Knights at the Museum or The Sword in the Stone (but it’s more than that, really)
So, some of you might have wondered why I wasn’t that much active on tumblr lately and why there wasn’t that many fic from me, and here’s one part of the reason: one of the fic I wrote for the @reel-kingsman challenge. (The other part is over here, my Sleepy Hollow story)
At first when I picked the movie, I thought I would be following the plot of the original movie and then I realised it would be a shame not to do something with all the Arthurian possibilities opened to me with Kingsman, so I completely let-go of that idea to write a storyline that had very little to do with the movies except for the tablet and Ahkmenrah, because who can resist Rami Malek? Not I.
Anyway, 10k later I am not only happy with the result, but I had so much fun writing it, you have no idea.
I want to thank all of my fellow fluffernutters for their help with plot and their encouragement while I was writing my reels and for not murdering me for complaining so much.
A very special one to my pandamuse @dianyx for reading the story while it was being written (BAMCHICKAWOWOW) and telling me if it made sense, for all the encouragements, for the Knights at the Museum title (and I just realised now that both my reel have pun-y title given to me by two different friends... I am definitely hanging with the right people XD) and just for being an awesome panda like always.
Also fun story, I keep making the same two typos while I was writing this: Excalibutt and Ahkmenrad. I just thought I would share with you this tidbit of information.
Taggins a few people because I always am:
@coloursflyaway @krissielee @mockingjaybeevicious @agentdagonet @secondarysushicorps @sententiousandbellicose @dianyx @hartwinorlose @unwins-boy @li-prouvaire @annaofaza and if I forget anyone, please forgive me!
Knigths at the Museum or The Sowrd in the Stone (but it’s more than that, really)
Eggsy is wandering the museum as he is wont to do on his lunch hour, not surprised when his feet lead him to the Medieval Hallway. It’s been happening more and more frequently this past month and he explains it by the fact that the exhibit is currently closed to the public so that curator Harry Hart can bring whatever changes he wants to it.
He far more prefers blaming it on whatever curiosity he feels about the whole affair rather than on the strange pulls he has always felt for that part of the museum, the pull only becoming stronger and stronger since the start of his employment. It’s also easier to blame it all on curiosity rather than his stupid crush that isn’t even worth mentioning because nothing will come out of it, ever.
As it is, it’s a good thing he got there at the moment he did, because he barely has the time to shout a warning before darting into the Hallway and pushing curator Hart out of harm’s way when what seems like a heavy box falls from the top of the wobbly pile it had been stacked on.
“You okay guv’?” he asks with worry, looking over the curator’s (considerably fit) body as if any possible injury would be noticeable right away.
It takes a moment before the other man answers him, eyes still focused on the fallen crate, catching his breath after the fright he just had. “Yes, thank you,” he smiles gratefully and Eggsy isn’t trying to brand the image in his memory because he just isn’t , “it’s more the content of the crate I am afraid for.”
Eggsy wordlessly helps him remove the lid, but whoever had packed the items had done their job right because Mr. Hart cannot spot any damage.
With the crate now open, Mr. Hart starts to arrange the items where he wants them to be, Eggsy helping him out quite naturally, without even having been asked.
“Far be it from me to complain about your presence here, but shouldn’t you be making a round of the museum?” the curator enquires after a few minutes, as if just realising that Eggsy is still there when maybe he shouldn’t be.
“It’s my lunch hour,” he shrugs, trying not to let Mr. Hart see how much he doesn’t want to leave yet if the curator would only let him stay.
“Eating your lunch then?” Mr. Hart continues and Eggsy tries not to wince at finding out how, even when he’s being helpful, he’s clearly not welcomed here.
“It only takes so long to eat a sandwich…” He explains before forcing himself to plaster a carefree smile on his face. “But I’ll go, it’s okay, I understand, you’ve gotta work.” The last thing he wants is to bother him. While he might have accepted the fact that his crush will only ever stay unrequited, he cannot help himself from wanting Mr. Hart to at the very least like him a bit.
“Well,” the curator starts saying before he can walk away and Eggsy must be mistaken but he would swear the older man is blushing , “if you want to spend your free time helping me out, I would not say no.”
He takes a moment to make sure that’s not just something Mr. Hart is saying, that it’s not only him being overtly polite, but the curator only has a fond smile for him and so Eggsy stays.
Working under Mr. Hart’s direction is comfortable, like few things have ever been, the companionable silence between them broken only for snippets of small talk that seem to reveal more about the two of them than any heartfelt confidences could ever had.
As soon as Eggsy wishes it could last forever, Roxy, his friend and also the assistant of the Medieval exhibit’s curator, steps into the Hallway, bags of food in hand.
“Hey Eggsy!” She greets him, looking pleasantly surprised to see him.
“‘lo Rox!” He somehow manages to sound happy to see her, because of course he is, even if he can’t say he would have minded staying only in Mr. Hart’s company for the rest of his break.
***
After that first time, it kind of becomes a thing for Eggsy to spend most of his lunch break helping out the curator and Roxy with the Medieval exhibit. Sometimes, he’ll even get extremely lucky and Roxy won’t be around that much.
Not that he doesn’t like her, in fact, his life would be pretty miserable if he didn’t since she’s his best friend, but he can see her whenever, especially now that he’s got a job in the same museum. He can’t say as much of Mr. Hart, even if he’s starting to hope that this will change soon. At the very least, they have started to make small talk when they cross path in the museum instead of just nodding politely but impersonally at each others, so that can only be a good sign for his aspiration of friendship with the man.
***
“Eggsy?” Even a week after being on a first name basis with Harry, he cannot help the shiver of pleasure every time the curator says his name. He really has it bad. “Can you bring me that sword please?” Harry is gesturing absent-mindedly to a shadowed corner of the exhibit while fussing at an armor, swearing darkly under his breath as if it has personally insulted him. The indicated area is still crowded with crates and various items, but Eggsy can just make out the hilt of a sword.
