We Could Be Heroes (Phoebus)

[Arthur]

With the school back up and running again Arthur had decided to take it upon himself to take a wander around the old building to see whether the old school could do with a few more defensive measures. The war in this place still played on his mind and he remembered how the school had been lost to them once before, he did not want that to happen again, not if they were going to be encouraging people around here. Oh sure it probably had its own magical defences and Merlin could no doubt add a few of his own, but still, when that failed, he wanted to make sure they had the best possible defence.

The courtyard was looking much better now, definitely a lot better since his sudden arrival, however as he stood in the middle of it he noted a few areas that could do with a little renovation. One of the walls had a thin crack along it which could be a weakness that might be exploited by their enemies. So too the grate down near the bottom of the wall.

What they really needed of course was an armoury and some proper security around the place, guards or something. However he didn’t think Merlin would be ok with that. The weapons might harm the books. But even just some sort of in house defence should the worst happen.

He was standing in front of the wall examining the crack in the wall when he heard footsteps behind him.

[Phoebus]

With the school and university officially up and running, Phoebus had signed up for some classes and made the decision to stay awhile. His reasons were threefold: 1 - the idea of bettering himself in some way before he returned home was extremely appealing, he'd have a whole world of opportunity opened to him that had been closed before. 2 - he hadn't met King Arthur yet, and he was still harbouring a hope that Arthur would love him, knight him, and take him back to Camelot to sit at the round table. And 3 - Elaine was still here. And Phoebus was pretty damn smitten.

Classes hadn't started yet, so Phoebus was taking the opportunity to try and get to know his way around the school a little better. But, he kept finding his way to the courtyard. Repeatedly. Over and over again - it didn't seem to matter which way he went or which corridor he turned down, he ended up back in the courtyard, with the now rather impressive fountain. Which he'd already admired fourteen times today.

He noticed someone nearby, and decided to swallow his pride and ask for help. He didn't even know where he wanted to go, he just knew he wanted to get away from the courtyard. He wondered if there was a spell that kept dragging him back here. Nothing would surprise him anymore.

"Excuse me," He called out to the other man, making his way over. "Sorry to interrupt your... staring at a wall... but I could use a hand. Do you know your way around this place at all?"

[Arthur]

At the sound of the other voice Arthur turned around, pulling his attention away from the wall for the moment, even smiling at little at the man’s comment. He had been so engrossed in how to go about remedying the structural blemish that he hadn’t even heard the man approach. So much for the great security advisor, can’t even tell when someone is coming up on him.

“Apologies, lost in my own thoughts there,” said Arthur, standing his ground for now, he pointed to the crack and added, “just trying to think of the best solution for getting rid of this, one well aimed canon and that wall will be useless.”

He smiled and said, “But yes, I do know my way around this place, or at least I did before so I’ll do my best to assist. What is it you are looking for? Or who?”

[Phoebus]

He shrugged, looking around at the courtyard. "To be honest, anywhere except here. This place seems to keep bringing me back to this courtyard - doesn't matter which turn I take - here I am."

He looked up at the wall, at the crack that the other man had indicated and frowned a little. "I met this guy, Merlin - maybe he could fix that with magic." He leaned forward and lowered his voice conspiratorially. "You know, he's the Merlin, the actual one from the legends. Isn't that incredible?" He gave a goofy grin. "This place is great - I met Lancelot Du Lac too. Amazing."

Straightening up, he offered the man his hand to shake. "Sorry - Sergeant Phoebus de Châteaupers at your service."

[Arthur]

“Yes, Merlin would probably be best placed,” said Arthur mulling it over.

The problem was that Merlin was already incredibly busy with getting the rest of the school up and running, would he had time to come and fix one tiny crack? Not to mention that if Arthur raised it with him and ‘why’ he was raising it within him then Merlin would probably just say he was being paranoid and didn’t the crack add to the whole aesthetic of the place.

Which is when his brain caught up with the rest of what the guy was saying. The Merlin? Lancelot Du Lac? He had a brief Kayleigh flashback. Ah. A fan. Or at least someone that knew the legends at least. That always worried Arthur a little bit, people who knew his story…or at least thought they knew the story. He was always so worried he was going to disappoint them.

