Disclaimer: I don't own anything that belongs to the King Arthur movie.
A/N: So here is the next chapter. Thank you so much to the few who have reviewed. Hopefully you'll like the next chapter here. Please read and review! I would be greatly appreciated!!!
I woke up to my phone ringing. It was still dark out. It scared the shit out of me and when I went to reach for it I knocked it off the nightstand and it slid away from me. My only thought was making it shut up and why Carol would be calling me in the middle of the night. I tried getting out of bed, pulling on the covers. Ludo was weighing them down so much that I got stuck and fell out of bed instead. I finally managed to crawl to the phone, whipping it open.
"Hello?" I said groggily.
"Do you know what would be nice?"
"Tristan…?" I said, hearing the male voice.
"You going to answer me?" He asked.
"What the hell are you talking about?" I said angrily.
"Were you sleeping?"
"I'm going to kill you." I told him.
"We really need to work on your people skills."
I sighed and hung up the phone. I got off of the floor and put the phone back on the nightstand before crawling into bed again. I was nearly asleep when the phone rang again. I ignored the call and turned away from the phone only to have it go off again.
"What?" I asked answering it again.
"I asked you if you knew what would be nice." He stated.
"I don't give a fuck." I told him angrily. "I just want to get some sleep."
"Don't sleep well do you?" He asked.
"When you see your loved ones die in your dreams you don't like shutting your eyes." I told him. There was silence. "I'm kidding." I told him.
"No you're not." He replied.
"What do you want?" I asked slowly, my hand over my eyes.
"Let me come out tomorrow." He told me.
"There's no point." I replied.
"Why?"
"Because I don't want to see you."
"Yes you do."
"You just want to use me to get information about your lineage. I'm not an encyclopedia."
"You know that's not true." He told me.
"I don't care if it is or isn't. I just want to be left alone." I replied.
"You're never alone." He said sweetly.
"Don't take that tone with me." I said sharply.
"What tone? Sounding nice?"
"I'm hanging up now." I told him.
"See you tomorrow." He replied.
"Don't you dare. I'll sic Ludo on you."
He laughed. "Some threat that is."
"If I really wanted him to he'd do it." I stated knowing that it was an empty threat.
He laughed again. I couldn't help but feel my heart sore. "Please Paige. Just say yes."
"I'm hanging up now." I smiled and hung up the phone. It didn't ring again and I turned onto my side and shut my eyes. I couldn't help but smile. "You work in mysterious ways." I said looking at the stars outside my window. "I hope you're happy lover." I smiled wider and curled up next to Ludo, quickly falling asleep.
When I woke up the sun was high and the winter birds were singing outside my window. I smiled and looked at the clock. It was nearly ten. I hadn't slept that long for a very long time. I was shocked and for a moment felt like I was late for something. It lasted only a moment before I relaxed into my pillow. I smiled, feeling refreshed, and hugged Ludo. He gave me a quick lick before pulling away from me and heading to the door. I knew what he wanted. My morning for relaxing in bed was done and I got up, grabbing a hoodie before going downstairs. I smelled the coffee and opened the front door for Ludo. I closed it behind him and went to the kitchen. After making myself a mug full I bundled up and went outside. Ludo was doing his usual inspection of the property before following me to the barn. I fed the boys and mucked the stalls before sitting on a hay bale, enjoying my coffee. Ludo was sitting next to me. I was enjoying the winter air when Ludo's ears perked and he got down from the bale and stood in the barn entrance. I frowned and got down, stepping next to him. Tristan's truck had pulled up to the house. He got out and smiled at me. He was several yards away. He moved to the back door and opened it to have four dogs come tumbling out of it. They all wiggled around him, happy to be free of their confinement. He gave them some kind of command and they all sat at his sides. I couldn't help but smile at the canines. I'd always had a soft spot for animals. I guess I could chalk on a few more points on the pros list for Tristan. I also couldn't overlook the coincidence that with Ludo that would make five dogs. I walked up to him, Ludo glued to my side.
"Hi." He said sweetly, smiling.
"Hi." I smiled back. "Who do we have here?" I asked looking at the dogs.
