}{-Milk and Honey-}{
Gallius walked briskly beside Arthur with the other knights following close at their heels. They were all menacing in their own ways. Even Gallius, who stuck out like a sore thumb with his white-blonde hair, fair skin and stormy blue eyes. Each of the knights had darker hair, except Gawain, whose hair was a mixture of shades. They each had their own look, dressed a certain way and carried themselves a differently, but everyone knew who they were; the infamous Sarmatian knights.
At least, most of them were. Arthur and Gallius were Romans, stationed to fight alongside and command the Sarmatian knights. Arthur was commander in chief and Gallius his second in command. Though Lancelot, who strode along on Arthur's other side, argued otherwise. Lancelot and Arthur were friends. Better friends than Gallius and Arthur. Gallius was more suited to Gawain and Galahad's presence then the haughty, arrogant Lancelot.
They had been summoned to a nearby Roman post in Gaul, close to the Andes mountains as they were traveling to their predestined post in Brition. Or rather, Gallius had been summoned by the Roman commander who now ruled over this land. He had been born here. It was his home and he was asked to return for a specific reason, one he had neglected to inform the others about when they had decided to detour with him.
"This commander, Gallius," Arthur side glanced at Gallius, "you trust him?"
"Not particularly, no." Gallius replied honestly. He had never liked the man; Marcellus. He was arrogant like Lancelot with a temper that matched Bors' and all the authority of Arthur. He was trouble and so were his men. Gallius looked to his right and spotted the stares of the Roman soldiers. He bowed his head in greeting and they bowed back, acknowledging his and Arthur's authority. A dark thought plagued his mind as they continued to walk the streets of the small Roman post. The looks that were shot towards the others, the Sarmatian knights, were of a different kind of acknowledgment; disgust, loathing, judgement.
"Not too fond of foreigners, I suppose." Bors called up to the front of the group where he walked alongside a larger man, Dragonet. "Gettin' a lot of dirty looks. More than usual from Romans."
"The only reason they do not stare at me the same is because I joined the Roman army. To them, Romans only care about Romans. If I did not have my title, their stares would be cast in my direction as well." Gallius explained as he noticed a few of the towns people shooting dirty looks his way. He was a hero to Romans, but a traitor to his own people. He had given up being a Celtic Gaul and had become Roman instead.
"Seems you have others whose hatred runs deeper." Arthur's eyes betrayed his voice. His eyes expressed sympathy and understanding. Gallius nodded his head in silent acceptance. They're hatred was why he left. He had desired to start over and had somehow found his way to Arthur and his knights.
"Gallius! Sir Gallius!" A voice called from somewhere behind them as footsteps followed. The group halted and turned, making a hole for the man to approach. He was small in frame, thin arms and legs. Gallius recognized him. He knew him as a boy.
"Accalon." Gallius greeted with a smile, looking down at the man.
"Welcome! Elder Gereon is awaiting you, sirs, in the hall." Accalon announced and motioned for them to follow him.
"What of Rhos?" Gallius asked as he and the others followed behind the frail man.
"Being spoken to by the elders now." Accalon stole a glance over his shoulder. Gallius didn't like the way he had spoken. As though something bad was happening. "Though we cannot be sure for how long Rhos will remain there being reprimanded by them. Again. Done a lot of good for us, Rhos has. The only voice speaking for the people around here lately. Damn shame the elders are trying to snuff her out."
"And what, pray tell, do you mean by that?" Gallius' voice turned stern. His eyes grew hard and he stared the man down until he was sure the man regretted every breath he took.
"Forgive me, sir. But your sister," Accalon stopped and turned to look at Gallius and the others, "she never did exactly take kindly to being put in her place or being told to follow the laws. Especially not Roman laws that the elders back without question out of fear."
Gallius stared at the man for a long while as he tried to process what he had been told. Accalon realized what the problem was.
"You have been gone a long time, Gallius." Accalon's voice grew soft as they approached the doors to the Main Hall. He turned and looked at the man he had once known a long time ago. "A lot has changed. Please wait here while I see if they are ready for you."
