It was late morning when they saw her, atop her grey horse and riding hard beside the edge of the forest. Dagonet and Gawain watched her long, dark curls billowing behind her as her worn, black cape did. There was something so incredibly familiar with how the woman moved; but that wasn't really what they were looking at. The two Knights were more focussed on the figures following her; the blue demons native to the land.

Arrows flew past her, one only narrowly missing her. That was when the Knights spurred into motion, heading straight for the Woads trailing the woman. She saw them out of the corner of her eye, and apparently, so did the Woads, who turned their attention to their familiar enemy, the Sarmatian Knights. They met with a clash, and though Dagonet and Gawain were outnumbered, they were far more skilful in their art.

At the sound of screams and death, Kyna slowed her horse and turned back to the small battle. She had no idea who the two men were, but they were helping her and she knew that she owed them the same. Kyna drew back her bowstring and let an arrow loose into a Woad that was on top of Dagonet and attempting to tackle him to the ground. What a stupid thing to do, she thought as she notched back another arrow and considered the height of one of her rescuers.

Her next arrow lodged into the throat of the last Woad alive, one that was in the process of running back into the dark forest. Gawain watched as the arrow flew past him and met its mark, spraying blood like a fountain. There's definitely something familiar about her, he thought as he observed the precision of her shot and pulled his axe from the shoulder of a dead man.

None of the three seemed to want to speak first, and Kyna just looked over the men warily. But when Gawain took a step forward, he found that her next arrow was trained on him. He stopped immediately and held up his hands.

"We mean you no harm," Dagonet said earnestly.

Kyna's eyes flickered over both men as if she was judging their honesty. Maybe they had just rescued her, but Kyna wasn't taking any chances. She knew how men could be. But eventually, Kyna gave a small nod and lowered her bow. Gawain gave a small, inward sigh of relief. He had seen the deadly look in her deep, brown eyes and had known immediately that she was prepared to kill him. He had seen that look before in many others, in many of his brothers, in fact.

The two men looked up at the woman still on her horse and saw that her clothes looked well-worn, as if she'd been travelling hard for a long time. They wondered who she was. She didn't look British, and certainly wasn't Roman. But it was only as Kyna pushed her long, wavy hair from where it lay dishevelled, in front of her face, that Gawain and Dagonet realised why this girl looked so familiar. The small tattoos on her cheeks were a dead giveaway.

"Who are you?" Dagonet asked, noticing her tattoos at the same time as Gawain did.

The woman didn't answer. She merely looked back at them with those deep, brown eyes and frowned. The men had definitely seen that expression before. For her part, Kyna wondered why they wanted to know who she was; she could see no reason for them to actually want to know her name- or no reason that she liked anyway. This woman has to be related to Tristan, Gawain thought as she eyed him and his fellow Knight.

"I think that perhaps you should come back to the Fort with us," Gawain started.

Immediately he found that Kyna's arrow was trained on him again, her bowstring begging for release. Her eyes held their deadly glare once again. She'd be damned if she was going to let some men that she didn't know whisk her off to some place that she didn't know. Dagonet took a step forward and her arrow turned on him. He stopped.

"As I said before, we mean you no harm."

She didn't lower her bow.

"Gawain only suggested that we take you back to the Fort because you look incredibly familiar to someone we know."

Kyna froze. Familiar? Does that mean that they... She lowered her bow and reached into her saddlebag. Dagonet and Gawain frowned at each other, confused, but Kyna didn't notice. She rummaged through the contents of the bag until she found the thick roll of paper and a piece of sharpened charcoal- one of many that she always kept with her.

The two men were left to wait and watch her scribble something out onto the first sheet. She held it out in front of them, and they both looked at the words she'd written. If she is related to Tristan, then she's a Sarmatian who can write in Latin... Odd, Gawain thought as he read her words.

Who do I look familiar to?

