Finding You Always

Broken Kingdom

Chapter 107: Broken Kingdom

When Grif awakened in the cell at the station, he found his King looking in on him along with the outsider Arthur had entrusted.

"Why Grif...why did you steal from the reliquary?" Arthur demanded to know. The man seemed confused for a moment, for the King had told him to do as such. Then he realized this to be part of his King's ruse. After all, New Camelot could not rise if these interlopers stood in their way.

"I was tired of being treated as a lowly squire! Always your errand boy and never a Knight!" he hissed, as David dumped the contents of Grif's satchel on his desk.

"Well...there's no bean," David said, as he looked through the trinkets, until he came upon a crimson toadstool.

"I can't be sure, but I feel like I've seen this before though," David replied, as Snow, Regina, and Emma appeared. David's preoccupation with the toadstool was forgotten when he saw the look on his wife's face.

"Snow..." he started to say.

"Leo is missing," she cried.

"What?" he exclaimed.

"There's more," Regina mentioned, glancing at the King and the prisoner.

"Excuse us," David said, as they filed into his office.

"Of course," the King responded, as he turned to his squire.

"Do you think they suspect?" Grif asked.

"No...you did well. But we must ensure the safety of New Camelot. They cannot discover what I have planned for their little town," Arthur replied.

"Your secret is safe with me, My Lord. I'll do anything for Camelot," Grif responded.

"I'm glad to hear that, because I'm afraid the Kingdom depends upon a great sacrifice from you," Arthur said, as he produced a vial of poison from his pocket. Grif frowned.

"But my King...I'll never say a word," he promised.

"I know, but they have magic. They could force you to talk. For the good of Camelot, we cannot take that chance," Arthur warned.

"For the good of Camelot," Grif muttered.

"Your name will live in infamy in our Kingdom and your sacrifice will never be forgotten," Arthur lied. With that, Grif swallowed the poison and disappeared in a puff of green smoke.

"So...the dagger is missing too?" David asked, as they finished explaining what had happened or at least what they knew, while he held a distraught Snow in his arms.

"Yes...and despite the things he's done in the past, I don't think Gold has the dagger or Leo for that matter," Regina replied.

"It's whoever cast this curse...it has to be," Emma deduced.

"We need to get our memories back," Regina said.

"We need to keep searching, but no one should search alone," David decided.

"I think we should also talk about this. I found this book with my things and it has some interesting things in it," Regina said, as she showed them a crude drawing.

"Is that a split heart?" Emma asked.

"It is and I think this sword is meant to be Excalibur," Regina stated. David's brows furrowed.

"But that doesn't make any sense. Snow and I aren't destined to rule Camelot," David replied.

"And Excalibur belongs to Arthur," Snow added.