《Artemis || OUAT》69. The Broken Kingdom

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Peter stopped David from entering the room that was held for the Knights' Round Table. "I don't trust this king of theirs. Neither does Astrid. She's talking to Snow right now about it."

David furrowed his eyebrows in confusion, starting, "Why would he accept us into his kingdom then? Or make me a trusted knight of his?"

"We don't know." Peter shrugged before adding, "But I intend to find out. I've got a family to look out for. We won't be surprised by another villain... I should know-- I used to be one." He smirked a little in slight amusement.

David rolled his eyes a little bit before he commented, "Arthur wants to speak to me, so I must go. We can talk about this later, Pan."

Peter sighed and vanished in a cloud of green smoke while David entered through the double doors and spoke up to King Arthur, "You wanted to see me?"

"Yes. Yes, we have something serious to discuss. Please, join me." Arthur nodded, "Now that you're a member of the Round Table, it's time to share Camelot's greatest secret."

The king withdrew his famous sword out of its case to reveal it broken, adding, "The sword that made me King is broken. For years, I've hunted its missing piece-- something known as the dagger of the Dark One."

David furrowed his eyebrows and nodded before he replied, "I've heard tales of it."

"Well, I think you're the man to help me find it." Arthur said, "After all, you're the only one who needs it as bad as I. You're desperate to destroy the power of the Dark One."

"Only Merlin can do that." David began.

"Perhaps, perhaps not." Arthur commented, "No one knows what Merlin really wants, but with that dagger, we wouldn't need Merlin. I could reforge Excalibur into the sword it once was with the power to destroy the darkness once and for all. Can you help me in this quest?"

David slowly nodded.

***

Astrid was walking down the hall next to Hook when they heard Emma mutter, "Leave me alone." And then they heard from her, "Stop talking... Stop."

Just as the two reached the open doorway, Emma's blast of magic almost hit them but was stopped by Astrid creating a shield out of her magic.

Hook carefully approached Emma, assuring her gently, "Calm down. There's no one here. It's just us." Then he stepped closer to Emma, adding, "Just you and me-- and Astrid." He hugged her as the woman hugged him back slowly.

"He's inside my head. I can't get him out." Emma murmured fearfully, "He's here. He's always here." She was now looking behind Astrid and at the open doorframe to see Rumplestiltskin while Astrid glanced behind her to see no one there.

Astrid's eyebrows furrowed in concern as she then walked out of the room to quickly find her husband.

Astrid found Peter in their room as he tucked in their five year old who was now sleeping peacefully. Peter looked up at his love and noticed the concern look on her face and immediately moved over to her.

"Love, what's wrong?" He softly began, moving his wrist down to her hand and now held it in reassurance.

"She's getting worse... I-I have to help her..." Astrid quietly let out, "She's my sister, and I'm not doing bloody anything for her."

Peter moved her into his arms comfortingly and kissed the top of her head before saying, "You doing something, love. You're trying to free Merlin so that he can rid the darkness in her... I know you haven't been sleeping since we've arrived here, researching nonstop on all of this. You need sleep, A."

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"I'm fine." Astrid started with a small smile as she looked up at him and kissing him on the lips, joking slightly, "I'll sleep when all of this over."

Peter rolled his eyes some but smiled before his wife reluctantly began, "You and I both know that I can transfer her darkness to me. I think I should. I can handle it."

Peter shook his head at her in disapproval and argued, "Why must you always be the one to sacrifice your life, A?"

Astrid sadly smiled, saying, "True heroes sacrifice themselves for the greater good."

Peter sighed and commented, "Who taught you that?"

"One of the greatest people that I know." Astrid shrugged and moved over to a desk that was stacked with open books and papers. "It's my job to look out for all of them, and right now, I-I'm failing..."

Peter also moved over to the desk where she now stood at and watched her carefully. "You haven't failed anyone. It was Emma's choice to save Regina. That was choice, not yours."

Astrid was about to say something to that but stopped when she noticed a different page in an open book. "No way..."

