A/N: disclaimer bs = dont own, wish i did. if i did, Dagonet, Tristan, and Lancelot wouldnt have died in the movie. i cry everytime they do... this will be set a couple years before the movie. the knights have been fighting for...lets say 12 years now.
Anika could not recall a time when she cared for someone outside of the troupe she traveled with. They were nothing more than jugglers and sword-swallowers, but each had a unique talent outside of dazzling crowds. They were as close to family as she would get and she loved all of them for that. But her attention was soon caught by another, just shortly after arriving at a place called Hadrian's Wall…
"Careful Anika!" Tomes shouted at her. The warning didn't go unheeded; Anika swiftly tugged back on the horse's reigns and it stopped just short of trampling a villager who passed in front of it. The older man who sat beside her on the wagon's seat shook his head wearily. "You're going to be the death of me someday, girl," he muttered, bringing a taunting smile to Anika's lips.
The wagon behind them abruptly halted as well and, with good senses, Anika heard the driver swear. "Sorry Dani!" she shot over her shoulder. The middle-aged man, gripping the reigns tightly, nodded his head, letting her know it was all right.
All clear ahead, Anika flicked the horses reigns again, compelling it forward. Although not familiar with Hadrian's Wall, she followed the directions she had in her head, ones given to her from a friend who had been here many times before. Turning the horse down a separate road, the wagon behind her followed. Melini, the wife of a trader, had been within Hadrian's Wall for two weeks time and had sent word to Anika and her friends. This place would be good for the entertaining of others. Food, drink, and lodging were cheap enough, and, looking like no more than traveling village men, the troupe could easily stay within the wall's safety as long as they wished.
But all of them were more than simple entertainers. Each had skills with one or more weapons, especially Anika. A 29 year-old woman, whose memories were lost at the age of six, had only her dreams and a noble-blood tattoo to try and help her regain what was lost. With the death of her parents on her sixth birthday, the only gift she received was a terrible blow to the head, caused by a group of Saxons who raided and burned her home village to the ground. Anika couldn't recall who her parents were or any details of her past. The time spent after that terrible attack was hazy, she only barely remembered joining the troupe at the age of 17. They were the ones who taught her how to wield a blade and bow, and to protect herself from the harm others wished so often to cause her.
Pulling in to a courtyard of stone, designed heavily in Roman culture, she stopped the horse. Hopping from the seat upon the wagon, she smiled as the other wagon stopped beside hers. She had purposefully stopped at a place just beneath an over hang, between columns, for the sky grew cloudy and she didn't wish to be rained on. Dani jumped to the ground beside her and looked around. Vendors and traders lined the walls of the courtyard and many people had returned to bustling around after having removed themselves from the way of their small caravan.
Two people stepped out of the wagon behind Anika and she turned to look at them. Rosala, a young woman with tanned skin, stretched tiredly. It had been a long journey and she had stiffened considerably. The young boy beside her looked up at Anika with excited blue eyes. She smiled down at him, already knowing the silent question he was pleading her with.
"Go on, go explore. But be back by dark. If you aren't, Tomes with have both our hides," she spoke to him. Lolon was 11 already, but still filled with much curiosity for the world.
Tomes was suddenly by her side, glaring menacingly before a smile softened his features. "You better pray to the goddess that boy doesn't get lost."
Anika smiled at her elder. "Ill go find him myself if he does so."
Five entertainers. It had been only three when Anika joined the troupe. But now the number had grown, and with it, the skills they honed. Dani was a very talented sword-swallower. Lolon had grown well in the art of juggling, even assisting Rosala with the activity, whenever she wasn't tying her very flexible body into knots. Tomes was the oldest of them all but still had much spirit in him as he performed tricks equivalent to magic. Anika's talents were usually saved for last, to shock and awe the crowd. She could breathe fire, eat fire, juggle with very sharp daggers, and even touch fire to her skin without burn. When Tomes occasionally introduced what she was going to do, he jokingly told the crowd that Anika was a "fire-speaker" and would never be harmed by fire because she could speak to it and tell it not to.
Rosala and Dani moved away from Anika and it was then she realized she hadn't heard a word Tomes had said to her. But by her friend's actions, she could see they were merely removing the horses from the wagon before tending to them. They would secure their things and go off elsewhere to explore and eat supper. Tomes would remain, dagger in hand, to watch their things.
Rosala cursed a little as the horse that led Anika's wagon stumbled over an uneven stone as she led it to the water trough. The majestic creature was blind as a bat. Anika had found it three years earlier, its life about to be ended. She talked the owner into selling it to her for a good price, though he told her she was mad to own the animal. She had ignored him and spent a year teaching and learning to ride it and guide it.
Fallon lowered his head to the water and drank heartily as Rosala left his side. He was flawlessly black, not a single mark marring his darkness, and his eyes were pale blue. Though the thought of them, unseeing, should have brought Anika sadness, she couldn't help but find the glassy orbs beautiful in their own way.
Shaking her head lightly, Anika looked out over the courtyard. Nearby a cart of furs, she spotted her old friend's husband, but Melini was nowhere to be seen.
The crowd grew slightly hushed as three men walked into the courtyard. Each had cold, hard eyes and bodies built strong. One had a mane of golden hair and a handsome face, an axe set on one hip while a sword set on the other. The second was large in stature and build, scarred heavily, with hair cropped closely to his scalp. The last was thinner, dark hair mixed with braids that mostly hid his sharp eyes. Anika spotted the sword on his back before noticing the apple he was eating hungrily.
She had heard of Artorius Castus and his knights and that they were staying at Hadrian's Wall. Could this be such men? True, they looked like nothing more than barbarian thieves, the way they were dressed. But there was an air of respect and dignity about them that no thief could have.
Turning away, Anika shot one last look to Tomes. He had settled on a bench close by the wagons and the horses. He gave her a nod and she smiled back at him before walking off to explore.
A/N: hey guys. havent written/posted in freakin forever! i've been really into King Arthur, 300, Gladiator, Robin Hood, Witchville, The Legend of Earthsea, and The Legend of the Seeker lately and been kinda stuck in another time. made a few attempts at starting King Arthur stories but failed horribly. this one kinda just came to me in a rush and i rolled with it. im hoping my character wont be a mary sue so ill add a couple beatings sooner or later. PLEASE R&R. i havent written in a long time, especially not like this. those with feedback get free ale and a knight of their choosing! oh, except Dagonet. hes mine... lol. anyway, laterz!