After several hours trying to get someone to take a little of the jewellery we had taken from the cache, and feeling like we were going to be ripped off by everyone, Arthur had finally insisted that we sell a small amount just to be able to get a place to stay that night and some food for dinner.

We'd eaten lunch in my car, hid some of what we'd taken around the vehicle and then came into town to sell some of the rest. I knew it wouldn't be easy to get rid of it all, but I also had thought we would get fairer prices from a buyer.

Arthur just seemed to be happy that he could pay for something finally and provide for us. And that alone made it more worth it than I'd expected. He was happy and smiling and I was going to get a hot meal that I didn't have to pay for. Normally that only happened at Christmas when work paid for us to have a meal out together.

I suggested some places we could eat after we booked a small hotel out of the way and not too far from the church. I'd also made sure that the doors wouldn't be locked at any point. The last thing we wanted was to find ourselves locked out of the building and unable to get back in.

"Somewhere we can sit and talk after we've eaten," was all the response that Arthur gave me. I wasn't sure if he was okay, but I looked at the options and literally followed my gut, choosing whichever one had the yummiest looking menu.

Within another hour we were sitting in a restaurant, the place quiet enough despite the weekend that I wouldn't have a problem staying there all evening as long as we bought dessert at some point as well.

Admittedly, it now wasn't my money, but as soon as we'd eaten, Arthur brought up the discussion about how to change all this for money.

"You seemed to have some ideas," he finished, looking at me expectantly. I nodded and tried to think of the best way to put them.

"There's a lot of money here and I think if you tried to offload it in one place, then it's going to be too obvious, strange and cause problems in lots of ways. Not least of all questions."

Arthur nodded as if he followed along with that part.

"And the next problem we have with you and money is that you technically don't exist. You have no passport, no driver's license and no place of residence. It makes it really hard for you to get a bank account, invest money in any way or... well... live now."

"How do I get these things? Surely there has to be a way?" Arthur looked hopefully at me as if I would know a solution or be able to provide it to him, but I couldn't. Not legally.

The only way to make Arthur look like a real person was to buy him an identity on the black market. And I knew how that was both expensive and illegal. We were going to have to break the law to give him a fighting chance to be a normal person.

Any other avenue would draw a lot of attention to him. How did a person like him get documents otherwise?

I wasn't sure, but I knew I wanted to keep helping him. Nothing could have convinced me that this man was the legitimate King Arthur like seeing his magic and also seeing him wearing that crown. It was one of the few items he had kept on him, the rest were just a few examples of each type of wealth he had taken.

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"I don't know how we'd do it yet, but I'll try and find a way, is that good enough?" I asked.

He nodded. "What choice do I have? I'm indebted to you. But I don't want to be forever. Once this is all sorted out and I have learned enough of this world, I intend to take care of you for a while."

The smile in Arthur's eyes as he said the last part, made me feel warm and fuzzy in a way that nothing else could have done. I had never had anyone offer to do anything for me who I trusted to actually follow through.

Before either of us could speak again a man walked into the restaurant. He was dressed a bit like a street musician, not completely dressed down, but not fully dressed up either. He wore a shirt, but the collar was open and he wore a strange tie, but it hung loose. Finally he had a top hat on his head, but it was crooked and there was a creature poking its head out from underneath.

My mouth fell open as he leaned forward, appeared to trip and almost fell flat on his face in front of Arthur and me. He caught himself again, sort of rolled and ended up standing by us. His happy mood caught Arthur by surprise and made me smile.

"Hello, you delightful pair. I can see that you're not from around here. Do you want to let me cheer you both up?"

I lifted an eyebrow thinking that this was silly and after our day was the last thing we wanted to happen, but Arthur sat back in his seat and studied the man.

"You're a magician, correct?"

"Of sorts." The man reached forward toward me and behind my ear. Immediately he pulled back but instead of the usual coin in his hand, there was a small insect.

I lifted an eyebrow, confused about how that would be a good thing, but I wasn't bothered by insects. It looked like it might be a cricket and it bounced off his hand and further into the pub.

"That was... different," I said when he looked between us as if he expected applause.

"Not my best trick. Shall I try something else?"

"Please. I'd love to see more," Arthur said before I could stop him. Internally, I groaned. This was the exact sort of wackadoodle I had hoped to avoid. Someone who did tricks and wanted to call it magic. They were nothing like Arthur and while some of it could be clever, I didn't get the feeling this was going to be one of the smart ones.

There was an awkward pause as the guy seemed to think for a moment, all his mannerisms exaggerated. He looked comically up, put his hand on his chin and tapped it with his finger.

"For a fellow such as yourself I feel the need to do my best trick. Something no others have seen before." The man pulled off his comical, oversized hat and showed us the empty area inside.

"Would you like to check that there is nothing in here, good sir?"

Arthur very willingly put his hand into the bag and wiggled it around.

"Nothing," he declared with far more enthusiasm than I could muster.

"Perfect." The magician waved it around a little, flourished it and then reached his own hand in. He wiggled his fingers, felt around the hat and grew more and more confused. A moment later he dropped the hat, his hand still empty. There was a small bang and to my surprise a rabbit appeared, sitting on top of the man's head.

I blinked as Arthur clapped delightedly. That was not what I had been expecting.

"Bravo, bravo. What is your name, good magician?"

"Well, my magician name is Mickey, after the very famous mouse, although we're not meant to talk about that too much. I actually go by Marvin, however. It doesn't sound quite so... magical."

"Marvin?" Arthur asked, suddenly very serious. He then looked toward me. "This is Jennifer. A very good lady friend of mine. Perhaps you would like to join us for dinner. I think we're going to have lots to discuss."

I frowned, not wanting to have a random stranger join us, but Marvin was already accepting and pulling out a chair. I also knew this was Arthur's trip and something about this guy had got to Arthur. How could I tell him that this was some cheap trick without insulting the trickster.

But the more I thought about it, the more I realized, I had no idea how he had done it. One moment there had been nothing on his head and now there was a rabbit. Still sitting there.