Galahad lingered outside the open doors of the tavern watching the rather whorish 'Velenia' climb upon the lap of a man. A man that Galahad only wished would give him a second glance. Sighing dejectedly, he began to abandon his hopes dropping his hand over the note concealed in his breeches pocket.
He was about to stride away when one of his fellow knights and good friend, stepped out of the shadows. Tristan startled him and he jumped noticeably. His heart stopped racing and he saw a sympathetic look grace Tristan's normally emotionless face.
"You alright?" He asked genuinely concerned by his friend's solemn state. Galahad was silent for a while, watching Velenia climbing all over Gawain.
"I guess," He sighed turning from the door and staring into the emptiness of the night. "I just wish I wasn't such a coward," Galahad felt a comforting hand on his shoulder and he turned to face Tristan.
"And I wish Gawain was a little more observing, for both your sake and mine" Tristan stated with a sad smile. The two stood there for a while, the only noise being the loud and drunken singing from inside the lantern lit tavern, a contrast to the crickets chirping within the milkweed.
Eventually Tristan was called away by Arthur and Galahad wandered aimlessly home. A while later he heard familiar drunken giggles in the hallway. Gawain's door slammed shut and bolted and he heard the headboard clanging against the wall.
"Another one night stand" he murmured to himself disgusted by the fact that a few feet away Gawain was pounding a woman who was barely worthy of a hog. He lay for a moment until he was disgusted enough to rise from his bed, pulling a tunic over his head before wandering out of his chamber. He stopped briefly outside Gawain's before continuing down the hall to Tristan's quarters.
Tristan had anticipated Galahad's arrival and therefore left his door unbolted. Galahad slipped inside his room and even in the dim moonlight, Tristan could see the tear paths down his friend's face. He motioned for him to join him and Galahad obliged. Silently weeping as Tristan soothed him. It broke his heart to see Galahad in such a troubled state.
This had become a regular occurrence. Gawain would sleep with another whore and Galahad would fall apart in Tristan's arms.
It couldn't continue. Neither man knew how much longer they could survive if this continued…
Three days later the knights were riding out to fight a rally of Woads in roman territory. Galahad rode slightly behind everyone else avoiding talk of "what a great 'lay' so-and-so was." He was getting tired of laughing along with their crude jokes and agreeing with their exaggerations. Tristan was scouting so he was left alone to mope.
Arthur had taken notice of this and fell back to make conversation with the young knight but to no avail. Galahad was far away in his mind and all he would manage was a polite nod or shrug every once in a while.
Tristan came galloping back from the dense forest ahead, his horse covering ground like a wildcat. He pulled his steed up and around rapidly. The horse almost lost its footing before settling its hooves into the ground.
"Woads!" Tristan exclaimed breathlessly reining his horse in.
"How many?" Bors asked shifting in his saddle.
"Hundreds. Three hundred, at least" Tristan answered and everyone looked to Arthur. He nodded.
"Lets go!" Arthur pulled his stallion into a shallow rear and turned leading us intto a steady advance. Galahad reined his steed into place between Tristan and Gawain. Their formation lasted as they rolled like thunder, across the forest floor and into a sea of Woads.
Blades were drawn and Galahad instinctively drew his bow pulling the chord and firing arrows into enemy bodies with rapid speed. His arrows grew scarce and he shot one last arrow before puling his sword from its sheath and dismounting his horse.
His sword moved through flesh as if it were butter staining his blade instead of blood. Tristan watched his back shooting arrows still from upon his horse.
Suddenly someone struck Galahad. And struck him hard. He felt the blow split his ribs and screamed out in pain and shock. Immediately Tristan and Gawain were at his side. Galahad curled himself in a tight ball, writhing in extreme pain. The rest of the knights soon surrounded him. Tristan kneeled attempting to inspect his injury but Galahad was moving far too much.
Trembling with pain Galahad attempted to get to his knees but a sharp pain in his side reduced him to a heap on the ground. Hands were on his shoulders and he looked into Gawain's worried eyes feeling him and Tristan hoist his trembling body onto Gawain's horse. Gawain mounted behind him and rapidly, yet gently they galloped to the wall. Somewhere within the pain and shock Galahad felt the light grasp around his waist tighten and heard Gawain whisper something he would never forget.
"Hold on, Hold on for me"
When his eyes opened all Galahad saw was brightness. For a second he was filled with horror. Am I dead? But when he focused a little bit harder he could feel the dull ache of his ribs and the soft familiar murmur of talking. He coughed slightly and the murmuring stopped he was suddenly surrounded by familiar faces. Tristan, Gawain, Arthur, Lancelot… Their faces were concerned, yet relieved to see him.
"H-How long was I out?" Galahad spoke his voice coming out in short gasps.
"Since yesterday at dusk" Arthur finally stated after a couple moments.
"A Woad practically smashed you in half" Lancelot mentioned.
"You're lucky to be here." Arthur added. "Tristan took care of that Woad…" Galahad glanced at Tristan and he just shrugged.
"Got what was coming for him" Just then did he feel something grasp his hand.
He looked down to see someone's hand holding his, Gawain's hand. Eventually most everyone had left his room. Gawain sat on the edge of his bed and Tristan took the hint leaving the two alone in Galahads chamber.
"Thank you" Gawain whispered to him. Galahad glanced into his eyes.
"For what?" He felt Gawain's hand rest upon his again.
"For holding on." Without warning Gawain leaned forward placing a soft kiss on the wounded knights cheek. Pulling away their eyes made contact and Galahad sighed.
"Don't leave me," Gawain leaned closer and purred in his ear.
"That's a promise" His soft lips grazed Galahads and he felt his heart beating a million times a minute. The kiss became more passionate and Galahad slanted his head slightly to the left to allow easy entrance for Gawain's hungry tongue. These were the moments of pure bliss he had waited so long for. They were the silence before a storm. Nothing and nobody could anticipate what would happen next or why. But neither Galahad nor Gawain wanted to even think about it. They were stuck in the present. The future was leagues away in their mind.
All that mattered was the friction of their lips and hands on each other.
Tristan stood watching in the doorway. A tear discreetly made it's way down his cheek. Watching Gawain claim the man he loved caused his heart to both break and heal at the same time, It was pure suffering.
This was happiness for Galahad and as much as it made Tristan happy for him, it also tore him apart. What about us? He'd asked himself. For a man of little words he had some big thoughts, big thoughts that would stay big, trapped in his mind. So the quiet scout stood watching as his heart broke into two, melting within his soul causing some more tears to stream down his face.
"To Galahad: May he love one as much as I love he." The words were murmured to nobody in particular but it felt as if they were echoed throughout the generations.
Fin