A.N-Thanks for the reviews. I hope you like this chapter. Thanks for reading and be sure to review :)
I was in darkness,not a sound,not really anything. Then I felt heat on my face, and I slowly began to regain conciseness. I slowly opened my eyes,and I was in a bed. That's really weird, I thought to myself. The bed was very uncomfortable, and I was wearing very strange clothes. I was wearing a night gown of some sort. I looked around the room, the walls are stone, and there is large fireplace at the front of the room. The bed was pushed to the back wall of the room, and there was a bedside table next to the bed. What really got me confused, was all the candles. They were everywhere.
I pushed myself up into sitting position. My head started to hurt. I put my hand up to my head. I was surprised to find a bandage there.
"I must have hit my head hard." I said quietly out loud. I pushed off the brown covers and and jumped off the bed. Not a good idea at all. The room started to spin, and I started to sway,I sat back down on the bed. My second attempt went much more smoothly. I successfully stood up, and slowly made my way towards the door. I opened the large wooden door, and I stepped outside into the dark hallway. My eyes eventually adjusted to the darkness.
"Where am I?" I whispered to no one. The hall had no electric lights at all, just candles on the wall. I could go left or right. I decided to go right. I walked through corridor after corridor and still I didn't find anyone. Then a man came out of a door about 30 feet ahead of me. I kept quiet and started to follow him. He was dressed in a costume of some sort, and he was carrying a platter with gold goblets on it.
I continued to follow him until he went into another door. I heard voices and saw a light. I slowly inched my way towards the door, and tried to peer inside, but five or six men and women came out. I jumped back and stood there waiting for someone to say something to me, but they all just looked at the ground. They didn't even acknowledge my presence. I got really angry at first because they were ignoring me, then all I felt was confusion. I am determined to get some answers. So I marched right through that door with great confidence, but I almost fell over with confusion when I saw what was behind that door.
The room I had entered was huge, and it was circular. It had tall pillars all around the room, and the floor was tile. It was a beautiful room, but that's not what got me. What had me speechless was the large round table in the middle of the room. There was a fire in the middle of it, and about 8 men were sitting around the table. There was a lot of seats that were empty. Two other men were standing up. The room was lighted by candles.
The door slammed shut behind me, and everyone eyes turned on me. I froze.
"Hi." I squeaked. They all just looked at me.
"You shouldn't be up, you should be resting." A tall man said. He rose from his seat taking long strides towards me. He was also wearing a costume,and he had a sword strapped to his hip. Now that I look, everyone was in costumes. It's like I wondered into a renaissance festival. When he reached me, he looked me up and down.
"First a round table, and now a whore?What blasphemy!" A man said behind me. He looked at me with disgust. I felt anger fill my whole being. How dare he call me a whore! I mean my gown came down to my ankles, it covered my arms too, and it covered up my chest, it was modest.
"Excuse me? Did you just call me a whore? For your information, I"m still a virgin! I would never sell my body! I would rather starve to death! How dare you make assumptions about a person you don't even know!" I said. The anger was like lava running through my veins. The man looked stunned, even frightened. I just continued to stare at him.
"How dare you speak to me that way woman!" The man spat out getting some of his confidence back.
"Oh, you just want me to stick my foot up your ass don't you?" I said taking two menacing steps towards him. Then I felt a hand on my arm. I turned to find the big bald guy.
"Calm yourself." He said. I calmed down immediately. His voice was deep and soothing. I nodded, my eyes locked with his. I noticed a scar running through is eye. I wonder how he got it.
"Sorry. I guess I have some anger issue's." I said, breaking eye contact with the man. "Who's in charge here?" I asked softly, looking around the room.
"I am." The man sitting closest to me said standing up. He had semi curly dark brown hair, he looked a little scruffy, like he hadn't shaved in a day or two. He wore a costume too. He had metal chain mail under black armor. I smiled at him.
"Hello, my name is Kayley Bryne and I just wanted to know, where the hell am I?" I said, as politely and calmly as I could(It didn't end up that way).
"My name is Arthur, and these are my knights. Your at Hadrian's wall. We found you in the forest some ways away from here, you hit your head pretty hard, so we brought you here." He said. I processed his words in my head. His name is Arthur, he has knights, and there's a round table?Plus the ruins of Hadrian's wall is in England. Wow this must be some messed up renaissance festival or something. It sounded so ridiculous in my head, I started to laugh. I have tears in my eyes from laughing so hard. Every one looked at me confused. My laughter died down.
"That's funny. Now that that's over, can you please let me use a phone, so I can get the hell out of here, and forget this ever happened." I said seriously.