The angle is a bit weird, as if it’s stuck into something and he’s surprised that it would be out in the open like that since both Harry and Roxy are big on safety. But maybe they got it out earlier today and Harry just remembered it, it wouldn’t be the first time they got distracted, especially now with the re-opening date looming so close.
It’s such a mess that he cannot see what the sword is stuck into, but he has no trouble pulling the sword to him when he grabs the hilt.
Now, Eggsy has never felt any fascination for weapons, but he cannot deny that this sword is a thing of beauty. It’s simple but elegant and feels like an extension of his body in his hand. He’s tempted to give it a few swings, but given that he’s got no training, it would feel too much like disrespecting the sword.
“The stone might be a bit heavy, tell me if you need any help.” Harry’s words shake him from the trance-like state he had fallen into and he stares at the man’s back, feeling puzzled, until what he said register.
He looks back at the corner with apprehension and now that he knows what to look for, he can see the stone with a slit that seems to be about the same width as the blade.
“Shit!”
Leave it to him to break a display when he’s trying to help, now there’s no way Harry will let him come back, because he’s worse than useless, he’s downright destructive.
“Eggsy are yo-” Harry has turned quickly when he heard his exclamation, but his worried expression quickly turns into something indescriptible once he processes that Eggsy isn’t hurt and he’s standing there with the sword in hands.
“Guess that makes me Arthur, yeah?” His poor attempt at a joke only makes Harry’s frown deepened and he gulps pitifully. “I’m so sorry Harry, I hadn’t noticed the stone and it wasn’t even hard to draw, I-”
Before he can stammer on more apologies, Harry holds up a hand. “It’s okay Eggsy, it’s best we know that it was loose now rahter than having an incident happen later with the visitors.” His expression has softened, even if he’s still biting his lower lip and he looks beyond confused.
“Should I put it back in?” For some reason, he’s reluctant to do so, but it’s not like he has any use for the sword.
At Harry’s nod, he thrusts it into the slit and it goes right in, as if the stone was softer than butter.
After that, he makes excuses to leave quickly. Harry might not be angry at him, but there’s no way he’s pushing his luck after fucking up once.
Still, it kind of stings when Harry barely waves goodbye, his attention entirely focused on the problematic display.
***
“Roxy, could you draw that sword please?” If she’s perplexed by the demand she doesn’t show it, simply walks up to the Excalibur display in the corner.
She tries for a good minute, but as she expected, the sword is stuck into the stone and doesn’t budge at all.
“Well, I guess I am no Arthur,” she chuckles, but she quickly loses her grin when she notices Harry’s dark expression.
“Indeed…”
She’s used to her boss getting lost in thoughts, but this time he seems ages away and there is something distressing about it.
“Anyway,” Roxy breaks the silence, latching on the first thing that comes to her mind, “have you heard about the Egyptian exhibit? Gazelle told me we’re going to keep Ahkmenrah’s mummy and artefacts for a while.”
She finds his sudden interest for the Tablet of Ahkmenrah slightly out of character, but she doesn’t mind relaying everything Gazelle has been telling her since the Egyptian curator has learned the news.
***
Deeper in the museum, in the office of the Head curator, Gazelle is finishing explaining the same to Valentine.
“Sir,” she nods at the man after he dismissed her, but she stops at the threshold when she notices how deeply in thoughts he seems to be. “Sir, with all due respect, you should really give up on whatever you’re thinking about.”
She knows already he won’t heed her warning, but she’s done her part, it’s not her place to sort things out, at least not yet.
***
Because Eggsy isn’t actually an idiot, he keeps his distance with Harry and the Medieval Hallway for a while after the whole sword in the stone incident. It’s hard to resist the pull he still feels about the place, but he knows that this is easier than having to deal with Harry’s harsh words if he’s finally tired of Eggsy mucking about and wasting everyone’s time.
He lasts about a week. Not because the pull becomes unbearable but simply because he misses Harry’s easy companionship, his gentle manners and his stupid sense of humour. If he has to give that all up, it’s better he learns of it now so that he can move on already.
Harry is swearing a blue streak at a crate that’s longer than he is tall, trying to get it open with a crowbar and he seems minutes away from simply throwing said crowbar across the room out of frustration.
“Need a hand with that?” Eggsy winces when Harry sends a dark look his way, but as soon as he realises who is standing behind him, his expression softens.
“Eggsy!” He greets him with a smile, and since when does he have dimples? He’s already unfairly handsome, he definitely doesn’t need to be cute too. “I thought-” he cuts himself off, shaking his head, but before Eggsy can ask him what he thought he’s offering him the crowbar. “If you wouldn’t mind trying it, no matter what I do, it simply won’t budge.”
Since Harry seems to act like nothing ever happened, Eggsy decides to follow his example, so that things can stop being awkward faster.
He takes the crowbar from Harry, but he barely has to use any force at all before the lid pops open.
He doesn’t wait for Harry to push it out of the way, far too curious about what the crate contains.
“Prick,” he hears Harry’s faint whisper when the wax mannequin of a bald man in what seems to be rich robes is revealed.
“Excuse me?” he asks, slightly offended, because he can’t think of anything he has done that would warrant being insulted, at least not today. However, Harry only looks at him curiously, with an innocent expression cherubs would envy him, as if not a word had been uttered from him. Of course Eggsy isn’t stupid, he knows more than anyone that too much innocence is often synonymous to guilt, but he lets it slide this once. After the last incident, Harry more than deserves a few free passes. Anyway, the fond exasperation that’s now on the curator’s face doesn’t seem to be directed at him, so maybe the insult wasn’t either.
“Help me get Merlin out please?”
Weirdly enough, he’s not surprised to find out that the mannequin is a depiction of the famous Wizard. It even feels right , like so few things have been in his life. It’s the complete opposite of how he felt about the Lancelot mannequin before Harry had to send him to repair after its face was involved in some kind of incident. At least according to Roxy, since it happened while Eggsy was keeping his distance. Still, there is no point telling Harry any of this, unless he wants a one-way trip to the nearest asylum.
“What, no pointy hat or long beard?” he jokes instead.