She wasn't taking any chances in letting them trick her. If they meant Tristan, then they would say so; if they didn't, she would leave. And if they couldn't read what she'd written, she would leave. The Knights paused, not at all understanding why she was writing instead of talking to them. Perhaps such quietness runs in their family... Gawain thought, remembering how Tristan barely ever spoke. It was Dagonet that answered her question though.

"We are of the Sarmatian Knights," he began.

Kyna's heart almost skipped a beat.

"You look like our brother, Tristan."

Kyna could have smiled, she could have kissed both men right then and there. But she didn't. She merely wrote a short reply.

My brother.

Gawain and Dagonet blinked and both eventually nodded. They weren't really shocked that she was Tristan's sister- there was too much of a familial resemblance between them. What had taken them aback was that Tristan actually had a sister and that she had travelled all the way to Britain. Gawain had never heard Tristan speak about his family; he didn't even know that Tristan had a sister, but he was simply stunned and baffled at why, or even how, she'd taken such a dangerous journey out to Britain; especially since she had no idea if her brother was even still alive. It must be urgent, or she would have waited the few months until we're freed, Gawain thought.

"We can take you to him," Gawain suggested again.

Kyna was hesitant still, but after something flickered across her face, she nodded once. As the Knights mounted their horses once more she watched them, almost curious about the men her brother had fought alongside for the past fourteen and a half years.

She looked at Gawain properly, taking in his appearance for the first time. His long, golden hair seemed almost like a thick mane, but his eyes were what caught her. They were a bright blue; so different to the deep brown eyes that she and her brother shared. Dagonet, as she had already observed, was very tall, and seemed to be very intimidating. But the words he spoke and the way he spoke them made her feel as if he was really quite gentle.

They began riding, and the Knights on either side of Kyna. Some would have interpreted it as the protective gesture that it was meant as. Anything from Sarmatia was precious, and they were determined that she would not be hurt while in their company. But Kyna didn't take comfort in the men on either side of her. It made her feel trapped. She said nothing of it though.

"I'm Gawain, by the way."

"Dagonet."

Kyna nodded, scribbling down her own name in response. As they continued to ride, Kyna offered up no attempts at conversation; no news of home.

Uncomfortable with the silence, Gawain asked, "Why did you come here?"

Kyna merely bit the inside of her lip and stared at the Knight on her left as if she was fighting some inner battle. Confused, Gawain couldn't decide if she'd won or lost as the reply she gave was vague at best.

To find my brother.

She refused to elaborate. There was something in her eyes as she rode though that made the way she wasn't speaking look painful. It took Gawain a moment to understand, but her silence and the way she was only writing to communicate made him ask anyway.

"Can I ask you something?"

You just did, she wrote back bluntly.

"Yes, but... Look, I'm sorry to ask... but... can you talk?" Gawain asked, trying to make sense of the silent scout's silent sister.

Dagonet turned his head to the woman between them, and both men watched as Kyna's eyes found the floor for a moment, before glancing back up at them. And she shook her head slowly, pain evident in her deep brown eyes.

She didn't offer up any explanation; all she wrote was, Tristan doesn't know that I'm mute.

Gawain blinked. That was what the pain in her eyes meant, he thought, knowing now that something had had to have happened to make her mute. His fists clenched. Kyna's eyes flicked painfully from Gawain to Dagonet before she looked back down and fiddled with her horse's reins so that she didn't have to meet their gaze.

It took them around twenty minutes to get back to the Fort. And the guards at the Gates didn't pause to open them for the three. They rode through to the stables and dismounted. They left their horses with the stable master, and Dagonet turned to a man that seemed to know the Knights well.

"Jols, we need you to call everyone to a meeting."

"Right," the man called Jols answered as he left the stables.

Kyna held onto her saddlebag as if she was determined to never let it go. The two men didn't understand, buy they said nothing.

"You're bleeding," Gawain observed as they stood there for a moment.

Kyna looked down at her arm to where Gawain had indicated and saw that he was right. She shrugged thinking, I've had worse. Much worse.

"I'll take a look after you've seen Tristan. Come," Dagonet said, ready to lead the way.

