𝐂𝗁𝖺𝗉𝗍𝖾𝗋 𝗍𝗐𝖾𝗇𝗍𝗒-𝗇𝗂𝗇𝖾ㅤㅤㅤ───ㅤㅤㅤ𝖿𝖺𝖼𝗍𝗎𝗆 𝖿𝗂𝖾𝗋𝗂 𝗂𝗇𝖿𝖾𝖼𝗍𝗎𝗆
ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ𝗇𝗈𝗇 𝗉𝗈𝗍𝖾𝗌𝗍.
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ㅤㅤㅤSOLAMON OBSERVED CLOSELY as the Time Map showed different timelines of her own story; in most of them, she appeared alone, which wasn't very surprising, considering that's how she spent her last nine hundred years of life. However, some of them amused her by how many people appeared smiling with her, as if they where taking a picture. The Time Map changed from blue to red multiple times, to a point that it didn't even scare her anymore, she was starting to get used to it.

ㅤㅤㅤThe false knight sighed, wondering if the red light ment a timeline being erased rather than a "bad timeline", as she thought before.

ㅤㅤㅤAs if sensing her gloomy state, Hisirdoux closed the Time Map before walking around the table, away from the fairy as she frowned at him; Sol wasn't particularly interested in paying attention to what they were saying at the moment, but it seemed Hisirdoux was willing to force her to do it so they could all come up with a solution together.

ㅤㅤㅤ"Morgana tried to help me save Jim," Claire started to speak, making the teens turn to her; Izzet became sad for the girl, as she recognized her tone of voice as worry, guilt. "but all I saw was anger and darkness."

ㅤㅤㅤClaire frowned, putting her hand over a drawing on Morgana's book; the silhouette of the Dark Lady herself, it seemed. "We share the same magic. What does that say about me?"

ㅤㅤㅤSilence was her first response, Sol expected Ezekiel or Hisirdoux to say something, but both of them were occupied with something else - Ezekiel was trying to calm Steve down as he sobbed quietly, Sol didn't know why he was crying and she could care less about the boy, and Hisirdoux was still walking around the workshop, trying to organize his thoughts -. Althought she wasn't very good with words, Solamon felt obliged to say something.

ㅤㅤㅤ"Nothing. It says nothing about you, Claire. Remember Veronica Baudin? She was a user of the Dark- Shadow Magic." she was quick to correct herself, as the title "Dark Magic" didn't seem very proper at the moment. "And she was an amazing spellcaster."

ㅤㅤㅤ"Yeah, but..." Sol sighed loudly, interrupting Claire before the girl could irritate her with her infuriating stubbornness.

ㅤㅤㅤ"Sharing the same magic with someone does not mean you have the same beliefs." the girl finally got up from near the table, walking with confidence to where Claire was standing to put a hand over her shoulder.

ㅤㅤㅤThe girl smiled weakly, enough to make Sol grin; she was more than happy when Claire's aura brightened up a bit, though the girl was too shy to show herself more happy than that. Turning her face to look at Hisirdoux, she caught him smiling at her and her friend and became confused. He showed her his thumb and turned back to Archie after that, leaving her even more confused.

ㅤㅤㅤ"What- what was that?" she frowned, whispering to Claire as the girl giggled quietly.

ㅤㅤㅤ"It was a thumbs up. I think he appreciated the fact that you helped me out a bit just now." Claire whispered back before smirking. "You guys got close again really fast, huh?"

ㅤㅤㅤ"I... suppose so, yes. Hisirdoux didn't change much, and I think I didn't, either. It's only natural that we go back to being friends again so fast." Sol crossed her arms, shrugging.

ㅤㅤㅤ"Yeah, friends, sure. And about that "Yes, love" he said to you, have anything to comment on it?" Sol gasped slightly, she didn't expect Claire to have heard what they were talking to each other inside the chambers.

ㅤㅤㅤ"Oh, no. He used to call me that all the time when we were both still Merlin's apprentices."

ㅤㅤㅤ"Oh, did he?" she wiggled her eyebrows, making Sol roll her eyes in response to her teasing.

ㅤㅤㅤ"Camelot is in chaos and Arthur is without his blessed weapon to defend it." Merlin got in the room, saving Sol from any more teasing that Claire wished to do to her. The fairy was quick to put the voice sphere inside her own mouth as past Hisirdoux and Sol got in the room, both carrying big scrolls in their arms.

ㅤㅤㅤ"What's the big deal? Can't he just buy a new one?" Steve stood up, cleaning his runny nose as he spoke; it seemed as Ezekiel managed to calm him down enough for him to stop crying, Sol was starting to see him more as the Palchuk's babysitter than anything else.

ㅤㅤㅤ"Without Excalibur, Arthur cannot lead Camelot to war against Gunmar." Merlin frowned at the boy, making him cower the same way he did when Sol glared at him before. She was happy to know she could be as intimidating to the Master Wizard - at least to the blond idiot -.

ㅤㅤㅤ"Which would mean the end of humanity." Archie explained as he jumped up on Merlin's table, future Hisirdoux followed him, standing by Sol's side as she avoided showing her face to their pasts selves and Merlin.

