After hiding away behind the bar for several minutes in an attempt to compose myself, I wiped the stray tears off my cheeks and rose, willing myself not to look at their table. I straightened my dress and patted it trying to get some of the dust off. Then I tightened the bandage on my injured hand and picked up a pitcher of ale before going back to work.
After several more hours of drunken men, ale and badgering knights I was finally able to leave the Tavern. I grabbed my cloak from the behind the bar and walked out of the tavern towards home. I was only a few steps away from the noisy crowd when I heard my name being called. "Lady Lena?" I paused and turned to see who had called my name; the voice was foreign and I did not recognize it. It was the fair knight with the long hair. The only one that hadn't badgered me; indeed he hadn't even talked to me, just watched me with his intense blue eyes, nearly the entire night.
I was fixed to the spot.
"Can I help you sir?" I froze as he began to walk towards me. He stopped within a foot of where I stood and looked into my eyes before answering.
"Yes. I had to tell you something but before we could speak you disappeared. Then once you reappeared you managed to avoid my companions and my table. Now will you please not disappear or ignore me?" He smiled and looked at me for a retort. My breath was caught in my throat. I bet he had never been reprimanded by someone as low ranking as myself. I felt my insides grow cold as I slowly turned to walk away from the situation, which was completely the wrong thing to do
"Wait, where are you going?" I felt a hand on my arm turn me around to face him.
We stared each other down for what felt like hours. My green eyes were no match for his deep blue eyes. Finally after a few deep breaths of the cool night air, I answered without looking the knight in the eye.
"What do you feel so compelled to tell me? It has to be something of importance if I cannot leave 'till you're done." I finally glared up at him.
"I was going to tell you that you cannot judge a group of completely different men by the rumors you have heard from second hand accounts. You expect them to be true. Not everything spoke in true in this forsaken fort. Not every knight in that tavern is a womanizing pig as you put it." He stared at me, his eyes boring into me made me want to squirm on the spot.
"I am sorry if I offended you… sir?" I stumbled when I realized that I didn't even know his name. I just stood, on the brink of tears. No, I cannot cry, scorning myself I blinked away tears
.
"Gawain" He replied curtly.
"Well Sir Gawain, I am truly sorry. Yet, you don't know how your and some of your friends treat woman and myself for the most part. We are not merely pieces of meat to be had, nor are we just something to have for one night and then to be thrown away the next day. Yet thank you for pointing out my flaw in what I said, I will make sure to name the guilty and leave the innocent nameless. Have a pleasant evening Sir." And For the second time that evening, my arm was grabbed and I had to once again face the man I was arguing with. "What do you want now? I truly just want to go back to my home and sleep. I am not trying to be rude, or disrespect you but I haven't worked that hard in a long time, actually ever. My hand is in need of stitches and I just want to leave so make this quick. Please." I was practically begging by the end of my whiny speech. I looked up at the handsome knight, holding back the tears that were pooling in my eyes.
"Let me see your hand." I pulled it away from his grasp - there was no way that I was going to let him see my injury in this life or the next. "I am not going to hurt you, I give you my word as a knight." I held back a whimper as I knew he was telling the truth.
Yet I studied his eyes and then slowly showed him my hurt hand. He lightly held it as he pulled away the cloth I had wrapped around it to slow the bleeding. He slowly started to pull the cloth from the gash.
"Why did you not get this looked at right away? You need stitches." With that he grabbed my good hand and led me back to the Tavern. He pulled me through the throng of people until I stood in front of a colossal man. My eyes widened as I took in his whole form.
"Dag, I have a favor to ask of you." Gawain said to the giant. With hearing that I began to grow light headed. I could see the fresh blood flowing from my palm. "Are you feeling well?" the blond knight asked me worriedly. I looked up at both Gawain and Dagonet as the room began to spin. I suddenly felt my knees buckle as everything went black.
My eyes fluttered open as I felt my hand searing in pain. I shot up from my sleeping position, only to nearly fall flat down again. My head felt as though it wasn't connected to my body.
"Whoa little one, rest. I have only just begun stitching; it will be done in a moment." I looked up to see the massive pulling a needle and thread through the palm of my hand. My stomach rolled at the sight and I thought I was going to be sick.
"I find it easier not to look at the wound while he's working." I looked over to see Gawain perched next to me on a stool holding my uninjured hand. I sat there and shook like a leaf in a terrible storm, trying to hold back cries of pain while Dagonet stitched my hand.
After an eternity of wincing and writhing in pain, the silent knight finally finished the last stitch. I let out a breath of relief as he cleaned the wound another time and bound it with cloth.
"Well thank you both, I really appreciate the hospitality and healing of sorts. Now I really must be gone." I turned to exit out of the infirmary and tried to casually walk and not run from the uncomfortable silence.
