Chapter Text
Ever since the true king had been found, the kingdom had been a peaceful place, prosperous and ever growing, with new citizens joining the surrounding towns each new day.
The castle was expanded, only slightly mind you. To make room for stables and training grounds for the knights.
Lancelot hummed as he thought, walking through the woods, he often came here to think when his head got too messy. The king could survive a few minutes without him.
His ear twitched, glancing around the woods, it wasn't uncommon for bandits or theives to loiter around these areas, praying on unsuspecting citizens.
Grabbing his sword by the Hilt, he approached the noise slowly, flattening his ears within his helmet.
The Bush rustled, and his ears perked again at the sound of.. a baby crying?
He dropped his sword back into his sheathe, pushing the Bush to the side.
A small, white furred hedgehog kit, swaddled in brown dirty fabric.
Lancelot squinted at the squirming child, how long had he been here? The knight reached out to pick the tiny thing up.
Then reeled back to the side in surprise when the tiny thing fired a bright blue fireball his way, hearing the tree behind him sizzle.
So not only was this kit abandoned, but he was also a mage child? Interesting.
Flipping down his helmet, he picked up the young kit, deciding to bring him back to his king. Arthur would know what to do.
The small hedgehog wriggled in his arms, making tiny noises of complaint from being moved, even if the floor was colder.
Lance kept hold, brushing back the white hedgehogs ears with a finger, he'd never been one to care for children, that was always percival or gawains job.
He supposed he should name the little one for now, this tiny screaming hedgehog deserved a powerful name, he was a mage child after all.
The blue magic he produced earlier, the silver sheen to his quills as they caught in the sun, he was sure this tiny sorcerer would be a strong one.
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He walked over the drawbridge, the silver kit having fallen asleep in his arms around 10 minutes ago. Being abandoned must be exhausting.
Lance distantly wondered why the kits parents would've left him alone near the woods of camelot, mages were normally very family focused.
The giant wooden doors to the main throne room creaked open, his armoured boots clicked against the floor as he approached his king, slumped against the side of the throne.
"My king," Lance bowed as best he could with an infant in his arms, "we have a situation."
The king perked up immediently, seemingly bored with just lounging on his throne. "Yes? What's the issue my Knight?"
Lance used his free hand to lift his visor, before bowing his head down to the small kit in his arms. Arthur lifted himself from the throne and approached.
"A.. child?" The king questioned.
"A mage child, I found him in the woods your highness, he nearly blasted my head off," Lance chuckled.
"Any sign of parents?" Arthur asked, stepping closer and leaning in to inspect the child. "He's so cute, I haven't seen a hedgehog kit in years."
"No, the woods were empty, nothing I could hear or see indicated his parents were close," Lance sighed, "mage families stick close with each other sire, something could be wrong."
Arthur's ears perked, "I had no idea you knew so much about mage families," the blue hedgehog teased, "always so mysterious."
Lance turned his head away, hiding the green tint of his cheeks flushing. "I read, don't you?" He smirked, tilting his head in the Kings direction.
"Psh," Arthur said, glancing back down at the kit. "... you thought of a name yet?"
"A name? Aren't we going to find his parents?"
Arthur shrugged, "you said something was wrong, abandoned in the woods near our kingdom? There's no chance of us finding them if they're from another kingdom, lance."
Lance flattened his ears in his helmet, "but sire, we can't.. keep him? Surely?" Raising a child is a commitment, he knew that.
"Well why not? Might liven up the place a bit," Arthur let the small hedgehog grab at his finger, "plus, look how cute he is!"
Arthur was right, he was.. rather cute, but still…
"How about galahad?" He offered, watching the kit knaw on the Kings finger, teething, fun.
"Galahad?" His King looked up to catch his eyes, noticing how close and huddled the two had become around the kit, smiling at his knight. "What does it mean?"
"Noble and pure," Lance spoke, brushing back the kits headquills, "and unselfish, but we cant predict how he'll turn out."
"Galahad.. it suits him," Arthur smiled brighter, "we should take him to nimue, check that he's healthy."
"Right, yes," the dark hedgehog willed his green tinted cheeks to calm down, "let's go."
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The two had walked to the lake, not wanting to risk horseback with the baby.
Arthur had kept mostly quiet, listening to the townspeople react to him and his loyal knight walk through their streets with a baby in hand.
Lance however, had been growing continuously annoyed with the fussy child, who in all fairness was probably just hungry. The kid- Galahad kept wriggling around and crying.
He wasn't claiming to be a brilliant parent, he wasn't even a parent! But his ears stayed pinned to his head in case the tiny mage let out another wail.
"Sire, I can't handle this child for much longer, i can't tell if he's hungry or hurt or," he flattened his ears as Galahad continued to scream, "please. People are staring."
Arthur had the gall to laugh at him, cooing softly as he took the child from lances arms.
And Galahad had the gall to stop crying immediately, nuzzling into the King's arm.
He balked as the king let out a barking laugh, grumbling the whole rest of the way, accompanied by the King's occasional chuckles.
Approaching the small lakeside hut, the water around it shifted and swirled. Arthur nodded towards to door, gesturing for Lance to knock.
After a few moments, the door opened, revealing nimue slightly dressed down. "Oh! Hello Sire, Lance." She smiled brightly, stepping to the side to welcome them in.
"Hi nimue," Arthur said, mirroring her smile, adjusting his hold on the kit in his arms, "we have a- uh- Lance what do we have?" He asked, mostly teasing.
The knight growled lowly, "we have a child, and we-"
Nimue interrupted him, "you have a WHAT?"