“You met them then?” said Arthur with a smile, “What did you think?”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you Phoebus,” he said with a smile, reaching out and shaking the man’s hand, “or would you prefer Sergeant?”

He would maybe wait a bit before mentioning his own name…just in case…not everyone thought the King Arthur in the legend was a stand up guy…

[Phoebus]

A huge grin broke across his face at Arthur's question. "They were brilliant." He said, somewhat lamely. "I mean, you read the stories, you pretend to be King Arthur or Lancelot when you're playing knights as a kid, but how much do you really know the truth? Those guys, they could've written anything, and who could argue, right? But to actually meet them - wow." He ran a hand through his hair, a goofy grin lighting up his face. "I mean, Merlin is so young! And Lancelot?" Phoebus let out a low whistle. "He's just... he's brilliant. He sparred with me and it was like a childhood fantasy come to life. I'm kind of hoping he'll mentor me or something."

He was waffling again, but he didn't even care. He was really starting to love this place. "Just need to meet the man himself now, the big guy." He said with raised eyebrows. "Don't know what I'll do if I get to meet Arthur himself. Probably completely embarrass myself." He grinned.

He shook Arthur's hand firmly, shaking his head slightly. "Phoebus is fine. I don't suppose I'm much of a Sergeant here really anyway."

[Arthur]

You pretend to be King Arthur and Lancelot? He couldn’t help but smile at that, not in a mocking way of course, rather pleased actually. He was worth pretending to be like was he? Well this conversation was going to do absolutely nothing for his ego. Then again, he already had a painful reminder of what happens when one gets too close to a super fan…maybe that would help with the deflation of said ego a bit.

He had to fight hard to not laugh when he mentioned that Merlin was so young, it wasn’t the first time he had heard the ‘stories’ that Merlin was an old man with a beard but it cracked him up every time. Especially since one time one of Merlin’s spells went wrong and he did end up like a grumpy old man, he got better, well looks wise anyway, he had always been a grumpy old man on the inside. He also had to fight not to raise his eyebrows in surprise at the awe that was given to Lancelot. Arthur didn't mind Lancelot, he was a good knight and he made sure Gwen and Tristian was ok…but was really deserving of such hero worship? Apparently. Oh well, he supposed everyone had their favourites, made sense it wouldn’t always be hi-…

The big guy eh?

Arthur really couldn’t help the smile this time.

“Oh I doubt that very much, you have the look of a good solider about you and you’re making an excellent first impression. Trenale will always be in need of good men,” said Arthur, falling back into his ‘King’ tone, “and with Lancelot training I’m sure in no time at all you will have earned a place at the Round Table.”

[Phoebus]

The other man had an authoritative tone that told Phoebus he was definitely someone of some kind of importance, and Phoebus remembered what Merlin had told him about gods and deities, wondering if perhaps this guy was one of those. A greek god, or a hero from one of the stories or something - Hercules or Perseus or something. He considered asking, but again was back to wondering what the protocol was in this situation, was it offensive to ask someone if they were a god?

But then he was talking about the round table, as if he was more familiar with it than someone who had just read the stories like Phoebus had. Perhaps he was another knight like Lancelot, Gawain or Percy or Kay... Phoebus tried to think of a way to find out without asking outright.

"Well, thank you, I hope you're right. I'm not sure Sir Lancelot would agree about the first impression though - pretty sure I said some damn stupid things to him. It's a bit of a blur to be honest." He ran a hand through his long hair, figuring it was time to just ask. "I'm sorry, I don't think I caught your name?"

Gawain - I bet this guy is Gawain...

[Arthur]

“First introductions are always difficult, especially when speaking to someone you have read and heard so much about, believe me, we have all had that moment,” said Arthur smiling kindly, “however, if it makes you feel any better, Lancelot Du Lac didn’t exactly have a smooth first introduction either, so you’re in good company.”

In truth, Arthur could barely remember the first time he had met Lancelot (the fact there was two normally just gave him a headache so he ignored it), it seemed nowadays that the man had always been a part of their lives. Oh they had their disagreements and he was certain that the man held some resentment towards his ‘official’ marriage to Guinevere but he was a good knight. And Camelot needed good knights.

