I changed the thinking of Nimue in to cursive. It looks neater and yes, I really didn't think of that before this chapter.
Read, review and (r)enjoy.
In the morning you wake up to the sound of Tristan preparing the camp ready for leaving.
"We should go and reunite with the main caravan now." he says as you, still sleepy, stare at the ashes of the fire from the night before. You are really not a morning person. Usually you just stay quiet until almost noon. Not that silence would be a weird thing between you two any way.
~~~...~~~
As you two had reached the caravan you had got of his horse and had started to walk. The caravan moves so painstakingly slowly that you have no problem in keeping up with it. The drums of the Saxons keep on coming closer and closer and you can easily read the panic in the faces of the villagers. Finally the group comes to the lake and just as you start to wonder if you could break the ice behind you, so the Saxons would have to find an another way to follow the group, Arthur turns to his men and stare at the questionably?
"I´m tired of running and the Saxons are so close behind my ass is hurting" Bors is the first one to speak.
"I've never liked looking of my shoulder any way" Tristan agrees with him and you feel a warm feeling as you admire the knight's courage and ability to always say the right thing.
"It would be a pleasure to put an end for this racket" Gawain also speaks his mind.
"And finally get a look at the bastards." Galahad follows him as always.
Dagonet, good at saying the last word, finishes:"Here. Now."
One of the villagers, Ganis might be his name, you are not sure, protests to Arthur as he gives him instructions to lead the caravan to the wall.
"You'll be 7 against 300!"
"8, You could use another bow" your sister states as she descents from the wagon she had been traveling in.
"You know I won't run from a battle. When there's 9 of us, we all have to kill only 30 or so. Can be done." You boast helping an elder woman to the caravan and hoping you don't do this just to impress the silent knight. What is wrong with me? Men don't find killing other men attractive! And I really sound ridiculous around him.
Finally the caravan leaves and your small group gets ready to fight, checking your bows and counting the arrows you have.
Too soon the group of Saxons reach the other side of the lake. To your satisfaction you see that the wind is on your favor, blowing towards the enemy so your arrows will reach them a lot sooner than they even have a change to fire. Mother Goddess is on our side.
"There's a lot of lonely men in there", Lancelot jokes badly at your sister. Apparently I'm not the only one making a fool of myself, you chuckle to yourself as Guinevere respond coldly that she won't let them rape him.
When the arrows start to fly you kind of loose yourself, only concentrating in the enemy. You vaguely hear hear the command of Arthur to make the Saxons cluster and follow it the best you can. The ice simply doesn't seem to break and as Arthur tells you to prepare for battle Dagonet looses it and runs to the ice with his ax. You see he gets himself within the range of the Saxons and without even thinking you grab his shield from the ground he had left it and run after him. You reach him just when the first arrows hit him in his leg and shoulder. You pull the shield to cover you both. You hear and feel the impacts of the arrows in the shield and the dreadful sound of the ice crackling under you two. You simply don't have the strength to drag the big man, who seems to have lost his consciousness, away from the shattering ice. Finally you experience the horrible feeling of the ice giving in under you two. You shoot one panicking glance to the shore behind you and see Bors and Arthur running toward you two before you sink with the man. The water is so cold it's almost warm and you still hold on to Dagonet as you sink slowly. Because of the freezing icy water your limbs loose all their strength and slowly but surely you start to loose your consciousness too. you feel a hand grab a shoulder that doesn't feel like yours.
You feel somebody's lips on yours, breathing air to your lungs and quickly are overpowered by the urge to cough. The strong arms of a man hold you as you cough water out of your lungs still feeling like drowning. Your head still feels fuzzy and your body trembles as you look in the brown worried eyes of the man who holds you and brushes a strand of hair from your face.
" Hey Tristan", you say with a dreamy voice smiling a little, "Is that and expression on your face?"
"We have to change their clothes!" Guinevere instructs the men fuzzing around you and Dagonet before Tristan has time to say anything to you, but you see him smiling back at you.
"Lancelot! I have a clean shirt in my saddlebag." Tristan tells to his friend never letting you go. You raise your hands to his chest and just look into his eyes lost in the moment although you are slowly freezing to death.
"Lucan has already lost one family. He doesn't deserve to loose an other one. How is Dagonet?" you ask whispering.
"He'll survive." you are reassured by Guinevere who helps you up and helps you to take of your clothes and put on the shirt of Tristan and the gaiters of some other knight as the men decently look away from you two. Well, all except Lancelot who apparently really likes to peak. He gets a smack on the head by Tristan when he notices it. In the meantime Dagonet had been given new clothes too.
He was pretty badly wounded and Guinevere has to stitch him up before you can continue your way to the wall. Tristan gives you his cloak for extra warmth and stays right next to you giving angry glances at Lancelot as you move around to keep yourself warm.
As you leave Tristan pulls you in front of him to his horse and puts his hand around your waist as Arthur takes Dagonet on his horse and Guinevere takes Dagonet's.
"Please never scare me like that again my spring" Tristan speaks to you for the first time whispering to your ear as you start to move. You smile and caress the hand which is around you leaning on him a little.