Once a King Always a King (Merlin Fanfic)

The New World

Arthur and I agreed not to tell Zena the truth about us, it was strictly need to know.
"What if something comes up and we have to tell her?" Arthur asked.
"We will... Make up another excuse."
"What if she figures it out?"
"We will... Cross that bridge when we get to it."
We went into the other room where Zena was waiting.
"So he's all.. Caught up?" She asked. I nodded, Arthur smiling in agreement. "Well now that you know everything.. Is there anything you'd like to do?"
Arthur looked at Zena, as if he was just noticing something about her. "Why where are your clothes girl?" He asked, completely shocked. All Zena could do was laugh. "Arthur, this is how girls dress now?" She explained, running her hands down her body. She was wearing yellow shorts, a bright blue tang top, and her pink high tops.
"Do you let her walk about like this Merlin?" The king inquired, "she's practically naked."
"You actually were naked. On the street." She pointed out.
"Well... I.. Um... You need to put some clothes on!" He blurted out, not finding a proper comeback. Zena rolled her eyes.
"What an old fashioned way of thinking." She mutteered.
"Is this how women of this age dress? Surely your husband has something to say about this."
"I'm not married. And I won't be until I'm at least 25."
Arthur was utterly shocked. "25??? I don't understand."
Zena seemed a little too happy to answer all his questions. "Now a days, in this kingdom you can't get married until you're 18. In other countries it may be a different story... But most of the time it's 18."
Arthur'd had enough of hearing this. "Take me out to camelot, I want to see what my kingdom has become!"
"It's not your kingdom anymore. And it's not called Camelot."
at this point he was heated.
"Don't worry, your highness," she said mockingly. "We will take you into town"
Within the hour Zena, Arthur and I were riding in a horse-driven carriage.
"Uh Zena.. How did you find a carriage oh such short notice?" I asked curiously. She simply smiled and said. "The internet."
"What is that?" Arthur asked. I patted his back, "we'll get to that later."
As we rode around Arthur had so many questions. Too many questions.
"What an invention.. Carriages can move on their own?"
"Yes. They're called cars."
"What is that box that man is talking to?"
"It's called a mobile phone. It's used for communication."
"What is Starbucks? Is it a place for astronomy?"
Fed up with his questions, Zena stopped the carriage driver and gave him a pound. "Wait for us here, we'll be back."
We went inside the Starbucks and Arthur seemed amazed yet utterly confused. He went over to the menu board. "These words.. I can't even pronounce them!" He exclaimed.
"Capachino, frapachino, mocha latte" Zena stated. "Would you like to try one?" Arthur gave it a bit of thought before nodding.
We all all sat Dow with out drinks. I never did understand why coffee had to be so complicated. It's just coffee.
Arthur looked down at foamy substance. "And you're sure this is face to drink?" He asked. Zena rolled her eyes and pushed it towards him. He took the cup in his hand and raised it to his lips. After one sip you could see the light in his eyes. He gulped down the whole cup!
"This is amazing! I can't believe I've never had such a thing!.... This new world is truly a wonder."
I smiled at his satisfaction.
"So this kingdom.. It's no longer Camelot?" He asked, sounding a bit more serious. I let Zena do the explaining.
"Yes Arthur. Over time different kingdoms had been taken over or joined with other kingdoms or split apart. I don't exactly know when.. But at some point if all came together and was forever called the United Kingdom. Or UK for short... Lately the the countries been in a bit of a slump.. The crime rate is ridiculous, the weather has been really crazy, and the Prim Minister is just ignoring all of our problems." Zena was becoming a bit angry.
"Prim Minister? Well what is the king doing about it?" Arthur inquired.
"We don't have a king, only a queen," I stated, "and she wouldn't be of much help.. The royal family doesn't have nearly as much power as they did when you ruled."
"How so?"
"Well.. The queen is really.. Just a figure head. Sure she signs of a royal decrees and stuff.. But most of the power lies with the Prim Minister and the royal court."
"And it was the Prim Minister who ordered that Avalon Lake be destroyed," Zena added. Arthur was heated, as I suspected it would be. "How could a king and queen, the hight of society, be merely a figure head? And this Prim Minister that's left in charge already seems unfit to me."
This was all true, the whole country seemed to be under that man's thumb ever since he'd been elected.
"Maybe this is why you've come back.." Zena said softly. "To turn things around."
"That's exactly what I intend to do."