"So let me get this straight, your shapeshifting isn't due to magic, but instead an ability you were born with?"
"That's correct."
"And this ability only lets you shapeshift?"
"Yeah, only shapeshifting, well, I guess it also has extended my lifespan a bit."
"And your true appearance is now that of some kind of strange fae, all due to something called a mutation, which gave you and others strange powers?"
"Yes, I know someone who can read the mind, someone else who can control metal, all kinds of abilities."
"So, let me get this straight: you and others, all with great powers, are being hunted down by normal humans who hate you all due to them being fearful and or jealous of your powers, and they experiment on kids and stuff?"
Raven felt like she was repeating herself, and that maybe Mordred was a bit slow, but at least she was willing to hear her out, which was good.
"And you work for, like, the Lord of Mutants or whatever, who wants to speak with Father?" So he sent you to get an audience? Because tons of you mutants are weak as heck and need a place to call home?"
"I don't know if I would call Erik the Lord, but he is our leader."
"Urhhk" Mordred groaned. She had just wanted to hide away from everything troublesome, and yet, it seemed trouble kept finding her.
Honestly, the situation felt ridiculous to her. Some superpowered people, getting knocked around by weaklings? Heck, she had taken down an army on her own, so why couldn't these mutants?
Still, they didn't seem like the bad guys here, and with an example like the Red Room, it sure did seem likely someone else was torturing kids.
So, no matter how annoying, she couldn't just ignore it; not to mention it might be an excuse to get out and do something fun.
"Alright, I guess I will tell Father about this, I'm sure he will be interested in hearing what you have to say." Mordred sighed and rubbed the bridge of her nose.
Raven exhaled slowly. That was… easier than she had expected.
"You mean it?" she asked cautiously, watching Mordred's expression for any signs of deceit.
Mordred rolled her eyes. "Yes, I mean it. I'll tell him. Doesn't mean he'll listen, but hey, not my problem."
Raven frowned. "And if he refuses?"
Mordred shrugged. "Then I guess you're out of luck."
Raven pressed her lips together. That wasn't exactly reassuring, but she supposed it was better than nothing.
Mordred stretched, rolling her shoulders. "Look, if what you're saying is true—and I still think it sounds like the plot of a bad play—then it's worth hearing out. Albion's new and still figuring itself out, so maybe you lot can find a place here."
Raven tilted her head. "You don't seem all that bothered by the idea of mutants."
Mordred snorted. "Lady, back in my days, the forests were full of demons and other monsters; heck, Father killed a dragon once, Compared to this age, I have seen some shit."
Raven blinked. "That's… an interesting way to look at it."
"Yeah, well." Mordred sighed, rubbing the bridge of her nose. "Not everyone's gonna feel that way. Father won't, probably. He's real kind, can't stand innocent suffering, most of the others are like that. Well, except Agravain." She let out a humorless chuckle.
Raven stiffened. "Will that be a problem?"
Mordred waved her off. "Nah, he hates everything. You get used to it."
That wasn't exactly comforting.
Still, this was progress.
Raven shifted slightly. "When can I expect an answer?"
Mordred frowned, tilting her head. "Dunno. Tomorrow? Depends on whether Father is busy." She sighed. "And since it's Father, he's definitely busy. But I'll try to get him to listen."
Raven nodded. "That's all I ask."
Mordred rolled her eyes. "Yeah, yeah." She stood back up and stretched. "Anyway, since you interrupted me and gave me something else I have to do, you stay here and take care of the horses."
Raven blinked. "Excuse me?"
Mordred smirked, hands on her hips. "You heard me. You show up in my stables, dump this big mess in my lap, and now I have to deal with it. So, in exchange, you're gonna help me take care of the horses."
Raven scowled. "I didn't take you for the type to delegate chores."
Mordred shrugged. "Call it compensation." She leaned against the stall, watching Raven with lazy amusement. "Come on, you're a shapeshifter, aren't you? I bet you can turn into a stable hand or something."
Raven sighed. "I don't need to shapeshift to do manual labor."
Mordred grinned. "Great! Then get to work."
Raven grumbled under her breath but reluctantly stepped forward, grabbing a nearby brush.
Mordred, clearly enjoying herself, grabbed a hay bale and tossed it into a stall. "So, tell me more about this Brotherhood of yours. What's the deal with your boss?"
Raven hesitated but figured there was little harm in answering. "Erik—Magneto—believes mutants should rule themselves, free from human persecution. He's seen firsthand what happens when people fear those who are different."
Mordred hummed, brushing her horse absentmindedly. "Sounds like a proper king, then."
Raven frowned. "He's not a king."
Mordred snorted. "He's got subjects, he's got laws, and you're out here playing messenger. Sounds like a king to me."
Raven paused, considering that. "…I guess, in a way."
Mordred chuckled. "Let me guess—he's also got enemies?"
Raven let out a humorless laugh. "Plenty."
Mordred's grin widened. "Yeah, that sounds about right. Any ruler worth their salt does."
They worked in silence for a few minutes, the rhythmic sounds of hooves shifting and hay rustling filling the air.
Eventually, Raven spoke again. "You don't seem too fazed by any of this."
Mordred shrugged. "Father taught me that strength comes in all kinds of forms. If people are born with power, then that's just life. No different from a knight being born with a strong sword arm."
Raven studied her carefully. "And you think Arthur will feel the same way?"
Mordred sighed, tossing a handful of hay into a feeding trough. "Father got a big heart. He won't like the idea of people being hunted down for what they are. Whether or not that means giving you all a place here…" She trailed off.
Raven nodded. "I understand."
They continued to work for a bit longer, until Mordred was sure the strange blue woman was able to do an even half-decent job. "Alright, I will go speak with Father about this while you finish up, oh and no telling anyone about this, nothing."
