone else from back then." Eager to impress, Philip began quickly leafing through the pages. A stray paper fluttered onto the bed, and Steven reached down to turn it over. Amused, he realized it was a picture of himself- hand drawn and carefully colored with paint.
"That's really good," Steven said with a smile. Philip looked at the page in his hand and felt all the blood rush to his face in embarrassment. "Oh, that.. that's nothing!" Philip stuttered. He took the page back and hurriedly tried to stuff it in his pocket. In his haste, he jostled the book and caused more pages with similar drawings to spill out. Turning even more crimson, Philip swatted them off the bed onto the floor, where he proceeded to kick them under the rug, mumbling.
Steven gave a small chuckle, but didn't say anything else as he didn't want to embarrass the youth any further. Philip cleared his throat to compose himself for what felt like the hundredth time today. "This is what I was looking for," he said, pointing out an official herald news announcement. Steven read the date on the parchment, and then the date of the more recent papers scattered on his bedside table.
"I've been asleep.. for years?" He asked quietly. Philip gave a silent nod. Steven leaned forward, cradling his head in his hands as he stared blankly forward in thought. "Years…" he whispered to himself. "How am I supposed to get them back? All the time I've missed- what life might I have known?" Philip slammed the cover to the book, breaking Steven out of his trance.
"I'll tell you what you're going to do, sir," he said confidently. Steven watched in confusion as the young page went back to his bookshelf and returned with numerous works. Upon closer inspection, Steven realized that they were all about...well...him. Philip held up one of the books. "You are going to do what you've always done- defend the weak! Stand up for truth! Never shy away from danger when you have right on your side!" he recited words from the books that he had no doubt read many times.
Steven gave him a smile, impressed that the boy who had been screaming like a frightened cat just moments before was now displaying such passion. It was hard to ignore his infectious determination. "You have a strong will," he said. "A trait that will take you far, especially if you were to become a knight. Of course, you would have to be a squire first…" he trailed off as he noticed all the color leave Philip's face.
"A.. a squire, sire?" he squeaked. Steven gave a slow nod. "Indeed, that's the training one must go through to become a knight." thoughtfully, he added- "I suppose I will need a squire now." A dull thud interrupted his musings, and he noticed with alarm that the young man had fainted right on the floor. "Ah, dear. Uhm, DAME MARIA?" Steven called out.
After a brief moment the door swung open yet again. "No one scream!" Maria expelled as she walked into the room followed by Lord Nicholas who gave her a look of suspicion. "Do not even ask," she commanded, sitting on Philip's bed and rubbing her forehead.
Steven gave them both an apologetic look. "He got a little overexcited," he explained. "You must be Lord Nicholas," he said, acknowledging the cyclops by extending his hand. Nicholas shook his hand firmly. "I am. You gave us quite a scare back there, Sir Steven," he said with a small smile. "I'm glad to see you looking well." Steven smiled and looked down at Philip. "I seem to be causing a lot of people distress today," he remarked.
Nicholas motioned for Maria to attend to Philip. "He's an admirer of yours- we've hardly been able to keep him still at all since your arrival. That is, when he's not been unconscious." he added. Nicholas' expression changed to accommodate a more serious tone. "But now that you're alert, Sir Steven, I think it's time we had a talk. I'm sure there's a lot you want to discuss."
Steven nodded. Since he already had some knowledge about where he was, and about The Royal Order of the Shield, he was slowly but surely beginning to feel like his old self again. "Yes. It would be easiest to discuss only the most important events that have occurred while I've been...away." he said. Nicholas nodded in agreement. "Very well. You should know, first of all, that you've been asleep for 40 years." he began. Steven exhaled forcefully through his nose but didn't say anything. "By what manner of spell you've been kept alive, we don't know. But those answers aren't our priority at the moment," Nicholas continued. "We have been made aware of a possible threat to our land very recently and determining its origin is our current goal."
Steven's body language showed that he was listening intently. "What is the threat?" he asked. Nicholas reached into the folds of the robe he wore and pulled out a piece of parchment. On it was a drawing of a strange blue cube. "This...box," he began. "It doesn't look like much, but this powerful cube holds mystical power unknown to us. If unchecked, we don't know what it might do. We believe that your sudden reappearance, along with the discovery of this power, is no coincidence. Plans have been made to take the cube to Master Banner and Lord Stark, in hopes that they will be able to determine its magic- and more importantly, contain it." he explained.
Steven's heart jumped a bit at the mention of the name Stark, memories flooding back to him. He realized that Philip had not found the pages in his book revealing the fate of his friend before he had fainted. "Lord Stark?" he inquired cautiously. "Not... Howard?" Nicholas folded the parchment he held somberly. "His son, Anthony," he said. "Howard's gone. I'm sorry."
Steven swallowed hard at the news, but knew deep down that he had been expecting it. "And Margaret?" He asked. He didn't really want to ask. He didn't really want to know. He wanted to keep her image in his mind forever- endlessly twirling and gliding in the dance they never had. The corner of Nicholas' mouth twitched up into a small smile. "She's alive. Last I heard, she was living a quiet, domestic life in a cottage near the eastern woods."
Steven's heart fluttered. In the back of his mind, he realized that his eyes were wet. He decided to ignore that. "I'm glad to hear it," he said warmly. His gaze met Nicholas's. "If there is a threat to the Royal Order, I want to help." he declared. Nicholas smiled. "I thought you would, Sir Steven. We gratefully accept. Once you are more rested we will make the journey to see Lord Stark." he stated, turning to leave.
"One more thing," Steven said, settling back down into his pillows. "I request that Philip be made my squire." Nicholas chuckled. "It is done. I'm confident that he will hardly leave your side." he said. Steven closed his eyes with a grin as the others left the room. "I'm going to protect them, Margaret, for you." his mind said, as though he could telepathically reach her wherever she was. "I still owe you that dance." was the last thing he thought before drifting back into sleep.
Thanks for reading, everyone! This has been a blast to write so far. Any and all feedback is both encouraged and appreciated.