TheThirdTime'sACharm: As I've stated before, I've written alot and so I'll probably be updating fairly quick. This story was supposed to be maybe 20 pages long but after 100 pages I'm like "Uh-uh, this is NOT going to fit into a Longshot." So it is safe to say this story will be possibly the longest Saber/Lancer fic ever . . .
But, yay! I'm so glad to hear from you guys and specially your thoughts of your enjoyment of this fic. I'm glad you like it because I had a blast writing it (you can tell I got carried away after a few hundred pages . . .). So please, by all means continue entering in your input. I love it. Much love!
Diarmuid Ua Duibhne was the closest knight to the Queen. He had been Queen Altria's very first knight and so the reason behind the closeness of their bond was quite clear. But that meant he was also the first to believe in a queen's reign alone, an idea never heard of until Altria took the throne. Being the first to believe in her crown and ideals was very special and the other knights wished not to take anything away from the two but they were being torn apart because of this marriage.
The other knights had never seen Diarmuid so angry or upset. The most down he had been was when he and the queen had broken their legs from the leap from the tower in her attempted uprising at the beginning of the Isle Wars, but even so he would put on a smile and challenge the lady to heal as fast as she could so they could gain her kingdom back. They did and her kingdom was secured and more knights swore allegiance to her.
It was strange how those dark years seemed to be when they were closest. Right now, none would believe how easy or how fast it took to put the knights at odds with the queen and they wished that they could all be as self-sacrificing as their queen, but she seemed to be made of a much greater heroic spirit that none could compare to. That reason there could be what hurt the young raven-haired knight the most.
"Shouldn't you be at the banquet, Sir Diarmuid?" the whores at the local tavern asked, both beautiful women with bright red hair, and red lips. One came to wrap their arms around the knight's shoulders like she knew how he liked it and the other sat herself at his feet, massaging his calves. "The queen's gotten herself married."
"What do you think of her husband?" Diarmuid asked, his golden gaze off, not even looking at the two women. The women shared a look with the other before they threw their heads back and let out adorable laughter. "Husband?" one asked, while the other said, "What husband? He was absent after the ceremony is what I heard."
"You heard right," Diarmuid said with a sigh, gulping down a good round of ale. "This is my 10th glass. What do you think of that?"
"Hmm, drunk enough to have fun with us yet?" they asked, their dark eyes even darker with the promise of a good time, but Diarmuid only shook them away. "No," he responded. "If I drink too much then I don't feel well."
"Oh yes, I remember what happened last time, you threw your meal all over my sister's dress," one laughed while the other crossed her arms. "I very much liked that dress."
"Ladies, I did repay you for that mishap, remember?" Diarmuid interjected. They smiled and settled down next to him again. "You did," they replied. "You're a good knight, Sir Diarmuid."
"A good knight would be there for his queen, no matter what dog she married for a husband," Diarmuid muttered to himself before his anger was directed toward his own being. Slamming his glass down, he stood up and grabbed his spears. Leaving his whores was something he was used to, so their whining was of no effect to them.
Diarmuid returned to the banquet, but only to be in the company of the rest of the knights. After the party the knights remained in the hall, none slept because they knew their queen would arrive soon. She usually had a habit to come and sit on her throne when she was troubled and this night she was the most troubled.
In night gown she walked silently into the throne room. She looked at her knights, all standing in position; they were all accounted for, even Diarmuid. The knight looked at her, sadness in his features and she only had to look away to stop herself from crying the tears she wanted to. So there she sat through the night; upon her throne, in the presence of her brethren who would always stand beside her.
The queen had managed to fall into as peaceful as a slumber as she could upon her throne. No knight disturbed her because they knew this might be her last peaceful rest for a long time. Just as dawn broke through the windows Diarmuid moved from his place and went to leave.
"You're leaving?" Gawain asked.
"I'd rather not be present when her 'husband' returns," was Diarmuid's reason for leaving. No one stopped him and no one would explain to the queen why one of her knights was missing because she would never ask. And just as Diarmuid predicted, King Gilgamesh returned that morning. He came before the queen and informed her that he had commanded his ships sail northeast to find the black fleet and guard the towns close by.
"Thank-you," Altria said with a nod. "If possible, we could get them upon the ground we would stand a chance of defeating them, but when they stay on their ships, I cannot as so much send good men to die."
"Then it's high time you invest in a naval fleet, my wife," Gilgamesh stated, reaching out and brushing a lock of hair out of her face. The queen leaned away and Gilgamesh stopped himself. "I'm sorry about that. I forgot our marriage isn't traditional, but you need not be afraid of my touch, my lady. I can be quite gentle." Gilgamesh had been too close for the queen's liking and so she brought her sword upon her lap as a means to press the king away. Gilgamesh understood her perfectly and just smiled. When he turned around each and every knight bore hard eyes upon him and possible threats of death in their air. "I know your knights don't like me, as well as the other people, but I hope to prove to you as to them that I am good for my word and a valiant warrior. I will protect you and your land." With that he turned and left the throne room. Altria let out an evening sigh and looked toward her knights. She offered them a smile but it was hollow.
"I should think I'll have a walk out in the city." Queen Altria stood up and placed her sword next to her throne. "Wouldn't be needing this, now would I?"
Her knights would have followed her, but they saw the way her fingers twitched and how she continually rubbed her hands. She was nervous about her marriage and afraid, she just needed time to cope with herself. The city surrounding the castle was peaceful enough but they did worry about their queen walking among the people when it was she who brought these unpopular foreigners here and let them stay by wedding their king.
"Should we follow her?" Gawain asked, concern in his voice.
"She'll return if she's overwhelmed," Lancelot stated, looking on at the empty throne and the queen's sword neatly placed beside. "And it takes a lot to overwhelm that woman."
"It does," the rest of the knights agreed.
"My, my, Sir Diarmuid, should I think you've found a special lady?" the seamstress asked, wiggling her eyebrows at the man who uncharacteristically began blushing. "No, no! Why does everyone always think that? Look, I ruined this lady-friend's dress and simply wish to repay her by getting her another one."