"I don't understand. How is that humorous?" Arthur asked, a confused look on his face.
"Are you serious? How is is this humorous? Look mister, my totally wack teacher tells me that he has a spell book, and that he has to make me believe in King Arthur. So then he starts speaking this supposedly dead language, and there was a whistle and a bright light! Then I hit my head and I wake up here. So all I want to know is why I'm here and where is Millie?" I said, my voice getting shaky. I'm really worried about Millie and the baby. If she hit her head as hard as I did, that would be bad. Everyone just looked at each other, then back to me with confused and surprised looks on their faces.
"I told you, we found you in the forest and brought you here. We didn't find anyone else. Our healer, Dagonet, treated your head." He motioned to the tall bald man. "Now will you please go back to your room and rest. We will discuss this later." He continued. He sat back down. They went back to talking, like I wasn't even there.
"No I don't think I will. I think I'll just stay here until you guys have finished." I said defiantly. I crossed my arms over my chest. They all turned and looked at me. Nobody said anything, someone could drop a pin and everyone would hear it. There was an empty seat next to a man with dark curly hair, and a beard. He wore dark clothes and he had these deep dark eyes. The kind that seemed to rip through my soul. I walked over to the seat and looked down at him.
"Is this seat taken?" I asked. He stared up at me. He shook his head no. I smiled at him, then pulled out the seat and sat down. He smirked, it was sorta hot. Everyone else just stared at me. Then a man with long blonde hair turned to another curly head man. I couldn't hear what he said, but apparently it was funny, because the curly haired man busted out laughing. I glared at them.
"She can't stay here. We don't know her, she could be a spy for all we know." The man sitting next to Arthur said. He looked at me, and I glared back. Arthur sat and thought for a moment. Then he called for a maid or servant of some kind. A women with light golden hair, dressed in medieval dress. Arthur turned to me with kind smile.
"Go with this lady, and she will make sure you are taken care of. I will speak with you later." He told me. I thought about it for a moment, before deciding to do as I was told. I nodded and stood up. I followed the lady out, not aware of the pair of dark eyes following me out. The women led me back to the room I was in before.
"Let get you dressed miss." She said timidly. She wouldn't look me in the eye.
"You can call me Kayley, and you can look me in the eye when you talk to me. I'm no better or higher than you." I told her honestly. She nodded, and slowly lifted her eyes up to mine.
"Yes, I will be sure to do that." She told me, while taking out a dress from one of the cabinets.
"Where are my clothes?" I asked curiously. She pointed to a chest sitting in front of the bed.
"In there. We washed them for you. They were very dirty." She told me, but she looked like she wanted to say something else. "If you don't mind me saying so, those clothes are very strange to me. I've never seen anything like them." She said. I nodded. She helped me into a midnight blue dress. It was tight on my bust line,but it was loose below that area. It showed some cleavage but not a lot. It had long sleeves that were tight above my elbow, but below them it was loose. She brushed my hair out. She gave me a thick black head band, I put it on. I adjusted my bandage to confirm to the head band.
"Thanks." I told her quietly. She was making up the bed, and I was sitting in front of the mirror. "What's your name?" I asked.
"Ivy." She replied quietly.
"That's a pretty name." I told her smiling. She looked back at me with a astonished look.
"Really?" She asked. I looked at her confused.
"Yeah, it's much prettier that Kayley." I told her confidently. She smiled at me.
"Thank you" She replied.
"So when can I speak with this Arthur dude?" I asked.
"He will come and call on you, I suppose." She replied. I nodded, and thought for a moment. This was so strange, I feel like I'm dreaming, but the nasty bump on my head proved me wrong. This wasn't a dream. Where's Millie? Its highly likely that she's here somewhere too, but Arthur said they found me by myself. I need to find her, and get home. Mr. Henderson better watch out, because when I get my hands on him, it going to be bad news. I miss home already, and I haven't been here long.
Ivy said good bye and left. She told me she would be back, and also told me to stay in the room, but I decided to snoop around instead. I put on these white slippers and slipped out of the room. Instead of going right like before, I went left. I wondered the halls, until I came to the entrance. I left the building, and I was greeted with cold air,I wish I would have put my jacket on. Oh well its too late for that. There weren't many people around.
I must have been in a court yard of some sort. There was a gate surrounding the area. I found the exit and I walked out into a street. The streets were lined with torches. The building looked ancient, but it didn't look worn. I walked down the streets, encountering more and more people as I went. They all stared at me. This is why I hate going to new places.