ㅤㅤㅤ"And our future." the teen completed, frowning in worry. "I'll never get us home."

ㅤㅤㅤ"And I'll never save Jim." Claire hugged her book, sighing in despair. After a moment, she frowned, her eyes lighting up as she smiled unconsciously at Hisirdoux. "But we can fix this, right Douxie?"

ㅤㅤㅤSol frowned, not enjoying the way all of them relied too much on Hisirdoux for the fact that he was the older teen there. She opened her mouth to say something, but a heavy sigh made her turn to her old self before she could help her friend.

ㅤㅤㅤHer eyes widened at old Sol's blushed face; the non-human girl was smiling widely and rocking back and forth in place, staring directly at her.

ㅤㅤㅤ"Uhh... are you okay?" she tried to hide her face with her hands, though Solamon was sure the helmet's shadow was hiding it enough. She spoke quietly, not wishing to disturb the others as they spoke about the serious matter that was the fact that they changed the past.

ㅤㅤㅤ"Yes, yes I am." Sol cringed at her past self's response, she forgot how strong her accent could be when she wasn't truly trying to force herself to speak like other humans. "I just forgot to thank you for saving me that day."

ㅤㅤㅤ"Oh, no, there's no need to thank me." she chuckled awkwardly, pushing past Sol by the shoulders so she would stand next to past Hisirdoux and far away from herself. The false knight turned to the moppet and tilted her body to the side so she could whisper something that only he would hear. "Please keep her away from me."

ㅤㅤㅤThe boy chuckled at that, finding it amusing that the knight wished for him to keep his odd friend away from him. He nodded in response, making Sol sigh before she walked back to stand by Hisirdoux's side once more.

ㅤㅤㅤ"Come on, we're leaving!" the apprentice excitedly pulled her by the hand as Merlin shouted orders to past Douxie, calling out for Sol so she would go along with them somewhere. She frowned, confused on what was happening. He sighed at her lack of reaction, smiling slightly. "Let me guess, you didn't pay attention to what we were saying."

ㅤㅤㅤ"No, I was too busy dealing with a wild fairy. Was it important?" Hisirdoux frowned at her deep voice; it was weird how he never expected her voice to sound like that, even after seeing her put the voice sphere inside her mouth.

ㅤㅤㅤ"Oh, Lord, I'm still not used to that voice- it was important, yes. We're going to help Merlin fix Excalibur." he smiled, almost running as they found their way through the castle with Merlin and the kids.

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ㅤㅤㅤSol sighed as she joined the teens at the side of the ship, watching her surroundings with amusement. She tried her best to ignore past' Solamon's stare from where she was standing, but it was almost impossible to do so. After Hisirdoux was done talking to Claire, he seemed to notice it too.

ㅤㅤㅤ"Hey... do you think your past self is suspicious of you? She's staring so intensely!" he frowned after whispering out to her, worried about what would happen if past Sol found out that the no-winged knight was herself.

ㅤㅤㅤ"No. That is not it. I... I think she may have a crush on me." Sol tried to hide her face on her own hands as she blushed in embarrassment for having to say that out loud.

ㅤㅤㅤ"Wha-" Hisirdoux was about to laugh, but stopped at the last moment after Izzet glared at him.

ㅤㅤㅤ"I can explain! It's just that... we never became close friends here, apparently, so when I saved myself from Morgana's shadow, it was the first moment someone in Camelot showed any kind of sympathy for old Sol, and... why are you looking at me like that?" Sol frowned, only now noticing the way Hisirdoux's eyebrows were curved down in an expression she didn't recognize.

ㅤㅤㅤ"It's just that... when you say it like that, I feel even worse for what happened back then- I mean... well... now, to the past you."

ㅤㅤㅤ"Oh, don't pity me, Douxie." she waved her hand, dismissing his words. "Like I said before, having you as my friend was something I adored-"

ㅤㅤㅤ"You never said that." he interrupted the fairy, smiling slightly.

ㅤㅤㅤ"...Oh. Huh. Anyway-" Sol ignored Hisirdoux as he giggled at her lack of reaction. "What I am trying to say is that your friendship kept me from going crazy inside the castle that I called my prison. In my true past, you were kind of my savior, just like I was for old Sol here. I can never thank you enough for that, my dear."

ㅤㅤㅤSol smiled at her friend, and he seemed to be caught by surprise at that. She watched silently as his face became red and his expression turned from shocked, to confused, to embarrased and then to a weird - somehow happy - one.

ㅤㅤㅤ"Past Sol probably feels helpless now because she was captured and any kind of sympathy would come as if one had second intentions, no matter who it was." she mumbled more and more, but Hisirdoux didn't look like he was paying attention to what she was saying.

ㅤㅤㅤ"Oh, fuzz buckets..." he frowned, turning away from her as if he had realized something.

ㅤㅤㅤ"What? Is something wrong?" she became self conscious about what she had done; had she said something to make him uncomfortable, somehow? Sol tried to remember her words, but she couldn't capture anything that may have seemed rude or weird.

