the otherness came (and I knew its name)

PART 1: THE ROADWAY, MUDDY AND FOXGLOVED

It was sharp.

Cursing, he snatched his cut hand back, scattering a few droplets of blood onto Excalbur's blade. Sucking his injured finger, he backed away--

And stopped dead.

For where his blood had fallen, the blade turned black.

He stared, wide-eyed, as the colour spread across the blade, obscuring the silver and replacing it with a cloudy darkness. Frightened, Tedros opened his mouth to shout for Merlin, Lancelot, anyone--

The statue Arthur hefted his sword and jumped down from the plinth, marching over to him. "Dad?" croaked Tedros--

Hedge Arthur raised the sword.

Tedros turned and ran.

There was nowhere for him to go, but he still ran, diving back through the maze of statues, who all turned their heads to look at him as he passed-- and they, too, stepped down and began to follow him. Starting to sob, Tedros skidded out into the open air, slipping on the wet glass as he reached the edge of the tower, hearing the thud of the legions of Hedge Arthur's feet behind him. Desperate, he turned--

He turned and found the statue of his mother standing behind him, clutching a baby-- him, newborn Tedros from the depiction of his christening.

That should have been enough to make him angry, but it didn't. Despite himself, Tedros stood frozen, spellbound by the first depiction of his mother he'd seen for a year, since Arthur had all portraits of her taken down, all statues removed and all carvings with their faces chipped off...

Guinevere stepped forward, coming to stand with him on the edge of the tower. She reached out to touch his face. Shaking, Tedros didn't try to stop her--

But she did stop. She stopped inches from his face, and turned her head--

Hedge Arthur pushed Tedros off the tower.

-----

Now, it was all that Tedros could think about.

"Wait," said the False King. "Wait."

On his knees on the cold stone, two guards behind him, bruised and bewildered and shocked, Tedros could only remember the distinct, sickening feeling of falling.

Rhian turned to the masses assembled below them.

"You don't believe me." he said. "Do you?"

The Camelot people jeered and spat and swore at him. Breathless, Tedros desperately searched the faces below, wondering if they could save him. If they shouted down the rest of the Woods people, if they refused to accept Rhian as they'd refused to accept him...

Rhian bowed his head.

"Ah, understandable. Understandable. I know it's hard to believe that the great King Arthur's son could be such a coward. A fraud. An imposter . You may question my claim to the throne. I am an illegitimate son, true, but a son nonetheless. Still, Tedros has the legitimate claim. Doesn't he?"

Tedros's people screamed to assert it. Tedros looked desperately at Guinevere, who nodded frantically-- he was her son, her eldest son, her only son...

Rhian reached into his jacket.

"Clause Number Three of the First Kingdom Council's Rulings," he quoted, drawing a bundle of papers out of his pocket. " Let it be declared thus that no man of a Darke and Wicked Nature may alone wear the blesséd crown of a Pure and Honourable Kingdom."

There was a moment of silence as the declaration was processed--

Then Tedros started to laugh.

"You're going to accuse me of being a Never, Rhian? Me? I went to Good! You, however, did not, so unless you want this to backfire spectacularly--"