Disclaimer: We don't own anything here except the premise of this particular bit of fanfic and Evani and Mira and any other non-King Arthur characters! PLEASE don't sue, Tracy137's too poor already, all you'd get is a load of animals and a rust-bucket of a car and Calliann's a trainee nurse and is equally as destitute, perhaps even more so!

Evani and Mira are Kurdish girls names – and we felt that as Sarmatia is now part of Iraq (and Kurdistan) that this is as close to Sarmatian names as we can find for now.

This is the first joint venture between Calliann and Tracy137 so please be nice as our already fragile egos are prone to tears or fits of violence! LOL

All reviews, and constructive criticism, gratefully received – but no flaming or nitpicking please; and we will try to update regularly.

Anyway…on with the show!

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Duo Quadim:

Chapter One – The Girls

The two girls rode into the fort with heavy, hooded cloaks surrounding them in a vain attempt to keep out the rain. They rode into the stables and dismounted, handing off the horses to a young man calling himself Ansley.

"You deal with the horses Mira, I will see if I can find our brother…will he not be surprised to find us both here!" Evani smirked, a glint in her eyes.

"Aye sister, I only hope he is not too cross that his younger sisters have come all this way to see him, instead of waiting at home as he had instructed when he left." Mira sighed in slight frustration. "You know how Gareth could be, and he did say…I don't know how I let you talk me into these mad cap schemes of yours Evani?" but she smiled indulgently as her sister grinned and hugged her tightly.

"Because you love me and wish to be with our brother as much as I!" she looked round "Where should I start our search?"

Mira smirked herself now "Where else? The tavern, dolt! Is that not where he would always be?"

"Aye…." And off Evani went, leaving her sister shaking her head in fond amusement behind her.

0-0-0-0-0-0

Outside Evani collided with a dark knight dressed in black leather; she hit him so hard her hood fell off – it revealed a young woman of about 21 years with deeply auburn hair tumbling in loose curls almost to her waist.

She was reasonably slim, but still with all the right curves, mischievous green eyes, athletic and with the hub of what appeared to be two swords, protruding from scabbards on her back, though these were not easily visible.

"Hello Lady…" Lancelot purred, admiring her beauty, his hand steadying her "It must be a kind Goddess that let one of her angelic beings out of the Heavens for me this night…" before he could continue Evani started laughing.

"Bollocks!" she laughed again at his injured look "Does that crap honestly work for you?" she asked incredulously. "Because if it does then the women here are either seriously desperate or deeply stupid – and most women are not the latter."

She looked him up and down "Though if you're the best this fort has to offer, it mayhap be they are truly desperate…in which case soldier, keep your pretty words for the sad little women who need them." She tossed her hair "For I need no man to pay me compliment." She marched off into the darkness leaving a stunned Lancelot in her wake.

As she neared the tavern she saw a redheaded woman being pawed by a roman soldier as 3 others looked on.

"Oi! What the fuck are you doing you bastards!" She shouted, immediately forgetting her sister's warning – but she always did.

"Having a bit of fun…want to join in?" one of them leered.

"Oh most definitely!" she smirked shrugging her cloak off and drawing her swords.

Within moments the 4 soldiers were lying dead and she was aiding the woman who had slumped to the ground.

"Lady, do you ail?" Evani asked suddenly concerned.

"They usually don't bother me…but his hands were everywhere, and every time I tried to get him off another would take his place…" Vanora shuddered.

"Did they molest you?"

"Nay…. they would have though, if you had not happened by…." At that moment Bors, Dagonet and Arthur, having heard the commotion, entered the alleyway.

Bors shot over "Van…Van! Are you alright?" What 'appened girl?"

"They attacked her - I killed them…" Evani said, matter of factly. She reminded the others of Tristan, yet the two bloodied swords reminded them of Lancelot, her way of speaking next was also more the dark knight than the silent scout.

"Is she with you then?"

"Aye, she is my lover…and the mother of my little bastards." Bors indicated the children now swarming in concern round their mother.

Evani raised an incredulous eyebrow "They're all yours? By the Goddess, there must be a dozen of them!"

The others laughed "11." Said Tristan, who had joined them, and watched the girl before him; she caught and held his gaze for some moment before both broke it; he smiled, she was feisty.

"I suggest you take better care of them." She saw Arthur's uniform "You command?"

"Aye…."

"Then you should train your men in warfare and not rape." She turned and strode away into the dark before he could reply.

"Who the hell was that?" Bors asked.

"I never thought to ask…" apologised Van as they helped her back inside.

"She reminds me of…" Tristan began.