Accalon disappeared behind the heavy wooden doors, closing it after him. Gallius looked around the Main Hall and noticed that it had changed. He silently wondered just how much had changed after so many years.
"You have a sister." Arthur challenged as Gallius looked back to him and the others. Gallius could see that Arthur was displeased and surprised. "Why have you not said anything before?"
"Yeah, she a heifer or somethin'?" Bors asked and then mooed, making the insult more complete. Lancelot, Galahad and Gawain laughed quietly at the joke, but Gallius was not smiling.
"See for yourself, Bors." Gallius nodded his head behind the knights to where his sister had stepped out from. She quietly closed the door behind her and rested her back against it, sighing heavily. She opened her eyes and stared up at the ceiling, hair falling about her shoulders like fine spun silk. It was the same white-blonde as her brothers; smooth, soft and full. It made the sapphire colored dress she wore glow like a gem under the moonlight. Feeling eyes on her, she turned her head to the left and caught sight of the knights. Her eyes were like shards of those same gems, deep rich blue, that pierced through the men.
"Most certainly not a heifer." Gawain breathed out as they all observed her. Gallius made to walk over to her, but she shook her head and motioned with a hand to stay put. Her eyes darted around the room, seeing several Roman soldiers. Gallius tracked her eyes and then looked to Arthur, who had seen the same. The Roman soldiers watched Rhoswen carefully like a lion readying to pounce on prey. She pushed herself from the door and strode towards her brother and the knights, not bothering to stop to speak to them. Instead, her hand took Dagonet's, since he was the closet to her path. She pressed a piece of parchment there and walked off without a second thought, feet padding away into nothing as she left the Main Hall.
Dagonet met Gallius' gaze and raised the hand that held the note, reading it carefully.
It is not safe here. Leave now while you can.
Dagonet handed the note to Gallius, whose eyes scanned it over several times. He handed it to Arthur, who also read it. Arthur looked to Gallius and then to the rest of his knights. How much danger had they walked into? First Accalon warned Gallius that things had changed and now a note from his sister telling them to leave while they could.
"I don't like this." Arthur announced gently, looking around the Main Hall at the Roman soldiers that circled like hawks. The knights also surveyed the room in preparation for whatever may come. A door opened and Accalon stepped out.
"The elders will see you now." He announced and held the door open for them. As they walked by, Accalon's eyes held Gallius'. He gently took hold of Gallius' arm, "She is waiting in the gardens outside the wall. Take the stable route. No one will see you."
Gallius nodded in understanding and walked into the room. Accalon closed the door behind them. The elders sat in their seats in a crescent before them. They were all older, not so much simply old. Gallius recognized almost none of them.
"Ah Gallius!" A man named Gereon stood up from his seat and briskly walked to greet him. He took his arm, hand on his forearm and shook in common greeting. "How marvelous it is that you came!"
"It is nice to see you return home." A woman spoke up from her seat. Gallius nodded at her, recognizing her as the village healer. He could not remember her name, but he remembered her face. She had aged, but her hair still held its auburn color and her eyes still glowed green.
"I received your letter and came as soon as I could. My commander, Artorius Castus, and my comrades came as well." Gallius looked around the room, noticing the same strange look each of the elders gave them. They were not looking at Gallius. They were examining the knights. Eyes moving from one to the next, but ever so slowly like one would examine a fruit to ensure its ripeness. "But that is what you were expecting…"
"Whatever do you mean, Gallius?" Another elder questioned from his seat. He sat on the edge of it, staring at him and the knights. "We only asked for your presence. It is an honor, though, to see the knights of legend."
"Why have you summoned us here?" Gallius was losing patience. All he wanted was to see his sister, ask her what was going on, why she couldn't be seen speaking to him.
"I am afraid," Gereon began and slowly walked back to his seat, "it is the matter of your sister to which we have summoned you."
"Has she done something?" Gallius looked around at them all. The elders laughed, except one; the older woman with auburn hair. Her green eyes bore holes through Gallius.
"She has done many things." A deeper voice than any of the elders possessed spoke up from behind them. Gallius and Arthur exchanged looks at the newcomer, who had entered the room like a snake. He was tall with dark curls and darker eyes.