"The Doberman Pincher is Obi-Wan, and yes, his name came from Star Wars. I call him Obi for short. The wirehaired mix is Ripley, the Black Lab is Samson, the oldest of the bunch, and the little spaniel thing is Macy, the baby. She's the apple of her daddy's eye." He grinned at me.
I grinned back and bent down. He released them and they all came over for a sniff. I stroked them each in turn. Macy crawled up onto my bent knees and licked my face. I laughed and pet her as the others tried to draw my attention to them.
"I can see why she's your favorite." I smiled as I stood up with Macy in my arms. She leaned against me, her tail just a wagging. Her soft fur sliding through my hands.
"She's a sweetie." He smiled at me.
Ludo leaned against me as the other dogs surrounded him. He growled and snapped at Obi. "Hey." I said and moved his head away from the Doberman. "It's okay baby." I said and put Macy down. Tristan called the dogs back over to him. "It's okay." I said and stroked Ludo. Samson walked up to him and smelled him over. Ludo did the same before his tail gave a few thumps on the ground. "I think that's the best you're going to get." I told the black dog.
"Come on Sam." Tristan said calling that dog back to him.
"Should I even bother asking what you're doing here?" I asked him.
"I'm here to get to know you." He replied.
"And what if I don't want to get to know you?" I asked him.
"I'd say we've already taken a step forward." He smiled.
"What makes you say that?" I asked him with a raised brow.
"You haven't yelled at me yet." He grinned.
I gave a short laugh and shook my head. "The day is young." I told him. My attention went to his dogs again. They were good looking and sweet tempered. "What is your last name Tristan?" I asked him, realizing that I didn't know.
"Branas." He replied.
"Okay, Tristan Branas, have a good day." I grinned at him.
"Oh come on…" Tristan said frowning at me. "Just let me stay."
"And your contributions would be…?" I asked.
"What are you doing out here?" He asked.
"Enjoying a cup of coffee before tending to my boys." I told him. He just looked at me with a smile on his face. I thought a moment before sighing. "If you'd like to help out you can." I told him, though the words were slightly forced.
"Who are the 'the boys'?" He asked.
"Horses." I told him.
"I'll pass." He replied.
I was shocked. "Really?" I said crossing my arms. "Than I guess there is no reason for you to stick around."
"How long do you think you'll be?" He asked.
I smiled. "You won't help but you want to stick around? Now why would I agree to that? If you want to stay you have to get your hands dirty." I replied.
"And if it weren't horses I'd say yes but…" He said and trailed off.
"You're afraid of horses?" I grinned at him. I couldn't help but laugh. "Mister I'm an expert in Roman Knights' but am afraid of horses?"
He got a little defensive. "Hey, I am a book kinda guy. I don't need to like huge things that could kill me." He frowned.
"I'm sorry. Calm down." I told him. "Can you use a bow? A sword?" I asked him.
He shook his head. "I've studied books on the subject but haven't done any."
"I'm shocked." I told him. "I assumed that with your lineage and your area of expertise you'd want to be proficient in all their ways."
"I didn't grow up in a village or on a farm. I grew up in the middle of a big city with only a small dog and a lot of fish." He said looking down on himself.
"Don't make it sound like that." I told him, walking up to him. "I didn't mean anything by it." I said and took his fingers in my hand. It was done unconsciously and as soon as his fingers moved around mine I cleared my throat and moved away from him. "I'll tell you what. You can pick my brain for as long as you want on one condition." I told him.
"Anything." He smiled.
"You let me help you overcome your fear of horses." His face drained of color and he just looked at me. After a moment he shook his head. "I promise that nothing will happen to you." I told him. "I know what I'm doing." He still didn't say anything. "Please?" I said and made the best pouty face I could.
He frowned at me before he sighed, "All right."
"Thank you." I smiled. "Come on." I said and walked into the barn. The dogs all went off and started to check out the lay of the land, Ludo among them.
I smiled at him as I walked up to Diesel's stall. He was the nicer of the two bothers and I figured he would be the best to start with. When I looked at Tristan he had a blank expression. I frowned at him and looked back at Diesel. I realized my mistake and thinking that a draft horse would cure him of his fear of horses. I put my hand out toward the horse and he put his nose in my hand and blew. I smiled and stroked his forehead. I took Tristan's hand in mine and gave it a squeeze. I put his hand on top of the stall door and Diesel immediately moved forward to smell him. We were standing close enough to each other that I could feel him tense when the horse moved toward him. I smiled at him and turned his over, palm up. Tristan looked at me and I smiled and put my palm over his. He took a deep breath. I moved my hand under his and flattened his fingers out. Diesel put his nose over Tristan's hand and he smelled it over, licking it briefly before turning back to me. He put his nose against my face and I rubbed it.
