~Chapter 1: Freedom~
The journey from Rome had been long and tiring, but Enna knew she couldn't let her guard down, they weren't safe yet. Looking over at the horse beside her she tossed a faint smile to its rider.
"What do you think Hadrian's Wall is like? Do you think it's really as amazing as they say?" The younger girl asked looking over at Enna with curiosity burning in her emerald eyes. Reaching over Enna brushed a piece of dark brown hair from the girls face and gave her a warm smile.
"I'm sure it is even more amazing than we could ever imagine." She said before turning her attention back to their surroundings. She suddenly felt uneasy as she peered through the fog to the forest beyond. She saw the arrow coming before it hit one of the men at the front of their caravan, but didn't have time to call out before he fell to the ground dead. As shouts erupted all around them and the men drew their swords Enna jumped down from her horse and pulled the other girl to the ground with her. Everyone had stopped and was now fighting the oncoming Woads as she lead the young girl over to the carriage.
"Don't move; I'll come back when the fighting is over!" She ordered as the girl crawled under the carriage where the friar was already hiding. Enna couldn't help but smirk at the whimpering man as she picked up a sword nearby. Spinning around she drove it through an attacking Woad who fell dead at her feet.
"Enna!" The other girl called from her hiding place.
"Stay!" Enna barked over her shoulder as she took out more and more Woads. She didn't even notice seven knights join in the fighting until the last Woad fell, but she didn't care and rushed over to the carriage.
"Kaelyn? Kaelyn!" Enna called as she reached the carriage.
"Enna!" The younger girl called back as she left her hiding place and ran to the open arms of the older girl. Pulling back to inspect the little brunette Enna smiled, happy to see she was unharmed. They were deaf to everything around them until one of the knights put their hand on Enna's shoulder. Still prepared to fight she spun around pointing her bloody sword at the man's throat as he jumped back. He had curly black hair and dark eyes that watched her carefully while the rest of the caravan and knights gathered around them.
"He means you no harm, lady." Another knight said from where he stood beside the bishop. Enna shifted her eyes from him to the bishop to make sure it was true and when the bishop nodded she lowered her sword, but kept her other arm wound protectively around Kaelyn. She smirked as all of the knights gave the bishop and his men a questioning look.
"This is my niece Enna Taris and her sister Kaelyn." Bishop Germanius said, not even trying to mask his displeased tone as he glared at his eldest niece. It wasn't until they were heading off toward Hadrian's Wall again that anyone said another word to the girls. Enna had insisted that Kaelyn ride with her until her shock from the fight had passed and the young girl was now fast asleep in her seat in front of her sister.
"You were very brave back there." The man who had been next to the bishop said as he rode up beside her at the head of the caravan.
"It doesn't take bravery to protect something important to you, Arthur Castus. I would have thought you would know that." Enna replied without taking her eyes off of the road.
"You know of me, m'lady?" Arthur asked seeming surprised.
"You...and your knights. And I am no lady." She said.
Turning to see the rest of the caravan she looked over all of the Sarmatian knights and frowned as she remembered why they were here; these men had been taken from their homes to serve Rome. Glancing at her uncles carriage the sick feeling in her stomach grew worse so she could taste the bitterness in her mouth. In all honestly she hated her uncle more than she ever thought she could hate another person, but she smiled with the satisfaction of knowing he hated her just as much.
"I'm amazed your sister wasn't praying with the friar under the carriage." Arthur said.
"We don't pray to our uncles imaginary friend." Enna said loud enough for her words to carry back to her uncle in his carriage.
"You're not religious?" The youngest, Galahad, said in surprise as he rode up alongside her.
"No, my sister and I are much like Arthur; half of one thing and half of another, but we didn't choose the Roman god. We follow our own path and do what we have to in order to survive. Some day soon I'll take Kaelyn home, away from all of this, away from Rome." She said watching her sister sleep in her arms. The three of them were quiet for the rest of the journey and Enna found her mind wandering off to more pleasant things. Stopping her horse off to the side of the road she smiled and nudged her sister.
"Kaelyn? Kaelyn, we're here." She said softly as the young girl stirred and rubbed her eyes. Looking up at the giant wall before them Kaelyn smiled and looked over her shoulder at Enna who smiled back and urged her horse forward. Inside the fort they were shown to their rooms before being allowed to roam around. In freshly changed clothes Enna exited her room and went to find her sister whom, she knew, was already looking around the fort. As the sun went down she was about to pass the open-air tavern when someone called to her from the mass of people inside. Looking over she found Galahad waving her over to where he and the other knights were seated.
