Arthur thought it would get easier. The dreams, the memories, his regrets. But the more time that passed, the more he felt he was drowning in his own head. And it didn't help that he was condemning another of his friends to the same fate every few days.
He knew it needed done, but the look on their faces each time they began to remember was devastating. The realization would strike them, and this darkness would suddenly weigh over them. Their once simple life would be stolen away and replaced with the knowledge that in this world, they would never truly belong, all while longing for the lives they led in Camelot with the people they loved.
Not that any of that could matter. No, there was work to be done, and as Arthur sat waiting, he ran through the list in his mind.
The second knight they had managed with Gwaine's help was Percival. The man was a giant in this life as well, but not nearly as friendly as he had been in Camelot. He was gruff, surely, and tended to ignore a man waiting for his drink so long as there was a pretty girl at the bar capturing his attention.
It had been Gwaine's idea to go 'undercover' as he had called it. Arthur hated to admit that while the strategy was foolishly simple, it was in fact fun. So together one night he and Gwaine had gone to the pub while Percival was working and had ordered three shots apiece, followed soon after by a drinking competition.
Arthur couldn't remember the last time he'd gotten so outrageously drunk that he couldn't walk. However, he'd managed to keep some of his wits about him and didn't fight Percival when he'd steered the man out the door with Gwaine right on his heels. Of course, while it was yet another thing he wouldn't admit, it was sheer luck that had led to the former king following the rest of the plan.
Originally he'd been tasked with stalling Percival right outside, directly under the overhang where one exceptionally old warlock was waiting on the roof. Instead, Arthur had tripped and fallen, landing face first into the gravel parking lot.
Percival had been decent enough to help him up, and in a fit of sudden clarity, Gwaine had shoved the man beneath the bucket of water that Merlin had been holding for upwards of an hour. The man had sputtered and cursed and threatened, until minutes later he was on his knees staring up at his friends in shock. It hadn't been pretty or elegant, but it had worked in the end.
A few days after he had recovered from that nasty hangover, Arthur had suggested Elyan next. They had found him playing rugby, a sport that Merlin grimaced at whenever anyone was tackled. Arthur had played it himself back in the day, but after nearly breaking his nose he'd thought better about joining a real team.
The plan for this former knight was devious and a bit sneaky, and Arthur had been shocked when Merlin himself was the one to present it. It wasn't often that the blond thought about how much had changed since Camelot, but it was still difficult at times to pair the bumbling servant he had known with the sharp minded warlock before him now.
For this plan, Merlin had acquired a plastic bottle with the school's logo printed on it, and he had switched the water inside with water from the fountain. It was then Arthur's job to replace Elyan's bottle with the fountain one, all while Gwaine and Percival distracted those nearby.
The whole thing had gone fine, right up until the point when Elyan took a drink and began choking. He sputtered on the water right before his play, his face contorting in pain and his hands flying to his throat.
Arthur was certain he was dying and that it was their fault.
Thankfully, after only a few minutes, Elyan seemed to come back to himself and rejoined the game. Merlin had stared thoughtfully on, waiting and watching while the other three began brainstorming new ideas.
"Just wait." Merlin had uttered, studiously watching as the game progressed until Elyan walked off the field.
He had been looking around the sidelines until his gaze settled on their group, and Arthur knew immediately that they had succeeded.
Elyan was also the one who had asked why they hadn't tried Leon yet, given that he was the one they had first found and realistically had the easiest access to. Arthur and Merlin had looked at each other before the two had shrugged in turn.
Given that it was a classroom setting, Merlin had assigned the three knights to the task of trying to locate Lancelot while they sat in on Leon's class, waiting for their opportunity. That was where they were now, listening to the dull lecture while the former king's mind wandered to keep itself busy.
One thing that Arthur could credit Leon for was the fact that when he brought up a story from the legends, it rang with more truth and facts than had been found in any book before.
When the class finally ended the two of them made their way to the front where Leon was busy wiping down his board and gathering together stacks of tests he'd collected. Merlin had a plan of convincing the man to go to the fountain, planning to appeal to the curiosity of Avalon and the chance to learn something new about Arthurian legend. Which, to be fair, wasn't a lie. However, Arthur had his own plan as well.
As they approached, Leon smiled, waving the two of them forward. "Back again I see. Just couldn't stay away?"
Arthur's hand twitched at his side, a surge of impatience striking him as Merlin brought up the fountain and began asking questions. Leon seemed interested and intrigued, all the while Arthur was bored out of his mind.
Slowly unscrewing the cap on his water bottle while the two continued to discuss the legends behind the fountain, Arthur took a step forward. In one fluid motion, he turned the bottle upside down over the top of Leon's head.
Merlin's words cut off midsentence with a gasp as he stared in horror at the water spilling over the top of the man's head. Leon, on the other hand, didn't move. Instead, as the water soaked his hair and ran down his face in rivulets, he turned to look at Arthur with a curious stare.
"What the hell, Arthur?" Merlin hissed, snatching the bottle out of the man's hand as the blond turned to glare at him.
"You're the one making this more complicated than it needs to be! This works, and it's better than talking nonsense and tricking him to trip into it instead!" Arthur shot back, the two scowling at one another while Leon still stood frozen with water dripping to the floor around him.
Finally, the professor lifted his hand and slowly wiped the water off his face with his sleeve.