"Gareth…." Said Lancelot as he came up, "I bumped into her before; she has a similar temper that's for sure…" he gestured to the dead Romans, and the two knights shared a sad smile "I miss him."

"As do I…. he was a good friend." They entered the tavern together.

"Let's have a drink for him." Lancelot smiled.

"I'll have an apple; he was as fond of them as I…" Tristan flashed a smile. Then a small hand came and took it.

"I am sorry sir, but I am so hungry. I have been months riding looking for my brother…. and I have a great fondness for them as well as yourself." Gentle green eyes surveyed him.

Her hood fell back to reveal…green eyes, red wavy hair and a slim, curvy athletic figure.

Arthur strode up, still smarting from Evani's previous comments. "I do not train my men to rape Lady! I would also have dealt with those men myself, if you had not killed them first!" He muttered angrily.

Mira rolled her eyes 'Evani, what have you done now?' she thought somewhat irritated.

"I am sorry sir, I did not mean offence…." As Tristan stared at her she dropped his gaze. He was puzzled, she did not do that before. In fact she seemed quieter, more sedate – but he got the same feisty undertone as before; she just seemed….calmer.

Lancelot sidled up intent on having another go "Would a compliment on your fighting skills be considered bollocks?" he smiled.

Mira blushed and moved away "No sir, but if you do not mind – I wish only to find my brother…" she smiled softly 'and kill my sister when I find her!' she thought.

"Your brother?"

"Aye we were told he was here at Hadrian's Wall, and it is near the end of his term with the Roman army as a Sarmatian conscript."

The knights all looked at each other "What was his name?" asked Dagonet quietly, knowing if she had not picked him or Lancelot out from the ones present, he was dead.

"Gareth…." She smiled, but then it faltered as she saw the looks of sadness cross the men's faces. "What?"

"He…ummm…He's….I mean…" Bors began, his eyes sad and downcast.

The meaning of his stuttered explanation was not lost. "NO!" She cried; the apple tumbling from her hands as she cast her eyes wildly about as if looking for someone, and at the back of the now quiet tavern an answering cry was heard "I…I must go…." And Mira disappeared into the night, grabbing Evani on the way.

All the knights saw were two figures hurrying away.

0-0-0-0-0-0

"This cannot be. How can this be?" Mira eyes were wild as she paced the small room they had rented for the night, tears rolling silently down her cheeks, wringing her hands. "He was so strong…"

"Bloody bastards will pay for this!" Evani almost growled, kicking a chair across the room, fuming; with her hands wrapped tightly around the hilts of her blades, the knuckles going white.

Without warning she struck out, severing the chair in two, her breathing heavy as her anger and grief fused together. "They will pay," it was a promise and one that Mira recognized all too well as she nodded in agreement.

"Who could have done this?" she asked after a moment, finally sinking onto the bed, their journey and the grief of this newfound knowledge finally catching up to her.

"I know not, but I fully intend to find out," Evani said after a moment, turning and stalking towards the door, throwing it open.

"And where are you going?" Mira called from the bed as Evani moved out towards the night.

"Out, to get some answers…." she called back, slamming the door shut as Mira sighed, fresh tears spilling from her eyes, her hands caressing a small lion's pendant that hung from a long leather strap. The last thing her brother had made her before he had left. She looked down at it for along instant before drying her eyes and rising, leaving the room silently.

0-0-0-0-0-0

Tristan was sitting silently outside the tavern, his hawk on his arm and a distant look in his eyes. He tried not to think back on Gareth much, as the pain of his death was still too near.

He had been a fierce warrior and exceptional scout, as well as a kind and gentle man. The entire fort had mourned his death, and turned out for his funeral. Lancelot and Tristan had been the ones to lower him into the ground and bury his sword, being his closest friends.

Tristan's hawk let out a screech and he turned his attention back to the bird, soothing her feathers and murmuring to calm her. He looked up as Evani emerged from the shadows, both of her swords still in her hands, the blood from the Romans earlier dried on the edges of the blades. Her eyes were swimming in anger and grief as she stared at him.

"Who is bloody responsible?" she asked, her voice barely above a whisper.

Tristan regarded her for a moment, back again was the sparking eyes and sharper demeanour from their first meeting; once again she held his gaze. He wondered why the constant change… he thought back on all that Gareth had told him of his life back in Sarmatia as they had been out on scouting missions together. Suddenly, a long forgotten conversation, and a barely mentioned fact returned to the surface. Gareth had had two sisters. Twins.

"Woads," he answered easily, his hand still stroking the bird he held, the location of his dagger never far from his mind; not letting on he'd guessed their secret.

She nodded slowly, having figured as much. "Are they alive?"

"Sadly."