“No, no pointy hat,” Harry snorts, before he mumbles something that sounds like I like being alive , but that can’t be it because it makes no sense. Or it’s one of those Arthurian experts inside jokes Eggsy can never understand when Roxy tells him some.
After displaying Merlin where Harry wants him, Eggsy pointedly not mentioning just how fondly the curator look at the wax figure, he turns to the other crate, wondering if it could be Lancelot’s already.
“Need help with that one too?”
Judging from his look of disgust he doesn’t quite manage to hide, it’s probably the last thing Harry wants, but he ends up nodding, resignation clear in his eyes.
That crate doesn’t pose any challenge either, but as soon as they remove the lid, Eggsy wishes they had left it well the fuck alone. He doesn’t need Harry to tell him who the mannequin represent, not with his crown and fine clothes, but there is something undeniably wrong with the wax King.
“Maybe it’s because that BBC show, but I didn’t imagine Arthur would be that old,” Eggsy remarks, hoping to shake the weird feeling and to prolong his time with Harry. However, whatever good cheer the curator had seemed to have when they were taking care of Merlin is now gone. “Not how you imagined him either?”
“You could say that…” Harry sighs, sounding defeated. “Valentine was the one to actually order this one.”
It’s strange, but Eggsy gets the feeling that if it had been entirely up to Harry, there would have been no Arthur in the Hallway and not simply because he doesn’t want Valentine deciding things for his exhibit. However, it’s not really Eggsy’s place to say anything and, if it’s only about some animosity between Harry and Valentine, he’s pretty sure the older man is too much of a gentleman to openly talk about the feud going between them, at least not during work hours.
In a last ditch attempt not to be sent away before his break is truly over, Eggsy mentions that he’ll cover the night shifts for a week starting tomorrow and even if it sucks, he’s rewarded by how genuinely disappointed Harry seems to be at the news they won’t be seeing each other with any frequency.
***
The following night, Eggsy sighs in relief when he manages to sneak Daisy in the security shack without encountering any difficulties.
He shouldn’t have her with him, but his mother is doing a night shift too and since they couldn’t get a babysitter on such a short notice, it was either the hospital or the museum. The choice had been rather obvious.
He just hopes the rest of the night will be as uneventful, which should be the case if his few talks with Mindy are to be believed. There is a reason there’s only ever one guard covering the night shifts.
He’s so busy making sure Daisy is comfortably sleeping on the small cot of the shack, that it takes him a while before he realises there is movement on the monitors showing the inside of the museum.
Once he notices though, he swears a blue streak, hand reaching for the phone, only to freeze in place when he processes what he is really seeing.
The whole museum seems to have come to life and just what the fuck is happening ?
For a crazy second, he thinks it might be a joke, something the other guards do when someone takes on the night shift for the first time, but that simply makes no sense. None of his coworkers would willingly come back to the museum after their shifts, even for a prank.
He has no choice but to go investigate himself, because he can’t call the police. For one, the exhibits are simply moving around, nothing seems to be getting out, so this is not an attempted robbery. For two… Well Eggsy is not entirely sure he’s not merely going crazy yet.
He deliberates for a moment if he should bring Daisy with him into possible danger, but he can’t bring himself to leave the little girl alone. Anyway, she’s always been good at listening to his instructions, so he doesn’t see it changing now.
She’s a bit groggy when he wakes her up, but is rapidly excited at the prospect of going into the museum. The way she nods as solemnly as any six years old can manage when he tells her to hold his hand and stay at his side at all time would make Eggsy laugh if it wasn’t for the whole museum coming alive situation.
*
Arthur takes a breath and nearly chokes when air starts filling his lungs.
He looks around him, disoriented, the hallway unfamiliar even if he knows some of the objects displayed nearly as well as his own sword.
As soon as his thoughts turn to his sword, he reaches for Excalibur, panicking when he finds his scabbard is empty, only for the panic to turn into rage. Who would dare steal that mighty sword from its rightful owner?
Looking around in hopes of finding it lying close, he doesn’t find the sword but finally notices he is not alone. And while he would have prefered Excalibur, he has to admit the Warlock is the next best thing.
“Merlin. What is the meaning of all this? Where is Excalibur?”
“I don’t know about the sword, as for the meaning of all this… Somehow we have been brought back to life.”
The words brings a rush of memories to Arthur, memories of a battlefield, of treason, of death .
He gasps for air as he feels the phantom pain of a wound, but after running his hands over his chest, he can feel nothing that would suggest he had ever been injured.
Merlin is smiling infuriatingly, waiting for him to calm down again and Arthur is reminded why he had come to hate the man. Oh he was a good advisor and Arthur owed his life to the Warlock a hundred times over, but as the years progressed, Arthur had started to resent the man who had once been a trusted friend. Resented how he aged slower, how he wasn’t truly affected by the mortals’ struggles, could have abandoned Camelot at any time even with his oath of serving its King. But, most of all, he had come to resent him for the power he held but had refused to use more often than not. The thought of all those possibilities wasted still enrages him.
“But I was struck on the battlefield… I remember…” Pain, blood, numbness . Death , he thinks but do not say.
“Those are not our original bodies, merely wax figure of them,” Merlin explains, seeming utterly unbothered by it all, as if suddenly being made of wax was a regular occurrence in the Wizard’s life.
“How is it possible!?” He isn’t quite yet yelling, but it is a very near thing. He hates not knowing all the facts and everything has been only confusion since he has woken up.
Recognizing the signs of Arthur’s coming anger, Merlin loses his smile and grows serious. His eyes flashes a molten gold for a moment before he answers.
“There is powerful magic currently in play in this place. One even more ancient than I am.”
“Are the effects permanent?”
Before Merlin can offer his guess, someone else answers, the words ringing in the air with a pronounced lisp.
“I am afraid not, it only lasts through the night,” a black man steps into the hallway, dressed in a fashion they had never seen the likes of before. “I was hoping Merlin here could help with that. We’re in dire need of Arthur’s return.”
*
Eggsy doesn’t know why he decided his first stop was to be the Egyptian exhibit, except that he vaguely remembers Roxy talking about a magic tablet and well, it might be flimsy, but it’s the only lead he’s got.
