Chapter Text
Eggsy didn’t know what would change, if anything, in the wake of the “final” Lancelot test- but he’d expected something . He and Roxy had returned to the same dorm they’d lived in for the past year, the same sterile walls and open toilets, and went back to their daily routines. Sparred and studied and teased one another, waiting for the other shoe to drop, and explored when they couldn’t sleep that night. The next morning greeted them with familiar faces, Percival and Galahad at the foot of their beds poised as if to yank the bedding from their bodies like schoolchildren.
They went off with their respective mentors, both still on edge and equally unwilling to admit it. Harry brought Eggsy back to his home, an increasingly familiar setting, and once they were safely within its doors and Harry had put his glasses away Eggsy could no longer hold himself back.
‘Did you really kill a Spirit to become Galahad?’
‘Yes. Even though at the time I didn’t fully understand that it was temporary. I’d had minimal interactions with Spirits prior to Kingsman, you see, and presumed they functioned much as humans when it came to life; mortal, even if incredibly difficult to truly harm. But,’ Harry mused, swirling a glass he’d just poured, ‘I was trusting. Perhaps too trusting, too easily led, as I didn’t question anything beyond what direction to flip the switch in, my hand already in motion. Never really found out if both directions did the same thing, though I’d assume so.
‘It was a console, if you were wondering; the kind you’d only know from museums and old Earth Kingdom airships, with flat switches and no markers. Myself and the other candidate side-by-side, though we’d not become friends the way yourself and Roxanne have. It is rare for candidates to see beyond their own success, to celebrate the strengths of others.’
‘It didn’t make you angry? Or guilty? To have killed them just cos someone said to?’
‘Of course I felt guilty for ending a life entrusted to me. I felt betrayed and frustrated by being asked to do so- but I assumed there was a good reason, though I didn’t need to know it to act upon that assumption. It took me several years to begin questioning why an order came the way it did, to demand information before acting, or going off-book to seek it out myself if it wasn’t provided to me.’ Harry smirked, ‘I have become an exceptionally difficult Agent to Handle, Eggsy- I question and push back and demand because, at this point, I’ve proven myself to be capable and have only regretted not doing so sooner. Arthur despises my mission reports and methods, but cannot deny that I accomplish what is set out above and beyond expectations- just with more headaches.’
‘I don’ think he likes me much. Arthur.’ Eggsy slumped into a chair, ran one hand through his hair as he looked away. As if it were a personal failing to have failed to win over the leader of their organisation.
‘Arthur is wholly displeased with both of the candidates that have made it to the end. He has a woman and a man from outside his own social class- he has no option that keeps to his increasingly conservative sensibilities; keeps him from causing some form of change to the way Kingsman has been during his entire tenure. And, unfortunately for you, Eggsy, I have also not been quiet about your father’s suitability in the time between. I’m afraid that that’s made Arthur predisposed to disliking you- not anything you’ve done, specifically, but for what you represent.’
‘So I didn’t do somethin’ to piss him off?’
‘Oh, I’m certain you’ve managed to do a great many things that have made him dislike you all by yourself at this point- but you should know that it isn’t all your fault.’
‘Thanks?’
‘For example,’ Harry put his glass down and leant his forearms against the table, ‘the final task. First, I must congratulate you for having passed the test- I had little doubt that you would, but that does not mean it is not worth celebrating. I know it is not an easy decision to make.’
‘I almos’ didn’t. Almost yelled at Arthur before one of you messed with the band an’ I came back to myself. Started askin’ questions instead.’
‘Then I’m eternally grateful to Merlin for having stayed your tongue, as I wouldn’t put it past Arthur to have dismissed you based upon mouthing off alone. As it was,’ Harry chuckled, ‘you managed to hit on something he was already quite put out about due to actions from myself and Wan Shi Tong with your polite phrasing.’
‘I made him mad by bein’ polite?’
‘You frustrated him by using the phrase ‘with respect’ when acting in opposition to what he was demanding or thought he was implying.’
‘They hadn’ said we weren’t allowed to ask questions!’
‘Arthur is not used to being questioned, or having to give reasons for his orders. It doesn’t help that Wan Shi Tong doesn’t use his title, either.’
‘He just calls ‘im by his name?’
‘Certainly. You see, to Wan Shi Tong titles are earned. And not just the once,’ Harry interrupted Eggsy, who had opened his mouth in askance, ‘but over and over again. Like respect, to Spirits a title is a fickle thing that must be defended with both word and action- and when they feel there is a lack, well…’
‘They stop usin’ it.’
‘Precisely. Though Wan Shi Tong is the only one to do so to his face, a large number of our Spirit Agents call him Chester when he is not physically present. Though he did a great deal as Arthur when he first ascended the throne, as it were, he started falling short of that a few years ago. The fact that it has gone on for this long makes me wonder if he truly realises what it means, for Wan Shi Tong to address him by name no matter the audience.’
‘So I didn’ fuck up by askin’ questions?’
