Restoring the Kingdom (3)

It was about 4 in the morning, my attention span was drastically impaired, and I was trying my best to match up the intensity displayed by my spar partner.

Most of the city was still sleeping, with just a handful of guards still wandering around for the late night shift.

The barracks were empty, with just Lancelot and I giving noise to what should've been a silent place.

As per my advice, the man had dropped the use of his armor for this occasion, revealing a lean but tall figure that certainly proved that some important characters within the Arthurian Legends were going to be quite interesting to deal with if those matched up with the frame of the Knight of the Lake.

It's been just two days since the man had reached the city, and the knight had slowly but surely started to get accustomed to the life within the Londinium.

An observant individual, I was half-worried that I would've found myself dealing with someone that would've questioned some of my current decisions regarding my military organization.

There wasn't much honor or 'fairness' within the tactics allowed to the few captains serving under me, and so I was concerned about any critics over the rule of conduct displayed by some of soldiers.

Much to my surprise and delight, Lancelot seemed to mind little over the changes of what I knew was the 'ideal Knight', yet I was also taken unaware when I was asked for some sparring just as I wandered around the castle.

Sleeping had been eluding me for a while now, and I was well-aware that it was all caused by the hints of nervousness over this subject but also by the fact that there was going to be some retaliation from what had just happened the day before.

My thoughts were directed away from the castle as I continued to contemplate over the recent news reaching back home from the small attack force sent against the eastern shores.

The attack was a success, numerous ships were destroyed in the raid and numerous people between prisoners and civilians had decided to submit to Commander Marcus' command.

The man was making a slow return back to Londinium with this glorious victory, there was no doubt in my mind that with the abysmal number of casualties reported during the assault this was probably the best outcome possible.

With Marcus scoring such a troublesome victory for the invaders, there was no reason to just ignore the fact that it was now their turn to act at this aggression.

And knowing that they now had a terribly limited amount of food and other important resources, I prepared for quite the desperate attack against Londinium.

I had already started to prepare some contingencies.

None were as desperate as sometime ago as planting some explosives now with the other traps would've spelled huge problems for the group returning back to the city.

The new recruits that had joined in the standing army in Londinium had started to follow proficiently the instructions that were being forwarded by the 'Drill Captain' that had been left in charge by Marcus before leaving for the expedition.

The reports depicting the current state of the military force were satisfactory considering the chances of having to deal with any unexpected attacks.

While we had the sea and a civil war hindering any assaults from the south and west respectively, the east being currently taken care of by some attentive strikes, there was just a silly problem caused by the nations in the north.

The Petty Kingdoms.

While King Lothian was the absolute ruler in the land of the Picts, his current administration was as fragmented as the rest of the other proto-nations existing as of now.

His fiefs answered to his banners, but the local rule was decentralized among the Petty Kings.

In the original timeline, those wouldn't have mattered early on because of the Anglo-Saxon invasion sweeping them all off from their pretty chairs to accommodate new 'little' monarchs.

But now that they had been granted time and space to breath away from facing the invaders, there was no hesitation within my mind that I could've seen some probing raids happening anytime soon from the north.

This is why, despite all the successes and good events granting me some decent position where to stay perched and explore all eventualities within this time period, I wasn't keen to just drop my guard now of all time.

This is why, despite all the drowsiness trying to push me to seek some rest, I still decided to try out my hand at sparring with Lancelot.

With the two of us having decided to leave our blades to the side to use the practice sword available to avoid any unpleasant development, I soon found out that there was a huge different of skills between him and me.

And I wasn't mad about losing, quite the contrary.

It was quite an achievement to be training with one of the most famous knights in medieval literature, and even getting my ass handled so quickly and frequently by the stern deliveries from the Knight of the Lake, I still managed to keep a sportive attitude around the bashful man.

Everytime I was sent falling on the floor, I would find myself subjected with some concerned questions from my opponent over my state.

It was odd because it wasn't the strict behavior from Marcus that tended to divest little praise during the spars, but I was quite surprised by how genuine the queries were.

In the end the spars persisted for three full hours as I finally found my body ready to collapse on the ground at the struggle it had to go through, while Lancelot had surprisingly looked a little winded by the lengthy session.

Once we were done with training, we decided to make our way by the dining hall.

During the walk, a little conversation among us started and I felt intrigued by the overall politeness coming from the man.

I yawned a little as I nodded at his latest question.

