Role Reversal (Arthur,Gwen,Morgana,open)

[kinguthersqueen]

He awoke disoriented, unsure of where he was or what was going on. There were memories in his mind, so many, bits and pieces, but it was hard to make sense of them all. Many of them were strange and terrifying to the person he was now, the sights and sounds of past battles and executions. He knew his name, that he was Uther, and that he was king. But so much of the rest was confusing.

His body was small and delicate, the soft, adorable face and still-stubby limbs of youth replacing the muscular,sturdy body of the adult male. His hair was thick and dark, his eyes still their intense hazel. He was dwarfed by the grand,ornate bed and nearly invisble under the adult's clothes that no longer fit. When he climbed from the bed and dropped down onto the floor, he stood only three feet, give or take a few inches.

He remembered Arthur...Arthur could help him. Or Morgana. He had to find one of them. He couldn't open the heavy doors of the bedchamber, though, until one of the guards pulled it open to see what was making the sound on the other side. He ran, skidding, frightened of the imposing men with spears and swords. One part of him knew they were his guards, but the child's brain still feared them.

The castle was so big and so disorienting, and he had trouble finding his way around. Plus, he struggled not to get tangled in the long sleep robe he'd been wearing, not wanting to run naked, even though he was becoming frustrated as he repeatedly tripped on the long fabric. He eventually found Arthur's room, its door striking a chord in his jumbled memories. He called out, hoping the boy would hear and open the door as he pushed against it.

"Arthur! Arthur...help...I'm scared. I don't know what's wrong..."

[Arthur Pendragon]

Arthur had just finished getting dressed for the day. He had sent Merlin off to do his daily tasks -- and it would soon prove to be a good thing that he had left when he did. As Arthur sat at the edge of the bed, he pulled on his boot, the completion to his outfit for the day. He knew that he too had a long day ahead of him, but it was still early and so had quite some time to get started. It would be relaxing, nothing overly strenuous of stressful, perhaps he would even go for a ride . . .

"Arthur! Arthur...help...I'm scared. I don't know what's wrong..."

Arthur's once relaxed expression turned into a very quizzical, confused one. The voice was young, very young . . . child like young. There were many things wrong with that statement. First of all, who on earth was banging on his door like that! Second, why would a child be at his chambers first thing in the morning! And third . . . who was he to address the Prince by his first name. There was something very odd about the tone he used, as if he knew Arthur, as if their relationship deemed it alright to be on a first name basis. But no. This was far from alright. This was . . . unacceptable.

Curiousity got the better of Arthur and he quickly stood up from his bed, moving towards his door. He opened it and looked straight ahead of him -- his first mistake was looking at the same eye level as himself -- and it was only when he did not see anyone standing on the other side, that he titled his head downwards. Looking down, he saw a very young child dressed in . . . WAIT. What the bloody hell was he wearing?! It looked like his father's night gown! What . . . was . . . going . . . on. Did this child steal his father's clothes?! Arthur was tempted to draw his sword, but he was in fact a child and this was perhaps the only thing that saved him. "Guards!" Arthur began to call. He was first going to get them to deal with this . . . infant -- since Arthur had no idea what to do with a child -- and second, he needed someone to go check on his father and tell him that a child had somehow gotten himself inside the King's chambers, and rummaged through his things, stealing his clothes. High unacceptable indeed!

"Stay right there. Don't you dare move." Arthur said, giving the child a warning look. He poked his head out in the hall, not wanting to stray too far from his bedroom just in case the child decided to steal something of his too! He did not want his clothes to be ruined by this . . . infant intruder.

[kinguthersqueen]

Uther was intimidated by the guards, and by Arthur's tone of voice. The prince was angry, and yelling, both at him and the other men. He tried to organize his thoughts, but it wasn't easy the way his mind was now, the age his brain had regressed to. He wanted to run, wanted to hide. A distant part of him was angry at his reaction, but whatever spark of adult Uther was still there was overpowered by the child's natural reactions.

He tripped again on the big night clothes, and got even unhappier. Maybe Arthur would understand better if he told him more, he thought. Arthur didn't know who he was, because he wasn't grown-up anymore. He looked strange to the prince as a boy. He stood up, calling out in a voice that had a mixture of both fear and the natural strong willed, stubbornness that Uther had possessed even as a boy.