Raven wiped a strand of red hay from her sleeve, exhaling sharply. "Yeah, yeah. I know how to keep a secret."
Mordred tilted her head, giving her a lopsided smirk. "Good. Because if anyone finds out a shapeshifting spy snuck into the castle and had a private chat with me, I'll have to pretend I don't know you."
Raven arched an eyebrow. "And here I thought you were starting to like me."
Mordred barked out a laugh. "I don't even like most of the knights, why would you be any different?"
Raven gave her a small, amused smile. "Fair point."
Mordred stretched, letting out a yawn. "Alright, I'm off." Once more, dressed in her armor, and looking very much like the bloodthirsty knight, she left the stable, leaving poor Raven with a dozen horses to care for.
The mutant exhaled, leaning against the stall door. Well, that went… better than expected.
Mordred was rough around the edges, brash, and impatient, but she wasn't stupid. That much was clear. She saw the situation for what it was, and though she tried to play off her concern with indifference, Raven could tell the knight didn't approve of what was happening to mutantkind.
That was something at least.
Now, all that remained was Arthur's judgment.
-----
I found myself standing in the highest tower once more. Gazing out over my city, but not really watching anything.
Mordred's meeting with a mutant had given me much food for thought.
How I hadn't known about them until now was a good question, they had never been mentioned to me… were they deliberately hidden? Or had everyone just assumed I knew, and not mentioned them because there was nothing worth mentioning?
I was given all the newspapers, so clearly, the mutants hadn't been up to anything, or at least they had been kept out of the news.
Mutants were… troublesome, not much; few could put up much of a fight against me. But it did still mean that the future was much less certain.
Many things I thought I could count on might turn out completely different. Plus, the Phoenix Force was troublesome, and if I remember correctly, the X-Men also ran into many aliens.
Mordred really dropped a headache in my lap. Because if Mutants like X-man were around then who else might be around? Clearly, this world was far more complex than I assumed, not to mention all the magical elements I was seeing.
-----
Given the mystery surrounding the Mutants and their very real plight, I decided to hear them quickly, so less than a day after Mystique showed herself to Mordred, I summoned her to my throne room.
Since Mordred was the cause of this problem, no matter how little it was his fault, I forced him to attend to the audience. And so he stood by my side, without his helm for once, since there were little reason to hide himself from someone who knew.
To my other side stood Agravain, who rarely left my side unless work had to be done. He often worked as my voice, speaking on my behalf, allowing me to sit behind my desk doing work while he passed my orders on.
Finally, Mystique herself knelt before my throne, her blue skin on full display as she had decided against hiding herself or wearing clothing.
"Lilith Danna." I began after looking her kneeling form over.
My voice caused her to react violently; her head jerked up, and she looked straight at me, shock and disbelief etched on her face.
"I understand why you don't wish to use that name, clearly, you didn't have an easy childhood, so I shall allow you to use the name Raven Darkhölme in my court."
She didn't respond at first, clearly shocked beyond words, it wasn't until Agravain cleared his throat that she snapped out of it.
Mystique took a measured breath, her voice steady, but with a guarded edge. "Thank you, your majesty… I… I haven't been called that in a long time; it caught me by surprise."
"You are not the first to discard a name," I admitted. "Nor will you be the last. But you shouldn't be so surprised that I would know, few can keep a secret before my throne."
"I guess… I just never really considered it like that." Was her response, and I could feel the honesty in it.
She was a spy, someone who had spent her life in darkness and deception. She had no doubt expected much from me, that I would see through any lies and tricks. She was so busy thinking about plans and schemes that she failed to consider other things.
"It hardly matters, after all, you didn't wish to speak with me to discuss matters of name and identity, so tell me, right hand of Magneto, what are you here for?" I decided to change the topic and get the talk on track.
Mystique hesitated only briefly before nodding. "Very well, as you are no doubt aware, my kind is being hunted the world over, our enemy is the system itself; every mutant born finds themselves hunted by the very government that should protect them. I, we wish to know Albion's stance on mutants."
Rather than answer her, I stood up and dismissed my armor, sending it into my soul with where my mighty weapons normally resided and smiled to myself as she gasped in surprise upon seeing me. (Picture of outfit.)
Without a word, I walked over to the balcony that overlooked my city and looked out. "You are mistaken."
(end of chapter)
two things I want to mention from this chapter.
One, is the name I gave Raven. because honestly, Raven Darkhölme is to cool to be a real name. so in this story, she already had signs of her mutation from birth, and so she was named after the demon Lilith.
This is of no importance and won't ever come up again.
Two, Mordred's arrogance. The fact that England fell and became Albion is shocking, and extreme. it isn't normal, should Magneto try to take over a nation, the entire world will do everything to stop that.
he can't just do something like that, rebelling against the system isn't easy. the reason it worked here?
Arthuria, power, and lack of knowledge.
after the big attack, the two day war, I imagine this conversation happened in the UN.
"how did he do that?"
"we don't know."
"Can he hit us here?"
"we don't know."
"Can we defend ourselves?"
"we don't know."
"How many times can he do that?"
"we don't know."
"Can we defeat him?"
"we don't know."
Its just, they don't know what they can do, and so they are afraid of acting, plus the fact that Arthuria has legend and public support behind her, its difficult from the rest of the world to do anything. That doesn't mean they will let it pass, but until they know they can deal with this, they won't dare do anything.
after all, Mordred did show that normal weapons means nothing, which means that the only weapon left is nuclear weapons. and given that it is known that the knights of Camelot were able to leave without being seen, it isn't known if arthur could somehow escape a nuke, and since they can't defend themselves from their attack, the world is forced to watch and wait.