"The fabric you've chosen is quite expensive," the seamstress pointed out as she held up the rich royal blue and the white silk, the two main colors as well as the fabric Diarmuid had personally picked out. The Knight simply smiled and shook his head, pulling out a purse full of coins. "I've saved, the price doesn't matter."
"Very well," the rounder woman said as she turned and laid out of the fabric upon a table behind her desk and took out a measuring rod. She began cutting the fabric after a few measuring tasks and Diarmuid immediately spoke up. "Wait! Don't you need me to tell you to measurements before going off on a wild guess?"
"I know Queen Altria's measurements like the back of my hand, Sir Diarmuid," the seamstress said, turning to him with a wink and kind smile. Watching the boy blush again always lightened the old woman's heart. That knight's reactions were too cute for his own good. "Now be off with you and stay out of those taverns. You're a good lad and don't need to dirty your image."
"What's wrong with going out for a drink?" Diarmuid defended himself . . . this woman's always given him grief ever since his teen years and she still continues to do it just to jest around.
"Nothing wrong with that," the old woman said as she began folding the fabric and placing it upon a sheet. "It's those wenches you hang out with; they've been known to give men trouble. Good noble men who were too stupid to know any better."
"I'm smarter than you seem to think, Myreade," Diarmuid stated as a matter of fact. "I can give women just as much trouble."
"But women still dominate in that area," the old seamstress said with a chuckle. "Why else go through all this trouble to buy a dress for your lady?"
Diarmuid smiled and watched as she packed up the fabric and put it upon a high shelf. "I'll have the dress ready within a week."
"That fast? My thanks, Myreade," Diarmuid said and leant down to give the hag a kiss on the cheek. The woman turned in on herself and batted him away. "Oh, be off with you!"
He bid her farewell again and left the shop. He thought about heading to the tavern for a drink, but decided against it; instead he left to grab something to eat. He was in the mood for a Shepard's pie anyways.
Whilst making his way there he had actually run into someone whom he hadn't thought he'd see out and about on a day like this.
"My lady?" There she was, Queen Altria, smiling down at a child offering her a flower of which she gladly accepted. She turned and looked at Diarmuid for a moment before averting her gaze. "Sir Diarmuid, I hadn't known you left the castle."
"That king and his men make it too crowded," Diarmuid jested. "Now these are my people, isn't that right, my queen?"
"Yes, they are," she said with a soft smile before inhaling the scent of the flower.
"I was heading off toward John's pub where he serves the best pies. Do you want to pair up?" Altria smiled and held out her arm. "Escort me forward oh noble knight."
"Well, when a lady puts it like that, I shan't refrain," Diarmuid said with a wink before holding out his elbow and letting Altria take it as the two merrily skipped down the road in idle silliness, like they used to do when they were much younger and the world much bigger and easier. Once they reached the pub and were seated, Diarmuid nudged his queen and continued their fun. "Say, milady, did you know I was knighted whilst having a head injury?" Altria pushed out a giggle and continued to play with her fellow knight. "Oh my, I've heard one doesn't remember things very well when an injury to the head is sustained."
"They don't," Diarmuid replied. "So I'm going to have to trust my Queen's word on it. If she says it happened, then it did."
"Hmm, so there's a chance you could not be a knight!" Altria faked a surprised gasp. Diarmuid chuckled, his shoulders rolling with his laughter before he shook his head. "My queen's a just queen. She doesn't lie to anyone, even her enemies."
"That's some queen," Altria smiled, though the volume of it lessoned as she reverted slowly into herself. "I should think a queen so blessed to be loved by so loyal a knight."
"I do hope she feels that way," Diarmuid said as the server placed down their pies and held out his hand for the coins. Diarmuid dug into his pocket and realized his entire purse was left with the seamstress, Myreade—with good reason of course, the dress took the entire bag of coins to make so he was officially coinless.
"What?" Altria pulled out a playful smile whilst she pulled out her own purse and paid for both pies. "Does this noble knight expect a lady to pay for their meal? Here you go."
"Sorry," Diarmuid said, scratching at his head. "I didn't think I'd used it all."
"What, on ale? How much do you drink?" Altria asked, looking at his gut. "And where do you put it?" She mumbled the last part.
"I don't drink that much!" Diarmuid complained before they settled for just finishing their pies. Altria didn't know what had come over her, but the giggle spat wouldn't stop and now her face was beginning to become hot and change color. "Well, having a lady laugh this hard, I must be doing something right." Diarmuid smiled sweetly at his queen whose eyes sparkled a little with present happiness.
"I'm sure you say that to all your ladies," Altria remarked, raising her brow and pushing her half eaten pie aside. Diarmuid nodded and then rolled his shoulders. "Only when I can tell she's not feeling well."
"Oh, you can tell that much about me? Anything else you're foresight is looking at?"
Diarmuid took a sip from his goblet before placing it down next to his own pie. He continued to stare at the blond for a moment before narrowing his eyes and leaning back in his seat. "You were taking a stroll around the town to clear your mind, weren't you? I can tell you're filled with troubles that you think only you can bear."
"You don't believe there are troubles one must take alone?" Altria asked, her smile vanishing and was now forming into a frown as she laced her fingers together and rested her chin on the backs of her hands. "You're a knight, I'm sure there are troubles pertaining only to a knight compared to that of a simple peasant. I should think the same with a ruler like that of a king."
Diarmuid smiled softly at the woman and, instead of admitting how right the queen was, he asked her this, "But you're a woman, milady. They should be the last to have troubles."
Altria smiled softly and reverted her eyes from the noble knight. "No one's really thought about me as such, I'm afraid."
"Such a shame, you're a beautiful young woman," Diarmuid said truthfully, watching as his beloved queen looked at him sadly, her smile soft and so shallow.
"Again, I'm sure you say that to all the ladies you surround yourself with," Altria said, no giggle or hint of laughter in her tone, she was letting herself fall into depression again.
"Believe what you will, I'm actually very picky on my women," Diarmuid said, leaning back in his seat and offering Altria a wink.