‘No, Eggsy, you did not “fuck up” by asking for information- nor did you by exchanging with Roxanne or flipping the switches together. You followed the directive you were given, eventually, and used the parameters- or lack thereof- that had been provided to you. Arthur simply doesn’t appreciate people who can use their brains when he doesn’t ask them to.’
‘That’s stupid as fuck. Ain’t the whole point of these trials to find someone who c’n think on their feet ‘nd solve problems?’
‘That is some of the point, yes- but, again, as we have established Arthur is at somewhat of a crossroads between who he was and who he’s become. He was a very forward, innovative, leader when he became Arthur- but things have changed. I’m not even certain which things, it was, that have set him off his previous path- just that some collection of happenstances have shifted his course and, thus, the course of Kingsman.’
‘And Wan Shi Tong an’ Merlin just… keep lettin’ this happen?’
‘I’m not sure what you’re implying, Eggsy;’ Harry blinked doe eyes at him, eyebrows pulled too far up his forehead, ‘in what way could Merlin or Wan Shi Tong have curtailed such a thing?’
‘I know you’re just bein’ a shithead, but you an’ I both know that a Spirit like Wan Shi Tong only lets some human be in charge cos he wants to. It’d be easy for ‘im to do everythin’ Arthur does- and prolly loads faster, too, since Spirits don’ need to eat or shit or anythin’ like that.’ Eggsy sat back, ‘An’ you just told me that he don’ use Arthur’s title- but he does Merlin’s. So that means he prolly trusts or respects him a bit, yeah? Lets shit lie cos he thinks Merlin can make up for what Arthur fucks up, or the two of ‘em are in cahoots abou’ something. Come to think of it, though,’ Eggsy tilted his head, and smiled, ‘He used yours, too.’
‘Very astute of you, Eggsy. And yes, Merlin and Wan Shi Tong have decided that it’s best for Arthur to remain where he is- even if most of the authority he wields has been made superficial at this point, he doesn’t know that. Your candidacy has come at an unfortunately tumultuous time within the walls of Kingsman, though if any besides Merlin asks you if I said so- no I didn’t.’ Harry’s eyes lost their humour, as he set his glass down, ‘There are a few of us that have been aware of such shifts, for a handful of years, but without irrefutable evidence any change is difficult at best and impossible at worst.
‘Once, Kingsman was a solitary institution, operating from the shadows of Republic City so as to have connections with all the Nations. But that is no longer the case; we have branches on every continent, and at least one whose location even I couldn’t tell you. Unfortunately, the expansion has been both blessing and curse- for all that HQ is the centre, the right kind of strain could fracture us and destroy the very legacy we’ve spent nearly 300 years creating. In many ways, we are as fragile as spiderfly silk.’
‘An’ you think it’s worth the risk, then? Whatever it is that Merlin and Wan Shi Tong are handlin’ behind the scenes?’
‘I know it is, because I trust those two more than words can express.’
‘Fair ‘nough.’ And that would be enough for Eggsy, who had come to realise that he trusted them as well. In some ways, he thought he always had with Wan Shi Tong, at least- he hadn’t felt judged once, had felt witnessed , sure, but never judged. He knew the feel of his eyes on his back, had known he was being watched by more than cameras several times, and couldn’t help that he was repeatedly impressed by the Spirit who held so much knowledge in his grasp. Eggsy had risked his freedom, had made the call that got him into Kingsman in the first place, because he’d valued one of Wan Shi Tong’s own- and he felt like that meant something.
Or maybe he was putting too much importance into their few interactions. Eggsy didn’t really think it mattered if he was- it was his brain, he could feel what he liked.
And to be honest he didn’t much like Arthur, either. Their reasons for the mutual dislike were wildly different- but he felt a bit justified, especially in light of all this.
‘Yes, Merlin?’ Apparently Eggsy had mused enough to miss Harry putting on his glasses, but the unexpected name pulled him from his thoughts. ‘Immediately?’ Harry stood, placed his empty glass in the sink, and collected Eggsy’s cup as well. ‘I see. Ready a plane, I’ll be there shortly.’
‘You headin’ out, then?’
‘Yes, Eggsy; it seems I must go out for the next portion of the Valentine mission. I’m headed to the western coast of the Earth Kingdom, as it seems there have been some unfortunately familiar fluctuations of Spirit Energy that need to be investigated. I’ll set you up in my office with a computer; you’ll be able to view what I am doing but not communicate with me directly- though you will be able to speak to Merlin and submit messages for review.’
‘Aren’t we supposed to be doin’ shit as a set? A dynamic duo?’ Eggsy tilted his head with a wide grin, an image not unlike the comic books he'd once devoured flitting through his brain.
‘Arthur has decided that only new missions count for the furthering of your trials. I suppose I can understand, it would be difficult to brief an established Knight this far into the game, and as far as he knows you don’t know anything about this, or Valentine’s aspirations, since neither Merlin or I have seen fit to reveal our being so candid about an active mission with a mere candidate;’ Harry smirked, ‘and Arthur has been actively watching this mission, since Lancelot’s unfortunate demise put us all on high alert. I’ll wrap this up, and the next one can be our adventure.’
‘I’ll hold you to that.’