"Marcellus." Gallius voice went cold at the sight of the commander.
"Ah, young Gallius. Still as pretty as you were when you left. Broke every fair maiden's heart when you did." Marcellus' smile made Gallius uncomfortable. Arthur noticed and moved closer, standing straighter. He was not about to allow anyone to hold power over his men other than himself. "You must be Arthur. We have heard so much about you and your knights here in our little section of the world. Off to Britannia I hear it?"
"Yes, until we received word that Gallius was summoned here." Arthur held no delight in his voice nor his expression. He was conducting business. "What business do you have with my legati?"
"His sister has become a problem. A very severe one at that." Marcellus pushed passed Arthur and Gallius, heading for his seat in the center of the crescent. "She has always been unruly and we had hoped that as she got older she may quiet down, cease in her ways, but instead she has done the opposite."
"I don't understand." Gallius spoke up and knitted his eyebrows together.
"Your sister is rumored to be leading a revolt against us. The elders and myself. We simply cannot sit by and allow that." Marcellus motions to the elders seated on either side of him. "There have been skirmishes over the years as is to be expected from those who cannot see their way of life has ended and a newer, greater one begins."
"My sister? Leading a revolt?" Gallius huffed a laugh. "Are you mad? She is a healer. She tends to the orphans, tends the gardens–"
"Sir, do not insult me." Marcellus demanded attention and respect. "I asked you here as a curtesy to you, your family and to the people."
Arthur understood why the elders had taken to this Roman and why the freefolk had not. Marcellus was very good at this game of wits.
"Your sister has been directly involved in several of these skirmishes. She actively voices her rebellious opinions on the streets, is teaching the young ones to fight–"
"As they should be." Gallius argued, but Marcellus ignored him.
"She has killed several of my men. Good men. She has gone so far as to burn houses, kill horses, anything to get the people rallied against us."
"Against you!" Gallius shouted and pointed an accusing finger at the commander. Despite the commander's age, despite his resume of battles and skills, he was the problem.
"Against us." Gereon shouted back and stood from his chair. Gallius snapped his neck to stare at him, eyes blazing. "You wear the same mask of defiance your sister does when she stands before us in this room. It will not be tolerated."
"Gereon, I do believe that is enough." Marcellus turned his head and looked at the head elder. He motions for him to sit and then looked back at Gallius. "These are troubled times. Rome is expanding and the people do not want us here despite our efforts to try and build a better life for them. So long as your sister feeds their fire of hatred for us there will never be peace and blood will run through the streets. Both Roman and Celt."
The hall fell quiet. Gallius breathed heavily through his nose as his eyes scanned the elders from left to right. He searched for sympathy for his sister, for understanding, but there was none. Even the older woman with auburn hair turned her gaze from him, staring down at the floor.
Arthur moved up beside his friend, placing a hand on his shoulder and looked to those who persecuted him with their gaze.
"What do you expect him to do?" Arthur inquired, gently pushing Gallius behind him and off to the side. He was his legati, his second in command. Arthur was commander and Marcellus and the bloody elders could stare at him with their coldhearted gazes as much as they liked.
"We expect nothing." Marcellus answered harmoniously and sat back in his seat. He placed his hands on the ends of the chair's arms. "Again, we have asked him here as a curtesy only. He being the only male in his family alive and she his only kin we felt it polite to inform him of our intentions."
Marcellus reiterated and looked to Gereon, nodding his head at him. Gereon stood from his seat again and walked to a nearby table where a parchment laid out with quill and ink. He picked it up and walked to Marcellus, handing it to him.
"We have a plan to handle your sister." Marcellus announced as he looked over the document.
"Handle with my sister?" The words fell from Gallius' lips before he could restrain them. Arthur looked back at him and silently told him to quiet. To let him handle this.
"What are your intentions?" Arthur queried and placed a hand tenderly on the hilt of his sword. It was meant to intimidate, but Marcellus only gave a small humph and smiled. He let his hands and the parchment fall to his lap as he stared out at the men in the room.
"Sarmatian knights. I always heard the generals talking about you back in Rome. A bit of a legend I must say, but to see you now." Marcellus shook his head. "Truly the stuff of legends; strong, resolute, brutish."
