Chapter Text
You didn’t know what made you stop. Maybe it was the fact your mom had worked for transportation before, or maybe it was the anxiety of “what if someone dumped kittens?!”
Either way, you pulled over to the side of the road and walk up carefully to the carboard box in the shoulder ditch. It had clumsy holes poked in it, clearly meant for an animal or animals. You prepared yourself to possibly find dead babies inside, animal or otherwise.
You start cooing in case whatever is inside is still alive, just being still, “Hey there. Anybody home?”
This starts a rattling sound and some movements, confirming at least something is alive inside.
“oh okay, you’re alive, I’ll get you out, just give me a second, honey!” You get to work, untangling the warped flaps on top that are stuck together with tape.
There’s more rattling, and now you can hear something like a soft growling noise. You continue your soothing speech, “shhh, it’s okay, little guy or girl or multiples of both maybe? I don’t know what you are, but I’m gonna get you to safety. The hot roadside is no place for little things.”
You open the box just in time to hear someone inside shout, “I AIN’T NO GIRL, YA GIANT FRICKIN’ YAHOO!”
This makes you yelp and sit down on hard on the grass. The inside of the box is visible now, and you can see there are several small skeletons sitting or laying at the bottom. One of them is standing and clearly angry, as he continues yelling, “And you can stop with all this soft shit! You humans are all bastards who don’t care about nobody but yaselves! I ain’t takin’ it anymore! It’s too dang hot for this shit!”
He, and all the others in the box, are naked from the waist up, and only some sort of ragged cloth is tied around their hips. These little skeletons are….well, you don’t know what they are, but they’re clearly intelligent and have been treated terribly.
You look the angry one in the sockets, right at the red pinpricks in the centers, and say, “I’m not going to argue that point, cause for the most part you’re right, but it IS too hot and I’m going to get you guys into my car where it’s at least got air conditioning. You can be angry with me all the way home.”
He growled summoning some red bones the length of a quarter, but they poof out of existence as he starts panting. “F-fine…’m the only….only one….awake….others’ve fainted….jus’ don’t make me see ya dust my bros….have mercy.” Sinking to his knees, he looks down and holds still.
Not knowing exactly what he’s talking about, but getting his drift, you pick up the box gently and open the door to the passenger side. “I’m not going to even hurt any of you if I can help it, much less kill you.” Setting the box in the seat, you hurry around to your door and get back in.
The rest of the drive is mostly silent, save for the soft clacking of bones as the skeletons move and slowly recover from their heat exhaustion. The angry one scoots over on his knees and talks to each of them when they start stirring, making glances at you every so often. You’ve got the AC on high, full fan, and it’s loud enough you’re surprised any of them can hear at all.
Once you slow down as you pull into the driveway, you turn the air back down to a normal level and say, “Okay, everybody. We’re at my house. I’ve got to know, though, what are you guys?”
You get mostly frightened stares, combined with a few defiant glances. The angry one, seemingly the leader, pipes up, “We’re monsters, ya doofus. How else’d these bones get around on their own?”
You blink and try to process this. Monsters had been discovered recently after being hidden underground for untold time. However, they’d quickly been snatched up by the government, with only the last few months seeing the intelligent beings allowed out among the public. However, you’d never heard of monsters this small before.
“Yeah, I know, right? Bet you’ve heard of somethin’ else before though.” He growled, obviously insulted by what he was about to say, “Bitties.” His eyes glowed bright red and the bones came back, and there were a lot more of them now. “Sorry, toots, but we ain’t goin’ in with ya. None of us are gonna be sold off as pets, ya get me? You’re gonna let us out of this box and turn around real slow so ya can’t see which way we go.”
The crackle of magic is new to you, but you can understand just how close you are to death with just this one feeling. Tears sting your eyes, but you nod, turning off your car and opening your door very carefully. Those bones are very real and aimed right at your head and chest.
“Good human,” he sneers at you, “now do what’cher told and we won’t have no problems.”
It’s not like you have a choice. You pick up the box with shaking hands, the fearful tears beginning to spill down your cheeks.
Some of the other skeletons begin to murmur at this, but you can’t understand them since you’re so focused on Red-Eyes and his magic missiles.
He’s grinning at you sadistically the whole time, even as you set the box down on your lawn and back away. “Hehehe, that’s right. Thanks for the ride anyway, but we’ll be goin’ now. Turn around and don’t you dare look.”
Your ears are ringing from the tension as you whip around, hiding your face against the side of your car. Please don’t hurt me, please don’t hurt me, please don’t hurt me…..
The box makes a noise, probably them tipping it over, but there’s some sort of clattering and yelling. You can’t move, no matter what. Your life isn’t worth less than your curiosity.
When the clattering dies down, a new voice says gently, “Hey….kid. You can look now. Down first, if ya don’t mind.”
