Camelot
July, 504 AD
During one of my afternoons with nothing to do, I had used some of the allowance money I get from Uther (which is an interesting perk that comes with being his ward) to get a local craftsman to make a simple chessboard and its pieces for me. It's a game that I've always enjoyed and, in contrast with the other games I like to play (such as 'Minecraft' and 'Subway Surfers'), I could actually share it with the people around me!
After Gaius gave up on trying to beat me, I decided that I would go to find the King and teach him how to play. Kings enjoy chess in some movies, after all, right?
"He will send you away," the physician warned when I teasingly told him that I need a sharper opponent.
"He wouldn't, he loves a challenge," I argued.
"He has got more important things to deal with," the man retorted.
"Wanna bet?"
Half-an-hour later and one silver coin richer, I was sitting in front of Uther in the council room after having explained the rules to him; both of us engaged in the King's first ever game of chess while Gaius watched on with a defeated look.
"No, Utah, bad. You can only move it one square forward," I scolded and set back the pawn he'd moved.
"You said it could be moved twice," he argued while narrowing his eyes at me.
"But only the first time it is used," the physician cut in as I sent the King a pointed glare to hopefully let him know that I wouldn't allow him to move it.
"Fine," he gave in and moved a different pawn instead. "Your turn," he mumbled as he leant back on his chair and crossed his arms, his lips almost pouty.
Some few moves later, I smirked as I looked down at the disfigured board. The poor, little, unsuspecting amateur had decided to let out his queen way too early (after complaining that the king is useless, he had claimed that she must be hard to beat, considering that she's the most powerful piece) and there I was, laughing my butt off as I easily wiped her off the board with one of my knights.
"A knight would not dare kill a queen! You are cheating!" the King accused.
"Oh, but they would, and I'm not," I replied while still giggling like a maniac.
He turned to Gaius, seemingly asking for support.
"If the rules she wrote down are honest, she is not cheating," the physician informed as he motioned towards the paper parchment where I'd written down the rules of the game, per his request.
"Of course they're honest!" I protested against his outrageous accusations. "What's the fun in winning a game if it's not done out of pure intellect?!"
Uther huffed and moved a rook, throwing his arms up when I quickly killed it with a bishop.
I'm such a genius.
Our game was interrupted when Arthur, Merlin, and some knights bursted into the room; all of them appearing dirty and sweaty, which caused me to scrunch up my nose in disgust. My best friend walked behind the Prince while carrying a red pillow, atop which sat a long, swirly pointed item that I couldn't place.
"Father! A unicorn's horn to grace the walls of Camelot!" the Prince announced with a proud grin on his lips.
My eyes widened in absolute shock and I shot my gaze towards Merlin in search of an explanation. He simply looked down sadly, which caused a lump to promptly form in my throat.
I started when Uther sprung to his feet while exclaiming, "Magnificent!" I don't think I'd ever seen him smile as genuinely as he did as he approached Merlin. "It is the first one I have seen," he claimed while carefully picking up the item, and he turned towards Gaius, "Gaius, look at this!"
I slid out of my seat and moved to stand next to the physician, looking over at the horn in the King's hands. I instantly felt nauseated at noticing that one end had some traces of blood on it and I averted my gaze towards the floor.
They can't be talking about an actual freaking unicorn, can they? I mean, the thought of any animal being killed for mere sport makes me angry – but killing what's essentially a magic horse is unthinkable! Unicorns aren't real, though, are they? Well, to be fair, I used to think the same thing about magic… and fairies… and wraiths. My heart began to race.
"It is very impressive, My Lord," Gaius conceded in a stoic tone, his eyes not quite finding the horn as he kept them on the King.
"Please tell me that 'unicorn' means something different to y'all than it does to me?" I pleaded, my voice almost a whisper as my eyes alternated between Uther and Gaius. The former waved me off, while the latter let out a shaky sigh as his gaze travelled to me for a moment.
The King gave a little eye-roll and his smile receded a bit. "What is it, Gaius? Speak your mind," he demanded.
"Unicorns are rare and mystical creatures," the elderly man noted. My eyes widened. "There is a legend that says that bad fortune will come to anyone who slays one."
Oh, crap, so it is from an actual unicorn!
I watched as Uther and Arthur shared an amused look and they both chuckled, as if making ridicule of the physician's claims.