Kyna nodded. She smiled, and her dark eyes lit up. She would see her brother within minutes. Her initial happiness was drowned out though, as she realised that she would have to tell Tristan what happened; why she was so different to the little girl he'd left behind all those years ago.

Kyna slung her bag over her shoulder and followed the Knights through a gated courtyard and into the building beyond. Her thoughts hit her in a dizzying flurry. She had waited so long for this moment, and now that it was finally upon her, she was so nervous about it.

They traversed through the building's seemingly endless corridors that seemed a maze to the woman not really paying attention. Everything seemed such a blur to Kyna as her thoughts whirred. They finally stopped before a door at the end of one corridor. Kyna took a deep breath, trying to calm herself for what was coming. But as Dagonet reached for the door, Kyna threw herself against it, jarring her shoulder and clicking the door closed again.

"What are you doing?" a confused Gawain asked, frowning at the woman.

She grimaced and flattened out a piece of paper from the crumpled wad still in her hand. More words were scribbled down and she held them out to be read.

When Tristan was younger he sometimes... overreacted to bad news... I don't know if he's changed, but I

She paused considering how to phrase the next part of her sentence. Kyna kept crossing things out as if she was trying to write the words before they had formed correctly in her mind.

The news I have is not good. I don't know if I'll If he does react how I think he will... Will you help me make sure he doesn't do anything stupid?

Both men read her words and then turned to each other. It didn't take them long to nod in response. Neither had seen Tristan overreact to anything; his emotions had always been played close to his chest- so close, that sometimes the Knights doubted that he even felt anything at all.

But Kyna seemed so persistent that neither Knight could have said no to her. She stepped back from the door and allowed Dagonet to open the door again. Kyna waited behind the two men, unseen by those inside the adjoining room.

She couldn't see them either, but she heard a voice say, "Finally! Considering you called us here with such urgency, you're a little late!"

"Shut up, Lancelot," Gawain said, his tone low.

"Gawain. Dagonet," a calm, almost formal, voice said.

When Gawain and Dagonet were inside the room, they separated and the room was revealed to Kyna- as she was to everyone inside. She didn't pause to look over the room, but vaguely noticed the men sat around a large, round table as she searched for her brother's face. It didn't take her long to find Tristan; and, as their eyes met, Kyna saw him straighten from where he leant against the table.

The other Knights merely stared confusedly at the woman. They obviously had not seen the tattoos on her face that gave her away so completely. They were not even given the chance to speak before Tristan was up and standing beside the sister he had not seen for nearly fifteen years.

Kyna didn't even realise that she was crying as she threw her arms around him. Tristan's arms encircled her and both siblings lost track of how long that they stood there embracing. The others didn't though.

Dagonet and Gawain remained standing, just watching Kyna and Tristan, whilst the others sat by, confused at the movement of their silent scout to this mysterious woman. Gawain could see Tristan's expression from where he stood, and he saw that the Knight's face was as masked as ever, all except for his eyes; the eyes that held something deeper than he'd ever before seen present in them. It was Arthur that eventually broke the silence that held the room.

"Tristan?"

His voice held the question of a wanted explanation. Tristan only moved back slightly to turn to his commander, his arms still around his younger sister.

"Kyna," Tristan said quietly.

Kyna smiled into his shoulder where her head rested. It's so good to hear him speak, she thought.

"My sister."

Realisation dawned on the faces of every Knight around the table. But with that came cautionary glances that wondered why the woman was there; why she had made the journey from their home to the hell that was Britain. Just as Tristan was about to turn back to face the others, he noticed the spot on her sleeve that blood was seeping through.

"What happened?" Tristan asked her, concern rippling his usually emotionless voice.

Kyna frowned, trying to figure out how to answer him. She couldn't. Her eyes met Gawain's as she wished she could tell him. She wasn't quite sure that she was ready to explain what had happened, but the moment had found her anyway. Gawain saved her though, answering Tristan's question for her.

"Woads. When we found her, there was a group of them following her."

