Morgana le Fae surprised him, in more ways than one. She was nice, and she was easy to talk to.

It was a little hard to keep up with the back and forth of those first few minutes, but he found himself babbling a little of how he’d gotten there. And as he did so, her eyebrows went up and up, and she smiled more and more broadly. She had a nice smile, and it showed all the way through to her eyes and in the depths beyond.

Which of course was when his stomach chose to burble pathetically and his legs started to give way.

Morgana looked at him, eyes flashing with amusement and something like concern, and then, with something like anger. ‘When did you last eat?’ she asked. ‘And what happened to your head? Did you know it’s bleeding?’

She insisted on fixing him something to eat and drink.

It was then of course he realised a snag. How was he going to pay for it? What had happened to his wallet in the plunge into the lake, and would the money in it even be any good here? It wasn’t exactly heavy on silver pennies or whatever they used here.

Morgana waved this aside. ‘Don’t be stupid. You’re hungry. You’re far from home. What are we supposed to do, starve you?’

He felt the blush rising in his cheeks till they practically burned. He stubbornly reached for his wallet – which wasn’t there. He must have lost it in the lake.

It was all getting a bit much. He felt like he was a little boy out of his depth who wanted to cry – which was stupid. What had that bump on the head done to him?

‘Honey,’ Morgana said, laying a hand gently over his, ‘please, it’s all right. Look at me – look at me’ – he looked up, and saw just a caring, smiling face and someone who knew what it was to be all alone in a strange place, hungry and upset – ‘C’mon – big lug like you. Let me get this one. I’d like to. I can’t remember the last time I made a new friend …’ And in those words there was a world of kindness, and loneliness. ‘Besides,’ she added, grinning, ‘I’ll be joining you. Let’s see if you can keep up.’

So that was how it came to pass that Morgana le Fae bought him lunch. Well, dinner, but it’s hard to call sharing a plate of beef sandwiches and a pitcher of lemonade dinner. But all the same, it was probably one of the nicest meals he’d ever had.

He hadn’t realised how hungry he’d been.

‘And if you find your wallet,’ Morgana was saying, her eyes twinkling like stars, ‘you can always buy me a drink later.’

He blinked. He didn’t quite know how to take that.

‘I’d love to,’ he said, and was surprised how much he meant it.

The smile she gave him in return made him feel like he was floating away towards the ceiling for a moment.

‘It’s Morgan to my friends, by the way. We seem to have gotten to know each other quite the little bit suddenly.’

And he was surprised by how good that felt. To have a friend, to be sharing smiles and laughter like this – and something else, which he couldn’t quite put his finger on, and wouldn’t be able to make sense of if he could, probably.

And while they ate and talked, Morgana explained a few things to him, and he learned about where he’d ended up. And the more things became familiar to him, the more he couldn’t quite remember what there had been before he got here. It was strange. And yet it seemed right.

Apparently, with no knights about, the bar was going to be quiet for a long time. He was a little unsure why Morgan was working behind the bar. She almost seemed a little out of place there. But maybe there wasn’t much else to do here. All the same, he wasn’t quite sure where she fitted in or where “Gwen” who he’d met earlier did, but they both seemed friendly enough.

It was only when he looked up that he realised, in the strict sense, almost no time had passed. Morgan caught him looking at the clock, and grinned. ‘Yep, that’s right. We’ve got the whole night ahead of us. It’s one of those few nice things I like about this place. It’s peaceful, and you’ve got time.’

After what seemed an age more, and couldn’t have been more than a few minutes by the clubhouse clocks, he found himself standing on the terrace looking out onto the Links. He didn’t remember getting up, but Morgana was by his side in a moment. ‘Thank you for dinner,’ she was saying looking at him, smiling.

‘But you—’

‘I mean, the company,’ she said quickly, looking down and – was she blushing? ‘I enjoyed talking to you.’ Then she added quickly, peering back ’round the doorway ‘Come see me again soon?’

And just like that he found himself wandering around in a daze, blinking in the starlight.

He was feeling more confused than ever.

He liked Morgana, he was thinking. Morgana was … nice.

And it was nice here, too. Better than wherever he’d come from. Wherever that had been. He wished he could remember, just so he’d know, but it was nice all the same.

He didn’t know how long he’d been wandering when the wind rose off the lake, calling to him – he felt a tingling on his neck and the cool weight of the amulet under his shirt smiled at him somehow. And all of a sudden, it was like an invisible presence took him by the hand.

Can we talk? said a voice he was pretty sure only he could hear. When you’re ready, it said. Enjoy it here. We’ll talk when you find me. I’ll wait up.

Only then did he realise the tension that had been building in his chest and his head. It felt like years and years’ worth. The golf ball hitting his head, the fall into the lake, all the strange sights – they’d all been starting to bring it out in a way that Lance wouldn’t have to throw him into space, he’d jump off the edge himself.

And the voice on the wind soothed it.

And then he forgot what he was thinking about.

Why was he having so much trouble holding onto his thoughts? (Is what he would have thought if the thought hadn’t faded almost as soon as it took shape.)

The boy wandered off into the grassy night, enjoying the peace of it all.

[You Are Here (I Tried to Warn You) –> Part 4, The Friend of the Fae.] [Next –> Part 5, Fairway to Avalon.]

[Part 2 –> The Missing Links.] [Previous –> Part 3, A Knight of Course.] 

[Back to the Beginning: Part 1, Tea Time.]