"Uther. My name is Uther. I shouldn't be this way. I should be grown up. I don't want to be this way. Help me!

[Arthur Pendragon]

If Arthur had been confused before, then he was a million times more confused now. How dare this boy claim to be the king! Did Arthur look like an idiot?! And yet, there was something very oddly familiar about him. About the tone he used when he spoke. Though he was a child, there was a strange underlying confidence and stubbornness in his voice that Arthur could not ignore. There was also something about his eyes; a striking familiarity. Arthur looked at him, remaining silent. Was this sorcery? Was something using this child to mess around with Arthur's mind? Usually they tended to play with his hormones, using his heart to be easily infatuated by a woman. This time -- if it was indeed magic -- they were taking an entirely different approach.

Before the guards could come, Arthur would trust his instincts. He would give this boy a chance . . . as odd as that seemed. There was after all, no harm right? Then again, if this was in fact some sort of magic then would it be more dangerous the longer he was in the presence of this boy . . . who claimed to be his father, the king. And what a strange claim it was to make! It was so proposterous and it almost seemed to ridiculous to not be true!

Arthur looked at him curiously, slightly raising an eyebrow. "Prove it," he said simply and bluntly. If he was in actuality, his father . . . then surely he would have a way of proving it, other than being clad in his night robe which was something easily -- well, not too easily but possible enough -- attained by breaking into his bedroom. Why someone would ever want to do that, Arthur would never know . . . nor did he want to know or ask.

[kinguthersqueen]

Uther thought hard, trying to bring back some of the important things, the things that would make Arthur believe him. It wasn't easy, becuase although everything was still there, the magic was suppressing a lot of things and messing up others, and it was probably also the age he was now. Kids never think very easily, and some of it winds up being imaginary. But still, some things were definately there.

"I remember you, and Morgana...and Ygraine...and I remember the troll. She made me want to marry her, but she was stinky. I know...I know about...how somebody made me see scary things, things that weren't there. My head hurt and I didn't know what was real. It was scary because another king was trying to take us over. A lot of things are messed up, but I remember some. The fights are scary. Even if people have to die for what's right."

[Arthur Pendragon]

Arthur was not convinced. Everything his so called father was telling him, could be general knowledge. They were things not selected to Uther's mind . . . but rather, information that was accessible to anyone in the kingdom. The Prince needed more to go on; more conviction. The child's tone though, and the way he spoke was . . . eerie. It just reminded him of his father, but the absurd notion of it needed more proof. Arthur continued to look skeptical at the boy. He closed the door to his chambers, having allowed the boy to come in. This way, they would have some privacy and the next question he was about to ask, was something that only a very select few people knew.

"That day, when I raised my sword against you. Who was it that fed me lies about my mother so that it would create great conflict between us." It was a difficult question indeed, as that moment in time had been very intense. Arthur had nearly killed his father, because of that evil sorceress. And no one, other than Uther, Gaius and Merlin. . . knew her name. Now, he would see if this boy who claimed to be king of Camelot knew. If he did, then Arthur would be shocked. If he did not, then Arthur would still be shocked but more so in a way that was disturbed as to why a small child would wear his father's night clothes and pretend to be the king.

[kinguthersqueen]

"Morgause. I always thought she was dead, but she wasn't. She made you almost kill me. I don't like her."came the reply. He did have a memory of the fight with Arthur and the other boy, Merlin, stopping Arthur before he could do any harm. Uther knew that Morgause knew things that Arthur couldn't know, and he hadn't liked it. "And If you check the bed, it will be empty. No one's there because I'm here."

The king's guards had arrived now, and were concerned themselves. "We aren't sure where the king has gone,sire,but his room is empty. We saw the boy run out and we've searched thoroughly, but your father is simply gone. We don't know anything about the boy. What would you have us do?"

"I'm him. I'm Uther. Somebody has to fix the magic to make me better."the boy-Uther said to them.

[Arthur Pendragon]

Arthur looked at the boy in horror. It was his father. No one else would have know that, and considering what the sorcerers out there had the potential to do . . . he would not underestimate their power to the point of not believing they were capable of doing something like this. The why question was still not answered. Arthur was too disturbed to even question it. Right now, he was still trying to get past the fact that his father, king of Camelot, was a child. "Father?" He asked in a very unsure, very disturbed, very confused tone. His expression showed this confusion, as he tried to make no secret of it.