"Oh, really? That's not what I've come to assume."
"Hey, I do not chase after every skirt I see!" Diarmuid defended himself. Altria laughed again and the knight knew that their lighthearted jests eased her mind and helped her forget her day, so they continued on with their little game.
"Then tell me, Sir Knight, what else do you do with these 'special women' besides dine with them on their coin?" Altria smirked and watched her knight cross his arms and shake his head as he chuckled out a laughter. "First," he started. "I would normally pay for the meal, as a gentleman should always do, and then I would buy them a gift in hopes to gain their affection. Afterwards, if the mood is right and she seems to have an interest in me, we would end the night in my bed—or hers, whichever she prefer."
"You best be careful, Sir Knight, I'm a married woman," Altria teased even though the fact she truthfully thought was less appealing.
"Then an affair it is," Diarmuid said with a wiggle of his eyebrows. "We shall meet at twilight in a place where your husband won't find us. I'm certain he travels."
"He's home at the moment," Altria replied, her smile gone again when she thought about how her husband and how his presence fouled the castle; one of the reasons why she had to get out of her own home.
"Ah, a shame. Then another time?" Diarmuid continued to smile even though he wanted to show just how bitter he was at the mention of his queen's husband. He knew his queen bettered under a smile and so it was all he could do to show a small comfort in that moment.
"Perhaps," she said as she stood up and wiped her gown of wrinkles. "I shall be honest with you, good Knight, I had a wonderful time here, speaking with you and paying for your meals . . ." "Not going to let that go, I presume," Diarmuid grumbled, rubbing the back of his head as he stood from his chair. Altria smiled and finished her farewell, "But I must be returning home."
"Then, as a last show of chivalry, let me escort you," Diarmuid offered, holding out his arm to the woman. She smiled and crossed her arms. "But, Sir Knight, do you know where I live?" Diarmuid contained his laughter and just smiled. Pulling her hand into his arm he inclined his head toward her saying, "I can take a guess."
Lancelot watched as his queen returned to her castle, her escort being none other than Diarmuid. The two looked peaceful, laughing about jests and speaking to one another closely. When they reached the front door, he watched as Queen Altria stopped and turned toward Diarmuid, acting as if they were strangers in a strange play. She bid him farewell and he responded in kind as if he had just escorted some damsel he had been wooing. He playfully proclaimed how he'd "sweep her off her feet" in their next outing, but Altria refused to agree and just bid him off as she entered the castle. As she walked down the hall she hadn't seen him against a large pillar and so he moved from her sight and went toward Diarmuid who was busy taking up his spears and preparing to head off to training.
"Diarmuid," Lancelot called out. The younger knight halted and turned toward him. "Lancelot, didn't see you there. Is something the matter?"
"Our queen happens to be married," Lancelot informed. Just at him stating that, he watched a flash of anger appear in Diarmuid's gold eyes, no doubt from the fact to whom their queen was wedded to. "I happened to have been present at the wedding, Lancelot. Besides, we were just playing around. You saw our queen, she could use it."
"Be careful with whom you play this 'game' around," Lancelot warned.
"Oh, do you mean that jester for a king and his men? I can do whatever I like around him, I'm not his knight," Diarmuid remarked dryly.
"No, but you are Altria's," Lancelot said. "So please have some respect for her husband. We may hold no allegiance to him, but our queen does through her marriage with him. Remember that."
Diarmuid said nothing. He just pulled his spears close to his side and walked off, heading toward the training field. Lancelot knew that the knight was smart and knew when to respect their rulers and when not to. But ever since this alliance, he's been torn to act out his objection and to stay in line like any faithful knight. Lancelot wasn't concerned of him embarrassing their queen; he was just concerned he might attack the golden king, King Gilgamesh. If he did, the alliance could be cut. Queen Altria knew what she was doing, Lancelot had to believe so . . . and so did Diarmuid.
"My Queen, your mind seems to have eased," Altria's lady in waiting noted upon her Queen's return to her chambers. Altria only nodded her head with a small smile. "Could you draw me a bath?" "Right away, milady."
Altria sat upon her bed and unfastened her dress, she listened to her maid pour hot water in the basin and smiled when her maid drew near and touched her with cleansing cloth. It felt nice upon her skin and her body relaxed.
"It's good to see you at ease, my lady," her maid said. "Do I really look that at ease?" Altria asked, when her maid nodded she baffled herself. "I hadn't thought my cares could slip away so easily."
"That walk did you well, more so than usual," Her maid noted. "Did you do anything special?" Altria chuckled when asked this. Of course she had. "Well, I had run into this dashing knight who insisted on taking me to a place to eat. I ended up having to buy his meal as well as mine." Altria couldn't contain her laughter at the thought of how ungentlemanly that was for a so-called knight, but the mere notion is what made it enjoyable and thus she couldn't control herself.
"My queen, I have not heard you laugh this hard since before the threat of the black fleet," her lady in waiting said, watching her queen wipe tears away from her eyes. "Does my heart good to hear those volumes."
"I don't care what predicament you're in, if Diarmuid insisted on taking you out with no hopes of offering payment for an enjoyable time spent then the shameful look on his face is just too much," Altria said, still trying to stifle her laughter.
"I had a feeling it was Sir Diarmuid by the way you spoke of him," her lady said as she began combing down Altria's hair and preparing it in a bonnet for slumber. "He's got a heart of gold, that one." Altria nodded in agreement and remembered how her lady in waiting—along with the rest—had a fancy to her knight, Diarmuid, as did most ladies in her kingdom. It could be for that reason alone; his earnest attempt to make sure a woman bears no worries.
"Frankly speaking, my lady," the maid spoke up just as she finished tightening Altria's hair into place. "Though many a woman in the kingdom would have had their hearts shattered and souls upset, they would have rather you wed Diarmuid than that foreign king."
Altria halted for a moment and reached back to touch her maid's hand once she had finished with her hair. Turning to look at her curiously, Altria asked, "Would you, yourself, have preferred that?"
