Okay, I might need to change this fic's rating to Mature, but just be warned that some of the content in this chapter might be a little sexually explicit.
And, also, thanks again for everyone's comments!
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The moon was quickly fading into the pale dawn sky when Jade's eyelids fluttered open. She rubbed away the footprints of the tears that had run down her cheeks the night before. Her body ached and felt weighted down by an invisible force that inhibited even her slightest movement. Her grief had exhausted her and drained her of all her energy.
As her eyes finally came to focus, they locked on Tristan's. The scout had been peering down at her, mesmerized and confounded by how easily she slept in his arms. The circumstances of the assassination attempts having been revealed, Arthur was taking a great risk in granting her sanctuary. There would be severe consequences if it were discovered he was harboring the fugitive child of an executed blasphemer. Jade had finally realized what real danger she was in. Only hours ago she had, in her grief over her father, shouted her mistrust of everything Roman, of everything associated with Rome, of anyone who claimed allegiance to Rome, regardless of their volition in making such a pledge. The knights were under Germanius' authority, were required to follow his orders, the orders of Rome—that same Germanius who had ordered the assassination of her father and of herself.
Yet, there she lay, entrusting herself to the scout even in her most vulnerable state. She had trusted him, believed him when he said Germanius held no dominion despite all the evidence to the contrary, despite the fact that he and the knights had risked their lives on a mission of Germanius' bidding. And why should she have trusted him? He had presented himself to her as nothing more than a killer, had accused her of conspiring with Merlin, had doubted her intentions at the estate where they had found the imprisoned Guinevere. Tristan had revealed nothing of himself to her, but still, somehow, last night she had seen through the mask he had before thought impenetrable. When she looked at him, she could discern as no one ever had what was honest, what was true, and she believed that she was safe with him.
"It's morning?" Her words levitated in the air as she yawned.
Tristan nodded, helping her to her feet. He observed her trembling frame as she was no longer wrapped in the warmth of his cloak. For Jade, there was no escaping his stare. It penetrated her to her very core, ruthless in its grip, relentless in its intensity.
She crossed her arms over her chest. "Are you always so unnerving?" Jade asked.
Tristan raised an eyebrow. "How do you mean?"
"You make me feel very…exposed," she replied.
"Oh?"
"Yes," she said, "I don't suppose you've ever felt that way?"
There was laughter in his eyes as he leaned back lazily against the tree. "I don't give people any power over me," he replied, "that I don't want them to have."
Jade smiled ruefully. "I believe you do have some kind of power over me," she confessed, "If only in that you have seen me at my very worst, my very weakest." She paused a moment. "Why did you come after me last night? Why did you stay?"
"Who else would have?" he asked, "If I had not?"
Jade averted her eyes to the ground. "I would have been fine."
"Yes," he agreed, "You would have only broken all the bones in your hands, but you would have been fine."
Looking down now at her bandaged hands, she groaned inwardly at her carelessness. "Thank you," she said softly, "You should not have been so kind to me—not after how I treated you. I'm sorry."
"You'd just learned of your father's death," he said, excusing her with a shrug.
"Yes," she replied. "But I shouldn't have taken it out on you—or the tree," she laughed, "It's just that…that…Tristan, I was afraid—and I still am. Germanius is here and he could cause so much trouble for Arthur and the rest of you. Maybe I should go…not return to the fort…Maybe Merlin could help…Maybe…"
Tristan advanced toward her and gripped by the shoulders. "Stop," he said firmly, "Don't give Germanius that power. Don't let your fear control you. This is the last lesson in fighting I will give you."
Jade nodded. "You're right," she said, exhaling, "I won't be afraid."
Tristan, not removing his hands from her shoulders, looked down into her eyes, searching inside them for her thoughts, for any betrayal of her feelings, for any confession of her desire. "Tristan…" she said quietly, "Why did you really follow me here?"
Tristan never did anything without intention or purpose. Tristan never gave anyone a power over him that he did not want them to have. Cradling the back of her neck with one hand and resting the other on the small of her back, Tristan pressed his mouth to hers, gently at first, and then deeper, invading her mouth with his tongue. His whiskers tickled her face, while his lips were soft and supple, but explosive at the same time, igniting sparks with their first contact. The kiss was the peak of a rapidly ascending crescendo. The birds sang louder; the sun shone brighter; and the smell of frosted pine inundated the air with the potency of its perfumes.
They parted, breathless, blood surging, hair standing up on end, electrified. "I have watched you everyday since the day you arrived," he confided, "And I have only wondered one thing."
"What was that?" she asked, still flustered from the kiss.
"Why you are alone."
"Alone?" she asked, "What do you mean?"
"On the parapet, in the forest," he explained, "You always seek solitude."
Jade could not help but laugh. "Of all people to ask me such a question," she remarked.
Tristan allowed himself a small smile at the irony of his words. "That's true," he said, "Or at least it used to be. Now I seek you, follow you—that is the power you have over me."
Jade's eyebrows arched up in surprise at the confession. "The power you let me have, you mean," she said.
"I'm no longer certain," he admitted.