Kyna nodded in assent, and a frown furrowed Tristan's brow. Anger flashed through him at the thought of the blue demons chasing after his sister. But something tugged at the back of Tristan's mind as he looked at his sister. She, of course, was older than he remembered, but he noticed that, as he saw her now, Kyna was very much grown up. Her eyes were so much older than those of the ten year old girl that he'd left back in Sarmatia, as if they had seen far too much. In truth, they had.

Kyna leant back from Tristan, trying to go for the letter in her bag. The letter that she had written so long ago. The letter that explained everything in a way that she no long could. Kyna's face had paled as she sorted through the only belongings she had that remained in her saddlebag.

"What's wrong?" Tristan asked, frowning.

Kyna paused for a moment, and then shrugged, not really knowing if she was okay. She felt nauseous because what she'd have to explain to her brother within seconds. Kyna was almost glad that she had her letter to explain for her, because she knew that if she had to speak her tale, she'd surely stumble over her words and end up crying as she so often had when she thought of the dark events that took her from her home.

Still rummaging through her bag's contents, her fingers finally grasped the letter she searched for while Tristan stared at her with a blank yet somehow worried expression. She pulled the letter free of the bag and clutched it to herself for a second. Kyna passed it to Tristan then, who merely looked at the letter and then back to his sister. He didn't take it.

"Kyna," he said in a low voice.

The tone in his voice was one that she remembered from her childhood; one that told her that she should tell him what she was hiding or she'd be in trouble. Only now, she couldn't tell him. And she was in trouble. Or she had been. Kyna could only stare into his eyes and press the letter into his hand until he took it from her.

Genuine worry crossed Tristan's face then; something that the other Knights had never seen in the expression of their silent scout. But Tristan didn't care. The mask was gone with his sister; and right now, he could tell that something was wrong.

Even though she tried to hold them back, tears once more spilled free of the prison she'd long held them back in. She'd tried to lock her past away for so long, and now she had to share it with her brother. He deserved to know. Kyna closed her eyes and bit her bottom lip. She'd thought she could handle this. She was wrong. She couldn't look at Tristan; not now that she could already tell she was hurting him.

Kyna was saved though, when, as he and Dagonet took their seats, Gawain said, "Tristan, maybe you should read that letter."

This earned him a harsh glare from the quiet Knight; but everyone could clearly see the reason behind it. They all knew that whatever news that Kyna was about to give would not be good. It was obvious from her very manner; and the tears only confirmed it. They'd all worried about home- and Kyna's tears made everything that he'd always secretly feared a reality.

Kyna nodded once in response to Gawain's words, and used them as an opportunity to open her eyes and risk a glance at her brother's face. She regretted it immediately; his eyes betrayed the feelings that he had long kept hidden. Kyna blinked back her tears. She held up one finger, hoping that they'd understand that she needed a moment; and fled the room. Tristan's deep, confused eyes followed her to the door as he almost went after her. Almost.

Arthur stopped him though, as his voice interrupted, "Tristan, perhaps you should give her a moment."

Tristan knew that it wasn't meant as advice. His fists clenched in an anger that he was now working hard to conceal, almost crumpling Kyna's letter. The silence that had been, once again took up residence in the room. No Knight dared say anything to Tristan; they could see him seething beneath a mask that usually worked to hide any and all emotion. Tristan just stared at the door, wanting to follow the woman he'd not seen for so long. His sister. His little sister. He wanted to know what had happened to her, and he wanted to hear it from her, not a letter.

"The letter?"

That caught Tristan's attention. He was still angry, but his hands came up and he unravelled the letter. Whether he liked reading it in a letter or not, he needed to know what had happened to cause his sister to make her way to this Hell. The others just watched as he read through Kyna's letter, trying to identify the emotions as they passed over his features. The Knights had barely ever seen such expression of emotion in Tristan.

Tristan. Brother. That this letter has reached you is good. It means you're alive. I regret that the news this letter brings, however, is not good. I hate that this is what I have to tell you, but I must, and this is the only way that I can.

