-Micheals PoV-
Micheal slowly stood up, noticed immediately that Morgan was tall, and blinked as she circled around him and poked him with her pen in various areas. Even without her heels she'd still easily be 170cm. She tried to poke the pen at his crotch and he quickly moved back as she clicked her tongue,
"If any part of your body is wrong it will impact your ability to move." She stated, clearly annoyed as he frantically shook his head. She sighed and ran a hand over her face before she stiffened clearly remembering something then walked over to a bookshelf to scan the books, trailing a finger over the spines before finally pulling one off. She flipped it open, quickly found what she was looking for, then walked back over to Micheal and flipped the book around so he could see it causing him to blink seeing it was a magic circle. He narrowed his eyes and tried to translate the circle only for Morgan to lower the book and smack the back of his head with her other hand.
He stumbled a bit and then looked at her eyes wide as she huffed and folded her arms holding the book in one hand as she glared at him,
"Use your faerie eyes to analyze the circle."
He frowned and mimed writing again only for Morgan to further her glare,
"Which is what I am trying to do you moron. Scan the damn circle."
Micheal blinked taken aback at the tonal shift as she winced and quickly held up the book again while averting her gaze. Making a mental note to figure out what just happened at later he looked at the circle and activated his eyes. Immediately he felt the circle imprint itself onto his mind as he gasped and clutched at his head feeling the spell carve itself into his skillset along with how to use it. Several seconds later he let go of his head and stared at his hand before looking at Morgan who raised her eyebrows in a silent go ahead,
Micheal followed the feeling the spell gave him and extended his index finger as he gathered and projected mana off of it to form a small box in the air that he quickly filled with writing,
[Yeah. Great. So I can do this now. When will I get some damn clothes?]
Morgan's mouth fell open slightly before she started laughing. He frowned as she slowly calmed herself down and then coughed into her fist before smiling an evil smile at him,
"If you ever so much as speak of anything you have seen or heard just now…. I will kill you outright. Understood?"
Micheal felt his sense of danger scream at him as he nodded frantically.
"Good. As for clothes…." She once again looked him up and down as he had the urge to cover himself, "I'm sure I can find something. As for whether or not it will fit your station leave that to me. I will not have one of my knights under-dressed."
[You do know I'm not a knight right? Also if you already know my name then why call me Mordred?"
Morgan walked forward and reached up to drag her fingers along his jaw causing him to jump back several meters. She smirked at him,
"Because you are my Tam Lin Mordred. Not anyone else's. Now then Mordred-"
[Thats not my name.]
"It is while you are here. Stop complaining."
Micheal glared at her and she hummed a bit summoning a staff that he Immediately felt the power coming off of and he stared at it as she tapped it on the stone floor. The room shifted into a blur as he felt as though he was moving without moving and then everything came back into focus and he saw that he was clearly a bedroom. He looked from the staff to the bed and then to her as he narrows his eyes while she rolled her own,
"No. If I wanted that we would be in my bedchambers. This is your room Mordred. Make use of it while you are here-"
[Enough of this. You're sending me back to my own timeline. Right now.]
Micheal summoned Blessed Hellfire and was about to point it at her when he blinked and had several dark blue-green crystals hovering millimeters away from his vital organs, throat, and face. He flicked his gaze between the ones he could see and then looked past them at Morgan who just looked irritated. After a few seconds he put Blessed Hellfire away and the crystals slowly melted into shadows.
"As much as I would like to ask you how you knew this was an alternate timeline time, as it were, is not on our side. Get dressed. Whatever clothes you pick out I will turn into Mystic Codes worthy of my true heir."
She tapped her heel on the floor and a nearby dresser violently shook before it stilled. She moved to the door and glared at him,
"Also don't even think of trying that again. Whatever your bond is with your divine construct it is nothing in the face of mine, my magic, or my might. Do not make me repeat this a second time."
[Fine, Fine. At least tell me this much Morgan.]
