DO NOT SEND TO GOSSAMER, WE ALREADY DID!!
Disclaimer: Do we really need one? Everyone knows they don't
belong to us. C'mon, let us have some fun with 'em! ;)
Please don't sue us!
Title: (K)nights and Ladies
Authors: Nessy & Cirglas
Classification: Hey we're very romantic persons. So what do
you think will be in it? MSR? You got it! That makes it: S,R
(and another St- for 'Strange'. ;D)
Rating: PG
Feedback: or Spoilers: none/nada/keine/n'y pas. Did I make myself clear?
Keywords: Mulder/Scully Romance
Summary: Sorry, but we want you to be surprised. (You'll
be!)
Post: Wherever you want. But the STORY belongs to US!
Hey, we're back! This time the story's a little different
from the usual ones. Please don't take it too seriously. It's
not meant too seriously, anyway. But we had fun with it, and
maybe, if you simply let yourself enjoy it, you'll have fun
with it to.
Special thanx to Muuh for helping with the plot (We ARE a
crazy bunch of girls). And a special thank you to everyone
who has written to us because of our other two stories, "The
Kiss - A Valentine Story" and "Morning, Mulder!". They are
all independent from each other, but we'd be thrilled if
you'd read them, too. ;)
Hey! Told ya, next time we'd be shorter! smile...
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------(K)nights and Ladies
by Nessy & Cirglas
Lady Scully was so bored. Her brothers were stalking some
farmer's girls, her sister was long married and she was
reaaaalllllllyyy bored... castles were boring, no doubt. But
there had to be something to do. She did the only thing she
could think of, something she did every time when it rained:
She strolled through the castle and looked into every room,
every closet and cabinet, everywhere where she suspected an
interesting discovery. But since it rained quite often in
good old England, in her 19 years on earth she had already
discovered everything that was to be discovered.
Disappointed, she went back into her room.
She sat down on her freshly made bed, picked up the book she
had just gotten for a belated birthday present a month ago
and started reading it. She guessed she was lucky her father
had let her learn how to read -- although he hadn't had much
of a choice when she had come to her 'Daddy' with one of her
brothers' books and had demanded to know what that word meant
-- and she was glad that she had had all sorts of other
privileges many of her girlfriends would never have.
Not only did she learn early on how to ride horse back - not
the lady-saddle way, but the real stuff, just like the boys -
but also did she learn how to fight. And she had to say that
brothers were quite good to practice with. A smile almost
broke across her face when she remembered the fist time she
had won with a sword over her older brother William. He had
been shocked and really embarrassed. And she hadn't won over
him many times after that, but every once in a while she
would. And that made her proud.
She put the book back down on the night stand because she
knew that she couldn't concentrate on it anyway. Instead she
sat down in front of the mirror and took the brush into her
hand and started brushing her hair. She would have loved to
cut her hair to chin length but her father had turned a deep
shade of purple and had had one of his famous raging fits at
that idea about five years ago. He had screamed at her if she
had lost her common sense and how he was supposed to get her
married when she looked like a boy. She had just thought it
would have been a little more practical while fighting and
would even be nice not to look like all the other women in
the castle.
So now she was combing through her mane and trying to get it
back into a long French Braid. It had fallen apart on her
wanderings through the castle. She actually liked the fact
that her hair was red. It made her a little more uncommon.
Otherwise she was the perfect lady: fair, almost white skin,
intelligent blue eyes, maybe a little small in stature, but
the curves in the right places. All in all Lady Scully was
quite happy with herself.
She didn't think she was ready to marry just yet. But her
father seemed to be of a different opinion. They had argued
about it just a fortnight ago (again). He had tried to make
her see that she was in the perfect age to marry and that she
would have to start looking soon because she wouldn't stay
young forever. She had to admit that she had never really
given much thought to marriage and family. She wanted them -
sometime later. But not now. It just wouldn't feel right to
marry now. She shrugged. After all she hadn't fallen in love
yet.
She snapped out of her reverie as she heard trumpets announce
the arrival of another knight. A knight who would fight for
her sometime during the next week. Oh! The thought of it
made her so mad. Her father had won the argument and decided
a competition would sort out some possible husbands for her.
The knights coming here thought they were going to fight only
for honor and a small sum of money to cover their expenses
for the journey here. But the truth was that her father,
mother and brothers would decide upon a husband for her among
those knights.
