Ilana was just putting the finishing touches on the picture Mordred had requested. It was a sword. It had an elaborate silver handle, with rubies in the blade. When she finished it, the blade pushed out of the paper, and lay pristine and shining on the paper.
    She presented it to Mordred where they first met, in Time Square (It was a little awkward carrying the sword, but she had intentionally tried to look like she was one of the characters in Time Square). When she gave him the sword, his eyes glowed with excitement.
    "Marvelous! Clarent! It looks just as it used too... " he whispered, an odd accent seeped into his voice. It sounded almost... English!
He actually is Mordred! And I just gave him back his ultimate weapon. He was a master swordsman. How did I not notice his accent before!?
    Out of pure instinct she pointed her pencil, eraser first, at the Sword in Mordred's hand, and said, "Erase!" the sword suddenly vanished, and Mordred gave a shriek of rage.
    "How dare you! What about our deal? You can't become an artist without me! You are NOTHING!!!!!!!!! AHHHHH"
    When Ilana heard his scream, she and Charlie ran, and ran, and ran for all she was worth. She knew nothing could stop Mordred. Even though she Majored in Art, she minored in Mythology, Legend, and History. Mordred could only be killed by Excalibur, because his mother, Morgan le Fay had enchanted him with a protection spell, and only Excalibur's magic could thwart it. Suddenly, she found herself in the alley where she had bought the pencil. She turned around, and saw Mordred barreling towards her. She screamed, and closed her eyes. Nothing happened. She opened one eye, then the other and saw a brick wall in front of her. It must be keeping Mordred out. She ran towards the shop, but slipped in a puddle. She climbed to her hands and knees, and Charlie shook himself off. When Ilana looked into the puddle, she saw the shop's sign. It said: magiC muiropmE
    "Magic?" she asked Charlie, "how did I not notice this before? Cigam backwards is MAGIC!"
    She rushed into the shop, and the old man she had seen at the counter was nowhere in sight. When she looked around, she saw some of the devices in the shop were oddly shaped, or glowed, or MOVED. She walked up to the counter careful not to touch anything, and saw a door she hadn't noticed before. The old man came out, and just as she noticed the door it vanished.
Magic!?
    The old man was dressed in chainmail armour, and a helmet that covered his entire head, only showing his startling blue eyes.
"Hello again, Ilana. I knew we would meet again," said the man.
    "Don't try to trick me or lie to me. I know about Mordred, the power of the pencil, and I know about you, ARTHUR!" said Ilana, pointing at Arthur with her finger shaking. Ilana had had her suspicions, but she hadn't known for sure, until she saw him in the armour.
    "So you finally figured it out. Did Mordred give it away? He was always an actor, but he also always slips up, eventually." said Arthur, removing his helmet. "Now that you have been involved, you need to know everything."
    They sat down on two chairs which Arthur quickly cleared off. Ilana propped her head on her hand, to listen.
    "A long time ago, in my beloved Camelot, everything started going wrong. I know you know the legend, so I will only tell you what you don't know. When I was away, hunting in the forest, Mordred put a spell on my knights' food, which he had obtained from his mother. It made them fight, and Mordred encouraged them. Everyone believes that Merlin was away at that point. He was not. Morgan le Fay had captured him, and had been trying to make a potion to control him. When she finally succeeded, she forced him to create a twin of my Excalibur, for Mordred. He named it Clarent. The thing is, the blades were not identical. The hilt, and the blade were the same, but the gems inlaid in the blade were not. My Excalibur had blue diamonds, while Clarent had red rubies. Both the swords had magical properties and powers. I guess you could call them Twin Opposites."
    "Excuse me," said Ilana, "I don't mean to be rude, but how are you and Mordred still alive?"
    "I was getting to that," said Arthur, "during the final battle, Mordred and I stabbed each other at the same time, and that awoke the powers of the blades. The magic energies in the swords healed our wounds and made us immortal. We are invincible, except for the swords."
    "But we don't have the swords! How can we defeat Mordred!?" Ilana said, panicked.
    "Ilana, calm down. You have Excalibur, you just need to access it." said Arthur, his eyes locking on hers.
    "Where? How could I have Excalibur?! Oh," Ilana said quietly, "The pencil."
    "Yes, the pencil. When Merlin came out of the trance Morgan had put him under, he transformed Excalibur into a magical pencil, waiting for the right person to save the world. He wanted to make sure that only the right person, an artist with a pure heart, could use it. The only way to unlock the sword is courage. You must face Mordred, and end both our curses!" said Arthur.