She paused as she opened the door and looked from his speech bubble to him,
[Where am I actually?]
Morgan smiled cruelly,
"You are in Faerie Britain, Micheal Lafaire. A doomed timeline that was pruned away from what was considered the 'proper' one…. And I will see to it that my Faerie Britain overwrites and replaces your own."
She closed the door behind her as she left, leaving him with more questions than answers.
______
Micheal sat down on the bed and held his head in his hands as his mind raced with questions he knew he either wouldn't get the full answer to or not get any answer for at all. He sat there for a bit before standing up and walking over to the dresser pulling open a drawer at random to find it filled with what looked like pants you'd find at a Renaissance Festival. He pulled out a pair and arched an eyebrow noticing that they seemed to be tied in place with a rope around the waist in place of a belt,
So no zippers then. She said this was 'Faerie Britain' and the way she said it made it sound like it was separate from the Britain I know. As for what she means by 'doomed timeline' I'll need to figure that out later. For right now I need to see if I can reach Jeanne, Vivian, or Merlin.
Micheal closed his eyes and focused on the Master/Servant bond he had rediscovered and frowned. It was still there. He could sense that much but it felt like it was holding on by a single thread. He focused his mana and tried to send a short message,
[I'm fine. I've been pulled somewhere called Faerie Britain. I'll be back soon. Don't worry.]
He sent it and breathed out a slow breath to calm his nerves. He had no idea how long it would take for it to reach her or if Jeanne would even get it assuming she was still keeping her end of their bond closed. He shook his head and refocused on getting dressed eventually settling on Jeannes colors with a pair black trousers, a purple tunic, and a gold sash tying it all together. He looked himself over and then around the room properly.
The floor was a dark stained oak which matched the bed frame with the bed itself being a four poster complete with drawstring curtains to block off anyone from viewing the occupant. He looked around some more noticing that the walls were a curious blue-grey stone that seemed to emit mana while aside from the dresser there were a few more pieces of furniture. A bedside table, what was clearly an armor rack, a wall mounted weapon rack, and a brown wooden door separate from the one Morgan had left through.
Going through this second door he saw that behind it was a bathroom. There was a bathtub, a basin for holding water, and what looked like medieval toilet in that there was a small outcropping of stone with a hole in it.
And no toilet paper. That doesn't bode well.
He grimaced and closed the door to the bathroom as he took a closer look at himself as best he could since there wasn't a mirror he could use. His skin was paler than it was normally but aside from that he didn't physically feel any different from his previous body. He winced as he realized that one of the three people who could find him in Avalon would find him fallen down in front of a door in another coma. He shook his head and held out his right hand rotating it noticing that his fingers were more slender than they were normally. He rubbed his thumb and forefinger together and then looked up as someone knocked on the door Morgan had left through. He walked over and opened it only to blink, not seeing anyone, as a voice came from below his sight line,
"Down here~! Nice to meetcha!"
He looked down and his eyebrows shot up as he saw a being that was maybe a meter tall but wearing a pink jumpsuit with giant sewn ears. He stood to the side as the small being entered his room and opened his mouth to ask what was going only to feel the distinct lack of vocal chords again. He ran a hand over his face and extended a speech bubble,
[Hello? Who are you and what are you doing in here?]
"Oh wow the Queen was right! You really can't speak can you! You're lucky I can read at all and even read that language Mister. Not everyone even bothers to learn how to read now a days."
Micheal blinked and quickly changed the message,
[Wait- Back up. What do you mean not everyone learns how to read? Also 'Queen'? All Morgan said was that this was 'Faerie Britain' but that explains less than nothing for me.]
"I mean most faeries don't see the point in learning to read or write if they aren't destined to be in some position that forces them to need to. I learned so I could keep in touch with some friends but aside from that I need to introduce myself!"
His mouth fell open as the faerie seemed to pull a hot air balloon out of nowhere that she rode up to just below his eye level. She held out her hand to shake,
"Call me Habetrot!"
