(Untitled)

[oliverplus]

Characters: Oliver Day (oliverplus) and OPEN
Location: Your reality!
Time: After Oliver's fairytale has ended, and during or after yours, as you prefer
Summary: Oliver goes on an involuntary reality-hopping tour of the multiverse~
Warnings: Oliver is a geek, and depending on your reality, he might just show it. Possibly a lot

Comments

[Location: Camelot]

[onperfectlips]

Although it was still early when Oliver arrived in Camelot, the summer sun had already warmed up the sand coloured stones of the castle and forced Guinevere to discard her heavy cloak. She was carrying a bucket of water - which she almost spilled in her shock - across the courtyard when he appeared.

"Oliver?"

She glanced frantically around, but it seemed that his arrival - something that would have been taken as a sure sign of sorcery - had gone unnoticed. These days, the people of Camelot were busy with their own concerns.

"It's all right, they haven't seen you," she said with breathless relief, grabbing his arm to pull him out of sight. "What are you doing in Camelot?"

[onperfectlips]

There was a small group of knights - dressed in chain mail and wielding formidable looking broad swords - on the field when they approached. Though there was no sign of the king himself, Gwen had no difficulty recognising the others.

"That is Sir Leon," she murmured to Oliver, coming to a stop. "He's the king's right hand."

[oliverplus]

Unfortunately, Oliver wasn't looking Gwen's way when she stopped, and even though he turned as she began to speak, it was too late; he bumped into her from behind before he could stop short. "Sorry!" he said sheepishly, taking a quick step back before focusing his gaze on the group of knights she was pointing out. "Oh..."

At the sight of those knights, in their armour with their swords and basically looking like every legend he'd read as a child, he had to try very, very hard not to gape. Instead, he stood beside Gwen and just stared. "They're...whoa." He shook his head, words failing him. He had no idea how he could possibly describe how amazing this was.

[onperfectlips]

She wasn't hurt when Oliver bumped into her and dismissed his apology with a smile. At least the knights, focused on their training, hadn't noticed. Not that it would have surprised them. They were used to adoration. It was one of the reasons why Arthur had been so big headed in the days before Merlin had arrived in Camelot. The prince - the king, now - had changed for the better.

"Impressive, aren't they?" she agreed, "They're the reason that Camelot remains so secure, even after Uther's death. There are no other warriors in Albion like the knights of Camelot. Though ..."

She paused, before deciding that she could confide in Oliver.

"There are times when I do wish that they allowed ordinary people to join. Not just people of noble blood."

[oliverplus]

Oliver nodded silently when Gwen called them impressive. That hardly skimmed the surface of his thoughts, but he was too busy watching them in awe to be more articulate. "This...it's like--like a story!" He flailed his hands, as though that would explain what he meant where words were failing him. Really, his giddy, amazed expression probably better expressed his current feelings than anything else

[onperfectlips]

"I hope so," she said, smiling at the gesture of comfort. She was not ashamed of who she was - a maid servant and a blacksmith's daughter and an ordinary citizen of Camelot - but she hated the way that limited her. "I believe so. Arthur is a good man. A good king. If anyone can change Camelot for the better, it will be him."

She paused, once again debating how much to share. In the end, both Oliver's empathy and the fact that he was a neutral outsider, prompted her to continue.

"A few months ago, there was a man ... his name was Lancelot ... who came to Camelot with dreams of becoming a knight. He wasn't of noble birth, but he was one of the noblest men that I'd ever met. And one of the bravest. He saved the city from a griffin that nobody else could defeat. Arthur could see that Camelot needs knights like that, even if Uther couldn't."

[oliverplus]

He smiled a little at that. "Good." He didn't know Arthur himself, but after what he'd heard from Morgana and Gwen, he was ready to believe that he was the sort of king who could bring about changes like those.

But at her story, his eyes widened--for several reasons. It was a lot to take in at once, really, considering what a legendary knight Lancelot was supposed to be, combined with the legends about Lancelot and Gwen... Oliver swallowed, not wanting to give anything away. It wouldn't be right. After all, who was to say any of that would come true in her world anyway? Arthur and Morgana were king and queen, and Gwen was currently a servant. None of the rest of it matched up.

"Is he a knight?" he asked, trying not to let his tone betray his curiosity--or concern.

