take a step in any direction

[the-onceandfuture-king]

the things that came before || lance&arthur

[ladyxmarian]

the-onceandfuture-king‌:

knightedlancelot‌:

A small, wry smile touched his lips. He thought there was no chance of improving things with Arthur, but that wasn’t something he would say to a near-stranger, and certainly not with Arthur in earshot. However willing Lancelot may have been to mend things between them, he understood how effectively he’d burned that particular bridge.

“I wish to cause him no further harm, and I think that would best be served by my leaving.” He didn’t think Arthur would appreciate him sticking around for tea or anything else, and he was ready to be on his way home to Guinevere instead of interfering where he wasn’t wanted. He dipped his head in farewell. “It was a pleasure to meet you, Marian.”

Arthur had listened to the quiet warble of conversation from his spot at the bowl of the toilet. He’d retched a few times and still felt the swill of nausea in stomach, but nothing had come up and he wasn’t going to force it. So, eventually, he rose to his feet, slowly descending the staircase and lingering awkwardly at the bottom as the last of the conversation trickled out.

“If there is tea on offer, I will have some,” he called to Marian as he made his way back into the room. For all his pride and his shame, he still couldn’t quite look Lancelot directly in the face. “And if you wish to stay, I shan’t stop you. I suppose I owe you something in the way of thanks.”

@ladyxmarian​ @knightedlancelot​

Marian couldn’t pretend to understand the details, but she understood perfectly well what the man before her was saying.  He was being gentle about it, but there was quite obviously more to the story.   Though her mouth was open to answer, Arthur’s voice sounded before she could manage to do so.  “’Tis also a pleasure to meet you,” she commented lightly toward Lancelot.  And to Arthur, she nodded.  “Tea you shall have then.” 

Originally posted by tonkinoriginal

@knightedlancelot​

[the-onceandfuture-king]

the things that came before || lance&arthur

[ladyxmarian]

knightedlancelot‌:

“Perhaps not, but he regards this as a safe place, or he would not have chosen it.” He wasn’t sure if he meant the words to be reassuring or not, but Lancelot, at least, was relieved to know that Arthur had such a place, or such a person, who could put him at ease in times of trouble. He put a lot of stock in first impressions and his own ability to size people up quickly, and Marian struck him as more than capable of handling the situation. In other circumstances, he thought she and Guinevere might have been friends.

He hesitated only briefly before answering her question. She hadn’t earned the right to pry with him, but it was clear she was important to Arthur. Whatever was happening, he wanted her to have the best chances of sorting it out. It was possible background information would help. “Yes. I was a knight of the round table, but we did not part on happy terms.” He would have told the story without ambiguities if he’d been certain Arthur wanted it told. He had no way of knowing how much Marian already knew. She might have been able to fill in the rest on her own.

The round table wasn’t exactly a familiar concept to Marian, but he spoke it as though it were a tangible thing, so she accepted it as such.  If she’d learned one thing about Fableton, it was that its inhabitants had arrived via many roads.  Just because there was no round table in hers did not except it from existing in his.  She was familiar enough with the concept of a knight, though, and knew there weren’t many kinds of circumstances under which a knight and a king would part under unhappy terms.  Like she’d turned a blind eye to some of Robin’s more questionable behavior, accepting he could be a good person who sometimes made mistakes, she decided to give Lancelot the benefit of the doubt.  They didn’t know each other, and he had brought Arthur here.  In spite of an unhappy parting, that was a caring action at the very least.  

“Well, I’m sorry to hear that,” she said, deliberately keeping her voice light.  “I know my own times were complicated and fraught with difficult choices, and many unhappy partings.  Do you wish to attempt improvement in this world, or are you at ease knowing he’s in a safe place?  If you wish to say, I can make you some tea while you wait.” 

@knightedlancelot​     

[the-onceandfuture-king]

the things that came before || lance&arthur

[ladyxmarian]

knightedlancelot‌:

The threat that Lancelot posed was more insidious. He might sleep with your wife, but he would never attack a woman, least of all in her own home. If either of them was uncomfortable with him being there, it was probably Lance. He stood straight, his hands clasped loosely in front of him in plain view, and tried not to look as though he’d rather be somewhere else, though his mind was beginning to wander to Guinevere and what she was doing.