She grinned and honestly her happiness was infectious enough that Micheal felt himself smiling back in spite of everything so far as he reached out to shake,
[Miche- Er. Tam Lin Mordred. Pleasure to meet you.]
Habetrot winked at him and then pulled out a measuring tape from her pocket as she began to take his measurements before he could stop her. She huffed and gave him a look as he moved away,
"While its not my exact calling I am still the tailor for the Tam Lin. Now are these the colors you like? Black and Purple for the main colors and gold for the detailing?"
[I-]
Micheal filed his new questions away into an ever growing list he worried would never get any shorter then nodded at her,
[Yes. These are the colors I want.]
"Gotcha! Beautiful choice of colors by the way. I'll need to get your formal wear ready to go then before tonight. Just need a few more measurements… I can see you want to ask some questions, and I'd be happy to answer what I can, but it'll need to wait until I've gotten everything."
Micheal closed his mouth, nodded again, and straightened up fully as Habetrot quickly got his measurements. Several minutes later the diminutive woman let the tape measure wind back with a rattle before writing the last of the measurements down as Micheal sighed and rolled his shoulder. He was starting to acclimate to this new body which worried him a bit as he wondered what would happen when he went back to his original body. He sighed and extended his finger,
[So Habetrot. Question for you real fast.]
The woman looked up,
"Yes?"
[Why do I need formalwear and why do I need it by tonight?]
She tilted her head at him confused,
"You… are the heir to Her Majesty Queen Morgan right? Obviously as the direct heir the nobles and such need to be informed of the change of the status quo."
[She called me her heir but honestly-]
Micheal paused writing as he briefly wondered if he should even mention alternate timelines. He quickly adjusted the sentence,
[She called me her heir but I'm not sure what that means and to be honest I don't see Morgan…. Having sex.]
Habetrot scoffed and frowned,
"Maybe not with her current husband no. That guy gives me the creeps whenever I see him. It always feels like he's looking for the best way to dice me up."
Micheals eyes widened,
[So this guy is my…. Step dad then?]
"If you're asking if he had anything to do with you being born then no. He didn't. You give off an entirely different presence then he does. Honestly it reminds me of…."
Habetrot fell silent and smiled sadly as though remembering something before shaking her head to refocus on Micheal,
"I have your colors and now I need a design. Do you have any ideas or thoughts?"
[Wouldn't Morgan have that planned already?]
"In regards to her Tam Lin she often times leaves their clothing and armor choices up to them…. For better or worse."
Micheal pursed his lips and decided not to ask about Habetrots tonal shift at the end of her sentence. Instead of that he began imagining what he could use for a design only for his mind to go back to what he saw in the water mirror in the Lafaire Vault. He focused on the armor he had been wearing in the vision he saw seeing more and more details as he did so. He thought about it more and more as the vision gained more and more definition until he found himself grinning. He looked at Habetrot who saw his face and matched his grin,
"Oh I like that look. You look like you know exactly what you want. Tell me everything! Leave out nothing."
Micheal described what he had in mind for not only the formal wear, deciding to have a tuxedo suit that mimicked dragon scales but also talked about the armor. By the time he was done Habetrot snorted with laughter only to start laughing outright. She eventually settled down into small chuckles. She looked up at him with a gleam in her eye as she smiled,
"Oh thats brilliant. You'll have to tell me where you got this idea from someday got it? For now though…"
She deployed her hot air balloon again and rose up to where she had been previously. She put her hands on her hips and gave him a smirk,
"Let ol' Habetrot work her magic. The armor will take a bit longer but I can teach you a spell to glamour it over your formalwear for now. I also know exactly how you should enter the ballroom to maximize your entrance into the realm at large too. Here's the plan...~"
-Morgans PoV-
Morgan looked at herself in her mirror even though her mind was elsewhere as she thought back to how Micheal Lafaire had even ended up in the body she was still in the middle of preparing. Frowning she gently traced her fae markings with a finger as she wondered what the catalyst had been to cause him to jump timelines almost a quarter century early. She turned away from the mirror and snapped her fingers causing the doors to her wardrobe to open themselves and five dresses to float out for her inspection. Even as she looked at them in turn she found her thoughts wandering again. She eventually sighed and ran a hand over her face as she went to sit down at her desk. She placed her chin in her hand and stared out the window of the castle she built. Down below the floating castle was her Camelot and her Faerie Britain.
