(Ragnarok: Pandora) Chapter 77: Camelot tour
After handing off Llemrei to some guards to take back to the castle, Guinevere heads back to the two young companions with a clap of her hands. “Alright. First step on this journey is the district of garments!” She says beginning her stride down the street getting a lot of friendly looks and waves which she returns frequently, especially to the children.
Icarus looks around curiously at the gods and humans walking around in unison. “Hey so… why are there gods here? Isn’t this a human city?”
Guinevere smiles. “It is a city ruled by a human now. And your point is? Don’t try to tell me that you think anything divine is inherently evil?” She looks over her shoulder. “Cause your girlfriend is divine isn’t she?”
Icarus again clears his throat. “She’s… still not my girlfriend.”
Pandora nods. “He’s right! W-we’re just frie-” She starts when Guinevere spins around and grabs them both by the shoulders.
“You two are kidding right? Do you not see it?” She pulls them to the side of the road in front of a big art-piece on the wall of splendid wings. “Look. You two are perfectly matched. See?” She flicks Pandora’s hair. “Blonde hair,” She reaches over to Icarus who jerks his head back. “Heh. Black hair. Contrast. However you both wear white, Pandora with her dress, Icarus with your hoodie,” She continues. “And your eyes are quite similar. Both blue through Icarus’s are a little darker,” She says, staring Icarus in the eyes switching to Pandora. “Icarus is so closed off,” She steps up to Icarus and flicks at his hoodie. “Wearing a hoodie covering your entire upper body, WITH the hood up.” She looks down at his jeans with his hands in his pockets. “Long jeans covering you up below, despite the good weather. Even having his hands in his pockets all the time. And of course some nice very sensible shoes. Meanwhile Pandora is so open, showing a LOT of her skin. Her slim arms, her fine legs,” Guin walks circles around Pandora running a finger along her arms. “Not to mention her-” She reaches for Pandora’s collar and Pandora quickly throws her hands up in front of her chest.
“W-we get it! But… that’s all just appearances. Doesn’t mean we’re… perfectly matched… does it?” She asks looking over to Icarus.
“You can tell a lot about a person based on what they choose to wear. And the best couples I see around often have things in common with their appearances. And you two have such complimentary styles,” She finishes and looks at the two of them with a hand on her hip. “Well?”
Pandora and Icarus share a glance. “Well… what?” Icarus asks and Guinevere holds out her hands as if to nudge them closer.
“Kiss! I just proved you two are basically a couple. So… kiss.”
Pandora’s face goes beet red and she quickly averts her gaze, fidgeting with her hair. “N-no that’s… I don’t… know how to… n-no that’s not w-why!”
Icarus meanwhile furrows a brow. “Just cause you’re the queen doesn’t mean you get to play with our feelings, Guinevere!”
Guinevere smirks. “Oh please. Call me Lady Guinevere,” She looks to Pandora who is spiraling a bit in her own head. She leans in to Icarus with crossed arms. “Besides, Icarus. You like her. It is as clear as the luminous morning’s sun,” She says, nudging Icarus with her hip, sending him tumbling towards Pandora, bracing himself on the wall behind her, simultaneously trapping Pandora in with the wall and his body.
Pandora yelps in shock at the sudden closeness looking up into his eyes. “Um… are you okay, Pandora?”
Pandora blushes and fidgets around a little with her hair again. “It’s… I’m okay…” There’s a slight silence before Icarus steps away giving her some space again, looking at how perfectly she’s aligned with the large wing graffiti behind her.
“Angelic…” He mutters before ruffling his own hair. “Gah! Guine- Lady Guinevere! Don’t push people like th-”
Guinevere just smirks and gestures for them to follow. “Moving right along. We’re here,” She gestures to a large open town square tiled with fine stone with many many stores around. Each one seemingly selling clothing from a variety of cultures. A Greek toga shop, knight clothing, hindi clothes, modern suits, even one selling caveman pelts although they look a bit more stylish than one might expect. “Welcome to the garment district,”
Pandora’s eyes sparkle as she looks around the district. “WOW! There’s SO MUCH!” She runs up to a store selling some nice classic outfits. Icarus looks around protectively after other people who might harass her, Guinevere smiling.
