#in case youre brand new here btw and not a quotev migrant whos already read this

[jessisnotnormalq]

Chapter 1: Favour

Masterlist

“You sure you’ve got everything?” Jada asked, hurrying round the living room to pick up some last-minute items. “Make sure you give her a bottle with her tea. They’re in the fridge at the back, remember to warm it up first, won’t you?”

            “I’m not a complete idiot, you know,” Jim responded with a laugh. “I do have a vague idea what I’m doing. I help my sister with her baby all the time.”

            “You’ll phone me if anything happens, won’t you?”

            He rolled his eyes teasingly. “Yes, Jada. Now if you don’t hurry up, you’re gonna be late.”

            “All right, all right,” she sighed, crouching down to where Emily was playing on the floor. She scooped her daughter up into her arms, planting a kiss in her soft curls. “See you tomorrow, baby. I’ll miss you.”

            Emily gave a little squeal, flashing her a cheeky grin as Jada put her back onto the floor and turned to address Jim again. “I’ll be back as soon as I can. Phone me if you need anything.”

            “Stop worrying!” Jim laughed, stepping around Emily to push Jada towards the door. “You’re supposed to have fun. Everything here is under control.”

            “See you tomorrow, Izzy!” Jada called up the stairs as they reached the hallway, hoping her other housemate could hear her.

            Her fears proved unfounded, however, when Izzy's face appeared out of her bedroom doorway. “Have fun!” she called back, waving. “I expect some exciting stories when you return!”

            Jada was unsure what kind of exciting adventures Izzy expected her to have at Ubi’s New Year’s party, but she nodded anyway, turning and heading out into the cold December evening. The last December evening, she realised with a nostalgic twinge as she climbed into her car. The last evening of 2015.

            She reversed out of the driveway, pausing only to hit the start button on her Satnav before she set off. It had been five months since she’d last seen Ubi, when he’d moved out of his student accommodation in the summer and got himself a new place with a friend. The drive would take her forty-five minutes, her Satnav informed her, so she had planned to stay overnight and come home the next morning. However, it would be the longest time she’d spent away from Emily since bringing her home from the hospital eight months ago, and Jada only hoped she could last the night.

            The house was not what Jada had been expecting for a third-year university student with no job. It looked as though it had been built in the Victorian era, with great bay windows and a small wooden porch, and was nestled on the edge of a country park. Despite having donned her best outfit—a red bodycon dress complete with heels she’d not seen for so long she’d had to clear the dust off them—she couldn’t help but feel massively underdressed for such an elegant setting.

            She was soon reassured, however, by the sight of Ubi, who opened the front door wearing a fairly smart-casual shirt and skinny jeans as she was locking her car.

            “Jesus Christ, Ubi,” she began as she made her way onto the porch. “Who’d you have to kill to end up in a place like this?”

            Ubi grinned, taking her coat as she stepped inside. “Nothing to do with me. Morgo’s the one who deals with all the shady stuff. I just stand to the side and look innocent.”

            “Innocent? You?” Jada laughed. “You’re not that good an actor.”

            His smile widened. “Maybe that’s just what I want you to think.” He gestured for her to follow him into the living room, which was full of incredible antique-looking furniture to match the house’s grand exterior.

            “Fucking hell, Ubi, is your friend loaded?” she gaped, but he only chuckled. “What the hell did you have to do for him to let you stay here?”

            “Oh, you know, just the usual. Gotta help him reap the souls of the chosen, etcetera,” Ubi joked, causing Jada to smack him lightly on the arm. “You’re actually here early for once. Morgo’s gone out to get some extra drinks, so guess who gets to help me set up?”

            “Aren’t I lucky?” she replied sarcastically.

            Before long, other people had started to arrive, some of whom Jada recognised from her brief time at university, though most of them she had never seen before. The official start to the party was signalled by the music beginning to play, and soon drinks were being handed round as darkness began to fall.

            It was around midnight when Jada stumbled into the kitchen, drink in hand, to find Ubi leaning against the counter and discussing something in a hushed voice with another man. The two of them looked up as she entered.

            “Jada, come over here,” Ubi called, gesturing to her. “There’s someone I want you to meet.”

            Jada did as she was told. “All right, but you better not be trying to set me up with anybody. I swear, I’ve had enough of that from Izzy.”

