Queen Charlotte's Ball, which happened every year around the same time at the start of the London Season, had come once again. Daughters of the nobility and the landed gentry made their way through an endless array of carriages, to the main entrance of Buckingham Palace.
On one such carriage, Alice sat, fanning herself to deal with the heat inside the layers and layers of proper attire for such an event. Across her, Marchioness Isigny sat, staring at nothing. Heat, for her, never presented an annoyance. For a child of Thanatos, the otherworldly demon had a high tolerance for the brazing heat of London's summer.
"I don't like where we are, at this point, we'll reach the entrance in hours," the Marchioness complained.
"I believe you said this was normal on these instances. As so many ladies need to be presented in their best clothes, it could take hours for anyone to get there."
"For anyone, yes, not for us. Hold on to something, we're jumping the line."
Alice couldn't protest. The Marchioness snapped her gloved fingers -an ability almost impossible to master- and the carriage moved by itself. Soon it reached the front of the line, with no one noticing it.
"Much better."
Alice followed the Marchioness around the entrance, the waiting room, and then throughout the ceremony. Nothing of notice there. Queen Victoria, in her regal self, appeared mostly bored. Isigny presented her, with all which entailed the ceremony, and then they were left to their own devices while the long line of debutants made their way through the ballroom floor.
"Didn't she appear...distracted to you?", the Marchioness noticed once they were out of earshot.
"No idea. I haven't met her before today." Alice walked away from the noise the other debutants made. "How can you tell?"
"She's been a tad out-of-touch since Albert died, but not like this."
Out-of-touch would be an understatement. The Queen had left Buckingham and London altogether in the interim between official business. To find her, one would have to travel to either the Isle of Wight or Scotland, since she spent most of the year there. Even Mr. Athenida travelled there when he needed the Queen for things related to the Witches' Council.
This day, however, the Queen seemed even stranger. Almost no reaction when they presented Alice, even though she and her father were close friends. Just a vague wave and a look of glossy eyes. Not even a slight motion with the head when her daughter-in-law -the Princess of Wales- entered the room.
Marchioness Isigny took Alice aside, away from the centre of the room.
Even when most of the guests of the ball consisted on debutants and their chaperones, some men had made their way inside the ballroom. Members of Queen Victoria's personal circle, which included members of the privy council, from parliament, and some non-ranked noblemen.
Isigny hadn't pulled Alice aside to chat, but for her to avoid some of them, which she recognised. Mr. Athenida among them. Neither of them had any idea how or why he had come back from Du Midi Castle, or even gotten away from the issues at the council. This worried the Marchioness, since people usually describe her relation with Mr. Athenida as 'fraught' on the best of days.
"I'll see what he's up to. Don't go anywhere."
As it should be obvious by now, Alice waited until the Marchioness turned away from her, to walk out of the ballroom. Out of the ballroom and into a nice corridor. A nice corridor with ornate décor and no one in sight.
She wandered down the corridor, waiting to find a guard, footman, or even a maid. Nothing. No one. Even the music and chatter of the ballroom seemed to vanish as soon as she closed the door behind her. Something, Alice felt, had gone horridly wrong in a fraction of a second.
The Palace, even without an event of such magnitude, should be filled to the brim with staff, visitors, and the family. No one around the corner or in the rooms she dared to look inside. For a moment she feared to have returned to Wonderland without noticing, and since she caused a -let's say- monarchy crisis the last time she went, Alice had no intention of returning to the place.
A few times, while delving deeper into the building, she thought of seeing something in the corner of her eye. Barely in front of her. Just around the corner every time she turned, or in the flickering wave of a curtain. Every time just in front of her. For a while, curiosity enticed Alice to follow it, wherever it led. But, in the end, she decided in her best judgement, to avoid it and keep going according to the plan.
Walked through the entire building, not encountering anyone. All the way from the front, to the older parts of the building, the ones made when it was still "Buckingham House". From there, down to a collection of dusty rooms filled to the brim with old furniture, and some forgotten cellars. In the end, reaching a small empty room with a couple of tables, covered in cloths, and a fireplace which seemed able to collapse at any moment. An inch of dust over everything, except the fireplace itself, which Alice found strange.
Who would clean only the fireplace and leave everything as it was?
That oddity pushed her to notice a couple of other things. A couple of streaks on the floor, like scratches of something heavy moving along. The fireplace itself being far older than the room or the palace. Probably older than most of the city. She knew because of a small stone in the corner, with the name "Rahere" written on it.