"Aye," she said with a sigh and nod as she climbed off her queen's bed and came toward her feet to fit her cold toes with slippers. "This land would be much happier. I believe that with all my heart."
"King Gilgamesh will eventually leave this land," Altria assured. Just by saying the king's name a frown automatically formed on her face. "He has given me his word."
"We all don't know the date of his departure, milady," her maid replied. "So his words, whatever they be, mean nothing to us."
"Thank you, Gendella, for your voice. I do listen to my people, despite all that is being said now, I do." Altria swore to this with all her heart and in this her maid took both her cold hands and warmed them with her own. "At ease, my lady. Set your mind away from what you hear or what you see and tell me more about your outing with Sir Diarmuid."
Gendella knew Altria speaking about thinks like this got her mind away from the real issues at present and so, for a night Altria relived her outing in the town with that dashing knight.
"A gift for being a beautiful woman." Altria looked down from where she sat and toward her knight, knelt down before her with wrapped gift in hand. She smiled affectionately and gladly took it from him.
"Now what could this be, hm?"
Diarmuid simply smiled and moved himself so that he could sit next to her on the bench where she seated herself. "Just open it."
With a nod, Altria took to unwrapping the paper, of course she took her time untying the jute wrapped around it and then aimlessly unfolding the paper without tearing it. Diarmuid let out a loud sigh so that she would look at him and notice the annoyance upon his face. "You don't have to be so gentle. The paper is meant to be ripped."
"I'm a lady who likes to take her time," Altria simply replied whilst sticking her nose in the air and continuing her task. The moment she unfolded the paper to reveal a peek inside, she forgot all about the ease of folding the paper and simply pushed it apart and let it fall to the ground. "Oh, Diarmuid . . . you shouldn't have."
"I made you a promise, my Queen," Diarmuid said, a smile on his face as he watched his queen stand to her feet and press the gown against her body. She took hold of the train of the dress and swung it around. No matter how much a woman wished to become a man . . . women and gowns seemed to go hand in hand like ale in a goblet.
"It's beautiful," Altria admired, looking down at the deep blue dress and the pure white silk underneath. She even took note of the golden needlework laced into the edges of the cuffs and the train and often at the seams of the dress to make sure it gained attention from every onlooker. "Honestly, you didn't have to."
"When Diarmuid Ua Duibhne makes a promise, he follows it through, such is the chivalry of a knight," Diarmuid replied, placing his hand over his heart in fealty.
"I don't know what to say," Altria said with a smile as she ran her fingers over the fabric of the dress.
"Just say you'll wear it," Diarmuid asked.
"Of course I will. Since it is a gift," Altria informed.
Raising a thin brow Diarmuid then found it appropiate to ask,"Oh . . . so if I bore you a gift of a boar's head around a rope, would you wear it?"
The Queen's lips pulled thin and taught. Her eyes narrowed and it took only a moment before the knight leaned over himself and slapped his knees in a fit of laughter. "I'm just jesting. I know your meaning. But you don't have to come off as high and noble all the time. You can outright say you like it . . . or outright say you hate it for that matter."
"I adore it," Altria answered honestly, continuing to hold the gown against herself. "May I ask the price of such a gift?"
"No you may not," Diarmuid simply replied. Altria always did this and he'd rather her not know it cost him his entire purse, and then some. "Just enjoy it, that's all I ask." Altria nodded. "I will, you can be sure of that."
The first time Diarmuid had seen her in the dress he had bought for her was at a banquet. They were celebrating a successful defense of an eastern docking post thanks to King Gilgamesh's fleet and so when the king offered his cooks prepare food accustomed in his homeland, he had invited his wife and her knights and the nobles of the land. It had seemed that everyone took notice to Queen Altria that evening in her new gown, including her husband.
"My, don't you look beautiful tonight," King Gilgamesh commented as his wife took seat next to him at the banquet table. "A new gown just for tonight? I'm flattered."
"Think nothing of it," Altria said, not even paying mind to look toward the king as she spoke to him, "this was a gift from my subjects."
"So you accept their gifts of clothing and jewelry and not mine?" Gilgamesh smiled sharply at the queen who did not reply for a while until saying, "I have accepted your gifts and it is up to I if I so wish to wear the garments or not."
"Very well, I see," Gilgamesh said, letting out a sigh and shaking his head. "You're a stubborn woman, Queen Altria. Ideal for ruling, might I add."
The queen said nothing more. The banquet went on and was provided by the king's musicians. That night, everyone invited had received a taste of Gilgamesh's country and it was enjoyable. He had bestowed gifts to the nobles and to his wife's knights he gifted them each with a golden weapon. Each in their own thanked him and moved on. After the night was through and the guests went and traveled home, Gilgamesh took his wife aside and told her of his findings at the eastern docking post.
"The captain of my fleet may have found where the black fleet originates," Gilgamesh informed.
"Is it from the eastern lands?" Altria asked. Gilgamesh nodded. "He took a small vessel and sailed there himself. He informed me that they are building more ships and the number of their men abroad vary with each ship, depending on size. If they were to step foot aground, it may be hard to cut their numbers down."
"My knights and I have faced hordes of armies before. This land is well defended should we get the chance to march on land with weapons in hand," Altria assured. "But severing great deals of their numbers is very helpful. What do you suggest?"
"Since they seem to know about my fleet now, I'm not too sure if they'll attack me straight on. A fool would and so I assume they'll be looking for a way around. I'm going to return my ships to the south and let them destroy a few posts before they decide that it is time to come ashore. After they empty half of their vessels I will send my ships back and destroy their remaining crafts. I can trust you to take care of the ones already afoot?"
While Queen Altria didn't like the idea of losing more docking posts, nor having to evacuate the towns and villages along the coast, if it meant finally destroying the black fleet then she would gladly rebuild whatever damage was wrought. Looking to the king she nodded in agreement.
"We shall do as you plan, and don't worry . . . my knights and I shall have the rest of their army destroyed within a matter of minutes. It's time their terror on this isle ended."
