“You sure about this then, princess?” Sarah asked, leaning on her large shield, looking unusually pensive. “Ye’ll be rather defenceless for a good while, aye?”

“I told you to call me Eleanor. We’re friends now, right?” she sighed, not for the first time. “We’ve been working together a good while now, haven’t we?”

“Aye, that we have.” Sarah agreed. “Still, I cannae quite believe I’m here in this situation, despite everything.”

“Oh, enough bullshit.” David sighed. “You’ve been talking a lot of shit recently Sarah, and it’s annoying.” His heavy mace was slick with evaporating gore, silver ribbons drifting up from it. “You should be more like the boy, he adapted quickly.”

At that Donovan looked away, blushing, which seemed to amuse Sarah, as perhaps David intended. Sure, we argue a lot, and at first I was worried about working with them, but now… well, who would have thought I could get used to battle? “He did, didn’t he? How many girls is it now?” She chuckled, and his blush deepened.

“It’s not like I’ve promised any of them anything.” He said at last. “But they are all very nice, I feel bad letting any of them down.”

“Rich too.” Sarah agreed, reaching over to ruffle his hair playfully, until he batted her off, tired of her teasing.

“I am glad we are all relaxed.” Mary-Jane waved her staff, continuing to heal Aditi, who had taken an unlucky hit from a goblin arrow, her arm pierced. “But really, is this the time, Miss McLaughlin?”

“As much a teacher as ever, aye.” Sarah smirked. “But I get it. I was just tryin’ tae lighten the mood, right? This is a big moment, no?”

That it is. She looked at the group of heroes her grandmother had gathered for her. Sir Arthur, mighty sword in hand, looking younger and more vigorous than ever, the battles nothing to him, as though he truly was a knight of old. Sarah, her heavy shield a bulwark against all their foes, her fiery temper and hot teasing a match for her brilliant hair. Donovan, a young pretty-boy who apparently was the hottest property on the London dating scene amidst the wealthy. Sarah-Jane, a matronly schoolteacher, who had mastered blessings and healings, calm in every situation. Aditi, a quiet, diffident archer who was always reliable. David Reckless, a loud-mouthed and brash martial artist, whose mace had killed more goblins in this version of London than anyone. And lastly… me. She looked at her reflection in the glass of one of the windows nearby, and was amazed at what she saw.

“Admiring your reflection?” Sir Arthur noticed. As Sarah, David and Donovan bickered, Sir Arthur put a hand on Eleanor’s shoulder comfortingly. “Well, it’s a good one. You’ve really grown to fit that armour, Green Knight.”

“Oh please. Compared to you or David, I’m still a liability.” She said self-deprecatingly. Even so, I have grown, definitely. Not that I ever wanted to grow as a fighter, but grandmother was right. I don’t have a choice. The armour seemed more comfortable on her somehow, and strangely enough, she found battle less stressful than everything else that came with the job, such as the endless socialising. As a princess I should be more used to it, but I was always one to spend galas and balls by myself. My father knew that and never pushed it, but now…

“It’ll be all right, princess.” He continued, and she flashed a weary smile.

“I’m sure I told you to call me Eleanor, Sir Arthur.”

“No, not a chance.” He grinned back. “I know you wish to be less formal, but unlike these fine people, I’m an old-fashioned man. And I’ve known you since you were a little girl. I’m too old to change how I address you now. Besides, you do call me sir, right?”

Guilty as charged. You have me there. “Look, everyone, it’s time.” She said, clapping her hands together, green and bronze gauntlets ringing. “Sarah, yes, it’s a risk, but one we have to take. After all… it’s why you are all here. Positions of honour and lavish salaries are earned for precisely this.”

“Do not be like that, Eleanor.” Aditi protested. “I am here because I admire you and want to help my country!”

“But you still take the money.” David broke in nastily, and Sarah cuffed him on the back of the head, causing another argument.

“Of course she does.” Mary-Jane said as they bickered, exasperated. She had finished healing Aditi, and was now leaning on her staff, resting. Yes, her healing and blessings take a lot out of her, it’s more tiring than our combat, for sure. “No matter how much you like your job, you take a fair wage for fair work. That’s the British way, and what I teach the children. Oh, by the way, thank you for introducing me to that… gentleman.” Her face twisted a little, which was unusual, as Mary-Jane was usually faultlessly polite. “I cannot say I was taken with him personally, but… the money will fund an orphanage and school for disadvantaged children.”