ㅤㅤㅤBefore he could respond to his friend, however, Steve and Ezekiel stood by their side to watch the the water from close, the dark haired boy seemed much more tense than the rest of them; Ezekiel was afraid to fall off, he was never in a boat before and it was scary.

ㅤㅤㅤ"I try to avoid water." Archie sat by Ezekiel's side over the balustrade, carefully watching the water as if expecting something to jump out at any moment. The familiar spoke to Ezekiel in particular, assuming he disliked water as much as he did.

ㅤㅤㅤ"Personally, I always pack my swimsuit." Steve bragged, cleaning his nose not so politely. Both Sol and Douxie's face twisted in disgust; it was strange how teens these days had become so improper with their manners. "Extra-personally, it's actually my birthday suit."

ㅤㅤㅤ"Are you serious?" Ezekiel was the only one who laughed at his disgusting revelation, the boy seemed less scared of falling off now that he had something else to pay attention to; that seemed to be Steve's intentions from the start, as he smiled widely and shrugged, turning to the boy to tell him more about the silly swimsuit he was wearing.

ㅤㅤㅤSolamon couldn't help but to smile at that, it was nice that Ezekiel had a friend to help him deal with all that madness, even if Steve was an idiot most of the time. She knew how important it was to have a friend that could understand your situation. With that thought, the ginger immediately turned to Hisirdoux and found him already looking at her with a soft smile. The apprentice cleared his throat and turned away, embarrassed for getting caught.

ㅤㅤㅤ"Woah, it's a ship graveyard!" Steve pointed out, putting his hand over Ezekiel's shoulder to turn him around so he could see it.

ㅤㅤㅤ"We've arrived." Merlin's voice came from behind the teens.

ㅤㅤㅤ"Finally!" past Sol groaned, stretching her arms out lazily before glancing at the false knight to see if she caught their attention with her exaggerated moves, trying to show off; she wasn't exactly the strongest fairy, but Sol took pride of her poorly defined muscles that were shown by her short puffed sleeves.

ㅤㅤㅤFuture Sol snorted, finding the fact that her past self was trying to draw her attention rather amusing.

ㅤㅤㅤ"Huh. The Lady of the Lake is real! I thought she was just a myth." Claire crossed her arms, approaching future Solamon as she spoke to talk to her from close.

ㅤㅤㅤ"Oh no, the Lady is very much real. Though only Merlin is allowed to meet with her..." Hisirdoux's face lighten up, a happy smile slowly making it's presence noticeable on his face. "Till now."

ㅤㅤㅤ"Because her power is beyond your comprehension." as Merlin spoke, their boat got closer and closer from the shore until the sand stopped it from moving any further.

ㅤㅤㅤ"Is she really all that?" both Sol's questioned, doubting that any powerful creature would be hidden from the world like that. Past Sol giggled for speaking at the same time as the false knight, but the future one only rolled her eyes.

ㅤㅤㅤ"It was from her mystic waters I helped Arthur first retrieve Excalibur and unite the kingdom." the fairies hummed as he spoke, truly interested to see another magical creature like themselves.

ㅤㅤㅤArchibald jumped off the balustrade and transformed into his dragon form, flying away from the boat to guide everyone else out. Sol looked around curiously, the place didn't seem to have any other living being, but she still felt the strong magical aura of two other creatures somewhere there.

ㅤㅤㅤThey followed Merlin and Archie close, too afraid to get lost in the darkness, and Sol helped Ezekiel to get up on a higher ground as her past self scoffed, angry for not having thought of pretenting to need help there too.

ㅤㅤㅤ"Hisirdoux, the sword please." Merlin didn't bother to look at his apprentice as he spoke, he walked ahead of the rest of them as Sol did her best to stay far away from her past self, though it didn't help that the ginger was following her around like a lost puppy.

ㅤㅤㅤ"Yeah! Quest, quest, quest- c'mon Ezekiel!" Steve whispered out to his friend before going back to chanting the word "quest" multiple times, Ezekiel copied him, though in a much more quiet tone.

ㅤㅤㅤ"Watch the ship, I shall return shortly." Merlin's phrase made Hisirdoux's excited smile go away in a second.

ㅤㅤㅤ"What?! We have to wait in the car?" Steve frowned, moving his sword around dramatically and making Ezekiel step back to not get hit by it.

ㅤㅤㅤ"But... I thought we were doing this together..." Hisirdoux's sad tone of voice made Sol sigh in distress; she, too, was hoping to be a part of Merlin's quest to at least distract herself a little bit - thinking of her family was stressing her out, she didn't know if they were safe now that their killer was no longer alive to do them any harm, she still had The Arcane Order to think about and their plans to help Morgana -.

ㅤㅤㅤ"You should be thanking me." Merlin's words made Solamon's blood boil, she forgot how the old man could irritate her; nowadays he was always so sweet to her it was hard to believe he even was such a jerk in the past. "I got you out of Camelot. Arthur's unstable and the people are afraid."