She had worked herself to the bone for over two thousand years making sure that everything went to her plan and her plan alone. She had put in the tax to keep the populace in line, Her Tam Lin were exquisite examples of her control, and the farms the few humans were raised on were running at an acceptable pace. Closing her eyes she breathed in, held it, and then breathed out before she opened her eyes and furrowed her brow.
"His original body was created and borne by my proper human history self in a partnership with the land itself but it seems like something or someone has… tampered with his faerie core in his original life or prevented him from utilizing it in his current life in the first place. The fact he went straight for physical attacks to escape the growth tank despite having a core identical to my own is… worrying given he should also have all the spells as well as the mana control my other self had given his apparent age. Honestly how he broke out reminds me of Gawain and her penchant for destruction."
She huffed a chuckle at this and then let her gaze unfocus as she spread her mana sense throughout her castle. She felt the faerie nobles gathering at the base, her daughter in her room, and then Gawain in the armory. She briefly felt mana almost identical to her own along with the mana of the Royal Seamstress in the room she had left Micheal in. Frowning she extended her mana sense to beyond the castle and its immediate vicinity as she tried to track down the man she called her husband. She frowned, briefly tempted to expand it country wide but then decided against it. Surely he would know he needed to be here for the first appearance of her true heir.
"Which makes me wonder how Tristan will react… Should I have told her about Mordred?"
Morgan tapped a finger on her chin before sighing and rolling her neck a bit. She felt a series of satisfying pops as she stood up and went back to the dresses which were still floating in the air. She chose one at random, a deep blue shoulderless ankle length dress that had gemstones sewn through it to mimic the night sky, and it slid itself over her form before tightening itself around her midriff. Like all her outfits it oozed royalty and prestige which was natural given her title as one of two-
She paused and smiled, amending her thought,
One of three Royal class Faeries.
######
"You look stunning as usual Your Highness." a faerie noble said with a low bow while Morgan looked on from her throne impassively. She nodded and they moved out of the way as another sycophant approached the throne causing her to groan inwardly. She quickly dedicated a part of her brain to responding to the tripe being said and looked beyond the seemingly never ending line in front of her. Standing to her immediate right was Tam Lin Gawain, her sword drawn and its point placed between her armored feet. She seemed to be scanning the crowd as though looking for potential threats.
To her left was Tam Lin Tristan, her daughter and the second Royal class Faerie. She was wearing a truly bizarre series of leather and metal straps that showed off more skin than Morgan would have liked. Making a mental note to ask who gave her the idea for that outfit, even though she already had an inkling as to who, she let her gaze roam the gathered faerie nobility with her gaze eventually landing on one taller than her and with shimmering wings the color of the rainbow.
So even Aurora is here…
She dragged her attention back to the line in front of her and decided enough was enough. She stood causing the chatter in the room to instantly die as the faerie in front of her fell to their knees begging for their life. She glared at them until they shuffled off into the crowd. The line quickly melted into the crowd as she summoned Rhongomyniad and tapped the bottom of it onto the stone floor causing a ringing sound to emanate throughout the entire castle.
"Nobility of my Faerie Britain. I welcome you one and all to a truly momentous and singular occasion. You have all made the trip here and therefore are spared the next three months tax in celebration. Those who have not deigned to arrive will be taxed three times as much."