He was right to follow his instincts though, because he doesn’t even get into the room that he is stopped by a gorgeous young man in Pharaoh’s wear who is calmly walking up to him.
“Ah, you must be the guard Mindy told us would replace her for the next week,” the bloke greets him, smiling warmly. The fact that it immediately puts Eggsy at ease is what makes him keep a safe distance and draw Daisy closer to him.
Either the Pharaoh bloke doesn’t notice his slight stepping back or he doesn’t care, but Eggsy is glad to see he isn’t trying to get any closer. He does smile wider when he sees Daisy and seems about to drop on his knees to greet her, but he must remember himself because he does nothing of the sort.
“I am Ahkmenrah, the fourth king of the fourth king, ruler of the land of my fathers,” the bloke introduces himself.
Eggsy knows the polite thing to do would be to return the courtesy, but that’s the last thing on his mind. “You’re telling me that you’re that new mummy?” he asks in pure disbelief instead.
“That’s exactly what I am saying.” He doesn’t seem to take offence over Eggsy’s rudeness, if anything he seems amused by the whole situation, as if he’s used to it. “I know it must be difficult to believe, even with all of this,” he waves at the rest of the museum as if Eggsy could have forgotten about everything coming to fucking life around them, “but it is the Tablet’s power. Lady Morgana can confirm that what I say is true, if you’d only follow me.”
He’s still wary of the bloke and not sure why he would believe that Morgana bird any more than him, but he guesses having more information cannot hurt, so he follows him.
He freezes when he hears a big crash in the distance, but the one pretending to be Ahkmenrah only shakes his head with a chuckle.
“It’s only Trixie. She’ll find her way to us soon enough,” he explains and Eggsy decides not to ask who, or what , exactly Trixie is just yet.
One thing at a time, he’ll deal with the Lady first.
*
Merlin gets into the Egyptian Gallery easily enough, not getting distracted by everything coming alive around him.
Oh, it’s a most intriguing sight and had he the time, he would stop and satisfy his curiosity, but unfortunately, he’s currently on a mission.
Not that he really wants to carry it out, but right now, the safest course of action for himself is to follow the orders given by Arthur. He’s sure he’ll be able to think of something to get himself out of this mess before he truly brings back this version of Arthur from the dead.
He might have been dormant for centuries now, his magic might still be weak from his voluntary slumber, but he knows that this Arthur is the last thing the land needs, no matter what that Valentine might think.
That man clearly cannot feel the flow of magic, cannot see how even the Tablet’s magic, the same one Valentine pretends is the source of the power allowing them to be in a semblance of life, seems repulsed by Arthur. For his part, Merlin can, and it is very hard to stop himself from physically recoiling from the very presence of the King.
Arthur might have been Albion’s hope once, but as he is now, Merlin fears that this incarnation will be its doom. The King had lost sight of what was right long before he met his end and Merlin is sure nothing will make him see reason again. It won’t matter to Arthur that he should have stayed dead, that his presence is an aberration, he’ll still do everything in his power to fully come back to life, if only because of his misguided sense of self-importance.
Of course Albion needs the return of the Once and Future King and his entourage, but things are already in motion, seem to have been a long time already. The only one that was still missing was Merlin himself, his magic much too weakened by the centuries of idleness to bring the Wizard back. The Tablet’s magic was just the spark he needed to jumpstart his own again and Merlin is forever grateful to whoever thought of exploiting that power to bring him back.
He would have preferred if they had stopped Arthur’s return, but from what he understood of Valentine role in this museum, that might have been out of their hand.
However, Merlin’s personal feelings about the matter are of little importance at the moment. He has little choice but to help the King for now. Arthur might not be currently yielding Excalibur, but he was the last man to do so and Merlin is pledged to serve its bearer. It doesn’t help that his ally doesn’t seem to want to reveal himself just yet and that no one else is around to help him overthrow the King even if he wasn’t under oath.
He’ll have to keep faith that things will turn out alright, that the natural order will end up prevailing as it always does.
He stops for a moment before stepping in the chamber where the magical artefact he needs is held so that he can center himself again. He can’t afford any mistake tonight.
*
Merlin had thought the worst thing he would be asked to do tonight is help Arthur and Valentine with their plan of bringing the King back to life. Merlin had been very, very wrong...
To think Merlin had been relieved when he had spotted the young man and the little girl in company of the Pharaoh as he was making his way back to Arthur. He had been in no position to stop and asked them for their help, but he could feel what they truly were and knew that things would be alright.
Of course that had been before he had nearly ran into Arthur, the man having grown impatient of waiting for him to come back.
A look at his fevered expression is all it takes for him to know that the King has seen the pair too and has recognized the girl. That he can’t see the young man for who he is would be more comforting if it wasn’t for the demand Arthur makes of him as soon as he is told of Merlin’s success of retrieving the Tablet.
“Merlin, I order you to bring me the girl! She’s my Queen, her place is by my side. I am the Once and Future King and you pledged to obey me!”
Merlin wants to protest that he’s now pretty sure the prophecy hadn’t meant Arthur as he is right now to be the Future King and that anyway he pledged to serve Excalibur’s bearer and he doesn’t see a sword in his hands, but he is interrupted before he can say a word.
“I’ll do it, Your Highness. I’ll get you the girl.”
The three men stare at the newcomer and Merlin is unsure who is more surprised to see him.
Or rather, Valentine and Arthur are both surprised by his sudden apparition judging by the curator’s “ the fuck are you doing here man? ” and the King’s simple astounded “you! ”. Merlin isn’t surprised, as he has been sensing the man since before he has opened his eyes as the sun was setting.
What makes him look at Galahad in shock is the fact that the Knight would step so low as to kidnap a defenseless little girl at the order of a man that has no right to demand anything.
The Wizard cannot believe that time spent in solitude could have changed the man he had once called a dear friend so much.
He fears what it will mean for the fate of Albion.