"I am so sorry." Merlin began, hurrying to pull away papers from off the desk that already had drops of water seeping through their pages.
"What, exactly, was that?' Leon asked, gesturing to the water bottle.
"Water from the Lake of Avalon." Arthur stated abruptly, eyeing the man as he slowly nodded. "How do you feel?"
"Oh, fine. Well, wet, but fine." Leon stated, wincing as he lifted a hand to his wet hair. "But I do get it now." Turning his back on them, he began to gather the tests into a neat stack while Merlin met Arthur's confused gaze with his own.
"Sorry, but you get what?" Merlin asked, standing with one of the tests still in his hand that Leon took gently and laid with the others.
"That's how you've managed to remember, that fountain you mentioned."
"You know about the fountain? About remembering?" Arthur asked, his mind reeling as Leon glanced back at him.
"You don't have to look so surprised, Arthur. I know who you both are. I've known since you first walked into my classroom."
"How?" Merlin asked, unable to hide the shock from his face.
"The dreams." Leon spoke, as if it should be obvious. "I started teaching this subject for a reason, Merlin. I had dreams as a child and my mother encouraged me to pursue a deeper knowledge of them. I knew it was all real, even back then. Of course now, because of you, I actually remember it all." Leon shrugged, waving his hand about while glancing at Arthur. "Thank you for that, by the way."
"No problem." Arthur uttered, still a bit speechless as Merlin lifted his hands in exasperation.
"Why didn't you say anything the first time then?"
"I couldn't be sure it was the right moment." The man said with a small shrug. "Now I know that it is, Sire." He spoke, bowing his head and causing the blond to stand up straighter.
"Sir Leon." Arthur said with a small incline of his own.
"Have you found the others?" The knight questioned, wiping again at the water still dripping down his cheeks.
"Everyone but Lancelot." Merlin nodded, and Arthur swore in that moment that he saw a look of pain flash across the other man's face at the name.
"I can help you with that one," Leon said slowly. "He often studies in the park not far from the university."
"Great, we'll head there next." Arthur nodded, this time positive he saw the grimace the man made.
"Perhaps Merlin should go to him alone." The knight said carefully.
"What? Why?" Arthur demanded, narrowing his eyes at the man suspiciously.
"He just tends to keep.. different company. I just think it might go better one on one, that's all." Leon said, shrugging weakly and turning to stare hard at the warlock who was frowning in thought.
"I'm sure it will be fine." The former king declared, cutting into the tension that was building between them.
"Arthur—"
"Come on, no time to lose. Let's get our last man." Arthur called, walking out of the room without looking back, now both eager and nervous to know what exactly it was that Leon was trying to hide from him.
"So, what is your plan this time?" Arthur asked, leaning his shoulder into the bark of a tree as he stared across the grass at a picnic bench where his last missing knight sat huddled studying.
"What does it matter? You're just planning on dumping water all over him anyway, aren't you?" Merlin asked dryly, glancing down at the full bottle of water Arthur once again held at his side.
"Maybe. It worked, didn't it?"
"Yes, though I hate to admit that to you." The warlock sighed, gesturing towards their friend. "I suppose we could just go over there and talk to him."
"Or just dump it on his head and be done with it." The blond sighed impatiently, giving Merlin a sideways glance before walking across the lawn.
"Hello, Lancelot." Arthur spoke as he drew closer, startling the other man who looked up in confusion.
"Most people just call me Lance."
"Why? Lancelot is a good, strong name." Arthur stated, bringing up the bottle of water and pulling the cap off.
"Sorry, do I know you?" He asked, closing the textbook he had been reading and staring at the blond as if he were an alien.
"Yeah, actually. I just wanted to say sorry about thi—"
"Lance?"
Arthur's words were cut off at the end as a voice behind him made his world cave in. His heart seemed to stop before thundering on, beating so hard he was certain they could hear it. That voice. Oh God. He knew that voice. He knew it better than he knew his own.
Swinging around, Arthur found himself standing face to face with Guinevere. She was beautiful, wearing a pair of dark jeans and a short black coat. Her hair was swept away from her face and pinned back behind her ears, and her dark eyes darted from him to Lancelot and back again.
"I'm sorry to interrupt," She spoke, her voice as beautiful as she was as she slipped around Arthur and stood next to his knight. "Who are your friends?" She whispered to the man, resting a hand on his arm.
Arthur barely acknowledged that Merlin was now standing beside him, seemingly as shocked into silence as the former king himself.
"No idea." Lancelot shrugged, wrapping his arm around the woman's waist. Her hand moved to rest against his chest, and Arthur felt his entire world shatter as she leaned up to kiss the man's cheek, the ring on her finger glittering in the sunlight as she did.
"Y-You're married?" Arthur finally forced out, suddenly feeling lightheaded as Gwen turned and frowned at him in confusion.
"Engaged, actually. I'm sorry, do we know you?"
The bottle slipped from Arthur's numb fingers, falling to the ground and splashing water all over his shoes as everything spun around him. Here she was. Gwen. His wife. His love. And she had no idea who he was.
A/N
Because of COURSE we have to have the added drama of her not remembering her husband AND being with Lancelot instead!
I hope you guys are enjoying the story! Feel free to leave any comments, questions, or concerns for me! They always make my day a little bit brighter when you do!