I took a large breath of the soothing night air as I began my way back home. I wasn't watching where I was going while my feet led me down a familiar path. I stopped suddenly in front of Tyne's house, letting out a quiet laugh I made my way around her house to the small window next to her room.
I looked around for my usual barrel to climb upon. "Tyne!" I whispered as I found my barrel and began to pull myself upon it. I gingerly used my right hand, not wanting to tear the stitches, and looked in the window, spying my friend's slumbering form. "Tyne for the love of the gods, you sleep as though you haven't slept in a fortnight. Get up." With my final rant I had thrown myself through the window and onto her bed, where she sat up in alarm.
"Bloody hell! Tyne, why did you make me climb all the way up and through you window?" The look on Tyne's face made me burst in to a fit of giggles. Tyne just rolled her eyes and climbed across the bed over to where I was perched.
"What made you come here? I heard you collapsed at the Tavern and Gawain took you to Dagonet to stitch your gash of some sort?" She looked enthralled. I wanted to question how she knew all the names of the knights, but there were other, more urgent things on my mind. I just waved my bandaged hand in front of her face before explaining my reasons for being here.
"That is the exact purpose that I am here, now get dressed; we need to go for a walk." I said as I pushed her off the bed and towards her dress that was laid across the chair.
"A walk? It's cold and what if we run into a Roman or a Knight? Neither would have good out comes Lena!" This time it was my turn to roll my eyes.
"Tyne we have nothing to worry about, we have been out this late hundreds of times, and none of them can match you with your bow. So we could always just threaten them with my wit and charm and you with your bow and then run." I began to laugh at my own joke, as did Tyne, lacing up her dress and grabbing her cloak.
"You will be the death of us; I thought I would let you know that now." Tyne warned as we made our way as quietly as possible towards the door. Once outside, Tyne did not ask where we were going, we both just let our feet take us wherever they wanted.
"You cannot be truly serious? Lena, that is mad! He didn't just come up to you outside the Tavern." Tyne's eyes were wild and yet she was so funny sometimes. "Wait, Lena what are you doing at work tomorrow? Are you frightened or embarrassed?"
"I am going to serve ale and be merry tomorrow and ignore any of the jests that come my way. I am of course embarrassed, but it won't stop me from holding my head high." I said as I lay back in the grass outside of the village. This had always been our spot since we were children. This field was our favorite place to hide at when the world wanted us. I looked at Tyne I leaning against the solid oak tree as she contemplated what I had said.
Yet I was content just laying on the solid grassy ground as I gazed at the abundance of brilliant stars in the clear sky.
"Tyne?" She hummed to show she was listening. "Have you ever seen this many stars?" She just smiled and shook her head as she went on trying to defuse the situation. " I think it's a good sign, I really do. I think the gods wouldn't have spent so much time painting the sky so beautifully if they weren't going to make an even more glorious sunrise." It was my turn to smile this time as I leaned on my elbows to face Tyne once again.
"Lena, you know that most of the men bed all of the bar maids." My smile slowly turned into a glare at Tyne and I closed my eyes. "Don't look at me like that; you know it is completely true. So just to be safe from rumors lets just keep our conversations quiet about womanizing pigs." I looked fiercely at Tyne as she gave loud snigger, which lead into a fit of laughter.
"I still can't believe Gawain was offended by your statement." Tyne spoke as she tried to even her breathing.
"How do you know the knights Tyne?" I questioned.
"Unlike you and Liam, I had to spend some of my time in the confines of the village. I couldn't spend the entire days of my youth with you and your brother."I sighed I missed the days when my brother had taught us how to shoot bows, showed us which plants were good for healing and how to riding horses. My heart ached thinking about those times.
"I still miss him every day." I wiped a stray tear from my eye, thinking about all of the good times they had, had growing up.
"I know, I miss him as well. But Lena, you cannot always blame yourself for what happened to him. It was an accident and nothing more. Just remember nobody holds it against you what so ever. Anyways, we shall see him again in the next life… Oh for the gods sakes, the sun is coming up. We have to get back to the village before everyone is up." Tyne stood and began to walk away. I just sat there for a moment knowing Tyne was right about the situation and to not linger on the past.
"Tyne, your mother is clearly already awake, so let's just stay here and watch the sun come up. Then we'll make our way back to the village. I swear." With that I stood up and walked away from the tree we were under and out on the hill to watch the glorious sun rise up into the clear sky.
"You were right." Tyne whispered not wanting to ruin the moment of the suns rising.
"What was I right about?" I questioned.
"The suns' rising is more beautiful than the stars of the night." I smiled brightly knowing that today would be a good day.
