“By the way, my name is Arthur, Arthur Langston.” the man said with a kind smile as he led me in. It was a simple cottage with a large room and two smaller ones. Sitting on a bed in the corner of the larger room was an old man that looked to be at death's door..

“Wait, did you say Langston?” I asked.

“Yes… is that a problem?” the older man asked.

“Uh… no, not at all!” I stammered out. “What a lovely place you have.” I said awkwardly.

“Thanks. It was a gift from the wizard Merlin for my fathers service. He happened to be good friends with Mordred as well.” he said proudly before leading me over to the bedriden man.

“Father, are you awake?” Arthur asked the bedriden man.

“Mmm… I am now you little shit.” the bedriden man said with his eyes still closed.

“We have a guest. He is on a journey and I figured that you would want to talk with him. Maybe share some stories?” Arthur said.

“Alright. I guess I could share a few-oh shit!” the man said as he opened his eyes. The sight of me made him freeze up in place.

“Alright. Well, I;ll leave you two to talk. If I don’t get on the kids then they won’t finish their chores.” Arthur said before walking back outside. Once he was gone I sat down in a nearby chair and stared at the old man.

“Been a while. Hasn’t it, Elijah? Well, not for me at least. For me it’s only been a few hours.” I said.

“What do you want with me?” Elijah Langston asked.

“Nothing really. I just happened to be passing through. Your home just happened to be here. What a coincidence?” I said in a mildly threatening way.

He stewed in his own thoughts for a moment before sitting up and getting into a comfortable position. With a deep sigh he gave me a sad look. “I’ve been meaning to ask you. Was that Mordred who Merlin killed, or just a doll that looked like her?” he asked me with a downtrodden look.

“That was the real Mordred. To be more accurate it was her from the year 1889. She lived a long ass time and I had to watch her die as did others who cared for her.” I replied. He nodded his head before wiping away a tear that was starting to form in his eye.

“I see. Merlin had told me that it wasn’t the real Mordred. That it was just a doll that you had used to mess with my emotions and turn me against him.” Elijah said.

“I can understand why he told you that. It would have made you believe him more easily. Now, I have a question for you. Why did you help him after he killed Arthur? You could have told everyone the truth.” I asked. He gave a long pause before finally answering.

“I was afraid. He told me that I would suffer unlike anyone else had I gone against him. Later he had told me that if I valued Mordred’s safety that I would do as he said. I couldn’t let her get hurt. Even if she will never love me I will do what I can for her.” he replied with a shameful look.

“Well, what’s stopping you from telling her now? You don’t have much longer to live and if Merlin wasn’t around then you could tell her without letting him know. Even if it’s just a seed of doubt then it will help me.” I said.

“I have a family now. They may not be my children by blood but I still care for them. If Merlin ever found out then they would be killed in an instant.” He replied.

“Don’t worry about that. Your bloodline is still present in the future. In fact, one of them is working for Merlin despite knowing the truth in the year 1889.” I said calmly. He seemed taken aback by this but understood that I wouldn’t have any need to lie.

“Fine then. I’ll do what I can. Though you should probably leave. Who knows when Mordred may show up to give me a final farewell. Especially since I sent her a letter to come and see me not too long ago.” he said.

“Understood. I’m glad that you don’t resent me. It seems that almost everyone else does.” I said as I got up and began walking towards the door.

“I would disagree. There are plenty who support you. Many of those who fought alongside you fled out of fear that Merlin was actually Arthur’s killer. Though, since I was the only survivor other than yourself, they had no basis for their belief in your innocence.” he stated.

“Do you know where I can find them?” I asked as this intrigued me.

“Yeah. Most of them are dead but they’re some hiding among christian monks all over europe. I believe that one of them is currently at a monastery in France, the poor bastard. You should check there.” he said with a hopeful smile.

“Thank you.” I replied as I headed out the door.