            Ubi laughed, shaking his head, while the stranger gave a small smile of amusement.

            “No, no, it’s nothing like that,” Ubi assured her. “I just wanted to introduce you to Morgo. Morgo, this is Jada Thorburn.”

            He gestured between them, and the man named Morgo offered his hand.

            “It’s a pleasure to finally meet you. Ubi has told me so much about you already.”

            Jada snorted. “Nothing bad, I hope?”

            Morgo had an unusual air about him. He regarded her with an unreadable expression, though she couldn’t help but feel slightly unsettled as his eyes appeared to almost look through her. They were partly obscured by his unruly hair, which fell in brown curls across them so that she was only able to see them when he wished her to. He seemed to belong perfectly in the surroundings of such an old and obscure house, but looked positively out of place amongst the people within the current setting. Even his clothes looked wrong; his too-large shirt and rolled up jeans looked as though they must have been borrowed off somebody else.

            “You were in his drama class, yes? A budding actress?”

            Jada nodded. “Had to drop out last year, though.”

            “Oh really? May I ask why?”

            “Had a baby,” she replied, shrugging. “She was premature, so it just seemed easier to quit and focus on her at the time.”

            “A shame,” Morgo shook his head. “I imagine her father is looking after her now?”

            “Nah, my mate is. We live together, so he helps me out when I need it.”

            “Ah, I see.” Morgo nodded thoughtfully, and Jada began to wonder just how much information he was gleaning from her.

            From the living room, one of the guests could be heard shouting above the music. “Ten minutes ‘til midnight!”

            “I’m going back in there,” Ubi announced, swigging the last of his drink before picking up another. “Anybody coming?”

            “Nah,” Jada responded, while Morgo just shook his head. “I’ll be in in a bit though.”

            “All right, see you later, then,” Ubi bid them farewell, before heading back into the party.

            Morgo took a sip of his drink, wrinkling his nose at the taste. “I have a favour to ask of you,” he said after regaining his composure.

            Jada frowned. “What kind of favour?”

            “I need you to trust me.”

            Her frowned deepened, eyes narrowing in suspicion. “No offense, but that seems kind of a shifty thing to say.”

            He chuckled, almost taking another sip from his can before he pulled it away from his lips hastily. “You’re staying here until tomorrow, correct?”

            Jada was starting to wonder if that was such a good idea. “…Yeah?”

            “Good, I will be able to explain more then.” He gave her a broad smile. “For now you should just enjoy the party, I suppose.”

            Now it was Jada’s turn to drink, though she continued to frown at him over the top of the glass. “You’re a bit odd, you, aren’t you?”

            Again, Morgo chuckled. “I imagine so. Ubi seems to believe so, at any rate.”

            “You sure you can’t tell me whatever this ‘favour’ is now?”

            He sighed, waving his hand vaguely. “It would take too long, too many people around.”

            She nodded in neither agreement or approval, screwing her mouth up. “Right. Well, I’m gonna go back in there now. See you some other time.”

            “Of course,” Morgo nodded, though there was a small smile playing on his lips. “Some other time.”

            She made her way back into the living room, re-joining Ubi as the image of Big Ben on the laptop screen began to count down. Why neither Ubi nor Morgo had invested in a TV for the place she couldn’t understand, but that thought was soon pushed aside as the clock began to chime. Suddenly, the sky exploded in a burst of colour, the lights on the London Eye mimicking the fireworks in their own colourful sequence as 2016 burst onto the screen. Jada wished that one day she could see the show in person, perhaps when Emily was bigger and could appreciate it properly.

            She’d had to watch last year’s countdown from her hospital room, keeping her headphones turned low so that it wouldn’t startle Emily. They’d been able to hear it even without the headphones, though, through the window, and Jada could still remember the flashes of colour dancing across the incubator where her one-day-old daughter lay. She’d been so sensitive to loud noises back then; she’d opened her little mouth to croak a protest, though there’d been no cry. She was too little to cry, the nurses had said.

            Jada found herself crying now, watching the fireworks flash onscreen and reflecting on just how much her life had changed in the past year. When Ubi spotted her across the small crowd huddled round his laptop, his face grew concerned, at first. But after she’d explained her very legitimate reasons to him, he’d only shook his head with a smile and decided it was probably time she went to bed.