"Is he certain this will work?" Gawain asked, looking toward his queen who had gathered her knights together to discuss their plan of action. Queen Altria closed her eyes for a moment before looking at her men with bright and determined green eyes. "It's all we have. I believe this will work and so I ask you to follow me into battle once more."
"There is no need to ask, Queen Altria," Lancelot spoke up. "We'll follow your regardless."
Altria smiled and thanked every one of her knights. "Now," she said. "Gather you men amongst yourself and choose the strongest. Have them await us at the appointed docking post. We shall be needing an army of knights for this."
"We will be ready within the week," Lancelot informed. "At your call we shall come."
"Very well." Altria then tightened her grip on the hilt of her sword and decided to speak her concern. "I have lost many a knight and we have lost many a friend to these heathens. I do not wish to lose anymore and I fear that my wish will go unheard by God. So I am asking, no," her grip was so tight on the hilt of her sword that you could literally hear the crunching of her steel gauntlets, "I am begging you to be wary on the battlefield so that your life is not lost. I treasure each of you as a dear brother and I know I am loved from your hearts." With that she smiled and shared a glance with Diarmuid who smiled just as softly back. "So, as your Queen demands it, do not lose your life upon this battlefield. I cannot accept any more deaths."
"My Queen!" All her knights shouted, falling to their knees and pounding their steel chests with their fists. She smiled once again at them all and prayed every second that God would hear her plea.
This was one of Queen Altria's main troubles . . . losing a knight. No other warrior could understand the feeling their rulers have when they lose that loyal servant, whether it be to a disease or to a mortal wound sustained in a battle. She felt as if a piece of her soul was being torn out and she didn't have much left with the remaining numbers of her knights.
Altria always has great confidence in her knights because she knew they were the best warriors in the land, but when faced with other warriors from distant lands, one could never be sure of their fighting customs, and with these barbarians she has heard their numbers are great and so she needed King Gilgamesh and his armies and ships to help them win this fight and set this land in peace once more.
Altria would gladly sacrifice her own internal peace for the outward peace of her land and people. She didn't ask for her people to agree with her decision, she just asked them to understand that she is their ruler and thus her word is the end.
The day they took up steed and would ride north was a solemn and quiet day. Altria came out to meet her men, armor coating her breast and arms and the sides of her hips. She mounted her horse and waited for her men to join her at the gate. One arrived first, Lancelot, sword strapped to his side and his long hair tied back for the helmet he then carried under his arm to rest upon.
"Good to see you this morning, Sir Lancelot," Altria said, looking at her knight who turned his horse in the same face as hers to wait for the others.
"Tis good to be beside my queen," Lancelot responded as he sat his helmet near the front of his saddle. "How long have you been waiting?"
"Not too long," Altria lied before watching another knight ride up. "Greetings, Sir Gawain." The man smiled and held up his armored arm before falling in line next to his queen and fellow knight.
"My Queen. Lancelot," the knight said, inclining his head toward the two. "I'm sure the other knights will be here soon. They've all prepared themselves for this battle last night."
So in silence they waited for the others, and sure enough the knights came, one by one until Altria was looking at her remaining knights. After scanning into each of their eyes for their readiness, she smiled and saw no doubt.
"Where is Sir Diarmuid?" Altria asked, turning back around to only find the street barren of any journeyers in so early the morning.
"We haven't seen him since last evening. We assumed he went to train as we all did," her knights replied.
"We have to leave soon to keep in time with King Gilgamesh's ships," Gawain stated. "He knows this. He shouldn't be late."
"He must come," another knight said. "It is disloyalty if he will not ride with us into battle."
"What do you wish to do, Queen Altria?" Lancelot asked, letting their ruler decide.
Altria remained quiet for a moment before looking up and watching the sun rise higher. "Let us be off." She said no more and just turned her horse to walk out onto the long road ahead. The rest of her knights silenced themselves and followed as well. A few left last glances toward their homes but nothing more, they followed their queen and headed north to meet up with their selected men each knight had chosen for this upcoming battle to fight alongside.
While journeying there Altria looked around toward the rolling hills of green and smiled. This was what she was fighting for, for the peaceful mornings and the soaring of the fowls in the sky and for the people, both young and old, both dead and not yet born. Even so, once they've defeated these heathens, Altria would have to give herself to the golden king and give the first fruit of her womb. It seemed like this was all easy—the clashing of swords and the thought of a possible death—compared to what she will have to deal with once this is all over.
"HEY!" Suddenly a loud cheer broke out and Altria, lifted from her thoughtful trance, raised her head and watched with late astonishment as her missing knight came riding up to their company, at first racing his horse around them and just as he had he looked toward them, a smile on his lips and then he held up his spear. More cheers of "HEY!" broke out and Altria found herself smiling.
The dark-haired knight slowed his horse to a trot and pulled up alongside Lancelot. The knight was staring at him, as were Altria and Gawain who were near him. "It took you long enough, Diarmuid."
"Didn't think I'd deserted did you?" He asked before turning toward his queen and offered a wink. "Wouldn't dream of doing that to the one I swore my life to."
The soft look in Altria's eyes and the gentle smile upon her lips was enough for Diarmuid to not regret arriving late. If only to see her smile like that forever, then he would be able to leave this life happy and fulfilled.
Turning his frame toward the road ahead and leaning his spear on his shoulder, Diarmuid asked, "You women ready to meet your maker?"
"We will not fall on the battlefield!" A few knights erupted in offense. "It'll be you who needs the healers after tripping over a stone!"
"No one shall fall this day!" Queen Altria called out, silencing the jesting quarrels of her knights. "Clear your heads of any jests or foolishness will ensnare you!"
Diarmuid's smile vanished and he knew his queen was right. Every time, right before a battle she would have them clear their heads because of how easy it was to lose oneself in thoughts other than on fighting their enemy. Many a knight had died previously because of this fault. So the rest of their ride remained in silence until they arrived at the shore where the battle would take place.
"My queen!" Altria's warriors called out as they ran up to her and the knights, taking their reins and allowing them to dismount. "King Gilgamesh has already arrived. His golden fleet is aligning the coast. You can see the vessels from affair."