*
“Please come inside Eggsy.” The Pharaoh bloke gestures him inside. By now, Eggsy is mostly convinced that he’s telling the truth as they got to talk a bit when they were walking. He even got so far as to introduce himself while Ahkmenrah kept telling him a bit more about the Tablet and what it does. “Lady Morgana can surely prove to you I am worthy of your trust!”
They walk in only to see Gazelle hovering her hands over a middle-aged couple Eggsy has never seen before, a warm glow spreading over their unconscious bodies. Magic , his mind supplies, but instead of the fear he thinks he should feel, the thought only fills him with a sense of rightness.
“What are you going to my parents!? And where is the Tablet?”
That his second question is asked more like an afterthought is what what finally decides Eggsy to trust Ahkmenrah. The Tablet is obviously very important, judging by everything he’s been told, but the Pharaoh appears more concerned about his parents and Eggsy respects this more than he would anything else.
“I am merely trying to wake them up from Merlin’s spell after an unfortunate encounter with him.” There is no comfort in her voice and this convinces Eggsy that she is telling the truth. He might not be as close to her as he is to Roxy, but he knows her enough by now that he is more than aware of her no non-sense attitude and that the young woman has very little time for social niceties. Empathy and sympathy are both foreign concepts to her.
“Can’t you do anything, Lady Morgana?” For some reason, Eggsy doesn’t question Ahkmenrah for addressing Gazelle as Lady Morgana, as it only seems perfectly natural and he only wonders why he had been calling her anything else but this before.
“My magic might be strong, but not enough to take on Merlin’s, even as diminished as he currently is. He might be out of practice, but he is still a powerful Warlock” she answers, looking quite vexed by this. “Anyway, there is a more pressing matter at hand: Merlin took the Tablet.”
“But why? What could he possibly hope to gain with it?”
“To bring the mannequin of Arthur back to life. Permanently.”
“Isn’t that a good thing?” Eggsy asks her, even if he can feel his stomach twisting painfully at the idea for some reason.
“No it is not. What was brought back tonight isn’t the Once and Future King. Only a mere shadow of it, distorted by centuries upon centuries of false belief, much like Lancelot’s mannequin had been. The true King is flesh and bones, the only magic that has touched him is the one that has cradled his soul so that he would be born again in Albion’s time of need. The Tablet needs to be retrieved before the irremediable can be done.”
He isn’t quite sure he understands whatever it is she’s talking about, except for the urgency of getting the Tablet back.
“Okay, do you have any idea where Merlin could have taken the Tablet? Or should we just go through the Museum randomly?” Eggsy doesn’t mean to snap, but it comes out far more annoyed than he intended. Fortunately, Gazelle has never been one to take offense at these kind of things.
“I can feel him in the storage area in the basement level. In fact, with the amount of magic he’s waving around, it would be really hard not to.”
“Okay, so that’s one less thing to worry about, now we only need a plan.”
“ You need a plan. I do not. I will not help you in these trials, I must stay neutral. The issue of tonight’s events will determine my future role pertaining the fate of Avalon.”
The last part is mostly gibberish to him and he sure would feel better having an Enchantress at his side to confront Merlin, but he knows better than to try and make her do anything she doesn’t want to do.
Anyway, it only means there will be someone to watch over Daisy in the meantime.
As the thought crosses his mind, he becomes aware that he hasn’t felt her hand in his for a little while, nearly as soon as they got into the Egyptian exhibit in fact. He makes a quick turn of the room, hoping to see her looking at one of the display, but when it is not the case, he dashes out.
“Shit, shit, shit, shit!!!” He yells when there are no more traces of his sister in the corridor.
“What is the matter?” Gazelle asks him once her and the Pharaoh have followed him outside. While Ahkmenrah looks worried, she only looks annoyed and slightly confused, but in her defense she might not have noticed the little girl’s presence with them before Daisy decided to wander off on her own.
“My sister, she was with me not a minute ago!”
“You brought the Queen with you?” Eggsy had never seen Gazelle furious before and, to be honest, he’d prefer never having to again. She is downright scary when furious.
“What d’you mean, I brought the Queen, what Queen? Daisy ain’t no Queen!”
“She is Queen Guinevere’s reincarnation you idiot! And you let her fall into the hands of that monstrosity!” He’s pretty sure that he isn’t supposed to see tendrils of her magic lashing in the air around her, but he also doesn’t want to point it out now. Daisy is far more important anyway.
“Wait, how do you know she is with him?”
“She doesn’t seem to be yet, but I can feel her with Merlin. It’s only a question of time.”
“So you’ll help us?” He can’t help asking again, hopeful, but Gazelle quickly puts an end to it.
“No I won’t. You’re entirely responsible for all that happens tonight.”
They stare at each other until Ahkmenrah breaks the silent confrontation of wills.
“Don’t worry, we’ll find her and get the Tablet back too, I am sure of it,” the Pharaoh is smiling without a trace of worry and Eggsy wonders what the hell he had to live through before to be that confident in this kind of situation.
*
Finding the little girl in the museum is easier than Harry would have thought.
It’s a bit harder to get her to trust him enough to follow him, but she is still at an age where her past life is influencing her and Guinevere had always held him in the highest regards. It doesn’t take long for him to gain the little girl’s trust with a promise that he could show her more of the museum’s wonders and soon he’s carrying her away from the area, relaxing a bit when they get out of earshot from her brother.
The deception pains him greatly of course, as much as his apparent betrayal of the young man he’s come to love dearly, however he is currently as trapped as Merlin by ancient fealty.
~
“Are you a wax figure too then Galahad?” The King asks him, with a barely concealed sneer. Knowing Arthur, the sneer means two things: his distaste at the reminder he himself doesn’t have his own body and his disbelief that someone would make a wax figure of any of the Knights.
He briefly wonders if Valentine has told him that, before today, the only mannequin there had ever been in the museum had been one of Lancelot, but doesn’t bother mentioning it himself. Listening to one of Arthur’s offended rant is the last thing he wants to be doing right now.
“No, this is my own body,” he replies, hoping it will be enough explanations.
“But you’re no reincarnation,” Merlin states, even if it sounds more like a question and he frowns at his old friend. He would have thought that if anyone would have worked out what had happened to him, it would have been the Wizard.