"Not for long," Evani vowed coldly and with much hatred, turning and disappearing back into the shadows, leaving Tristan alone with his bird. Mulling over how interesting this could become.

0-0-0-0-0-0

At the same time, a mug of wine in his hand and a flask under his arm, Lancelot made his way unsteadily up towards the cemetery, deciding to pay Gareth a little visit. It was something he did periodically, every time the memory of his friend's death became too vivid for him to bear. He knew he was not the only one to do so. Often he had caught Galahad and Gawain up here together, and even Bors and Dag. Sometimes Arthur joined him, but only rarely. Usually he came alone, same as Tristan did.

Cresting the hill, ready to drown his sorrows yet again as he ranted at his friend's grave, he was startled to see a small figure already sitting there, her hand gently caressing the hilt of the sword. The moon light shinning down on her hair quickly identified her as the woman from earlier and so he continued on his way, plopping down opposite her on the grass, sending her hand to her chest in a start, the other quickly wiping at the tears on her cheeks.

"Pardon lady, but it seems that we both have had the same idea," he slurred a bit, looking at her closely.

"So it would seem," Mira said, straightening her skirts as she began to look for a way to make her escape. It hadn't taken her long to find the old cemetery and even less time to find her brother's grave. She would have recognized his swords anywhere, remember the hours she had spent with them in her own hands as he taught her and her sister to fight.

"I will leave you then," she said after a moment, rising quickly.

She turned to go so Lancelot thought it best he speak, if he wished to get to know her any better. "That is some temper you have," he said after a moment, bending one leg and resting his arm on his knee, the other stretching out before him as he held the mug between his hands. "I don't see any Roman messing with Vanora anytime soon." He gestured to the grave "He would be proud…."

Mira made a mental note to find out exactly what Evani had done earlier, though guessing the worst, before turning to look at him. "I suppose I do, and I'm glad if he would be. Good night Sir…"

"Lancelot, but please, no sir," he filled in for her, still watching her closely. Something about her seemed changed from earlier, but he figured it was caused by the grief of finding out about her brother's death.

"Good night Lancelot," she dipped her head in farewell before disappearing down the hill.

He was on his feet in an instant, calling down after her, "Wait, I do not know you're name!"

"No, you don't," was the reply as she disappeared into the darkness.

0-0-0-0-0

The girls met back at the room "Well?" Evani asked "Where were you?"

"I went to his grave…I saw the one called Lancelot." She paused "He seemed…..nice…drunk, but nice." Then she shuddered "A little too loud for me. You?"

"I found the silent one….well, actually I bumped into him. He told me the Woads did it….so we begin the hunt as soon as we can."

"Silent one?"

"The one with the apple….Ummm…shit, I don't remember his name…in fact I don't remember hearing it. A bit too quiet for me…" she smiled ruefully.

"Maybe if we make ourselves known….." Mira began.

"No…." Evani brightened "Gareth…" her voice caught suddenly "he was always telling us what fun we could have fooling his friends when he brought them home to us….so why do we not do so now?"

"Because they may not like it, I mean he wasn't talking about them was he – he didn't know them then." She paused for a moment a thought occurring to her, "Speaking of which, my darling sister, what did you do that impressed Lancelot so much about a woman called Vanora and 4 Romans? Whatever it was, it also pissed off their leader." She looked mildly at her sister, but Evani heard the note of anger.

"Don't be angry with me sister….they were abusing the poor woman. What was I supposed to do?"

"Tell me what you did, and I'll tell you."

"I killed them – well…." Evani added quickly at the look her sister was giving her "they won't do it again now will they? What was it father taught us?"

"The only good enemy is a dead one." They intoned together with a smile; Evani sighed inwardly thinking she was off the hook…not so.

"So….what did you do to piss off the leader?"

"I just told him he might be better training his men in warfare rather than rape…" she replied sheepishly, not meeting her sister's eye.

"EVANI!" Mira was horrified "We may need their help, and you anger them!"

"Not all of them, only him…anyway, he's boring!" Evani waved her hand as if that explained everything "And the fat one with a hundred children was grateful, so he would help us; she was his lover you see….and that dark one, well I'd only have to bat my eyes at him and he'd be clay in our hands!" She grinned ingratiatingly at Mira.

"Do not try to get round me – honestly sometimes I can barely believe you are the older of us by 22 minutes!"

"I know, I know…" Evani hugged her identical sibling "I would be lost without you in many ways – not least because you save me from lots of trouble…." She acknowledged.

Mira hugged her back "Aye…" she sighed in fond exasperation "but you have done the same for me, and neither of us would let aught befall the other."

There was a knock at the door….both girls froze. "I'll answer it" Evani murmured.

Mira nodded and stood behind the door.