It was true; you could see the small outlines of the ships, each slowly riding the waves of the sea and patrolling their appointed route. Closer now, on land, Altria could see the bright red tent of which Gilgamesh had erected. She motioned for two of her knights to follow, Lancelot and Diarmuid, and so she marched toward the tent and entered it.
Sure enough, the golden king was there, full body armor, surrounded by many of his men. He turned upon hearing the tent door open and smiled as he looked at the queen. "Queen Altria," he greeted with open arms, one goblet of wine in one hand. "Why, don't you look ready for battle."
"Have your ships seen any sign of the black fleet?" Altria immediately asked, knowing idle chitchat was for the worst. Gilgamesh let out a small chuckle before he turned to place his drink down. When he turned toward her again he was about to speak before he looked at her two knights standing tall behind her—honestly, the two tall men made her seem like a dwarf. "You have a guard now. No more private meetings between rulers?"
"A battle is about to commence, so nothing needs to remain hidden," Altria said. "And you certainly are not alone either." Altria spared an unpleasant look toward Gilgamesh's men behind him, all staring at her two knights like they were the scum of the earth. What gave them a right to think themselves so highly when their rank remained the same? Altria was annoyed by the looks but could speak nothing on them seeing how war was upon them and so she turned her gaze back toward Gilgamesh and awaited his answer.
"Very well," he said with a smile. "The black fleet is closing in and just as they do I shall have my ships engage them in battle, granted a fake battle. I shall make it look as if my fleet is losing—a few ships lost here and there should suffice . . ."
"You would sacrifice your own men for this victory?" Altria asked, her eyes wide with astonishment.
"One cannot save everyone in war, my dear wife," King Gilgamesh remarked while glancing back at the two knights who seemed displeased with how he addressed their queen. "A minor loss well worth the sacrifice. Once they chase us I will have my other fleet waiting further north come in and surround them. Then I will have them rip their ships apart, only leaving an opening to the shore. There I will trust you and your army to slaughter the rest of the pigs."
"Very well, I shall inform my men about the plan," Altria said, turning around and preparing to exit the tent.
"Be careful on the battlefield, Queen. I shall be in need of your assistance afterward," Gilgamesh reminded and drunk in the reactions he got from her knights, especially the younger one who turned and about swung his spear at him. The one named Lancelot had stopped him and held him back, and of course Altria said nor did anything. She simply continued her way and left with her men.
"Why must you put up with him?" Diarmuid asked his queen as they walked back toward their army. "It is clear he cares nothing for you!"
"I feel nothing for him as well, Diarmuid," Altria spoke, her voice low as she stopped some yards before their army's encampment. "I am simply upholding an alliance."
With that she marched forward. Lancelot and Diarmuid were about to follow, but the older knight took hold of the younger and spoke to him saying, "You cannot begin to understand the hardships of a ruler. None of us can so do not question her." With those words of wisdom, Lancelot caught up to their queen's heels and Diarmuid soon followed, keeping most of his thoughts to himself.
The entire day as they prepared for the upcoming battle it had seemed it may not even be today, but as a watcher came running up, declaring that Gilgamesh's fleet and the black fleet were seen in battle, Altria rallied her men and spoke a few words before the battle.
"As we speak our ally, King Gilgamesh, and his fleet are battling this ghost fleet that has threatened us with destruction for near a year. This black fleet has taken away many a life and made our lives still on earth one of darkness and dread. No more will our families and friends have to hide away in the hills. They can enjoy their homes once lost upon the shores. We will make this isle full of peace once more and that means from the rolling hills to the forests and to the shores.
"I, your Queen Altria, shall take up sword and fight alongside you, my brothers. And together we shall slay these demons and return their damned souls to Hell where they whence came! They shall fall under us, my warriors and be liken to a dream. Their memory upon this land shall fade and we, ourselves, will make it so!"
Her men raised their weapons and let out loud battle cries and as she turned around she watched as the fleet became encircled just as Gilgamesh had predicted. They were closing in on the shore and soon they would send forth their murders. Altria would have none of that and so with her men at her side she held her sword high.
"Let us meet these cursed beings with steel and armor. With shield and loud cries will we take their lives and free our land! My men, let me lead you to victory!"
With another shout, her men thrust their weapons toward the skies and asked the Lord above to bless their blades and their shields and their armor, that they may not fail them and that death's embrace come not near them. Altria's eyes focused in on the black figures exiting the ships and polluting her shores. With her sword against her chest she swung it low and then ran forward, her men, all brave and strong, following behind her with weapons held high.
The battle had started.
On and on, these crippled ships spewed forth countless of demons, even the ships already sunken had brought forth their rats that swam ashore to join their fellow brothers to clash blade with Altria's army. Their skill in battle was nothing to their skill at sea and so their fighting wasn't so stressed as she had believed, but their numbers were becoming overwhelming so much that the shore was blotched black and Altria had no choice but to force her men to fall back to higher ground.
"They just keep coming!" Diarmuid shouted out, swinging his spears around and managing to slice the necks neatly in half of two warriors before bringing them back to himself and smiting a third to the ground.
"Are you complaining?" Gawain asked, using his long sword to maim limbs off and let the screaming carcasses bleed themselves into the afterlife.
"Me? Never," Diarmuid answered while dunking low to dodge a narrow strike and thrust his short spear all the way through a warrior's gut.
The two knights had been the only knights caught so deeply into the enemy army and when Queen Altria called forth the order to fall back onto the higher ground, they had the hardest time to obey it. The two struggled against the enemies around them who seemed to understand that they were now the only two warriors fighting them in the black mass of soldiers. The two managed to fight their way closer toward the other, back against back so that no enemy might overwhelm them suddenly.
With a quick glance upward, Gawain noticed that their army had made it toward the hill and were now chopping down any enemy foolish enough to climb after them. "Well they can certainly handle themselves, but can we?"