“It was the very least I could do.” He dipped his head in a nod. “I’m afraid the king does not confide in me. He did not say what was troubling him. I merely wished to see him safely home.” He knew that Arthur wasn’t a king here. It wasn’t so much that the word slipped out as that he didn’t have a better one. They weren’t friends or colleagues, and both Arthur and Mr. Pendragon would have been uncomfortable on his tongue. When in doubt, he stuck with what he knew.

@ladyxmarian​

Marian’s mind had once been used to these sorts of tasks, nimble and quick at finding the good or the fault and sussing out true intentions.  Those skills, while part of her work now, were not quite as sharp as they had been.  The man before her, Lancelot, did not say many words.  He did not stand with nervous posture, regardless of what may have been happening on his insides.  She could not guess at what (or whom) might be occupying his mind.  She honestly didn’t even spend much time trying, instead mining what she could from his words alone. 

The king.  

She would’ve no sooner referred to Richard in this time and place as her king than she would have recognized him in her previous life for all her allegiance.  Yet this man still claimed Arthur in some way, even if it wasn’t as his king.  She knew Arthur had previously ruled, and hated the tasks that accompanied it or at least carried the burden with them.  But she lacked context and, finally, gave up trying. 

“’Tis not the least you could’ve done,” she pointed out gently.  “I will sort it out as I am able.  He doesn’t entirely confide in me, either.  I get the impression he just isn’t that sort.  Maybe none of us are.”  Much like Robin, most of these men kept the details close to them.  She automatically grouped Lancelot with the former, but could not have said why.  It prompted her next question, although it was not entirely an attempt to pry.  She was still assessing the situation a little too much to bother with that just yet.  “Are you from the same place he is?  Did you know him there?”   

[the-onceandfuture-king]

the things that came before || lance&arthur

[ladyxmarian]

knightedlancelot‌:

the-onceandfuture-king‌:

He felt his will buckle under the gentle weight of her touch, leaning into it for a brief warm second as he closed his eyes and tried not to let the weakness snatch him. He was a fool, a monster and worst of all a coward. Some part of him wondered if he always had been this wretched. It would explain a lot. And then came the shame, catching his throat and swelling in his eyes, as he realised that there stood a man beside him that might have once respected him, gazing into the pearls of his soul only to find they were as black as the next man’s.

He took a long breath and gazed past her to the familiar glow of her house. “May I use your bathroom?” He said after a moment, eyes flicking cautiously to his former knight and back once more. “I feel a little sick.”

@knightedlancelot​

He felt like an unwelcome observer as he watched the exchange between the two, and he glanced away into the trees to give them at least the illusion of privacy. Whatever breakdown Arthur was going through, he didn’t think he’d earned the right to watch. He glanced back in time to see his former king look at him and then away, and he schooled his expression to neutrality. He didn’t want the twist of emotions, ranging from concern to guardedness, showing on his face. If he were going to settle on a judgement, it would have been that Arthur had suffered enough, and he likely didn’t deserve whatever was causing him fresh torment.

When Arthur moved toward the house, he shifted his gaze to Marian. He fell into step beside her on the way in, but he didn’t offer any explanations. Frankly, he didn’t know much more than she did about what was going on.

@ladyxmarian​

Marian just nodded at Arthur, finally releasing him once he’d moved at least his head and she hoped he was capable of moving the rest of him.  “You know its location,” she said softly.  

For all her faults and her trying to see the best in people, she felt she was at least an adequate judge of character.  She was also able to handle herself if those skills failed.  She felt no trepidation whatsoever about allowing Lancelot into her home although they had never met.  “I should probably thank you for bringing him here,” she finally said, a little unsure what to do with his silence.  It wasn’t uncomfortable, but it wasn’t informative, either.  “He seems rather unsteady.  I’ve not seen him like this often.” 

