Nightside 11 - A Hard Days Knight

have dreamed of such progress, such wonders, so many marvellous creations. I have seen the rise of Science, seen the human imagination given form and substance through incredible machines. I never knew such things were possible. But now I have returned. Tell me why I have been awakened at this time, Kae. What is the work that waits for me?”
    “You’re needed, Arthur,” said Kae. “To do something only you can do.”
    “Same old story,” said Arthur. “People always placed too much faith in me and not nearly enough in themselves.” He shrugged and looked suddenly at Kae. “How is it that you are still here, Kae, after all these centuries? Did Merlin put you to sleep, too?”
    “No,” said Kae. “I had to go the long way round to get here, walking through the centuries day by day, waiting for you. Bastard sorcerer made me immortal.”
    Kae started to explain what Merlin had done, but Arthur cut him off with a curt gesture.
    “The past doesn’t matter. I am here, and I will do what needs to be done. I will save the day, one more time, because that’s what I do. So where exactly am I? My dreams only covered the high spots; many details were left vague.”
    “You’re in the cellars under Strangefellows, in the Nightside,” said Alex.
    Arthur grimaced. “The Nightside? What the hell am I doing in that disgraceful shit hole?”
    Kae smiled briefly. “Where better to hide the resting place of the noble Arthur?”
    Arthur growled, deep in his throat. “Merlin always did have too much irony in his blood. What is my trial this time, Kae? Does it hopefully include burning down the entire Nightside and putting its sinful inhabitants to the sword?”
    “Wait just a minute,” I said.
    “Worse than that,” said Kae, ignoring me. “It’s the elves.”
    “Oh bloody hell,” said King Arthur. “Of course. It would have to be. It’s always the bloody elves. What are they up to this time?”
    “They threaten civil war, which would devastate the Earth and wipe out Humanity.”
    “Civil war?” said Arthur. “That’s new. In our day, they fought everyone except themselves. Who leads the factions in this age?”
    “Queen Mab of the Sundered Lands, versus King Oberon and Queen Titania of Shadows Fall,” I said. “But before we go any further, I want it properly understood that the Nightside is my home, and it is not a shit hole. Well, all right, some of it is; but it is still a place worth defending and the people worth preserving. Mostly.”
    I hadn’t realised quite how fiercely I’d spoken, until I noticed how quiet it got when I stopped. Kae looked to Arthur, who nodded slowly to me.
    “Your pardon, John Taylor. It seems I have been away so long I have forgotten my manners. No doubt the Nightside has changed much since my time.”
    “Not that much,” said Kae.
    “But it must have changed some, to produce a man like John Taylor, worthy to bear Excalibur,” Arthur said firmly. “The elves are the enemy now, so let us concentrate on them. I remember Mab, of course. Magnificent creature. Such a shame, what happened between her and Tam O’Shanter.” He saw the blank look on our faces. “I see that not all the tales from my time have survived the ages. Very well; I had not been long on the Throne of England, when it seemed to both Merlin and to me that I needed a Queen at my side, and especially one who would help unite my fractured land. So we settled on Queen Mab of the Fae, in the hope that such a union would put an end to the long enmity between Man and elf, and allow me to concentrate my armies on the lesser human foes that threatened my new-won land.
    “Queen Mab let it be known that she was not entirely opposed to the idea; and so I sent an envoy to the Fae, to work out the details. A certain young man, new-come to my Court, one Tam O’Shanter. Not a knight as yet, but he aspired to be one and had already made his name famous throughout the land through many deeds of daring and chivalry. So I gave him this task, to prove himself worthy. Thinking also, that since he was not an actual Knight of the Round Table, and had never drawn a sword against the elves, the Unseelie Court might find it easier to accept him. He was supposed to win them over, with his charm and devil-may-care attitude, so much like theirs. He wasn’t supposed to fall in love with the Queen; and she wasn’t supposed to fall in love with him.
    “It all went wrong so very quickly. They must have known their love was