“You know… you don’t have to look for people who are going to bother her. We don’t let everyone into Camelot. Maybe a few bad applies slip through every now and then. But in general the only people Arthur and I want to engage with are kind, expressive, or heroic. Good people. She’s safe here.” She claps him on the back. “In fact! So safe that YOU are going in there mister ‘knight in shining armor’,” She winks at him as she shoves him into a store and looks towards a young girl working there. “Get him dressed up real well. I’ll pay so spare no expense.”
“H-hey wait! I’m no-” the door slams in his face and he turns around seeing the young girl with a measuring tape. “I have no choice do I?”
The girl grins a little mischievously. “It is an order from my queen soooooo not really.”
Guinevere steps back up to Pandora who looks around for Icarus nervously. “Lady Guinevere… where’s Icarus?”
Guinevere smirks. “Oh please. Call me Gui. And I sent Icarus to get himself a new outfit and guess what? We’re getting you one too. Come on,” She grabs Pandora’s hand and pulls her along to a store. She starts browsing outfits and Pandora is nervously following along. “See anything you like? I certainly do,” She says, already picking out three outfits.
“Well I don’t… Do I need new clothes? What’s… wrong with my outfit?” She looks down at her current dress.
Guinevere laughs. “Nothing of course. But there’s nothing that knocks a man off his feet like showing him a sexy new outfit,”
Pandora’s eyes widen. “W-wha-huh? Sexy!? B-but I don’t…” She nervously shifts around before Guinevere is nudging her into a changing booth, sitting down in front of it.
“Pandora. You like Icarus right?”
There’s a pause. “Yeah he is… passionate and cool. We had a big fight but… he apologized sincerely. I guess I like that too. He’s always doing what he thinks is right. He’s a good friend,” Pandora exits the booth in a sleek dress that clings to her but not tightly. “This is… a little embarrassing…”
Guinevere looks her over, tapping her lips. “Yeah no. That’s not fitting your cute girly vibe AT ALL. Next,” She says dismissively, waving her hand and Pandora almost salutes before heading back into the booth. “I didn’t mean as a friend, Pandora. As a man. As… husband material perhaps?”
Pandora tenses up in the booth, peeking her head out. “W-we’re NOT dating!” She tries but Guinevere shoos her back with her hand.
“Change please. And you might not be but don’t avoid my question.”
Pandora sighs. “I guess… he’s really the only boy I’ve ever met who… treats me well… is it wrong that I think he’s the perfect guy…? I don’t know anyone else,” She steps back out, this time in a more modern but modest outfit, ripped jeans and a simple double-layered t-shirt with a little Camelot logo on it. “Um…”
“No. Also not that. Icarus wears modern human clothes but… not your style. Next,” Pandora nods and heads back in. “You can hit a bullseye on your first shot with a bow. Who says you can’t find your soulmate on the first try?”
“I-I guess so… it’s just… well we just got back together after the fight and… well I missed him a lot. And… we might get erased if we lose.”
Guinevere softly giggles. “All the more reason to enjoy your time with him. Not that you’re going to lose,” She says, Pandora stepping out in her final outfit and Guinevere instantly jumps to her feet. “That’s the one! We’ll take it!” She smiles and walks to the register to pay, pulling out a small stone card with ornate engravings on it. “From the treasury,” She simply says and the clerk smiles.
“It is on the house. You are the queen. You do not need to pay.”
“I’m the queen! If anyone CAN pay it’s me. From. The. Treasury. Don’t keep me waiting, young man,” She says tapping her foot and the boy suddenly looks panicked and dials it up. “Thank you,” She gives him a wink as they exit the store and step into the main square again. “Now let’s go woo your man,” She declares Pandora blushing.
“This… really isn’t how I imagined a ‘tour’ of Camelot would go,” She starts but Guinevere smiles.
“We’ll go see the sights after this. I just wanted to get you both something nice to look at. Oh. There he is,” She nudges Pandora behind herself. “Over here, Icarus!” She yells out to Icarus who is looking a little flustered.
“Yeah hey. Um… where’s Pandora?” he asks and Guinevere steps aside with big strides, sitting herself on a bench as the two finally lay eyes on each other.