Murmuring swept across the room that Morgan quickly silenced by tapping Rhongomyniad on the stones again. She let some of her mana flow off of her as she continued,
"Many of you have held questions and concerns over my presumptive heir or claimed, falsely, that I have no heir. It is my desire to quash these rumors-"
She heard Tristan make a smug sound behind her and once again wondered how Tristan would react to Mordred.
"It has taken no small amount of effort on my part to find a third Royal class Faerie…-"
She heard Tristan make a choking sound behind her but pressed on,
"Yet find one I did. He is my true heir apparent and the inheritor of all of my own spells and magicks. While you do not know him you will understand that he is almost as powerful as I am."
She smirked as she sensed Micheal arrive at the closed doors leading into the hall and then stop.
"He is the wielder of a Divine Construct on par with a single one of my own, he has been beyond the veil of death, and come back stronger for it."
She tapped Rhongomyniad one final time and the doors to the hall slowly opened as the crowd naturally parted. She narrowed her eyes at the abnormal darkness stretching from floor to ceiling behind the doors as she felt mana permeating it while the hall fell into a deathly silence. Slowly the sound of steel on stones echoed from the darkness as a figure dressed in abyssal black draconic armor walked out of it. Under the armor was gold maile and purple cloth.
The pauldrons were formed to look like the shoulder plates of a wyvern while extending from them were gauntlets that each ended with a talon made of purpled steel. The chestplate was ashen black and sitting in the very middle of it, embedded into the armor itself, was a living blackened flame. The greaves and sabatons also mimicked draconic limbs but what truly drew everyones attention was the helmet.
It was shaped to mimic a True Dragon's head. The eyes glowed with a deep hellfire red from within while extending out behind were a set of twisting jet black horns. The figure walked forward slowly, methodically, and even with no weapon exuded barely surpressed overwhelming might. As they fully left the darkness in the hallway it followed them attaching to their shoulders to flow behind them like a truly massive cloak.
As the figure approached the steps to the throne the silence in the hall seemed to deepen as they stopped just short of the first step to the dais her throne was on. Morgan narrowed her eyes suddenly unsure if this was Micheal or not as she stared into the fire red eyes of the helmet. The figure extended their right hand and with a flash of light a blade appeared to land into their hand. Immediately Gawain moved to protect Morgan but the Winter Queen held out a hand to stop her.
"Kneel."
She said this one word and let her mana wash over the figure who calmly withstood the pressure of her mana. They sheathed their sword on their right hip with a flourish and slowly dropped to one knee never looking away from her gaze. She suppressed a smirk and looked out to the gathered nobility who were all standing still as stone for fear of the knight cutting them down,
"Behold the Third Royal Class Faerie, Tam Lin Mordred. Heir to my reign and my son."
At this the knight stood up and turned to face the crowd causing Morgans eye to twitch at the implied disrespect. She sensed mana to her left and saw Tristan glaring at Mordred with open loathing. If Mordred noticed the killing intent from Tristan he gave no sign of it as he turned and walked to the right of her throne and leaned back against the wall seemingly content to observe. She huffed and masked her annoyance as she turned back to the assembled nobles.
"Mordred has been struck by a curse which has removed their ability to speak. I do ask for your understanding and grace when… talking to him."
She moved to sit back down on her throne observing the nobles who all looked at each other and then at Mordred while muttering amongst themselves. She activated her eyes to look at his armor more closely and let out a single silent laugh seeing it was almost entirely a glamour. The fire sitting in his breastplate was real enough and gave her pause as she sensed the darkness in the power behind it. She then looked at the blade on his hip and her eyes widened ever so slightly as she saw it was the Divine Construct he had summoned earlier that day.
"Mothe- Your Majesty High Queen Morgan."
She blinked and looked to her left to see Tristan looking at her confused and somewhat hurt,
"I… was under the impression I was your heir. Is that not the case? Who is this man?"