Marcellus gave a baleful laugh and leaned back in his seat. His curls bounced as he moved his head, shaking it back and forth.
"Brutish?" Lancelot mimicked and looked to Gallius in mock question.
"Come now. I meant no disrespect. Quite the opposite really. I respect you all very much. Your reputations succeed you." Marcellus pushed himself to the edge of his seat, parchment dancing from hand to hand before him. "No man stronger. No man better to wield a sword than a Sarmatian knight. I am actually quite jealous."
"I will ask again, commander. What are your intentions with Gallius' sister?" Arthur interrupted the game he was playing with his men. Marcellus met his gaze and smirked. He looked down at the parchment in his hands and tapped it against one of his palms.
"We intend to have her wedded." He replied and stood from his seat. His armor clinked and clanged as he moved. His sword bounced as his side. He outstretched the parchment to Arthur, not Gallius, and suddenly the air in the room was so constricted that Gallius could not breathe.
"To whom?" Gallius asked, his voice soft, but heated. Marcellus clicked his tongue against his teeth and smirked at Arthur.
"That is up to your commander, young Gallius." Marcellus placed a hand on Gallius' shoulder. He patted the young man twice and then pushed passed him and Arthur, heading for the door. As he left, Arthur unrolled the document and read. His eyes darted left to right and back again. His breath caught in his throat. He rounded on the elders.
"This is absurd!" Arthur shouted and threw the document to the floor. The knights looked to one another with apprehension. "You truly cannot expect us to abide by this madness. I will not. I cannot."
"Arthur?" Lancelot questioned hesitantly as he moved closer to Arthur's side, awaiting his commander and friend to explain what was going on. Arthur ignored him and the others. Lancelot looked to Gallius, who had become far too quiet. He met Lancelot's gaze. It was bad. Gallius knew it was bad. Marcellus never played fair; not with anything.
"You must and you will. It has been accepted by your leaders, Artorius Castus." Gereon pointed to the document at Arthur's feet. "As it is their signatures there at the bottom of the parchment. One of your knights, who ride with Roman colors, is demanded to wed Lady Rhoswen within a fortnight to bring Romans and Celts together."
"You wish to claim one of us? Like a slave?" Galahad was very confused, very taken aback. No one had ever been so forward. Not even the wenches at the taverns nor the fair maidens they had come across on their journey from the east.
"You misunderstand. We wish for one of you to claim her." Gereon turned away from them and walked back to his seat. He sat down and laced his hands in his lap. "We merely seek a marriage of convenience."
"You seek to control her." Dagonet's voice surprised the knights. He stood straight with hand on the hilt of his sword and eyes hard, pressing into the elders. "One of us to be the cage so your dove may no longer fly so freely."
"Basically we are to be her nanny." Gawain grumbled under his breath and crossed his arms over his chest.
"No." Gallius shook his head. The knights looked to him and saw the cold look that entered his eyes. The stormy blue raged and burned like a great cataclysm. They were his brothers and Gallius would die fighting to save any one of them, lay down his sword for any one of them, but to have them wed his sister… they were Sarmatian. Known for their ferocity in battle with a reputation for violence even though most rumors were false. But he had seen the way they acted, seen how they treated women, seen everything over the years. He wasn't sure whether this was a blessing in disguise or punishment.
Gallius met Gereon's stare in a silent battle of wills. Gereon did not falter in his seat. Instead he raised his chin to try and assert some kind of authority.
"Your sister, Gallius, has created a tricky situation that we must remedy quickly, quietly and permanently." Gereon spoke firmly. "We thought… we had hoped that with time and proper training that she would calm, but she has become progressively worse. We must teach her, change her–"
"No. You wish to break her!" Gallius felt a fire burn in his core. His lips stretched tightly against his teeth as he seethed. "You want one of the great Sarmatian knights to be her master; to break her as they break their great beasts."