Arthur looked to the guards when they entered and informed him that the King was missing. Damage control. Arthur needed to think of a reason for his father to be absent, so that pandemonium did not break out throughout the castle and kingdom. If news spread that the King had turned into a child . . . well, it would just not be the best thing. Enemies may strike, and things would be in utter chaos. "I had forgotten that the King informed me he would be visiting Sir Bayard in Mercia for a little while." For however long it took him to find a way out of this. Upon saying this, Arthur dismissed them and closed the doors to his chambers once again. He leaned against it, looking back at the child. How? Where? When? Why? HOW?! But Arthur was far too confused and perplexed to find the words to speak right now. He just looked at his father with a baffled look on his face.

[kinguthersqueen]

Uther watched as Arthur got the guards to leave, telling them a story about him being gone somewhere. Uther did relax a little, because it was hard not to be afraid of the sharp weapons they were holding. He was truly a person torn between the adult trapped inside him and the child whose nature was overriding him at the moment. He wanted to be strong, to show that he wasn't afraid, as it was how he had always been, even as a boy. But kids were always more easily frightened by nature, because they were smaller and not as able to fight back.

He kept looking up at Arthur, but the prince looked just as shocked and confused as he felt himself. His expression was one of pleading for help, and growing frustration at feeling so helpless himself. He kept his head high, but he was having a hard time not shaking somewhat. He just wished he knew a way to get this fixed before something really bad happened.

"Yes...What's wrong? I know it's magic, but how do you fix it? I want it fixed!"

[Guinevère]

Guinevère left Morgana's room and starting walking down the hall with her arms full of the morning dishes. She watched as the knights left Arthur's room and she paused, to let them walk on before she smiled and looked at the door. She wondered if he was alone; was he finished eating? Surely then he would wish someone to take his dishes away? In truth; she missed him. She missed him every day that he was busy and she could only watch him from afar.

She walked to the door, and shifted the tray in her arms so she could knock and then enter slowly. She was about to call him Arthur until she saw the younger boy in his room. She gave small bow to Arthur before speaking. "I was just coming to see if your dishes were ready to go to the kitchens." She spoke as she walked over tot he table to check. As she passed the boy she gave the child a smile and even patted his head.

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[Arthur Pendragon]

Arthur had no idea how to fix it! He could not even bring himself to speak. He just stared at his child father, horrified. The king of Camelot was a child! How was he to reverse such a spell?! When barley heard the knock on the door, and it was only until Guinevère entered that he averted his gaze from his . . . father . . . to her. A whole new set of fear set in. Hopefully she would not say or do anything too . . . suggestive to their relationship. This was NOT how he wanted his father to find out. His eyes were slightly wider than usual, and the shock was still apparent on his expression.

Oh . . . good . . . gosh. Had she just patted him on the head?! She had just patted the King on the head. The King! Who was a child! His father . . . who was more than a decade younger than his son. There was something very disturbing in that. This whole entire thing was disturbing! He did not answer her. He could not say anything . . . he just looked back and forth between them. How was he to explain that that was his father. He could not even bring himself to thank her, and dismiss her -- something he always hated doing, but may be best. Or wait, perhaps she could help? But how? All Arthur knew was that he could not figure this out on his own! The more help, the better. But in the meantime he stood there, in silent shock.

[kinguthersqueen]

He didn't really like being patted much, and he brushed at her hand, trying to make her stop. He stood up straight and tried to be as tough as he could for a small child. Arthur was afraid, looking between him and Gwen, but he didn't say anything. Uther finally did.

"You shouldn't touch me. I could punish you for it. Or Arthur could. No one should touch the king. It's not nice."

He would not have comprehended fully what he saw if anything had been done, but they were not doing anything that could have tipped him off at the moment. Arthur seemed as confused and upset as he'd been, and it frightened the child-king. He didn't like being a kid again, missed being grown up. And he worried about what would happen if Arthur really didn't know.

"Maybe somebody else can fix it. Gaius maybe. He knows a lot of stuff. He doesn't do magic anymore, but maybe he can fix it. I don't want to be stuck like this and grow up again. "