ㅤㅤㅤAs he spoke, the old man got closer to Hisirdoux, he failed to make his apprentice cower as he planed to do with his strong voice, instead, the young man frowned and moved the broken piece of Excalibur away from him.

ㅤㅤㅤ"I thought you trusted me." Sol could tell by his tone that Hisirdoux was sad, disappointed even, about the situation; he was so excited to go along with Merlin there it was impossible not to be sad with him.

ㅤㅤㅤ"I won't just sit here without making things right!" he continued after Merlin groaned, clearly expecting his apprentice to be insistent. His words made the master wizard frown before he immediately responded the boy.

ㅤㅤㅤ"And I will not lose another apprentice!" Merlin's words truly made Izzet shocked, she was so worried about changing the past that she forgot to think how Merlin would feel with Morgana's death; as much as they fought a lot, he still cared about the princess. Sol felt horrible for not thinking how heartbreaking it was for Merlin to lose someone special to him like that.

ㅤㅤㅤMorgana had no proper burial, there was no body for them to bury, after all. Sol refused to even imagine how bad it was to lose someone in your life for them to be so unimportant to everyone else and be forgotten so easily.

ㅤㅤㅤHisirdoux's face was one of shock too, he wasn't expecting Merlin to snap like that, before he sighed, feeling empathetic for his master.

ㅤㅤㅤMerlin looked down, he seemed like he wanted to say something else, but gave up at the last moment, taking the Excalibur piece by force before walking ahead to enter the cave.

ㅤㅤㅤMerlin stopped in front of two big faces engraved on the stone, they both blinked after a magic wave hit them, probably coming from Merlin himself.

ㅤㅤㅤ "Who dares to disturb my slumb-" oh. So that's where the magic auras came from. Solamon sighed in relief, happy that she wouldn't have to fight any creatures that she thought could be hiding there somewhere.

ㅤㅤㅤ"It's me, Merlin." the master wizard interrupted the left stone and the right one turned it's eyes to look at the wizard as he frowned at them, the eyes of the left one followed shortly. "Open up you idiots."

ㅤㅤㅤ"Oh, it is you! All right, walk in." both the stones went back and to the side, opening the path for Merlin. The wizard looked back once before walking in.

ㅤㅤㅤClaire tried to hold Hisirdoux after he started to run to get in the cave in time, but he easily dodged her to run for it. The stones closed before he could step in, however, and Sol sighed as they made fun of her friend for not managing to get in.

ㅤㅤㅤ"Causa crepitoose!" he tried to open them by force with a strong spell, but the stones didn't move an inch after they were hit.

ㅤㅤㅤIt seemed as they would have to wait there for a while.

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ㅤㅤㅤSol sighed, lost in thought as she sat down on a rock, watching Hisirdoux as he built a pile of twigs to make a fire pit. He sighed before he sat down near Sol. The fairy tried to console him by putting a hand on his back, but he barely paid any attention to her, looking around in search of past Solamon; she had offered to help him find some twigs to build the fire pit and was taking a little too long to come back.

ㅤㅤㅤ"Do you think past Sol is alright? She's taking a little while to come back."

ㅤㅤㅤ"I am sure she's alright, dear." he trembled softly with her words, though Sol didn't understand why; probably because he was surprised by the sound of her normal voice, she had taken the voice sphere out of her mouth only seconds before and it possibly went unnoticed by the boy. "She was trained to be a warrior to protect our family, Solamon Izzet can defend herself, you know?"

ㅤㅤㅤ"Solamon Izzet..." Sol tried not to think much of it, but it was rare for Hisirdoux to say her whole name, it sounded nice coming from him. "Is Izzet your surname?"

ㅤㅤㅤ"What is a surname?" she frowned, tilting her head to the side.

ㅤㅤㅤ"Oh- um... it's like a second name, one that you share with the rest of your family to know where you're from and who your ancestors were." he explained, moving his hands around as he spoke, but avoiding eye contact with the ginger.

ㅤㅤㅤ"Oh. Well, then no. Izzet is not my surname." she spoke, the way he spoke her whole name a few seconds ago wouldn't get out of her mind for a while, it seemed.

ㅤㅤㅤ"Solamon Izzet. It's a nice name, does it mean something?" Sol sighed after he repeated her name; was the boy trying to kill her? She sure felt like she was dying, her face felt hot in embarassment and there were a million butterflies flying around inside her stomach, Sol didn't remember exactly when she had ate living butterflies.

ㅤㅤㅤ"Well... I am not sure, to be honest. My siblings used to call me Sol because it means sun in our language, but I am not so sure if my whole name means something. ጠል never told me." she became thoughtful, trying to remember any words in her language that resembled her name in any way.

ㅤㅤㅤ"Oh..." he became silent for a moment. "...Sol what are you doing."

ㅤㅤㅤ"Just taking off my helmet, why?" she had some trouble taking it off, but managed to do it after a few seconds. Her puffy hair was starting to grow already and it was quite bothersome to have it get stuck on the helmet's edges. Hisirdoux laughed at her shaggy hair before he turned away, hiding his laughter after she glared at him for laughing at her hair.

