If there was something that Mordred, King of the Britons, expected when she came to Chaldea. Seeing Lancelot again wasn't one of them. Sure, there was a tingle of interest in the back of her head when it came to seeing the one man who (arguably) acted like a father more than her real one. But that was it, nothing but a tingle. So, to see the Knight of the Lake again sent her over the moon in glee. Sure, it wasn't her Lancelot. That much was gathered by the Red Prince when he didn't return the hug and felt the Knight freeze in confusion instead; the question asking what the hell was going on was the final nail in the coffin. But, that didn't stop her from hugging him even more. And that's where we continue our story. In the Cafeteria.
"Mo-san. I think you should let go of Sir Lancelot now. Before things get out of hand…" Saber Lily suggested. Having broken the 10 second silence caused by the Crimson King.
"Huh?" Mordred then turned around and saw the gaping faces of all those participating in the party. Seeing that she caused a scene, Mordred let go of the stupefied Knight of the Lake.
"Didn't realise that it was a big deal. My bad, I guess." Mordred sheepishly apologised. Something that made a certain group of Knights ( as well as certain Red Knights) blink in surprise. They didn't expect Mordred to apologise like that since… Well, the Mordred they knew never did such a thing. Ever.
"Sir Mordred. What is the meaning of this?" Asked Percival. Who smiled at the Crimson King. A gesture she gladly reciprocated.
"Percival! You're here too? Boy, am I glad to see you." Mordred then went up to the Holy Knight and brought her arm up for a hand hug. Percival then replied by raising up his hand. Smiling with a hint of fondness for the Red Prince.
"I with you, Sir Mordred. You're looking good today. Is that a new set of armour?" Percival said. He was happy that Mordred was happy to see him. He thought that maybe she turned a new leaf while Sir Lancelot and he were walking to the cafeteria? Maybe she's a new servant? He suddenly thought as Mordred let go of his hand. He's somewhat sure that the Mordred in front of him was a new servant. Even more so when he saw the Knight of Treachery being handed a towel to dry herself up by the nameless Archer by the bar.
"That's 'King Mordred' to you. I didn't spend 10 years of my life as King just to be called 'Sir' again. And also, nah it ain't It's the armour I used whenever I'm in campaign." Mordred chuckled. To others, it would sound like she was all arrogant. But to Mordred, it was just a joke in good nature. But that wasn't what most people focused at
.
"Wait, did you just say King?! Does that mean she can surf- OW! Why, beach Father?!"
"That makes sense, actually. She has the disposition of one."
"Oh my! That's quite interesting. I might have to look into that later…"
"Please don't do that, Merlin. She just got here."
"Whatever you say, Male Arthur"
"Why is everyone surprised with me being King? Even Dr. Romani was a bit put off by the news. Isn't the me over there a King too?" the Red Prince asked. Pointing at the now cleaned up Knight of Treachery. Who glared irritatingly at her doppelganger.
"I'm gonna kill her." She whispered to herself as she gnashed her teeth. How dare that bitch brag about being a King in front of her? Who the fuck does she think she is? And how fucking dare she ask that?! Does she want to return to the Throne?! HOW IS SHE A KING!
"Don't. I still have to clean the cafeteria." Archer warned from behind the bar. He seems to be indifferent and uncaring. But inside, he was tense. The Knight of Treachery is more likely to make good of that promise than not. Archer knows this fact probably because he knows that he's prone to doing the same thing when it comes to Shirou Emiya. Something the detective hinted at earlier.
And speaking of the detective.
"I would dissuade you from that course of action, Sir Mordred. After all, 'King Mordred' over there hasn't had the blessing of tasting this wonderful Burgundy that Archer concocted. Also, because Master would be sad if you did so. But, that's beside the point." Sherlock said as he took a sip of his drink. Not ignoring the vein popping on the Knight of Treachery's forehead at the mention of her Kingly self.
"Mordred-san. I think we should set that question aside for now. We don't want the celebrant over there to miss his own party, now would we?" Gudako suggested to the Crimson King. Her forehead started to get wet from the cold sweat forming in that area. She saw the reaction of Mo-chan near the bar, and it was downright murderous! The best thing for her now is to put the party first so that the day wouldn't end in a bloodbath. Thankfully for Gudako. The Red Prince wasn't dense.
