Elliot Turner could still hardly believe how his life had changed after the sudden appearance of Camelot's white walls not far from his family's home.
He still clearly remembered the day he went out for a walk, and saw the city in the distance. He had been the first person in the world to see those walls, and to even touch them, that day had really turned his entire world upside down.
After that day, everything just went crazy, the whole fucking army came down and nearly kicked them out of their house for being so close, yet thankfully they were able to stay, even if the surrounding area was completely transformed.
Military barricades, tents, and pop-up pubs, a whole damn town sprang up in his front yard, and he, too, was one of the first to see and touch the walls of Camelot, became famous.
Overnight, he became a known face across the Isles as he and his family took part in interview after interview, in particular after access to the surrounding area was closed off; everyone wanted to talk with people who had a chance to touch the wall itself.
Yet things didn't change there, no, in fact, that was just the beginning, what really started to change his life came a good bit later, when the city gates started to open once more.
It was when Camelot and the King of Knights decreed that all of Britain was hers to rule, that not just his life, but the life of everyone changed. He wasn't far from the action when Mordred started to go on a rampage, killing and destroying everything.
Even now, he was still feeling second-hand embarrassment on behalf of the British military for losing so badly to a single knight; it was downright humiliating, though thankfully, Albion now had the knights, so that made up for it.
Yeah, Albion, the birth of a new nation, who would even have imagined that? He still remembered the first day back in school after that bomb dropped.
History and Citizenship classes had been a total mess. History had honestly been a mess since Camelot appeared, as suddenly people didn't care about anything but ancient stuff, and the teachers had little to say about that.
Most classes they spent just watching TV, watching interviews with historians talking about their theory, and other related topics.
It was fun, but also totally chaotic since even the teachers didn't know anything, and were just as curious as they were.
Though even that was absolutely nothing compared to what happened after the two-day war, as it was called, he still remembered the first Citizenship class after that.
From learning about democracy and all that, to suddenly being the citizen of another nation, a kingdom ruled by an absolute monarch? Yeah, that was pretty wrecked.
Still, at least the teachers could tell them about what an absolute monarchy was, but it felt more like another history class than it did Citizenship.
Still, what really changed his life was when the doors of Albion were open for all, and his parents decided to move in.
Camelot was many things, a great home he didn't think it was. Sure, his parents mostly got their new home for free, and sold the old one for a ton, due to everyone wanting to set up business and stuff outside the city.
But the city, Camelot. The capital of Albion had a huge problem: no electricity. So he couldn't watch TV, couldn't play games, he couldn't do anything fun at all.
Camelot, for all its glory, looked like it had come straight out of some fantasy novel — towers of pale stone, banners that fluttered in the wind, and knights in actual armor patrolling the streets. It was beautiful. It was awe-inspiring. It was… kind of boring when you were stuck in a candlelit flat with no Wi-Fi.
Elliot hadn't realized just how much of his life revolved around screens until he moved inside the walls. At first, he thought it was going to be awesome. He imagined knights training in the streets, dragons maybe, or at least cool magic stuff.
What he got instead was just more of the same, just without any of the fun. He still had school, and while everyone was struggling to figure out what they were supposed to teach in such a changing world, he was just bored out of his mind.
There were no classes on magic or sword fighting. Nothing new or special, and without entertainment at home, he didn't know what to do.
And just as he had gotten famous on social media as well, he suddenly couldn't do that as much. Sure, he had a phone, and he could charge it and stuff, but compared to everything he had lost? He didn't think Camelot was all that cool.
Elliot let out a sigh as he threw another small rock into the hole.
Camelot was a city filled with mysteries and magic, but honestly, they weren't all that much fun, at least not what was outside the castle itself, and that was closed to the public.
At most, he could try to lift Mjolnir or throw stuff into the hole, which was something he was doing often.
He, like many others, was curious about what was at the bottom of it. Because, surely, it wasn't bottomless? Despite magic being real and all that, he figured it was just like technology; he didn't know why his phone worked, just that it did, and he figured magic was the same, just another thing most people would never understand.
But a hole without a bottom? That's just not possible, despite how much trash they were throwing down there, never showing up, or smelling. One day, it had to fill up, surely.
"Hey Elliot, fished anything up from there yet?" another boy his age asked as he came running.
"Yeah, right, like tincan over there." Elliot pointed towards the Enforcement Knight. "Will allow anyone to do that."