"I want her to know her place before it gets her killed!" Gereon's composure was gone and replaced with fury. He shot up from his seat and glared at the younger man. "A husband, a strong and firm husband, would do just that! That girl–"
"Your daughter!" Gallius rages, face reddening as the hands he clenched went white at the knuckles. Gereon flinched. Arthur had seen it and so had the woman with auburn hair. She narrowed her eyes at Gereon and then caught sight from the corner of her gaze that Arthur was staring at her.
Arthur's gaze turned to Lancelot, then Galahad and Gawain, Bor and Dagonet. No one knew this man was Gallius' father. No one knew Rhoswen was his sister. No one knew anything about Gallius they realized.
"She is your daughter, father." Gallius' voice quaked. "Why do you not stand by her? Why do you not fight for her?"
"Because she is just like her mother. She refuses change and instead seeks tradition where none can survive. She challenges authority, my authority, daily and in front of our people. She attacks the soldiers, steals from the grain houses–"
"She refuses to be subservient. She refuses to give up on her people. You wish a husband who has known battle to settle her, put her in her place either by example or by the back of his hand." Gallius shakes his head at the man he had once looked up to with such admiration. "Are you Celt? …or are you Roman?"
Gereon fell silent. He lifted his chin in disdain and glared at his son.
"Certainly not Celt." A voice, softer and higher in pitch, echoed about the hall. The woman with auburn hair stood up from her seat. "But not quite Roman either. Spineless swine."
"Hold your tongue woman or else–"
"Or else what?" She snapped and spun on her heels to face him. "You will have me disappear like all the others? You wouldn't dare, you old fool. You're all a lot of cowards."
"I blame you, woman!" Gereon pointed an accusing finger at her as she stepped down carefully from where the seats sat raised above in the hall.
"Oh! Rhoswen has been a fighter since the day my sister bore her. A real woman. A real Celt." She waved his words off and moved closer to Gallius. She pressed her hands to each side of his cheeks and smiled, crow's-feet pulling at the corners of her eyes. "Praise the gods you and your sister did not turn out like the rest of us, Gale."
"Vayle?" Gallius questioned, finally recognizing her. She looked much different from when he had met her as a boy. He had only ever seen her twice. Once at her wedding day and then again when Rhoswen was born.
"When you are finished, come see me. Same place as always." She let her hands fall and looked around at the knights. She acknowledged each of them and then her eyes fell on Arthur. She sized him up and then looked through them all to the door. "Your sister will have left a trail of Roman guts leading the way."
She winked at them, relishing the frustration Gereon radiated and headed out of the hall. Gallius looked back to his father and stood straighter.
"Hear me now, boy." Gereon shook his head at him as the other elders stood from their seats as though rallying to his aid. "Get control of your sister or she will pay a heavy price. Marcellus will see to it. He always does."
Gereon and the other elders exited through another door. The door closed with an echoing murmur as Gallius faced his brothers.
"What a bloody mess." Bors scathed and shook his head, running a hand over his mouth. Gawain nodded his head in agreement and looked to Galahad.
"What are we going to do, Arthur?" Lancelot hissed, eyes darting from his commander to the door the elders exited through. "You cannot ask one of us to marry a girl we know nothing about to save her from some pitiful domestic dispute."
"No I cannot. I will not. As I told the elders and commander Marcellus." Arthur's eyes turned to Gallius, apologetically. Gallius nodded and licked his lips as he tried to thin of alternatives. He looked to his right and spotted the parchment still sitting on the floor. He walked to it, picked it up and read it. He froze. His heart stopped. In the final lines of the agreement were this:
If not married within a fortnight after the decree is finalized, whether all parties have acknowledged the legitimacy of the decree or not, then Rhoswen Caratacos, first of her name, daughter of Celyne and Gereon Caratacos, and chosen envoy of the Celestials, will be forced to forfeit her life and take to the pyre in the center of the city. At which time, she will be burned alive for heresy, rebellion, rebel raising, theft, sabotage, promiscuity, and murder. As is decreed by the elders of Caleti, the Roman commander Marcellus, and Rome itself.
Gallius' hand clenched around the parchment, creasing and crinkling it. He closed his eyes and tightened his jaw, trying to keep himself under control.
"I know what it says, Gallius." Arthur's voice called to him from where he stood with the other knights. "We won't let her perish at their hands. You have my solemn word."
