Dani looked up at the enormous castle that lay before her. So this is where my big sister lives. It's nice and I like it. She rode up to the gate on her horse and suddenly heard a voice from somewhere shouting at her. "HALT! Who goes there?" asked the voice. Dani looked up to see a man staring at her from the castle wall. Today she really didn't feel like dealing with the formality of names. So, she called back, "First tell me yours and I will tell you mine." The man seemed taken back by her response. It was as if no one had ever asked him that question before. A moment later, he had recomposed himself and called down to her, "Lancelot. Lancelot is my name. What is yours, pray tell?" There were several more moments of silence. Finally, she shouted to him, "Dani. I'm Guinevere's younger sister. I've been invited here to live with her and Arthur. Can you please let the gate down now? I'd like to get in and see my sister."
She seemed harmless enough, so Lancelot let the gate down. Dani rode in and halted her horse. Lancelot climbed down from his post to greet the girl. "Is there a place where I can keep my horse?" she asked him. "Of course, allow me to show you where the stables are," he said politely. They walked towards the stables in silence. Once they reached the stables, she tethered her horse and gave it water and food. After her horse had been taken care of, Dani turned to Lancelot and said, "Thank you for showing me. I appreciate it. Now, where would my dear sister be?" Lancelot grinned at Dani and replied, "She's probably in the Dining Hall with Arthur. Follow me and I will take you there."
Again he escorted her in silence to the Dining Hall. When they reached the Hall, they heard sounds of laughter and merriment. "This is where I leave you, my lady. Just go through those doors." He bowed politely and left. Dani nodded at him in appreciation and then turned to the doors. She pushed them open. Everyone in the room stopped conversing to stare at her. There was an awkward silence before Tristan asked, "Who are you, my lady?" Guinevere stood up and ran over to her, turning towards the other knights and replied, "This is my younger sister, Dani. She is going to live here now with me. I needed someone to talk with, so Arthur permitted me to invite her here. I want each of you to be nice to her and I expect it."
Dani followed Guinevere to a seat by her. At first she felt awkward in this crowd of knights, but soon adjusted to a comfortable level of conversation. When she spoke for the first time, Galahad looked directly at her and said, "Whoa, wait a minute. You speak English? I thought you were a Woad." Dani stared at him for a moment before cracking a smile, "I'm not an idiot, I know how to speak English. Woadish is the language of my people, but I also learned English from Guinevere when I was young. You cannot judge people by their outward appearances, or their nationality. Many cultures teach their children how to speak many different languages. Mine is one of them."
The group continued on with their dinner and conversations until they were either too drunk to talk or too full to move. Bors and Venora excused themselves from the table and set out to put their many children to bed. Soon to be followed by Tristan, Galahad, and Gawain going off to their own chambers. Arthur excused himself as well, leaving only Dani and Guinevere. Guinevere was so excited to finally have her sister to talk to. She had not seen her in almost two years. They left the Dining Hall to go to a more comfortable room to talk in.
They found a small sitting room with several plush chairs by a fireplace. The perfect spot for two sisters to catch up on their lives. Dani and Guinevere were especially close because their mother died in childbirth with Dani, so Guinevere practically raised her. Dani didn't know what she would have done without Guinevere there to keep her out of trouble and teach her about life.
"So, little sister, what is new?" Guinevere asked. "Well, until you sent the letter requesting I come here, father was thinking it was time for me to marry. He would say to me daily, 'Dani, why haven't you married someone like your sister has?' or he'd badger me with some other news of you marriage. It was growing quite tiresome," Dani replied, rolling her eyes at her father's comments. Guinevere laughed and said, "He's like that, you know. When I turned eighteen, he would say, 'You'd better marry soon, Guinevere, before you're too old.' It was like he was saying I had an expiration date or something." Dani and Guinevere giggled at the thought of their father's antics.
Dani and Guinevere continued talking well into the night. When they realized how late it was, Guinevere said, "Well I had better get going. Arthur will wonder where I am. I'd better get back to him. Good night Dani." As she got up to leave, Dani grabbed her hand. She said, "Wait, I have one more question." Guinevere turned to her and replied, "Yes." Dani asked, "Why was that knight Lancelot on the wall and not in the Dining Hall with the rest of you? Is he an outcast?"
"Well, Lancelot doesn't feel as if he belongs. Since the war with the Saxons he's been that way. He stays up on the wall most of the time. His room is up there. Don't bother him too much." Guinevere said, "Good night Dani, sleep well. Your room is right through that door."
"Good night Guinevere and thank you for letting me stay here." Dani replied. Guinevere closed the door and Dani walked through the other door to her room. I wonder, Dani thought, does Lancelot just need a friend? Maybe something more than a friend? Who knows? I guess I will find out tomorrow when I'm fully rested.
A/N: There's chapter two. Like it, let me know. If not, let me know too. Suggestions welcome as well. Thanks!