When the day came that you had to leave, I watched you go, wondering where you were being taken; if I would ever see you again. Do you remember how I ran after you? How you had to stop me and send me back before the Romans did? I cried for weeks after you were gone. I'd still ride out, as we used to. I'd still go out hunting, as we used to. I even taught myself to fight. Back then, home was how it should have been. Well, it wasn't, because you were missing. But bar your glaring exception, things went on.

For eight years, things just went on. But then, in one day, everything changed. Slavers came from the West. There were so many of them that we stood no chance. Father knew. He sent me away; made me promise to leave while the others stood to fight. I didn't get half a mile away before I turned back.

What I saw as I rode back was horrific. Our village had put up a good fight. One better than the Slavers had expected, I think. There were so many dead when I got there. All of the men... Father. They'd rounded up the women and children still alive; there weren't many. Our mother wasn't among them. I tried my best and killed a few of them, but after a while...

I won't tell you the full extent of what they did to me. I try to forget those things every day. But I can't. They gave me a few permanent reminders. The only thing they did that I have to tell you should explain any odd actions that you've seen of me. I fought everything that they did; too much apparently... I didn't think that this would be as hard to write as it is... They cut out my tongue, brother; said that I was better silent.

Tristan stopped reading then; his expression a mixture pure rage and horror. The hand grasping the letter shaking with anger just bubbling through to the surface, the other balled into so tight a fist that his nails had broken the skin of his palm. Tristan's breathing was heavy and every man present could see the pain written in place of his usual mask.

The Knights looked at each other, most of them not knowing what Kyna could possibly have written to make such a change in their usually expressionless scout. All expected the worst- as they all secretly had for their own families. Dagonet and Gawain knew at least some of it though. And Dagonet would have be the one to calm Tristan down.

Out of all the Knights, Tristan seemed to be most amiable- if he could ever be described as such- around the other quieter Knight. Not even Dagonet, as he moved back to where Tristan stood, could calm him down though. Tristan didn't really even notice Dagonet's hand on his shoulder. All that Tristan could see was Kyna's words, blinding him to all else. They cut out my tongue, brother. They cut out my tongue. They cut out my tongue.

Gawain stood, he wasn't going to watch Tristan that way for any longer. If Dagonet can't snap him out of it, only she'll be able to, he thought as he left the room, not even waiting for anyone to ask where he was going. Gawain pushed open the door and stepped into the corridor beyond.

It didn't take him long to find her, slumped against the wall just around the corner. She'd clearly been crying; she still was. When Kyna saw his shadow on the floor before her, she looked up. His face told her what she'd been dreading. Tristan hadn't reacted well; she hadn't expected him to- but it hurt to have to hurt him all the same.

"You'll have to come back in. I've never seen Tristan that angry... Or in so much pain," Gawain added as he held out a hand for her.

Kyna took it with reluctantly, as she stood and she used her other hand to wipe away one of the fallen tears staining her face. She took a deep breath, steeling herself for what was to come, as Gawain led her back to the hall and the others.

"I don't know what you wrote, but... it's not good," he said, referring to Tristan's reaction.

As soon as Gawain pushed the door open, the woman was inside. She went straight to Tristan and Dagonet drew back immediately. Kyna took hold of his white-knuckled hand; she saw his lip twitch. It wasn't working to calm him down and she knew it. Kyna placed her hands on the sides of Tristan's face, forcing him to look at her. She held him like that until he met her eyes.

The only reason that it calmed him down was because it was the exact same motion that she'd made when she was a ten year old girl, saying goodbye as her brother was taken away. It brought him back to the woman she was now, not what had happened to her while he was gone. Tristan embraced his sister in a single, fluid motion. Kyna wrapped her arms around him too, trying to forget all the memories that telling him had brought back. The memories that would never go away.

Author's Note: Well, here it is, the rewritten version. I'd love to know what you think (even though some of the things are the same). :)

Kit xx