That was the only thing she was glad about. Her father hadn't
set her up like old fish on a fish market. He had decided to
search the masses masked. And she had to be thankful for
that. And that way -- even though her father didn't know it
yet -- she planned to have some say in the thing, too. She
knew with a few well-brought-in comments she could convince
him to one thing or the other--hopefully. She knew he loved
her and just tried to solve everything for the best for
everyone and wouldn't make her marry someone she absolutely
rejected.
Lady Scully decided to go out on her balcony to see the new
knight. She got up from the chair, collected all her skirts
and walked over to the balcony. Thankfully it had stopped
raining and although it was wet outside she wasn't getting
wet. She leaned on the rail and craned her neck to get a
glimpse at the newest candidate.
But she could only see the back of his horse and his page.
And she thought she might have seen his armor reflecting the
light of a torch. It was getting dark outside. She hadn't
even noticed that, indeed, she had killed another day. /Oh,
well, You'll see this guy soon enough.../ she thought and
went back inside.
The next morning there was nothing seen other than sunshine
and blue sky. The rain and the clouds had simply vanished.
/Impossible English weather., Lady Scully thought as she
galloped through the woods. Her horse needed a break soon --
she knew that -- and so she steered it towards a small lake
she knew was just on the other side of this little hill.
When they arrived there she hopped down and tied her
'Camelot' to a tree right next to the water so he could drink
as much as he wanted. She flopped down onto the grass a few
feet away from the water where there was a sunny spot on the
grass. She was glad she still fit into those old clothes a
maid had given her a few years ago. She sure couldn't have
sat on the grass with one of her expensive dresses on.
She was glad she had decided to come out here after all. As
she had thought about the horrible next days and then seen
the gorgeous weather outside, she had decided to enjoy her
freedom and come out here into the woods -- away from the
castle and all the people there.
She looked around her and took a deep and cleansing breath.
This place was just plain beautiful. A weeping willow was
bowing over the water. The branches almost touching the
surface of it. A few years ago she would have climbed up and
sat on the almost horizontal tree trunk while her brothers
and sister were jumping around in the water. But she had been
content to sit right above them in her hideaway and let her
thoughts wander off.
She had not always been such a quiet child. That had only
come after going through puberty. Before that she was wilder
than both her brothers together. She always had to compete
with them in everything.
But since she had been about 14 or 15 she had kept more and
more to herself. Oh, she still fought with her brothers and
occasionally won, but she didn't have many friends she would
talk. She wouldn't say what bothered her or if she wasn't
feeling well. When her family asked what was wrong, she only
replied that she was 'fine' and that was usually the end of
it.
When someone asked her what she thought about she simply
stated that she had a lot to think about. Nobody knew that
she thought about how she really wanted her life to be. She
hated to be treated like a princess - well, if she were her
cousin she'd be one -- like she couldn't take care of
herself. From that age on she gradually dismissed one maid
after another. She needed to prove to herself that she could
clothe, bathe, take care of herself. She had tried the path
of arguing before but had realized that as a woman and
daughter she didn't have the least of a chance.
Over the years she had become quite independent -- and quiet
too. She sat there now in the sunshine on her knees, dress
spread around her, picking daisies and weaving a garland out
of them, all the while humming a lullaby to herself -- just
like everyone would expect of her. But in her head she
pictured her life without the proverbial cotton around her.
And, of course, -- thanks to her father's reminding of it --
the right man beside her.
What she didn't know was that she was being watched. A pair
of hazel/green eyes looked upon her from a few feet away. And
what a pretty sight she was! Although she had on only a
brownish, old, ragged dress, she was radiant. Her hair
burning like fire while her creamy skin was a great contrast
to it. The observer was completely mesmerized by her beauty.
Scully - all the while completely oblivious to her company -
had gotten up and was walking over to the lake. Once there
she kneeled down, formed a cup with her hands, dipped them
into the clear water, and brought them back to her mouth to
take a sip of the cool and certainly refreshing liquid.
But before she could even feel a droplet of it against her
lips she heard a 'snap' behind her and almost fell into the
water by surprise, but two strong arms encircled her waist
and held her back. She was just too shocked to really react.
The arms pulled her into an upright position and turned her
around.
She was desperate to know who had surprised her that much
that he had to rescue her. But to see his face she had to
look up... and up... and UP! And she couldn't see his face
even then because the sun was blinding her and she had to
squint to at least see the silhouette of his face. Wow! She
knew she was small, but she had never seen anybody that was
that tall as the man standing right in front of her. He was
just simply looking down at her. /That's not fair! He's not
blinded by the sun. He can memorize your face while you don't
even know what he looks like./
She raised a hand to block out the sun and now finally had a
small chance of studying his features. Oh, he was handsome.
