AN It's been a long time since I've updated this story. I apologize for that - my plot bunnies are eluding me a little. I really wanted to bring Vanora back, but I don't know how happy I am with this chapter. Any feedback you can give me would be welcome. I'll hopefully get another chapter up today yet too, so stay tuned!

Secrets

That night, Ryn was paid a visit by Vanora, who apparently had grown tired waiting for Ryn to show up again at the tavern.

Ryn was in the process of cleaning and stretching the skin of a deer she had recently caught and killed. She had blood and fat up to her elbows when she heard Vanora make her approach. She figured it had to be Vanora, since the steps were too light to be any of her knights and too obvious to be a Woad.

Vanora let out a startled cry when she quite literally stumbled upon Ryn's camp. The fire in front of the little tent was bright, but Ryn was so cleverly hidden in the woods that she hadn't seen it until she was almost upon it.

Ryn, busy scraping off the fat from the back of the deerskin, grinned up at Vanora's exclamation. "Our Bors does not keep secrets very well," she observed.

Vanora quickly regained her composure. "Actually, he does. All I could get out of him was that you are actually a knight. I found you on my own."

"Well done. I'm not easy to find." Ryn scrapped the last bit of fat off the section of hide she was working with and stood to stretch the skin on a frame near her tent. Vanora moved quickly to help her.

"I was actually just about to give up," Vanora admitted with a sheepish grin.

"Then I'm glad you found me, or you would've been lost in the woods for a week."

The two women silently finished their task before Ryn disappeared to retrieve a bucket of water to wash up with.

When the two had cleaned, Ryn offered Vanora a mug of mulled wine that had been simmering over the fire.

"So, my lady, shall I tell you my secrets now?" Ryn teased.

Vanora smiled. "You needn't tell me anything. I was just so fascinated by the idea of a woman knight that I had to see for myself."

"It's not all that glorious," Ryn said dismissively.

"Oh, I'm not so sure. The way Bors speaks about you – or rather, doesn't speak about you – makes you seem like something of a goddess."

Ryn chuckled. "Hardly. I'm more of a ghost."

Vanora took a long drink from her mug. "How long have you been with them?" she asked casually.

"Since the beginning. Lancelot and I are from the same tribe. We arrived together."

Vanora nodded thoughtfully. "That would explain a lot."

"What do you mean?" Ryn inquired, a vague sense of uneasiness creeping in on her.

"It would explain your interaction with Lancelot that night at the tavern."

"Siblings bickering," Ryn explained away, a challenge in her eyes for Vanora to continue her line of questioning.

Vanora gave her a knowing smile, meeting the challenge. "But you are not related to him."

"I am not, though his family did take me in when my own died."

"So it was your love of him that caused you to follow him here," Vanora observed, watching Ryn's reaction carefully.

Ryn was unprepared for this. She sat there, gaping at Vanora, uncertain of what to say. No one had ever said this to her before, though she was sure there were a few who suspected as much. She lowered her eyes to avoid Vanora's piercing gaze.

"If I say yes, will you use it against me?" she asked softly.

Vanora reached out and put a hand on Ryn's shoulder. "I promised you your secrets would be safe with me. I never make promises I don't intend to keep."

The two sat in silence for a time. "Why have you not told him?" Vanora asked gently.

Ryn sighed heavily. "He would not understand."

"Are you certain?"

She nodded. "They all see me and don't see me. None of them really know what to make of me in the end. They have all professed their love for me at one time or another, but there has usually been a vast quantity of ale involved in their confessions. They're only in love with the thought of me. In the end, none of them want a warrior wife. They'd rather wed someone like you; not a ghost in the woods."

Vanora was silent, contemplating Ryn's observations. "Are you content with that?" she finally asked.

Ryn gave a wry smile. "What choice do I have? Everything I do is for love of them. To demand reciprocation from any of them in the way I want would jeopardize…well, everything. I can see no other way."

"I think I see now why your situation is not so glorious," Vanora said.

Ryn laughed. "Indeed. And to add to my misery, they insist on scaring off any other prospects I might have."

Vanora couldn't help but chuckle at that. "Shall I secret men out to you, perhaps?" she asked.

Ryn tossed her head back as she laughed. "That would provide me something of a solution, wouldn't it?"

"Aye, it would. I only fear your standards would be too high."

"Indeed, they might be." Ryn poked absently at her little fire. "Thank you," she said meekly.

"For what?" Vanora wondered.

"For seeking me out. I have no other female friends. It's nice to speak with someone who understands that part of me."

"You're very welcome," Vanora said sincerely.