“Indeed not. It appears that when one can die at the time of their choosing, but neglects to choose it, one is close to being immortal.” Not for the first time since he’s made that demand, he wonders if that had been the right thing to ask in return for finding the Holy Grail.
Merlin nods in understanding while Arthur seems one breath away from exploding in anger that he isn’t the one with this ability.
Fortunately, Valentine interrupts whatever Arthur was about to say.
“Wait, you’re telling me that you are the Galahad?” He nods because there is no longer need for secrecy even if he winces at the name. He hasn’t really been that man for a long time, far more preferring being Harry Hart, curator of the British Museum. “Then why were you so against getting Arthur being back ?”
“Because I didn’t want him back before everything was ready for his return,” he answers calmly, daring a quick glance at the Wizard hoping he will understand his meaning and that he truly is the ally he thinks him to be. He doesn’t dare look away from Arthur’s too long however, lest he becomes suspicious. He shouldn’t have worried though, because Arthur can’t start to imagine that the faithful Galahad that would always unquestioningly obey him is no more. Of course if Galahad did something, it would have only been in his King’s best interest.
And he isn’t entirely wrong either.
He’s just mistaken about the identity of said King.
Galahad might never have had any ounce of magic in him, but after a few centuries of being alive, it had become quite easy learning how to recognize its flow and what it meant for the global situation.
Of course, like every other creature of Albion, he is far more attuned to the fate of these lands than the rest of the world, but he had felt his skin crawls for months before each World Wars and other such events.
When he had first started to feel the tingling in his skin, that strange sense of unrest in his soul a few years ago, he had let the magic of the land guide him where he was needed.
He had not questioned why working at the British Museum was what was expected of him, he had just gotten the job.
And had been happy to do so when he had met James Spencer from acquisition and Richard Morton from finance. They might not have remembered their past lives and they might be wholly different individuals due to their different experiences in their current life, but at their core, they were still Lancelot and Percival.
Reincarnations of all his friends as well as simple descendants had started flocking to the Museum after that.
He had been wary of Morgana at first, but with his newfound understanding of magic had come a better understanding of her past motives. He doesn’t think he is wrong in thinking she will be more of an ally this time around. Especially if the way she is eying up Lancelot’s descendant, his assistant Roxy, (and how weird it is that his descendant would turn out to be in the same family as Percival’s reincarnation instead?) is anything to go by.
Meeting Arthur’s reincarnation had been the most shocking though.
At the end of his life, Arthur had become a cold man and, looking at the last years of his reign with the distance allowed by his centuries of wandering the earth, Harry could now say that the King might not have been making the best of decisions.
If at first his intentions had been good, he doesn’t think that the same can be said about the decisions that led to the years of conflict preceding Arthur’s demise.
But Eggsy… Well, he might be rough around the edges, but only understandably so from everything Harry has understood of his past by reading between the lines of Eggsy’s childhood stories.
Unlike Arthur though, he has maintained a certain purity about himself that endears him to everyone that meet him.
Serving him will be no hardship, a task borne out of his love for the young man rather than Harry’s honor as a Knight to serve his King.
Even offering to take the girl has more to do with Eggsy than it has with Arthur. At least, if he does it himself, he knows there are far less risks for her to get hurt and he can hopefully hide her from the King until they find a way to send him back to the nothingness he came from.
“Whatever, my man,” Valentine’s petulant words shakes him out of his thoughts. “Shouldn’t we be working on bringing Arthur back to life though? We got the Tablet, what are we waiting for?”
From the look on Arthur’s face, it is obvious he had forgotten about it after seeing Queen Guinevere’s reincarnation.
“Ah,” Merlin starts, looking contrite for the benefit of Valentine and Arthur, “the Tablet won’t be enough. We’ll also need Excalibur.” He looks pointedly at Harry at the last part, and with the two other men’s attention on the Wizard, Harry chances a quick wink. Nothing betrays that Merlin has seen him except for a small nod.
Arthur is already grumbling about that new complication, but Valentine is turning towards Harry expectantly.
“Hart! Where is the sword? I know you had it!”
“It’s been send back in storage for the moment, I didn’t want to risk anything happening to it. You should go to it while I take care of the girl.”
He leaves before they can protest, trusting Merlin to find a way to delay them until they can find a way to permanently stop them.
~
After indulging the little girl for a few minutes, he whispers a few words in her ear that makes her go slack in his arms. He might be no Wizard, but after a few centuries, one would be a fool not to pick up some useful tricks like a sleeping spell.
He loses some precious seconds looking over the sleeping Queen, hoping that this small betrayal won’t mark the last time he is entrusted with the care of such a lovely child.
But right now, there is nothing to it, he has a part to play and he must have faith that all will play out in Eggsy’s favour in the end.
*
Merlin is looking through paintings, vases and tapestries when Galahad joins him with the child. He looks surprised to see him here already and darts quick glances around, probably in fear that Arthur and Valentine are looming in a dark corner.
“Don’t fret Galahad, I am alone.” Galahad relaxes at once, even as he starts frowning.
“I’d rather be called Harry Hart, or well just Harry really, please.”
The Wizard wouldn’t have expected such a request from the Knight, but centuries have changed him. Names have power and Galahad as he once were would never have betrayed Arthur no matter how wrong the imposter King would have been. But this Harry Hart might just be the ally the true King needs.
“Why aren’t you still with them anyway?”
“We separated to find Excalibur quicker,” Merlin answers waving at the corner where the sword is still set in its stone, “but unfortunately I am still not powerful enough to counter the magic that prevent anyone that isn’t its bearer to leave once they have find it.”
“There never was such protection around Excalibur…”
“Are you sure?” Hearing Harry’s amused snort at his answer, he can no longer suppress the grin he’s been fighting off. “Anyway, now that you and the Queen have safely made your way here, I have to cast another spell to protect Excalibur.”
“What are you thinking off?” Harry asks as he walks up to him after laying Guinevere down on boxes, covering her with his jacket to keep her warm. The sight of the man’s gallantry brings a fond smile on his lips, because while it is undeniable that centuries of life have left him a different man, some things never change.