ㅤㅤㅤ"It doesn't look bad, does it?" Sol murmured, worried that it looked odd with it's weird length; Sol didn't feel like it was proper to call it a medium length, as it was too short for that, but it didn't seem right to call it short or long either.

ㅤㅤㅤ"No, no, no! I'm sorry, your hair looks nice, it's just funny when you take the helmet off because it bounces." he tried to imitate the movement of her hair with his hands, making Sol laugh by how silly he was being. "But why did you take it off? Past Sol could be coming back at any moment."

ㅤㅤㅤ"Hisirdoux, I am melting inside this thing, it is too hot, and I hate to sweat. Leave me be, it's just for a few seconds, I am sure-" the sound of twigs being released with force on the pile interrupted Sol, she turned around and saw her past self's shocked expression as she analyzed her whole face. "....Oops."

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ㅤㅤㅤ"Oh, የቿረዐ ልጠዐዪ ዕቿ ክልዪጎ..." her past self was still in shock, she frowned as she walked around the fire pit that Hisirdoux had finished with Archie's help.

ㅤㅤㅤ"I know it is a lot to take in," Sol spoke in her own language, it was nice to talk in it after so long. "but you cannot tell anyone else about who I am."

ㅤㅤㅤ"Who would I tell?! I have no one! I thought I had Callum, the false knight who saved me even thought he knew nothing about me, but then-" Sol pointed at herself in anger, cussing with all the bad words she knew of.

ㅤㅤㅤ"Don't tell past Hisirdoux or Merlin." she made herself more clear, frowning as she stood up. Past Sol found the fact that her future self was taller than her, even though they looked the same age, but it was probably because of the sabatons she was wearing.

ㅤㅤㅤ"I don't trust either of them, why would I tell those dirty humans about you?" the angsty teen crossed her arms, still frowning.

ㅤㅤㅤ"Hisirdoux became a good friend of mine in my timeline, you should be less mean to him so he can become yours too." she put a hand over Sol's shoulder and the girl's face soften, thinking about her words. "Now that you know we are the same person, you have to help me keep our family safe. And do not trust the king or his sister."

ㅤㅤㅤ"Why not Morgana? She was nice to me when we met, even though her aura was a little-"

ㅤㅤㅤ"Intimidating, I know. But she does not wish for equality for all kinds, like she said. I... don't truly know what her intentions were, but they were not good, that's for sure; she hurt our family in my timeline." she frowned, holding onto both of the fairy's shoulders so she could speak more quietly; Claire and Hisirdoux were both occupied with Morgana's book, and Sol knew it would take some concentration to do any spell that was written there, she didn't want to disturb any of them.

ㅤㅤㅤ"Does Hisirdoux know about the wings?" she pointed at something behind her, hidden inside her dress.

ㅤㅤㅤ"Yes. You can tell your Hisirdoux too if you like, he will not judge you or anything. He is a very respectful man." she gave her past self a "thumbs up", but the fairy ignored the strange action.

ㅤㅤㅤ"What about the rest of your friends? You hide your wings very well, you must be used to hiding it from them." her heart broke in half with Sol's innocence. Before she could answer, Claire's scream made her turn immediately, worried for the girl.

ㅤㅤㅤ"Claire!" all of them - minus past Solamon - screamed for the girl, Sol became even more worried when she didn't saw the girl anywhere.

ㅤㅤㅤ"Hisirdoux, what happened?!" she released her past self and ran to get where the rest of them where, looking around for the girl; it was quite hard to see anything outside where they were standing, shadows consumed most of the cave.

ㅤㅤㅤ"We- we were just trying to see if Claire could do a portal, but I guess she couldn't focus and-" he breathed heavily, grasping onto his own hair in a desperate attempt to calm himself down. Sol frowned, only then seeing the magic book flying not so far from where she was standing.

ㅤㅤㅤ"Okay, calm down, everything will be okay as long as we find a way to bring her back, do you know how?" the ginger pulled him by the elbow so they could run to the book faster, watching as he scanned the pages in search of a way to bring their friend back from the Shadow Realm.

ㅤㅤㅤ"Hold on, let me figure this out, it's gonna be fine." he frowned, glancing at Sol to nod at her and assure the fairy that he was alright now; she didn't release his elbow, too scared to let go.

ㅤㅤㅤ"Fine?!" Steve almost exploded Ezekiel's eardrums with his high pitched scream right over the boy's shoulder as they both watched Hisirdoux try to help Claire. "Shadows just ate her alive, man!"

ㅤㅤㅤ"Oh my god, shut up already!" both Solamon's frowned as they snapped at the same time, making Steve whimper.

ㅤㅤㅤ"Douxie, did you find anything that can help?" Ezekiel tried to read the book too, but he couldn't understand a word of what was written there. Instead, he just turned to face the older apprentice, waiting for an answer.

ㅤㅤㅤ"No, I can't... I can't find anything..." Hisirdoux sighed in distress, still searching all over the book for a way to open a portal himself.