"See, not so bad." I smiled at Tristan. He had taken a few steps away. "Are you okay?"
"I'm good." He told me.
I smiled at him. "You did a good job. If you want to wait for me in the house you can. I still need to muck the stalls and that means that I'll be letting them out."
"I'll stay." He told me. I raised a brow and looked at him. "I'll be okay."
"Okay, just stay calm then." I told him. He nodded.
I turned to Diesel's stall and opened the door. He came out and trotted right up to Tristan. I saw him flinch and he froze. I could almost see him shaking from the effort to not move. I opened Mathias's stall and whistled for Diesel. He turned toward me and I walked to the doors leading to the pasture. They nudged me and when I opened the door they smelled the snow before racing out into the field. I smiled and inhaled the fresh air. I turned and smiled at Tristan before grabbing my wheelbarrow and fork and started to muck the stalls. As I worked, Tristan watched and on more than one occasion the horses returned to see what was going on. Tristan's presence was unusual and they were curious. He was a good sport and only spooked Mathias once, leading to only one interference. I forced both horses out of the barn and finished as fast as I could. When I was done I closed the doors and called Ludo to me. Tristan did the same and they followed us into the house. We hung up our coats and Tristan followed me into the kitchen.
"Here…" I said handing him a cup of coffee.
"Thank you." He said grabbing a spoon and adding cream and sugar.
I smiled and watched him. A need rose up inside of me and I had to look away. I made my own cup and sat at the table. I rested my head on my hand and he sat across from me. I smiled at him and he smiled back, his eyes shinning. It was familiar and I looked into my cup.
"Have I earned any brain-picking time?" He asked.
"Very little but go on, tell me what's on your mind." I smiled.
He smiled and looked at his coffee. "Do you wanna have dinner with me?" He asked.
"That came out of no where." I stated, my smile gone.
"Well?" He asked.
"Tristan…" I said standing up. I walked to the sink and looked out the window. I turned back to the table. He was watching me. "Don't ask me things like that." I told him.
"Why not?" He asked standing. "Things have been moving forward. The next step is dinner."
"Things haven't been moving forward because there is nothing to move. We're not together in any way. We're hardly friends." I told him.
"Why do you do that?" He asked. "Why do you always push me away?"
"This is too hard." I told him.
"What is too hard?" He said just under a yell.
"Please…I need you to leave."
"I'm not going anywhere." He told me stepping up to me.
"Please…" I pleaded, tears coming to my eyes. "Please, please, please…" I said looking away from him. "It's just too hard."
"Because of him?" He asked. "Because of Tristan?" I didn't say anything. "He's gone. Don't let him take you too. You've had this all bottled up inside of you for years. Grieving over him. He's not coming back."
"But that's the thing!" I yelled at him, tears running down my cheeks. "He did come back! HE'S YOU!" I yelled and pushed him away from me. I pushed him again. "He's you! Everything you do is like him! I can't escape him because you are him! Just when I think I'm letting him go I run right back to him because my mind turns to you!" I yelled and pushed him again. "I want to be with you because you remind me of him. I want you because of him. I love you because I loved him. You may be different in many ways but you are still a part of him. His blood runs in your veins. How am I supposed to deal with this? I don't know what to do. All I know is I want your hands on me and I can't. Like I've said before. It isn't fair to you." I finished and wiped the tears from my face. "So…I'm asking you again. Please leave."
"And like I said. I'm not going anywhere." He told me, stepping even closer to me. "Don't I get a say in any of this?"
"No, you don't." I told him.
"Well I'm going to put my say in anyway. You're right. I have Tristan's blood in my veins and I share his name. So why not let me in? I'm not complaining about how fair it would be. I just want to get to know you. I think we'd have a shot here. With your history with my relative. I want you to know me. Not him. I want you to try and look past my physical resemblance to your husband and try and see me for me. I want you to see me, like I see you." He finished.