            The rest of the guests were just beginning to disband as she settled into the spare room, all thoughts of the party already leaving her as she fell into unconsciousness.

            When morning came, complete with a chorus of birdsong and sunlight filtering through the curtains and falling across her face, Jada wished it would piss off. She squinted at the traitorous gap in the fabric, before hauling the covers over her head with a groan. It had been so long since she last got the chance to go out, she’d almost forgotten hangovers existed.

            Eventually, she’d managed to pluck up the courage to face the infernal sun, changing into her spare clothes before heading downstairs to see what the breakfast situation looked like in The Manor.

            She wouldn’t have been surprised to find a professional cook slaving away in the kitchen, but instead she was greeted by Ubi’s ever-cheerful grin as he scrambled some eggs, while Morgo seemed thoroughly invested in the newspaper he held before him.

            “Morning,” Ubi greeted her, prompting Morgo to look up and give her a nod. “How d’you like your eggs?”

            She returned Morgo’s nod with a small smile, before replying. “Uh, scrambled, I guess.”

            “You were right,” Ubi grinned, turning to Morgo and depositing the eggs onto his plate.

            Morgo simply raised his eyebrows at his housemate, before returning his gaze to the paper. “Of course.”

            Jada stretched, sitting opposite Morgo at their small wooden table and rubbing her forehead.

            “Ubi, will you get the remedy I prepared from the cupboard above the sink, please?” Morgo requested, still not looking up.

            Ubi did as he was asked, handing a small black vial to his friend, who in turn held it out for Jada.

            “Take that. It’ll stop the pounding in your head.”

            Jada thanked him, taking the vial and popping the cork out of it. Immediately she was hit with the smell, which she could only guess was the scent of some kind of offal. “Ugh, what is it?”

            “Just a few herbs, really. I’d say it won’t taste as bad as it smells, but…” She thought he smirked, “Probably best to down it in one.”

            She glanced to Ubi, who gave her a reassuring smile. After sighing in resignation, she tilted her head back, trying not to think about the horrific sludge that was passing over her tongue. She spluttered when she finished, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand.

            “I hope those eggs are nearly done,” she croaked.

            She’d earnt a smile from Morgo, while Ubi chuckled, turning back to his pan. “Just a minute.”

            Morgo’s gaze remained on her, and after a moment he folded his paper up and set it down, intertwining his hands over it. “What time do you expect to be back home, then?”

            “I told Jim I’d be back as soon as I could,” she replied. “Didn’t want to be away too long.”

            “Of course. And are you planning to drive yourself?”

            She nodded. “’Soon as I can.”

            Morgo turned to glance at Ubi, who seemed to be watching them out of the corner of his eye. “Well I’m glad you gave no solid timeframe. That will make things much easier for us, I imagine.”

            Jada frowned, her headache worsening. “You what?”

            Morgo was back to leaning on the table again, his gaze becoming intense. “You’re adopted.”

            Jada snorted at the absurdity of the comment. “You know, I’m really glad you felt the need to tell me that. I’d have had no idea otherwise,” she retorted sarcastically. She caught Ubi’s smirk, though Morgo seemed unamused, so she added, “D’you think I don’t know that?”

            “Did you never wonder who your parents were?”

            “No.”

            The two seemed surprised at her answer.

            “Why not?” Morgo asked.

            She shrugged. “They didn’t want me; why should I waste a single thought on them? Life doesn’t really work like in the films, you know.”

            Morgo’s expression softened. “Your mother did want you. She cared about you very much.”

            She felt her eyebrows raise in challenge. “And you would know?”

            His eyes dropped, his fingernail beginning to scratch at the paper underneath his hands. “I didn’t know her very well. Not at all, really. I only met her once, in passing. The day I saved your life.”

            Jada scoffed again. “You what?”

            Morgo’s eyes returned to her face, his words suddenly coming very fast. “Your mother was killed in a fire. She was staying in an inn in the capital, and you were with her. We were trying to keep an eye on things, to make sure everything was all right. When I saw the blaze I knew I had to go in, that I had to do something. It was too late for your mother, and I’m sorry for that, but then I found you. She’d doused your crib in water, it seemed, which gave me just enough time to get you out. Naturally, I couldn’t keep you here with us, though Ubi tried to argue with me. So we found a nice orphanage for you-”

            “Orphanage?” she interrupted. “What is this, the Victorian era? It’s called an adoption centre.”