“Oh, right, yes,” said Arthur, deciding that it was time to put the poor man out of his misery, “I’m Arthur.”

[Phoebus]

He chuckled, not entirely believing that Lancelot wasn’t the smoothest and most charismatic person in the world in all his encounters - even having met him - although it did help to think that perhaps Phoebus wasn’t completely alone in his dorkiness, and that perhaps there was even more in common between the two of them than he’d hoped.

He opened his mouth to say as much, when the other man finally gave him his name. And if you though Phoebus was a dork when he met Lancelot, well, you ain’t seen nothing yet.

His mouth fell open and his eyes widened, staring at Arthur as if he had a shark head. This... this was him. The man himself, the legendary king of his bedtime stories. Phoebus didn’t entirely know what to do - having not known who he was talking to he’d managed to give the impression of being fairly together, and he desperately didn’t want to ruin that, but there was little chance of that.

He dropped to his knee, beating his fist against his breast so hard he winded himself. Coughing, eyes watering, he managed to sputter out a “my liege”, before he rubbed his eyes with one hand and massaged his probably bruised chest with his other. He kept his head bowed, staying on his knee as he spoke to the great king.

“It is truly an honour my liege, I’m literally your biggest fan - I mean, if you can be a fan of a king - wait this isn’t going well - erm, you are amazing, I mean you are literally the stuff of legends! This is the best day of my life - I think this beats meeting Lance, although he did spar with me... will you? No, wait that sounds like I want to fight you and I don’t, I mean, you’re the king...” he paused for breath and cringed. “Don’t, have me beheaded, please...”

[Arthur]

Arthur had intended to return the conversation to the defence of the school and various other improvements that could be made; given the man was a soldier this seemed appropriate and frankly, he was a little done hearing about how wonderful Lancelot was. He got enough of that from the people in Camelot and the Summer Country. However, then the other man dropped to his knee and started beat his chest in what looked like a very painful manner. Raising his eyebrows in surprise, he stepped forward and held out his hand to help the man back to his feet and said, “Are you al-”

Which is when, after coughing a bit, Phoebus began his rambling.

He tried to interject at points but the man seemed to be on a roll and besides he couldn’t help but enjoy the flattery. Merlin and Gwen worked so hard to keep his ego in check, this wasn’t going to make their jobs easier. Might be better than Lance eh? Well he was going to have to make sure of that.

Continuing with his original intention he reached forward a hand outstretched for the man to take, to help him to his feet, “Please, whilst we are here in Tintagel, call me Arthur, and no I’m not going to have you beheaded…I don’t think I’ve ever had anyone beheaded actually. When you have a wizard on stand by you can come up with all sorts of interesting alternatives.”

Still smiling warmly at him he said, “and I will gladly spar with you, there is plenty of space to do so here if you wish?”

[Phoebus]

Looking up as Arthur offered his hand, Phoebus took it a little shakily, allowing Arthur to pull him back to his feet. He stood staring at Arthur, not realising quite how gormless he probably looked, but unable to change the mouth-slightly-open-staring-in-awe expression that he had on his face. His eyes widened at Arthur's suggestion that he used Merlin's magic as an alternative to beheadings, and while he desperately wanted to ask what sorts of things they did, he managed to swallow the question - probably for the first and last time in his life.

He was pretty sure he was never going to be able to call the man simply 'Arthur' though. He shook his head a little at the suggestion, stammering a little as he spoke. "N-no, no I can't, you're King Arthur I can't just call you... that. It would be disrespectful to your name and legend and legacy and... erm, no. No, thank you, but I can't do that, my liege."

He had a brief thought, as he realised that 'my liege' was probably not the correct way to address the king either, but he pushed the thought away. He knew that by calling Arthur his liege he was pledging his allegiance - allegiance he technically owed to France and his actual king. But he didn't care - he'd choose Arthur over Charles every time.

When Arthur offered to spar, he thought his head might actually explode and he stammered again, so far into his fanboy hysteria that there was a good chance he'd never actually be able to form a complete sentence again. Which was going to be a significant problem when he followed through on his plans to woo the Lady Elaine.

"R-really? You'd spar with me? Here? Now? Seriously?"