Drop-dead-gorgeous to be exact. His face was relaxed, almost
friendly, a characteristic nose. His eyes were a unusual
shade of green which she had never seen before.
/If we don't stop this staring-at-each-other soon, I'll get a
stiff neck./ was the next thought that floated through her
mind when after a few more seconds they still hadn't moved or
said anything to alter their situation. As if he had read her
thoughts he stepped back a little and the corners of his lips
curled up to form an apologetic smile.
"Sorry, didn't want to scare you." His voice brought her back
to the present, and she decided that she liked this handsome
young man and that she wanted to find out who he was. So she
smiled brightly at him and replied:
"Oh, M´Lord, that's okay. Nothing happened." Since she didn't
know who he was and she did wear the clothes of her maid,
she thought that that form of address was all right.
He nodded at her reply and wasn't at all surprised by the way
she had addressed him. She filed that information under
'might come in handy'. But his next comment made her very
angry.
"What is a girl like you doing out here all alone? Woods can
be quite dangerous." He saw that it was a mistake as soon as
he saw her face fall. She grimaced, turned and then stepped
away from him. He took the time to mentally kick himself. How
come he always said the wrong thing? He had just wanted to
find out something about this lovely girl but his question
seemed to have dispersed the spell that they had been under
before.
With her back still to him she stated: "I'm fine, M´Lord,
don't worry about me. I can take care of myself." The words
sounded as if rehearsed or at least used quite often. He was
afraid he had driven her away. He had to apologize. He wanted
to spend some more time with this beautiful stranger. And he
wouldn't let himself be dismissed just like that.
He walked over to her where she stood looking across the lake
and touched a hand to her shoulder. "I'm sorry. Did I say
something wrong?" He desperately needed to know that she
wasn't mad at him. A small part that wasn't concerned with
the question if he had hurt her feelings, wondered why she
was so important to him after only such a short time.
She shrugged - he didn't know whether that was a gesture to
tell him she didn't want to answer or to get rid of his hand.
But he left his hand where it was. Somehow he knew she was a
person who would say out loud if something bothered her. But
he was sure about one thing: She did know the answer. They
stayed like that a while, neither one moving but connected by
his hand.
Scully knew she wouldn't get rid of him, that he wouldn't
leave it at that. She collected herself and turned around to
face him and tell him how mad she was that he had implied
that she couldn't watch out for herself. But as soon as she
saw his face her anger dissolved into nothing. His concerned
eyes were watching her every move, while his face showed a
look she had only seen on puppies when they had been wounded.
She felt sorry about being so moody. He was only concerned
for her safety. /And/ she thought with a wry smile /You know
you can take care of yourself, but he doesn't know that --
yet./
"No, M´Lord, I'm sorry for behaving that way. I should not
bother you with my problems. Forgive me, it's nothing you
did." She hoped he would be satisfied with that as an answer.
Not waiting for him to say anything she walked over to
Camelot and untied the knot holding him to the weeping
willow. When she was about to mount the horse, his voice
startled her.
"Um, I'm looking for the Earl of York's castle. It must be
somewhere around here. Can you tell me how to get there? It's
the first time I´ve come through these woods."
She contemplated saying she didn't know where the castle was
but after a few seconds she realized that he probably was
another knight wanting to participate in the competition.
/Oh, great. You'll see him at home. And you will have to face
him. And he doesn't even know that your father invited him.
Might as well bring him there and tell him that you are the
earl's daughter./
/But first I want to find out some more things about him. And
for that it's best he doesn't know who I am./
"Yeah, sure, I can even take you there. That's where I'm
headed anyway."
"Great. Oh, is it far to walk? My horse is kind of tired
already and I don't want to tire him more than I have to."
"No, It's only three quarters of an hour and a nice walk. I'm
not in a hurry." Finally she turned around to face him again
and to her surprise the stranger was grinning broadly at her.
"What?"
"Who are you?"
"Why are you asking?"
"Uh, just you don't talk the way you dress."
/He is suspicious. And I wanted to learn more about him
before I told him. Well, I don't have to tell him anything I
don't want to, right?/
"I'll tell you if you tell me." Was the only thing she said.
While he led them to a tree to which he had tied his horse.
"Deal. But you start."
"How about taking turns?"
"Whatever." He was untying his beautiful brown horse and then
they both resumed walking through the trees back towards the
path, the horses' reins in their hands.
/Okay, here goes./
"Um, well, my name is Dana and I work at the castle." Well,
sort of.
"Call me Mulder. And I'm here to fight for my honor at the
games." They started walking back to the castle following the
path. The two humans next to each other on the inside, the
horses on the outside.
