Disclaimer: I only own the character of "Ava"
Each Knight descended from his horse when they heard of the innocents trapped within the walls they had come upon.
Arthur descended first, telling Dagonet to break through the wall with his large axe. Dagonet didn't hesitate.
Lancelot was next, the others following. Arthur took a torch from the outside of the building & led his Knights through the building.
As they walked in, each Knight was hit with the ripe stench of death that the snow had hidden from the outside. Each cell they came upon had no more than a body lying inside of it, but Arthur was determined for them all to search for any & all left alive.
"This one's dead," Gawain heard Dagonet say.
"From the smell they are all dead," he replied. "And you, you even move, you'll join him," Gawain said, turning to one of the monks as he motioned to a monk that Lancelot had just killed.
"Arthur!" Dagonet called as he lifted a cell door before taking the boy inside of it out. "You must not fear me," he told the boy.
Arthur & Lancelot were next, finding a young woman in another cell. Arthur handed his torch to Lancelot & broke the chain with his sword to get the young woman out.
Gawain passed another cell, but the young woman in this one was not dead either. He took his sword to the cell door's chain just as Arthur had done, causing the cell door to fall open. "You need not be afraid," he softly told her as he took her into his arms.
The young woman was shorter than he was, by at least several inches & she seemed very frail. She hardly seemed to weigh a thing in his arms. Her long hair was dark & her eyes were not a much lighter shade of brown, completely contradictory of her pale ivory-like skin.
He made his way back outside with her in his arms & laid her carefully down on the ground close to where Arthur was placing the young woman he had rescued.
"Get me some water!" he heard Arthur yell.
"I need some here as well!" Gawain shouted. The water came soon & he did what he could to help her with it. "You're safe now," he told her.
Minutes later they got the survivors into their carriage & headed on to Hadrian's Wall.
Gawain stayed close to the young woman he had rescued. She had fallen asleep & he was afraid she may not wake up. And he wanted to be there in case she did, not knowing why.
Not much later he felt her begin to stir in his arms. He let out a relieved sigh knowing she would be awake soon. She opened her eyes & looked up at him. Scared at first, but then relaxed when she realized she was no longer in that cell, but instead in the arms of the man who had saved her. Thankful that he had not been another dream.
"Who are you?" he asked softly when her eyes met his.
"I am Ava," she replied waking quickly. "You're one of the Knights from the great wall," Ava said in surprise as she brought her slender left hand to the right side of his face, moving her hand slowly down, feeling the short soft hairs of his beard grace the palm of her hand. "We thought we would never be rescued. That we would be left to die there just as the others before us all had." She paused & asked, "What is your name?"
"Gawain," he answered. He didn't know what else to say. He wanted to tell her to stop, to not speak of it, but he knew that she needed to get the words out so he let her continue.
"They tortured us. All of us. Each in their own way. Weapons, machines, they wanted us to know true pain for what they believed to be our sins. They wanted us to feel pure fear & wanted us to beg for death, only to make us live longer with our agony & misery." She was nearly about to cry at the memories when she blinked the tears back & said, "Then you came. And like the knight in shining armor you are, you saved us. You saved me," she continued.
Gawain put his arms around her as she moved closer to him. He had seen the pain & the fear in her dark eyes. He could tell by the look & feel of her in his arms that she was telling him the truth & at that moment his only regret was that he hadn't been there to save her sooner. "I'm sorry," he told her softly.
"Why?" she asked, looking up at him with a puzzled expression.
"That I was not there sooner," he replied. "That you had to endure that & for so long. But I promise you now, you will never feel that pain again. Not as long as I stand."
"Why are you saying such things to me?" Ava asked..
"I do not know," Gawain replied with a soft smile.
Ava smiled back at him. "Thank you, Gawain. Thank you for saving me. And for this," she said as she slightly tightened her grip around him.
"You're welcome," he said, continuing to hold onto Ava, allowing her to fall back asleep.
Arthur came into the carriage soon & asked, "How is she?"
"She sleeps for now," Gawain answered.
"Will she live?" Arthur asked.
"If she is half as strong as she seem, yes," Gawain replied.
Hours later Arthur & his Knights came upon a forest where Arthur said they would stay for the night, taking shelter in the trees.
