The doors of the great hall, where wide open

The doors of the great hall were wide open. For the first time in a week the knights returned to the round table. They sat as one looking at each other's faces, faces they thought they may never see again. It was not that the war had frightened them to believe this, it was just the fact that they had returned here again, a place that was no longer meant to be home, but still was and now always will be. There were many seats empty but that was usual as many lives were lost over the years, the recent addition was Dagonet's chair which stood empty next to Bors. Their stillness was but interrupted as Tristan arrived and took his seat silently, followed by Lancelot who came in holding his head in his hands, his face contorting in agony. They all waited patiently for Arthur to arrive, him and that girl.

They walked through the doors shortly after, walking side by side until they reached the table where Arthur took a seat but the girl remained standing. She didn't have to call the meeting to order, the knights gave her their undivided attention, partially for her mesmerising beauty but mostly for her mysterious appearance. They all wanted to know the reason for her arriving at the battlefield, seemingly out of nowhere.

"I believe some of you already know me" she looked pointedly at Bor "Those who don't must know only that I am the girl with no name."

A couple weak chuckles where passed at these words.

"I don't have to explain to you why it is so; it has no relevance to why I came to talk to you now. I am one of the last of my race for whom human kind has not yet lost its interest. I hope to preserve your kind for as long as I can but, that can only be done if the balance of the world is stable. Should the scale of powers shift, all could be lost. The monsters that lurk in this world are waiting for the wrong misplaced step to strike you down, and like monsters there are men who will try and take your life and the life of your families. In my prediction the world is stable right now, but for how long? This is but a question of time. Here is where you come in my knights. The power must be stable and for that I need your great combat and fighting skills to keep the worlds evil at bay. It is why I returned you Tristan" she gave him a pointed look "and you Lancelot. I need all of you. It is up to you and your leader to decide on what you want to do from here. I have no further influence on you, but should you decide to help others and do great deeds for fellow men, I will stay vigilant to guard you and your family from harm, should you however refuse, then the scale will tip. It may happen today, tomorrow, next week or next month. It might be on your child's birthday, or on your sons wedding day. It cannot be said for sure but when in does it will be too late and not even I would be able to save all the lost lives. Evil is like an all consuming monster, it can strike in any form, and it will not stop, but move from one place to the next, by the time it arrives here it will be too late."

When her speech was done, the girl sat down leaving the knights looking stunningly at her. The silence was absolute, until finally Lancelot always being the bravest of the lot, broke the silence with a question.

"What exactly do you mean by your kind?"

The girl answered with out hesitation

"I'm not human if that's what you're asking, but the sort of creature I am does not matter. I am harmless to you and there is no threat in me attacking, you can be sure of that."

"But how can we be sure of you not being just a common gal, how do we know your not pulling our leg, lass." Asked Bor gruffly

Arthur was about to defend the girl but watched as her face took on an apparent state of amusement at the knight's words. The girl smiled, but not a warm smile like the one Arthur saw grace her lips before. No this smile was wicked, almost cheeky in a way.

"You do not trust me Bor , I do not blame you. It is hard to trust people, when one hardly knows them. I will show you my knights but only you and you are never to speak of this to anyone." Here she paused to scan the men with her eyes. "Understood?"

She watched as each bowed his head at her, only when the last of then gave her a nod of his head did she get up from her chair. Slipping the cloak off her shoulders she leaned forward, her smile never leaving her lips. At first no one saw any difference. That was until something black and leathery appeared from her back. It stretched out to the ceiling then unfolded it self completely reviling its true shape. It was a wing. The knights looked on in amazement as the second wing started to unfold. When both wings where extended the girl started to flap them carefully back and forth, careful not to knock of the pitchers of wine from the table .

"Is this proof enough that I am not one of your race or would you like to see my tail?" she asked teasingly