ㅤㅤㅤ"That is alright, Hisirdoux." he didn't relax a bit when Sol touched his shoulder. The ginger frowned, taking a deep breath. "I think our only choice now is to wait. Claire can do this, she will find a way back, I'm sure of it."

ㅤㅤㅤ"But... I- I have to do something! I put her in that situation, I have to-"

ㅤㅤㅤ"የቿረዐ ልጠዐዪ ዕቿ ክልዪጎ- Hisirdoux if you don't stop talking I swear I will hit you. You did not do anything wrong, just- believe in Claire, she can do this alone." she shook his shoulder a bit to try and make him listen to her, and it worked, Hisirdoux sighed and placed his hands over his own waist, still frowning.

ㅤㅤㅤJust as she thought, Claire fell from a portal right over them and crashed onto most of the teens, making Ezekiel, Steve and Hisirdoux fall to the floor with her.

ㅤㅤㅤ"Are you hurt?" Archie flew around Claire, searching for any bruises.

ㅤㅤㅤ"Oh, ኗዪልርልነ ል ክልዪጎ!" Sol put a hand over her heart, sighing in relief; she was trying to sound confident just to calm Hisirdoux down, in truth, the fairy was just as worried as he was. "Claire, you little rascal, how dare you make me worry like that?!"

ㅤㅤㅤ"Sorry, Sol." the girl sighed, raising a hand so she could get help from the older teen to stand up and get off the others. Before Solamon could help her up, however, Hisirdoux sat on the floor and grabbed Claire's face with worry.

ㅤㅤㅤ"Claire! Claire are you all right?" he moved her face around, not letting her respond to him by how much he was pressing her cheeks together.

ㅤㅤㅤ"Give her some space." Archie noticed how uncomfortable she was and jumped over Hisirdoux, tackling him to the ground once more.

ㅤㅤㅤ"I saw her- a vision of Morgana!" the girl got off the three boys, sitting by their side as she took her time to understand what had happened while she was on the Shadow Realm.

ㅤㅤㅤ"Oh, hot dang!" both Ezekiel and Steve exclaimed - it seemed as the blonde boy's stupidity was rubbing off on Sol's old apprentice -, trying to sit down beside each other while also paying attention to Claire.

ㅤㅤㅤ"Was it really her?" Claire took Morgana's book on her hands, staring at it's cover with confusion clear in her expression. "Or- or was it guilt, or fear, or-"

ㅤㅤㅤ"The Shadow Realm is a place of mystery." Hisirdoux interrupted the girl by putting a hand over the book's cover, making her turn to him as he spoke with calmness - the relief he felt now that he knew the girl was okay was clear to everyone -. "We understand if you don't want to go back in."

ㅤㅤㅤ"No, it's okay." Claire smiled, seeming much more confident than before. "I'll be alright."

ㅤㅤㅤ"Thanks for talking me through it, Teach." she smiled, extending the book for Hisirdoux to take. The apprentice smiled at her, surprised by her decision of going back to the Shadow Realm even with the accident that had just happened.

ㅤㅤㅤThey all stood in front of the two stones, only Hisirdoux and Claire were in the front.

ㅤㅤㅤ"No way this works, witchy!"

ㅤㅤㅤ"True. Not your fault your teacher's a dunce." both of them ignored the talking stones.

ㅤㅤㅤ"There is your anchor." Hisirdoux casted a basic light spell, throwing the small sphere so it would show Claire where to open the portal. One of the stones giggled when the light hit the space between both of them, as it tickled a bit.

ㅤㅤㅤ"Let go of the fear." Claire took a deep breath, raising her hands on the stones' direction.

ㅤㅤㅤ"No, no, don't do that." the left stone's warning was to no use, she frowned and tried to concentrate to make the portal. A small void slowly started opening, becoming bigger as Claire took another deep breath. "Uh- no, no, no! Not good!"

ㅤㅤㅤ"Bad, bad idea!" everyone was ignoring the stone at that point, both Sol's stood by each of the boys side as both of them sat on a rock and Archie laid down over Ezekiel's lap. All of them were rooting silently for Claire.

ㅤㅤㅤWith a last yell, she finished opening up the portal, taking a smile or a sigh of relief from her friends.

ㅤㅤㅤ"Yes, yes, yes!" Hisirdoux smiled, as proud of the young girl as her old teacher, who walked ahead to put a hand over her shoulder as she watched the portal attently. "Claire, you did it!"

ㅤㅤㅤ"Yes! That's what I'm talking about!" she side-hugged Sol before she turned to Hisirdoux and gave him a high-five. "Shadow Magic!"

ㅤㅤㅤ"Woo-hoo!" Steve raised a fist, also proud of the girl even though he had no participation at helping her whatsoever.

ㅤㅤㅤ
ㅤㅤㅤ

ㅤㅤㅤAfter they went through the portal, Solamon examined the place around them, frowning at the vague feeling of being watched; she felt no auras around, it was odd, to say the least. She turned to her past self and found her frowning along with her, both of them had the same feeling, it seemed.

ㅤㅤㅤSol got on a small platform that looked a lot like a deck that was torn off the edge of the lake with her friends and helped Ezekiel and Steve so they wouldn't fall; neither of the boys had any experience or the fearless spirit for that kind of stuff.