Gawain remained close to Ava, still not quite knowing why.
"How did you come to be one of Arthur's Knights?" Ava asked him when she awoke.
"Fifteen years ago the sons of former soldiers were sent to form their own army. I was such a son," he replied.
"What will you do when this ends?" she asked.
"I know what I would like to do, but I have been in this life longer than most of the other Knights. It is hard for me to even imagine this ever ending," he answered.
"Don't you have a family or a home you plan to return to?" she asked.
"No," he began. "My family is gone & I can hardly remember home," he replied.
"I'm sorry," Ava said softly.
"Why don't we continue this in the morning?" he asked as he laid down beside her.
"All right," Ava said, remaining seated beside him for the moment.
Finally she laid down beside him & fell asleep, feeling safer knowing he was beside her.
The next morning they were awakened by a surprise attack by Marius & his men. Ava & Gawain jumped up as quickly as they could at the same time. Gawain taking his sword from the ground beside him & running to join the other Knights.
Ava took a bow & arrow from beside her & quickly followed. She saw Marius take hold the boy Dagonet had been fighting to protect. For a moment she watched the men as they prepared to fight, none of them moving for fear Marius would kill the boy. Ava watched closely to make sure she could get a clear shot. Finally she saw her chance & she took it, firing an arrow into Marius's chest.
Soon Ava, Guinevere, the Knights & the others were on their way to the wall once again. When they came upon a large icy patch of ground the men descended from their horses & began to walk across it beside them.
The ice beneath their feet began to crack & soon they heard the beating of the Saxon drums coming closer to them.
"Knights?" Arthur asked.
They all agreed they were tired of running, they wanted to see the Saxons & they wanted to end it then & there.
Arthur began to send the others on their way when one of the peasants told him, "You are sever against an two hundred."
"Eight, you could use another bow," Guinevere said.
"Nine. Every bow counts," Ava added before following Guinevere.
They all held their bows & awaited the arrival of the Saxon army. They began to fire as the Saxons approached.
"Cause them to cluster," Arthur called.
They did & the ice began to break beneath the Saxon's feet, causing some of them to fall into the freezing water beneath them.
The battle raged on until enough of Cydric's son's men had fallen through the ice for him to order them to retreat.
The Knights climbed atop their horses once more & Ava & Guinevere were back in the carriage as they made their way to Hadrian's Wall.
Once they had all arrived the Knights were informed by the bishop that they were free men now. But each Knight knew their fight was far from over & refused to let it end there.
Night fell & Ava saw Guinevere go into Arthur's chambers & decided to find Gawain in his. She walked in as he sat up in his bed. Ava slowly made her way to Gawain & softly said, "We cannot know how tomorrow will end, but I believe I know how it should begin. With me with you."
Gawain looked up at Ava & watched her as she leaned down to kiss him. He began to kiss her back, but waited a few moments to see if that was as far as she wanted to go.
Ava moved closer to Gawain & he wrapped his arms around her, bringing her closer to him. Soon he stood up & moved her around so she was the one beside the bed.
Breaking their kiss for only a moment, Ava took a seat on the bed & Gawain leaned down to kiss her again. Slowly she began to lie back & Gawain followed.
They weren't able to get much further before there was a knock at the door.
"Gawain, come to the wall now," they heard Lancelot call through the door.
Moments later they were all at the wall with the others & saw the Saxons had begun to burn the nearby villages.
Arthur looked around to his men & said, "Knights, my journey with you must end here."
Lancelot followed Arthur as he began to walk away, telling him, "Arthur, this is not Rome's fight. This is not your fight." He continued to follow him & speak to him to try to convince him not to fight, but Arthur had already decided.
The next morning the Knights & Ava & Guinevere with their Woad people joined Arthur for their battle against the Saxons.
The battle seemed to rage for days, but in fact only lasted for several hours. And finally at the end of it their enemies were dead & as the smoke & dust began to settle the Knights & the Woads all glanced around to see just how many of them had survived.
To their amazement they all had lived & Guinevere & Ava each made their way over to their particular Knight as did Vanora.
"Where will we go now?" Ava asked Gawain.
"We will go home," he answered. "Now we are free & now we can return home," he said as he placed an arm around her.
The End