-Micheals PoV-
Micheal did his best to appear 'calm, cool, and collected' from his spot on the wall but his mouth was bone dry and his heart was racing from nerves. He eyed the various beings in the room and, once again, didn't find a single human among them. He glanced to his right at Morgans throne, catching the eye of the giant blonde who was clearly guarding the Queen. She raised her eyebrows and went back to watching over the gathering as Morgan stood up to speak again which Micheal barely tuned into as he was more concerned with trying to understand how the hell to even use an eighth of the crap Morgan had preloaded his body with.
I'm willing to bet that all of this requires using my core as well… If I use any of this here would it affect my body back in my timeline?
He frowned beneath his helmet as he kept scanning his core only to find more and more spells, hexes, curses, and god knew what else as he delved deeper into it. He had found something that looked similar to reinforcement magecraft when someone snapped their fingers in front of his face making him jump. He came out of his own thoughts and met the gaze of the girl who had been sitting next to Morgan on the dias. He tilted his head to the side and extended his finger while keeping his arms folded,
[Yes? Can I help you?]
The redheads gaze went from his helmet to the bubble only to narrow her eyes,
"You genuinely can't speak. Actually."
She asked unbelieving as Micheal let his shoulders sag while changing the text,
[Genuinely.]
She scoffed once and then went into full blown gut clenching laughter as his eyebrow twitched under his helmet,
"And you're supposed to what? Replace me? As heir to Her Majesties Kingdom?"
Before Micheal could react she had swung up her leg and stabbed what he realized was an easily 30cm tall needle sharp heel into the stone above his shoulder as she leaned in to glare at him,
"I don't care what Mother says. You are not worth shit, will never be worth shit, and will never replace me as her heir."
Micheal's eyebrows raised and he adjusted himself so he had moved out from under her heel,
[And yet you're the one who's acting like a spoiled brat who's suddenly not mommy's favorite anymore.]
Her eyes widened and she opened her mouth to yell at him when the giant blonde woman stepped inbetween them physically pushing the redhead away,
"If you have an issue with Mordred settle it after the banquet Tristan." The blond said matter-of-factly before turning to look at Micheal with scrutiny,
"That was… quite the entrance Mordred. The nobility are already calling you the 'Dark Dragon Prince'. I do hope you're not as dark of a person as your armor would lead people to believe."
Micheal looked up into the womans eyes and smiled under his helmet,
[Well thats certainly a new nickname. Speaking of names, whats yours Lady Knight?]
The woman blinked and smiled warmly before stepping back to offer her hand to shake,
"Tam Lin Gawain. Pleasure to meet you."
[Tam Lin Mordred. The pleasure is mine.]
Micheal shook hands with Gawain and noticed she shook his hand with an extreme amount of care before Tristan gave him a look,
"You're really not from around here are you, twerp."
[Nope. I'm from…. A different shore. Also Tristan, I've got to ask.]
Micheal smirked under his helmet as the redhead looked at him quizzically,
"What."
[What bet did you lose to have to wear…. that.]
Tristans eyes bulged out of her head as she took a step forward clearly about to smack him when something pulled her back by her hair making her yelp. Micheal blinked and watched as a young girl with white hair walked up to him. He couldn't see her face behind her mask but he could sense she could see him just fine. She reached up and was about to touch the hellfire sitting in his chestplate when she froze and quickly withdrew her hand,
"Apologies Mordred I just- You feel… familiar and I-," She coughed into her fist and looked up at him smiling happily, "My name is Tam Lin Lancelot. When you have time I'd love to chat with you."
Micheal flicked his eyes to look at where Morgan was and despite her clearly talking to the nobility he got the distinct sense she was watching him intently. He decided to play it safe,
[I… would like that. I have lots of questions about… Faerie Britain so if you could help me answer them I'd appreciate it.]
Gawain opened her mouth into a perfect O-shape as Lancelot danced happily in place a bit before grabbing his hand,
"I'm looking forward to it. I'm usually out flying so just call out for me and I'll be there as fast as I can!"