[Arthur]

In the past few years he had met a few ‘starry eyed’ knights arriving in Camelot looking to meet the great King Arthur. However that was usually in a formal court setting, where both and the knight in question would be adhering to all the usual etiquette…but this was Tintagel…and in this informal setting it as much harder to keep a straight face. It was also much harder not to let all this flattery go to his head. He would need to find Merlin later on and have him deflate it a bit with a few well placed snarky comments.

“Honestly, Arthur is fine,” he said with a grin, “You’ll find that around here a lot of the titles get dropped, it’s not a lack of respect though. It’s more that this place allows us all to stand as equals, to do things we wouldn’t normally be able too, although I do appreciate the sentiment. Camelot would definitely be enriched by having someone like yourself amongst the ranks of my knights.”

What was it with people wanting to fight him? Not that he minded all that much, he loved a good sparring session and he so rarely got to actually partake of a decent one. He was well aware that when training with his knights they tended to hesitate when facing him, even Gawain held back which had been surprising. In the end he could only count on Lancelot, Sir Lucan of the Summer Country or even Gwen to give him a decent session, and they all had their own responsibilities. Most of his fighting was done on the battlefield these days, or when the mood took him, competing ‘anonymously’ in the tournaments. The Summer Country Tourney’s were always the best, as knights came from all over to become the Queen’s Champion and they fought tooth and nail to achieve it, despite knowing that Lancelot would always win. Arthur had competed the first couple of years for appearances sake before relinquishing to the French knight.

“I would be happy too,” said Arthur, “so long as you give me a decent fight, no holding back, I want to see what you’re made of after all, see if you’re Camelot material.”

He looked down and said, “however in order to do that you will have to give me back my hand.”

[Phoebus]

Arthur could have issued a direct order to Phoebus there and then that he had to call him Arthur, and Phoebus still wouldn't have been able to obey. His mind raced as he tried to think of something he could call Arthur that was at least a few steps below my liege but wasn't anything so informal as his actual name. Apart from anything else, Phoebus wasn't entirely sure he'd actually be able to say the name without stuttering while he was in Arthur's presence. He settled on 'sir', and was about to say so when he realised what Arthur had just said.

Among the ranks of his knights? As in, Phoebus himself, a Knight of the Round Table? Now that was definitely something that had been missing from his story books. His imagination had been full of that idea, but that was back when he thought Arthur was, at best, a long dead king, at worst, an elaborate figment of someone's imagination. But now the man was standing in front of him, suggesting Phoebus himself might make a decent knight of Camelot.

He honestly thought he was going to faint.

He managed to pull himself together just in time for Arthur to repeat his offer of a spar, and he was genuinely worried he was about to swoon in front of the other man. His eyes snapped down to where he was still gripping Arthur's hand and he visibly cringed, quickly releasing it and giving Arthur a sheepish look. "Sorry. It's not every day you meet your heroes, right?" He said with a small smile.

Taking a step back, Phoebus prepared himself to spar with a bubble of excitement growing in his chest. A chance to show King Arthur what he was made of? He was not going to throw away this shot. Luckily he hadn't quite settled into the habits of Tintagel yet, and although he was no longer wearing armour everywhere he went, he still carried his sword, and he unsheathed it now, giving Arthur a slightly concerned look.

"Er, my lie- Sir? Are you sure about this?" He did not want to be the idiot soldier who injured King Arthur by sparring with a recently sharpened sword.

[Arthur]

It’s not every day you meet your heroes? He really was going to have to be careful not to let this all go to his head

“I suppose not,” he said with a smile, “then again, I would prepare yourself here in Tingtagel, you never know who you are going to meet next.”

Arthur drew his sword and took up his position in the courtyard, facing the other man, and watching as he too began to ready himself. The other man had clearly had some training given the way he was holding himself and of course the armour. Although armour was never really a perfect indication that someone could fight, actually most of the time it wasn’t. He had not arrived in his armour when he was unceremoniously dumped back at the school, however thankfully he never went anywhere without Excalibur.

However…for this particular fight…maybe it would be best not to use the fancy swords…then again…maybe Phoebus would prefer.

“I am sure, although I shall allow you to pick what we spar with,” he said dropping his stance for a moment, “swords, staffs or fists?”