~Chapter 2: Always Strong~
Riding at the back of the group Enna smiled to herself; she found the beauty of the north surprisingly freeing and relished the feeling of the wind rushing through her hair. She enjoyed it even more when they entered the forest and it started to rain, but her joy was short lived as the rain ended and it became clear they were not alone in the woods.
"Woads; they're tracking us." Tristan said as he came to a stop beside Arthur.
"Where?"
"Everywhere." He replied and Enna could see Horton, her uncles secretary, begin to shake on his horse in front of her. They moved on slowly until the Woads began cutting off their path. Taking off through the woods they tried to find another path through, but the Woads continued to cut them off at every turn. Finally the Woads had them surrounded in a small clearing. Looking around Enna kept her hand on her sword waiting for them to attack.
"What are you waiting for?" Gawain yelled when they didn't move to attack. Only a minute later the Woads began to back away, disappearing back into the forest. After a few more shared words the group continued on toward their destination. Later, as the clouds started to clear and let some light reach through the forest, Enna finally noticed a fair sized trail of blood running down her left arm.
"You're hurt." Dagonet stated casually as he rode up beside her.
"What is it?" Gawain asked from her other side when he saw Dag eyeing her arm.
"Enna's injured." Dag said holding up the girls arm for his friend to see. Seeing the worried look in Gawain's eyes she snatched her arm away and hid it below her cloak.
"I'm fine; it's just a scratch." She said urging her horse ahead of theirs. She didn't like when people worried about her and the fact that Gawain was worried about her made her mind race back to what her sister had said. Shaking her head Enna silently scolded herself. I'm just imagining things. Gawain and I barely know each other, how could he have feelings for me? She thought as she looked back at the blonde man riding behind her. Gritting her teeth she turned to face the trail again and let out a quiet groan. Why did she care what he thought of her? If he was stupid enough to have feelings for her then so be it, she would not return them. When she was still a child a man had betrayed her and she had vowed to never trust another man in her life, but even as she thought back to that day she couldn't help but glance back at Gawain who was now talking with Galahad.
"I've been meaning to ask you, what sort of things does your sister like?" Lancelot asked from beside her, breaking her from her thoughts.
"If you intend to harbor feelings for my sister the least you could do is learn her name." Enna said flashing him a frown.
"I know her na..."
"We're here." Enna said cutting him off as they exited the woods. Following Arthur's lead they all urged their horses into a gallop, but Enna quickly slowed her's to a near stop as they drew closer to the main estate before them. As they reached the wall surrounding the main house the guards closed the gate making them stop outside.
"Who are you?" One of the guards asked from atop the white stone wall.
"Iam Arthur Castus, commander of the Sarmatian Knights, sent by Bishop Germanius of Rome." Arthur replied as though he had expected this. Looking to the guard next to him the first guard ordered him to open the gate; as he did so Arthur and the knights looked around at the people that were now staring at them. They were all thin, wearing ragged clothes, and speckled with mud from where they had been working in the fields around the estate.
"It is a wonder you have come!" A familiar, sickeningly friendly voice called to them as the gate opened again and a plump man in roman garbs walked up to them. Enna blocked out the conversation that followed between the man and Arthur and pulled her hood farther over her face.
"You know him?" Bors asked when he noticed her staying at the back of the group as though to hide.
"Yes, and I can't say I'm very fond of him." She hissed as she tucked her hair inside her hood.
"Go back to work, all of you!" Marius yelled as his guards began moving into the crowd around the knights, pushing people back toward the fields. Enna couldn't hold back the low growl the rumbled from her throat and bit her tongue a moment later as punishment for doing anything to draw attention to herself. She barely noticed Arthur dismount and approach Marius face to face, but smiled as she saw the pompous Roman and his family retreat back to their house to gather their belongings. A short time later the villagers and Marius were almost ready to leave as Tristan arrived to report on his scouting mission. They had only just finished their conversation when the air carried to their ears an unnerving sound; the beating of Saxon drums. As everyone was finishing gathering their things Arthur's attention was drawn to two men bricking up the entrance to what looked to be a cellar. Drawing his sword he dismounted and approached them ordering the guards that tried to block his path to move.
"What is this?" He asked addressing the men working at the entrance.
"You cannot go in there; no one goes in there. This place is forbidden." The younger man said, but Arthur paid him no mind as he guided both men away with the side of his sword.
"What are you doing? Stop this!" Marius called as he rushed over, only to be blocked by Galahad and his horse. Stepping forward Arthur put a hand to the stoned blocking the door.