In the midst of their fighting, they had not had the time to notice how the rest of their brothers in arms had seen their struggle, and their queen . . . the moment the woman looked down and saw two of her knights still battling on shore, in distress that their lives would be taken from them soon, she forgot about her strategies and immediately ran forth, down the hill, swinging her sword and trampling over anyone who came against her. Beside her she saw the form of Lancelot and a few other knights who took up weapon and followed their queen down into the swarm to save the two knights down in the lion's den.
No words were spoken nor any orders given as to what to do or where to strike in order to free the two, it was a simple blind attack to rescue their comrades. It was reckless beyond belief, but the want of saving was so strong in Queen Altria that she and her men seemed to be given strength from the host of Angels. For a woman, she was one of the strongest warriors on that battlefield if not the most deadly. The way she struck down the enemy and in such a number was thought near impossible for someone of her gender.
"It's Queen Altria!" Gawain called out, both knights turned to see a straight line being cut by their queen and fellow knights in an attempt to save them.
Diarmuid nodded toward Gawain. "Let's make this a two sided effort." In equal agreement the two took up their weapons and brought them down at the same time in one direction. After that they turned in duel time and struck those coming in from behind and to the side and then they repeated their attack plan. This helped them work their way to their queen and fellow knights. When she was in sight they detached themselves from the safety of the other's back.
Gawain slew a man and as the warrior fell to his feet, the knight smiled as he could reach out and physically touch his queen's small but strong hand. With her smiling back at him with so much pride in her knights, she pulled the knight forward and jerked him behind her into the circle the other knights that followed her into this blind attack had made. When she reached for Diarmuid, a black soldier brought down a knife and embedded it into the steel of her gauntlet so hard that it fell off, cutting her wrist and severing a tendon.
Altria gasped out and dropped her sword once the injury was inflicted. Lancelot, by her side, was quick to pull the woman back and force her behind him as he fought off the soldiers and slew the one who harmed his queen. Diarmuid only seemed to get pushed away deeper into the pit he had recently fought his way out of, but once he saw how red stained his queen's sleeve was he was enraged. The sight of her blood spilled set his spirit afire and he swung his spears around to clear a path for himself before he brought down his blade upon three at once. Their bodies fell against the other and he climbed atop their fallen frames and leapt high into the air, coming down upon five warriors who were currently overpowering Lancelot, the knight himself had already received a blow to the head and his stance was staggering.
As Diarmuid fell upon the five and pressed them down with his weight, he was successful in crushing two of their skulls against rocks underfoot. As he stood up his griped his spear, swung it around and stabbed a soldier bringing his sword down upon him, the other fell before any harm was inflicted upon Diarmuid. Lancelot looked down at him and offered him a hand but his balanced feigned and he fell backwards.
Queen Altria was quick to catch her falling knight, Lancelot fell into her arms and she struggled to help him down without falling completely under his full weight. The moment his body touched ground she looked up at Diarmuid who looked on in great concern. He held out his hand to the knight and Lancelot reached out to take his hand and be lifted from his queen's embrace.
Altria's mind stopped working all together once something hot struck her in the face. She hadn't even had time to comprehend that it had sprayed all over her face and armor. Her wide green eyes stared on horrified as Diarmuid stood before her with a blade sticking out of his abdomen.
Diarmuid himself looked shocked, his hand, once outstretched to help Lancelot up now retracted and pressed against the blade as if unsure of how it got there. Everything seemed so strange as Altria stared up at Diarmuid and time seemed to slow and the enemies around just seemed as if they weren't there. Of course this moment of realization didn't last long once another blade appeared, this time in Diarmuid's torso.
The knight's eyes widened in shock once the pain shot through his body. He coughed once and blood spewed out as he fell forward.
"DIARMUID!" Altria cried out. Cold fast fear struck her and her joints moved as if by some outer body power pressed her forward. She had moved herself from under Lancelot, taken up her sword in her right unwounded hand, and jumped forward striking down the ones who had planted their blades into her first knight. The queen was in such a rage that she hadn't known the warriors around her had begun falling away in fear of her raging spirit.
But as they fled from her face and sought to climb uphill, the blonde chased them, carrying her sword with one hand. She had never ran so fast in her life, nor had she ever fought while holding her sword with one arm. Her adrenaline peaked its highest this moment and in that moment she had struck down so many enemy warriors that none could count.
So focused on killing any of the black warriors she had not taken the time to see her army charging down from the hills once more and forcing the enemy back into the waters to drown or be skewered. Instead she froze and stood there, the aches of her body catching up with her and soon, the weight of her sword became too much and she dropped it to the bloodstained sand. Her breaths became ragged and her wound upon her arm began to throb and sting.
She turned once her mind remembered the fallen and saw that behind her was her circle of knights, free of the enemies surrounding them before but the circle remained as they crowded around a fallen brother.
"Diarmuid," Altria whispered, before her aching legs began to run faster and faster until she thrust herself through the circle of knights just in time to watch the dark-haired knight spit up more blood onto the breastplate of his armor. Lancelot was holding the younger knight and wiping the blood and dirt off of the man's face. Queen Altria approached them softly, and quietly, unsure of how to assess the situation. She whispered the knight's name once more before her eyes began to sting unbearably. She closed her eyes and then tossed herself beside the fallen knight in a desperate cry of his name. "Diarmuid!"
"My queen," Lancelot spoke, looking at her with eyes full of hurt and hope lost. Bowing his head he looked down at the wound he was holding onto. Altria looked down and in amazement saw all the hands of those surrounding upon the two wounds Diarmuid had received. Each knight around had placed a hand on the man and those that couldn't reach simply touched one who could. Each of their faces held the concern of a loved one and Altria knew he was just as special to them as he was to her.
Diarmuid was her first knight and became a short term mentor to those following knights, no matter their age. Altria couldn't lose him. She couldn't.
"Lift him," Altria ordered, standing to her feet and looking atop the hill. "Carry him to camp and send him to the healers."
In that moment, her knights hesitated on her orders. She hadn't understood why and when she looked down at the sand underneath her metal clad feet she noticed how darkening it was becoming. A crimson in color and that color was coming from Diarmuid.