The other boy just snorted as he looked down the hole from the safe distance they were allowed. "Yeah, those guys really don't mess around, poor J is still nursing a broken shoulder after he almost fell in."
"At least the Knight caught him, or he wouldn't even be able to complain. That hole is deep, and knowing all the stuff they throw down there? Hell, I would hope I wouldn't survive to smell that." Elliot replied.
It wasn't against the rules to go close to the hole, and you could freely throw things into it, like he had been doing with small stones and rocks, but trying to enter it, or pull anything out or up was forbidden.
Just a few days ago, some of the other bored boys from their neighborhood had been playing, and one had lost his footing at the edge as he was throwing something into the hole, and he almost fell in himself.
But despite the resistance, that Knight, always just standing and watching, had moved so fast they hadn't even been able to see it, and grabbed James before he fell, even if the knight had been too rough.
Still, Elliot was amazed that the knight could move so fast. He knew they were strong, but still, who could move that fast?
It wasn't a secret anymore that those knights weren't real people; only the Round Table knights were real; the rest? Magic robots or something, but they clearly still had surprises hidden away. He couldn't help but wonder what else they could do, could they fly?
"You're not coming over to watch the show?" Max asked him after a moment.
"I don't know, I have seen it many times, it's just the same, isn't it?" Elliot sighed.
"Come on, man, there is nothing else to do in this city, so why miss out on what little entertainment there is?"
Elliot threw yet another stone into the great big hole, which greedily swallowed it up, and like everything that entered that hole, there was never a sound of it hitting anything. "I'm just so bored, I miss being able to play games online. Living here? It's not what I expected."
"Elliot, we are living in a city that was built overnight, filled with magic, we are literally living in a world with magic, and you still miss playing Halo?"
"I wouldn't miss it if we were learning magic, but we still learn the same stuff as before, so yeah, I miss it. Not to mention being able to just browse the internet, only so much you can do on the phone, you know." Elliot said, throwing the last of his stones into the hole.
"Yeah, I get what you mean, but missing it isn't going to change anything, so we might as well go watch the show before every seat is gone. I don't want to have to fight for a seat with the tourists; that would be horrible." Max grimaced at the thought of having to fight over a tourist seat.
"Fine, fine, but don't think I don't know the only reason you want me to come along is because you are too shy to talk with the royal maids on your own." Elliot said before standing up.
"Hey, those girls scare me, the looks they give sometimes, it's like you could kill me." Max tried to defend himself.
"You say that, but you still crush on them hard." Elliot teased as the two started walking through the streets of Camelot.
While curious tourists might struggle with the many paths, roads, and alleys. The two boys who lived in the city and called it home knew it well and could navigate the maze of cobblestone easily.
"Hey, those girls are fine, okay? Not even online can you find anyone looking that good, they are amazing." Max shot back in his own defence.
"I mean, I agree they are top tier for sure, but Megan Fox and Taylor Swift aren't bad either." Elliot added.
"Sure, but those are like living in another world or something, but the royal maids? Those are right there, you can talk with them and all, that makes them way better." Max spoke up in defence of his crush.
"Talk with them? You can barely look them in the eye, much less strike up a conversation." Elliot snorted.
"Come on, man, I just get nervous, is all. And don't act like you don't admire them, no way you resist stealing glances." Max pressed.
"Well, yeah, I'm looking, those girls are real maids, and wear maid uniforms, how can I not look?" Elliot admitted.
"I know, right? And they are little cool combat maids, with knives and stuff, that's so cool, I still remember that one time they put on a show in the arena, fighting like that, that was crazy." Max let his excitement show.
Elliot shook his head as they continued. He did agree with Max, sometimes, those shows were mixed up, and something special was done instead of the normal ones.
Sometimes, the Knights of the Round Table would show off, though it was rare; other times, even rarer yet, the Royal maids would show off.
Those women were the first people to live in Camelot. He, like everyone else, had seen the buses of women and girls being escorted into Camelot, right through the barricades.
Even now, a lot of things weren't known about them, but he had met plenty of them, the youngest ones went to school inside Camelot, the same place he did, and the older ones all worked, most in the castle, but not all of them.
Though one thing they all had in common was that they were all beautiful, like singers and film stars. And they were all trained in combat, and when they fought, it was such a sight.
It really looked like something out of a film or a game, two pretty maids fighting with knives and martial arts? He had to admit, only in Camelot could he see something like this, although he missed playing Halo and watching TV.
If only the Royal maids would fight every day, he might not miss TV that much.
(End of chapter)
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