"Arthur we have no time." Lancelot warned, but his commander wasn't listening.
"Do you not hear the drums?" Galahad chimed in. Arthur simply turned and called to Dagonet to open the entrance. With only a few swings of his ax the stone wall was demolished and he kicked the door behind it to see if it was open. When it did not open Arthur requested the key only to be told it was locked from the inside. With a few more strong kicks from Dag the door flew open to reveal a dark stairwell. Grabbing a torch Arthur led the way while Lancelot dismounted and followed. Gawain and Enna both followed suit and dismounted making their way to the door. Grabbing the men who had been sealing it off Gawain pushed them ahead of him as he, Enna, and Dagonet followed the others. The farther down they went the clearer they could hear man chanting a prayer in Latin.
"Who are these defilers of the Lord's temple?" The monk spat as Arthur and Lancelot approached him. Enna could already smell the rotting corpses, but she still wasn't prepared for what lay in the room before her.
"Out of the way!" Lancelot ordered as the monk stood to block his path, but seeing the double swords on the knight's back he quickly stepped aside. Looking around the room they saw many cells close to the floor, many with dead bodies still in them; Enna wretched at the sight.
"Are you alright?" Gawain asked looking back at her. Giving a weak nod she kept her eyes low, trying to avoid looking at the death that surrounded them. She was broken out of her daze by Arthur instructing them to check the cells for survivors.
"Wait here." Gawain ordered as she braced herself against the wall. For the first time Enna found herself smiling at the fact he was worried about her and was more than willing to listen to the golden knight.
"How dare you set foot in this holy place!" The younger monk who had been walling up the entrance hissed as he rushed over and grabbed ahold of Lancelot arm as he peered into a cell. Without a single word he stood and drove his sword through the man before letting him fall to the floor.
"That was a man of God." The monk who had been praying earlier said a he looked down at his friends lifeless body.
"Not my God!" Lancelot snapped before turning his attention back to the cells.
"This one's dead!" Dag called from across the room where he was looking through holle-cells.
"By the smell they are all dead." Gawain said as he stepped around the dead monk to help his friends search. Stopping he turned back to the other two monks as they cowered in the corner.
"And you, you even move and you'll join him." He said gesturing to the dead monk. Casting a quick glance at Enna he went back to searching the cells. Noticing the monks eyeing her as though they had an idea Enna grinned and move her cloak aside to reveal the sword that hung in her hand. Seeming taken aback the monks inched farther into the corner and Enna went back to watching the knights.
"Arthur!" Dag called as he opened the last hole-cell and lifted a small blonde boy out. They all seemed surprised that the boy was still alive, but Enna could tell by his size he hadn't been there long. Finally opening the last cell Arthur found the only other survivor, a young woman only a year or two older than Enna. Making their way out of the cellar Gawain insisted on walking behind Enna in case she fell, but she was past the point of caring and only smiled again when they got outside and the cold wind hit her face. Feeling suddenly dizzy she grabbed onto the closest thing she could find to steady herself and jumped when she felt a strong arm wrap around her waist. Looking up she found she had grabbed ahold of Gawain and thought to pull away only to find her body would not obey her. She couldn't even hear what was happening around them as he led her over to one of the wagons and told her to sit. Her mind only cleared for a moment when she heard a loud slap cut through the air. Looking up her eyes caught sight of Marius' wife lying on the ground and she pushed past Gawain as she ran to the woman's side.
"Thank you." She said as Enna helped her to her feet, but as Enna was about to reply everything around her started to go dark. Without even thinking she called out the first name that came to her as she started to fall.
"Gawain!" In an instant he was there catching her and she mentally scolded herself for calling out. Why did I call out to you? Why do you look so worried, golden knight? Her mind whispered as her eyes met his the moment before she lost consciousness. Opening her eyes again she looked around to find she was in one of the wagons with the little boy and the other young woman.
"What's your name?" The woman asked when he noticed Enna's eyes wandering around the wagon.
"Enna; what's yours?" She asked making her eyes focus on the brunette sitting beside her.
"Guinevere, the boy is Lucan." The woman said as he boy looked over at them.
"How long was I asleep?" Enna asked pushing herself into a sitting position. She winced as every muscle in her gave a searing ache to argue the movement.
"Only a few hours." Marius' wife informed her as she rushed over to help her sit up.
"It's been a long time, Fulcinia." Enna smiled looking up at the woman.
"Yes, it has. How is your sister?" Fulcinia asked taking a seat beside her crimson haired friend.
"She's well; she's waiting for me at Hadrian's Wall."