"They will burn her alive, Arthur." Gallius turned and faced them. "I have seen it done before."
This, Arthur knew. Gallius had told him the story. Just once after a long night of battle and after many more drinks. Gallius had told him of what had happened that night to make him join the Roman army.
"We won't allow it to happen again." Arthur assured him once more and Gallius accepted it. He released his hold on the parchment, but kept it in hand. Gallius made a mixed sound of laughter and defeat.
"I should have never left her here alone." He shook his head at himself and handed the parchment to Arthur for safe keeping.
"This is not your fault." Arthur tried to console, but Gallius wanted to hear none of it. Arthur looked to his knights, his friends, seeing the looks each one of them wore.
"Is there nothing that can be done?" Gawain spoke first of the knights. He looked around at the others, hoping someone had an idea. He couldn't imagine being forced to marry his brother's sister, but yet he couldn't bear to see an innocent girl burned alive. "Arthur, can you not speak to someone in Rome and demand this be withdrawn?"
"I have no power here, Gawain." Arthur explained and looked to the others. He raised the contract and shook it. "This states explicitly that she needs to marry a knight. Not one you, not a Sarmatian, but a knight."
"So we will find her a knight. One of decent birth that can take her far from here, far from the elders where she can live comfortably." Lancelot thought aloud, but Gallius had begun shaking his head before the words were even spoken fully.
"Marcellus is no fool. He knew exactly whom I rode with; the legendary Sarmatian knights." Gallius ran a hand over the back of his head, rubbing his tense neck.
"He did not know we would be riding with you here though. He assumed you would come alone." Galahad pipped up from where he stood beside Gawain.
"Doesn't matter. He knew of you lot long before he knew Rhoswen had a brother who fought beside you. Now he won't settle for anything less." Gallius looked back at them and crossed his arms tightly before him. His armor groaned as it stretched over his muscular chest. "He assumes you can deliver what he seeks."
"And what exactly is that again?" Bors' tone is sardonic as he cocks an eyebrow. "Because it seems to me that he is assumin' one of us will become a husband to her and beat her into submission."
"That's exactly what he wants. Rhoswen is a rampant beast that needs a master. However, you all also have your titles. More famous in these parts than any other knights that may travel here. My sister has her own title, one that the common people respect and admire, but if she were to wed a Sarmatian knight the elders would have a solid position with the Roman faction that has taken over these lands." Gallius shook his head again and then looked to Arthur. "I must speak with her."
"Of course." Arthur nodded once. "We will go with you. Meet this woman that has been thrusted upon us so unwillingly."
"I do apologize." Gallius felt a sense of remorse. This was none of their problem and yet because they were associated with himself and his sister, they were now dragged kicking and screaming into it all.
"It's not your fault, Gallius." Arthur placed a hand on the man's shoulder. "You did not know what the elders had planned."
"But I knew they were planning something." Gallius ran a hand over his mouth and then laid it back over his chest. "They have hated her since birth. Striven to see her in ruin all her life."
"Why?" Dagonet asked carefully, earning the attention of all the knights. Arthur questioned his men's curiosity and then dismissed it. They were all honorable men and would see to it this woman, Gallius' sister, was not harmed.
"Because she does what is right instead of what the elders' desire." Gallius looked away and thought for a moment. He had told Arthur of this, but had never spoken it aloud to the others. Perhaps it was time. "The elders punish her more than me because of our mother. She had been an elder, but had always opposed the favorable rule; defiant, rebellious, a fighter. They burned her at the stake under the pretense of witchcraft when all they really wanted was her to be out of their way. Now that my sister is becoming a similar problem, her removal is more necessary now than ever."
"And this Marcellus leads them? The Romans here at this post and the elders?" Dagonet questioned with a steady eye as his hand that rested on the hilt of his sword gently gripped it. He was usually the quiet observer, but something had stricken him. Gallius guessed his honor, for Dagonet was indeed a very honorable man with good morals and a kind heart; a defender of the downtrodden, a pillar of strength. He was also a fierce warrior. Gallius had always respected him for his good heart and strong swing. It reminded him of his older brother, his blood brother, who had been stricken down years ago when the Romans had first taken hold of their lands.