Rahere, as she vaguely remembered, had something to do with St. Bart's. None of that mattered, as she also found a small nook on the side of the fireplace and, pulling a lever, the entire thing swung open and revealing a small opening on the wall, which led to a staircase going down into the earth.
From the staircase into a dark corridor and into a cave opening. She made a small light appear in her hand, and saw the walls glowing with a blue-greyish colour. Touching the wall, she realised that was the clay Mrs. Bennett spoke about. Silky, without grains or other impurities. She thought of filling a jar with it, and then going back to the ballroom. However, a question still lingered on the back of her head.
What was such a cave doing under Buckingham Palace?
Curiosity is a dangerous thing. At least for Alice tends to be. She kept walking through the cave, knowing she could return at any moment, since the thing she came for surrounded her.
The narrow cave turned on unexpected corners and went down into the earth, then up again in a slope, and then down again. She walked enough to think Buckingham Palace was far away and not above her. With all the twists and turns it was difficult to know where she was. She felt the splashing of water under her feet, and had to be even more careful to not damage or stain the elegant dress if she wanted to return to the ballroom and not be noticed.
Again, she began seeing something right in front of her turning the corners. Followed with difficult, as the wetness of the cave made for perfect slipping and tripping hazards. At some point, she slipped and descended in what felt like a waterslide, deeper into the earth.
She landed, luckily feet first, into a large stone vault. Back when the people living in what they called "Londinium", that could've been a natural cave. However, between that point and the epitome of the Victorian Age, someone had found the place and decided to make a few modifications. For one, someone had carved gothic -or gothic style- arches around the main vault, making the place look like a medieval church. Balconies overlooking the place where, in a church, stood the altar. Though it lacked most of the illumination one would consider for a place like that, so most of the place, beyond gas lamps and a few candles, covered itself in darkness and shadows.
Alice's steps echoed on the vault, as she walked towards the 'altar'. A large stone slab surrounded by ancient riches, such as coins, weapons, armour, and some things she couldn't know what they were. A couple of purple cloths, crumpled on a side of the slab, stitched in gold.
Sitting on the slab, next to the cloths, a man with a hand holding the side of his head. Curly golden hair up to his shoulders, a beard which he appeared to have trimmed with a knife -evident by locks of hair around him- and made a poor job at it. Some of it had different lengths. The man began massaging his temples, as if he had a headache, and only noticed Alice when she approached.
"Oh, finally." The man spoke with a strange accent, at first she thought Welsh, but no. "What's the problem? Are the Romans back?"
"Romans?"
"The Legion. We faced one a while ago, but are they back?"
"No."
"Then what's it? And where's my sword?" He began looking around. "Where is it?"
"I don't know."
"Well, take me to someone who knows what's going on! What are you waiting for!?"
He grabbed the cloths and put them on top of his shoulders. Then, without waiting for Alice to say something or even follow, he began walking away. Through the cave, without slipping. Alice managed to grab a handful of the clay on the walls and put it in a jar. Back into the empty room, where the fireplace returned to its place.
The way back to the ballroom, where the man headed following the noise of laughter and music, seemed shorter this time. Alice had to jog to keep up with the man, since he was remarkably tall.
Everything stopped when the man entered the ballroom.
Everyone turned around to see the man, and Alice, who came behind him. Mr. Athenida and the Marchioness, who seemed to be in the middle of an argument, stopped with their mouths agape. All colour drained from their faces. Even Queen Victoria noticed the man, and walked forwards to him.
"Who are you, sir? What are you doing here?" She asked.
But the man hadn't notice her. His eyes fixated on Mr. Athenida, who he appeared to recognise. Mr. Athenida, on the other hand, had turned his attention to his daughter.
"Alice, what have you done?" He mouthed.
"Nothing, I swear!"
"Myrddin, old friend. Are the Romans back?" The man asked again, worried. "The sword is nowhere and I don't know what's happening!"
Queen Victoria, who didn't like to be ignored, had called for the guards and they surrounded the man with sabres and pistols pointing at him. As two of them grabbed his arms and began to drag him away, he began yelling.
"Unhand me! Britannia is in danger! I'll protect it if it's the last thing I do!"
The Marchioness worried about the Queen, and most of the people in the ballroom went towards her. Mr. Athenida did not. He walked straight to his daughter, holding his cane with such strength his knuckles turned white. His nostrils flared before speaking, and his grey eyes pierced Alice's.
"Alice. I'm going to ask only once. Why is Arthur roaming around?"
"Arthur?"
"Arthur Pendragon, King of the Britons. Why did you wake him up!?"
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