"Oh, right! I almost forgot. Yeah, go on in. Percival and Lancelot. You're the guys this party is for, after all." Mordred said as she stepped aside to let the two Knights in.
"Actually, this party is for Percival himself. I'm just here to fetch him…" Lancelot explained to the new Mordred. Still feeling awkward from the bear hug he just got. He literally just said that Mordred is some to be volatile and vulgar and brash earlier. And here was a Mordred who was affectionate and somewhat kind towards him. So, it couldn't be helped if he was cringed by his words. He also wanted to say that he had something to do and had to go outside of the cafeteria. Effectively leaving the party the moment it began. That way, he can process his embarrassment far away from the eyes of other people. Especially the Mordred in front of him.
"Aw, what? Leaving already? But we just met again after years!" Mordred complained. She knew that this wasn't her Lancelot. And so what? She thought. As long as she gets to spend time with him again. That's all fine with her.
"I'm afraid I can't stay, Sir… no, Your Majesty." Lancelot cringed at that last part because he wasn't used to saying it to Mordred of all people but can't complain because technically she's also King of Camelot and that he's sworn his allegiance to every Kings of Camelot.
"It's imperative that I leave this place for… a thing I need to do." He was lying through his teeth at this point, but he didn't care. He just wanted to leave.
"...Alright then. See ya around, I guess." Mordred sullenly replied. She knew that forcing the Knight to stay was a great way to get into his bad books. And she didn't want to start on the wrong foot with Lancelot. Even though he's basically a stranger to her and has no connection to her whatsoever. But Mordred could care less about that. For… personal reasons, the Crimson King wants Lancelot to like and trust her. And letting him go was one way of doing so.
Unfortunately however. Saber Alter didn't have the same idea as her Kingly son.
"If you two can shut up now and get a seat, I would very much appreciate it. Master's not letting us eat the burgers until all of us are sitting at the tables." Saber Alter requested in a tone that says 'deny-me-and-you're-dead'. Her frown emanated the desire to eat even more than her words.
The Red Prince and the Knight of the Lake looked towards the others in the room and saw that they were all picking their tables to sit on whilst chatting on whatever topics they fancied. Even Percival was seated; he was alongside the Knights of the Round at one of the longer tables. With the King(s) seated at the head of it.
"I suppose I can stay for a short while." Lancelot said as he headed towards the seat reserved by Percival himself. He knew he had no say when it came to the Altered King's request, so he just went with it.
"Guess I'll find a seat now, Father." Mordred said. But she didn't need to go far. For Saber Lily - who was walking to them from the table full of Camelotians - called out to her at that moment.
"Mo-san! Alter Me! You can sit over here with Mo-chan and Sa-Mo-san. C'mon Alter me. You're gonna miss the burgers." Saber Lily then grabbed Alter by the hand and then led her to their seats.
"Of course. We wouldn't want to miss that." Alter said absentmindedly. With a little bit of drool coming out of her mouth. The Crimson King then followed suit. A soft smile gracing her features due as she watched the cheery Lily servant.
The table that Saber Lily was guiding them to was filled with either Knights of the Round on one side and alternate versions of Arturia Pendragon on the other. With Ruler-class Arturia at the head of the table shuffling cards as a means to pass time, and Percival at the foot of the table discussing sword tactics with Agravain and Lancelot. The Crimson King found herself at the left side of the table, with the Knight of Treachery at her left and the Summer Surfer at right. Adjacent to the trio was Blue Saber, Saber Lily, and Saber Alter. Who were talking about the possible dishes made by the Red Archer who was tending the bar.
"So, new me. What's your story?" Summer Mo asked her counterpart. The Red Prince turned around towards her Rider self with a raised brow.
"Pardon?" The Crimson King asked. Confused as to what 'story' meant.
"Y'know. Your history and all. Just curious about how you became a King. and all that. Wait, Are you actually a king, or is that a title? I never got to be a King, What was it like? Did you go all out and wore the fanciest clothes out there? What was the best moment of your Kingship-hood or whatever?" Summer Mo elaborated.
"So many questions, calm down. I don't even know where to start." the Red Prince said as she raised her hands up at her boisterous doppelganger. She was curious at the part where Summer Mo said that she wasn't a king. But, she figured that was for another time.