Lance rolled his eyes, "a child, it's not ours, I found him while on patrol."
"Unauthorised patrol mind you," Arthur chimed in, rocking Galahad gently.
"Yes I'm deeply sorry my king," he mock bowed, "you may reprimand me later, right now we have him to deal with."
Galahad opened his bright yellow eyes right on time, staring at Lance, before looking up at Arthur and squeaking. Arthur beamed.
Nimue rested her hands on her hips, "will you two stop acting like an old married couple and explain properly?" She sighed, shaking her head.
Lance's face flushed, hidden mostly behind his helmet. Arthur ducked his head downwards towards this kit, hiding his own flush.
"So you found him in the woods? No sign of parents?" She asked, eyeing the two hedgehogs awkward stances.
Lance nodded, "He's a mage child, mage families don't split without cause, I have good reason to believe they may be dead."
She caught Arthur glancing up at Lance with curiosity, turning her eyes back to the knight. "I trust your judgement on this, if you say he is alone, then he must be."
She walked over to Arthur, who had been sat letting the child knaw at his finger tip. "Is he well?" Nimue leant down to brush his head quills back, feeling his temperature.
The king shrugged, "That's why we came here, we don't have a nurse in the castle, not that you are a nurse but still."
Nimue nodded, "fair, and here I thought you just wanted to say hello," the lady teased, using gestures to ask if she could hold him.
Arthur looked almost nervous handing over the kit, who knew the king had parental instincts?
She looked over the child for any signs of injury, swapping out the swaddle that he was wrapped in for some silk blanket she had laying around.
After deciding he was perfectly healthy, she handed him back to the two, who were standing closely, Lance resuming his "bodyguard to the King" stance.
"Is he healthy?" Lance asked, eyes slightly narrowed at her, while Arthur continued to fuss with the baby.
Nimue nodded, folding her hands, "Yes, he's perfectly fine, no signs of illness or physical injury."
The knight sighed in relief, "good, that's good, thank you nimue" He offered a small smile, turning back to his king and the child. "We're keeping him apparently, who am I to argue with my liege?" Lance chuckled.
Nimue giggled, "Right, and have you decided a name yet? I know baby names are difficult for new parents to choose," she cooed, grinning when Lance's muzzle emitted a soft glow from beneath the helmet.
"We actually have!" The king laughed softly, "Galahad is his name, Lance picked it out." He quirked his head up towards the knight, smiling tenderly.
"Galahad,' she echoed, "That's nice, you said he was a mage child?"
Lance nodded, "Yes, when I found him he nearly took my eye out, his magic colour is blue, fits him really."
Nimue hummed, "I see, this is the first hedgehog kit I've seen in a while, we're surprisingly rare nowadays," she brought her hand up to her chin, "perhaps this could be good for you two, parenthood, might mellow you out," she grinned.
"Har har," Arthur replied dryly while bouncing Galahad, "I think a baby would make us more on edge, especially around the castle."
Lance looked over Arthur's shoulder, peering down at Galahad, "We're going to have to baby proof everything, aren't we." The knight groaned.
Nimue hid her mouth behind her hand as she giggled, "I wish you both luck," her hands fold back in her lap, brushing dust off her dress.
"Thanks nimue. We really appreciate it," arthur bowed his head, smiling brightly.
The lady hummed, bouncing on her heels, "it's no trouble, I'm happy to help, especially if he stays this cute," she rested her chin in her hand, grinning into her palm.
Arthur stood himself up, the knight next to him crossing his arms, "we should be getting back, the other knights will be wondering where we've gone," the king turned to Lance, "and we have someone to introduce them too."
Lancelot dipped his head, "I'm sure that'll be entertaining." The flatness in his voice made Arthur chuckle.
The two ducked their heads as they left, waving to the lady as they walked off, heading back to the castle.
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The castle doors opened loudly, revealing Percival and Gawain worrying by the throne, their heads snapped to the sound of the door.
"Sire!"
"King Arthur!"
The two voices overlapped, rushing over to Lance and Arthur, Percival's tail was fluffed up in panic. "Where have you been?" She asked, ears turned back.
Lance side-stepped forward from his place behind the king, "I exist too y'know," the dark knight grumbled, "We're fine. We went to see Nimue, because we have a.. new addition to the castle."
The other knights tilted their heads, Gawain spoke up, "what? Who?"
Lance stepped to the side again, revealing the king holding the child, a small smile on his face.
Gawain's jaw dropped, Percival's ears shot up, Lance rolled his eyes and looked back at the king and the kit.
"His names Galahad," Arthur spoke, "Lance found him while out on patrol, alone and dirty," he angled the kit towards them as they leaned in to take a look, "we had to check with nimue if he was healthy, which he is."
"He's.. small, and a hedgehog," Gawain muttered, "aren't you guys rare?" He looked up, glancing down again quickly when Galahad grabbed at one of his longer quills.
Percival laughed at his floundering, gently poking in-between the kit's eyes, causing his face to scrunch up cutely.
"We are now," Lance spoke up, "He's.. the first hoglet I've seen in years."
Gawain snorted, "hoglet?"
Lance bristled, "it's what they're called! Shut up."
Galahad squeaked at the two, waving his hands rapidly, reaching for lancelot with tiny grabby paws, his claws flexing.
"Ooh, I think he wants you Lance," Arthur smirked up at him, "best take him before he gets fussy."
The knight huffed, reaching over to take the baby into his arms, who reached out to touch his muzzle with a tiny hand.
Percival cooed, pupils large with affection. "He likes you!"
Lance held him a little closer, sigh turning into a soft smile, "I sure hope so."