He hums under his breath as he turns back to the artefacts he is examining, hesitating between two pieces, until he lets his magic decide for him, his hand closing around an ancient vase, careful not to touch the lines of its adorning art. “Ah, yes. This will do nicely.”
Harry looks even more confused, but after the fright he’s given Merlin earlier when he hadn’t known the Knight was working against Arthur, he can wait a bit.
He starts chanting, releasing his physical hold on the vase to let his magic work. The world seems to shiver around them for a moment before it settle back to normal and the vase fall softly on the ground, bare of its artwork.
“Considering that there are a number of people running around tonight, I thought another spell wouldn’t be amiss. The Once and Future King and any of his companions shall find their way into the Labyrinth to Excalibur without difficulty, while any imposter will be chased by the Minotaur.”
As if on cue, a great roar echoes in the now twisted maze-like corridors of the basement, a clear warning to everyone that they better stay away .
If only Arthur and Valentine would heed it, it would be perfect.
*
“That wasn’t Trixie, was it?”
The roar is bloodcurdling and for the first time of the night, except for his brief moment of worrying over his parents, Ahkmenrah seems to lose his calm and looks at least as afraid as Eggsy himself.
“It wasn’t, no. It’s the first night I heard anything like it.” He seems hesitant to go any further into the basement, not that Eggsy blames him. Was it not for Daisy, he would probably give up himself.
Thinking of his sister, of how much she’s probably terrified herself, fills him with a newfound resolve.
He failed once to look after her once, he won’t abandon her now. He’s gonna take her back no matter what might be standing in his way.
He’s tempted to tell Ahkmenrah to go back, that he can do it alone, but the truth is he’d rather have someone with him. Also, even if they have not known each other for long, he’s pretty sure the Pharaoh consider that Tablet as his responsibility and isn’t one to let other deal with his problems.
“So… Which way are we going?” Ahkmenrah asks after a few minutes have passed since the terrifying roar. “I fear I am not familiar with this particular area of the museum.”
Eggsy isn’t either, but so far his instincts have yet to let him down. Something tells him to go left and so, that’s the direction he leads them toward.
*
“Something isn’t right,” Valentine mutters after the air shimmers around them for a moment. Even if nothing seems to be different in their current location somewhere in the basement, they can feel that something has changed.
Indeed, when they round a corner, Valentine can see that it now branches in many other direction when it has never been the case before. He thinks he can even see vaguely human forms in the shadows, the gleam of their armor and weapons catching his eyes in the distance. That everything is so still, dead even, only fills him with dread.
He very nearly grabs Arthur by the sleeve when the King marches right past him, going for one of those human form, but it wouldn’t do to be so familiar with royalty.
Instead, he merely follows, thanking his lucky star that whoever that poor soul is, they’ve been dead long enough that only his skeleton is left. The sight of blood would have made him puke all over the place and it would have been far from dignified.
The moment Arthur takes the sword from the fallen warrior’s hands, a mighty roar echoes not that far from where they are standing and Valentine will deny to his dying day that he yelped in fright.
At least, Arthur doesn’t seem to be impervious to fear either and it’s with worried glances behind their backs and a tightened grip around his borrowed weapon that he urges Valentine to start walking again.
*
As their luck would have it, even if Eggsy and Ahkmenrah are the first to step into the alcove they’ve been staying in with the sleeping Queen and Excalibur, Arthur and Valentine are quick to follow, both being chased by the Minotaur.
Not having envisioned this possibility, Merlin hasn’t thought of warding off the place against the creature and so the Minotaur comes barreling down the corridor too.
A lot of confusion follows, Merlin sprinting to Daisy to make sure no harm would come to her while Valentine cowers in a corner, Arthur calling Galahad to him in order to help him defeat the monster, Eggsy freezing in place for a moment at the sight of Harry Hart expertly wielding a sword and damn but he is hot doing so, and Ahkmenrah uses the commotion to his advantage to take the Tablet back while no one is looking.
However, no matter how good both Arthur and Harry are as swordsmen, it is soon obvious that they are no match for the Minotaur’s ferocity in battle.
“Eggsy! Grab the sword and help them!”
Eggsy doesn’t question how Merlin knows his name and doesn’t tell him that he knows nothing about sword fighting, simply grips the hilt of the sword sticking out of the stone and runs up to the monster to strike him.
It isn’t the killing blow, but it stuns the Minotaur long enough to allow Harry to finish him off and Eggsy already knows he has it bad for Harry, but looking at him panting from exertion but smiling savagely in victory, even the bruises and mixture of his own blood and the Minotaur’s black ichor, and finding he only wants to kiss him, Eggsy finally stops denying he is anything but hopelessly in love with the man.
The respite is short-lived however, Arthur taking advantage of Eggsy’s distraction to attack him, his face a mask of murderous rage. Thankfully, even with the exhaustion of the fight, Harry’s reflexes are still sharp, and only his quick parry saves Eggsy’s life.
“How dare you raise your sword against your King? And how dare you touch Excalibur? The sword is mine! I AM the only true king!”
Eggsy shivers in disgust at the wrongness of his words and steps in front of Harry before Arthur and him can cross swords again.
“I don’t know who the fuck you think you are bruv’, but you definitely ain’t a King.”
Any other time, Eggsy would have cursed himself for his bravado and for not letting Harry deal with the situation when he demonstrated how adept a swordsman he was earlier, but with the sword in his hand, with Excalibur , he just knows he can take on anything, anyone .
Even with only having fought with fake plastic swords when he wasn’t much older than Daisy, Eggsy finds out it is far too easy to parry every of Arthur’s attacks and soon he finds himself riposting with blows of his own.
It is still a few more minutes before any of them hits their mark, but Arthur’s petulant rage makes him imprudent. He isn’t quite sure how he manages it, but he finally ends up beheading his opponent, the head rolling at Valentine’s feet, causing the man to faint in horror.
