{Yn POV}

Douxie is holding me to his chest protectively as the knights surrounding us continue to point their swords at us.

His hand squeezes mine slightly.

My eyes keep shifting between fuzzy and clear as I try to focus on what's happening

"What manner of sorcery is this?" I hear the knight say

He pulls off his helmet to reveal Sir Lancelot, one of Arthur's top knights

I can hear Steve let out an awestruck "Woah" at the sight of Lancelot

Douxie starts to speak with the knight

"Sir Lancelot, um-"

"He's so handsome," I hear Steve say

"I- We-" Douxie struggles to explain our situation before the sword is thrust in his face once more

I can feel his grip on me tighten out of reflex

"Wait! Aren't you Merlin's errand boy? And her his maid?"

"Apprentices," Douxie and I say with annoyance

"He's like an angel man" Steve continues to admire the knight and leans on the stone Jim was in. The stone starts to break and Steve yells out in surprise

We all back away, Douxie helping me to stand up off the ground, as the stone shatters freeing Jim.

I lean on him as Jim sits up from the stone, the knights gasping in surprise at his appearance

"What? How did I-" Jim starts to say in confusion

Claire rushes to his side

"Jim! Are you okay?"

"Troll. Troll! To arms!" Lancelot shouts causing the knights to ready for attack

I push off of Douxie and rush over to block the Knights from Jim shouting a "No!"

Douxie runs to my side and tries to reason with the knight

"Wait! Chill out, lads!"

"Chill? Out?" Lancelot repeats, confused

"Take a breath, all right? He's one of the good ones."

"There are no good ones," Lancelot pushes Douxie to the ground

I kneel at his side to check on him then turn back to Lancelot

"Monsters are forbidden in Arthur's lands. You'll hang before the king for your insolence."

My blood runs cold at this. Both out of fear, and anger.

"Woah he even talks like an angel. Wait, what's an insolence?" Steve says before he is pushed forward by one of the knights.

We are all forced to our feet. Steve and Claire are forced to bind their hands.

Jim is put into a covered cage to keep him contained and out of the sun.

Given that Douxie and I were with Merlin we were allowed to walk freely without being tied.

We are forced forwards as we walk towards the castle

Steve shouts at the knights to let him go and give him his rights to a phone call.

"There are no phone calls here Steve. We don't have the same rights in this time period."

Steve scoffs

"This place was cooler flying."

I slightly nod my head in silent agreement.

We walk through the streets and I meet eyes with the citizens lining the road to watch us walk by. Their curiosity obvious.

Jim suddenly speaks up

"Claire? What happened? Why are we at a Renn Faire?" He reached out to her, but gasps out in pain as the sun burns his troll skin.

"Jim!" Claire shouts in worry

"We're prisoners in the, uh, dark ages," Douxie tells Jim

"I'd say mid-12th century," I add on, "With no way home."

Steve yelps out as a soldier pulls him forward

"It's not an ideal situation," Douxie continues with an awkward smile

"Ideal? Jim has a shard of evil magic in his chest!" CLaire says slightly annoyed

I can tell she's worried.

Truth be told, so am I.

"Actually, I'm still hurt, but it feels different somehow." Jim points out

Douxie and I walk closer to inspect it

"Mordrax's miracles, he's right! When we jumped back in time, it must have frozen the corruption in place." Douxie says

"So for as long as we're here, he won't need to worry about the shard moving anymore." I point out

"Uh, seems I missed a lot. Don't you two work at the cafe?" Jim says confused

"Part-time," Douxie says with a smirk, "And thanks for always tipping, by the way."

"Yeah, helps us fund our... other, occupations," I say

"They're Merlin's apprentices. It's a long story." Claire clarifies

Douxie gives a small solute as I tip a fake top hat

"Open the gate!" We turn out heads as Lancelot shouts to the guards, "We have foreigners awaiting judgment for King Arthur."

"Nah, no worries. Camelot's my old turf. Just follow my lead. Be inconspicuous" Doux says confidently

I snicker at this and he sends me a look

I avert my face and miss the soft smile he gives me once my head is turned

The gates are opened and we are led through to the King's throne room

We walk into the room and Jim is thrown to the ground.

The king is talking to Galahad

"Gunmar's threatening our borders. Double our patrols."

