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There was a certain unspoken curiosity that the King of Albion had had for a handful of years concerning several areas of his kingdom, but no place moreso than the cave system beneath what was once the Mistpeak Monorail station, leading from Mistpeak Valley to Mourningwood.
When he had first made his way rather nervously through the place as a rebel prince with Walter at his side, his interest had been a passing one, spurred on mostly by the strange, ancient architecture found throughout―particularly near the end. But he hadn’t given it much more thought until later on, when he’d gone back through the area searching for any additional treasure (and those pesky little gnomes) that he may have missed his first time through.
While there, he was struck once more by the intricate and careful constructions around him. He couldn’t help wondering who had built it, how much more there was that he couldn’t reach on his own. It looked like there may have been an entire city, once. He wanted desperately to explore the full extent of the ruins down there, and given the amount of money he had all on his own without the help of the kingdom’s treasury (which he was still doing his best to fill honestly), he could easily finance an excavation of the area or hire a team to go in and construct ways to reach the other parts of the city and nothing else, but… Well. He didn’t have time for that, first of all, being a king with a rather pressing battle hanging over his head, just a few short months away. And, secondly, all that money was better spent on the kingdom’s protection, although Hobbson seemed to deplore the very idea of him using his personal finances to help the kingdom.
… He really needed to look into getting a new valet. Preferably one who wasn’t like Hobbson, morally.
While he, himself, prided himself on not being particularly good or particularly evil, and doing whatever benefitted himself most in any given situation, Hobbson seemed to veer dangerously toward becoming evil if given even half a chance. He didn’t need that. He didn’t need his personal assistant turning into a villain if he could help it, but the only way to truly prevent that would be to kill him and… Well. The King liked to keep his actions in balance. Killing someone right now might tip him too far toward the evil end of the spectrum - he’d need to do something heroic first if he wanted to kill Hobbson. Not to mention Hobbson was skilled in all the things he had claimed to be skilled in, and was in fact a very good valet, and finding a good replacement would be difficult.
If Jasper didn’t feel it necessary to remain in the Sanctuary, the King might try to convince him to come back to the castle.
But, as Jasper had pointed out, he was a Hero first, and a King second, and he would need someone in the Sanctuary to look after things while he wasn’t there. Jasper couldn’t do that if he was by his side in the castle, helping him… Which was a damn shame. The King quite adored his former valet - he had, after all, served him since he was little more than five years old, and had been there through everything he’d done up to and including rebelling officially against his brother. He knew Jasper and Jasper knew him and it was a comfortable relationship not unlike a close uncle and a nephew.
Still.
He had returned to the caves and been struck with desire to explore them, but had ultimately confined himself to the areas he had already seen or could be easily reached. This, of course, allowed him to find a couple of remaining scraps of gold and treasure and what have you that he’d missed the first time, so that would all be sold off as soon as was reasonable, that he might finance the kingdom’s treasury when he at last returned to the castle.
It was a difficult decision to make―exploring hurt no one unless it happened that someone fell off into the deep darkness below the known bits of the cavern, and only benefitted should there happen to be something ancient hidden away in those places he could not reach…
But there wasn’t the time for him to submit to all his fancies, and particularly not an undertaking such as this, until after the battle was won and the damage done there fixed.
So he moved on.
And months later, with the hard-fought battle eventually won, with few losses aside from the tremendous and humbling loss of Sir Walter, exploring was the farthest thing from the King’s mind. He wanted little to do with his weapons, and less to do with the map table he’d spent so much time around in the past.
If anything, he wanted most to do with his bed.
However, as sitting monarch of Albion, he was required to appear for speeches, give speeches, travel, and generally boost morale now that the battle was over and rebuilding had begun. He still had money to spare, so of course spent it aiding in the rebuilding effort and ensuring the workers were properly paid. And he still had Reaver, though he still couldn’t be sure that was a boon rather than a curse, most days, so finding people who were strong enough and willing enough to work on the rebuilding effort was… Easier than it likely would have been otherwise.
And for once, the workers Reaver found weren’t involuntary ones!
It seemed that, if nothing else, the King had enough of Reaver’s respect for him to do things his way.
Still, returning from all of that to the castle some more months later when all of the rebuilding was finished and the people seemed happy enough, it was a relief for him to fall into bed.
And he stayed there for long enough that Jasper returned from the Sanctuary to temporarily pardon Hobbson from his duties, that he might pull the King out of his room.
It took some doing, and the King regretted immensely that he’d put Jasper through it at all, but Jasper… Well. Jasper just seemed glad that he’d managed to get him to leave his bed and eat, by the end of it. He didn’t seem to mind the work, didn’t seem bothered to have had to leave the Sanctuary.
“If it’s not too forward, Majesty,” Jasper said, pausing before he would inevitably return to the Sanctuary, “Perhaps it’s high time you went exploring. Some fresh air and time away from your duties may well clear your head.”
It was hardly something the King wanted to go and do, but Jasper was an incredibly intelligent man. He knew what he was doing, and probably had a point.
