Work Text:
Nimue wasn’t sure what to expect when she woke up this morning. There were plans for breakfast with King Arthur, mostly to discuss the future of Camelot and the lake. Along with the strange metal men that King Claudin has been collecting. That was what she was expecting, not to find Lancelot sitting on the first steps with a bundle of blankets in his arms, looking far more stressed than she has seen him in years.
“Lancelot?” Nimue spoke softly. “Is everything okay?”
Her son suddenly snaps his head up to stare at her. It’s been a long time since she had to look up at her; being far taller than Nimue and always standing proudly. She always has to ask him to lean down a bit so she can check to see if he’s okay or to embarrass him in front of his friends. Now, it just breaks her heart to see Lancelot looking up at her.
Slowly and carefully, Lancelot stands up and offers the bundle to her. There’s a strange unsureness in his eyes, almost like he doesn’t understand what’s going on. She gently moves the blanket out of the way and reveals a baby; eyes close and fast asleep in the knight’s arms. Silver quills with a strange blue highlight that almost appears to course through the child.
Nimue looks up at her son for a moment before making sure her next move is okay. There wasn’t a hint of mistrust just confusion and a bit of fear. Then she took the baby into her arms, cradling them close and watching the sleeping face of someone who doesn’t even know the world that they live in.
“Is he yours?” she asks, swaying side to side as she walks back into the pavilion.
The sounds of metal hitting stone is the only way that Nimue knew that Lancelot followed her inside. Once the trio is safely inside, Nimue turns around to face the knight. The younger hedgehog appears uncomfortable, fingers stretching out and tapping quietly against his side. Though there’s no outward change.
“I found him outside my door,” Lancelot finally said. “He’s not mine and I have no idea who he belongs to. Could be Fae, like yourself? The mother noticed the change but instead of abandoning the child, decided to give him a better future–”
“By giving the baby to you, a knight of the round table?”
Lancelot just nods.
“And?”
“And, what?”
Nimue sighs before going over to take a seat at the table. It only took a moment before Lancelot came to sit across from her; taking his helmet off, resting it on the table, before crossing his arms so as to lay his head on them. It reminds her of a time long ago, when Lancelot was just a child and would sit across from her to listen to any tale that she was willing to part with.
“Give the child a better future?”
Lancelot shut his eyes and bury his face in his arms for a moment. Thinking over his words carefully while tapping his finger against his arm before shifting a tiny bit. A sigh and the knight lifting his head is all the answers that Nimue needed.
“Someone has to, and I turned out alright.” He smiles a bit cheeky at her, only letting his more mischievous sideshow if just a moment. Something she haven’t seen since Lancelot moved to Camelot and became a knight. “Though I wouldn’t mind the help.”
Nimue playful gasped while shifting the baby away from him for just a second. She did notice the way that Lancelot’s eyes widen and his hand moved towards her before settling, knowing that he’ll get the baby back. “You planned on keeping my grandson away from me, Lance? Shame, shame on you.” Her playful glare morphed into a smile and soon quiet laughter fill the pavilion. It took a few seconds for the two to settle. “I will help you but raising a child is a lot of work and you can’t just give up halfway through.”
Lancelot had stood back up and come over to take the baby from her arms. Which she doesn’t mind, happy to see her son willing to love something with all his heart. “I won’t, the other knights are ready to help out as well. Gawain and Percival seem excited, for knights in training that is.” There’s a fondness in her son’s voice before slipping away when he looks away from the baby to her. “I’m not sure about King Arthur, though. He has been acting strangely lately.”
Nimue hums in agreement. The King has been acting strange since his last visit. She couldn’t sense anything off, just the gut feeling that something is truly wrong with the boy that she once knew, having watched the man become a grand king. She worries that maybe Arthur took on more than he can handle and just won’t admit that something is wrong.
“I’m sure everything’s fine, Lancelot.”
It didn’t put either of them at ease, startling them when the bell rings. Alerting the two that King Arthur is almost there. Lancelot quickly grabs his helmet from off the table and puts it on before heading towards the exit. No goodbye was spoken between the two, just soft smiles and the rush of the morning air as Lancelot disappears back into the forest.
Nimue brushes the dirt off her dress before finishing setting out the tea set. It’s always nice whenever Lancelot comes to visit but something off had settled into the water and the air. Almost like a warning that she can’t figure out what it’s for. She’s sure it’s fine. King Arthur will keep them safe from whatever new evil decided to make a home in their lands.
She’ll realize later that she was wrong, that the evil had been in their lands for a long time now.
Like a frog in a slowly boiling pot.
But that’s later, right now she has a meeting with the King of Camelot.