"And how do you see me?" I asked him.
"Like a woman who I could be with for the rest of my life."
I stared at him. The book worm knew how to talk. I had every intention of retorting in some way but instead I grabbed his head and kissed him. I kissed him passionately as he pulled me against him.
"Bedroom upstairs?" He panted.
"Mm-hm." I said as I kissed him.
He picked me up and I wrapped my legs around his waist, running my fingers through his hair. He made his way up the stairs. He tripped half way up and fell forward. My back hit the stairs but instead of calling out I started to laugh. The sound was almost foreign, it had been so long. Tristan laughed and picked me up again, making it up the rest of the stairs. I kissed him hard as he carried me into the bedroom. He tossed me onto the bed and pulled off his shirt. I unbuttoned my pants and kicked them off. He undid his own and stepped out of them as he crawled onto the bed. I gripped him as he moved on top of me. I kissed him and our tongues gently touched. I looked up at him and ran my hand down his face.
"Are you okay?" I asked him.
"Yes. Are you?" He replied.
I smiled at him and nodded. I kissed him deeply and pulled him down on top of me. His body was toned and the feel of his biceps underneath my hands made me tremble. I pushed him off of me, rolling on top of him. I kissed his chest, making my way back up to his lips. I sat up and he did the same pulling me against him, kissing me from my cleavage and up. My breath came in pants as I felt his lips on my skin. He rolled me under him and kissed me as he slid inside of me. I moaned with pleasure as he kissed my neck. I met his lips and kissed him passionately. We fell into rhythm. It was intoxicating. I hadn't been with anyone since Tristan and I had forgotten how much I loved it.
He rolled off of me and we laid there, panting. I looked over at him and couldn't help but smile. He grinned back at me. I laughed and rolled on top of him.
"What, you wanna go again?" He grinned.
"No." I told him. He frowned. "That felt wonderful." I told him. He grinned again. "I just want to look at you." I whispered and ran my fingers through his hair. He smiled and did the same. "Not to ruin the mood." I said and looked at him. His smile faltered. "You don't feel used or anything do you?" I asked him.
"Why would I?" He asked.
"I don't know." I shrugged. "Because on some level I was thinking him." I replied hoping that I wouldn't hurt him.
"You'll get over it." He smiled and kissed me. I smiled at him. "Does this mean you're not going to yell at me anymore?" He asked.
"No, I'm sure I'll find something to yell at you for." I grinned and kissed him again.
I rested my head on his chest and soaked in the experience. Things hadn't felt this normal in a long time. I was lonelier than I thought.
"You wanna know what was a little disappointing about this?" Tristan asked.
I frowned at him. "What?" I asked.
"You still have your bra on." He said teasingly.
I smacked him. "I have to hang on to a little bit of decency." I told him.
"So I'm naked and you get to keep articles of clothing on. That doesn't seem very fair." He smirked at me.
I smiled and kissed him again. I was just relaxing into him when there was a loud crash followed by dogs barking and growling. I quickly got out of bed and went downstairs to have a flash of black followed by another and the other dogs were in the den barking. I followed the flashes and found the two culprits in the kitchen hashing it out. Ludo was winning with Obi on the bottom. I rushed forward and grabbed Obi's back legs pulling him away from Ludo. Ludo stayed back and barked as Obi turned on me instead and just as I felt teeth on my arm Tristan yelled and Obi fell back. The dogs stood in each corner of the kitchen growling at each other.
"Are you okay?" Tristan asked me, helping me to my feet.
"Yeah, thanks." I said and leaned against him.
I rubbed my arm and Tristan took it in his hand and looked at it. "No marks or anything. I'm sorry about that. I don't know what got into him." He said rubbing my arm.
"It's fine." I told him. "It's Ludo's fault anyway."
"What makes you say that?" He asked.
"This is his home and new dogs came in and tried to settle. My guess is that Obi tried to lay on his bed and then there was WWIII going on. Ludo loves his bed. It's my fault that I didn't make sure the dogs were okay." I told him.
"I'm still sorry. I wouldn't have thought that my dog would do that." He replied.
