The Once and Future Geek

by Mari Mancusi

  “Oh, Mom!” she cried. “I've missed you so much.”

  It was almost too good to be true. Who would have thought there would be such a priceless silver lining to this bleak new world? Who would have thought that Sophie's living nightmare would suddenly become a dream come true? For one moment, she forced herself not to care about alternate histories or websites or errant once and future kings. She just wanted to enjoy a long overdue mother-daughter hug.

  She pulled away, feeling sheepish. After all, if her mother's triumphant return really was a by-product of a time shift, her mother would have always been there—because she would never have left in the first place. And, if so, she'd probably be pretty confused right about now as to why her fourteen-year-old daughter was suddenly hugging her with wild abandon.

  “Um, sorry,” Sophie stammered, forcing herself to regain her composure. After all, she didn't want her mom to think she was completely crazy. “I know you're probably going to say I just saw you this morning and—”

  “You didn't see me this morning, sweetie,” her mother corrected gently. “I've only just arrived.”

  “You have?” Sophie asked, furrowing her brow. Her mother's appearance wasn't due to a change in history? Then why was she suddenly here, appearing out of thin air? It was then that she noticed her mother's outfit for the first time. A simple white tunic dress that fell to her feet, tied with a silver belt.

  The kind of outfit you'd find in medieval times.

  “Oh, Sophie,” her mother said, smiling down at her, tears welling up in her own eyes. “I've missed you so much.” She squeezed her back into a hug. But Sophie couldn't relax in her mother's arms. Not with her brain burning with questions.

  She reluctantly pulled away. “Not that I'm not thrilled to see you, Mom,” she managed to say. “But why are you here?”

  Her mother's face took on a serious look. She led Sophie over to a table and sat her down. “I think you know,” she told her. “It involves a certain time traveling monarch?”

  Sophie almost fell off her chair. “How did you know . . . “ she trailed off, not having a clue of what to say. Her mother's reappearance had something to do with Arthur?

  There's more to your mother than you know, Merlin had said.

  Her mother shrugged. “I don't know the whole story. Only parts. And I just found out or I would have been here a lot sooner,” she told her. “But Merlin chose to hide what was going on, hoping to save things himself. However, the last time shift was so momentous and changed so much history, well, it wasn't hard to see that something had gone wrong, though we were still trying to determine what it was.” She looked lovingly at Sophie. “You called for me last night. Do you remember?”

  Sophie nodded dumbly, remembering her dream. Had it been something more?

  “It was lucky you did,” her mother told her. “It got me worried about you and I decided to make a trip to the Well of Dreams the next morning. It was then that I glimpsed Arthur and put two and two together.”

  “So you're here to help?” Sophie asked, breathing a sigh of relief. She didn't really understand anything that was going on, but just the idea of not being in this alone anymore was enough at the moment.

  Her mother nodded. “Now what we have to do is—”

  Suddenly the library door burst open. Arthur and Lucas stumbled into the room, white faced and out of breath. “What's wrong?” Sophie asked, rising to her feet. “Where's Guinevere?”

  Arthur closed his eyes, looking miserable. “She's been—” He stopped short, opening his eyes and staring at her mother. To Sophie's surprise, he immediately fell to his knees, bowing his head before her.

  “My lady,” he whispered. “I am sorry, I did not see you there.”

  His lady?

  Strangely, Sophie's mother did not seem at all surprised by his behavior. Instead, she rose from her chair and walked over to him, taking his hands in her own and bringing him to his feet.

  “You have been very naughty, my child,” her mother scolded him gently. “What you have done, how you have acted—it is behavior most unbecoming of knight or king.”

  “Knight? King?” Lucas hissed at Sophie. “Who is that lady and what is she talking about? And what does this have to do with Guinevere?”

  Sophie put a finger to her lips. There would be time to bring poor Lucas up to speed later. In the meantime, she watched, with admittedly some satisfaction, as Arthur's face turned bright red at her mother's reprimand. Go, Mom!

  “I've been a fool,” Arthur admitted. “I've destroyed my country and my true love is now in the hands of my worst enemy.” He quickly related what he'd learned about Guinevere.