/So I was right. Funny, he doesn't seem like someone who
wants to fight. He seems almost ... tame...intense but tame./
"Mulder? What's that? First or last name?"
"The only one I have. But it's your turn to reveal some
information.".
"Well, I'm 19 years old" She was getting into dangerous
territory. /Too much information!/ She didn't really want to
lie to him but if he kept asking it would come right down to
that.
"I'm 23"
"I have two brothers and a sister. My older sister is
married, my older and younger brother are still 'looking'
they say."
"I have a sister that's about your age. She is engaged and
will be marrying in summer. How about you? You already found
the right person in your life?"
/Cutting right down to the problem, are we./ "Um, no, not
yet. But my father wants me to marry soon."
"Even though you haven't fallen in love yet?"
/How does he do that?/ "Well, he says he will have to find a
husband for me if don't. He says I'm not getting any
younger." /Why am I telling him all of this?/
"And there's really nobody you could spend the rest of your
life with?"
/Why is he sounding so happy about that?/ "Well, I haven't
found him yet. You're not offering yourself to me, are you?"
She smiled to let him know she was actually joking.
"And what if I were?"
She felt herself blush at that idea. /What if he were? Would
that bother you?/ That made her blush even more. "Well, we'll
probably never find out, right?", she told him and walked a
little faster so that he was unable to see her red face.
After a short silence he asked her: "So, what is your work at
the castle?"
She contemplated what to answer before she said: "I am the
earl's daughter's maid."
"And she let you have a free day today?"
"Sort of."
"I guess I will meet her when I'm in the castle. What is she
like? Anything you want to warn me about?" At the last
question he cracked a smile in her direction.
"OK. I'll let you know what I think of her: She's about as
small as I am, but strong willed and she can be quite
stubborn at times." She smiled. "She knows how to fight with
a sword so watch out. But she doesn't have many friends. Oh,
don't get me wrong. Most people like her. But she has no
close friends."
"Nobody she can talk to? Well, I know that problem - better
than I would have liked to."
A pause. /I need to find out more about him./
"What brought you here from..."
"The other side of England" he readily supplied.
"From the other side of England just to fight in some kind of
competition practically without any prize?"
"Well, let's just say I needed a break from my family."
She smiled knowingly at him and continued their conversation.
"Well, this is a nice area for a vacation and to tell you the
truth you already saw the prettiest spot in this area - the
place at the lake side. Just don't get too banged up while
fighting. You wouldn't be able to enjoy your stay."
"I'll try. Will you wish me luck?" Somehow that fact was very
important to him. Actually she became more and more
important to him... But he didn't really want to think about
what that meant. She nodded and smiled a bright smile that
made him wonder if she knew something he didn't know.
"Maybe I'll even make it to the games. That is if you want me
to watch?" She looked over at him almost shyly and he
couldn't help but smile at her expression. She hadn't seemed
that shy before.
"Sure, I'd love that." And after a short pause he continued:
"Would you mind if I wore something of yours to bring me good
luck?"
She started to blush again. "Well, I wouldn't mind at all,
but I don't have anything with me...oh, wait a second..."
She stopped walking, but didn't quite know what she should do
with the reins of her horse and after a little looking around
to see if she were being watched, she simply put them between
her teeth. That elicited a chuckle out of her companion.
She peeled the garland off of her head, turned it around,
carefully looking for the prettiest flower in it. When she
finally found it she removed it from the garland which she
placed on top of her red hair again. Then, with the flower in
one and the reins back in the other hand went over to the man
she only knew as 'Mulder'.
She looked up at his still smiling face and handed him the
reins and then told him with as much sincerity as he had ever
heard: "Mulder, Milord, I'd be honored if you'd wear this
flower during the games. It shall watch over you and bring
you luck."
"You know what? I have just the right place for that." He
gave her the reins of both horses and instead took the
flower. He reached underneath his shirt and pulled out a
blue-colored sack. He opened it and she saw that there was a
bow in it already. She was shocked. She hadn't thought about
it but it only made sense that he might be engaged already.
/The good ones are always taken!/
As he saw her face he explained quickly. "My sister had had
that bow all her life. When I left from home three days ago
she took it out of her hair and gave it to me to bring me
luck. Almost like you did just a few minutes ago." He smiled
at her. "Thanks to her I didn't get lost on my way here. And
thanks to you I will be lucky at the games."