@the-onceandfuture-king​, @knightedlancelot​

[ladyxmarian]

madnessmost-discreet‌: 

“Nope. I guess that’s supposed to be conclusive. But, I mean, there are a lot of choices. World War II. World War I. Vietnam. Revolutionary.” He smiled as he set aside the paper. He doubted it was that one. He’d be impressed to see a place that had been standing that long. “Are you all set?”

“That is rather obnoxious,” she said with a smile.  “My guess is something from the Revolutionary war would be a historical monument.  You may be able to rule that out.  The rest... I could not say for sure.  I’m not that well-versed in modern history.”  She held out her selections.  “I believe so.  Just restocking today, not looking for something new.” 

[the-onceandfuture-king]

the things that came before || lance&arthur

[ladyxmarian]

knightedlancelot‌:

the-onceandfuture-king‌:

 The door opening of its own volition caught him off guard and he felt his heart sink at the sight of her. He should have been relieved and in some ways he knew that if he could just get close enough to touch her, he would be. But if his feet weren’t pinned to the ground with leaden anxiety, the likely would have fled.

He felt a little like a school child, escorted home by a disappointed parent, to another disappointed parent. She wasn’t, of course. She couldn’t have been. Not yet. As with everything of late, however, his mind spun narratives for him, great webs of mistruths to the point that he could not decipher the reality from anything else.

His foot, finally able to move, ground slowly at the earth beneath his feet. “It is rather an impromptu visit.” His fingers found his scalp and picked a little at the skin there. “I am loath to disturb you.”

@knightedlancelot

Before he could make good on his words and leave, the door opened and light spilled onto the porch. The woman who stood there looked far from intimidating, but Arthur suddenly looked like he wanted to vanish into the ground. His king looking like a guilty child was not something he’d ever wished to see. The effect was possibly more disturbing than anything else he’d seen tonight because it was the most unfamiliar.

His brow creased slightly in consternation. The opportunity to leave Arthur in her hands seemed to have vanished with her invitation, but it wasn’t just that. With his king standing there like a horse about to bolt, he couldn’t be certain that Arthur wouldn’t do just that unless he stayed as well. “That’s kind of you. For a moment,” he agreed, with a nod for him to go ahead. Forgive him if he didn’t quite trust Arthur at his back anymore. “I’m Lancelot. You must be Marian?”

@ladyxmarian

The last time Arthur had got himself stuck somewhere, it had fortunately been on her couch. Now it seemed whatever was plaguing him had instead weighed him before he made it in the house. Once she realized he wasn’t going to move any further, she stepped off the porch and walked to him at a normal pace.

Lancelot, as he introduced himself, didn’t seem inclined to enter ahead of Arthur. She needed context. So she nodded and issued a quiet ‘hello’ to him as she moved. She finally reached Arthur and set her hands on his face. “That tells me you are in need,” she said simply. “And means whatever I can give is no trouble. Why don’t you go inside? Robin is not home.”

She looked again to Lancelot, hoping they could walk in together and he could provide the explanation Arthur didn’t seem keen, or perhaps able, to give.

@the-onceandfuture-king​

[xmadnesslikegravity]

Hatter’s untied boots rested on the chair across from him, his tea going cold while he sifted through apartment ads with a highlighter. It wasn’t doing a whole lot of good since he wasn’t entirely sure of their criteria, but it seemed good to have a plan or at least some ideas. When a shadow fell over his paper, he glanced up with a raised eyebrow. “If an apartment is ‘pre-war’, do you happen to know which war that’s referring to?”

[ladyxmarian]

Marian had really just come in to restock her tea, one of the guilty pleasures she’d acquired during her time in Fableton.  Tea would have been a luxury item back home, and she almost always had to stop and marvel at all the options Hatter had available, without the need to take a wild guess and crush forest leaves.  

That didn’t mean she was prepared for his question instead of his acceptance of her payment. 

“I am not sure.  I think there was a mid-century option that would possibly still have buildings standing, but I do not know specifics.  Doesn’t it also say a year it was built on the listing?” 

[themagicalshrimp]

Robin Hood rewatch: best of season 1

[the-onceandfuture-king]

the things that came before || lance&arthur

[mostnoblelancelot]

the-onceandfuture-king‌:

He sucked in the silence for a moment, relieved somehow that he didn’t have an opinion on his workplace, that he wanted to air at least. In part because, regardless of what Lancelot said, the bitterness would twist it into something worth despising, and then he would wrack himself with guilt because he’d know what he was doing and still do it anyway.