I suddenly felt a little headache form and moved to plop down on a chair again, keeping my head down as I eyed the Prince out of the corner of my eye. I had felt so safe with him when he had comforted me after the battle of Ealdor… He had gone as far as to confide in me that he, too, felt a soul-crunching guilt every time he had to take a life, and the realisation that I wasn't alone in how I was feeling had meant the world to me as I fought to process and make relative peace with what had happened. But I guess that his consideration for life ends when it comes to animals, and the realisation hit me like a ton of bricks.
I averted my gaze and clenched my jaw, vowing to find a way to get over whatever senseless, stupid feelings I have for him. He's a piece of crap and I shouldn't be thinking of him as anything more than that; screw what the legends may say about him.
"Nonsense. We will be the envy of every kingdom," Uther dismissed Gaius's concerns and he moved to pat his son's back in praise. I glared at both of them, wishing that I could throw a chess piece at each of their heads without losing my own.
"I am pleased you like it," Arthur responded, a satisfied smile forming on his stupid face.
With a crushing sensation in my chest that threatened to squeeze the air out of my lungs, I gathered my new game, and hastened to get out of the room.
I was curled up on my bed with my special blanket while watching 'Captain America: The First Avenger' (something about 40s!Bucky just gives me a special kind of comfort… at least until that scene rolls around) on my tablet, when a knock on my door made me quickly hide it under a bunch of pillows. Then I stood up while grumbling in annoyance and opened the door. I raised my eyebrows when I found Merlin and Gaius standing there and tilted my head in confusion, but I still stepped aside and allowed them to enter.
"Are you all right?" my best friend asked, giving me a sympathetic look.
"Just upset," I confessed in a mumble while fiddling with the edge of my blanket. "And I completely hate Arthur now."
"You do not mean that," Gaius countered softly.
"No, I do!" I exclaimed as rage promptly stormed against Bucky Barnes's calming effect. "He's a total sh*t-head! How could he kill a freaking unicorn just like that?!"
The physician gave me a cautionary look while Merlin sighed and threw an arm over my shoulders, drawing me closer to him. I accepted the physical contact even as my body tensed up a little and let out a shaky sigh as I dropped my head. "I know. It broke my heart to watch," the boy stated.
"Arthur is a hunter, it is in his blood," Gaius pointed out, causing me to clench my jaw again, "whereas the two of you are something entirely different."
"That explains it – hunters are a*holes," I asserted. "Well, except for the Winchesters… and the Argents… but they kill monsters, so it's not the same," I added in a mumble, earning puzzled looks from my roomies. I waved them off. I seriously need to get them over the apprehension they hold towards my tablet so that I can educate them on pop culture!
Merlin sighed as he turned to me, "It was the most beautiful creature I have ever seen. I wish you had been there."
"Me too," I replied. "Then I could've shot Arthur before he killed it." I tilted my head when an image of a lifeless version of the Prince crossed my mind and I shuddered involuntarily, finding that it wasn't a pleasant thought despite how much I wanted it to be.
"Seeing a unicorn is a rare privilege. Alas, there are few of them still alive," Gaius said gravely, causing my heart to clench.
"Well, I don't think there are any left in my time; they're thought to be entirely fictional," I responded in a mutter.
"Try telling that to Arthur," Merlin grumbled with an eye roll.
"I would, but we're not friends anymore," I growled.
My friend made a 'tsk' sound, "I do not want to be around when he learns that." Then he shared a look with Gaius that I could not decipher, so I simply shrugged it off.
The painful thoughts regarding the unicorn evaporated from my mind almost completely for a while as Dallas and I galloped over a dirt path that crossed a farming valley, his powerful strides sending electrical impulses throughout my body as his hooves collided with the ground below in a smooth manner. I made some light kissing sounds, asking him for more speed, and giggled a little when he appeared to change gears as he blasted forwards. He truly is everything that is right with this world.
My gaze strayed from the path when I noticed something strange: the colour palette around me looked very different than it had the last time I rode through this path – which was only three days ago. The crop fields looked sad and lifeless, when they'd looked perfectly vibrant then. I slowed down my horse and tilted my head while analysing the scene, wondering what could've changed.
A minute or two later, I spotted something of a distinct red colour in one of the fields, and, as I rode closer, I realised that it was Uther and Arthur standing there while discussing something.
I really, really wanted to forget about their existences entirely. People who celebrate killing unicorns don't deserve anyone's acknowledgement. However, I couldn't help the insatiable curiosity that filled me as I wondered what they were doing in a crop field, and I brought my horse down into a trot before approaching them – making sure to keep my expression stoic.
Their eyes found me and I watched them share a confused look.