    "What do you mean?" asked Ilana, confused.
    "Mordred and I are bound together. If one of us dies, the other does as well," said Arthur with a smile.
    "Do you WANT to die?" asked Ilana.
    "Yes, Ilana. I watched friends, family, and my wife die. I have lived many lifetimes, and I am ready to move on. The only reason I am not yet dead, is that Mordred is still searching for Clarent. It is a good thing that you disposed of the sword you drew for him. It may have been able to do the job. Mordred does not know that he goes with me, if he ever kills me," replied Arthur, with a half-smile.
    "How can I do all this by myself!? I'm just an artist!" said Ilana in alarm.
    "Who said anything about doing it by yourself!? Merlin wasn't just my adviser. He was my teacher. I in effect became Merlin, when he disappeared, which he did, after entrusting the pencil to me. I will help you unlock the pencil, and I will also supply you with everything you could need. Follow me."
    They went around the cashier's desk and when Arthur waved his hand, a door popped out of the wall.
    "After you," said Arthur to a wide-eyed Ilana. She walked through and entered into an endless room, filled with anything and everything she could need. There was armour, food, weapons, clothes, fake passports and IDs, and more doors than she could count.
    Arthur took her to the armour section, and fitted her with the lightest, but strongest armour he had.
"Elven made. They are masters at the forge. A little magic, and superlight armour is what you get. This particular armour is better than anything the pencil could make. Also pencil food is edible, but not nearly as good as the real thing." said Arthur.
    They gathered food, clothes, and a new passport and ID, 'just in case.'
    Arthur also gave her sword fighting lessons. Ilana couldn't find a sword that felt right, despite the fact that there were rows and rows of weapons. When she finally found one good enough to practice with, she felt clumsy, like an elephant in a school of dancers. The sword just felt wrong.
    When she told Arthur, he said "I expected that much. Only Excalibur will feel right in your hand,"
    "But why isn't Excalibur yours? Didn't it choose you?" asked Ilana.
    "Excalibur chose me years ago, but after I became immortal, it couldn't stand me, so it has been waiting for just the right person. You: Ilana Drows. Ilana, did you ever notice what your last name is backwards? Drows backwards is sword. You were meant for this. Trust your heart and you won't go wrong," said Arthur, encouragingly.
    "How will we find Mordred? Also, how will I unlock the sword. I'm not brave!" said Ilana, panicking.
    "Calm down, Ilana, it will happen, whether you know it or not." said Arthur, putting a calming hand on Ilana's shoulder. "Speaking of how to find Mordred, he said that if I ever found the person the sword chose, he would be waiting at Stonehenge, in England. I believe that time has finally arrived,"
    "How will we get to England? We can't take a plane, because Security would think we were terrorists!" said Ilana, her voice rising. "I don't want to kill anyone, even Mordred. I don't even know if I can! I don't want you to die, either!" Ilana was growing hysterical.
    "Ilana, calm down. I know this is a lot to take in, but listen to me: believe in yourself. If you believe you can do it you can." Arthur stated. "I trust you."
    When Ilana looked calmer, Arthur said "I know how to get to Stonehenge. Follow me."
    They walked through a green door with gold detailing, and entered a room filled with crystals. Crystal balls, crystal geodes, crystal slabs, crystal shards arranged in a tiara, and a crystal door attached to the wall, but when Ilana opened it there was only a wall.
    "Ahh, I see you found our way to Stonehenge. This is a magic door-" said Arthur.
    "But it leads nowhere! Sorry." interrupted Ilana.
    "It's alright, but any way this door leads ANYWHERE! You just have to tell it where to take you. Try it," said Arthur.
    "Stonehenge," Ilana said to the door, opening it. Instead of the blank wall Ilana had been expecting, she saw a tunnel of shining, swirling colors.
    "After you," said Arthur.
    Ilana stepped in, leaving Charlie's leash loosely tied to a chair. He was straining, trying to follow Ilana. As Ilana stepped through the door, she heard Charlie bark...
    When she was in the tunnel, she didn't know which direction was up or down. She was spinning, the colors spinning dizzyingly. She finally saw a black hole.
    That must be the entrance to Stonehenge. Thought Ilana.
When she passed through the black hole, everything went dark.