Artemisia

Questions

Mason POV

There it was, that question that I have been waiting for her to ask. It sure took her long enough to realize that something was up.

"Whatever could you mean?" I asked her. "There is no Artoria Pendragon. Just King Arthur. And why ask me when it's obvious that you could look it up yourself?"

I could feel my arm burning. He was getting angry. He wanted to be the one to give her answers.

YOU CANNOT HINDER ME FOREVER!

He screamed in my head. "Shut up." I said aloud.

I was not going to allow this man to meddle any longer. Nor did I want her to be subjected to his whims. Neither of us deserved that, but she didn't need to know about anything.

She looked at me quizzically. Alice did not release the collar of my t-shirt at all. Instead, she held me closer because I refused to answer the question that she had just posed.

I was amazed that it took such a short time for her to realize that the one true king of Camelot was actually a woman.

"Answer me." She stated bluntly.

Defiantly, I raised up my hands and got her to release her grip.

"Answer what exactly?" I asked with a bit of sarcasm.

I knew exactly what she wanted and knew all the answers, but I didn't want to give them to her. I didn't want him to give them to her.

As much as I disliked the woman that was sitting in front of me, I didn't want to give her a fate that she did not want. Nor did I want her to see the demon that shares this body with me.

But the way that she looked at me told me that she was determined to get answers and determined to understand what was going on in her life. Her life that she didn't even know she had no control of.

"You know exactly what I mean."

The more I looked into her eyes, the more I felt drawn in by them. My soul wanted to answer every single question that she had. But I knew that once I succumbed, this would be the beginning of a tragedy.

No one, not even her, should be subject to that torment.

"I really don't." I said bluntly.

She let out a frustrated sigh and moved away from me. Throwing herself on the beanbag next to me she shook her head in defeat.

Then, I felt his presence loom over me, about to take over once more. Suppressing him could only do so much. And he knew that I wouldn't be able to suppress him for very long.

I felt it, the moment that she held me close to her, that he wanted to be the one in the room with her, but the moment that he takes over, her life will never be the same again.

He wanted to change that and more importantly, he wanted to meet her.

I could feel myself drifting. I didn't want to, but I couldn't stop anymore. He had already taken control of my subconscious and I could only watch what was about to unfold before my very eyes.

~

Alice POV

Honestly, it would make the most sense that the boy in front of me knew what I was talking about. Always glaring at me, but always being around me at weird times.

He was also the one who confirmed my suspicions the second day that I had met him. When I said aloud that she was still alive, he never answered me.

And eventually I forgot about it. That is until my mother gave me her diary.

However, this boy would always be the one to avoid me. I had never seen him anywhere except for school, the dining table and the attic room that we share every so often.

I was surprised that this boy even minded my presence here at all because he was so adamant on not seeing me.

I sunk deeper into my chair until he piped up. However, there was an eeriness in the gentle tone that he had begun to use with me.

"I can tell you everything that you want to know." Mason said.

It was as if he wasn't even the one talking. There was no clear hostility, nor was there any annoyance. Rather, it seemed that he wasn't the one talking at all.

I shook aside those thoughts because curiosity got the better of me. But, I still kept my guard up in case he was planning something. Even if he was, I wouldn't know what he would be planning.

"Tell me, what do you want to know?"

I looked at him when he said that. He had the most loving expression on his face. An expression that I had never seen before.

I was a little bit anxious with the way that he looked at me. It was as if he wasn't truly looking at me.

Well, physically Mason was, but his eyes gave a sense of longing. The longing for a loved one that you never thought you would see again, that was the face that he had.

Although, it was a gaze that I never wanted toward me. It made me feel weird.

"You never answered any of my questions before. Why answer now?"

He smiled and with a clear and concise voice, he gave me an answer, "That is because you weren't asking the right questions."

"What are the right questions?" I asked him slightly confused.

"Why don't you try me and find out?"

"Is King..." I stopped for a moment to think again before I began to ask again, "Is the King of Knights, Artoria Pendragon, alive?"

"Yes."

A simple answer like that changed my perspective on everything that was possible.

"Is she in Avalon?"

"Yes."

"Who are you?" This question felt like it was the most important one. Somewhere, deep down inside of me, I knew that it wasn't the boy Mason Ambrose. I don't know why, but a part of me could feel that it wasn't him.

"What do you mean?" He asked me, a little bit taken aback.

"Who are you?" I asked once more.

I knew that he had understood my question because his face had darkened and he tore his gaze away from mine.

But in an instant, that eerie feeling that I had was suddenly gone and the gentle look on the boy's face was no longer carrying a sense of longing, but disbelief and relief.

It was as if someone had finally understood him and he felt a sensation that he had never felt before.

"You could tell?" He asked me.

There was some disbelief in his voice. Although I did not know what he was asking, I felt more comfortable with this tone now then I did a few minutes ago.

"Tell what?" I asked.

"Nevermind." He replied and layed down once more, looking up at the ceiling as if he were contemplating something.

Soon, his eyes closed and I could hear soft snores.

I tried to leave as quietly as I could to avoid waking him.

I could have easily stayed in the room, but something told me that I should leave him for now. There was nothing that I could ask him, nor was there anything that I could say to him to get the answers that I wanted.

Mason seemed too tired to deal with anything. It seemed that he was in a constant state of fatigue. The boy would always have dark circles under his eyes and whenever I did see him in the common areas of the house, he would be sleeping or at least laying down.

For someone that doesn't seem to be out much, it would appear that there is a reason for that. Extreme fatigue? Maybe even insomnia. I truly wonder what that boy dreams about for him to be constantly tired.