Pandora looks up at Icarus in a tight sleeveless shirt that shows off his arms quite well. Despite the long gloves on his arms they still are so tight she can practically trace each muscle up and down. He has a combat skirt as well, big knightly boots with some eagle-themed knee-protectors and a shoulder pad, with a black cowl around his neck, his wing still on full display. Pandora notes a sword at his side now. Pandora however suddenly lets out a heavy laugh as she looks up at his hair… blonde frosted tips have been added. “PFFFFT! Icarus WHAT is THAT?!” She laughs out, Icarus looking to the side with a sigh.
“W-well she insisted alright? It looks kinda lame huh?”
“N-no it was just… unexpected…” Pandora gestures down her body. “But um… what do you think?” She says spinning in place a little to let him take it all in. A long multi-layered skirt with some scale-like decor in sky-blue and white, a tightly fitting bodice, a new nice necklace, bracelets and Icarus even notes as she spins that she’s wearing sandals with heels. Thinking about it… he’s never seen her wearing shoes… And to finish the look she also has a big sun hat she is holding onto gently looking up at him. “Does it suit me?” She asks very softly.
“It’s… you look… yeah. You look beautiful, Pandora. It suits you perfectly,” He says sincerely and Pandora pulls the hat over her face a little, trying to hide her blushing smile.
“T-thanks. You look… really great too. Where um… why did they give you a sword?” She asks with a nervous laughter pointing at his grey sheathed sword with some purple decorations. Icarus tries to draw it to no avail.
“It’s… just a decoration. Looks cool though. But… Guin…. Lady Guinevere. Won’t people think I’m a knight with this on?”
Guinevere gives a hearty laugh. “Of course not. Your sword is grey. Are you two done ogling each other’s new nice clothes?” She says with a smirk as Pandora and Icarus both look at each other and then look away at some suddenly very interesting plants and decorations. “Alright. I got a cool place to show you then,” She begins walking with her usual confident stride.
Pandora and Icarus following. Icarus looks down to his fellow tourist. “So um… Have you made any thoughts about who is going to go next?” He asks. “For Ragnarok I mean?”
Guinevere giggles. “You can surely make better small talk than THAT, Icarus.”
Pandora smiles. “It’s okay. It’s what we know anyways,” She brings up their roster on her tablet.
- Saito Musashibo Benkei
- Ludwig Van Beethoven
- Ivar Ragnarsson
- Muhammad Ali
- Sun Tzu
- Arthur Pendragon
- Ichiko
- Erich Hartmann
- Blackbeard
- Harry Houdini
- Sun Wukong
- Dante Alighieri
- Icarus
“I see you added Wukong. And removed that other guy?”
“I wanted to keep track better, you know? As for who should go next… I have been thinking a bit on the ride over and… well I think we should pick someone Ra won’t expect. After such a close win he’s definitely going to put forth someone… strong. So we beat brains with brawn right?”
“Makes sense. Would be really nice if we knew who was next from the gods though.”
Guinevere claps her hands. “You can’t predict that. But yes. Knowing Ra he’s probably going to send out someone REAL scary. But he’s going to wait at least a day or he’ll lose face from his announcement. So you’ve got time. But if you want to let them know. Why don’t you send them a text to meet you here in Camelot?”
“Oh that’s smart! I’ll ask him right now! The more prepared he is the better right?”
Icarus peeks over Pandora’s shoulder seeing who she’s messaging. “Oh I definitely don’t think Ra will see this coming…”
“Yes yes. For now, enjoy the sights, the sounds, the… smells,” She sniffs the air. “We are aaaaalmost there I can smell it!”
Icarus and Pandora both sniff the air. “Are we going somewhere to eat!? It smells AMAZING!” They are closing in on the castle front the gigantic towering structure overlooking this large square which has a small mound of rock in the middle elevating it slightly. On top is a simple white sword, stuck in the rock with a few strong men taking turns trying to pull it out. “What is THAT?!”
Guinevere puts a hand on her hip. “Oh please, Pandora. Surely you know the legend of the Sword in the Stone?”
Pandora gasps and rushes forward, grabbing Icarus by the wrist to pull him along and he stumbles a bit. “H-hey calm down! Didn’t we talk about this outside?”
“I know but but but! It’s the sword in the stone!” They get up close to the platform. Guinevere gently pokes some of the bulky guys out of the way and they instantly move aside, a few people taking some pictures of her.
“You know they say only a ‘true hero’ can pull that sword out of the stone. I can confirm it’s true. He made sure of it. And if you can, hey. Congratulations you are now the heir to Camelot.”