Galahad leaves with his instructions and Arthur turns to us

Steve smiles at the king and salutes

Douxie and I bow

Claire bows as well with an annoyed look.

Jim is forced onto his knees by the knight restraining him.

"Here are the trespassers, my lord," Lancelot tells the king

"A troll? I thought I made it clear, your kind are unwelcome when I banished you all from the realm." King Arthur states as he seats himself on his throne

"Don't you mean 'betrayed'?" A voice replies

My blood runs cold as Morgana walks in front of us all

I stare at her. I had forgotten what she was like before the betrayal.

I respected her and her ideals. I agreed with her about the king's treatment of the trolls.

But that didn't excuse what she did

I feel a hand slip into mine and I glance over to see Douxie already looking at me

He squeezes my hand as if to tell me it was alright

I squeezed back and turned to face the king once more.

"Morgana!" Claire says angrily as she starts forwards

I quickly grab her shoulders and pull her back

"Inconspicuous, remember?" Douxie reminds her

He then clears his throats and I release Claire

"You gave the woods to enchanted creatures like these. You'd break that vow?" Morgana says to her brother

"These beasts care not, especially not this spy of Gunmar's!"

Jim fights against the knight holding him as he angrily retaliates

"Stop calling me a beast!" He is forced down by Lancelot as he registers the name Arthur had spoken, "Wait. Gunmar?"

Douxie walks in front of the King with me following beside him

"Your highness, ahem, it's good to see you again," he says awkwardly with a small bow

I follow his lead and bow as well

"And you two are?" Arthur questions us

"Hisirdioux and Yn, Merlin's apprentices. We can assure you he is no threat." Douxie says in reference to Jim

"That's my judgment to make, boy," Arthur says

"Trolls are born of magic," Morgana says as she sends a golden light over towards Arthur, "as you are of blood. How is their nature a crime?" The light forms into a golden rose next to the king

Arthur stands up as he explains himself

"When they ravage our lands, take our loved ones from us," He crushes the rose with his hand. The petals float over to the empty seat where the queen once sat, "I made these laws to hold this fragile land together, and they will be abided! Leave the wood, the penalty is death."

"What? No! Wait, wait! I'm not a troll!" Jim pleads as he is forced towards the sunlight shining into the room.

"No, wait! Don't kill him!" I shout reaching towards him

A knight comes forwards and holds me back

"Whoa, hold- hold on! Isn't this a bit hasty?" Douxie says as he also reaches towards Jim only to have another knight hold him back as well.

"Bring him into the sunlight!" Arthur orders

Jim struggles as he is forces forwards

Claire calls out to him as she and Steve move forward. More knights only holding them back too

Jim's face hits the sun as he yells out in pain

I struggle against the knight but his grip is strong

I debate using my magic but that could screw everything up even more

I'm about to use it anyways when Claire suddenly yells out "Stop!"

The room darkens and the sunlight is blocked, saving Jim

I freeze at the feeling

This could only be from one thing

"Shadow magic," Morgana says, voicing my thoughts.

Shadow magic. The same magic Morgana had used against me.

I remember the cold feeling all too well

I instinctively step closer to Douxie

Arthur doesn't hesitate to accuse Morgana of the shadows

"Morgana... is this your witchery? Cease it at once!"

"Just because you're scared of him doesn't mean he shouldn't exist!" Claire says as she rushes to Jim's side, "It doesn't make him evil."

"But it makes him dangerous. I will not fail to protect my kingdom." Arthur retaliates as he walks towards the couple

"If you give in to fear, that is failing," Claire argues back

Morgana steps forward once more

"The girl speaks truth. Please listen to her."

Arthur considers for a moment

"Fine. I will show the troll mercy. He will live... in the dungeon."

Morgana bows in thanks as Jim is led away

Claire tries to go after him but Douxie stops her

"He's alive. We'll get him out eventually. Just trust me."

Arthur turns his attention to us

"As for you, Hisirdoux, shouldn't you and that girl be with Merlin?"

"Uh, yes. Well, we were busy recruiting these two. They're here to help us in the- in the war! This is Claire of the house of Nunez," Douxie says motioning to her. He then gestures to Steve, "And this is..."