"It's fine." I smiled at him. "Come on Ludo." I said and he came to my side. I walked into the living room and sat down on the leather couch. Ludo crawled up next to me and laid down, his head in my lap. "Good boy. Everything is fine. These dogs are friends. I'm sorry that I didn't do it properly. I got distracted." I whispered to him. He licked my face and started at me with his big brown eyes. "You're a good boy." I said and kissed his nose.
Tristan came into the room, fully dressed. I frowned at him. "I'm not leaving. If that's what you were thinking." He smiled.
"Good." I told him. He grinned at me. "What?" I asked.
"You've come out of your shell. You're becoming you again." He grinned.
"I beginning to feel like me again." I smiled. "Kiss me." I told him.
He bent and kissed me deeply. "I'm going to take the dogs outside." He said and kissed me again.
"I'm going to comfort my boy here and then maybe we could make something to eat." I told him.
"Do you have food?" He grinned.
"I think we can manage." I grinned up at him.
"Okay." He said and kissed me again before going outside.
Ludo followed me upstairs. I put cloths on and laid on the bed, holding Ludo close to me. I smiled and buried my face in his fur. I laid there only a few minutes before going back downstairs. I went into the kitchen and opened up the pantry doors to see a whole lot of nothing. I really didn't have a lot of options. I heard the door open and soon the sound of dog feet were heard on the wooden floors. Ludo was glued to my leg but when the door opened he rushed to the den. I watched him sit on his bed and stare as the others dogs found a spot to lay down. Tristan came into the kitchen and leaned against the counter next to me. I laced my fingers with his and leaned against him.
"This is nice." I told him.
"Forgot what human contact felt like." He grinned down at me.
"That's part of it. But I also just realized that I kinda like you. Maybe that's why you irritate me." I grinned back at him.
He kissed me gently. "Right back at ch'ya."
"So, I have stuff to make spaghetti but other than that I guess I don't have a lot." I told him.
"Don't you eat?" He asked looking in the pantry.
"I eat enough." I frowned at him.
"Spaghetti it is I guess." He asked and went to the freezer to take out some meat.
He filled up the sink with hot water and put the meat into it to speed up the thawing process. I happened to have garlic bread as well and he took it out and put it on the island. I grabbed the sauce from the pantry as well as the noodles. I took a pot and frying pan out in preparation before watching Tristan look through the kitchen. I smiled as he whacked himself in the head from a cupboard he left open. He winked at me before walking around the island to stand in front of me. He put his hands on either side of me and leaned forward. I looked into his eyes and put my hands on his chest. I felt the need to touch him, the need to pull him against me. But I knew that there would be time for that. It was nice having a man back in my life. Even though it happened a little more suddenly than I had thought it would. And the man was a bit different than I had imagined him to be. But in a good way.
Dinner had been wonderful. Turned out that Tristan was a rather good cook and I hadn't eaten a meal as good as that in a long time. Afterward there was wine and talk before I went upstairs to change into something more comfortable and ended up staying there the rest of the night. The sex was wonderful, whether that was because it had been so long or if he was really that good, I wasn't sure. But it felt right. I was happy. After we were worn out we laid in each others arms and talked some more. It was refreshing. He didn't talk about the past or what I had gone through. It was normal getting-to-know-you conversation that was very nice. He was a wonderful man. No denying that. When we finally fell asleep I dreamt of happy things and for the first time in a long time actually got a good nights sleep.
When I woke up the sun was high, shinning into the room. I grinned and rolled over, expecting to see Tristan. Instead, the bed was empty. I sat up, holding the sheet against me, listening to the house. I didn't hear anything. I laid back, wondering why he wasn't there. Wondering if there was something I had done without meaning to. Then I heard a thump and some quiet yelling. Tristan came limping into the room, a blanket wrapped around his waist. I looked at him but must have given something away.
"What is it?" He asked me.
I grinned at him. "It's nothing. I just thought you had left. Thought I was alone." I replied and looked away from him, slightly embarrassed.
He crawled onto the bed and kissed me. He rested himself next to me and gently ran his fingers through my hair. I kissed him again as I ran my hand down his chest.
"Haven't I told you? You're never alone." He said sweetly and kissed me passionately.
"I'll try and remember that." I grinned at him.
"You do that." He said and grabbed my side.
I laughed and pulled him into me, kissing him deeply. We stayed in bed most of the day. Getting up only to let the dogs out. This was turning out to be one hell of a day.