Time flies. Lady Scully and her companion Mulder realized
that with great disappointment. The castle that they had
noticed coming nearer and nearer was now right in front of
them. Luckily the drawbridge down, they went into the
courtyard. She led him to the stables, told him where to
leave his horse and then disappeared for a few minutes, in
order to free herself of hers without him watching in witch
'noble' box she put her horse.
Many of the people they passed bowed their heads. First Lady
Scully hadn't realized it, but when she turned to Mulder to
ask him which earldom he came from she noticed his bewildered
expression and questioning look in her direction.
Remembering he still thought she was a simple maid she gave
the only explanation she could think of. She shrugged, gave
him an affectionate smile and said "Must me your noble
appearance." That earned her a doubtful frown but then a
smile for her compliment.
"So, Dana, where do I have to go to let them know I'll fight
in the games?"
"Oh, just follow me. I'll bring you there."
They walked past the market, past the cathedral and the
graveyard and went into a small hut at the corner of the
courtyard. Scully waited at the door while Mulder went to
stand in line with the other knights.
After about half an hour he came back to the door and told
her he would stay in the west wing in the room called
'Copernicus'. She offered to bring him there and they started
their comfortable pace again. On the way to his room, Scully
had the chance to make up for the embarrassing bows before.
Her sister Melissa, visiting for the event, met them in the
staircase. So Scully, taking her chance, made a curtsy while
Mulder bowed before this royal Lady. Lady Melissa was
surprised -- to say the least --but knew her sister to do
some strange things. So she did what she always did: played
along.
As soon as Melissa was around the corner, they resumed
walking and he asked who that had been. "She's the sister of
my Lady." Was her answer. When they arrived at his room they
bid their 'Good-byes' and she performed another curtsy and
then walked off with the words "I'd better get going, my Lady
can be very strict at times." His reply followed her down the
hall: "Well, I'm not really good at defeating dragons, but
with you as a damsel in distress..."
She was still chuckling when she reached her room. To her
surprise she wasn't the only one in her room. Melissa was
there already.
"Okay, Dana, who was that handsome guy you talked to? And
forget the idea of not telling me. 'Cause if you don't,
father will be quite interested in what you're wearing when
you go out alone."
"Oh, Melissa, you wouldn't, would you?"
"I don't know, depends on how good your story is. You know,
I'm kinda bored here alone while my husband is out hunting
with our brothers."
A big smile spread over Scully's face. "Well, I found him in
the woods and he just followed me home." The sisters
dissolved into giggling fits.
"Oh, Dana, come on. Tell me!"
"I swear! It's the truth!"
Melissa made herself comfortable on Dana's bed next to her
sister. "Okay tell me everything you know about him."
And while Dana did so, she noticed that she knew almost
nothing at all.
She didn't have a chance to see Mulder the next day. Nor the
one after that. But on the day of the games she met him in
the courtyard. She was dressed in a dress of hers but it
wasn't a very fancy one. So he wasn't too surprised by her
appearance. He wasn't dressed in his armor yet either. He
smiled when he recognized her. She returned his smile and the
lingering gaze afterwards. Now they were standing in front of
each other and staring into each other's eyes -- again.
/This is becoming a habit./ Scully thought. /A nice one
though. He has such interesting eyes./
He broke the silence first. "Well, hello there." And after a
pause "I missed you. I kept looking for you but I didn't see
you." She felt herself blush. She suddenly found the ants on
the ground to be very interesting.
/What is happening? I feel strange when I'm near him. And I
could swear there are butterflies in my stomach./ She found
her voice again and said. "Well, I was rather busy." She
still wouldn't look up at him but added quietly "Missed you
too." He put a finger under her chin and lifted it so his
gaze could meet hers. His beautiful eyes were boring into
her. His voice sounded strange when he asked her "Will you be
at the games?"
"Yes, I will be there." Her voice sounded strange to her.
/Funny./ "I wish you luck, Mulder." And as an afterthought
and even quieter "Don't get hurt."
He smiled at her and said: "Yes, Ma'am."
She nodded in acceptance at his promise. She looked around to
find out if anybody was watching them and then took hold of
his shoulders and pulled him down towards her while she stood
on tippy-toes. She leaned into him and gave him a quick kiss
on his left cheek and then hurried on in the direction she
had been going. Before he had the chance to turn or say
something, she was gone, out of his sight.
A few hours later Scully sat next to her relatives on the
grandstand trying to decide which knight should win. Well,
actually she had already made her choice. The problem was
that she didn't know what his armor looked like. And she
didn't want him to get hurt. So the only solution seemed to
be that she wished that nobody should get hurt.
