Chapter 26: Shell-shocked

As soon as the movie began, the theatre lulled to quiescence.

The opening scene soon came after all the introductory theatrics, a strong, feminine voice narrating;

-

Before the myth,

Before the legend of my son, Arthur Pendragon,

Camelot was once at its prime... ruled by another that wasn’t a Pendragon,

-

Hearing that, Troy’s interest was tugged on, ever so slightly;

’Huh. I didn’t know it was based off of Arthurian fiction. That’s pretty neat, I guess.’

As for Maya and Lisa, they inwardly began squealing upon seeing Emily Turner.

Afterall, she was a role model of sorts to the girls, and equally their favorite female actor in Hollywood.

-

"Sounds like a hassle,"

"Don’t you think so, Julien?"

"It’s dangerous to poke your head out the carriage, Your Highness."

-

As the cameras centered on the stoic knight she was talking to though, the sisters looked to each other in interest.

’Who the hell is that hunk?’ their eyes seemed to say.

Yet, as quickly as that thought came, it was replaced when David’s face came into view.

If Emily was the sisters’ favorite actress, then David Wilde had to be their celebrity crush, solely for his rugged charms.

As for Troy, he couldn’t help but feel even more assured of his reasoning;

’Really, a princess in a carriage? One who seems spoiled by her father and has a thing for the handsome knight? Should I just sleep?’

Watching on nonetheless, Troy kept staring at the screen with a disinterested gaze, dipping his hands into his bucket of popcorn.

Then after the scene where Uther was informed that he would be Igraine’s betrothed, along with the flicker of sadness Julien’s features reflected, Troy inwardly scoffed;

’Great. Drama.’

As for the sisters though, there was a glint of amusement in their light-brown irises;

’Ooh~! Drama.’

Alongside them, most in the theatre seemed equally interested in how the situation would unfold.

By the time the next scene came around though, complete with a wet Julien making his way out of the lake, Troy could swear he’d heard a couple gulps in the hall.

Glancing over to his shameless elder sister whose eyes had widened in evident thirst, he reached for her.

In all honesty though, Troy could perfectly understand his sister’s reaction.

Even as a guy, he was genuinely impressed by Julien’s built yet lean physique.

Still, he pinched her.

Notably pissed that her younger brother had to have chosen the worst possible moment to distract her with his antics, she watched as he mouthed with an expression twisted in disappointment;

You disgust me!

Rolling her eyes, she shooed him away in a vague gesture and resumed watching the movie.

However, just when she herself had expected some form of outburst from the stoic knight, much like all the other people in the theatre, they were instead surprised by the way he’d handled it.

-

"It’s cold out, Your Highness,"

"Please head back to your room. I shall escort you."

-

Troy was even more stunned by it, given his expectations had been subverted.

However, upon hearing the next couple words from the stoic knight as the scene continued on...

-

"My feelings are irrelevant, Your Highness,"

"And so are yours, as far as my duty to the crown is concerned."

"I am your personal knight,"

"Your safety is my only priority,"

"And I refuse to compromise on that."

-

...he sat properly, some part of him now interested. Not in the movie itself, but in Julien Lancaster.

Even his father and a couple other men in the auditorium seemed to shift slightly in their seats, a sign that the scene had equally stirred something in them.

Truly, there was just something about a loyal, dutiful knight whom was able to set aside his feelings and perform his duties that was so exemplary.

Afterall, it signaled a sense of genuine masculinity, emotional stability, and a sense of reliability most men aspired to reach.

And for the female audience, that sort of persona came off immediately as deeply attractive, one that equally got them invested in Julien’s character.

Dipping his hands into popcorn and munching on it, Troy watched on in interest.

However, considering he hadn’t watched the trailer for the movie like his sisters and several other people currently in the theatre had, the betrayal scene had stunned him to no ends.

Suddenly, what had been building up as a romance movie, morphed into a hybrid of thriller and action-survival, each scene more adrenaline inducing than the previous.

Which was why, by the time the rope-bridge scene came, most in the auditorium had their hearts in their chest.

And when Julien had chosen to stay back whilst delivering his speech, a poignant air had gripped the entire theatre.

-

"So, listen to me, and remember this, not as a friend... but as your knight,"

"You are not allowed to break here."

"Not for me. Not for them. Not even for yourself."

"A Queen does not have the luxury of falling apart when her kingdom demands she stand."

-

By the time the speech ended and the next scene came around, Troy was at edge of his seat, rooting for Julien to at least overcome the dire situation.

Unfortunately, despite what he believed was a genuinely, well-choreographed fight, Julien had lost.

And with it, the mood in the theatre shifted significantly.

Glancing over to his sisters and mother, both of whom looked noticeably crestfallen, Troy equally heard a few sniffles from a couple individuals in the theatre.

Troy himself felt the same, but he did a good job of keeping his emotions in check nonetheless.

Now, he was completely invested in the movie.

If before the stakes had felt okay enough, it had skyrocketed with Julien’s death.

Now that the audience was aware that even a genuinely endearing side character wasn’t above the plot, they were even more on the edge of their seats.

The fact that the stoic knight’s death hadn’t happened simply for shock value, but rather in a way that progressed the plot made it even better.

Julien had served as a rock to Igraine, offering her a sense of security even amidst the hunt.

But the moment he died, despite Uther and the other knights escorting her, internally, that sense of safety for her had vanished.

As a result, her thoughts slowly became more pragmatic and decisive, attuning itself to the thoughts of the knights around her and what they would do were they in her shoes.

That change itself had been natural and captured so well, everyone in the theatre was impressed by Emily’s acting.

At the same time, Uther’s respect for Igraine only increased.

