"Are you sure you want to do this?" Arthur asked.
"Yeah. I'm sure."
Arthur and I parted through the last of the thin trees of the Great Forest with Ben and Lancelot walking not too far behind us. Beneath my cloak I wore my khaki shorts and my button-down shirt and had The Book of Sorcery secured under my arm. Alex also wore a cloak to conceal his twenty-first century clothing.
A sudden thought occurred to me and I glanced at Arthur. "How did Gawain take the news of becoming your Paige? I mean, he's basically like your ward now."
He frowned. "I don't know. He locked himself in his chambers the moment he found them and hasn't said a word to anyone since. So I was pretty much just talking to a door."
"I'm sure he'll be alright. Elaine said she'd look after him."
"Speaking of Elaine..." Arthur's lips twisted into a strange smile. "I'm surprised she didn't insist on accompanying us on our 'hunting trip.' I mean, she practically rallied the commoners herself to save you―"
"Before you go any further," I said. "I suppose I need to emphasize that we are friends."
He laughed. "I know. I'm just teasing. Anyway, I know you wouldn't do anything to make the Lady of the Lake jealous and transport us to the Stone Age."
I playfully shoved him.
"Ow." He threw me a dirty look and rubbed his arm.
Peter had agreed with my decision to leave, saying that a break would be good for both me and Arthur. He helped us come up with the cover story of the two of us going on a hunting trip. When we announced our immediate departure to Elberny, he wished us a long journey without even raising his head from a scroll he was reading.
After saying our goodbyes to Elaine and Peter, Ben and Lancelot agreed to escort us to the hill that Excalibur had transported us to a week ago. Technically we could have used any stone to return, but we agreed too many stones engraved with the Ancient Language would raise suspicion from anyone who happened to not to be a Camelot citizen. Anyway, returning with the stone that brought us here seemed fitting.
We finally reached the hill and made our way to the top. The large stone still resided by the large pile of hay, and a couple feet away, partly hidden by rocks, I spotted severed ropes that had at one time bound Athalos.
Arthur and I strode over to the stone and beheld the runes. Now we knew they were much more than a bunch of words. They were a reminder of what Arthur had proven―to himself and to Camelot.
I turned from the stone and looked at him. "You don't have to come, you know. I know you don't want to go back."
He tore his eyes from the runes. "No, I don't want to leave. Camelot is my home. The knights, the civilians...they're all part of my family. But like I said before, you are as well. And anyway, someone has to keep you out of trouble when you get back."
"I thought it was my job to keep you out of trouble," I said.
"All the more reason to come along." He grinned at me. He then unsheathed Excalibur and handed it to me.
The two of us faced our friends for the final time. They watched us silently with unhappy gazes.
Lancelot and Ben reached out their arms to shake hands, but Arthur disregarded them. He instead walked up to them and threw an arm over each of their necks, pulling them into a tight embrace. Arthur beckoned me forward and I joined the group hug.
Once we broke apart, Lancelot said, "I hadn't even realized it's been a week. I forgot about our deal."
"This isn't permanent," I assured him. "We'll back sooner than you think."
"Just be careful," Ben said. "You two have changed a lot this past week. But that doesn't mean you cannot run into trouble in the future."
"We'll be careful," Arthur promised. He turned to me. "Time to go, Merlin."
I nodded and raised Excalibur over my head. I uttered the correct incantation and thrust the sword into the stone. Arthur seized the hilt as the stone burst into flames. The final image I saw before being whisked away into darkness was Ben and Lancelot standing side by side with their hands raised in farewell.
***
Arthur and I collapsed the moment we landed on solid ground again. I spit out a few tufts of grass and rolled onto my back, squinting as soft beams of daylight broke through the tangled branches above and shined on my face. From my right, Arthur groaned and struggled to his feet. "I will never get used to that," he muttered.
I snapped my fingers and the dark blue flames enveloping the stone vanished. "Well, at least we didn't pass out this time." With the support of the stone, I managed to rise to my feet as well.
Arthur and I gazed around our clearing. Spring flowers bloomed in thickets exactly where we had left them, and the canopy of trees drooped down and touched the dewy grass just like before. Everything looked the same, except it felt different. Our clearing reminded me of the Great Forest, of Avalon, of my friends. It was like I never left Camelot.
Arthur grabbed the hilt of Excalibur and pulled it free from the stone. He started to sheath it but then stopped himself. "I am assuming Audri doesn't allow weapons in the house?"
I laughed weakly. "No, we can leave Excalibur, my cloak, and The Book of Sorcery here and return for them later." Arthur placed his sheath and Excalibur beside the stone while I placed the massive book aside and removed my cloak.