But by the time the two best knights fought against each
other, she thought she might know which armor Mulder was in.
The games weren't really fair and everybody wanted to win and
so everybody cheated. Well, not everybody. There was one
knight who seemed to fight thoroughly fair. And Scully
thought that it fit to her Mulder to fight fair, even if
everybody else wasn't. /My Mulder?/
And he made it to the final round staying fair. She was so
proud of him. He had foreseen every unfair action and had
reacted to it immediately so that he had won the fights. But
it happened in the final round. He was great. He had cornered
his enemy into the far corner of the battlefield. Her
schooled eye had seen it. He had had a few opportunities to
overpower his enemy.
But in those cases it would have most likely resulted in
killing the other. She saw him hesitate a few times and then
realized he wouldn't kill if he didn't have to. One time he
hesitated just a few seconds too long. That was the reason he
lost. His enemy's sword struck him at the side of his neck.
Everyone stood up to applaud the winner of the tournament but
she rose to her feet in shock and concern for her friend.
She left her sister to hand the prize to the winner - she
knew that wasn't Mulder, since the winner had taken off his
helmet to greet the earl like he was supposed to - and went
in search for - her imagination had created it that way - her
Mulder dying because of his fatal wounds.
She searched the tents and finally found him leaning against
the wall of a house. He had taken off his helmet, too, and
was now trying to catch his breath. She ran over to him. As
he noticed her he straightened and tried to seem unhurt, but
he winced in pain as the collar of his armor rubbed against
his neck.
"Don't move!" She told him and was already pulling him into
his tent. She sat him down on a chair. She stood in front of
him and turned his head to get a look at his neck.
He tried to push her away. "It doesn't hurt that much. Just
leave it alone."
/Oh no, sorry, buddy, you can't get rid of me that easily./
"Stop it. I don't want to hear a word." She helped him out of
the armor and then took another look at the cut. "Stop
squirming. Hold still for a second. I'll be right back." She
knew she was ordering him around but she really didn't have
the time to argue with him.
She went out of the tent. When she came back she had all
sorts of unrecognizable things in her hands. She went back to
stand beside him, cleaned his wound and then bandaged it. She
did it with so much efficiency that he just had to comment on
it. Her answer surprised him a little. "Well, I've always had
this talent. And I got practice by patching my brothers back
up after beating them up, so that our parents wouldn't find
out."
He smiled at her, but she continued: "I didn't think I would
have to use my talent on you. You had promised me not to get
hurt." She looked at him with so much anguish in her eyes
that he felt guilty for bringing that pained expression upon
her face.
He looked at her and said as sincerely as he could. "I'm
sorry, Dana, I'm really sorry. But you know, I tried."
She looked up from her hands working at his neck. When she
met his eyes her anger dissolved. She just couldn't be mad at
that wounded-puppy-dog-look. "Yeah, I know you tried. But you
really scared me out there." She motioned with her head to
the battlefield.
"I'm sorry." He couldn't think of anything else to say. 'I'll
never do it again' certainly wouldn't fit the situation. But
he wanted to reassure her. But then he thought of something.
"Well, I'm glad your here to care for me. And I'll try and be
more careful next time." That evoked a sad smile out of her.
"Well, I hope so. Because I won't be there next time to
patch you up. You'll be back on 'the other side of England.'"
Mulder had to catch his breath. She was right! He would
probably never see his Dana again after this. Well, he had to
do something about that. Luckily he knew now that she was the
Earl's daughter, so that left him some possibilities.
When she was finished bandaging his neck and had made sure he
had everything he needed, she turned to leave. But he took
her hand and pulled her down. He looked her deep in the eyes
and said in a low voice, "Thank you, Dana. For everything."
Then he moved their hands so that he could kiss hers. Scully
had to smile at him in spite of her sad mood. She said
"You're quite welcome." and gave him a final smile and his
hand a final squeeze before she turned and left.
Scully arrived in the throne room to find her complete family
gathered there. Her father turned around and demanded to know
where she had been. Scully looked over to her sister. Melissa
shook her head. No, she hadn't said anything. Scully said
calmly but with a sarcastic undertone: "I thought you wanted
me to find a husband, father. Well, I was looking."
"Well, my dear, there is no need now anymore. Your brothers
and I have chosen a knight for you. He is the son of a very
rich and powerful lord. You are very lucky. He even proposed
already." By now Scully was practically boiling.
"How dare you?! How dare you all choose a husband for me?!
Don't you think I should at least have some say in the
decision?! Just because I maybe have to spend the rest of my
life with him?! Huh?!" She was shouting now. Her mother,
sister and younger brother were wincing at her loud voice
while both 'William's in her family seemed to be the same
opinion. That they were right.