She let go of Micheals hand after shaking it herself with both of her own and quickly ran off leaving a bemused Micheal, a stunned Gawain, and a flabbergasted Tristan,
"How… How did you… do that?" Tristan asked before looking at Gawain and seemingly coming to a decision, "I'm dreaming. That has to be what this is. This whole thing is a bad dream. I am going back to my room."
Tristan turned on her heel, an impressive feat in Micheals eyes, and walked away to leave through the door he had come in through. He turned to look at Gawain who seemed to be reevaluating him,
[What was that about?]
Gawain seemed to weigh her words before she spoke,
"You just got the singular Dragon Faerie to treat you like long lost family when the most she can do is barely bother to show up to anything or show any emotion at all." Her eyes landed on the sword on his hip and her jaw firmed, "When you are able I would invite you to my own domain as well. I… have questions about your blade."
[Questions like?]
She looked back into his eyes and was about to speak when Morgan came over causing Gawain to immediately come to attention and bow. She nodded to Gawain and then focused on Micheal as the giant blonde faerie left them alone. Micheal looked past Morgan and noticed that all the nobility had either left or was in the process of leaving. He looked back at Morgan who seemed to be waiting for everyone to leave. A few seconds after the doors closed she tapped her heel on the ground and a privacy and illusion bounded field enveloped the both of them,
[Yes Morgan?]
Her eye twitched,
"You will refer to me by my titles when in front of others." She said firmly as she crossed her arms, "Dispel your helmet. I want to see your face."
Micheal dispelled the helmet and Morgan immediately smacked him across the face with the back of her hand causing him to try and swear only for no sound to come out. He glared at her and his hand twitched near La rose d'Argent Noirci before moved it away and extended a bubble,
[That fucking hurt. The hell was that for!?]
Morgan huffed and folded her arms to glare at him,
"Why isn't your faerie core active. I've been waiting for you to activate it fully this entire time ever since you broke out of your tank. You have- Its the same core as- GODS DAMMIT."
Micheal watched as Morgan twisted in place and swiped her hand to the side causing an arc of destructive energy to shoot out and carve a slash into the stone wall while shattering the windows. She turned her gaze back to him and it was full of fury,
"Activate your core."
[No. That is the one thing I will never do. I would sooner die than do it.]
She stiffened in place as her glare furthered in its intensity.
"Mordred. Activate. Your. Core."
[No way in hell. Also-] He narrowed his eyes with a glare that matched her own, [My name is Micheal Lafaire. I'll play your little game while others are around but I will never accept my place as your heir or anyone elses.]
They stared at each other until Micheal felt the bounded fields reinforce themselves five times over before Morgan sighed and let her shoulders sag,
"What do you want."
He blinked about to project his thoughts,
"I can't send you back if thats what you're going to ask. You're stuck here for at least three months of your time which equates to just over two years for us. What else would you want."
He paused and then dispelled the rest of his armor leaving him standing in his formal attire,
[Are you speaking as Her Majesty High Queen Morgan or just Morgan le Fay right now?]
She stared at the bubble as she seemed to war with herself internally,
"Both? Neither? You just- No one has any idea what its cost- I don't even know why I'm telling you this."
[Lets make a deal then.]
She looked at the bubble and was resuming her regality when,
[Not with High Queen Morgan le Fay. I am making a deal with the faerie Morgan.]
She blinked and stared at him for a solid minute as it registered to her that he had differentiated between her Queen persona and herself twice now. She was quiet for another full minute before she quietly asked,
"How long did you know it was all a mask?"
[Since your swore at me when you wanted me to scan the circle that let me do this bubble thing. Something about me unnerves or breaks through your royal veneer just enough to let the you out that you haven't able to be for… however long you've been High Queen Morgan. At least thats my best guess. I know a bit about wearing a mask given some of the stuff I've had to do before.]