“Max Power? That guy?” David stopped his argument to spit angrily. “Don’t like the prick, nor his foundation. Still, I guess money has no sin, right?”

“Yes, he… well…” Donovan stammered. “… he knows a lot of people.”

“Girls, right?” Sarah laughed. “Anyway, aye, he’s been bothering me a little too, but he seems harmless enough, ye ken?”

“Well, grandmother is all about us making connections.” Eleanor sighed. “And he did say I could contact him if I needed financial support, so when you expressed a wish to build an orphanage as part of your reward… I thought of him.” He was annoyingly jovial and delighted to be of help to me. But it’s not him that worries me, but that woman. Mary Stuart. She seemed… hostile. I told grandmother about her, and she seemed troubled, only telling me to stay my course and protect London.

“Well, I did ask for an introduction to that woman he was with, the blonde looker.” David grinned. “Guess me and the boy aren’t so different. Damn, that upsets me.”

“She’s a woman of the cloth.” Sarah said suddenly. “So I dinnae think you have much of a chance. A vulgar guy like you, ye’ve no hope, even if she could have relationships.”

“Isn’t a forbidden romance the best?” David grinned nastily, not rising to her bait for once. “But when I met her, all she did was ask my about my damn religion. You should have seen the look she gave me when I said I was a believer in Caturix. And why wouldn’t I be? He marked me himself as the greatest fighter in these isles. And with good reason. Who else is worthy to fight amidst this?” He gestured to the sky above, silver lightning flashes cutting through the murk. “Then the bitch started telling me to forswear false gods and worship the only true one, or I’d burn in Hell. Shit, why are all the beautiful women crazy? I’d still get her out of those vestments and take a tumble with her though. I’d give her something to stop her speaking nonsense…”

“Don’t blaspheme, ye damn crude jerk. And dinnae sully the ears of the princess.” Sarah started another argument, scandalised, before Eleanor clapped her hands again.

“Look, we are getting off-topic. I don’t really want to talk about her.” She gave me the creeps. Max Power I can handle, but her? I don’t like the way she looked at me, or the way she might have threatened me… even now I replay that conversation in my head. Grandmother told me not to worry about it, and to stay away from her, but… “We are here to protect London. To that end…” her mind could feel the connection to the area of this strange version of London she controlled, centred on the previous Tower of London. My land, my Avalon, as grandmother calls it. Well, I know I am strong enough to expand it again. With a thought she felt a huge amount of power drain out of her and her lands, sucked into the pillar at the centre, which began to glow brilliantly. “Our Avalon, what protects this United Kingdom, it will grow stronger. But until then…” she looked at her companions, who had all established their own Avalon around hers, forming a secure ring of protection. “… it’s all on you. We’ve discovered that this place will be vulnerable while it expands. And if the pattern holds from before, it should be much longer a time before the strengthening is done.”

“It would sure be nice if the damn gods got off their arses and told us more.” David grumbled. “Caturix only told me to fight and make the lands my own. And none of you dumb bastards have anything more, right?”

“Look, we’ve been through this, Mr Reckless, and pooled our knowledge.” Mary-Jane acted as peacemaker again, her glasses reflecting the brilliant silver and rainbow glow that filled the tower, dozens of huge ravens coming to roost upon the silver spire, watching them with unblinking, beady eyes. “We know that we need to defeat the hostile creatures here, and use the energy they provide to fortify this world. My goddess was not clear on precisely why, no more than your Caturix was…” she had entered lecture mode, as if he was one of her pupils, and Eleanor smiled at that.

“… but from information the Queen provided…” Mary-Jane stumbled over her words a little at that, still awed about meeting the monarch, one who had steered the country through war, the fall of Empire and many more epoch-making events. “… as well as what Donovan and Sarah gathered, eventually these creatures will start spilling out into the world we know, right? I hate killing, they are clearly sentient beings, just as we are, but…” she looked at Aditi who had been wounded by a goblin sniper, the arrow smeared in a mixture of filth and poison, that without her treatments would likely have proved fatal or cost her an arm at the least. “… my family, my pupils…” her face hardened. “… I cannot let them perish. No, I shall fight, as we all will. Right Mr Reckless?”