  Sophie cringed at the news. All that work last night to keep her safe and Morgan had simply struck again. She should have never let the princess out of her sight.

  Sophie's mother frowned. “This is more serious than I thought,” she declared. “We must get you back to Camelot immediately.”

  Arthur looked up at her, his eyes filled with hope. “Then it's not too late?” he breathed. “I can still set things right?”

  “It is never too late for one with a brave soul and a pure heart,” she assured him. “Are you truly ready to meet your destiny head-on and do what needs to be done, no matter what the cost to your personal happiness?”

  Arthur nodded furiously. “As long as Guin and my people are safe—I'll do anything. Just give me a chance. Please!”

  Her mom released his hands. “Then Arthur of Pendragon, it is time for you to go home.”

  “But how?” Sophie blurted out. “The website is down!”

  Arthur turned to her, laughing. “Sophie, this woman is one of the legendary Companions,” he informed her. “She don't need no stinkin' website.”

  Sophie looked at her mother in confusion. “A what?” she asked, hoping to finally get an explanation. Because while she was extremely grateful to have her mother here, she still had no idea how it had all come to pass. And she was getting pretty curious, to say the least.

  Her mother gave her a rueful smile. “I'm sorry, sweetie,” she said. “I suppose I have a lot to explain. Our time is short, but let me tell you what I can.” She turned to Arthur. “This is something you need to hear as well, before you return home.”

  Sophie wondered at first if Arthur was going to protest this little story time session. But instead he just nodded—evidently one did not argue with a “Companion”—whatever that was—and her mom gestured for all three of them to sit around the table.

  “You may have heard of Arthur being called the once and future king,” she began. “And this is true. The Arthur you see here at this table is not the first. Nor will he be the last. His great spirit has been reborn many times, throughout the ages—whenever the world is in need of a true hero with a good heart.” She smiled lovingly at Arthur, who stared back at her in adoration.

  “But,” she continued, “there are many out there, filled with greed and lust for power, who wish to destroy this precious spirit, in order to bring about a lawless world they can rule for their own purposes.”

  “People like Morgan Le Fay,” Sophie realized aloud, thinking about the evil witch.

  Her mother nodded. “Yes,” she agreed. “And so Nimue, the Lady of the Lake, in her divine wisdom, commissioned a sacred set of druid warriors to travel the strands of time and watch over this spirit during each and every rebirth. They call us the Camelot Companions.”

  Sophie listened to the story, feeling a thrill trickle up her spine. This is what her mother had been up to all these years? Time traveling and saving the world from bad guys? She was like a real life superhero!

  “I was never supposed to meet your father,” her mother confessed. “I was here on assignment, but I was never supposed to fall in love, never mind have a child. It is frowned upon for Companions to have ties to the mortal world. It creates complications when we're called away.” She sighed deeply. “You can't imagine how hard it was for me to leave you five years ago. But my
mission was too important. Morgan Le Fay had stolen the scabbard from Uther Pendragon and brought him to his grave. If we hadn't worked to get it back from her, she would have used it to rise to power and bring England to its knees. Arthur would have been slain and the world thrown into a thousand years of chaos.” She shrugged. “Not that it made it any easier to leave my baby girl behind.”

  “You did what had to be done,” Sophie said staunchly, pride washing over her at her mom's story. Her mom was more than a superhero. She was like a goddess.

  Her mother smiled. “That's nice of you to say,” she replied. “But not a day went by where I didn’t think of you. Wishing I never left you. Wondering if someday we would be reunited.” She reached out and stroked her daughter's hand. “And now we are, though I wish it were under better circumstances.”

  Sophie opened her mouth to speak, not sure how to ask what she needed to ask. “Do you think . . . “ she started. “Do you think I could have inherited some of your powers?” she blurted out at last, recounting her adventure with Morgan the night before. About Stu's battle with King Lot. About her somehow helping him pull the sword from the stone.

  When she had finished, she realized her mother was frowning. “What?” she asked.