"We won't make it in time," Lancelot explained. The other knights, though not wanting to lose their longtime friend, knew this as well and remained their hands upon him. "Place your hand upon him, Altria . . . do it."
"No," Altria denied, shaking her head in defiance. "Lift him and take him to the healers!"
"Place your hand upon him!" Lancelot ordered the shaken girl. Altria froze and looked her knight in the eye. His eyes were worn and full of bitterness and sorrow. She closed her eyes and then came closer, dropping to her knees and reaching out to the knight. With her right hand she would have touched him, but instead she pulled her armor covered hand back and brought up her injured bare hand.
Her twitching fingers touched the dirty cheek of the knight, her skin, though marred, could feel the texture of the man's face she was touching and she leaned in close, watching and shaking as she watched blood fall down past Diarmuid's eyelids.
"No, no Diarmuid," Altria wept. "We've got to get you to the healers."
"He can't hear us anymore," Lancelot said, his voice trembling as he held the bleeding body in his arms. "He lost consciousness while the army drove the enemy back into the sea."
Queen Altria bit her bottom lip and looked back at Diarmuid. Such a handsome face he always had and he always wore it well, no matter the situation; in the battlefield, when he courts a lovely lady, when he was in his queen's presence. He couldn't leave this world right now, it was too soon.
"That was quite foolish of you, young Queen; to go running off aimlessly into battle. What, to rescue two mere knights?" The mere presence of King Gilgamesh had been so sickening that Altria felt a faint. Lancelot and the other knights forced themselves to keep their hands upon Diarmuid less they should reach for their weapons and end this king's life.
"Oh?" King Gilgamesh peered through the circle of knights and saw that one of the knights had fallen; this particular knight had been close to his wife Queen. He had seen him at her side often. "I suppose you only managed to save one."
"Shut your mouth!" Gawain couldn't take it and so rose to his feet, his eyes red with tears and his fists balled into shaking fists as he stared down the golden king. Gilgamesh merely waved off the knight who dared order him and walked toward Queen Altria. He stood behind her and watched her closely, especially how she touched this knight.
"Has he gone from this world yet?" Gilgamesh inquired, not the least concerned for this young valiant warrior's life.
"His name is Diarmuid Ua Duibhne, the first knight of my kingdom," Queen Altria spoke, her voice trembling along with her limbs. "He was the first man to acknowledge my sovereignty and the first to count me as a challengeable warrior. He never dismissed my gender or cursed my birth, but served me faithfully even into my marriage with a king he so despised." Altria turned toward Gilgamesh, surprising the king by the show of emotion all over her face. Her green eyes were full of sorrow and her tears fell like waterfalls, she couldn't stop crying. Her teeth were clenched tight, to keep the wails from escaping her shaking voice. "Your presence is not needed here at this time, King Gilgamesh."
"I am a king," Gilgamesh informed. "None commands me but God."
Altria's small body shook and the more it did, the more her tears fell. The moment she released a wail she pressed her hands against her face and tried her best to cover herself and muffle her sobs from the sight of this golden king. Gilgamesh did not turn from her though, he just watched her, almost as if he were enjoying this side of her.
Turning his head back toward his men who followed him he smiled down at Altria, his eyes glancing at the dying Knight before saying, "I have personal healers that stay by my side during battle—"
At the sound of that, Altria looked up at Gilgamesh, her tears stopping for a moment before she leaned forward, pressing her fingers into the bloodied sand. "Please! I beg of you, King Gilgamesh, that you let them attend my knight's wounds!"
Gilgamesh smiled sadly and shook his head. "Alas, they are my healers and sworn only to attend my injuries."
"Please, I cannot lose him!" Altria begged once more, something so uncommon for her as a queen.
Gilgamesh looked at his two healers who remained where they stood. When he looked back at Queen Altria she had remained where she sat, practically bowing, clenching her teeth and trying her hardest to keep those little tears of hers from falling out. He watched as she bowed her head and let a shadow cast over her face. Now it truly looked as if she were bowing to him.
"I'll give you my kingdom!"
"My Queen!" Gawain gasped out, along with a few other knights whose eyes widened so large that it looked as if they were about to run up to their queen and pull here away so that she may not exclaim such a thing.
King Gilgamesh stood there in silence, watching for any sign that this Queen Altria would take back the words of which she had spoken. Her body shook more violently, but she remained still where she sat, head practically pressing into the sand. Her voice shaking and sobbing.
"Please!"
Gilgamesh let a smile turn his lips and with a jerk of his head, his two healers walked over to the circle of knights. They waved their hands at them to depart, but most of the knights were reluctant to let go of Diarmuid. Queen Altria had turned and watched the healers attempt to come close to Diarmuid and when the knights finally moved away and Lancelot placed him upon the ground the two unfolded their packets of which they carried and immediately began rubbing Diarmuid's wounds with ointments before moving on to seal them.
Gilgamesh went to turn and leave with the rest of his men, back to his tent, but Altria reached forth and took hold of the gold king's scarlet sash.
"Until your death shall you reign over this kingdom," Altria added. "Afterwards, this land and people shall suffer no more of your bloodline. Thus I swear this kingdom to you and thus must you swear this."
"Very well," Gilgamesh said as he turned and knelt down toward the queen stained in filth. He took a hold of her chin in his fingers and forced her eyes to look upon his. "But two heirs instead will you bear. The firstborn will be mine and the second born you may have to do with as you wish and claim as yours."
With that he let go of Altria and stood, wiping his hand of the grime from when he touched the queen. Turning around he motioned for his men to follow him as he returned to the tent. Altria just sat there, weeping bitterly and when she turned toward the healers attending Diarmuid she clasped her hands together and bowed her head once more.
"Lord of Heaven and commander of Angels, do not take my knight from me. This I pray. This I pray."
With her eyes closed, she had not seen her knights join her in prayer, in fact she hadn't seen much with her eyes closed and that was fine with her because she knew that when she opened them the world would be different and she . . . Altria Pendragon, would no longer be Queen of Britain.