The Once and Future King - Serendipity

Chapter 3

A life that is not his own yet once was, an image all too familiar to Arthur by now. Memories that he hadn't lived yet knew as if they were his own. People he'd never met yet knew were important. 

The past month of his life just filled with voices he didn't know but in his heart he loved. Dreams of a castle eyes did not see yet he had lived his whole life in. Everything strange and yet as familiar as his own name. 

Arthur Kingsley. 

Arthur. Kingsley. 

Arthur. Arthur. Arthur... 

Arthur Pensley. 

Arthur Pen... Pen, what!? 

Arthur... Pen... drag...on? 

Arthur Pendragon! 

That was his name! How had he forgotten? And those voices? Who were they? 

A firm slam made Arthur jolt in his seat and his eyes fly wide. The professor to his first university unit – anthropology – was strolling through the class, slamming his windows tightly shut.

"Rain!" his teacher shouted. "Rain, I hate it!" 

Arthur almost snorted. He hated rain in England. 

"Rain, you know what it's good for?" their professor asked in his large voice. "Keeping you lot locked up with me. Now where was I? Ah yes, Jeremiah, you had a question?"

Outside the rain-splattered windows Arthur could make out a figure, just standing there in the middle of the courtyard. Just standing there. Like the man a week ago at the bus stop who'd given him the letter. Arthur often found himself reading through the paper when he was alone or after he'd woken up from a dream or heard a familiar name in his head. Ever since that man had showed up it'd been getting worse. Constant headaches, images in every reflective surface. The mirror was no longer a mirror but a window into chaos. As he gazed out the window the class's reflections transformed into a crumbling castle, falling to pieces as men clothed in armour feasted on the screams and blood of the innocent. Voices he knew well and not at all were crying for him, ringing in his ears so loud. 

King Arthur please! Come back! The city is falling to ruin.

But here, protected by concrete walls and cheap paint, Arthur was safe. Albeit bored and going nowhere, but safe. 

He looked around the room, seeing dull expressions on people his age and older, some looked slightly moved by their professor's words and others looked like they wanted nothing more than to sink into the shadows. 

He was going nowhere. 

Was it just his imagination or were there really wrinkles growing on the man sitting beside him? This process of education was wasteful. 

His parents' words echoed in his head like the lost voices. "What do you even want to do, Arthur?" "You can't laze around playing rugby all day." "These grades will get you nowhere." "Look at Percy, he's taking over the family business."