The King had been gettin plenty of fresh air these last few months, but not nearly enough time to himself away from duties.
So, sighing, he’d changed out of his royal clothes, grabbed his weapons, and headed out into the wilder parts of the world.
It did not take terribly long for him to find his way back to the caves that he’d so-long found so vexingly interesting. And once there, with gold-laden pockets, he’d trekked back to Mourningwood to ask if there was anyone willing to help him make his way further into the cave.
Volunteers paid, he and a few of the residents of Mourningwood made their way back to the cave and constructed a viable walkway into the rest of the cave. And he headed there first, cautioning them as he went and promising he would be on the lookout for any threats. They remained behind until he called for them, and so on this went until they’d managed to build walkways to all of the ancient city that they’d uncovered there in the cave.
The volunteers took their leave then, of course, and he would admit that he was glad to see them go.
Now he could really get to exploring.
And so he did. On and on through the places he had found until Jasper’s soft voice through the seal begged that he come to the Sanctuary and rest.
He did so, being told as he did that he had been in the cave for several days now, and Jasper had been growing worried. He apologized, of course, and Jasper merely smiled fondly and shook his head.
“You’re very much like your father, you know?” He asked, voice as fond as his smile, “You get so caught up in the adventurous side of things you forget to care for yourself… Though at least he had Walter and I to keep his head clear, when we could.”
“And I have you,” The King pointed out.
“Yes,” Jasper agreed with a faint chuckle, “You do. I am sure he’d be glad to know it.”
“Do you think he’s happy?” The King couldn’t help but ask, after a moment.
“Oh, I imagine he is.” Jasper said, “He has your mother, and now he has Walter as well. They’re sure to be having as grand a time as they can.”
“I imagine they miss you,” The King supposed, frowning just a tad at the thought.
“I know I miss them,” Was Jasper’s succinct response.
And it was with this on his mind the next day that the King stumbled upon a strange little portal, half-hidden behind a statue and surely not there the day before. Hand on his sword, he entered.
And found a beautiful ballroom, set up as if a feast was about to begin rather than a dance of any sort.
And there, at the head of the room, swirling with each other elegantly, were the Old Hero King and his wife. Walter stood not far from them, smiling fondly as he watched them twirl.
The King was, if he was honest, quite sure he was simply seeing what he wanted to.
But then, catching sight of him, Walter gasped.
“Boy, you had better tell me my eyes are deceiving me,” He said, in that way that told the King that if his eyes weren’t deceiving him, there might well be hell to pay.
The King could only blink, then laugh. “I―”
And the Hero King and his wife paused, looking to him and blinking wide in their surprise.
“I’m not dead, if that’s what’s concerning you.” The King managed to say, and he nearly winced at how choked his voice was.
“You had better not be,” Walter said, making for him now that they’d all sort of established he was really here.
“I should hope you’re not,” Said his mother, the Old Queen, at about the same time.
“Please,” Said the Old King, “He’s my son. He’s not been in the world near long enough to be taken out of it.”
And the King made his way to Walter, meeting him halfway, and hugged him.
It took all he had not to dissolve into tears, regardless.
Particularly once his mother and father joined in.
They didn’t talk much, but the King couldn’t help blurting, “Jasper misses you.”
The three of them shared a look, almost seeming guilty, and it was the Old King who said, “We miss him, too.”
The King wasn’t sure how he managed to convince them to try and come back out the portal with him, on the off-chance it would work. On the off-chance it would bring them back. But he convinced them to try.
“It comes out in an ancient city in a cave,” The King warned, “But it’s a pretty big cave.”
Walter stepped through first, without any further prompting or thoughts on the matter.
The Old King and Queen stepped through next, and the King stepped out right as he noticed the ballroom going dim around him and breaking apart. Oops? Guess he’d torn apart their afterlife.
But when he emerged back into the ancient city, all three were there, alive and breathing and no worse for wear.
He hugged them all again.
And took them to the Sanctuary with him.
And watched, smiling and honestly starting to cry a little bit, when Jasper nearly fell over himself getting to them and all four fell into an embrace together.
They’d been together through his childhood, in a way he had always understood despite far too many people trying to say it was too complicated―they all loved each other very much. It had started with his father and Walter, quickly moving to include Jasper, and finally his mother when the question of heirs arose between the three.
There was really nothing else to it than that―they loved each other.
And now they had each other again.
He was happy for them.
And when he got a chance to slip away, wiping tears from his cheeks, he headed back into that ancient city to give them some time to themselves… As well as searching for anything else of any interest. And, you know, trying to let himself calm down and think of a decent explanation for why all of them were back. The Old King and Queen had, after all, been dead for a good ten years now, and Walter had died almost a year ago.
In the end, sitting down with his loyal little dog who hadn’t really even peeped since they got into the cave despite there being treasures here and there, he decided he’d go with something akin to the truth.
They just sort of walked back into the world of the living.
… He’d have to write to Logan.