It's been a month since the wedding. Things have mostly calmed down.

Most villages and cities in Britain have already sworn loyalty to King Arthur. The ones that didn't have either sided with King Lot or been destroyed by Vortigern.

I think Artoria is preparing for a move against Vortigern. She's been studying his territory and sending scouts to study the borders. The fact she's looking for more knights for the Round Table makes me think she's preparing for something big.

But that wasn't my current problem.

My current problem is that, when I came back to my puppet body after relaxing in my real one for the night. I didn't find myself in Camelot. Instead, I found myself staring at nothing but sand as far as the eye can see.

Standing up, I looked around, trying to see where I am. Obviously a desert, but I must have been in the very middle because there was literally nothing around. I was only wondering what the puppet body is doing there for a few seconds before the smell of flowers hit me.

"Oh, you piece of shit!" I cried out, aiming it at a certain Mage of Flowers.

Third POV:

Looking at the message in her hand, Artoria hummed. The reports from her scouts had confirmed that she can no longer take any chances with Vortigern. He was growing more hostile and getting closer.

Her thoughts trailed back to potential knights to join the Round Table. Lancelot had recently told her that he had a prodigy that was like a son to him, but he also said that he was still too young, so she decided to simply keep an eye on them for now.

A knight named Brunor had been making a strong impact, and Guinevere had suggested Cador, who was an exceptional knight himself despite being a bit old. Though, Artoria supposed she shouldn't only look for young candidates.

"Your majesty, Sir Kay and Sir Gawain returned with refugees from the villages in the south," Bedivere stated as he walked to her side.

Artoria smiled and nodded. "Thank you, Bedivere. I will meet with them shortly. For now, tell the knights to tend to the refugees."

Her loyal knight nodded before turning to leave. Before he takes one step towards the gates of the throne room, however, they were burst open by Zack, who looked furious.

"You Incubus bastard!" He yelled.

Artoria slowly turned her confused gaze towards Merlin, who simply smiled at Zack. "Ah, good morning. Did you enjoy your trip? I thought surely you'd try getting a tan."

"You left me in the freaking Empty Quarter!" Zack cried out, marching towards Merlin.

"Oh, is that what that desert is called?" Merlin asked, uncaring that Zack was getting closer.

When Zack reached Merlin, the Mage moved back and stood on the other side of Artoria's throne. When Zack attempted to go around the throne, Merlin did the same in the other direction, ensuring that Artoria and her throne would always be between them.

Artoria herself sighed while pinching the bridge of her nose. The two people that are meant to guide her in her kinghood were now running around her throne like a couple of bratty children.

"Zack, can you please go and check on Lancelot with the new recruits?" She said, attempting to defuse the situation by getting these two away from each other. "I would really like your opinion on possible recruits for the Round Table."

Zack stopped trying to go around the throne but didn't stop glaring at Merlin, who's smile didn't falter for a single second. With a huff, Zack turned around and walked out of the throne room, his feet stomping the floor.

First POV: Zack

I'll get him back for this. If he thinks the Empty Quarter was a good prank, then just wait until he wakes up on the freaking Moon!

As I was thinking of my revenge on Merlin, a voice managed to draw my attention. "You know, you could at least have the decency to greet me."

I stopped in my tracks and looked around. Spotting a small, white furred creature at the end of the hallway. "Oh, it's you? Hey."

"Is that all I get after you come here for a year and say nothing to me? A 'Hey'?" Cath Palug replied with a deadpan look.

I returned with my own look. "And a year to beings like us is...?"

Cath Palug sighed. "Fair enough. But, you still could have said something to me. At least a 'thank you' for making me get ready to start killing but then telling me to stop before I even start."

"Okay, you have a point, my bad," I admitted with a shrug as it walked closer and swiftly crawled up the puppet body to land on my shoulder. "Sorry, but in my defence, do YOU go out of your way to meet up with every child of the planet around?"

"We practically live in the same house," Cath Palug replied as I started walking again.

"You live here. I don't. I practically just visit to do my job," I sighed with a shake of my head. "Which I still do not like or understand. Couldn't they have had you watch over Excalibur in my place?"

"My job is to kill humans, not to watch over them," Cath Palug said back, shrugging his tiny shoulders. "You wouldn't trust a fire breathing dragon to grow a tree, would you?"

Guess he has a point.

We just chatted about the most mundane stuff as I walked towards the training barracks. Heck, we even talked about the weather.

Though it was more Cath Palug saying his preference rather than me saying anything since I can control the weather and all that. I mean, he probably could, but anything he makes would probably be floods and storms.

When we reached the barracks, we saw Lancelot watching over the new recruits as they faced each other in duels with training swords and shields.

Lancelot looked up at the sky, probably to see the position of the sun and see what time it is. Looking back at the recruits, he called out. "Alright, enough! Until late afternoon, you are to rest. After that, we will be having formation training on horseback!"

Lancelot was about to turn around when someone called out to him. "W-Wait!" Looking back, he saw Gareth and Gaharis, wearing training equipment, running towards him. "We can still keep going, Sir Lancelot!" Gaharis added, though his statement wasn't backed up by how and Gareth looked ready to fall over.

Lancelot shook his head. "No, go take a rest. Come back with the rest for the formation training."

"B-But, we can handle more training!" Gareth insisted.

"And who said your training is even done?" Lancelot's statement caused the two siblings to look confused. Crossing his arms, he continued. "Letting your body adjust to what you just put it through is part of training. If you don't let your body take in the trials it was just put through, it would break on you. Training is for getting better, so resting to let your body grow is part of training. Now, I want you two to return fully rested with the rest for the formation training, and I'll be incredibly disappointed if you're not in peak condition."

"Y-Yes, Sir Lancelot!" Both siblings cried out before leaving in a hurry.

I hummed as I watched that play out. That was actually pretty good. No wonder many of the younger knights look up to him. He knew what to do and how to make them realise its what they need.

When Lancelot turned around, he finally saw me and Cath Palug. Though, there was a slight tensing on his part when he saw the latter, it was probably because Cath Palug is without Merlin.

"That seemed to go well. You have a way to be inspirational when you want to be," I commented as I walked closer.

Lancelot uncrossed his arms and shrugged. "I was simply stating facts. Growth takes time, and doing it right requires you to use that time correctly."

"I can see why Arthur put you in charge of training new recruits, little Lancy," I stated with a chuckle.

Lancelot almost choked on his own spit, pink dusting his cheeks as he gave me a weak glare. "Can you please refrain from calling me that?"

Chuckling again, I replied, "For what it's worth, I don't really call you that just to tease you. I actually think it's a cute nickname."

"For a child, perhaps."

"And compared to me, everyone in Camelot is a child," I immediately deflected his defence.

"Please, call me by my proper name," Lancelot breathed a sigh through his nose. "After all, it would a problem if I didn't call you by your proper name, Green Knight."

I deadpan at him at his threat. Rolling my eyes, I shrugged. "Fine, fine. I'll refrain from calling you that in public," he didn't appear satisfied, but that's the best he's getting from me. Looking around, I saw a couple of practice swords left on the ground. "Hey, would you like a spar?"

Lancelot's anger and embarrassment were replaced by surprise. "What brought this on?"

I shrugged my shoulders. "Honestly? I'm just curious and bored. We both have free time, so why don't we use it correctly? Plus, it could be a nice way to trade tips over swordsmanship. I'm always up for learning something new."

Lancelot hummed before nodding with a smile. "A wise mindset. Though, considering you prefer to avoid attention, I suppose we should find a more secluded area for our little spar."

I chuckled. "Oh, trust me, there's nothing 'little' about what we're about to do."