"Arthur has the best chances of coming out on top compared to the other claimants," I replied with a tired tone, trying my best to offer the best I could over something that the man had already heard about. "His father was the former King, he got Merlin, and he also got Caliburn to legitimize his claim over the throne."

"Still, how do you know that he will end up winning?" The plum-haired fellow inquired with some interest. "There are some undeniably dreadful odds stacked against him."

I blinked. "There are two real elements that make his ascension a reality. Merlin and… Morgan."

The knight paused for a moment, his surprise turning into a perplexed frown.

"You're referring to Morgan Le Fay?"

The question felt drenched in some dreadful hesitation, which I replied with a sigh and a nod.

"Morgan is Arthur's older sister. While her prime objective is to see him killed for having 'stolen' her right to rule, she would never allow someone else to just steal her kill. It has to be her responsibility, either directly or indirectly," I explained slowly and pondering over the case as I hadn't confirmed a certain dilemma behind Morgan's own upbringing.

Arthur was the result of the adultery of King Uther with Ingraine, the wife of King Gorlois of Cornwall, but his older sister's own status was doubtful at best.

Some debates that she was the youngest legitimate daughter to Gorlois, yet there were plenty of sources that said otherwise and that both siblings were result of adultery.

And while the argument itself was interesting because it served to gauge properly the 'favoritism' displayed by Uther in picking Arthur as his heir, there was no change in how I perceived the dangerous sorceress.

Especially with how our first and last encounter had happened and gone.

I was still wary of any sudden appearances from the woman, questioning more than once to Altuos about the precautions adopted to make sure this circumstance never happened ever again.

The elder was certain of his hard-work, thus I just accepted his sureness as proof of it.

"So she wants to kill her brother… but doesn't want anyone else doing this without her blessing?" Lancelot pressed a little more, clearly confused by this comment. "Forgive me for questioning this topic, milord, but I've to say that I found this interest from her quite absurd."

"It's more of an obsession," I corrected quietly, nodding at him as we turned another corners of the few ones remaining to reach the dining hall. "Morgan sees Arthur as not only her natural enemy, but also the very symbol that saw her forced to marriage and denied of her chances to have her own kingdom."

The knight nodded at this, his confusion lessening at this answer. "Truly a complicated woman."

"More like insane and to avoid at all costs," I corrected again, taking a moment to glance around and wave at the nearby two guards patrolling the corridor we were in. "And I want to warn you from even staying in the same room as she is without any strong magical protection."

"My time spent with Nimue helped me develop some resilience to most foul magicks," Lancelot pointed out with a small smile. "But I will be on guard if she manages to get close to us."

I blinked at that very part, almost flattered by that determination to keep close by the time any bad thing happened.

"You truly are a loyal man to your ruler," I praised with a quick nod. "And I'm glad that you accepted to stay here."

He seemed to tense up a little, looking quite flustered by my words.

"You're being too kind, milord," Lancelot replied with a hint of nervousness. "And I can't help but consider you a good candidate to rule this isles. I can see it from the way your people look at you."

I sighed. "The way they… look at me?"

"As I've said already, I've met my own share of good people having their morals tainted by the burden entrusted to them," The knight started to answer, his voice rising to a curious hum. "Yet you don't seem endeared by this position, you look… wary. Careful, yet ready to go forward towards the unknown."

"That's because nothing is done if fear judges my steps," I pointed out with a nod. "The fear of failing? To see someone die? Or perhaps the thought of denying my people a hope to live a better life? Those are worries that will never go away, I can feel that. And yet I can't just accept the concerns as precepts to not improve and expand, to dare and succeed."

"But you sound so human and… caring," The man continued to say. "I understand that you're young, but you still give off a degree of… confidence one would find only in an older person."

…

"Are you calling me an old man, Lancelot?" I asked with a hint of mischievousness, drawing a surprised look from the knight before he started to apologize profusely.

Finally I chuckled at the amusing reaction and nodded at his words.

"I understand about what you're referring with these words," I confessed with a sigh. "But I can already say that it's not truly something coming from within me, or at least not to the degree it might sound like."

"What are you trying to say, milord?"

"As a knight, you've to show a degree of personality that doesn't usually match to your usual attitude," I answered quietly. "When there is a threat, you've to show coldness and bravery in amounts that aren't usually present or visible in your daily life."

