Parker
The younger man watched the ex-teacher closely. Something about Max was bothering him. The man had been glued to Maddie's hip since they had started their little adventure together. He could be imaging it but every time he touched the young woman, it seemed as if sparks jumped from the point of contact. He had no idea what it meant but if he brought it up to Drew, the reincarnation of Merlin would probably have a heart attack.
As he thought on the man was centuries old, he knew what was going on with him. He had obviously fallen hard for Maddie after figuring out who she was. It was probably the reason he broke up with Beca. Because he was a nice guy, he couldn't tell her it was her best friend he was after.
Then there was Darren. Since they had been gone, something had happened to Darren. He didn't seem to be the same as he was when they left. There was something primal about him. That was a scary thought. Darren was already scary as it was, but if he gave into his primal instincts, they could lose him forever. If that happened, they might as well forget about defeating Morgan le Fay.
His gaze fell on the smaller of the two women sleeping in the room. Beca was Darren's sister. What would happen to her if he succumbed to the anger in his heart? She trusted him so fully to do what was right. It would kill her if he turned against them. The greater question was could they do it if Darren turned against them? He didn't have Excalibur so he couldn't do too much damage.
But he could do enough to harm all of them.
The thought made him shiver. He liked to think it would be a cold day in hell before Darren hurt his sister, but Casey was clever. They all had to be on their guards. And if Maddie was right and Casey was his sister, they were in more trouble than they thought.
"What can we do?" Max asked out loud into the still room.
Maddie shifted and both men's eyes were drawn to her for a moment. When she settled, they released the breath they had been holding.
"We do what we promised. We keep her protected. That's all we can do," Parker replied.
Max looked at him. "You seem very confident of this."
Parker shrugged. "I have to be. If I'm not, people get killed."
The older man watched him closely. "How long have you liked Beca?"
The fifth year senior smiled. "For as long as I can remember. She was always with Drew so I didn't want to say anything. But I knew something was up when Drew started pulling away from her. It was interesting watching her try to get over it. After I while I couldn't anymore so I had to do something." He slanted a look to his side. "How long have you liked Maddie?"
"I wouldn't say it like that?"
Parker frowned. "What do you mean?"
Max rubbed his head. His curly hair stuck up even more. "It's not something I can control. I have to be near her or I'm going to drive myself insane. There's a spark that flies from me to her when we're in close proximity and I have no reason why." He looked at Parker when he didn't say anything. He had this look on his face that was kind of scary. "What is it?"
"I think there's something to that." He got up and went to Beca's bookshelf and skimmed the titles.
"What are you talking about?"
"Let's see. You and Matt grew up knowing who you were correct?" Max nodded his head. "Beca, Darren, Drew, and myself have also grown up knowing who we were or that we were supposed to do something more for this world. When we came here, Drew brought forth our suppressed memories. I think something happened in the past that we aren't remembering."
"Then why are you looking on Beca's bookshelf?"
"Beca keeps copious notes about her memories. I'm sure there's something about what you're feeling in here."
Max watched him start reading. He was certain Beca kept good notes. She did in class as well. She was just a slacker and hated studying and homework. She made good grades though. If she didn't she was kicked off the cheerleading team. As he thought about it, he figured she hated being on the same team as Casey and was getting ready to quit anyway.
He got up and paced to the window. It was hot as hell outside and kids were already taking advantage of it to sunbathe. Some were even playing Frisbee or whatever other games they could find. Over in the distance he could see people rebuilding the stables and the forge.
The burning of the forge had made him angry. That had been his home away from home. He loved being there. He was the one who spent most of the time there and made all the weapons for class. Whoever burned the place was going to pay and he had a feeling it was Casey's fault.
"A-ha!" He turned at Parker's happy exclamation. "I found it!"
"Well, what does it say?" he asked.
"I'm beginning to remember things that were not of my own making. I see Max as Sir Lionel with Maddie. She's being very girly and Maddie's never girly. I think Max is trying to court her. But this is only a dream! Then again, Maddie was Camelot and Camelot was very girly except when wielding a sword. Grrr! Now she's actually allowing him to kiss her hand. I'm tired of these dreams and what the hell are the sparks flying off them? Why do they get to spark and I don't?"
"What's the date on that?"
"Um…" Parker flipped to the front side of the page. "It was three weeks ago."