Peter followed her gaze and also looked at the page, starting, "What is it?"

Astrid picked up the page carefully and read it some more before glancing up at her husband. "I know a way to fix Emma. I know of a way to stop this and free Merlin and all!"

Peter took the page from her hands and also read it before looking up at his wife again, nodding in somewhat agreement with her.

***

"Regina!" Astrid started as she raced into the room that Robin and Regina was waiting inside and talking. "Do you know where my parents are?"

Regina looked up from her work and shared a look with Robin who answered for her with another question, "A, what is it?"

"I found a way to get back Emma, to free Merlin." Astrid breathed out as she had ran all the way from her room to this room on the very end of the castle. "Wh-Where is everyone?"

"Hook and Henry took Emma away from here to clear her mind to help her relax. David and Snow are leading Arthur into a trap to see if they can trust him with Lancelot, too-" Regina began to explain.

Astrid straightened up and widened her eyes at the raven haired woman and questioned in shock, "Wait. Lancelot? He's here?" But her shock soon passed as she then questioned in disbelief, "Why would they trust Arthur? He is most definitely to be bloody trusted!"

Robin and Regina both shared a look as Robin asked the girl in front of them, "Why?"

Astrid shrugged, saying, "The first moment Peter and I met the King, we both have this gut feeling that he's not to be trusted, that this place is full of lies... But, aside from that, where are they?"

"I don't know-" Regina began, herself now worried about them.

Astrid channeled her connections to her parents and found where they were currently at through her magic.

She stepped back some, a little bit dizzy in using her magic again. "I got them. Be right back." Astrid then vanished in a cloud of white smoke and appeared behind David, Lancelot, and Snow inside of Granny's diner.

She saw Snow hand the broken sword of the Dark One's dagger over to David who remarked, "Finally a blade that can stand up to Granny's meatloaf."

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"Indeed," Astrid also remarked behind them, making the four of them glance over at her curiously. "Oh, and what's up?"

David started towards her, "Astrid, you shouldn't be here. It could be dangerous."

Astrid laughed in amusement, "Please. Do you even know who I am?"

David shrugged in agreement to that comment while Snow asked about the blade, "So, now what do we do with it?"

"Well, Arthur wanted to reunite it with the dagger and use it for evil." David pointed out, "But that doesn't mean that it couldn't also be used for good."

"Like helping Emma." Snow realized.

Astrid spoke up then, "I already found a way to help her and free Merlin, but I'm not telling about it with them here."

"You know Lancelot, Astrid-" Snow began in confusion at her daughter's distrust.

The said former knight looked over at Astrid who also glanced at him while cutting her mother off, saying, "No. I a man named Lancelot that was actually Cora pretending to be him the whole time, so no, I don't."

"Wait. What?" Lancelot began curiously while both Snow and Astrid simply gave him an 'I'll explain later' look.

"We can talk more about it as soon as we get back to Camelot." David agreed with his daughter. "And put someone worthy in charge."

"I spent a lifetime putting my faith in a false king. Camelot's true leader..." Lancelot spoke up as Astrid noticed Arthur's look on his face, "Is it's Queen-- Guinevere."

"Is it me, or is he unusually quiet?" Snow suspiciously commented as she nodded over at Arthur until some horses neighed in the near distance.

"Because he knows something." Astrid replied while sharing a knowing look with her father, peeking out of the blinds of the window to find several of his knights standing in front of the diner.

Two knights stormed inside of the diner from the back entrance while David and Astrid withdrew their swords and now stood in a defensive, protective, stance, just a Guinevere stepped in front of the two knights.

"Gwen." Lancelot let out but frowned when he saw Guinevere look over at Arthur who smiled at her and stood up, the Queen undoing his cuffs. "What's going on? Why are you doing this?"

Guinevere simply looked over at Lancelot and replied, "I love ."

Lancelot glanced over at Arthur and back at her before realizing what had been done and started, "No. It's not real. He must have used the sands of Avalon on you. Guinevere, we can break this spell."

