Arthur was certain he looked a fool, standing like a statue and staring at Guinevere as if she were the whole world. To him at least, she was. Or she used to be. Which made it all hurt that much more. Merlin had managed to usher the rest of the knights away, leaving him alone with Gwen and Lancelot, but there was a piece of him that desperately wanted his best friend back standing beside him.

It was obvious that Gwen was not only engaged to, but in love with, Lancelot, so what chance did he stand now of getting her back? A part of him wished that Gwaine hadn't even restored their memories, because now they were looking at him with a mixture of shock and pity, and he couldn't stand that.

"I can't believe you're alive." Gwen whispered, her hand lifting to her face as if she had been trying to keep the words from slipping out. Arthur simply nodded, still unable to find any words to say in return. "Merlin told me that it was destined to happen one day, but I never thought I'd be here to see it." She shook her head, water still dripping from the hair that framed her face.

All the while, all Arthur could do was continue to stare. At least, it was, until Lancelot shifted behind Guinevere, and the former king was swallowing down his silence.

"He isn't sure why we all came back," Arthur spoke, his voice strained and deep, unfamiliar to his own ears. "He was under the impression that I was the only one who would be returning."

His former knight stared at the ground as he spoke, and a piece of Arthur felt for him. Just like all the others, he was suddenly overwhelmed by two different lives, only now he was waking up to discover the woman he loved was married to the king in his last life.

"Lancelot." The man uttered, watching as his old friend's head jerked up and his eyes found the blond's. "It's good to see you alive as well."

The shocked expression the knight wore was enough for Arthur's guard to drop, and the man across from him offered up a bewildered smile. "Out of all the things I thought might come from you just now, I can honestly say I didn't expect that."

Arthur smirked, despite the sorrow building up inside his chest, and took a step closer. "We cannot help the events that led us here. Perhaps fate has a different plan in store this time around." Extending his hand out, Lancelot continued to stare before finally taking it, exchanging the movement with the man before he smiled as well.

"It truly is good to see you, Sire." The man spoke, and Arthur stepped back with a small nod.

As he did, his eyes flickered over to Gwen, watching as the woman stood off to the side with her own eyes downcast. The awkward tension was palpable, and the silence that quickly descended on them was nearly unbearable.

All he wanted to do was reach out, pull her close, and feel her lips pressed against his. He wanted to run his fingers through her hair, to kiss her along her collarbone, to feel and touch and taste her again and again. But then her ring glinted in the afternoon light, and all his thoughts came to a crashing halt.

"Gwen," Arthur said softly, stepping towards her and capturing both her attention and her wide brown eyes. "You look beautiful." Her lips formed some semblance of a small, sad smile, and Arthur had to force himself to back away again. "I won't get in the way." He promised, nearly choking on the words as he kept his arms pinned to his sides, otherwise he knew he would try to sweep her into his arms and beg her to come back to him.

Finally, Arthur turned away, his thoughts leading closer to action with each passing second. As he did, Gwen caught hold of his arm, and he found himself looking down at her painted nails digging into his sleeve.

"Arthur, wait." He paused, because how could he not? He'd never been able to resist her, never had the heart to truly ignore her pleas or cries or requests, so how could he start now? "All of this.. I don't know.. it's all.." Her words were broken and unsure, and something about her tone managed to break Arthur's heart in an entirely new way.

"It's alright, Guinevere." He murmured, easing his arm out of her grasp before he held onto her hand and never let go. Glancing back at her, and then at the man behind her, Arthur nodded once before barely shrugging. "You have a different life here. One where we never met. One where you're engaged to someone else. It's how your life has gone, and I don't wish to upset it."

"But I remember you. I remember our marriage, our time together." Gwen spoke, her words sending pinpricks of pain throughout the man's chest.

"Yes, we were happy, and in love. But here, you love another man also." Lancelot glanced away then, his hands tightening into fists at his sides.

"Arthur—"

"It's alright, really. We will figure this out, one day. For now, there's more pressing matters." If he couldn't find a way to get away from her, the least he could do was force his mind onto other, more important things. "Morgana is back, and we think that has played a part in why we all are as well."