She huffed a single humorless laugh and seemed to just barely relax as she folded her arms,
"You are a truly frightening man Micheal Lafaire, to both find and expose a lady's secrets like this. Fine. Lets hear your terms to this deal."
He stuck out a finger to start counting,
[First I want you to train me in Faerie Witchcraft so I am able to use it without activating my core or activating it as little as possible]
"Impossible," She shook her head causing her ponytail to sway behind her, "You can't have both."
[Because a certain Lady of the Lake told me it was possible but just incredibly hard to do bordering on impossible. As long as there is a chance I want to grab it.]
"Really. She said it was possible. That gorilla of a faerie." Morgan asked flatly as Micheal nodded. She sighed and tilted her head back closing her eyes to think. After a few seconds she chuckled darkly and looked back at him with a glint in her eye,
"Technically speaking it is possible yes… but the process would effectively kill you and I need you alive for my own plans."
[Already died the one time. Whats another trip?]
She blinked at him,
"You do know that my whole statement about you coming back from beyond the veil of death was nonsense right?"
He stared at her, eyebrows raised, until realization dawned on her face and her mouth fell open. Before he could stop her she had gotten right up into his face causing him to walk back into the wall as he watched her eyes light up. He looked back into them as they widened further before she took a few steps back,
"You- Okay so if thats-" She began to mutter to herself as she paced back and forth within the field only for Micheal to wave a bit to get her attention. She looked at him clearly annoyed at him interrupting her
[I do have other stuff to ask for in regards to this deal]
She blinked and shook her head a bit before refocusing on him as he extended a second finger,
"Go ahead."
[I want you to tell me about Faerie Britain. If I'm gonna be stuck here for two years then I wanna know as much as I can.]
"I have an entirely library that could suffice. Why me?"
[I'm sure you do but I want to hear it from you. The you you are right now. Not High Queen Morgan. I get the feeling you've been around a bit.]
She grew silent at this to the point where Micheal wondered if he had asked for too much when,
"I… I'm not the best person to tell you that. Just… trust me on this. Please."
Micheal paused at the quietness in her voice and after a few seconds nodded,
[The library will be fine for now then.]
He watched her visibly relax before straightening herself up and looking at him with a glare,
"I am willing to accept one more demand before I list what I want from you in return."
Micheal nodded and extended his third and final finger,
[I want to know more about you. Not in a romantic sense but I have… loads of questions now about myself, my own past, and how Morgan le Fay ties into it. What you even meant by "Proper Human History Morgan", and 50 thousand other things and I'm sure that you'd enjoy having someone to talk to. If not as an equal then as a confidant.]
She went still at this and her gaze seemed to focus in on him,
"Why do you care about me or my troubles?"
[Because I figure you would like to talk about them. If not then we can forget this third part of the deal.]
Silence echoed for several seconds,
"You… would- No. You want to learn about the life a witch has led. Not just any witch. Morgan le Fay. What possible reason would you have for even thinking about asking this?"
Micheal shrugged and offered her a lopsided smile,
[Because at this point I'm pretty sure that the last and most ridiculous theory on why the Lafaires have been fighting the Church over over 1000 years is correct as much as it annoys me which makes Morgan le Fay my Great-times-whatever grandma. Which makes you family and the one thing I was taught by my own mother alongside someone else dear to me is that you take care of family. Which I can't do if I know nothing about you.]
Morgan went still before she started chuckling that evolved into full blown gut clenching laughter. Eventually she quieted down and wiped the tears from her eyes with her thumb still chuckling,
"I guess by that logic yes. I am your grandmother aren't I?"
She suddenly grew stern,
"If you ever call me grandma-"
[Never even thought to. You don't look a day over 25 anyway so the idea of you being my grandma and looking like you do is weird as hell for me.]
"Well aren't you a flatterer~"
Micheal fought his blush at her tone and coughed into his fist,
[Alright. I've laid out my terms, list yours and then we can get to negotiating.]