When she opened it Arthur was stood there "Aye?"

He was a little non-plussed at the sparking green eyes regarding him once more, the ones he saw in the tavern he could have sworn were much calmer. He shook his head, mayhap Lancelot had plied him with more wine than he thought.

"I have come to apologise for being so sharp before….your words riled me and I spoke out of turn."

"What?" a sharp kick from Mira "Ouch! Oh, it matters not….what's your name?"

"Arturious Castus….but the knights call me Arthur."

"And I'll call you what exactly; the tall bloke with the red cloak, roman, commander?" Evani smiled, he was so boring she was going to have fun jollying him out of his rather dour shell.

Another kick from her sister brought her up short "Ouch! I am sorry, I did not mean to speak out of turn." She tried to look demure, but merely looked even more mischievous.

"Are you hurt Lady?" he seemed concerned at her apparent yelps of pain, and tried to enter. Evani shot onto the landing slamming the door so quickly behind her that Mira, who'd been leaning on it to reach her sister to kick her, fell over with a loud thud. "What was that?"

"What?"

"That noise?"

"I heard nothing." she peered at him closely "How much have you had to drink?"

"Not a lot…." He sounded defensive.

"Enough to make you hear things obviously….. Well, I am well and all is well…so goodnight then….what do I call you?"

"Arthur will be acceptable." He smiled a little confusedly; he knew he was being fobbed off, but unsure as to how. He never understood women sober, drunk he didn't have a hope in hell. Even kind sweet Vanora, who treated him like a brother, was a mystery to him.

"Right, well – good night then Arthur…." Before she could get back inside there was another voice.

"Lady!" Lancelot lurched up "I never caught your name…in the graveyard…" he peered at her "your eyes are remarkable. With all that crying I thought they would be little…itty red coals by…now, but….they is not…." He stuttered and swayed "I never caught your name though…."

"I gathered; but then as I never dropped it, no harm's been done." She dodged into the room, then poked her head out "Oh, the quiet one with the hawk – what's his name?"

Arthur pondered then realised who she was talking about "You mean the scout? Tristan; he and Lancelot here were close friends of your brother's." That stopped her dead, and caused another thud on the door as Mira tripped over sister's boot and stumbled into it whilst trying to listen.

"Wassat?" slurred Lancelot "and wen you meet Tris? You wass at the graveyard…."

Goddess they weren't slow on the uptake were they? She and Mira would have to be careful if they were to make this work – at least for a bit. "Nothing - I can't hear anything….you're both drunk….and I was and I saw him on the way back, alright? Goddess, nosey muchly aren't we?"

Lancelot recoiled "e used to sayat…'e did, my best mate Gareth – loved that daftie word….muchly." Tears sprang to his eyes "I miss 'im…." He whispered.

Without thinking Evani trotted across and hugged him; he looked suddenly so sad and lonely. "As do I…" then she looked at his drunken face, and spoke more sternly "Now go to bed, we can speak more on the morrow sir…."

"Lancelot…I said no sir, call me Lancelot." He slurred, but a tear slid down his cheek and she wiped it with her thumb. "I ain't cryin' it's the bloody dust….I never cry." He hiccupped gently.

"I know, it does it to me too – especially this night, coz I never cry either." She whispered softly to him.

"Well you bloody did in the graveyard….." He was confused, it was like talking to two different people. He really needed to sober up, before he spoke to her again….this sort of conversation was making his headache.

"Ummm, aye well it was a rare occasion…" she backed up rapidly, and he was suddenly sorry her warmth had left him. She smelled nice, like vanilla and honey. "Good night then…" she shot in and closed the door. They could hear whispers inside the room.

"Whose she talkin' to?" Lancelot looked at Arthur.

"I don't know, do I?" Arthur rubbed his brow testily "Mayhap she's not talking, mayhap she's crying some more, her brother just died after all."

"No, he din't….he died three years ago…." Lancelot corrected.

"For her it's like it just happened I mean…I think that's what I mean….I'm confused" Arthur rubbed his hand over his face again "and I have a headache."

"Iss the wine….." Lancelot nodded sympathetically "Come on…lesst get you to bed you drunken dolt!" he grinned lopsidedly as the two staggered off, the sedate and not so drunk Arthur supporting his very drunk friend.

"I don't think so….I didn't have a headache before I got here…." Arthur muttered as they left.

A silent Tristan, covered by the shadows and only seen by his hawk, stood with his shoulders shaking with silent laughter; it would be good to have them here he thought…..he could only imagine the trouble they were about unleash upon his comrades… but he was sorry Gareth was not here to enjoy it either.

He looked to the stars "I will enjoy it for both of us my friend."