"This has to be the weirdest drive ever."
I glanced around the car.
"Two princesses, one prince, a daemon, and an Incarnus."
I smirked. "This would make quite the road trip."
"I want to go on a road trip," Alisax said, looking genuinely excited as she sat to my left.
Elaine glanced at her from the other side.
"Never thought I'd hear a daemon say that."
Despite the three of us crammed into the back seat, it wasn't particularly uncomfortable.
Well, apart from the hidden daggers poking me every time Alisax shifted.
I frowned.
"How come Phoebe gets to ride shotgun?"
Morgan didn't even look back. "Because you know why."
"Favoritism?"
"Lady Phoebe is an Incarnus. Offering her shotgun is the least I could do."
Morgan then glanced toward Phoebe.
"I hope you are comfortable, Lady Phoebe?"
Phoebe blinked as she looked away from the sights of the city.
"Yes, I am."
Her reply was as blunt as ever.
I narrowed my eyes.
"Phoebe, you can appear anywhere you want. Surely, teleporting to the Crystal Palace would've been easier than riding in this car?"
"But I've never been in a car," she replied simply.
She glanced back at me, her empty eyes somehow brimming with curiosity.
"I wanted to be in one."
I don't know why, but I suddenly felt guilty.
"Sure."
I shifted awkwardly in my seat.
"Enjoy the ride."
Phoebe settled comfortably into her seat.
"This is a very comfortable ride."
Morgan smiled.
"I am glad to know you are comfortable."
"Not something I could say for myself, though."
Morgan's smile faded as she glared at me and Elaine through her sunglasses.
"Are you two out of your minds?"
I tilted my head.
"Well. I am diagnosed as mentally unstable and am about to start a recovery program."
"And I was depressed with a healthy dash of trauma," Elaine added drily.
"You know what I mean."
Morgan suddenly accelerated, shifting into a higher gear with considerably more force than necessary.
She glanced at Elaine through the rearview mirror.
"You think a duel is going to correct your ways?"
Elaine frowned. "Bugger off, Morgan. It's my decision."
"And she was quite insistent," I added. "She even tried to rile me up."
"You're not helping, Mordred!" Morgan retorted.
"Of course he's helping!" Elaine snapped. "Mordred's the only one who's ever been helpful!"
Morgan's hands tightened around the steering wheel.
"What exactly do you mean by that?"
Elaine didn't back down.
"I've been a major troublemaker for years. I've sent people to the hospital in critical condition, and what happened?"
She gestured toward herself.
"Nothing."
Morgan's expression hardened. "That isn't true. There were consequences."
"Oh, yeah?"
Elaine leaned forward slightly.
"And what were they? Confining me to my room? Cutting my allowance? Taking away my privileges?"
Her voice grew sharper.
"Gee, Morgan. They really helped straighten me out."
"Then what was I supposed to do?" Morgan snapped. "Beat you black and blue?"
"Yes!"
Elaine's answer came instantly.
"Make me face the consequences! Make me understand that there was a line I couldn't cross!"
The anger in her voice faltered for a moment.
"But nobody did."
Silence.
Elaine looked down at her hands.
"You all kept trying to fix me without ever making me stop."
Morgan's jaw tightened. "We tried to help you."
"I know."
Elaine looked at her.
"And that's the problem."
Her voice was quieter now.
"You kept trying to help me. Nobody ever stopped me."
Morgan didn't answer.
Elaine's expression hardened again.
"Mordred was sent to the Shield because he attacked three heirs. I crippled a whole lot of important people."
She stared straight ahead.
"So why wasn't I sent to Blood Valley?"
Silence enveloped the car.
The question lingered in the air long after Elaine had asked it.
I said nothing.
But the words remained in my mind.
Why had Arthur sent me to the Tear when Elaine had done worse?
Was it because of Merlin's prophecy?
Was there something about me that Arthur had feared more than anything Elaine could have done?
Morgan's voice broke through my thoughts.
"I don't know, Elaine."
There was something almost distraught in her voice.
"I was angry at Father because of that."
She swallowed.
"When I confronted him, he said nothing."
That answer didn't surprise me.
It bothered me.
As the gates to the Royal Square came into view, Morgan slowed the car.
She glanced at Elaine through the rearview mirror.
"Are you sure about this, Elaine?"
Elaine met her gaze.
There was no hesitation in her eyes.
"I am."
Morgan sighed.
"Very well."
She looked back at the road.
"I'll talk to Mother."
For a moment, nobody said anything.
Then Morgan glanced toward Phoebe and Alisax with a weary, apologetic smile.
"I am very sorry you had to listen to that, Lady Phoebe and Miss Alisax."
Alisax smiled calmly.
"It's fine, Princess. I've heard worse outbursts."
She tilted her head.