Pandora gasps. “But isn’t ARTHUR the true hero of Camelot? Didn’t he pull the sword from the stone? It’s not just an attraction?”
“It’s an attraction for sure. Look at all these contenders,” He says as another man walks up trying his best, but the sword doesn’t budge even an inch.
Guinevere smirks. “Well as the founder AND re-founder of Camelot I think Arthur has more than earned his place as king rather than pulling some sword from the stone. It’s a nice sword though. Your dad actually made it.”
Pandora’s eyes widen and sparkle. “My dad made that sword!? That’s AMAZING!”
Guinevere turns on her heel. “I guess it’s like your brother huh?” She says and Icarus and Pandora both look at her. “Tough crowd… Anyways I’m gonna go get some food for us. You two have fun,”
As she leaves Pandora gets nudged aside into Icarus who catches her. “Sorry girl!” He boisterously says.
Pandora shakes her head. “It’s okay.”
Icarus however grumpily helps Pandora to her feet again, dusting her outfit a little. “Watch where you’re going pal.”
“Sorry sorry! Hero coming through though! TODAY is the day!” The man declares. He is quite big, with short military-cut crown hair and a greek attire.
Icarus raises an eyebrow. “He looks familiar…”
He steps up to the sword and raises his arms as if to rally the crowd but they all just laugh. “David, get down from there! Just cause you beat the Goliath doesn’t mean you’re the hero of Camelot!” “He’s done this how many times now?” “I think this is his 20th attempt.”
“Just watch!”
“DA-VID! DA-VID!” The crowd chants as David grips the handle and yanks. And yanks. And yanks… to no avail. Even switching his grip to the wide guard to lift with his legs as well it doesn’t budge.
Icarus and Pandora both laugh a little seeing him giving up and everyone patting him on the back almost sarcastically. “Better luck next time!” “Surely 21st time’s the charm!” They say.
Pandora looks around. Doesn’t seem there are any more challengers right now. She steps into Icarus nudging him with her shoulder. “You should try.”
Icarus panics as the crowd all turn to look at him hearing a new challenger be announced. “W-what!? Why me?”
“You’re something of a hero on Crete aren’t you?”
Icarus sheepishly rubs the back of his head. “I… wouldn’t call myself that.”
“He’s a chicken I see! Even got the wing!” A crowd member calls out laughing and another laughs along. “Nice try but that taunt hasn’t EVER worked!”
Pandora gently interlocks her fingers behind her back, swaying back and forth. “I… guess you’re kinda my hero too…” She says in a quiet meek voice yet somehow in this loud crowd it’s the only thing Icarus hears.
Icarus sighs. “Well when you say something like THAT I gotta don’t I?” He says stepping up to the mound and jumping up the whole thing from the base in one leap with his wing. Pandora looks up in awe at him as he grabs the sword. “Alright, you better watch closely. I’m only gonna pull a little bit alright!?”
“Yeah! Go!” “Pull it for love!” Everyone cheers.
Guinevere comes out of the McArthur’s store with some burgers in tow seeing Icarus pouting angrily and Pandora laughing happily. “Heh. Thought you’d make him do it,” Guinevere comments.
Icarus sighs. “Paaaah. I dunno why… but I felt like I might have a chance…”
Pandora smiles through her laughter. “I’m not laughing at your failure Icarus! You just looked so hyped up all of a sudden!”
“That’s because YOU made me feel like that!”
“I’m sorryyyyy!” Pandora says hopping lightly in place, unable to stop smiling.
Guinevere smiles at the two of them, gesturing for them to follow and they walk up to the entrance to the castle located right behind the Sword in the Stone. She just strides towards the entrance, surrounded by two large towers and the moat in front of that with a huge metal gate in front, Arthur’s likeness carved into it holding out his sword heroically. Pandora reaches out. “Guin! The bridge isn’t-” She starts as Guinevere steps out into the open air and a thin long wooden slab shoots out of the side of the wall and slams across her path, making a path for her.
“Yeeeees? Come now.”
Icarus and Pandora both walk along, stepping carefully out in the open, but the wooden platforms shoot out to form a path for them. “This is kind of cool…” Icarus mutters, though Pandora clutches at his side a little.
“But also kind of scary. You’ll catch me if I fall right?” She asks looking up at Icarus who smiles down at her.