I turned the corner, and found my self looking at a bar of some kind. It was in between two building's, but it was a open space. There were table's everywhere filled with men. Some were Roman soldiers and some looked like regular people. I saw some of the guys from before. The blonde one, the curly haired man, and another one with a tattoo on his face, were throwing daggers at this chair. Dagonet and the other bald guy were standing there at this bar type thing, and they were talking to a women. She had red hair and a baby on her hip. She handed the baby to the bald man, and took drinks over to this table. I noticed the guy I had sat next to.
I watched as he pulled the women into his lap and started to kiss her neck. She looked annoyed and pissed, she slapped him and went back to the bar. He had this cocky look on his face. He must be the resident player, I thought to myself. Then I heard everyone yelling at the women to sing. The music stopped and the women began to sing. It was a song about going home. I listened intently.
"What are you doing out of the fort?" A voice startled me. I turned to see Arthur behind me.
"I decided to look around. I just couldn't stand it, being all cooped up in that room. I'm not in any trouble am I?" I asked. He smiled.
"No, your not. Your just curious. Where do you come from?" He said. I smiled back.
"A place far far away from here. I don't remember how I got here. I think it has something to do with this." I lied, touching my bandage. "But I know that my best friend is here somewhere. She has to be, and I have to find her. Then I have to figure a way to get home." I finished. He nodded, processing what I had just said.
"So, your not here to spy on us?" He asked.
"No, I'm not a spy. I'm not even sure where exactly I am. I have no reason to spy on you." I told him honestly. He searched my face and eyes for the truth. I held his gaze. He finally nodded. I guess he believed me. He then turned his gaze to the women singing. The women finished her song.
"Come on. I'll walk you back to the fort." Arthur said, turning to go. Then a man yelled out Arthur's name. Several others did the same. They all came in around him. I didn't know what to do so I just stood beside Arthur. I looked up at him. He had this hard look on his face, but I saw sadness in his eyes.
I sensed eyes on me. I looked up to find those deep brown eyes ripping into my soul again. The same curly haired man, once again stared at me. He looked me up and down, and smirked again. I just stared.
"Knights.. Brothers in arms. Your courage has been tested beyond all limits, but I must ask you now for one further trial." Arthur told the group. I could tell he was being dead serious about it, but the others thought it was a joke. I wondered what these men did for a living. I mean they are obviously knights, but they didn't look or sound like any knights I've read about.
"Drink?" The bald man said jokingly, bring his hand up to his lips like a cup.
"We must leave on a final mission for Rome, before our freedom can be granted."He continued. I was confused. I have to ask Arthur what they do. The smile's slid off their faces for a moment, then a few of them started laughing again. The blond one even started to walk off. They must think its a joke, but I knew it wasn't a joke.
"Above the wall far in the north, there is a Roman family in need of rescue." Thats when they realized, this was no joke, and boy were they pissed. "They are trapped by Saxons. Our orders are to secure their safety." Arthur finished.
"Let the Romans take care of their own." The bald one said.
"Above the wall is Woad territory" The blonde said. Woads? Saxons? Where have I heard this before?
"Our duty to rome, if it was ever a duty, is done. Our pact with Rome is done." The curly headed brunette said. No one seemed to notice me so I just stayed quiet.
"Every knight here has laid his life on the line for you. For you." The bald man said pointing his finger at Arthur. I looked up at him. His face held no emotion, but his eyes were filled with it. "And instead of freedom, you want more blood? Our blood!" the man continued. He was starting to get emotional. "You think more of Roman blood, than you do of ours?"
"Bors. These are our orders. We leave at first light, and when we return your freedom will be waiting for you. A freedom that we can embrace with honor." Arthur said. I was so wrapped up listening to Arthur, I was startled when I heard the man called Bors shout.
"I am a free man! I will choose my own fate!" He shouted. I wasn't the only one startled because I heard a baby start crying.
"Yeah, yeah. We are all going to die some day. If its a death from a Saxon hand that frighten's you stay home." The guy with the tattoo said.
"Listen, then if your so eager to die you can die right now!" The curly headed brunette exploded. The man with the dark eyes stepped in taking the mans arm, but he wrenched it away. "I've got something to live for!" He shouted.
"The Romans have broken their word. We have the word of Arthur, that is good enough. I'll prepare." Dagonet said before walking off. I smiled at his words, maybe this will convince everyone else. I don't even know why I care, but something tells me that maybe if I go with them, I will find Mille. Mille is my number one priority right now. I have to find her. I have to go on this mission with Arthur. Thats when I decided I was going whether they liked it or not.