ㅤㅤㅤ"ጠጎክዘል ክልዪጎ ዕዐ ርቿሁ..." Izzet did not remember being so religious, and still, past Sol mentioned Nari's name so many times she was starting to think she suddenly became a very religious fairy.

ㅤㅤㅤ"Hey- uhh Sol, look!" she pointed to something behind them as they floated around the water on the deck. Sol turned her face as she put on her helmet, not wishing to show Merlin her face on accident.

ㅤㅤㅤMultiple runes adorned the pillars around the cave, they all had a very strong light, as if active at all times, and that made the fairy very suspicious. She turned to her past self and shared a worried look with her before turning to warn Hisirdoux of what they had found.

ㅤㅤㅤBefore she could do that, however, she saw something rise in front of the deck and ran to get in front of her friends, protecting them from whatever was coming for them. She was faced with the Lady of the Lake herself, who tilted her head in amusement as Sol raised her arms in front of her friends to protect them.

ㅤㅤㅤ"I am the Lady, Nimue, Eldest of Oracles." her voice was very calming, something that none of them were expecting, but it didn't sound like it was coming from her, specifically. "Why do you seek me?"

ㅤㅤㅤ"Okay, everyone," Hisirdoux put a hand over Sol's shoulder, slightly pulling her back so she would get away from the edge and back with the rest of them. "just be nice to the goddess. I'll sort this."

ㅤㅤㅤHis friends watched in worry as Hisirdoux tried to talk to the Lady, but she only watched him with curiosity, making him clear his throat before he started talking.

ㅤㅤㅤ"Oh mighty Lake Lady..." he was uncertain on how to start, but managed to make the Lady interested on what he had to say. "we are here to request your aid."

ㅤㅤㅤ"And we're missing an old wizard, if you've seen one." Archie flew around them, flying right above Steve's shoulder.

ㅤㅤㅤ"I can give you what you seek." Hisirdoux smiled at her words, turning around to show Sol a thumbs up while he nodded his head to show himself confident about that. She showed him a thumbs up in return, managing to smile a bit and nod just like he did before he turned back around, then she just sighed, shaking her head in disbelief.

ㅤㅤㅤ"Only you can help us on our quest-" he raised Excalibur's broken piece. "-to fix Excalibur and save Camelot."

ㅤㅤㅤHisirdoux flinched when the Lady approached him, getting very close to analyze the boy. The rest of them stepped back, not sure of what they were supposed to do. The apprentice chuckled, but it wasn't a very delighted one.

ㅤㅤㅤ"That is not which you truly desire." he froze, his confident smile immediately fell with Nimue's words. "You seek redemption from a scorned mentor."

ㅤㅤㅤThe Lady started to swim - or float? - around them, scaring the teens a bit as she stared right at them.

ㅤㅤㅤ"To go back home." she mumbled at past Sol, who huffed in regret for staying at the front on the deck; she was one of the first ones that were called out because of it.

ㅤㅤㅤ"Escape from guilt." Claire flinched in her spot.

ㅤㅤㅤ"Validation of knighthood." Steve's eyes went wide.

ㅤㅤㅤ"What?" he crossed his arms in disbelief.

ㅤㅤㅤ"To understand your feelings." Ezekiel whimpered, looking away from the Lady.

ㅤㅤㅤ"To protect your loved ones." Solamon sighed, as she knew what the Lady told her wasn't a lie at all.

ㅤㅤㅤ"And you seek..." she paused for a moment, staring at Archie. "roasted salmon?"

ㅤㅤㅤ"Guilty." he didn't hesitate to respond.

ㅤㅤㅤ"What? Come on, Arch!" Hisirdoux whispered out to his friend, who shrugged from the air.

ㅤㅤㅤ"You are not the first to try and deceive me." the Lady's voice began to change, making Sol frown and become rigid in fear. "You are not worthy!"

ㅤㅤㅤ"Uh- guys..." Claire called out for them, looking around in fear as the water beside her started to shake, making bubbles out of the movement that came from inside.

ㅤㅤㅤ"Uh Mr. Magic Man?" Steve looked at the water along with the girl, screaming in shock when a big eye appeared glowing from inside the water. Ezekiel gasped after he saw it too, hiding behind Sol as she clenched her fists, unsure of what to do.

ㅤㅤㅤ"That is... no lady!" Hisirdoux frowned, stepping back to pull past Sol so she would stay behind him, as she seemed as scared as everyone else.

ㅤㅤㅤ"You seek, you take, and all receive their final reward." the monster's voice had completely changed, it didn't seem a bit like the soft voice they first heard when they came in.

ㅤㅤㅤ"Time to prove my knightly skills." Steve took his sword out and Ezekiel trembled to do the same, almost dropping the sword while he was at it. "I'll protect thou- thee... uh- huzzah!"

ㅤㅤㅤAll of them took a high guard, ready to fight against Nimue.

ㅤㅤㅤWith one of it's tentacles, the monster grabbed Steve by his leg and pulled him out of the deck, lifting him to it's mouth so it could swallow him.