You do so, if slowly, and find yourself looking at one of the taller ones. His eyes don’t have lights in them, but he’s got a much softer expression despite his sharp fangs and single gold tooth. “We got our bro calmed down some. Sorry ‘bout that.” He shrugs and crosses his arms defensively over his chest, as if he’s missing something and it’s making him nervous. “Anyway, we’re kinda down on our luck, as ya can see. So, ah, can we take ya up on that offer of shelter maybe? If we can keep him and the troublemakers in line?”
As much as your fear is screaming no, the rest of you lets you nod to him. You’re not too fond of the idea of dying by magic, but you’re even more unsettled by the idea of letting these guys die of heat out here. It would be your fault when they all died if you didn’t let them in.
“thanks, angel.” Your ‘buddy’ smiles a bit, then motions, “We’ll get back in th’ box for ya. It’ll be easier that way. Just be gentle like ya were before and we’ll all get on fine.” He strolls back toward the box, and you see one of the littler ones waiting there, rather impatiently. Your friend and the little one look at each other and have some kind of whispered conversation, but the little one nods and heads back to the box with your friend in tow. You see Mr. Death Threat is now sitting on the bottom of the box next to a very irritated looking tall skeleton. Well, tall for them. The irritated skelly has his hand on top of Angry-man’s head.
Once everyone is back inside the box, you pick it up again, just as easy, and head back to the car. “I….I have to drive into the garage. It’s supposed to storm tonight and…h-hail damage….” You hate how frightened you are, and the fact you can’t control your voice.
“DO NOT BE FRIGHTENED, LADY HUMAN!” one of them calls happily, “WE HAVE CORRALLED THE MISGUIDED ONE AND WILL BE AT OUR BEST BEHAVIOR FROM NOW ON!” You make note of which one he is and you decide he is now your favorite. He’s one of the short ones…actually, now that you look, he’s the smallest of all of them.
Still, you white-knuckle the wheel as you pull into your garage after pressing the button on your garage-opener. Press the button, turn the car off, put your keys in your purse….grab the bone box.
You take the skeletons into your home, setting them on the dining room table as you head to the kitchen. You need a pop, right now. Caffeine and sugar, please. “S-so, ah, you’re up on the dining room table. Feel free to, ah….to look around or c-come out.”
Now you watch them, popping the top of your cola and beginning to drink. They easily tip the box over again and spill out, but it’s orderly this time. They pair off, a tall one and a short one, and begin to explore.
It’s easy for them to look around your dining room and kitchen, since they’re connected. There’s a lot of murmuring and nodding, excited gasps and big smiles from some of them. You feel better, slowly, and find your fear seeping out.
Your favored one, the tiniest, calls across the room, “LADY HUMAN! CAN WE EXPLORE ALL OF THE HOUSE OR ARE THERE RULES WHERE WE CAN GO?” Some of the others groan at the mention of rules, but you smile.
“I’ll think of rules later. Right now, I think we all just need to get to know each other, so I’d prefer if you guys stay where I can see you for now.” No need to be cruel to one of the polite ones.
“OKAY!” he seems fine with that, and he begins trying to scramble down to a chair.
You notice now that one of the pairs are in the tiny silk flower centerpiece on your table, with one of them climbing the flowers and the other dozing in the fluffy fake dirt. “Be careful now. I don’t know first aid, so it’d be hard for me to take care of you if you all get hurt….”
You let them roam around for a little, then as them all to follow you to the living room after helping them all down from the table. This is how you find out some of them can teleport. The smallest and his chosen buddy, along with the flower babies, let you help them down manually. The other four…you see your ‘buddy’ on the table, then suddenly he and the little one with him are on the floor with the others. Magic….wow.
Of course Mr. Angry doesn’t let you touch his partner. He’s teleported all the way to the edge of the room before you can offer.
Either way, you walk through a set of sliding doors to your living room. You’ve lived in this house for years, inherited form your grandfather, so it’s not exactly the most modern design, and most of it is designed to be handicapped accessible. “okay the teleport thing is cool. But can one of our rules be “no scary magic unless an intruder comes”? Scary magic being those bone things.”
There’s the start of a protest from the biggest problem, but the rest instantly say “agreed” or something similar. “Yes” “sure” “alright” “OF COURSE”
Sitting on the floor in the very center, you sigh, “Okay. So it’s almost unanimous. So do you guys have names?”
There were some looks between them, but finally one spoke up. He was the one who’d napped in your flowers, “Company doesn’t give names to us before sale, so uh….nah. Though, we do know we’re brothers…sort of, so uh….don’t expect any little bitties around, ok?”
That makes you worry. What had they been doing to these poor guys? No names, no clothes, and then dumped in a box on the roadside? “Okay, we’ll figure that out. But, sans a miracle, I don’t know how.”
He seems happy with that and shrugs.