He nodded and hummed quietly, in case Lancelot could not see him through the dark. “Yes,” he said, hesitating at the edge of her front path. “It appears as though she is home.” Though the more the looked at the window, the more he wished she wasn’t. An instinct had brought him here but the thinking parts of him started to wonder why. He wan’t sure he wanted her to see him like this, though she had before, in case she started to recognise the worst in him.

Lancelot was in no position to pass judgement or voice his opinions on someone else’s life choices. He wasn’t exactly a role model of good behavior, himself. He nodded once, stopping at the end of the sidewalk. “I’ll leave you here then.” He wouldn’t have felt right about leaving Arthur alone, but as long as his friend was in, he didn’t see a reason to stay. He doubted he’d be welcome inside. He hesitated, wanting to wish him well through this, but he thought it would sound disingenuous, or perhaps condescending, so he said nothing.

[ladyxmarian]

Marian was still mussed from spending most of the day in her garden.  She was absolutely terrible at it, was terrible at having any sort of day off in general, but she was trying.  It was a whole new skillset to learn and she had a whole lot of time on her hands during what seemed to be the peak season for it all.  Part of her police-work related paranoia, as well as acknowledgement about technology in the new world, meant she had a fancy video camera doorbell.  In her mussed state, and her lack of real communication with the outside world, she was wholly unprepared for it to chime regarding motion near her front door.

She was even more surprised to look out the window as she approached the door, and see Arthur stranded in front of the house.  He was neither approaching nor was he withdrawing.  There appeared to be someone with Arthur, but she couldn’t make out who that was or what they were really doing.  Before it drove her mad, she opened the front door and stepped out onto the front stoop.

“Good evening, gentle.... men.” She called, catching a better glimpse of the second person.  She didn’t need to be loud at this time in the woods because her voice would carry.  “Would you like to keep standing out here in shadows, or would you like to come inside?” 

@the-onceandfuture-king

[the-onceandfuture-king]

Something Like Home || Arthur & Marian

[ladyxmarian]

the-onceandfuture-king‌:

Somewhat reluctantly, he let his eyes shut. He wasn’t sure he believed in these methods. In a moment of weakness, he read an article on his work computer try this kind of thing and it had done nothing more than let him slip into a darkness that he still hadn’t managed to escape from. Granted it had always been there, but that had just opened a new door, and while he trusted Marian and hoped her efforts might tether him to something that would stop in encroaching, he was doubtful.

“My eyes are closed. Now what?”

He managed to sound petulant about having his eyes closed.  She had to press her lips together to avoid smiling outright.  “Let us start with your toes.  Wiggle each one, or maybe your big toe and then your smaller toes altogether.  Feel the way they move, and if there is any pain or discomfort there, acknowledge it but do not focus.  Now do the same with your feet, other than the wiggling.  Think about the surfaces.  If your mind wanders, bring it back to my voice.   And breathe, slowly, making an effort to feel the air moving through your nose and into your lungs while you do.”   

[the-onceandfuture-king]

Something Like Home || Arthur & Marian

[ladyxmarian]

the-onceandfuture-king‌:

He let out a short huff of a laugh and shook his head. “If you thought that a forest, I fear you may never have seen a real beard in your life,” he countered. Compared to some, his had once felt a little pathetic. He’d had men with beards so long they had woven iron rings into them, formed braids from the hairs to create majestic, shining tapestries of their victories. As a young boy, he’d admired the aesthetic, dreamed of having one of his own sparkling with scraps of the weapons of fallen foes. By the time he could grow enough hair to have his own, however, he’d realised such a beard was only good for two things: boasting and gathering excellent purchase to slice off a man’s head.

He closed his eyes and tried not to let the reluctant groan escape him - audibly at least. Resting had never quite been a skill of his. It left too much time to think and thus turned into less of a rest and more of a spiral of anxieties. As far as he was concerned, ‘resting’ and ‘not worrying’ were mutually exclusive. 