…

"As a King, I've to bring out maturity and wisdom, both of which can be sometimes prove to be fault but… it's my confidence and trust in my own capacities, to not concede defeat at the first failure that makes me capable of lunge forward," I explained with some more detail. "I know that these elements are part of my essence, that those are there and they are mine to use- but up until now there wasn't a reason, a purpose, to see me bring up those before anyone. I've a duty, I've a responsibility-"

"And you can't fail by not giving your fullest," The knight calmly interrupted, nodding at my logic. "It's admirable, but somewhat saddening that someone like you is forced to be 'older' for the sake of giving joy to everyone else."

I shrugged. "Sometimes we can't just get what we truly want from a glorious job, the burden will still be there."

"And yet you will hopefully keep trying to find your own gratification from their happiness," Lancelot pointed out. "As this is your final objective."

I blinked again, this time humming quietly as we finally ventured inside the dining hall.

There were plenty of people already waiting inside and I spotted Altuos and Felicianus once again 'bickering' about something from the deepest section of the central table.

I took a moment to sigh, pondering just for a moment over the words from the honest knight.

While I was still having some trouble fitting well with my newest burden, with all the requirements I've to fit with because of my role, I couldn't help but feel happier to know that I was going the right way.

Slow and steady wins the race, there was no reason to deny that, but I was glad to know that I wasn't just seeing things with the recent successes.

I've prevented the destruction of Londinium's former administration, the expansion of the Anglo-Saxon invaders and… perhaps made the first efforts required to outright rule over the British Isles.

I knew the road was a long one, with various dangerous contenders like Arthur, Morgan, Vortigern, and Lot… but I needed to push even harder if I wanted to even have a chance of bring harmony in these lands.

If Arthur failed to bring perpetuity in his kingdom despite a prophecy proclaiming this to the truth, there was no way for me to just stand aside and let the chaos persist.

And so, before Lancelot was well away from my sight, I sighed and nodded.

"And hopefully, I will manage to accomplish it."

The garden within the courtyard was truly a beauty to look at and enjoy in this very part of the day.

Lancelot had decided to spend some time around helping with Felicianus. The Bishop making quite the surprising decision to give some queries to the knight, intrigued by the presences of Faes that 'were making God's work'.

The idea on itself was odd, but not completely shocking as since I've offered chance of talking about their differences in 'simple conversations' for both the leader of the Church in Londinium and the chief of the Magus guild, some common ground had started to emerge.

Tentative steps between the two group resulted for several bible-related events being expanded by the volumes provided by Altuos.

The religious man was skeptical, then baffled at the numerous of additions to the current scripts of the current Bible.

It was surprising, and almost mouthwatering for the bishop to just ignore, and a begrudged truce had ensued at this discovery.

I found this development to be quite an interesting way to bring the two 'opposite' groups together to work well and under my leadership.

It also meant less chances of having to deal with some opposition from the Church itself, as I was already contemplating a permanent solution to any issues that the Pope might create once my rule was properly consolidate.

While I had initially planned to resume my paperwork once I had concluded my usual lessons with Altuos, my mind decided to accommodate a sudden request from a certain young woman that I had visited just brief moments ago.

Mya's red eyes were staring at the scenery in a moment of utter wonder and genuine fascination, her steps slow but certain as she carefully started to walk over the grass while avoiding the pretty flowers around.

It was odd to see a young woman just enjoy the nature around herself like a little child, and my mind was keen to remind me that there were good reasons that were bringing this kind of attitude out of her.

From the quiet and tame aspect of her naivety, to something a little more active from her childish part.

It was endearing, and maybe amusing too in the long-term.

I decided to merely stare at her actions from a little afar, quite curious to see what the lovely lady was going to do with this new freedom.

She was smiling, her lips twitching mirthfully as she enjoyed the sunrays and the pleasant wind caressing her skin.

Moments passed uneventfully for me as I looked at her twirling around and giggling at the freedom I had decided to concede to her.

Some guards had been assigned to the two entrances of the area, thus 'avoiding any odd situations' with the young woman, but I was pretty sure by now that the very eventuality was just stupid.

It took her sometime but Mya finally took a seat near to where pristine white fountain with clean water at the center of the courtyard was.

Her attention was over the various flowers there as she carefully picked them up and… started to tinker around those as if trying to create some bouquet or something similar.

Curiosity got the best of me as I walked closer to see what Mya was exactly trying to do with the flowers around her.

My eyes glinted at the realization just momentarily as I saw the young woman huffing while trying to connect all the stems together, but failing to find a way to accomplish this.

Some time passed, and the more frustrated the girl would get in her attempts, the more I felt compelled to try my hand in this endeavor.