[onperfectlips]

"No," said Gwen, shaking her head and looking down at her feet for a moment. "He had to leave Camelot. Merlin and I helped him to pass as a nobleman so that he could train with the knights. Even if Uther had asked him to stay after slaying the griffin, he wouldn't have accepted. He wanted to make amends for lying to them."

The warmth in her voice - and how much she wished Lancelot could have stayed, at least a little longer - was plain to see.

[oliverplus]

Her tone of voice told him just as much about her feelings as his empathy likely would have, had she been looking his way. He frowned, wondering if, in a world where Arthur and Morgana were already together... But he tore his mind from that sort of speculation. It didn't do anyone any good. These were real people, after all--not legends. Life was so much less straightforward. There was no telling what would happen now that Lancelot had left, or even as politics in Camelot continued on--particularly if the king did decide to challenge traditions

[onperfectlips]

"I hope so," she confessed shyly, "He's got a lot of reasons to come back to Camelot."

She was watching the knights as well, but her mind was far away. She was lost in thoughts of Lancelot. It was strange to think that they'd hadn't known each for long. She couldn't put a name to the connection between them, but it had been instantaneous.

"Not just me," she added, quickly, flushing, "He's good friends with Merlin. And Arthur, of course. We'd all be glad to see him back in Camelot."

[oliverplus]

Oliver smiled back, amused at her need to qualify that statement. After all, why would he even have assumed Gwen was the only one Lancelot had to come back to? "Then I hope he comes back soon," he said, warmly. He meant it for Gwen and all her friends.

He turned back to the knights then--only to discover that he was now seeing both the knights, training in the field, and an image overlaying them. He frowned, feeling a twinge of regret. There was still so much to see in Camelot... But at least he'd been able to spend this time with Gwen.

"Gwen? I...think I'm about to go to a different world." He squinted, focusing on the image visible through the knights, but it was hard to make out any details--just an impression of walls. It had to be dark wherever he was going because Camelot's sun suddenly seemed to be dimming. "Maybe we should go somewhere less open," he added, urgently. The last thing he wanted was to get her accused of witchcraft after she'd taken him around so kindly.

[onperfectlips]

She had felt the need to justify herself because part of her - and not a particularly small part - wanted to be the reason that he came back to Camelot. Which was utterly foolish. She was practical to the core, but something about Lancelot encouraged her mind to drift into fantasy. Perhaps it was because he'd been the first person to treat her like a lady.

"Oh! But there's so much left to show you!" And then she realised the implications of what was happening. "Oh!"

She grabbed his arm, pulling him away from the field.

"Quickly, this way!"

[oliverplus]

One day, Oliver would have to ask her more about Lancelot. But for now, he nodded, hurrying with Gwen to wherever she was taking him. "Maybe I can come back sometime?" he asked hopefully, still wishing he didn't have to leave. "And you could come to the TARDIS!"

As they went, he was growing increasingly glad that Gwen was leading him because the world was steadily darkening around him. He just hoped she didn't bring him too close to something he might crash into, as it was getting more difficult by the moment to distinguish Camelot from the walls that slowly seemed to be coming into existence.

At the same time, Gwen might notice that, while Oliver still felt solid, he was visibly beginning to fade beside her. He wouldn't be in Camelot for much longer at all.

[onperfectlips]

"I'd like that," she said, sincerely, referring to both a trip to the TARDIS and a return visit to Camelot. His genuine enthusiasm and delight had been wonderful to see.

She led him into an alcove behind the armoury, out of sight of the many prying eyes of Camelot. His arm still felt solid, but when she looked at him he looked strangely insubstantial. It was one of the most unusual sights that she'd ever seen.

"Are you all right?"

Did it hurt, fading like that?

[oliverplus]

"Me too," he said, smiling gratefully. He'd enjoyed spending this time with Gwen at least as much as she seemed to have done--probably more.

He was quick to follow her into the alcove, narrowly managing to avoid bumping into several objects that he never quite spotted. "Huh?" he asked, squinting a little as he tried to see her clearly through the haze of the double-image combined with the darkness of his next destination. "Yeah, 'course." He gave her a reassuring smile. And, thinking that she had noticed his apparent reduction in vision, he explained, "I can see where I'm about to go, a little. Somewhere dark... But somebody from the Plane 'll be there, so it'll be okay."

He tugged his arm gently from her grasp, keeping that smile on his face. It was tinged with sadness--he really didn't want to go--but he was sure there was nothing to be afraid of, at least.

"See you on the Plane, Gwen!"

And, with that, Oliver faded from Camelot completely.