"Have you two decided to change career paths?" I questioned as I reached them. They certainly suck as rulers, maybe they'd be better off as farmers and we can install a democracy. Historians will be stunned to find that in medieval Britain!
"Look around," Uther told me as he gestured towards the dull yellow – nearly grey – wheat crops that surrounded us, "every single ear has died. We have received reports that it is the same throughout the entire kingdom."
My eyes widened in shock. How the heck does that even happen?! Magic? Probably…
"I rode through this valley only yesterday," Arthur noted, sounding fairly alarmed. "The crop looked healthy enough then."
"It happened overnight. Farmers are at a loss to explain it," Uther responded.
"Well," I dared to speak up, "Gaius did say something about a curse yesterday…"
The King groaned as he turned to me, "Astraea, do not tell me you believe that nonsense."
"It's not a matter of belief, just what's most logical," I retorted, perhaps a bit more sharply than I should've, and I quickly realised that I needed to leave before my mouth could get me into trouble; so I gently nudged Dallas forwards. "You asked for this," I whispered to Arthur as we walked by him, and then I asked my horse to take off galloping again.
We made it to the castle some ten minutes later and I hurried to cool off Dallas and untack him before putting him in his paddock and taking his equipment to the tack room. Then I sprinted towards Gaius's apartment, knowing that if anyone could find the solution to the food problem, he and Merlin were it; and I wanted to do anything I could to help. The people don't deserve to suffer because their Prince is a sh*t-head.
"What could kill all the plants other than a disease?" I heard Merlin ask as I entered the room. The pair stood at the work table with some chemistry stuff doing chemistry things.
"Zombies," I said bluntly, causing their heads to snap towards me. I simply shrugged under their unimpressed gazes and hopped to sit on a different table, waiting for the moment when I could become useful to the cause.
Gaius shook his head in disapproval before turning to Merlin and answering his question, "It is not killing all the plants. The trees and hedges around the crop fields are unharmed… Unfortunately, you cannot eat trees and hedges."
"It is only killing plants we can eat?" Merlin questioned in a low tone.
"It appears so."
The sorcerer sighed as he fell pensive and I watched him, wondering what he was thinking. "If it is not a disease, it must be magic," he concluded after a few moments.
"Of course it is," I replied, "and I can't wait until we fix it and get to rub it in Arthur's stupid face. It'll be the greatest 'I told you so' ever!"
Curse that sh*t-head! Well, I guess he already took care of that all on his own…
"Astraea," Gaius said in a cautionary tone. I gave him an innocent grin and he shook his head before speaking again, "We cannot assume that it is magic, children. Perhaps there is something in the soil and water that can explain it. I cannot tell the King it is caused by sorcery until I am completely certain."
Merlin and I shared a knowing look, but agreed to keep quiet for the time being.
I left the castle early on the next day with both Dallas and Ella, the former carrying me while the latter carried some bags I'd brought in case my journey proved fruitful. I figured that I should try to find a source of food for the people back in Camelot; if not from the farms, then maybe from the wilderness. Some edible wild crops are bound to grow somewhere, right? Well, wrong. I came across some bushes with little red fruits, but quickly abandoned that idea when I realised how badly they smelled. I also managed to find some mushrooms that I prayed weren't poisonous, but they turned into literal dust as soon as I removed them from the earth.
Gaius couldn't deny that the cause was magical anymore.
After nearly an entire day of trying different ways to approach my quest – which included a desperate attempt to try to make some sort of weird tortillas from pulverised horse hay, with Gwen's help, and that also turned to dust as soon as we set them on a plate to try them out – I gave up and returned to the physician's apartment.
Merlin was the only one there, sitting at the kitchen bench. I plopped down beside him.
"We're gonna starve to death," I stated and let out a sigh. Then I pulled out my phone and resorted to playing 'Subway Surfers'. I wanna have fun while I wait for the inevitable to come.
I frowned when I heard my friend chant a spell and I glanced up at him to see him speaking to a bucket. I paused my game and moved closer, finding that the container was full of sand. My stomach churned and I turned to look at him again, "Lemme guess: we don't have water anymore, either."
Merlin met my eyes with a sad expression.
"Stupid Arthur," I muttered.
My friend tried his spell again, though he only got a few words in before I clutched his arm at hearing the door creak open. We both turned towards it and sighed in relief at the same time when we saw that it was only Gaius, who sported a stoic expression.
"I was... I was just, um..." Merlin stumbled over his words.