"The village idiot." I finish for him

Steve rushes up to us when he realizes we are talking about him

"Oh, me? I'm just an 'in-so-lent' knight. All-state champ! Sir Steve of Palchukia!"

I visibly cringe at his words and I see Douxie doing the same

"Hmm, if you truly be friends of Camelot, then prove your worth. Hisirdoux, you and the girl rejoin Merlin. Sir Steve, to Lancelot in the barracks. As for you, Mistress Claire-"

I bite my tongue as Arthur doesn't address me by name. One of the things I didn't miss about Camelot was how I was treated as nothing more than Merlin's maid. Even when I told people I was his apprentice they still thought it was just a title Merlin had given me to make me feel important.

"I'll take the girl. I could use a new handmaiden." Morgana steps up

Claire visibly objects to this but Douxie tells her to calm herself.

"It is done," Arthur agrees, "Now, out! I have a kingdom to protect."

We all bowed as we left the Throne room

We walk to a storage area which most likely will be our room for however long we end up staying

We file and in Douxie closes the door behind us

"Well, that went better than expected." He says with a smile

"I'll say." I agree

"Are you kidding?" Claire shouts at us, "Jim's in prison and I'm the servant of a sorceress who tried to kill me."

"Even worse, I cant get a signal!" Steve says waving his phone around

I ignore him and turn my attention to Claire

"Fair point," I say, "But she hasn't technically done any of that yet. As of right now, she is more or less a good person."

"I don't care! We aren't supposed to be here. We should be home, together, helping our friends in the present. Their present. The Future! Whatever!" Claire shouts as she curls up and begins to cry

I kneel down and hug her. She hugs me back almost immediately.

"We can't return home... yet," Douxie says as he also kneels down, "Look, Merlin always insisted we never mess with time. We'll have to find a way back without screwing up history, or there won't be a future to go home to."

Claire pulls away and meets eyes with Douxie

"Aw, man! Just like in that movie Future Warrior 3, when the robots killed Alfred Einstein." Steve points out

"Actually more like Future Warrior 2 where the warrior's people are all killed off and he has to go back in time to save them by defeating the Spider army," I reply

"Ooooooh, makes sense," Steve says

"You've watched those movies?" Douxie asks me

"Yeah, I saw them with Charlie, the guy who used to work at the cafe. We saw the trilogy all at once because the theatre was holding a screening."

"Oh, so you two went on a... date?" Douxie asks sounding tense

"No," I reply simply, "He wanted it to be a date but I told him we would only ever be friends. I'm pretty sure that's why he quit a few days later." I huff out a laugh at the memory

I look over to see Douxie visibly relax. Why did he get so tense about the thought of me going on a date?

"So how do we get home?" Claire says bringing us back to the matter at hand, "You two are the wizard experts here."

I think for a second before I get an idea

"The time map!" I say, "It's here with Merlin!"

"Yeah! It can show us the way back to the present without damaging the past. Great thinking Yn!" Douxie says

Steve hops over and leans on Douxies shoulder

I smirk at Douxies uncomfortable face

"Then what ware we waiting for Dumbledork? Let's go get the time thingy!" Steve says as Douxie pushes his arm off of him

"What about Jim?" Claire asks

"Lake's probably safer down there than we are up here." Steve says

"Surprisingly he's actually right for once," I say in agreement, "Jim is safer down there until we can find a way to get all of us home safely."

"It's settled. We'll play our roles and stay out of trouble while Yn and I get the map." Douxie says

We all nod and then head out. Claire heading off to meet Morgana and Steve heading to the sparring grounds to meet the knights.

Douxie and I begin to head towards Merlin's study.

{Douxie POV}

As Yn and I are walking I can't help but think about what she said before

I had gotten so jealous at the thought that she may have dated someone else

I knew I had feelings for her but I thought I could get away with just being friends

But the thought of her with someone else-

I can't handle it

We reach the door and hear Merlin talking

"Hisirdoux, do you have feet for hands? All the Slorr Juice? You know how long it takes to milk one of those?"

"Sorry, sir. I was just trying to save time."

I peek around the corner to see my younger self standing with Archie

I immediately notice the man bun sitting atop my head and groan

"Ugh, that hair was a mistake."

I hear Yn quietly laugh and I look over at her

"I dunno, you look awfully cute." She says

I give her a look. But I can't help but smile at her comment

And her laugh

I would sell my soul just to hear her laugh more

We turn back to the room.