"Start at the beginning then. Don't fuck around and just start there." growled the Knight of Treachery. Her arms crossed and sporting a frown. No matter how many times she told herself that being irrationally angry at her 'Kingly' self, Mordred couldn't help but be less than pleased with her new version's presence. Everything about the new Mordred felt off and so wrong to her. But she couldn't pinpoint why exactly. Maybe learning about her new version's past could help with that.
"...Alright then." the Crimson King obliged. Cautious with her angry self. Little did she realise the voices in the cafeteria started to simmer down just to hear her story. Even the Artorias and the Knights of the Round stopped what they were doing so that they could listen in.
"Well, to start off. I was born in a fortress to Morgan le Fay. But not raised by her." Everyone's eyes widened at that. Purely because of the implications this might bring. The Knight of Treachery's jaw dropped at that. While Summer Mo wasn't doing well either.
"You what?!" the Knight of Treachery shouted.
"Silence, Mordred!" Both Blue and Altered Sabers commanded. They too were curious. So, to see their idiot of a son to blurt out all of a sudden and risk the Red Prince from continuing her story was not great in their point of view.
"Sorry, Fathers…" the Knight of Treachery said as she bowed her head in disgrace. A cue for the Crimson King to continue once more.
"Right, anyways. I was in the custody of Morgan for about a few months after my birth. I was placed in the same fortress I was born in the whole time. Until. Lancelot came. He, alongside Gawain, Tristan, and Merlin were sent by my Father to investigate the fortress to see if Morgan was there. But she wasn't there. Her sentries were the only things guarding me then. One of them was a chimaera of sorts. And they defeated it."
"Oho! How interesting. The other me who saved Mordred over there is quite a fellow, now that I think about it." Merlin said to himself and Arthur. They decided to sit at another table because they didn't want to intrude at the other Camelotians' table.
"If I know you very well Merlin, then you would've done everything in your power to make sure that the prophecy would stay intact." Arthur said with a deadpan expression. Little did he know how right he was.
"Merlin wasn't happy about it. But he hid it very well until Lancelot and the group returned to Camelot." the Crimson King said. Not noticing the glares of disapproval Arthur was pointing at the Mage of Flowers, who hastily looked away whilst forming a cold sweat.
"Father wasn't happy about it either. After learning about what Morgan had done and what I was, he convened a meeting consisting of all the Knights of the Round who were present. The main issue concerning whether or not I get to live another day or die on the spot." the Red Prince paused at that point. Taking into account the many gasps from the many people in the room.
"Th-at's horrible! Why would I do such a thing?!" Saber Lily innocently asked. Feeling very distraught and saddened that her future self in that universe would decide on such a thing. The other Artorias could only look away in shame at their Lily version's words. They couldn't blame the Artoria of the Red Prince's time. Because they saw the rationale and practicality behind it. And that made things even more shameful in their eyes.
"Please. As if that's the worst thing ever." the Knight of Treachery blurted out. Causing the Crimson King and Summer Mo to look at her. But she didn't care, since her eyes are dead set on the Blue Saber. Who was giving the Knight the side-eye. The Crimson King then continued her story before things got out of hand.
"Fortunately, even as a slim majority favoured my execution (with the Red Prince staring at Agravain and Merlin's general directions when she said 'majority'), my Father was overcome by mercy. Compassion even. Even with Carnwennan about to pierce my baby self, something happened within Father. No one who was present in the meeting could put it into words, but whatever it was, that something caused my Father to drop Carnwennan onto the ground and hand me to my Mother - Guinevere." The Red Prince then looked at Lancelot -who was a deathly pale at the mention of the Queen's name - and addressed him.
"By the way, Lancelot. Mom wanted you to know that she will always love you. Even if you are long gone from my world. She couldn't say it then when Father was still alive. But when you and Father died. She was free to express her emotions to me. But, I knew about it way before she told me. You guys were as obvious as night and day back then." The Crimson King then smiled so sweetly at the Knight of the Lake that he couldn't take it anymore and quietly left his chair and walked out of the cafeteria. Almost bumping into one of the servers who were tending to the food of everyone. It was at this point when the Mordred Trio realised that everyone started eating and that the food that was set in front of them was starting to get cold.
"I'll continue the story after I finish eating." the Red Prince stated as she started chowing down at her food. Summer Mo did the same gesture and started happily conversing with the Red Prince with other topics like, 'beaches', 'surfing', and 'fishing'.
The Knight of Treachery didn't bother touching her food. Rather, she just glared at it as if it denied her the right to be King.
Poor food.