I remember doing flower-crowns back in my childhood during summertime and spring, mostly thanks to the nearby gardens in the local park allowed for me to try as much as I wanted.

I remember the interest being spurned when I saw mom doing some of those and I could never forget when she had asked me if I had wanted to learn how to do those on my own.

I made several girls happy by doing multiple crowns… and I could also remember some frowns from some of the fathers at my eagerness to make some gifts to their daughters.

I was rusty at the difficult art, and it wasn't a big discovery considering how much time had passed since I had last tried to do something out of this.

But I still found the challenge fairly interesting considering how curious the result was going to be with my crown.

Humming quietly while carefully placing the flowers I had fished out around me to create a proper structure.

The activity was lengthy, but my patience was slowly being rewarded by with some satisfaction at the progress I had gained from doing this feeble stuff.

It wasn't anything too complex, but the waste of time was considerable and… I guess worthwhile for what I had in mind to do with my little crown.

The process was ultimately completed and I spent sometime staring at the results of my 'labor'.

The small crown of flowers looked fairly simple, but I had used numerous flowers to make it capable of survive just a couple of seconds of existing.

I blinked at the crown and then back at Mya, the girl huffing as she failed once more to get some base done.

Feeling quite surprised by her tenacity over this stupid activity, I also noticed that she was barely paying attention to her surroundings.

It offered me the chance I needed to make quite a surprise and I decided to slowly approach her from behind, the crown carefully by my hands.

She was glaring adorably at the poor flowers that had perished in the making of something out of them, but while her eyes were blazing furiously at the poor things.

Soon, I was in position to strike, my eyes glinting some curiosity at what kind of reaction I was going to get from her.

Maybe she would have jump in sudden fright, or maybe just ignore the thing altogehter.

Still, I finally leaned down and carefully placed little crown on top of her head, quickly backing away to gauge her next actions.

The moment it landed gracefully over her white hair, I noticed her entire body tensing up in surprise at the development.

But instead of jumping at the sudden sensation over her head, the young woman merely stood up and, barely giving me a glance, she moved to the fountain to stare at her reflection.

Her red eyes widened in major shock, her irritation vanishing instantly as she realized what was no on top of her head.

Her right hand carefully rushed up to poke at the construct, her surprise slowly getting replaced by giddiness as she turned to look at me with the happiest expression I have ever seen her muster so suddenly.

"How did you do that?" She asked happily and I sighed.

"Trying again and again," I replied calmly, drawing a huff from her but her smile didn't falter.

Instead it twitched as her giggles were already trying to interrupt her little faux annoyance.

"Thank you for this."

"A pretty crown for a pretty lady," I commented with a small smile, but instead of her reaction continuing to be as tame as it was right now, I soon found myself pounced by the giggling woman right back to the grassy floor.

I groaned a little, but I barely felt any hurt from falling in that soft ground. I blinked up, staring at the little clouds up above and then my attention was all directed at the close face of a certain bubbly girl pressing her chin on my chest.

"I'm pretty."

Her tone was quiet, and lacking of any confirmation over this statement.

I blinked, trying to understand if it was an affirmation or a question, and failing to get some proper understanding of the predicament.

"Yes," I still replied, feeling unsure about this sudden development.

Another giggle, she snuggled her left cheek by my shirt as she continued to stare up at me with a curious look.

"But why?"

I blinked again, trying to make sense of the context.

"What?"

She sighed. "Why am I pretty?"

Now, that was quite simple. But also not.

Seriously, how did someone so cute had to be also incredibly complicated?

"Because you are," I replied bluntly, gaining a frown from Mya as she hummed on my shirt.

"But why?" She inquired once more, looking even more interested despite the lack of 'acceptable answers'.

I felt a little nervous now, starting to lose grasp over the situation. "Well, I think you are pretty."

"But am I pretty?" The girl asked, driving even more uncertainty with her queries.

"Yes."

"But why?" She repeated.

"Because I said so," I commented quietly.

"But… why?" She asked… again.

I was starting to lose my patience over this dumb game. I could be endeared by her lovely naive self, but one thing was being naive, the other was being outright a little prick about it.

"Mya."

"Yes?"

I sighed at the question, yet my face bore no warning over what I was going to do next.

"Boop," I muttered while pressing my right index on her nose, ending up drawing a confused and surprised look from her.

"What?"

"Boop," I said again, once more pressing my finger on her nose. "You're being silly."

She frowned. "How am I being silly?"

"You are questioning the fact you're pretty," I replied with a calm tone. "And that's silly."