I remember when this happened.

I roll my eyes and tell Yn "I remember this."

I then begin to act out everything Merlin said and did

I hear Yn laughing again so I continue with my antics

"Your cutting corners has only cost me time. It's hard enough creating Arthur's new weapon without your mucking about. I need you in the workshop, and you're milking the Slorr."

Merlin then leaves and I back up as my past self begins to clean up

"I'll admit, you do a good impression of the old man." She says to me

"Why thank you, m'lady," I say as I overexaggerate a bow to her

I then turn back to the room as my past self begins to leave

"Well. here's to hoping this doesn't break the time-space continuum."

"If it does, we can just blame Steve," Yn says with a shrug

I laugh quietly and shake my head

I cast a quick spell, changing Yn and me into our clothes from back when we were in this time

I then run through the room and I jump Archie and past me, silencing myself with my hand over his mouth.

He yelps and pushes out of my grasp

I awkwardly rub my neck as I address him

"Um, hey, me."

"Aah! Doppelganger! You- you're me. I'm me!"

"Or neither of you is really you and we are all just dreaming," Yn says standing behind past me

He jumps in surprise and turns to look at her

"Ah! Yn, you gave me a heart attack. Do you see me standing over there I don't know if- wait a sec, what happened to your head?" Past Douxie asks her as he reaches his hand towards the wound I had closed this morning

Yn laughs slightly and says

"Tis but a scratch. I'm fine. Also, I'm not your Yn."

"What?!" past me shouts

"Yeah, the me from this time is currently in her room cleaning up from a magic spell gone wrong. She'll most likely be joining us later."

I nod in understanding and direct my attention back to myself.

Past me, however, continues to freak out

"No need to panic," I say trying to calm him

"Well, how- how.. wait, this can only mean one thing."

"Time travel paradox," He and I say at the same time.

"Double Doxuies? This is a disaster!" Archie says

"I'll say" Yn adds with a joking smirk

I mock offense

"Give me a break! Oh, wow. This is wild!" past me and myself say at the same time

I realize we need to get back on track

"Let's focus on the here and now," I start as past me begins to examine me. I shake him off and continue "Where having two of us will be-"

"-will be a logistical nightmare" Archie finishes

"I agree, uh, so the easiest solution-" past me begins

"Is for one of is to go away till I return to my time," I say as I type out the sleep spell on my bracelet.

"Great idea! But which one of us-?" I interrupt my past self with the spell

"Interminus nocti sluumberso!"

Past me falls asleep and I use magic to put him in the closet

We then hear footsteps coming our way

I grab Yn and hide us behind some barrels

"Douxie?" I hear a soft voice yell, "Doux, where are you?"

I peek over to see a young Yn looking around for me.

er- past me

The closet door suddenly opens and past me falls out

Past yn yells in surprise but is suddenly knocked out with the spell I used

"oops- probably should have explained everything to her before I knocked her out," Yn says, "oh well. Too late now."

A F/C hue surrounds her as Yn uses her magic to place her in the cupboard next to past me.

We close the doors once more and I turn back to see Archie giving me a look

"I know this looks bad, but I swear I've got this under control," I tell him

"If that were true, things in the future have really changed," Archie replies

"Ha ha." I say sarcastically

"To be fair they have changed a lot," Yn points out, "for one your voice isn't so high Doux."

"That's because puberty decided he had been through enough already. Especially with that hairstyle. It had to give him something," Archie adds on

He and Yn both laughed and high-fived while I stand there, offended.

"Ouch, that hurt."

Yn walks over and hugs me

"Awe don't take it seriously. You know we love you."

Even though she had said "We" I still blushed at her words.

She pulled away and I cleared my throat, returning my attention to Archie

"Right, well. Just don't go blabbering to Merlin, okay? We need to stay incognito."

Just as I say that past me and Yn fall out of the cupboard and into me, knocking me to the ground

"Fine. This should be fun to watch." Archie says as Yn uses her magic to put them back into the cupboard

"Hisirdoux, what is taking so long?" Melin shouts to me

"Just cleaning up another mess," I shout back

I use magic to grab all my things as I put my hair into a bun

"Swore I'd never