"Why on earth did your uncle drag you there and more importantly why did he allow you to come all the way out here with these men?"
"We have a deal that if I come back alive he will release Kaelyn and I from his keep, and as for the knights," Enna trailed off looking out the back of the wagon at Dagonet who rode behind them, "They're not as bad as they seem." Fulcinia seemed satisfied with her response and was about to go back to what she had been doing earlier when Enna grabbed her wrist to stop her.
"Why did I collapse?" She asked, but Fulcinia's eyes simply drifted to the girls arm. Letting go of the woman's wrist Enna looked over at her own arm and winced; he wound from the Woad attack had been stitched up, but it was larger that Enna had thought. Sighing she made sure the sleeve of her dress wouldn't fall and laid back down to sleep. When she awoke again she was more than surprised to find Fulcinia, Guinevere, and Lucan gone and Gawain sitting beside her.
"Have we stopped?" She asked. Jumping slightly Gawain looked down at her, but didn't smile like she thought he would.
"Yes, we've made camp for the night. Arthur had us move the Woad woman to another wagon and the boy Lucan is staying with Dagonet." He said bluntly, turning his attention to the closed flap at the back of the of the wagon.
"What's wrong?" Enna asked noting his dedication to avoiding her eyes.
"I don't understand how a woman can be as hard headed as you! You get angry when people worry about you, you won't let anyone help you unless you're unconscious, you're so stubborn you nearly got yourself killed!" He snapped without looking at her. Sitting up Enna was no longer mad at him for worrying about her, she was mad because he was mad at her.
"It wasn't that bad." She said keeping the anger from her voice as best she could.
"If Dag hadn't cleaned it and stitched you up when he did the infection could have gotten worse and killed you!" Gawain yelled finally looking in her eyes. Enna was about to yell at him, but stopped when she saw something in his eyes buried below the anger. Looking down at her hands she frowned.
"I'm sorry." She whispered catching him off guard. When he didn't say anything she looked up to find him staring at her in disbelief.
"All my life I've had men telling me to toughen up and be stronger; I guess I let it go to my head. I should have let Dagonet patch me up when I first noticed it, but I thought you would all think I was weak. I'm sorry for not listening and I'm sorry for making you worry about me." She said softly. It was the first time in years that she had actually allowed herself to sound like a woman rather than a man; she had to admit it felt nice. After a long silence Gawain leaned forward and pulled her into a hug. Her body went rigid at the gesture; half of her wanted to push him away and run as she had so many times before, but half of her wanted to melt into the embrace. Fighting ever instinct on her she let herself relax against his chest and instantly felt a huge weight lift off of her. A few minutes passed before she gave a faint smile and let her arms wrap around him.
"You were the first one I thought of. I called out for you and you were there; no one has ever done that before. No one has ever ran when I called." She whispered thinking back to earlier. Putting a finger under her chin he lifted her face so their eyes met.
"I will always run when you call." He said as he leaned down, slowly closing the space between them. This time she couldn't fight her instincts and turned her face away right as he was about to kiss her.
"Gawain, I have been hurt before." Enna said turning back to him when he pulled back.
"Enna, nothing and no one will ever hurt you again so long as I am here." He said firmly. She thought it over for a second before making up her mind; Kaelyn was right she couldn't keep running. Smiling she put a soft hand on his cheek and leaned up as he leaned down. They met in the middle and as their lips touched Enna felt as though she would start crying. As the kiss grew more passionate her confidence grew and she gently tugged at the hem of his shirt. Catching on he pulling the garment over his head and tossed it to the side. Breaking the kiss Enna marveled at his scar marked chest, running her hands over each one before placing a kiss there. Having kissed the last scar she looked up at Gawain and caressed a piece of his hair that hung over the front of his shoulder.
"My golden knight." She smiled letting the words that had been racing through her mind since noon finally escape. Gawain smiled at her title for him before laying her back on the bed Fulcinia had made for her. Later they lay exhausted in each other's arms with clothing scattered all around them. A mess of blood red hair flared out on the pillow behind Enna while Gawain carefully ran his fingers through the soft tresses. Enna had finally let go of the past and smiled at her golden knight as she thought of what the future might hold.
"What?" Gawain asked when she let out a slight laugh. Looking over at him she smiled and shook her head.
"Kaelyn's not going to shut up when she hears about this." She said merely as Gawain joined in with her laughing. Once they stopped laughing Enna sighed and snuggled closer to his chest and he put his arms around her to keep her close; together they drifted off into the most peaceful sleep either of them had ever had.