Guinevere's expression hardened, and Lancelot stepped forward. "What needs to be done?"

"We're gathering everyone together, to figure out some sort of solution."

"Do you know why she's here?" Gwen questioned, eyeing Arthur who shook his head.

"No idea. We know she's in town putting together some exhibit regarding Arthurian Legend, but that's all I know."

"Does Merlin have any ideas?" Lancelot asked, his hand twitching as if he wanted to reach out to Gwen but had stopped himself before he did.

"A few, I'm sure." Arthur stated before glancing away, listening as Gwen cleared her throat.

"We should find them then, shouldn't we? We can't let her continue with whatever evil she has planned." The anger in Guinevere's voice was not surprising, but unexpected, and Arthur merely nodded.

"I'll call him." The blond offered, pulling his phone from his pocket and turning around. Walking a few feet away, he dialed Merlin's number and tried not to listen to the whispers going on behind him.

"Hello?" A voice answered a moment later, flat and hollow sounding.

"Merlin?" Arthur clarified, glancing at the screen to be sure he had the right number.

"Yes." The man confirmed, his voice tense as Arthur replaced the phone to his ear.

"Where are you? I'm bringing the others, I think it's time we all talked."

"I'm in the theater department, in a back room with all the props." Merlin answered, his voice almost pained as Arthur glanced at the screen again.

"What's wrong with you?" The man demanded, taking another step away as he hissed the words into the phone.

"Nothing."

"You're being short and frankly, rather rude."

"I have to go."

"Merlin, wait—" The call ended abruptly, and Arthur was left holding the device in shock as Lancelot came up on one side of him.

Behind him, when he glanced over, the blond found Gwen fuming, her arms crossed over her chest and her gaze locked on a tree across the field.

"Everything alright?" His knight asked as he focused his attention back on him.

"Something weird is going on with Merlin." Arthur muttered, catching Lancelot's arched brow and scoffing. "Something weirder than normal. You'd be surprised with how much he's calmed down in a few centuries."

"That's something I'd like to see." Lancelot chuckled. "Shall we go find him then?"

"Might as well." Arthur nodded, looking again at Gwen. "Guinevere, are you coming with us?"

"What? Oh, yes." She spoke, her body rigid as she stepped over.

After an awkward pause, the three of them began walking towards the buildings, none of them speaking a word. Arthur didn't know what he would say even if he wanted to. If he was alone with either one of them, perhaps he'd stand a chance, but with the two of them together it simply felt as if he were overstepping some line he hadn't known was there.

He and Lancelot had a good relationship, and he'd always liked the man. He was loyal, a hard worker, and a skilled fighter. Then of course, he knew how he felt for Gwen. Somehow knowing the two of them were together found a way to break his heart in a new way.

Walking into the drama building, Arthur found himself pausing, staring in awe at a somewhat poor replication of his kingdom. It wasn't perfect, but a sudden homesickness gripped him tight while he stared.

Gwen was the one to direct them to the back room, leading them inside a cramped space filled with the odds and ends of plays from the past. What was most intriguing was the large round table he spotted near the middle of the room, where the rest of his knights and the warlock stood.

"Look what you managed to find, that's rather impressive." Arthur called out, stepping forward as some of the men met his gaze.

All of them seemed tense, and they also kept cutting their eyes to one person who was sitting at the table with his back to Arthur. Mentally counting all the men in the room, Arthur realized there was one extra, and his own gaze fell to the top of the stranger's head.

"Arthur, we have a visitor." Merlin spoke up, his voice as tight and strained as it had been on the phone as the mystery person sitting at the table slowly stood up and turned to face him. Arthur's breath caught in his throat, and a ghost of pain spread through his side and chest.

"Well," Mordred uttered, staring Arthur dead in the eye. "If it isn't the return of the king."

A/N

I can't help picturing the Lion King with that last line and I feel no shame for it whatsoever.

Things are getting spicy! I hope you guys are enjoying it! Feel free to leave questions, comments, or concerns for me, I love reading what you think about the story!