"Bors, you coming?" Dagonet asked.
"Of course I'm coming! I can't let you go on your own,so you don't get killed!" Bors shouted back, Dagonet just kept walking. "I'm just saying what your all thinking." He shouted back at us. Then he walked off too.
"And you Gawain?" Arthur asked the blonde. Gawain nodded.
"I'm with you." he responded, looking at the curly headed brunette. "Galahad as well" He said. Galahad looked at him surprised, but he didn't say anything. He did pour our his drink, and then smashed his cup. Then Gawain and Galahad walked away.
Arthur looked at me then to this other man I have never seen. "Jols take lady Kayley back to the fort." Arthur said before walking off. The man with the dark eyes looked at me, for a second, then he walked in the same direction as Arthur. The man called Jols looked at me.
"I'll show you back to the fort my lady." He said quietly.
"Two things." I spoke. "One, call me Kayley. I'm no lady. Two, I must speak with Arthur." I said. He looked at me confused.
"Alright, Kayley. You can talk to him in the morning." He responded.
"No. Didn't you just hear him? They'll be gone by then. I need to talk to him right now." I said, pleading with him. He looked at me skeptically. "Please? It is very important." I gave him my best puppy dog look. He finally gave in.
"Okay, alright. I will take you to him. He'll most likely be in the stables." He told me. I smiled, and threw my arms around him. He was startled.
"Thank you" I said as I let him go. He looked down embarrassed, and nodded. I was actually quite nice when I want to be. He then proceeded to lead me through the streets. We walked until we came upon a stable.
"Right through there." He said pointing to the doorway. I beamed up at him.
"Thank you again." I told him again. He nodded and left. I walked closer to the doorway, and I heard yelling. I peeked inside. Arthur and the man with the deep eyes were arguing. I struggled to hear what they were saying, but I only heard a little.
"I will die in battle. That is certain and hopefully a battle of my choosing, but if it be this one. Grant me a favor. Don't bury me in our sad little cemetery. Burn me. Burn me and cast my ashes to a strong east wind." the man said. I decided this was the best time to make my presence known.
"Arthur?" I said, making my way into the stable. Arthur looked at me surprised. The man just walked passed me.
"What is it?" Why didn't Jols take you to the fort?" Arthur asked. I took a few steps closer.
"Well, I asked him to bring me to you. So I could ask you something." I said. He nodded giving me permission to continue. "I want to go with you and your knights on this mission." I blurted out. He looked at me confused, then he got this hard look on his face.
"Absolutely not." He said. I expected this.
"Its because I'm a girl, right? Well, let me tell you something. I can ride a horse, fight with a sword, bow and arrow, and I can do anything that you can. Now I know that my friend is out there, and I have this feeling that she is with this Roman family you are rescuing, and I want.. I need to go." I said pleadingly. I searched his eyes. He looked at me, thinking.
"Are you sure you can fight? There are many dangers out there. Some of us aren't coming back alive." He told me bluntly. I nodded.
"I've taken fencing lessons since I was four. That means I'm pretty damn good with a sword. I've been riding horses since I could walk, and I use bow and arrows while hunting. Just get me a sword, and a horse, and I will be of good use. I swear." I told him confidently. I knew it was a long shot, but I had to try for Millie and my own sake. He looked at me for a long time. Searching my eyes. I hoped he finds whatever he was looking for in them. Then he finally spoke.
"Alright. I will let you go with us. I will walk you back to the fort and you need to get some sleep. I will get Ivy to wake you up. It's going to be very early. I will get you the proper clothes and weapons. Just be ready to leave tomorrow morning." He told me. I broke out into a smile.
"Thank you so much." I squealed, and just like I did with Jols, I jumped and wrapped my arms around him. "Thank you!" I said again. He was surprised at first then he awkwardly wrapped his arm around me. I pulled back, and took his hand. I smiled up at him.
"Well, Onward to the fort!" I exclaimed happily. At that moment I knew what I had to do, and there was no way in hell I wasn't going to do it.
PLEASE READ- Thanks everyone for reading. I want to say sorry for not updating for such a long time. I got into this really bad car wreck and I broke my collarbone and my left leg. Everyone is okay, and I'm healing but my mom wouldn't let me anywhere near the computer so that's why I haven't updated in such a long time, and the pain medication was making me a little crazy. Also, I'm sorry for any mistakes I've made in this chapter, but I didn't have the movie while I wrote this, so some things are probably wrong. Did you like it? If you did or didn't please tell me in a review. Oh and I still haven't decided who they are going to end up with so yeah.. lol.. Well talk to you soon. :)