"Yes. He is a man born of high status in Rome and has always been able to work things in his favor." Gallius tried to hide the bit in his words, but Arthur heard it; sensed it. None of his men, not even Gallius, had respect for the Romans outside of Arthur himself. He was the only man amongst them who had Roman blood coursing through his veins.
"What kind of man is he?" Tristan, an even quieter member of the group questioned from behind tousles of long, dark hair.
"As you saw today, he is adroit in these situations. He is also very cruel and warped. There were stories amongst some of the soldiers when I was little that he had gone through villages in the north and flayed men, woman and children." Gallius' gaze fell away as he remembered the horrors of that time. "He took the children and hung them from the walls of the villages. Cut the heads off the men and put them in pikes. Fed the women to the dogs."
Gallius stopped. Had Marcellus done that here after he had left? Could he have truly been so cruel?
"Gallius?" Arthur noticed Gallius had gone to a dark place. "What else?"
"He cares little for people. Any people. Even his own. Cares even less for troublesome women. Two of his wives went missing on their wedding night and were found the next day floating in the river." Gallius straightened himself and tried to bite his tongue, keeping himself in check. "He fears no consequence for his actions because the people here are too fearful to stand against him. Certainly more so now that the elders stand behind him and his ways."
"All fear him except for your sister." Dagonet rationalized as the hand resting on the hilt of his sword at his side cupped the end a little tighter. Arthur took notice again and looked to Bors. Bors shook his head, begging him not to ask. Dagonet looked to the others and then back at Gallius with a small smile. "That is very admirable of her."
"Or very stupid." Lancelot muttered harshly and shook his head.
"I would very much like to meet her." Arthur announced, ignoring Lancelot once more. Gawain smiled at Gallius reassuringly and then looked to Galahad, who had a soured expression on his face. He elbowed him and Galahad gave a fake smile in response. Bors nodded and looked to Dagonet, who returned his nod with one of his own.
It was a tricky situation they all had found themselves in. It was ludicrous to think that any man could force one of his knights to marry a girl to simply rid of her meddlesome ways. However, she was the sister to one of those very knights, a Roman soldier, his friend, a friend to all of them and if she did not marry a knight she would be put to death in a most gruesome way. How could any of them allow that to happen?
"The elders and Marcellus are trying to make an example of her." Gallius' voice grew small as a dark sorrow overcame his eyes. "Just like they did with my mother. I will do what I must to protect her from them. At all costs."
They all knew what he meant. Gallius was ready to fight the whole damned city to protect his sister from harm if need be. No matter who stood in his way, including his brothers here that stood before him and alongside him through whatever fight. He would combat them if he had to. He would kill them if there was no other way.
"She is my blood; my little sister." His voice was so soft that he almost didn't believe he had said it aloud.
"Then let us speak with your little sister, Gallius." Arthur met Gallius gaze, assuring him silently that they would remedy the situation. That there would be no need to fight any of them. "Where would she be now?"
"Accalon said she was tending to the gardens outside the walls." Gallius replied and looked to Bors who had scoffed.
"Who the Hell is this girl? A bloody saint?" Bors growled gently, somewhat playfully, but earned a stern look from Dagonet nonetheless.
"Please. My sister is a good person. Make no mistake. She is not some hideous, vile beast as the elders would make people believe nor a cruel hearted witch." Gallius looked around at them all; one to the next. "The issues here are rooted in long turmoil and bad blood that stretches back far beyond our time. Please do not make assumptions of her yet. Get to know her first and you will understand. It is actually rather hard not to find yourself fond of her. She is unlike anyone you have ever met."
"Well, if she is anything like you, Gale, then I am sure we will like her too." Galahad smiled at him and looked to Gawain on his left. Both of them had already decided on who Gallius' sister was and what she was like. If Gallius was fond of her, then they would be too. Gawain smiled at Galahad and turned to Gallius.
"She is your sister," he began, "and we trust your word more so than any Roman or elder. Neither this Marcellus or Gereon could convince us otherwise."
"Then it is settled." Arthur announced. "Lead us to her so that we may all speak to her."