“Fighting is in my blood. I’m the chosen of the damn war god, right? You don’t have to ask. Besides, I love a good scrap. You do too, right boy?” he asked Donovan, who looked away.

“Uh, no. Not really…” he muttered.

“Well, I’m glad to see everyone is in such high spirits. And why not?” Sir Arthur said jovially. “This is progress. Now all we have to do is fend off the scum who would try and destroy what our princess has built. That’s why the queen, God protect her, called on us. So… where next? We might as well continue.”

“How about a Cathedral?” Sarah said suddenly. “All this talk of Gods, it’s makin’ me fired up tae see what’s there.”

“Hmm. Well, it’s up to the princess, but I’d advise against it.” Sir Arthur disagreed. “We’ve discovered that larger and older buildings tend to hold significant nests of powerful enemies. The Great Cathedrals of London are likely full of dreadful foes.”

David made to speak up, but Eleanor cut him off. “Sir Arthur is right. Besides, we have other areas grandmother asked us to prioritise. We need to grow stronger first. After all, we nearly lost Aditi to that ambush, right?”

“I was careless, I am greatly sorry, Eleanor.” Aditi apologised, but she waved it away with her armour-clad hand.

“Well, we are still new at this. We are definitely better than before.” her smile was reassuring. “Well, we’ll take a quick break, then head west, skirting along the river. Our aim is to secure Buckingham Palace!”

“And ye say the Cathedral would be full o’bastard enemies.” Sarah chuckled. “Fine, fine. My shield will be there to block the enemy, dinnae worry yourself.”

With that settled, they left Eleanor’s Avalon, passing through Aditi’s, heading west along the river. As they did so, a flight of ravens overhead watching their progress, the mirror version of the river Thames boiled, more aquatic beasts surging out onto the shores. Eleanor gripped her sword in sweating hands, taking a breath to calm herself. Here we go again. More battles…

********

“It’s an honour to meet you, princess.” The man in front of her was saying. “I’m Samuel Davies. I have the honour of leading the Manchester team.” He gestured to his fellow team-mates. There were four of them, two women, one a girl who looked like she might have still been in high school, the other older than Eleanor, wearing robes that reminded her a little of that Mary Stuart. Then there were two men who could have been Uni students.

“Charmed.” She offered her hand, doing her best to ignore the discomfort, and he shook it firmly, taking longer to release her than she would have liked. She then exchanged handshakes with the others, and as it was actually the fourth group she had met at this party tonight, her grandmother having worked miracles to gather two dozen people like her, she struggled to keep their names and faces straight, even with her significantly improved memory she enjoyed recently. I’m probably just tired, it must be that. She had fought along the Thames, but eventually they had been forced back to Aditi’s Avalon, as they had taken to calling their domains now, and only beaten off the horde with help from the defences there, at great effort, exhausting them enough they decided to return.

As she made small talk, the room seemed to blur in on her, everyone’s faces looking like blank, featureless masks, eyes laughing at her, mouths twisted into crude, mocking smiles. I… I don’t feel so good…

“…incess. Princess. Are you all right?” Samuel was asking, and Eleanor blinked, the surroundings snapping back into focus. Tasting bile, she shook her head.

“Sorry, I think I’ve overworked myself. I should probably take a break. Please forgive me.”

“No, there’s nothing to forgive. You’ve worked as hard as any of us, and God knows it isn’t easy, what we do.” He smiled reassuringly. “We’ll go mix with the other teams, and maybe a celebrity or two. There’s some really famous faces here. Come on, gang.” He said, and with that they moved into the mass of people at the party. Eleanor went to leave, before looking back over her shoulder, only to see the older woman watching her, and for a moment her vision blurred again, and all she could see was her face wreathed in shrouded shadows, only her eyes visible. Blinking, she looked again, only to see that the woman had turned away.