“Always.”
Guinevere rolls her eyes, and mutters to herself. “Not dating? Right,” They circle around the castle to one of the giant gardens on top of the moat’s dirt hills where Guinevere has a little picnic table set up. “So you two. What do you think of your trip to Camelot so far?” She asks pulling out her McArthur’s bag and spreads the content out… the bag seems to hold more than Icarus would think is reasonable… it’s just a paper bag right? Burger after burger, bags of fries shaped like little swords. Chicken sandwiches… some meat on a bone dripping in… some kind of sauce?
Pandora looks out over the moat, able to see all of Camelot from up here, the city expanding so far down and she can make out the village where they started. “It’s pretty amazing. It’s so beautiful, Guin. And the people are… nice? I don’t really know. They remind me of Arthur I suppose?”
“What? Straight-forward and blunt, but well-meaning and fun-loving? That about sums them up I would say,” She says plucking some grapes she pulled from the bag. “Ambrosia-berry?” She asks, holding the grapes out to Pandora who takes a few and pops one in her mouth.
She shivers. “Mmmmmm. Wow! Icarus you gotta taste this. Here!” She holds one up to his face and flinches.
“W-wha- I-” He looks at Guinevere who just raises an eyebrow. He blinks a few times before opening up and letting Pandora put it in his mouth. “Oh… yeah wow that’s… What is that?!”
Guinevere looks out towards the horizon. “I believe we make them somewhere over there. Pretty popular for making wine but I like them raw too.”
The three eat in silence for a bit before Icarus points out over the city. “Say Guin. Why are all the roofs such a varied spread of colors? I get that you guys like your… expression but it looks pretty collected with what roofs go where. Yellow roofs over by that clothes place we went to. Green ones over there… so on. Is there a reason? There are some that don’t match the surrounding roofs…”
Guinevere peeks around. “Please. Call me Lady Guinevere. And let me let you two in on a little secret.” She gestures down to the plaza square. “That sword isn’t coming out no matter who tries to pull it. According to legend, in Camelot’s hour of need the sword will answer to the hero of Camelot. So until then no one can pull it from the stone. Not even you, Icarus,” She winks at his failed attempt earlier making him roll his eyes.
“Pandora called you Guin though? And… what does that have to do with the roofs?”
“Pandora is a maiden. You are not are you? As for the roofs. You see Arthur and I made a little ‘game’ out of it. Mostly for entertainment purposes as we don’t really see Camelot being in a lot of trouble in the near future with Arthur here. How it works is that you choose the color of your roof yourself. Each color represents one of Arthur’s trusted knights of the round table. Lancelot is blue. Percival is red. Gawain is green and Tristan is yellow. Basically it’s whom you support in the ‘race’ to be the next king of Camelot.”
“And… they’re all bunched up because of… a turf war?” Pandora asks, looking out over the city.
“Oh no no no. It just so happens that those four are quite active members of their community. Over there you have the festival space, with all the blue houses. Lancelot is quite the fun guy to have around at parties. He also juggles quite well. The red houses are all surrounding the weapon-smiths and knight corps’ training grounds. Percival is quite serious about the knights so he gets a lot of support from them. Tristan is quite into beauty and grace. They’re very active in the fashion district. Trying out clothes and stylists. So the roofs are yellow over there. And the green roofs are all surrounding the fitness district. Gawain might be stoic and quiet but he cares about his body. So he is very popular as a coach for sports or fitness instruction. So the split is natural.”
Icarus looks down at the Sword in the Stone. “I see. So they’re basically betting on which of those four Arthur is personally training will succeed him?”
Guinevere nods, biting into her burger. “Pretty much. It is quite fun to watch the way the city changes over time.”
Pandora looks confused over to the side. “What’s with that roof?” She points to a rather large tower of stone and wood standing quite dark and brooding by its lonesome with a purple roof. “Who does THAT place support?”
Guinevere looks over to it briefly before she shakes her head. “Let’s not ruin the good mood. But no one’s been in there for thousands of years.” The group finishes eating and Guinevere stands and stretches. “Paaaah. Right well… Let’s find you two a nice spot to end the day, now that you’ve relaxed huh?” She says smirking a bit as she sees the sun starting to set. “Oh I know the PERFECT place. Come on. Hurry!” She says kicking her shoes off and suddenly sets off, one of the guards standing around calling out to her.
