All That I'm Living For
Summary - Eydie is Guinevere's younger sister and when Merlin sends her to assassinate Cynric, why can't she do it? Better yet, why won't he kill her?
Rating - M for violence, language, later chapters and adult situations.
Genre - Romance/Action/Adventure.
Pairings - Knight pairings, Arthur/Guinevere, Cynric/Eydie.
Disclaimer - I don't own anything except for Eydie and some other characters that are not recognised from the King Arthur. I merely own the story and some of the legends put into it.
Chapter One
The Woad village to the North of Hadrians Wall that overlooked the sea, near the ancient structure of Stonehenge awoke with the rising of the sun each and every morning. Children played with dogs, women washed or fletched arrows as they watched the children as the men of the village readied themselves for their missions. Of the younger women of the village stood out among all the others and it was in due part to the fact that she was sharpening swords for the armory and not washing clothes like the other girls her age. She did not have the strong appearance of a Woad; she had dark honey coloured eyes set in a soft heart shaped face which was framed by her long, thick, unruly dark hair that had slight flecks of blond scattered through it. Milky cream skin was barely covered by the leather clothing she wore that hugged her slim yet curvy figure.
"Daughter!" The young girl looked up at hearing her father's voice. Standing from where she had been cleaning the swords, she walked over to the weathered, aging man who sat before a fire burning in the very center of the village.
"Father," she said, kissing his cheek affectionately as she sat down. By the look on her father's face; a look which matched those of the elders around the fire with them. She looked from them to him. "What- What is wrong?"
"The Romans are leaving child, and now the Saxons are at our borders. Your sister has already started her journey, but now I need to call upon you. You must do something for your people, for me."
She nodded, watching as one of the woman put a bowl of dried fruit and bread down between her and her father. "What do you need to call upon me for?"
"There is a contingent of Saxon foot soldiers camped along the coast. They are under the command of the Saxon prince. His death may raise our people's spirits to fight in the impending war," he explained, looking around his village at his people.
Eydie was only sixteen springs old, she had never taken a life or even fought in real combat before, unlike her older sister Guinevere, but however the eldest child of Merlin and Nimue was already on a mission for their people.
Merlin also knew that his second daughter was determined to help her people no matter what the cost, and prove her worth. Her father knew this and he also knew that she would not disappoint him and he could trust that she would not back down for her duty.
"When shall I leave?" she asked, standing up when her father did.
"First you must ready yourself, Lukas has some things in the armory that you will need for your journey."
The armory was nothing more than a large hut when all the armour and weapons lay lined across some fur skins on the floor. As Eydie entered, she smiled at Lukas who greeted her as he fixed a strap of leather around the hilt of a short sword. "Your father told me of your mission. Come here." Eydie approached him and found Lukas picking up a small sheathed dagger.
He took hold of her forearm and strapped the thing to her.
"Quick and easy access should you need them. There are two more; one for your belt and the other for your..." he trailed off as he picked up a small dagger and carefully slipped it between her breasts, "Never know when it might come in handy."
She went red in the cheeks. Being only sixteen years of age meant that Eydie had never known a man and around them she was tentative and shy, quiet and reclusive. She could never understand why Guinevere had such fascination with them. Thanking Lukas, he told her he was not yet finished with her and lead her to the armour on the opposite side of the hut. Once he was done finding the right pieces for her, Eydie was left in a leather jerkin and pants. He also gave her a bow and quiver, despite her protests and her constant arguing that she was a terrible aim with one.
He silenced her. "Use it to take down the guards. They are large and slow, easy targets." He stepped back to inspect her. "I tried to adjust it to look a little similar to the Saxon armour, you can blend in a little then, at least I am hoping you shall. Now, you better go tell your father you're ready." She smiled and hugged him before leaving. The armour was awkward and nothing like she'd ever been in before. It may have been altered but it still would not blend her in much among a large group of Saxon foot soldiers. Her father met her halfway to their hut and said how much she looked like a warrior.
"The Saxon army has camped north of her and you should make it in two days, if you rest during the night," Merlin explained as he guided her towards the borders of the village. "Be safe, my child."
"Be safe father," she replied as she hugged him. Looking at the forest scenery in front of her. As she started walking she felt her heart jump into her throat. Even though she had to do this to protect her people, there was something pulling at her mind. It felt like this was the last time she would ever see her village, her family, her friends. Her home. She knew there was a risk of losing her life and it cause a shiver to rake down her spine.
Calm down her mind told her. She could not be thinking like this when the moment of fulfilling her mission happened and thinking it from now until then would not aid her. Closing her eyes, she began counting to ten, trying to relax her mind. As she moved further into the forest, she felt her mind slipping into the region she'd once channelled the day after her mother had passed. Moving at a brisker pace, she readied her bow in case there were any wild animals out hunting.