ㅤㅤㅤ"Oh no, Steve! Sol, what do we do?!" Ezekiel hesitated before he got closer to the fairy. She frowned, trying to think of something before an uncomfortable sigh left her lips.

ㅤㅤㅤ"Hisirdoux, watch the kids for me, will you?" she put her sword back on the sheath before she ran to the edge of the deck. Sol took a deep breath before she screamed and jumped inside the monsters mouth, being swallowed immediately.

ㅤㅤㅤSol rolled over it's stomach, trying to stop herself, but it was too wet for her to be stable. Finally, she stopped after rolling onto someone and immediately stood up after she lost her helmet around there.

ㅤㅤㅤ"You?! What-" Merlin frowned, not understanding why Solamon was wearing an armor and had her hair cut so short all of a sudden.

ㅤㅤㅤ"Shit." she cursed, trying to hide her face with her hands; he had already seen it, not even her could understand why she felt the need to hide it at that point.

ㅤㅤㅤ"...You are the false Sir Callum?!" he pointed at her, frowning after she huffed in disappointment. Sol found Steve hugging her helmet as if it would give him any type of protection and struggled to get it back, finally covering up her face from the master wizard, who stuttered to find any words on how to start a conversation with the fairy now that he knew who she was.

ㅤㅤㅤBefore he could even try and say something, the Lady's stomach trembled with force and they stumbled back, being thrown out of it's mouth by the impact of something that forced the air out of the monster.

ㅤㅤㅤSol, Steve and Merlin fell on the shore, though she was the only one who stood up quickly, too scared to let her guard down near the Lake Lady.

ㅤㅤㅤShe watched, with a very dizzy feeling over her head after being thrown around inside and out of that monster's stomach, as it laments about her revenge. The runes she saw were Merlin's, after all, he kept her as his prisoner just like he did to Solamon; that old man really was awful to other creatures, she took note of that.

ㅤㅤㅤSol did not expect Hisirdoux to prioritize her freedom over Excalibur and smiled without noticing as he screamed at her so she would get out of there. It surprised her how the Lake Lady became gentle with him again, fixing the sword as he requested to her when they first got there.

ㅤㅤㅤAfter she was gone and Hisirdoux gave Merlin the sword, completely fixed, she approached them with a smile, sighing in relief; their plan worked, after all, which was surprising, considering all the wrong things they had done until then.

ㅤㅤㅤHisirdoux's actions made her quite proud; it was sweet to see him worry for other magical creatures like herself, it reminded her of how well he always treated her, even after discovering everything about her and the other fairies.

ㅤㅤㅤ"What?" he chuckled, confused after he caught her smiling at him unconsciously. She shook her head, raising her hands as she shrugged.

ㅤㅤㅤ"It's nothing, do not worry about it, dear."

ㅤㅤㅤ
ㅤㅤㅤ

ㅤㅤㅤAs Sol walked in confident, strong steps around the castle, being on duty that day, she saw past Hisirdoux and Solamon running to Merlin's workshop while they were giggling; she didn't think much of it, only proud of her past self for finally letting go of her pride to become Hisirdoux's friend.

ㅤㅤㅤShe heard a sigh next to her and turned her face to see Ezekiel walking beside her, giving him a little nudge so he would notice her presence there. He became alerted for a moment, but soon sighed in relief, only then noticing who it was behind all that armor.

ㅤㅤㅤ"So... I heard from Douxie that Merlin and you had a long talk, huh?"

ㅤㅤㅤ"Yeah... I forgot how scary that old man could be, he got mad that I hadn't told him earlier about my identity. I was... scared to know if he would try to protect me if he knew this happened." she pointed at her own back, referring to her wings. "And I think it was better if he didn't know it was me, I thought he would try and force me to do his work like he used to do. Lazy old bastard."

ㅤㅤㅤEzekiel laughed at her mumbles, crossing his arms before he sighed once more. The ginger became worried for her apprentice and stopped walking, putting a hand on his shoulder to stop him too.

ㅤㅤㅤ"Is something wrong, little Romeo?"

ㅤㅤㅤ"...I think I like Steve."

ㅤㅤㅤ"That's not a surprise." she shrugged, gaining a pout and a groan in return.

ㅤㅤㅤ"No, Sol, you don't get it- Steve has a girlfriend. She's, like, in another planet or whatever, but she still exists, and I feel so bad... damn, why do I always fall for people with girlfriends?!" he groaned again, kicking the wall beside him softly.

ㅤㅤㅤ"I'm... truly sorry, Ezekiel. I do not have any experience on heartbreaks, but I can tell that it can hurt very badly." Sol frowned; she felt horrible for not taking the situation so seriously before, when he was rejected by Veronica, and it must have been awful for the boy.

ㅤㅤㅤ"It's okay, I just... wanted to vent, I guess. I'll get over him, I'm sure of it." his sad smile broke her heart in pieces, but Solamon couldn't think of anything to make him feel better.

ㅤㅤㅤShe was lucky, after all; to never have experienced a heartbreak.