  “From your tale, it seems clear that you have indeed been given the gifts of a Companion,” her mother agreed. “And we are very lucky, in a sense, that you were here to watch over Arthur when we could not. But, at the same time, it makes me a bit sad for you,” she admitted. “Being a Companion is not an easy life.”

  She was probably right, but Sophie realized, suddenly, that she didn't care. She'd been given a gift. And it had saved her friends' lives. And maybe even the entire world itself. At the end of the day, that was pretty awesome.

  “I think I can handle it,” she declared with a grin.

  Her mother laughed. “Of that I have no doubt,” she agreed. Then she reached into her pocket and pulled out a small, cloth-bound book, handing it to Sophie. Sophie turned it over in her hands, then looked up at her mother questioningly.

  “It's a primer,” her mother explained. “It'll give you some background on the Companions and also some beginner spells to try. Once you've mastered those, I'll send you a new volume.”

  Sophie paged through the book, amazed. “Wow,” she breathed. “I don't even know what to say.”

  “I do!” Arthur interjected. “Say you'll help me rescue Guinevere! If you really have powers—well, I’ll need all the help I can get!”

  Sudden excitement stirred at Sophie's heart. Could she really help? She looked to her mother. “Can I?” she asked breathlessly.

  Her mom seemed to consider this. Then, to Sophie's delight, she nodded. “As much as I'd like to save you from hardship,” she said, “this is clearly your quest from the start. It is only right to allow you to see it through to the end.”

  “What about me?” Lucas butted in. Everyone turned in surprise, having forgotten he was even in the room. “I want to help Guinevere too,” he declared, then muttered under his breath, “And maybe someone could explain what on earth is going on here?”

  Sophie looked at Arthur and shrugged. He grinned. “Why not?” he asked. “As you say in the twenty-first century, let's do eeeet!”

  Chapter 45

  “Stu!”

  Stu whirled around, his mouth dropping open in shock as his eyes fell upon the best sight he'd seen since first arriving in medieval times. Namely Sophie herself, running toward Merlin's Crystal Cave with wild abandon, her blond hair streaming behind her in the wind.

  Was it another dream? She was wearing simple jeans and a T-shirt—rather than the typical fancy dream outfit he'd usually conjure up. But after being surrounded by medieval costumes all week, it was definitely possible his brain wanted to treat him to something a bit more modern. Just in case, he resisted the urge to grab her for a kiss.

  A moment later, she reached him, throwing her arms around him and almost knocking him over with her enthusiastic hug. “You're here! You're actually here!” she cried, squeezing him tight. “You're still alive and okay. Dude, I've missed you like crazy.”

  Okay, this was too much. He couldn't stand it any longer. “Tell me this is not a dream!” he found himself babbling. “Oh please, tell me this is not a dream!”

  She giggled, pulling away from the hug. “What is it with you and your dreams?” she teased. Then she held out two fingers and pinched him lightly on the arm. He shivered, causing her to laugh all over again. “See?” she exclaimed. “No dream. I'm really here. And so is Arthur and Lucas.” She turned and gestured to the two boys, stepping out of the woods and into the clearing. “Don't worry, we've caught Lucas up on everything that's happened so far.” She giggled. “Though he's still a bit shell-shocked, I believe. It's a lot to take in.”

  Stu chuckled. “It certainly is,” he agreed. He watched Sophie wave the boys over, relief washing over him in waves. He couldn't believe she was really back. That they were laughing together, as if no time had passed between them. It was hard to even put into words how much he missed her. Not to mention how glad he was that she'd returned. “I can't tell you how happy I am to see you,” he added, as the boys joined them. “I didn't know what I was going to do.”

  “We just came here to score weapons,” Sophie replied. “I figured you'd be back at Camelot, ruling the kingdom and stuff.”

  “So this is the guy who's been pretending to be me?” Arthur asked, giving Stu a critical once-over. “He doesn't look anything like me.”

  “Yeah, Stu, what happened to your disguise?” Sophie asked, looking him over from head to toe.