“So, until further notice, you’re all kinda my guests, at least until we can figure out some other safe place for all of you. Um…is that okay?”
The flower sleeper nods, as do most of the others, though the short one by your ‘buddy’ gripes, “I SUPPOSE IF WE MUST.”
You chuckle slightly. He’s a grouchy little guy.
The Flower Sleeper looks around and asked, “is there anything to drink around here? Or at least something we can drink from, since it was so hot out there?”
“Oh!” you slap your forehead, “I didn’t even think, I’m so sorry. Um….bottle caps might work. Let me get you all some water. Please, just relax for a little.” Rushing into the kitchen, you dig around and find some bottle caps. Most of them came from soda bottles, which you were embarrassed to find but also glad since you needed the caps.
When you get back to the living room with the caps on a plate, the skellies are chatting. Some of them are excited, and you hear them laugh just before you call, “I’ve got your drinks.”
They all stood up, and you smile at them, “no, no, you can sit.”
This calms some of them, and they sit.
You pass out the caps carefully, and some of them begin to drink immediately, while others stare angrily at the water.
Flower Boy made motions for the glare party to drink, sipping himself before asking, “So, what’s your name, kid? We might not have any, but you sure do.”
“I’m Keesha. And you guys must have names of some sort….I can’t just keep making nicknames.”
Tilting his head, he asked, “What nicknames do we have, according to you?”
“Well,” embarrassed, you confess, “You’re the Flower Sleeper, or Flower boy, since you fell asleep in my plant. Then you,” you point to the one who helped you in the driveway, “You’re Buddy, cause you were nice to me first. And…” you swallow thickly, “the scary one is Red-eyes.”
Your friend from the driveway perks up, though his chosen pair partner huffs, “Buddy? Well, I suppose it’s perfect for a mutt like him.”
Flower boy laughs, “Well, so he’s Buddy, but I think the other names need some work.”
The tiny blue one with the loud voice scampers over, his bottle cap empty, “MISS HUMAN! WHAT SHALL MY NAME BE?”
You think, then smile softly at him, “How about Lance? It’s short for Lancelot, the bravest of all knights.”
He beamed, tears forming in his eyes from joy, “THAT NAME IS SO PERFECT, AND YOU SHALL BE MY LADY FROM NOW ON. I WILL TRY TO LIVE UP TO MY NAMESAKE!”
Flower boy’s partner piped up, “Might I also have a brave sort of name?”
“Well, another knightly name is Gawain. He defeated a fearsome spectral knight in battle.”
“oh yes! I am Gawain, and together, Lance and I will be your sworn protectors, my lady!” He clapped and immediately went into hushed conversation with Lance on various knightly things to do.
Flower was pleased, “so….you like knights? Might be good to just name us all from that knightly stuff.”
Nodding, you name them off. Flower is Arthur “like the king” , since he seems to be the peaceful ringleader. Gawain is elated that “My brother is the king! Amazing!”
Now knowing the pairs are the direct brothers, you go to Lance’s and name him Percival, or Percy for short. He seems good with that, though he asks, “And what kinda knight is percival?”
“He searched for a holy artifact and was one of the most honorable of the knights in King Arthur’s court.”
Percy smirks softly and chuckles, nodding in acceptance.
Now for Buddy you say, “Your name is Buddy, but we’re saying that’s short for Bedivere, another of Arthur’s most well known knights.”
He gives you a grateful nod, but his brother is having a fit, along with both Red-eyes and his brother.
“I SHOULD BE KING!” screams the little powerhouse next to Buddy.
“Well how about you be Merlin? He was the most powerful wizard in the kingdom.” You want to ease his temper tantrum as soon as possible.
This seems to stop him in his tracks, “THE MOST POWERFUL, YOU SAY. WELL….I SUPPOSE THAT WORKS.” Merlin beams up at his brother triumphantly, “YOU HEAR THAT, MUTT? I AM A POWERFUL WIZARD!”
“sounds perfect, m’lord,” Buddy drawls softly, great affection in his sockets.
This further enrages Red-eyes’ brother, “No! I am the best! I should be king! Or the wizard!”
You search your brain and find a good name fast, “How about Kay? He was the most physically strong of the knights and stood guard at the king’s right hand, a place of great honor.”
Huffing, Kay sat down, “Fine then. I suppose being the strongest is something.”
Your last problem was naming Mr. Scary. But it came to you quickly, “Your name is Mordred. He is the most feared villain in all the stories of King Arthur.”
This actually seemed to please him, as he stopped glaring at you for a few moments before sitting next to his brother and drinking his water.
You look around, “That’s everybody?”
“Yep,” says Arthur, now leaning against your ankle with his eyes closed. “So, Lady Keesha, guess you’ve got your knights.”
You look over the skellies, seeing their varying excitement, anger, and apathy. Knowing you are now their lady, their means of survival for the foreseeable future, fills you with DETERMINATION.