"You do not want to be caught between two Lumini commanders with differing opinions."
Phoebe merely nodded.
"It's okay."
I glanced at them.
Somehow, they were the least bothered people in the entire car.
*******
"You are suffocating me, Gawain."
I croaked as my brother enveloped me in a tight embrace.
"I know," he said softly, tears falling on my shirt. "And I'm not going to let you go."
"I lost you once," he said, his voice cracked. "I'm scared that if I let go, you will disappear again."
His words hit me hard, but they didn't crush me.
If I hadn't fallen into the Tear and been subjected to Lilith's twisted affections, I would've been a bit more emotional.
Now I simply feel sad, and a little guilty for subjecting Gawain to such grief.
I was, after all, the only sibling he had left who shared the same mother.
Hearing my 'death' must've affected him more than it affected Guinevere.
His arms tightened around me.
For a moment, I didn't know what to say.
I had imagined seeing Gawain again countless times during my years in the Shield.
Sometimes I imagined him laughing.
Sometimes I imagined him scolding me.
Sometimes I imagined nothing at all.
I never imagined him crying.
"I'm sorry, Gawain," I said softly.
"Don't you dare apologize." he let go of me and gave me a tearful smile. "I'm bloody elated that you are alive and well."
My lips curved into a smile. "I heard you ditched your instructor in Lyris as soon as you heard the news."
Wiping his tears, Gawin chuckled. "I'm going to be in so much trouble once I return."
He grinned. "Perhaps I should take you along with me to show the proof to my instructor."
We laughed, and I felt my wounded soul slowly regain its light for a moment.
This moment between my brother and me felt refreshing and even felt like a healing moment.
As we calmed down, Gawain's gaze shifted to Alisax, who was standing behind me.
He stepped closer.
"I was told about you, Miss Alisax. You saved my brother."
He nodded.
"I am indebted to you. Thank you."
Alisax nodded back. "Your brother helped me and my queen greatly. For that, I am eternally grateful to him."
"Ah, yes." Gawain turned to Phoebe, who was staring outside the window.
He bowed his head. "I, Gawain Pendragon, pay my reverence to the Incarnus of Lux, Phoebe of the Restoration."
Phoebe looked at him and tilted her head. "I've been getting a lot of reverence recently."
She paused.
"I don't know what to feel about it."
I looked at my brother.
"Gawain," I called him. "Morgan said that you're not the only one who arrived at the palace while we were out."
A long-forgotten ache stirred within me, carrying a faint and almost frightening sense of hope.
Gawain turned to me with a gentle smile. "You go ahead, Mordred. I want to know a lot from Lady Phoebe and Miss Alisax.
I looked at them both, and they nodded in approval.
"Go on, Mordred," Alisax said, while Phoebe watched silently.
I slowly turned around. "I'll be right back."
And with that, I was off.
The ache in my chest grew with every step.
The more I walked, the more my anxiety and anticipation grew.
"Calm down, my love," Hallucination Iris remarked as she walked right beside me, skipping playfully as I strode through the many corridors and hallways of the Crystal Palace.
Each section looked even more impressive than the last.
I passed paintings and fireplaces, occasionally pausing to read the helpful holographic maps of the palace to get my bearings.
After a few minutes of walking, I reached a fireplace surrounded by comfortable sofas.
I stopped in my tracks.
My heart pounded as my gaze fell upon her.
She was curled up on one of the sofas like a cat, her black hair spilling over her shoulders like a stream of darkness that faded into bright blue at the ends, almost glowing in the firelight.
The flames cast a soft glow across her fair face, while the black coat she wore steadily rose and fell with each sleepy breath.
I took a step forward.
My hands trembled and so did my breath.
My heart hammered against my ribs.
"My, I look quite stunning," Hallucination Iris murmured as she beheld the sight of the real deal.
Memories of the last time I had seen her flashed through my mind.
A sweet yet distant smile.
A gaze that struggled to find me among the fragments of her memories.
The real Iris stirred.
Her eyelids fluttered open, revealing bright blue eyes that sparkled with an achingly familiar mischief.
She slowly sat herself up, letting out a yawn before stretching like a feline.
Then her gaze fell upon me.
It locked onto mine.
Her piercing gaze struck me deep, resonating somewhere inside me that I had thought long forgotten.
My hallucination smiled.
"Looks like this is my cue to leave."
She faded away.
The real Iris Lefay kept her gaze on me, a smile slowly forming on her beautiful lips.
I felt a familiar tingle on mine.
A ghost of a kiss that I myself had nearly forgotten.
"Iris," I whispered.
She tilted her head.
That signature smile remained on her lips.
There was no confusion in her eyes.
At least, none that I could see.
I didn't know what she felt.
All I knew was that she was standing before me again.
Then she spoke.
"Hey there, Your Highness."