Her father broke the silence. "Don't you talk to me that way,
young lady, you have no right to doubt my decisions. You will
marry Thomas of Colton. He will take good care of you. End of
discussion."
"Thank you for your trust in me, father, but I can make my
own decisions and I CAN TAKE CARE OF MYSELF!! And I
don't want to marry that Thomas. He is arrogant, selfish,
mean, snobbish and all kinds of other things I don't want to
name.
"That's enough now! You are going to your room now. And I
never want you to contradict my decisions ever again. Go to
your room! NOW!" Scully turned on her heels and left the
room.
As soon as the large door closed behind her - of course very
loudly, to make sure everyone knew the mood she was in - her
family breathed a shared sigh of relief. Melissa said: "Well,
that went quite well, don't you think?" The rest of the
family looked at her quite strangely. But before anybody
could say anything else, there was a knock on the door and a
servant proclaimed that one of the knights was asking for an
audience with the earl.
And who entered the throne room? No other than the man
Scully's sister knew as 'Mulder' from what Dana had confided
in her earlier. Now she had some more time to look at this
man her sister was so fond of. She had to admit: Her sister
had good taste.
Mulder crossed the room to stand in front of the throne. He
bowed the usual way and then came right to the point:
"Sire. I ask you for your daughter to join me in the holy
band of matrimony. Please, Sire, grant me this honor."
The earl, just about too start roaring what has possessed
this little nobody to ask for his daughter's hand, noticed a
warm hand on his forearm. He leaned down toward his wife and
listened to her whisperings:
"William. Before you say anything, ask him where he comes
from. He seems familiar to me."
He had no chance other than to do as his wife wished:
"Who are you? And where are you from?"
Mulder answered:
"My name is Lord Fox of Mulder. I come from Oxford and my
father is Earl William of Cotswold Hills."
Scully's family was shocked. Most of all her Father. Just a
few minutes earlier, he had almost told this visitor to go to
hell, but thankfully his dear Margaret had saved him from
making such a mistake. Cotswold Hills? That earldom was very
big, rich and powerful. Hmmm. Would actually be quite a good
idea to marry his Dana to him. So he decided to accept the
proposal.
"Well, I'd be honored if you took my beautiful daughter as
your wife. Oh. I have to say you are quite a good fighter.
Second best isn't bad at all. But I ask you to excuse us now.
We have some matters to discuss."
Mulder left the room. The earl breathed out a relieved sigh
and turned to the rest of his family. "What do you all
think?"
His son William was the first to answer: "You won't let her
marry this guy, will you? He doesn't have the best
reputation. I've heard, he and his father had arguments about
how to handle servants. He thinks they need to be treated
like normal people." A huff of air left his lungs as he
thought about that ridiculous idea.
Scully's younger brother said: "What he does or not does to
his servants isn't what we are deciding about. He seems to be
a good catch for her and he wants to marry her. Sounds fine
with me. ... Um, but I don't want to be the one to tell her
about her new fiance." You could see the fear in his eyes. He
had seen her in her raging mood too often for his liking. He
shuddered. "No, somebody else will have to tell her."
Earl William looked over to his wife and daughter. He could
see they approved of his decision. Melissa even had a smug
grin on her face. He wondered why, but didn't want to get
into this now.
"Well then, I guess I'll go and tell her that she is engaged.
As for you, please get everything settled for the
announcement of the engagement by the end of this day."
With those words he left to find his daughter.
Mulder - or should I say the lord? - moved through the
hallways of the castle. His pace had a skip to it and
everybody could see that he was the happiest man on earth.
Why shouldn't he? He was about to visit his beautiful bride
and declare his undying love to her. He wanted to know how
she thought about his idea of marriage. Although it surely
wasn't custom, he thought it was an event where the bride had
some say in the matter, too.
So there he was, closing the distance to the girl he loved
from the moment he saw her. And he didn't think she would
find the idea of marrying him to be too repellent. They had
seemed to get along quite well on their walk to the castle
and ever since that encounter in the courtyard right before
the games, he thought she might feel like he did.
But when he rounded the last corner he heard shouting. A very
angry and disappointed female voice. Then a male voice
yelling. The female voice even louder. "OH, NO, I WON'T!!"
As he came closer he recognized it to be Dana. Then the male
voice trying to sound reasonable but you could hear the
undercurrent of anger in it.