            “My apologies-”

            “And what am I, anyway? Fucking Harry Potter? My parents were killed, but you managed to save me in the nick of time? Yeah right, and the next one.”

            Wearing a quizzical expression, Morgo turned to Ubi, who shrugged. “She doesn’t believe you, basically. I told you it would have been easier to keep her with us.”

            “I can’t believe you’re buying into this shit, too,” Jada scowled. “Is this some sort of stupid joke?”

            “No, no,” Morgo said. “I promise you I’m completely serious. I saved your life, gave you to the authorities in this world to be properly adopted, and then Ubi’s been keeping an eye on you recently, until now.”

            “'In this world'?” she repeated. "What are you actually fucking talking about?"

            Morgo sighed in exasperation, rubbing his brows. “You were born in Albion, which is in a separate world to this one. Now, if you’d just co-operate, we’d get through this much faster and then you can go on your merry way.”

            Jada crossed her arms, still scowling, but said nothing.

            “Very good. Now, since I saved your life, you could say you owe me a favour.” Jada wasn't sure she agreed, but Morgo was looking at her expectantly, seemingly waiting for her retort. When none came, he sighed again. “What do you know of the Arthurian legends?”

            A moment passed, before he gave a sound of frustration. “You can talk now.”

            “I did a few projects on them in high school,” she replied with a bitter shrug. “But I don’t see what this has to do with anything.”

            “Well you wouldn’t, would you?” Morgo retorted.

            Ubi snickered, causing the two of them to look back over towards him, still scrambling some more eggs.

            Morgo turned back to her first. “How did they end, the legends?”

            Jada sighed. “Arthur’s killed by Mordred, at the Battle of Camlann.”

            “Not killed, mortally wounded,” Morgo corrected.

            “Fine. Arthur is mortally wounded by Mordred at the Battle of Camlann. Because the distinction is so important.”

            “It is,” Morgo countered. “‘Mortally wounded’ implies that Arthur was not yet dead when he was taken to Avalon.”

            “So?”

            “So, I need you to make sure he doesn’t die.”

            What little patience of Jada’s remained now vanished. “And how the fuck am I supposed to do that?”

            “You need to find a way to heal him. Luckily for you, I know just the right way. But you’ll have to use magic, of course.”

            “Magic? You realise that all of this makes absolutely no sense, right?” She turned to Ubi for help. “Is he on something?”

            “Nope,” Ubi replied. “Magic is real. You might not have realised, but you come from a long line of magic users, dating back for more than four hundred years.”

            Jada changed her focus. “Are you on something?”

            He grinned. “Nope. I’m surprised you haven’t noticed anything yet.”

            “She’d have had no need to,” Morgo interjected, calling Jada’s attention back to him. “But now you do. I’m sending you to study under Merlin. You’ll learn the basics of magic there, but after that you’ll have to move on to a more difficult school of study.”

            Jada laughed. “Oh yeah? And will I be going to Atlantis for dinner, as well?”

            Morgo seemed unamused, so she changed her tone as she rose from the table. “Look, I don’t know what the hell you’re on about, but I am not going to Camelot to learn how to use magic to save a fictional king, all right? Sorry to disappoint, but I’m busy.”

            She turned on her heel, ready to head out the door, pick up her keys, and never return to this house again. Behind her she heard Morgo rise, his chair scraping against the tiles.

            “Morgo, we can’t make her,” Ubi said. “If she doesn’t want to, there’s nothing we can do.”

            She was in the hallway now, about to retrieve her coat from the rack that Ubi had hung it on as the kitchen door behind her swung open again. She was grateful she’d thought to move her bag with the rest of her belongings by the door already. A smooth escape would have been so much more difficult otherwise.

            She bent to pick it up, purposely paying no heed to the figure behind her as she did so, until he said something that she did not expect.

            “Swefe nu.”

            Before Jada could turn to even frown at him, she felt her legs buckle beneath her as the floor rushed to meet her. The last thing she heard before unconsciousness took her was Ubi’s voice of indignation:

            “Morgo!”

Chapter 2 ->