Before the headless body can fall on the ground, it bursts out into flames, leaving a puddle of molten wax in its wake and a Wizard that seems far too pleased with himself.
Eggsy is about to thank him when he remembers that according to Gazelle, Merlin was working with Arthur. But before he can raise Excalibur again, Harry’s hand on his arm stops him.
“It’s alright Eggsy, Merlin’s with us.”
“Oh right! That’s why he kidnapped Daisy, because nothing says “ally” better than the kidnapping of a defenseless child!”
“Actually… that was me.”
At the words, Eggsy recoils from Harry, feeling worse than if the man had just slapped him.
“What? Bu- But why?”
Harry opens and closes his mouth a few times but doesn’t seem to know how to start, and ends up merely looking extremely guilty. So much so that if it wasn’t for the sting of betrayal, Eggsy might have said to hell with it all and actually given him a hug.
As it is, they both stay standing and staring at each other, right until Ahkmenrah clears his throat pointedly.
“As no one else seems inclined to attack anyone else, maybe we could all go back to the Egyptian Chambers and have what seems to be a much needed explanation?”
Eggsy is not sure he wants to have anything more to do with what happened tonight, but Merlin doesn’t really give them the choice when he teleports them all (even the still unconscious Valentine) back to the Chambers with a wave of his hands and a golden glow in his eyes.
At least, no one tries to stop him from going to Daisy, but except for the confusion of waking up around so many people, she does seem to be entirely fine.
“Sit down lad. Like your friend said, we do need to explain things to you, and it’s rather a long story.”
***
In the end, there is not that much to explain.
Or, yes, there is rather a lot, but the awkwardness of revealing to Eggsy he is Arthur’s reincarnation is taken care of by Gazelle once Valentine regains consciousness and starts raving about how Eggsy has doomed them all for killing the Once and Future King.
“ Eggsy ’s the Once and Future King, you dumbass!” They all wince in sympathetic pain when she smacks the curator behind the head, but no one tries to stop her. “If you’d let nature follow its rightful course and stop trying to play god, that whole mess could have been avoided!”
She has some more choice insults for Valentine, but at that point he is no longer listening to her, the shock of her revelation making him stare at the night guard in disbelief.
It’s a disbelief shared by Eggsy himself, one the young man can’t really shake even after Merlin confirms that what she is saying is the truth. Valentine is easier to persuade and it’s only Harry’s threatening presence that stops him from getting too close to the two siblings so that he can grovel for forgiveness.
After about an hour of various explanations, things finally dies down and while everyone stays into the Egyptian Chambers, the group breaks down into smaller ones, Valentine and Gazelle in a corner, Ahkmenrah with his parents that have been awakened by Merlin, and the Wizard amusing the little girl with harmless magic tricks.
It leaves Harry and Eggsy alone and it’s only Harry’s awkwardness around him when he’s usually so smooth that decides Eggsy to forgive him for tonight’s event now rather than later.
Sure, he probably wouldn’t have made the same choices had he been in his shoes and he still thinks they are making some kind of mistake about him being a reincarnated King, but Harry was only trying to help the best way he knew how and the only thing that matters is that everything ended well.
But, forgiving him or not, he’s not sure quite what to say to break the uneasy silence between them.
“I don’t care if we are King and Queen, I am not marrying my sister,” is what he ends up settling for and he wishes for a moment he was close enough to a wall so that he could hit his head against it repeatedly.
“I would sure hope not,” Harry replies after his look of surprise turns into one of fond amusement. “In fact, I would find it rather… vexing,” he can’t really help the jealousy in his voice at the mere thought of Eggsy marrying anyone.
“Isn’t Lancelot the one supposed to be in love with Guinevere?” And that’s a worrying thought because according to Harry, James Spencer from acquisition is Lancelot and he likes him alright but he’s a bit old for Daisy and also already married to Roxy’s uncle, Richard.
“Legends have distorted a lot of the facts. There was indeed a Knight in love with the Queen, but it wasn’t Lancelot, nor was it me. But no, the reason I would find it vexing has more to do with the fact that I would love to ask you out for dinner.”
For the longest time Eggsy just stares at Harry, wondering for the umpteenth time that night if he is dreaming. Because there is absolutely no way Harry Hart would be interested in a date with him, King or no King.
The silence stretches between them, Harry’s hopeful smile becoming apologetic when Eggsy continues staring at him without saying anything.
“I am sorry, that was inappropriate. I won’t mention it again.”
He turns to leave before he can make a bigger fool of himself, but Eggsy shakes himself out of his stupefaction long enough to grab him by the sleeve.
“Wait!” Harry stops but doesn’t turn around to look at him and Eggsy can see the way his shoulders are all tensed up, as if he’s preparing for a blow or something. “You really mean it? Dinner like… Like in a date?”
That makes him turn to face him again and oh, if it isn’t Dimpled Smile™: The Return. Eggsy still thinks it’s not fair how cute the other man can be on top of how hot he is.
“Yes, like in a date. Only if you’d be amenable to it, of course. I don’t want to press-”
Whatever he wanted to say is cut off when Eggsy’s lips press gently but briefly against his.
“I’d be more than amenable to it, really,” he said sheepishly once he finds his voice again, refusing to feel bad about the boldness of his action. Harry doesn’t seem mad anyway, if maybe a bit disappointed that the kiss did not last longer judging by how his eyes linger on his lips, but he’ll have to live with it. Eggsy might not be against the occasional hook-up, but that’s not what he wants with Harry. And if the affection in his eyes is anything to go by, Harry seems to be wanting more than that too.
“Then how about next week, once you’re back on the day shift? We could leave the museum together.”
“I’ll look forward to it,” he answers promptly, because he can’t help but fear that Harry will change his mind for some reason, no matter how fond he is of him.
He really shouldn’t have though, because the first thing Harry does at his words is to grab his hand in his and, after pressing a daring kiss to his knuckles, he leads him back toward Daisy and Merlin, interlocking their fingers together without a second thought.
Eggsy can feel a blush spreading on his cheeks, but he doesn’t really mind, not when he can see the tips of Harry’s ears turning a shade of red too.