“Lady Guinevere! Please do not behave so uncouth around guests!” However he falls on deaf ears as Icarus and Pandora start trying to run after her but Pandora struggles to run in her high heels.
Icarus finds himself sweeping Pandora off her feet and leaping off taking huge strides with his wings. “I got you. Wouldn’t want to ruin the outfit by taking off your shoes.”
Pandora wraps her arms instinctively around his neck to steady herself. “N-no that’d be… bad… you wouldn’t be able to look at me the same after,” She says a little sarcastically and the two laugh as Icarus catches up to Guinevere. “Guin, where are we going?” Pandora asks.
Guinevere points forward to a gigantic lake at the back of the castle, covered by a thick forest . “Over there!” She calls out and they sprint full force towards it and she stops in front of it, panting a little. “Made it.”
Icarus sets Pandora down, not at all exhausted. “What… is this place?” Icarus asks, looking at the crystal clear cyan lake. It is so still and gorgeous. Reflecting the setting sun perfectly.
Guinevere smiles with a sincerity they haven’t seen from her. Her smiles were always shrewd smirks. “Well this is The Lady’s Lake. Don’t worry she’s not here right now. She’s taking a vacation in Shinto somewhere. This is where Arthur got his sword back in the day,” She says, dipping a foot into the water. “And…” She laughs a little, moving some hair behind her ear. “Where he proposed to me. Right around this time of day. It was… yeah I love that man,” She looks over the lake for a few moments in silence, sitting down, Pandora and Icarus sitting down by her side, Pandora taking off her sunhat to not poke Guinevere or Icarus with it.
Pandora putting a hand on her shoulder. “It is really beautiful. I can see why you said yes.”
Guinevere gives a little huff. “Oh I said no. I said I wasn’t impressed by simply choosing a nice spot in his backyard to propose to me like that even if we had been dating for almost 500 years.”
Icarus and Pandora share a look. “So… how DID you end up getting married?”
“Well right after I told him that, he said to me, I remember it clearly… ‘There is nothing about this place which makes it special to me, other than your presence.’ And… how can a woman not feel her heart flutter at such a sentence? Heh. So I said yes, called him a romantic idiot and shoved him in the lake. And then jumped in after him and… Anyways. Enough about that,” She clears her throat. “I will leave you two to enjoy the view. And each other’s company,” She gets up, grabbing her shoes in one hand, flicking her hair with the other.
Icarus looks down at Pandora who is looking in awe at the lake, leaning her head against Icarus’s shoulder and he gently puts an arm and wing around her again. “Thanks for the tour. You live in an amazing city. And… it was good to meet you, even if it was just for a few hours.”
“When you two are done we got a few hundred spare rooms you can use to get some rest,” She says and Icarus smiles.
“Yeah, thanks. What do you say, Pan-” He looks down at Pandora who is soundly sleeping on his shoulder. He smirks a little, moving her long locks out of her face. “Yeah. A lot of excitement for one day, I agree,” He gently moves her into his arms again, picking her up bridal style and Guinevere turns around hearing footsteps behind her. With just a shared look between them she guides him into a guest room to put her down in the big bed. However as he is leaving Guinevere smirks from the door and slams it shut rather silently.
Icarus whispers angrily at the door. “L-Lady Guinevere. What’re you…?” He tries the door but Guinevere kisses the key she’s just pulled from the keyhole and twirls it on her finger.
“Goodnight Icarus,” She chirps, skipping down the hall towards the master bedroom.
Icarus spins around looking at Pandora peacefully cuddled up under the giant blanket. “Today really has been a day…”
-Earlier, Desert of the Duat-
Sobek kneels on the desert ground, his Oasis in full effect plants sprouting around the area. He is supporting himself on his stave, panting and bleeding. He is holding his side where he has a stab wound, his body bruised and beaten with several small burn marks on his face and chest. “Kah…” He coughs up blood. “You guys are strong huh?” He says looking up at Anhur, Apis and Am-heh who are standing collected in front of him, completely unscathed.
“What? You seriously didn’t know this would happen? There’s THREE of us and only ONE of you, Sobek! It must’ve been clear even to you that you were gonna lose from the start!” Anhur says with a laugh, followed by his companions.