If before he had only seen her as royalty he had a duty to protect--and equally because she was his betrothed--now he had begun to see her as more than just that.

Much like the late king and queen, he saw the seeds of someone truly deserving of the crown.

With it, their relationship naturally blossomed, hence ensuring the story didn’t forget where it was coming from.

Afterall, despite all the interesting genre shifts and elements it had going for it, it was still a movie catered towards the young female demographic.

And as Troy watched it all unfold, he had to admit that his elder sister, had in fact been right that he’d like the movie.

That said, as the movie went on with two more of the knights dying, all for very valid reasons, none had managed to hit the audience as hard as Julien’s.

Soon, the movie came to its climax, with Morlund and Uther clashing as Igraine raced on a horse to her palace after reaching the Kingdom of Camelot.

Despite opposition from some of Morlund’s henchmen the moment she’d arrived, she had managed to outsmart the traitors, and commandeered the rest of the Kingdom’s knights.

Barely, the Acting Captain of the knights had managed to defeat Morlund, gutting him through the heart as he himself bled out.

Still, he had to fight off the remaining assailants alongside the rest of the remaining knights.

Before they were fully overwhelmed though, Igraine had returned to save him.

From thereon, everything followed the stereotypical happy ending, with Igraine and Uther eventually getting married and birthing Arthur Pendragon.

However, the part that had come full circle, and had equally struck the audience most, was the advice an older Igraine had given a young Arthur on what it meant to be a king.

A speech that mirrored the last words Julien had left her with, and also ended her narration of the events, hence cementing the impact he had left not just on Igraine herself, but on the entire story;

-

"A King does not have the luxury of falling apart when his kingdom demands he stands."

"You will grieve... but you will be stronger for it."

"You may fear... but the presence of fear is what gives courage."

"And you shall most certainly doubt... but you must rule nonetheless for the sake of your people."

"Because, that is what it means, to carry a crown."

-

With that final line, the movie’s credits rolled.

Watching him stare at it, a thin smile pulling on his lips, Maya softly punched at her younger brother’s shoulder with a gloating tease;

"Told you, you’d like it."

"Yeah, yeah," he pushed down his smile and brushed her hands away to stare at the screen.

Afterall, he was very interested in the name of the actor that played Julien Lancaster.

Upon seeing it, he audibly muttered;

"Niall Parker,"

Committing the name to memory and promising himself he’d Eagle-search him when he got home, he and his family soon filed out of the theatre alongside everyone else.

From the look on most people’s faces, it was evident that they’d had a great time with the movie.

Soon enough, the family was on their way home.

Branching at a big supermarket close-by to pick up a few things, Troy and his sisters walked down the aisles with their parents, perusing through the goods.

However, just as they were walking amidst the relatively quiet aisles, Maya suddenly halted in her steps.

No sooner had her family turned to check what the cause was, they watched as she pointed in the direction of a certain stranger, shock evident on her features.

Meanwhile, Niall whom had been hard at work all day and had taken to shopping for groceries and a couple other equipment, smiled warmly as he conversed with his parents.

It warmed his heart immensely to know that his parents had gone all the way from the countryside to the nearest cinema in town to watch the movie he was in.

"You were absolutely fantastic, honey." Claire’s motherly voice rang out from the other end of the line.

His father on the other hand, couldn’t help but satisfy his curiosity, his tone evidently tinged with intrigue;

"Did you actually learn the fight scenes or was it a stunt double?"

Responding to both parents, Niall shared a few more seconds with them before finally hanging up the call.

No sooner had he done that, he watched as two black-haired teens and a tween, rushed to meet him, excitement in their eyes as they gushed about the movie and how he’d been so cool in it.

Glancing over to see their parents trailing behind, apologetic looks mixed with evident surprise on their features, Niall reciprocated with an accepting smile.

Engaging with them for a while, the trio soon requested for a photo--one their parents had been more than willing to take on each of their individual smartphones.

Thanking him for going with their whims, and genuinely glad they had bragging rights in hand, all three took to requesting for something more.

"If you don’t mind, can we, perhaps, get an autograph?" Maya politely asked on the behalf of her siblings.

"Sure, why not?" Niall smiled in response, and then asked curiously;

"Um, where would you like me to sign though?"

To that, all three suddenly froze, realizing that they in fact, had nothing noteworthy to have him sign on.

Realizing that that was the case, Niall thoughtfully hummed, tilted his head slightly and then said;

"Hold on a minute. I’ll be right back,"

Just like that, before the family knew what to make of it, they watched him walk out the doors of the supermarket.

At first they’d wondered if their requests had been too much and he’d simply bailed on them.

However, when they noticed that his bags containing his groceries and a what seemed to be a few DIY gym equipment remained with them, they’d figured he was in fact coming back.

A few minutes later, he’d walked back through the automatic doors, a polythene bag in his hands.

"Here you go. Three signed autographs." he handed it over to the trio, a light smile on his features.

Hijacking it before his sisters got the chance, Troy flashed them both a triumphant grin.

Having picked up his groceries on the other hand, Niall made his way out whilst waving at them, a genuine smile on his features.

To that, the family waved back in a bit of a daze, mesmerized by how easy it had been to converse with him.

Immediately he left, the three began fighting over the plastic bag, eager to see what the young actor had signed his autograph on!

Dipping his hands into it first, Troy’s expression remained curious as he pulled out a book and stared at its fascinating cover.

’[The Token of Fate],’ he inwardly remarked.

However, as his eyes slowly traced down the length of said book, his gaze settled on the author’s name.

No sooner had it, his eyes widened in evident shock, much like his sisters!

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/Caer07