"Not interested." The said queen commented once she had stepped closely to Lancelot, taking away Arthur's sword from his grip and stepped back over to her husband. "Take this traitor to the dungeon where he belongs."

The two knights grabbed Lancelot and dragged him out of the diner while Guinevere and Arthur shared a long kiss.

"You're not the only couple with hearts that beat as one." Arthur told David and Snow.

"I knew it. So my husband and I right." Astrid remarked with a small glare towards the King and Queen of Camelot.

David held a hand outstretched in front of his daughter to stop her while he pointed his sword at Arthur, saying, "The second you lock us up, our friends will know something's wrong, and your secret's out."

"Who said we're locking you up?" Guinevere simply replied while looking over at her husband, "We're hoping you can help."

"Never." Both Snow and Astrid shook their heads simultaneously, the three glaring at the Camelot couple.

"Oh, actually, I'm quite optimistic." Arthur commented, "Guinevere." His wife pulled out a vial of magical dust while he held his sword up at the three in front of them. "Fix this, my love."

Guinevere then blew the dust at them, making them under the spell now- except for Astrid who stood on guard and asked her parents in concern, "Mom, Dad, tell me it didn't work on you guys."

"What're you talking about, A? I've never felt better." David began with Snow also agreeing, the last part directed to Arthur, "Me, too. What would you like for us to do first, your highness?"

"No." Astrid muttered.

"It's a shame that didn't work on you, my dear," Arthur remarked, nodding at four knights, "Take her to the dungeon as well."

Astrid smirked, saying, "Fine. I'll go there for now, but when I get out- and I get out- I'm bloody going after you and your Queen for putting my family at risk. I swear it."

She was then dragged out of the diner by the two guards and led to the dungeon and was then thrown into a cell a bit roughly.

"Astrid?" A familiar female, Scottish voice spoke up inside of the cell next to hers.

"That would be me... Merida?" Astrid commented, moving over to the bars to see Lancelot in the cell across from theirs.

"Aye. Looks like we've got some work to do- like old time, right?" Merida remarked which made Astrid smirk and also remark, "You have no idea, Mer."

***

Peter walked inside of the room where Regina and Robin was waiting in to find the woman pacing as Robin remark, "You're going to wear out the masonry if you keep pacing. I'm sure David and Mary Margaret- and Astrid- are fine."

Regina scoffed, her hands on her hips, "You think I'm worried about them? Astrid can take care of herself them. Too, those two can outlive a cockroach. I want to know how their test went. I get antsy when I don't know who I should hate."

"Wait. Where's my wife?" Peter spoke up from the doorway and moved over to the couple who were about to answer until Snow and David walked into the room with Snow answering, "I think we can help with that."

Regina sighed, "What took so long?"

"More importantly, where's Astrid?" Peter also sighed.

"Turns out David was right." Snow spoke up, "We can trust Arthur."

"And Lancelot?" Robin spoke up and also now concerned for his adopted daughter, "And where is Astrid? She went after you two."

"Locked safely in the dungeon. He was lying. And Astrid is also there. She hurt the King, so she's being detained until they decide to let her go. Our daughter really needs to work on her anger issues."

Peter narrowed his eyes at his wife's parents and knew they were under some spell now. They weren't themselves. "You're lying."

David and Snow shared a look while David changed the subject, "Our best move now is to give Arthur the real dagger."

"I just spent all day hiding it. Like we agreed upon." Regina started.

"Plans change." Snow replied, "Making Excalibur whole is our best chance to help Emma."

Peter shook his head at Regina and Robin before looking back at his love's parents. "You two are under a spell. I can sense it with my magic. And I'm willing to bet that it didn't work on Astrid because of the spell I put on her to repel any magic from harming or changing her. So, Arthur had her locked up... Why'd she go willingly? She's got a plan of her own now..."

Regina remarked over at the green eyed guy beside her, "You and Astrid really do know each other well."

"So, what now?" Robin voiced his slight confusion.

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