In moments we were looking like normal teenage boys from the twenty-first century again. The two of us began making our way toward my house when I stopped abruptly.
"Merlin, what's wrong?"
I released a shaky breath. "I feel like I haven't seen her in ages. I can't believe the last time I saw her we were fighting."
"Hey, it'll be all right. This is what you wanted, isn't it?"
"Of course it is."
"Then let's go." Arthur gave my shoulder a reassuring squeeze.
We continued to weave our way through the trees until we arrived in my backyard. Through the back window I could make out Audri's small form in front of the kitchen sink. I broke into a run.
I burst through the back door and halted in front of Audri, who nearly jumped out of her skin. She stared at me with wide eyes. She hadn't changed either. Her auburn hair was still held up in a neat bun but allowing a few strands to fall into her face. She was still wearing her police uniform, and her eyes were still the warm brown I remembered, eyes that never ceased to radiate kindness.
I probably looked insane to her―standing before her with wild eyes and tousled hair. But I didn't care. My arms were around her before she could even open her mouth to speak.
After a second of stunned silence Audri returned my embrace.
I could have remained that way for ages, wrapped in her comforting arms. But eventually Audri removed herself gently from my grasp and looked up at me in concern. "Jake, what's wrong? You're crying." She wiped a tear from my cheek with her thumb.
"It's just...I'm really happy to see you, that's all." My voice broke.
"Well...I'm happy to see you, too." She sounded confused.
I took a deep breath. "I'm so sorry for the way I reacted when you told me the truth about Arth—Alex. You were just trying to protect me."
Audri's eyes softened in understanding. "Yes, but you were right. I shouldn't have lied to you."
"Well, it doesn't really matter anymore." I stepped back from her and indicated Arthur, who was standing in the far corner of the kitchen looking extremely uncomfortable.
Her eyes widened.
Arthur stepped forward and gave her a nervous smile. "Hi, Ms. Williams. Jake tells me you are the one who saved our lives three years ago."
"He knows?" Audri glanced at me with fear in her eyes. "Are you two starting to get your memories back?"
"A little by little," Arthur answered. "But I can assure you we have no intentions of running off. Jake isn't going anywhere anytime soon."
I was a little shocked by the bluntness of his lie, but I understood why he did. He wanted to put Audri's mind at ease so she could enjoy whatever time we had remaining before I left her for good. I wouldn't have been able to lie to her―she always saw through my lies. But Arthur's persuasive skills were flawless and I could tell Audri was convinced.
She smiled at Arthur with relief. It was like all her feelings of hesitance toward him had vanished. "You've grown quite a bit in three years, Alex." Her eyes searched his face. Then she pointed to his cheek. "Was that scar there the last time I saw you?"
Arthur rubbed the scar Athalos had given him. "Err...I recently acquired it, Ms. Williams."
"You can call me Audri." She walked over to him and placed a hand on his arm. "And Alex, I apologize for my icy greeting the other day. I just want you to know that you are always welcome here." Her eyes shined with motherly affection.
"Thanks, Audri." I could tell those words meant a lot to him.
She turned back to me and reached up to sweep a lone lock of hair from my eyes. "I've got to run some errands, Jake. You boys stay out of trouble."
She gathered her purse and smiled at us one last time before leaving the kitchen.
Arthur and I exited out the back door again so we could retrieve our items from the clearing.
Arthur halted before we could head into the trees. "Merlin, when do you think we will return to Camelot?"
"Niamh said we will return when the time is right."
He didn't seem satisfied with that answer. "Right―I understand you want as much time as possible with Audri. And I'm sorry about that lie to her," he added. "But you know you'll eventually have to leave her and Bedford behind, right? Niamh isn't going to let us continue this forever."
"Thank you for the reminder." I started forward.
Arthur grabbed my arm. "Look, I know what Audri means to you. She's the closest thing to a mother that you've had since your village burned down. Just be grateful that you have someone like that and that you get more time with her."
I suddenly remembered that Arthur's parents were dead and he obviously wasn't eager to reunite with his adoptive parents. "You're right," I said, my voice dripping with guilt. "I am grateful."
A few minutes ago I had been overjoyed to be back with Audri. I didn't like the sudden mood change so I tried for a grin. "And do you know what else I'm grateful for?"
"What?"
"That we don't have to do Shortt's history project. Because it was due tomorrow."
Arthur couldn't help but laugh. "Race you to the clearing?"
"Loser gets turned into a toad."
With that, we dashed into the forest, all dismal thoughts replaced with the anticipation of reaching our clearing.
END OF BOOK ONE
BOOK TWO: THE RESILIENT STONE