"I don't think we introduced ourselves earlier; I'm Galahad. The fat one with the baby is Bors." Galahad said cheerfully as the burly, bald man gave a warning grunt. Laughing it off Galahad continued on.
"That's Tristan, Dagonet's the quiet one by Bors, Lancelot's the one you nearly killed earlier, and this disgusting thing here is Gawain." He said gesturing to each as he introduced them. Laughing at the young knight's jab Gawain gave the him a sharp nudge knocking him from his seat. Enna could tell that they were all a bit drunk, but was surprised to find herself smiling at their antics. Making her way over to Lancelot her expression fell a bit as she recalled her actions from earlier.
"I'd like to apologize for my behavior earlier; I over reacted and hope you'll forgive me." She said when he looked up at her. Flashing her a smile meant to charm Lancelot stood up and stared into her eyes.
"I'll forgive you if you dance with me." He said, a sly grin playing on his lips. With a soft laugh Enna took his outstretched hand. Being sure to stay well out of range of the knives Galahad, Tristan, and Gawain were throwing they started to dance and Enna actually found herself giving a genuine laugh. Their fun was ended when Lancelot tripped over her long skirt. Lifting her skirt to show her feet Enna gave a heavy sigh before walking over to the three other knights throwing knives.
"Could I borrow that?" She asked pointing to the knife stabbing the table in front of Gawain. Smiling he gave a small nod and she quickly grabbed the knife. Falling into the empty seat across from him she chose a length that would be appropriate she began cutting a strip from the bottom hem of her dress. All the knights had stopped what they were doing and were now watching Enna as she tore a fair bit of her dress off. Standing up she made sure it wasn't touching her feet and stabbed the knife into the table again.
"That's better." She said as she sat down again. With a collective laugh the knights went back to what they were doing, all except Gawain who was staring at her from across the table.
"Why are you and your sister traveling with your uncle?" He asked.
"He's our guardian; our parents passed away a long time ago. Since then we've traveled with our uncle wherever he goes." Enna said, her mood seeming to deplete at the mention of the Bishop.
"I apologize, I didn't mean to upset you." Gawain said noting the shift in her mood. Looking up at him through crimson hair she gave a weak smile.
"You didn't upset me, so don't apologize. I was thinking of why my uncle is here." She said hatred and sadness mixing in her eyes.
"He's here to give us our freedom." He said leaning forward in his seat with a curious expression on his face. His gold hair fell forward on either side of his face and Enna noticed, for the first time, how hansom he was.
"No, he's come to give you a piece of paper. Rome has no right to say you're not free; you've all been free since the day you were born. I know how hard it is to live by someone else's orders." Enna said, but Gawain could tell from the look in her moss-green eyes that her mind was somewhere far away.
"How do you know what it's like?" Lancelot said with a cold edge to his voice as he walked over to the pair.
"Ever since my parents died Kaelyn and I have had to follow our uncles every word. Back in Rome he refused to let us socialize with men, we were escorted everywhere, it was miserable; we'll only be free when he dies or allows us to go. That will be the day I take my sister home." She said softly. Nearly every person in the tavern had gone silent to listen to the sad, mysterious girl before them.
"My parents were killed when I was just a young girl, Kaelyn was barely even a year old. We were sent away to Rome to live with our uncle, but he controls every last thing we do. He tells us what we can and can't do, who we can be friends with, where we can and can't go, he has people watch over every last thing we do. I have been trying to find a way to get him to let us go home, but he's determined to make us live the way he wants us to. I just want to take my sister home; she doesn't remember anything about our home." She explained lost in thought. For a few minutes everyone was silent; it was only broken by the sound of Gawain sliding his chair away from the table.
"Come on, that's enough sadness for one day." He said standing in front of Enna with his hand outstretched to her. Slightly confused she took his hand and allowed him to pull her to her feet as they started to dance around the tavern. As they swept past one of the pillars at the opening of the tavern Enna caught sight of her sister and smiled.
"Kaelyn, grab a partner!" Enna called to her as they passed. Smiling merely Kaelyn ran over and pulled Lancelot to his feet. They quickly figured out what dance Enna and Gawain were doing and joined in along with Bors and his lady. They were all laughing as they danced together and the rest of the tavern patrons clapped, but sadly the girls were tired from their long journey.
"Goodnight, and thank you for the dance." Enna said as Kaelyn drug her toward the exit.
"Goodnight!" Kaelyn called over her shoulder as they headed off toward their room.