He raised an eyebrow and cracked an eyelid in her direction as she spoke again, and pressed something of a smile into the corner of his mouth. “I suppose it cannot kill me,” he said with a deep quivering sigh.

Marian chuckled and shook her head.  “Then I am quite alright with having never seen one.  I hope to never see one -- consider it a life goal.” 

She rested a hand on his shoulder.  “No, breathing cannot kill you,” she confirmed, still a little amused at his histrionics.  She was by no means an expert in this method, but she felt she could most likely do something basic.  “Close your eyes.  Listen only to the sound of my voice.  As your mind wanders, bring it back to me.  And breathe.” 

[ladyxmarian]

the-onceandfuture-king‌:

“I shall certainly consider it, should my masochism meet an all time high. I suppose I could add a bad back to the blinding hangover,” he commented with a twitch of a smile, twisting his drink in his fingers. “In enough ways. You could always start by strangling me, that would be much appreciated.”

Marian shrugged.  “One night on a questionable couch will not give you a bad back,” she dismissed.  He was so dramatic.  “And if you drink water before you rest, your hangover won’t be blinding.”  She shook her head.  “I’m sorry to deny you something you would truly appreciate, but I’m afraid choking someone to death is out of my scope.” 

[ladyxmarian]

🍿 (Arthur)

(Send me 🍿 a and I’ll narrate our muses’ relationship through a gif)

@the-onceandfuture-king

[ladyxmarian]

🍿 (Djaq)

(Send me 🍿 a and I’ll narrate our muses’ relationship through a gif)

@djaqofalltrades

[ladyxmarian]

thelionheartking‌:

“Perhaps if I was an impoverished African urchin child. Well, in the water part at least. I was rather under the impression they had a little too much heat. My point is that they are the things that seem little in a modern first-world country.”

She rocked her head back and forth a little.  “I think you are right.  Not only because of the modern first-world country, but also because we have them so it becomes easy to take them for granted.” She raised her eyebrows.  “And now I’m thinking of all the things I did not have before, in spite of being well off, that I now take for granted.  This mindset may last days.”   

[ladyxmarian]

A card is sellotaped to a parcel half the size of it. It reads: ‘Because apparently ‘eternal gratitude’ is not an acceptable present. Merry Christmas. Love, Arthur.’ Inside the wrapping is a floral tin filled with selection of different flavoured teas.

Without a second thought, Marian dashed off a text to Arthur.  ‘Eternal gratitude is more than acceptable.  And you’d better be available to come drink this tea with me.’

@the-onceandfuture-king

[the-onceandfuture-king]

Something Like Home || Arthur & Marian

[ladyxmarian]

the-onceandfuture-king‌:

“I suppose that much is true. You certainly made your opinions of my beard perfectly clear from the start,” he teased gently, and then sighed. It felt like a lifetime ago since they first met, since they’d lived together. So long he’d nearly forgotten what it was like to feel another body in his home. While those days hadn’t necessarily been his happiest, they had been a comfort. And still they had happier than things were now. “Asking me not to worry is like asking me not to breath, Marian. I cannot rest. I have Aria to think about. I cannot risk it.”

Marian laughed at his recall.  She supposed if that example were so quick to come to his mind, she had made her point quite well -- short of shaving it off him as he slept because she didn’t want to injure him.  “You mean the forest you wore on your face when we met?”  She corrected, all in jest and glad for a brief reprieve from the heavy and the difficult. 

She sighed.  “And Aria is, for now, in the hands of her very capable mother.  You have this moment to rest and recover and to avoid worry.”  She let her presence alone carry a few silent moments, not feeling distressed herself and so thinking it was possible her silence didn’t bother him.  She hoped not.  She had quite liked their routine and how, sometimes, they didn’t need to speak.  Either way, she had a gentle offer to make  that ended her quiet.  “When I was so distraught over Robin going missing or leaving, and the police department mandated counseling before I returned, the therapist taught me to focus on breathing as a way to relax.  At first I felt it completely unhelpful or impossible, but in time, it soothed me nearly as much as my slightly surly roommate.  Would you like to try it?”