Then the door opened with so much force that it banged
against the wall. Out came the red-faced earl stomping
towards him. When the earl saw him the face softened a little
and he said in the general direction of the room, "Well,
Dana, here is someone to see you. Be nice to him."
When they were closer to each other William whispered to
Mulder "You try and deal with her, my son. All yours." Mulder
looked from the earl to the room and back to the earl with a
puzzled expression then turned towards the door. But just as
he stepped over the threshold he saw something being hurled
in his direction. He was barely able to duck and something
hit the wall just above his head with a loud crash.
He looked down behind him to see something that once must
have been a flower vase. He wondered what had made her so
upset. He heard a gasp from across the room and turned his
head to face her. Her eyes were wide with shock and her mouth
open and moving, but she didn't seem to get any words out.
Suddenly she flew into his arms and drew him into a fierce
hug.
"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." She pulled away from him just
enough to check that he was all right. She took his face into
her hands and turned it to each side. "Did I hurt you? Oh,
I'm really sorry." She took hold of his left arm and pulled
him towards the bed, turned him around and pushed him down
onto it.
"Here. Sit down a minute. You sure I didn't hit you?" She was
really concerned about him. It made him smile.
"I'm okay, don't worry. But would you at least tell me why
you thought I needed a new hair cut?"
She hugged him close again and said into his ear: "I thought
you were some idiot I am supposed to marry. I'm sorry, I
didn't think you would come and visit me."
He had to laugh. She pulled away from him and frowned at him,
then she raised her right eyebrow and asked, "What?"
He smoothed two fingers over her eyebrow and she relaxed and
it sank back down. They held each others' gaze a moment and
then he said with a very calm voice: "But I am that idiot
you are supposed to marry." He smiled at her sheepishly. "I
thought you might want to."
She stared at him in total disbelief again for the second
time in less than five minutes. When she got over the initial
shock she shoved him hard so that he fell down onto his back
on the bed. She got up and took a few steps away. "You are
telling me," She took a deep breath. She didn't want to loose
control in front of him. But she felt it slipping and instead
the anger flooding through her veins again. And it wanted to
be directed at Mulder sitting upright once again, "that you
are the Lord of Cotswold Hills? And why, Milord, didn't
you tell me?"
He smiled at her, got up and crossed over to her. "Well,
Milady, you didn't tell me much about yourself, either. I
guess were even now." He took her by the shoulders and
searched her eyes with his. "Dana, I want you to know--"
He was interrupted by the earls' voice. "Well, it looks like
the problems are all solved. I ask you to come to the balcony
with me now, so that we can declare your engagement to the
earldom."
Mulder looked at Scully and she shrugged at him but smiled a
small smile. As she passed by him on her way out she gave his
arm a gentle squeeze.
Her father held the speech. He talked and talked and talked.
She was standing next to Mulder right behind her parents. She
looked up at him. And caught him watching her. He smiled and
shrugged. He took her small hand in his and leaned close to
her. He leaned so close to her head that as he whispered his
lips came in contact with her ear.
"Dana. I want you to know that I'm glad you will marry me. I
couldn't get you out of my head from the first time we met.
Not that I wanted to." He moved his head a little so that his
gaze could meet hers. "I want you to know that I love you.
Forever."
She could feel her insides melting at his words. He loved
her. She couldn't believe it. Well, actually, she could.
Because everything in his actions had said so. Right from the
beginning. She didn't know what to say, so she pulled his
face down into a kiss.
Scully woke with a start. Sitting up straighter in the
passenger car seat she tried to shake off the last of her
dream and at the same time get that nasty crick out of her
neck. She took in the darkness outside of the car and the
music playing softly from the radio. She looked over at
Mulder behind the steering wheel.
He was illuminated by the front lights of the passing cars
and she marveled at the fact that this particular light
brought out the handsome features of her partner while he
concentrated on the road. As he glanced over to her, his
attention turned to her because of her movements, they shared
a quick smile.
After turning his attention back to the road but still with a
smile he said: "Well, hello, Sleeping Beauty. Have a nice
dream?"
She looked out of the window to hide the blush creeping over
her face. She nodded because she knew he would see it out of
the corner of his eye and smiled a dreamy but hoping smile.
/Someday, Mulder. Maybe not now, but someday./
The End
And they lived happily ever after ;)
So? What do you think? Surprised? At least something
different, right?
I dreamt that suitors sought my hand,
that knights upon bended knee
and with vows no maiden's heart could withstand,
they pledged their faith to me.
And I dreamt that one of that noble host
came forth my hand to claim.
But I also dreamt which charmed me most
that you loved me still the same.
----- Enya, Marble Halls