"You like Lancelot." Enna cooed happily as they entered the room and fell onto her bed.
"Well, it seems you have an admirer of your own." Kaelyn said as she sat down beside her sister.
"What do you mean?" Enna asked though she knew exactly what the younger girl was talking about.
"The blonde knight, Gawain. I can see that he likes you, but do you like him?" She asked looking over at Enna. Looking down at her hands Enna's mood faltered again.
"I only met him today, it's impossible for me to like him already. Come on, we need to get some rest." She whispered as she curled up next to the wall. Putting a hand on the older girls back Kaelyn gave a soft sigh.
"You can't keep running from every person you like." She said before crossing the room to the her own bed.
"I've been running for so long I've forgotten how to stop." Enna said softly as she crawled into the bed. Looking back Kaelyn could see her sister shaking and knew she was crying, but she knew not to say anything and went to sleep without another woord. The next morning Enna awoke to Kaelyn shaking her with tears soaking her face.
"Kaelyn? What is it? What's wrong?" She asked now wide awake as she sat up and took the young girls face in her hands.
"Enna, they're leaving! You can't let them go, they'll all be killed!" Kaelyn cried.
"What are you talking about? What's going on Kaelyn?" Enna said starting to panic.
"Uncle didn't give them the papers; he's asked them to do one last mission for Rome. They're going north of the wall to rescue the pope's godchild, but..." Kaelyn trailed off as another sob racked her body. Seizing her sister by the shoulders Enna locked her eyes with Kaelyn's.
"There's something else. Kaelyn you have to tell me now!" She said firmly and Kaelyn looked up at her with fear in her eyes.
"The Saxon's are headed there as well." That was all Kaelyn had to say to have her sister jumping out of bed, grabbing her sword, and dragging her out of the room toward the stables.
"Is this true uncle?" Enna called out as soon as their uncle was close enough to hear her.
"Enna, it's no concern of yours if..."
"Is it true?!" She snapped cutting the bishop off. Glaring at her as she stopped beside him and the Sarmatian knights he gave a cold smile.
"They are fulfilling their duty to Rome." He said so calmly it made her sick to her stomach. Letting go of Kaelyn's arm Enna stared defiantly into her uncle's eyes.
"How dare you ask this of them. You were sent here to free them, yet now you ask them to risk their lives for people too foolish to know better than to settle north of the wall? This is not the will of your god; it is the will of the spoilt child inside you that wants to play with his toys." She said sharply. Luckily she had already braced herself for the slap across her face that followed and smiled to herself when she heard Galahad telling Gawain to keep calm. Locking her eyes with her uncles once again she gave him a look cold enough to freeze hell itself.
"Bring me my horse." She called to Jols who stood beside his own horse. Seeing how angry she was he quickly did as she said and brought her black Clydesdale out to stand by the others.
"Kaelyn, go get my cloak from my room." Enna ordered, her eyes still locked with the bishops. When her sister returned she put on her cloak and mounted her great beast of a horse.
"I'll make you a deal uncle. I go with them; if I return you release my sister and I from your keep." She said calmly as she looked down at her uncle and his guards. He smirked at this and stepped forward.
"And if you do not?" He asked.
"If I die I'll have no way of knowing what you do." Enna replied.
"Enna, please don't go! Please, I can't lose you!" Kaelyn cried rushing over to her sister's side. Smiling down at her Enna put a comforting hand on her cheek and made her look up at her.
"Do you remember the war stories I used to tell you about father? Do you remember what I told you mother would say every time he left?" She asked now ignoring everything else around her as her sibling nodded slowly.
"A hero comes home." Kaelyn said, repeating the line she had heard so many times as a child. Smiling warmly Enna brushed her thumb over her sister's cheek and nodded.
"I will come back to you," she said as her eyes drifted up to Lancelot sitting two horses down from her, "and I'll make sure he does too." Following her sister's gaze Kaelyn saw Lancelot smiling at her and she flashed a weak smile of her own. Stepping away from Enna's horse Kaelyn made her way over to where Lancelot and Gawain sat side by side.
"Don't let anything happen to her; she's all I have left." Kaelyn said and both men gave a reassuring nod. With that Enna and the knights left the fort and headed for the wall.
"You didn't have to come." Lancelot said as he rode to her right.
"I saw an opportunity to free my sister and I and took it." She said as though it were the easiest thing in the world to figure out. The sound of hoofbeats to her left made her look over at Gawain as he smiled at her.
"Arthur's right, you are brave" He said, but his eyes showed his concern as they rode through the gate and into the north.