Max bit his lip. "That was when all this started taking place. The sparks, everything."
"There must be an explanation. She wouldn't just write about it without something going on."
"I guess."
"We can always ask Drew."
The older Knight rubbed his face. "I really don't want Drew to know."
"He's Merlin. He's going to know anyway. It's better for you to bring it up now than to have him snap at you. Besides, Sam's already told him. He's probably just waiting for you to bring it up."
Parker made a valid point. There was no point in hiding what was going between Maddie and him because Drew would find out through his power as the ancient wizard. Max watched Parker leaf through a few more pages before he set down the journal. He stopped for a moment then looked over at the other Knight.
"What is it?" Max asked.
"I found another excerpt and boy is it good," Parker stated as he read through it. "It says that you courted Camelot in another life. She dates it about two hundred years ago as far as she can tell." Parker looked up at him. "You were meant to be together. I don't know what happened in your life but I think the two of you should pursue this."
"What if Drew gets pissed?"
"Then he gets mad. He'll be the first one to tell you that you can't fight fate."
Max stared out the window as he let all that sink in. Was Parker telling the truth?
Was he supposed to be with the young woman? If he was, he had to get past Darren and Drew and that was no easy feat.
Simon
Merlin's reincarnate opened his eyes. Aaliyah touched his shoulder gently.
"They've found Beca's journals. They know what roles Maddie and Max are supposed to play," he said.
Simon nodded. He had known the entire time that Beca was keeping the journals. She had talked to him about it many times before she started keeping them. In the last few years her memories had really started coming back. She hadn't been able to talk to him at all hours so she had started keeping them. Every now and then he would peek at them to see what she remembered. The others must have found something that dealt with Maddie and Drew didn't like it.
Darren slammed his hand on the table. He had been called to the meeting with Aaliyah and Drew even though he wasn't technically in charge anymore. Obviously this wasn't something he wanted to deal with anymore either.
"Ease your temper, Arthur. You can never win as you are now," Aaliyah cautioned. "What is happening is what is meant to be."
"Maddie is supposed to be my girl. No one else's," Darren argued as he began pacing the office.
"Maddie is no one's girl if she chooses not to be. She has chosen not to be your girl. Do not fight this, Arthur. If you do, she will push you even farther away. You need each other to win." Aaliyah watched as he stormed out of the room. "That man has too much anger in him."
"He will learn his lesson though," Drew added.
Simon merely let the two of them mutter about Darren for a little bit before he interrupted. "We need to discuss Guinevere."
Both seers got really quiet. Obviously they knew something that was going on that he didn't, but that was the way of his world. No one but the Lady of the Lake and Merlin knew exactly what was going to happen.
Simon sat down at his desk and waited. They looked at each other as if having a mental conversation. He didn't rule it out because they were two of the most powerful magical beings in the world. It was better to just sit back and allow them to hash this out then give him the information.
"Maddie knows about Darren's parentage even if the man himself doesn't know," Drew stated.
"So if Maddie knows Casey and Darren are siblings, why hasn't she come forward?"
"She's going to plan this out the way she wants it to go. She's very good at that. She'll need solid evidence that Casey's about to use that information against Darren," Aaliyah replied.
"If this thing goes sour, what do we do?"
"Trust your instincts." She waited until the answer sunk into his head. "What do they tell you?"
"Maddie's the best one for this job. Should I keep the three I have backing her where they are?"
"Maddie and Max need each other even if they don't yet realize it. There will come a time when Max will need someone to lean on. When Guinevere shows up, all hell will break loose and they will need each other."
The headmaster sighed and dropped his head back to the headrest. "We need to come up with a backup plan."
"We have one," Drew said. "We just can't tell you what it is just yet. All the pieces aren't in play yet. The school year starts tomorrow. We'll carry on as if nothing has ever happened. If we decide to let you in on this entire plan of ours, we'll let you know."
Simon nodded. After a few moments, Drew and Aaliyah excused themselves, leaving him to his thoughts. He had a small amount of time to make sure his team became a team once again. They needed to pull together, starting with Darren. The King had to be back with his Knights or none of this was going to work.
Maddie's survival depended on this but she was in good hands with Max, Beca and Parker at her back. She could survive even if any of them died. She just needed the right push to get her back on track and he knew just the thing to get her going again.