  Stu felt his face heat. “It's a long story,” he muttered. “But it doesn't matter now. You guys got here just in time.” He turned to Arthur. “You have to get to the castle,” he instructed. “The tribal lords are all gathering. They're waiting to hear your battle plan against the invading Saxons. I was going to do it myself,” he added. “But, as you can see, I had a little wardrobe malfunction.”

  “Ohhh, so that's what must have happened!” Sophie exclaimed, half to her herself. Stu turned to her questioningly, but Arthur interrupted.

  “Well, they'll have to wait,” he declared. “Morgan Le Fay has kidnapped Guinevere and taken her to her castle. We have to rescue her before we even think of doing anything else.”

  Now it was Stu's turn to frown. “Er, I don't know, dude. The Saxons are on their way. And if you don't lead the men to battle, you're going to get completely slaughtered.”

  “He's right,” Sophie reminded Arthur. “Remember what we read on Wikipedia. If the Saxons win the battle everything will be ruined. People will die. The kingdom will be taken over. You'll be burned at the stake.”

  Arthur slammed his fist against a nearby tree. “But Guinevere,” he moaned. “It's my fault she was kidnapped. And I'm the only one who can save her.”

  Everyone fell silent for a moment. Then Stu stole a glance over at Sophie, an idea forming in his mind. “Are you sure about that?” he asked. Sophie shot him a surprised look. He shrugged. “I mean, we could do it, right?”

  “You?” Arthur repeated, in an insulted voice. “But you have no training.”

  “Actually, that's not true,” Stu replied slowly, his mind now racing with the plan. “In fact, I think Merlin's been training us for this fight for years.” He turned to Sophie, his eyes shining. “Right, Soph? I mean, who knows better than us how to down Morgan Le Fay?”

  Sophie gnawed on her lower lip. “Well, at least the videogame version.”

  “But we can use the same strategy in real life,” Stu said, excitement swirling through him. “I've been practicing my swordsmanship with Gawain since I got here. I'm really good now!”

  “Well, I do have my mom's spell book,” Sophie mused. “I'm sure I could find some useful stuff in there.” She shrugged. “But without Merlin, we don't have a healer. There's no way we can survive the fight without him.”

  Arthur frowned. “Where is Lord Merl
in anyway?” he demanded of Stu. “He's not in his cave?”

  Stu shook his head. “I haven't seen him. It's like he disappeared.”

  “Merlin's too old to do too much traveling,” Arthur said worriedly. “He spends all his time here at the Crystal Cave these days. Using his magic box . . . um, computer,” he corrected.

  The four of them fell silent. Then Lucas looked up. “His computer,” he said to Arthur. “Is it connected to the Internet?”

  Arthur looked at him blankly. But Stu knew the answer to this one. “It definitely is,” he told his stepbrother. “I used it to try to log on to Camelot's Honor last night.”

  “Then maybe we can find a clue there,” Lucas suggested. “Does he have Facebook by chance? Does he use Twitter? Or maybe we can just hack his email.”

  Stu looked at his stepbrother admiringly. Good thing they'd brought him along for the ride. “Let's go find out.”

  The four of them ran into the Crystal Cave and followed Stu and Arthur to the back room. Once there, Lucas cleared away the clutter and sat down in front of the computer, typing furiously.

  “Since when do you know anything about computers?” Stu couldn't help but ask, peering over his shoulder. “I thought you were just some dumb jock.”

  “Um, actually a lot has changed since you lived in the twenty-first century,” Sophie informed him. “In fact, the two of you aren't even stepbrothers anymore.”

  “Awesome,” Stu replied teasingly. “That means I get my own room.”

  Sophie rolled her eyes. But Lucas interrupted. “Here it is!” he exclaimed. He glanced over at Arthur. “By the way, you might suggest the guy get a more hack-proof password. It only took me three tries.”

  “So what does his email say?” Sophie interrupted, evidently not having the time for an Internet security lecture. “Do you know where he is?”

  “Hm. Let's see . . . there was an email exchange between him and some chick named Nimue early this morning,” Lucas said. “Though it looks like he's replying over his cell phone. Evidently she's pretty mad at him for not telling her about the whole Arthur switcheroo.”