She was looking at me, right? Well, I guess that makes sense. I am a princess, I suppose. Ugh, my stomach hurts… With that she rushed to the toilet, in a rather undignified hurry…

********

This truly is hell. I hate this… The party should have been winding down by now, but dozens of guests still remained. She looked around for Sir Arthur, Mary-Jane or anyone else she was close with, but couldn’t see any of them. David sloped off earlier with a girl from one of the new parties, right? Donovan too, I think. As for the others… wait, there.

Grateful, Eleanor made it through the crowds to where Aditi was, standing by one of the buffet tables, a plate in hand. On seeing her approach, she brightened, raising a hand in greeting.

“Eleanor, are you all right? You look pale.” Aditi fretted, putting down her plate.

“I’m fine, fine.” She declared, though she didn’t feel fine. It felt like someone was watching her, and when she looked around, people were looking at her, but no more than was usual. I’m just jumpy today, that’s it. Getting pushed back by the creatures there must have rattled me. “I just hate these events, and I had to meet more people than usual.”

“I understand.” Aditi commiserated. “I am uneasy in such circles too, though some, like young Donovan, have taken to it well.” She smiled fondly, remembering the youngest member of their team.

“I’m glad someone has.” Eleanor complained. “So, where are the others?”

“Mary-Jane went off with Sarah and that Max Power fellow.” She said, frowning. “Apparently his foundation is interested in setting up additional orphanages countrywide, and was talking about getting additional staff and teachers. It was rather beyond me, I am afraid.” Aditi apologised.

“Well, Mary-Jane does love children.” Eleanor mused. “And for a supposed philanthropist like Max Power… no, I don’t feel he’s that charitable. Do you think he is doing it with ulterior motives?”

“Well, of course he is.” She replied, and Eleanor was surprised.

“Wait, really?”

“Yes, really.” She echoed. “Just how easy is it to get close to a princess? Such an opportunity cannot be bought. I mean, there’s your cousins, right? But other than them… and of course, there is more.” She lowered her voice. “After all, are we not heroes protecting the country? You are doubly important. The fact you are very pretty does not hurt, too.”

At that Eleanor felt her face heating up. Pretty? I guess so, but… “You think he’s trying to get closer to me?”

“I do. And the Queen, she desires you to make allies, hence all these gatherings.” She chuckled. “Perhaps this man is indeed a charitable sort, and wishes to help Mary-Jane with her dreams, perhaps not. But well, he would be a fool to cause you trouble. After all… are you not able to crush him one-handed, if you wish?”

“Oh Aditi, don’t tease me.” She found herself smiling, her troubles momentarily forgotten. “Though I guess that’s true. Did you ever wonder just why we get stronger the more we fight?”

“Of course. It puzzles me greatly.” She said. “I do wish Arjuna had been more clear with me, but I thought I was dreaming at first, and then… well, I was terrified. Me, chosen by such a famous hero that I thought mythical. But I do remember, he did say that only through battle shall you gain the strength to survive. It is very like a game, no?”

“A game? I suppose so.” Eleanor was hardly an avid gamer, though she was not so sheltered as to not understand her point. “I played a few as a child, Final Fantasy, Zelda, that sort of thing. It does seem that we level up as we defeat enemies. But life isn’t a game…”

“Maybe not.” Aditi agreed. “But we have fought monsters that could only exist in stories, and we are clearly growing stronger. I can think of no other explanation, other than we seem to be drawing something out of the foes we defeat. After all, we gather that energy, that ether, and it is drawn into our Avalons, creating strange wonders. Remember how mine repelled those fish-creatures with bright blasts of energy?”

Eleanor nodded, remembering. They had fallen back to safety, and then the press of merfolk slammed into the mysterious barrier that protected them, before being blasted apart by volleys of brilliant light from the strange towers that had sprouted in Aditi’s Avalon. I guess it does make sense, as much as anything does. Really, what we need more than anything is knowledge. I know grandmother has tasked the Prime Minister with setting up a diplomatic core to deal with foreign nations regarding this… even so…

Talking to Aditi was relaxing her, and fortunately everyone else was keeping their distance. From time to time she felt the gaze of people on her, but not being alone, it was far more bearable. Next time… next time we’ll reach the Palace. We grow stronger, and Sir Arthur says we are more skilled, so… next time, we won’t fail!