"I was hoping you might be trying to turn it back into water," the elderly man cut him off. The sorcerer seemed surprised and slightly pleased as he turned to me while raising his eyebrows. "I know I have cautioned against using magic," Gaius continued, "but if ever there was a time to use your talents, it is now."
Merlin sighed, "Well, I wish I knew how. I have tried everything." He grabbed a book off the table and began to flip through it. "If it is magic, it is more powerful magic than I possess."
"It's the unicorn curse, I'm tellin' ya'," I stated, exaggerating my Texan accent as I shook my head.
The three of us exchanged wary looks when a knock sounded at the door, and then Gaius called, "Enter!" The wooden portal opened to reveal the amicable Sir Leon.
"Lady Astraea, you should come with me," he stated, his expression unreadable. I gulped, fearing that Uther had somehow found out that I'm from the future.
"Why?" I asked while tilting my head.
"There are two young men outside the castle asking for you," he replied.
"Strange," I mumbled as I hopped off the table and sent my former roomies a frown before I followed the knight down the stairs and out into the courtyard.
"Astra?!" an American-accented voice said, making my head snap its way. A gasp escaped my lips as I spotted a tall, lanky dirty-blond guy, and a shorter chubby ginger.
"No way, this has to be a dream," I mumbled to myself before hesitantly approaching the pair while blinking rapidly in case I was hallucinating.
"Oh, we found you! We finally found you!" the blond exclaimed and he surprised me with a suffocating hug. I held my breath and patted his back awkwardly as my mind raced with a trillion questions. Lionelo Hargrove pulled away and frowned at me while asking "Are you okay?" and he put a hand to my forehead.
I quickly slapped his hand off. "Yeah, I'm just surprised. I didn't think you'd come for me," I responded, still not fully able to believe that this was actually happening. Does this mean that I'm going home?!
"Well, we've got a lotta money ridin' on the success of this mission," Mason Reeves stated, which made me frown at him as I wondered what he meant by that.
"And we were worried about you," Leo added while sending his friend a pointed look.
I scoffed at the obvious lie and decided to change the subject, "Where's Henry?"
"Back home," the blond replied. "We figured someone should stay in case things went south."
"Cool. Cool, cool, cool," I mumbled as I nodded my head repeatedly, my eyes darting around the courtyard unfocused as I struggled to fully grasp the situation. I'm no longer the only time-traveller in Camelot! I'm no longer stuck in the past alone! And there's a huge chance that I might get out of here and never have to see that sh*t-head Arthur again!
For some reason, that last thought made my heart churn, but I swallowed the feeling and turned back to Leo, giving him a little grin. I can't wait to shower! And have ice-cream! And pizza! And play video-games! And… not have friends again.
Oh, crap. It's not all sunshine and rainbows, is it? I'll never see Merlin again! Or Gaius, or Gwen, or Morgana, or Cinderella… or Arthur– wait, no, we just said that's a good thing.
"Okay, we got 'er. Can we go now?" Mason asked Leo in a grumble, which broke me out of my thoughts.
My heart churned again. "I can't! Not yet!" I protested. "There's a food crisis goin' on and they need me!" I backed away a few metres, fearing the unlikely possibility that one of the boys might suddenly throw me over their shoulder and take me back against my will.
Mason scoffed, "What, did you manage to get a job as a f*cking servant or somethin'?"
"No. I'm the King's advisor actually," I shot back as I crossed my arms, giving him a challenging look.
"Yeah, right."
"Astraea, did you find anything?" Speak of the devil, and he shall appear. I smirked at my former classmate before turning to find Uther walking up to me. He seemed exhausted and I could've sworn there was a certain hint of fear in his eyes.
"Nope," I replied while offering an apologetic look. "It's all gone."
The King nodded in understanding and let out an exasperated sigh. Then he straightened up as his eyes landed on the two boys in front of me and he gave me a quizzical look.
"Um," I gulped before introducing them, "these are my… friends. Leo and Mason." I motioned towards each boy as I said their respective names. "Guys, this is Uther… the King."
The two boys stumbled over themselves until they finally figured that dropping to the ground in an exaggerated bow was the way to go about this. I couldn't help but burst out giggling, and even more so as the King turned to me in confusion.
"They're from America, too, so they're not used to royalty," I briefly explained while Mason and Leo remained seemingly frozen.
"They cannot stay. We do not have enough food as it is," Uther told me sternly before walking away and waving me over. I turned to my teammates and shrugged while giving them a smug smile, then I followed the King.
"Astraea, wait!" a clearly frustrated Mason yelled after me.
"We'll talk later!" I replied.