Title: A Woman Among Men
Author: sabor ice
Summary: Where did Vanora come from? How do she and the knights meet? How did she meet Bors and fall in love with him? This is their untold tale.
Disclaimer: I don't anything, etc, except for any orginal characters and this story.
Feedback: Yes, please.
One
Romans and boys on horseback lined the road leading to the village. Dagonet was the first to have seen them, eyeing them suspiciously as they rode onward. He quickly took a short-cut back to his people, who had by then gathered to speak to the Roman guards.
From the crowd a girl, a few years younger than eighteen year old Dagonet, approached him and clasped onto his arm tightly. Her long, curly, auburn colored hair flowed across her narrow shoulders as she looked from the guards and back to Dagonet. The question of fear lurked behind her light brown eyes.
"Who are they, Dagonet?" the girl asked. "Why are they here?"
Dagonet peered down her and replied, "They've come for me. I knew they would be along soon, but I did not think so soon."
The girl bit her lip and hugged his side. "You're like a big brother to me, Dagonet. I don't want you to go."
"Do not fear, Vanora, I will return," he kissed the top of her head lightly.
Just then, a Roman guard caught sight of the broad-shouldered Dagonet and zoned his gaze in on him.
"You, boy, " the guard said from his horse. "Gather what you can carry; we leave in a few minutes."
"How long shall we be gone?" Dagonet wondered, stepping forward.
"Fifteen years and then some," the Roman replied.
Behind him, Vanora gasped softly. Fifteen years was far too long! Who knew if Dagonet would even survive long enough to return home? Vanora did not worry about Dagonet's great war skills, she only worried about the enemies he encountered and their war skills. As Dagonet made his way to his quarters to prepare for leave, Vanora slipped silently from the crowds and out of sight.
After retrieving his faithful white and gray steed from the stables, Dagonet mounted and awaited the Roman's command to move out. He took one last look around at his small clan as his eyes searched for Vanora in the crowds. He sighed heavily, believing that she must have fled home upset as she was.
"Move out!" the first Roman shouted.
The boys and Dagonet followed the Romans out of the village and onto the road.
"Goodbye," Dagonet whispered, before turning around and trailing behind the others.
As the day progressed, Dagonet had been watching the other boys and was intrigued at how different they all were. He didn't know their names yet, but he could identify them easily by their physical appearances. Most of the boys seemed to be around his age, except for two, who were a couple years younger. One boy was small with a fair complexion and fair hair. The other smaller by had cinnamon colored curls on his head. The third boy he saw was slightly chubby with a rosy complexion. The fourth had long, curly hair that reached his mid-back. The last two boys had to be the most interesting looking of them all. One was a lean boy with dark, curly hair and a flashy grin. Dagonet wondered what made this one seem so confident in himself. Finally, the last of the other boys was slender with knotty black hair and tattoos on his cheeks. On his right forearm sat a small brown hawk.
The boys simultaneously let their horses drop further and further back from the Roman guards ahead without being too out of sight. The guards didn't seem to care enough to even check on them. The boys could probably ride off and they wouldn't of noticed. Of course they knew deserters would be executed, so they dared not do so.
The tattooed face boy leaned inward the the others and whispered, "These Romans are so dumb, they don't even realize we're being followed."
The other boys looked behind them and then back at the boy with wild curiosity in their eyes.
"How do you know we're being followed?" the dark, curly haired boy cocked an eyebrow.
The tattooed boy chuckled. "You live in the wilderness as long as I have, you learn a thing or two about tracking. Someone has definately been tracking us."
The boy with the cinnamon colored curls asked, "Do you think whoever it is is dangerous?"
"No telling," the tattooed boy replied, stroking his hawk. "Guess we'll have to wait for tonight."
"Why tonight?" the long haired boy wondered. "How will we know if it's friend or foe?"
"Well, if we're ambushed, then it's an enemy, isn't it?" the boy with the hawk added.
Dagonet listened closely the the others ask they spoke and wondered who could be following them and why. The boys conversed throughout the rest of the day, exchanging names and telling stories of where they came from. It was a rare thing hearing these tales, for the boys knew they would probably soon forget what the word 'home' meant.
At dusk the Romans allowed the boys to make camp in a slightly forested area.
"We will leave at dawn," the stockier guard declared.
"We will come get you before that, so be rested and prepared for another day's hard ride," the second guard added.
After the Romans were out of sight, the chubbier boy called Bors blew raspberries in their direction. The others kept their chuckles as low as possible as they lay on their bedrolls and stared up at the starlit sky.
"So, how long did they say it would take us to get to our post?" Galahad wondered, picking at his cinnamon colored curls.
"A few weeks as long as the weather permits I heard," the long haired knight, Gawain, answered.
"Well, it's not all bad, I guess," the smaller boy, Arthur said. "It means we have more time to get to know one another and become friends."
"How touching," the dark haired knight, Lancelot, mocked. "It's what I've always wanted."
"So, what do you all think? Do you think whoever was following us earlier still is?" Galahad asked, propping himself up on his elbow.
"I bet my life on it," Tristan, the tattooed boy, replied.
"Don't worry about it, Galahad," Dagonet said. "Nothing will happen. Just get some sleep, all of you."
Galahad didn't have to be told twice; the second he layed his head down he was fast asleep. One by one the others drifted off into a peaceful slumber. Dagonet was the last to find sleep. He watched the dying flames of the fire until his eyes closed as well.
End, 'One.'
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