"Really?"

"Yes," I rebuked and the young woman hummed with a giddy note.

"So I'm pretty."

I nodded. "And cute."

"Really?"

I nodded again and she sighed, staring right at my expression with a fascinated look.

"Joseph."

I blinked. "Yes?"

Her right hand shuffled over my face and her index pressed on my nose.

"Boop," She quietly muttered, close to giggle again. "Now you're silly too."

I frowned at that cheeky move. "That's not how it works-"

"Boop," The girl repeated, her tone gaining some mischievousness. "Now it does, silly Joseph."

I gawked a little at this development, feeling my own weapons turned against me.

Oh, the cruelty of fate itself! The fury of the destiny defied!

...Heh.

"Does that make us both silly then?" I asked back with some interest and she seemed to ponder about this curious question.

Then she nodded.

"I think so, yes," The young woman stated with utmost certainty.

I smiled. "I'm glad. It means that you aren't alone in the silly."

She blinked, almost huffing. "Being silly isn't bad."

"But being alone is," I retorted mirthfully, my left hand reaching for her cheek. "And you aren't alone anymore."

"I'm not," She admitted, this time not continuing the whole questioning game. "I got Silly Joseph, I got Altuos, I got the nice doctors… and I wonder if I can make new friends too."

"Once you're a bit more accustomed with the castle, I guess I can have share a walk with you around Londinium."

It was a simple and general promise, but I could see it happening in a couple of days from now if nothing bad happened in the meantime.

Just as I focused on these thoughts, I felt the girl straddling on my chest as she carefully sit up on my chest and… she hummed.

"Joseph," Mya quietly called while staring down at my face. "Am I annoying you?"

I blinked. "No-"

"Then why are you so close to yawn?"

Just as she said that, the yawn itself escaped through my lips.

I sighed. "It's… it's just because I sleep just a little last night," I confessed quietly as I enjoyed the pleasantness of the grass. It wasn't wet, and it was just warm enough to send me in a state of bliss.

Perhaps I should've really gone to bed instead of sparring with Lancelot.

I was reaching the point where my own eyes were having trouble keeping focus and my brain was outright trying to sabotage my efforts to keep awake.

"Really? Isn't that a bad thing?" She inquired curiously. "I heard Altuos saying that it was bad and… are you going to be sick."

"No."

"But you look unwell," The young woman pressed on, her face showing a little concern over myself. "You know, you can sleep now if-"

"I've some work to do quite soon," I interjected with a quiet tone. "And it's some important stuff."

"Can't you… delegate?" She asked, her red eyes sporting outright worry by now. "You look like you're going to fall asleep now."

Maybe it wouldn't be wrong for me to pick a couple of hours of rest.

The paperwork itself wasn't going to be done with me just being a frigging zombie, and I needed to have some lucidity to go through it all… which a sleepless night had deprived me of.

I took a moment to ponder over the situation, genuinely thinking that sleeping now would be the best decision… and then I saw Mya slowly snuggle back to her previous position.

Differently from before, I could feel her weight pressing me down even more, making me frown with some surprise.

"Mya?"

"You need to sleep," She chided softly, her eyes narrowing onto my face and a pout appearing on her lips. "So you will sleep."

...Is this a hostage situation? It does to seem like one. A very adorable one that I was stuck with.

...Crap, the cute one got me so suddenly and I was her hostage-

Wait, but I wasn't even trying to oppose that. Just up until now I was thinking of just sleeping.

"Mya-"

"You're going to sleep."

"But-"

"Sleeeee-"

"Fine," I 'conceded', knowing that this was truly going to be quite the difficult situation to explain to such a stubborn dummy.

"-eeep, wait really?"

… "Yes?"

She smiled and then… booped me again. "Silly Joseph."

I really wanted to groan, I needed to let out a reaction at that unrestrained amount of cuteness being unleashed upon the world so suddenly and without much consideration.

I felt like close to a nuclear reactor melting down, but instead of radiation I was getting an unhealthy amount of cuteness splashing onto my poor skin.

I sighed, eyes closing as I felt her pressure lessen up as her cheek pressed on my chest and… she started to breath quietly, a tiny and mostly unnoticeable snoring.

With my mind slowly collapsing in my own state of unconsciousness, I couldn't help but wonder if I would manage to wake up in time for the paperwork-

Only for me to wake up a couple of hours later with a terribly-amused Altuos, a confused Lancelot, and a shell-shocked Felicianus staring at our sleeping forms.