Jade guided his hands to the edge of her tunic, removing it in one fluid motion and discarding it on the forest floor. She stood bare before him, vulnerable, and shivering in the cold, the morning sun glistening on her naked skin. "I'm yours," she said.
The words had barely escaped her lips before he had her prone on the ground, throwing off his tunic. He explored her body, pressing his hands to where her stomach sank beneath her ribs and sliding them down to the protrusion of her hips. When he was about to enter her, she wrapped her arms firmly around his neck and shut her eyes tightly.
"No," he said, stroking her cheek, "Look at me."
Her eyelids parted and she peered directly into his eyes. "I want to see you feel it," he said.
She nodded and then he was inside her. Her eyes flashed and then rolled back as she moaned in pleasure.
"Look at me."
She focused again on him, her pupils dancing wildly, tears filling the corners of her eyes. "I feel it," she whispered, "I feel it."
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When we returned to the fort, Jade had a strange glow about her. I couldn't figure out what was wrong with her. She would daze off at nothing in particular and kept smiling without any reason. It wasn't natural. If I didn't know any better I would say she had…but that was a ridiculous notion.
I, of course, had my skepticisms about returning to the fort with Germanius still there, but Arthur assured me that now that we knew who exactly the enemy was, it would be easier to keep Jade safe. Germanius and the rest of the Romans were leaving at first light, so as long as Jade was not discovered before then, the danger would pass quickly enough.
Once Jade was safely secured in our quarters, I escorted Dagonet to the healing rooms while the rest of the knights received their discharge papers from that scum Germanius. "Let me borrow your axe," I ranted as Dagonet rested in bed, "I'll hack that haughty head of his right off his shoulders."
"Don't give the Romans reason to stay longer than they have to," Dagonet warned, "They'll be gone in the morning."
"What about you?" I asked. It was time to bring up the subject we'd both been avoiding for some time now. "I've heard the other knights speak of going home to Sarmatia…"
Dagonet nodded. "And I will go with them," he said, "If you will come with me."
I bit my lip in hesitation. "My mistress…" I replied, "I could never leave her…"
"She can come with us," he said, "She will be safe under our protection."
"I'm sure," I replied, "But she must stay with Arthur, of course. After all, they—"
"Minnie," Dagonet interrupted, his tone very serious, "You need to open your eyes. Arthur and Guinevere have grown very close…"
"You're wrong," I said, shaking my head in denial, "You'll see. You're wrong."
And, of course, that's what I truly believed, which is why I decided to go to Arthur that night to discuss his and Jade's fate once and for all. With the Saxon invasion so close at hand and her father dead, I had to see to it that Jade would be properly cared for. Arthur's previous intention to journey to Rome, however, might have posed a problem since Jade was wanted dead there. A minor complication. But Arthur had to have some sort of solution. He would attend to her safety first and then worry about marriage later.
I had almost reached Arthur's chambers when his squire Jols pushed past me and pounded his fist urgently on the door. "Arthur!" he called, "Come to the wall now."
Well, I couldn't believe my eyes. A disheveled Arthur and Guinevere stumbled out of the quarters and hurried down the corridor. It was clear what they had been up to. The horror! The scandal! All of my plans ruined! Guinevere didn't even have the decency to fix her dress. The hussy just let her sleeve dangle down her arm, exposing her bare shoulder in a vile display of impropriety. I picked my jaw up off the floor and scrambled after them to the top of the parapet.
Everyone was there—Arthur, the knights, and even Jade who had, against my better judgment, changed out of her boyish clothes. She had dressed herself in a flowing emerald dress that matched her eyes and was fitted around the waist, showing off her feminine figure for the first time since arriving in Britain. She was breathtaking and it broke my heart that Arthur had chosen another over her. How could I bare to tell her what I had just witnessed not moments before?
None of it mattered at this moment in time, however, because, as we soon discovered, the entire Saxon army was camped right outside the wall. "Knights," Arthur said solemnly, "My journey with you must end here."
So Guinevere had persuaded him to stay and fight the Saxons. I had to admit that I admired her practical use of her womanly assets to beguile the commander, but if only it hadn't ruined my plans for Arthur and Jade! This was the worst of calamaties. What would we do now?
Lancelot presently ran after Arthur to try to convince him to change his mind. I had little faith in him, though. Some help he had been in diverting Guinevere's attention, after all. Dagonet had been right. Lancelot held little preference to the object of his chase as long as it was wearing a skirt.
Guinevere and Jade followed shortly behind them down the stairs and waited as the two friends continued their argument. "I will stay and fight as well," she confided to Guinevere.
Guinevere's eyes held a profound respect and reverence. "Your mother would be very proud," she said with a smile.
Jade perked up with curiosity. For the first time in her life, she had a chance to learn about the mysterious woman who had given birth to her. "You knew my mother?" she asked.
"Of course," Guinevere replied, "She was a legendary warrior in our tribe. We felt her loss greatly when she fell in battle three years ago."
"You saw her die?" Jade asked meekly.
"Yes," Guinevere said, "I remember it as if it were yesterday. The knights were…" Guinevere's voice trailed off suddenly as if she had suddenly remembered something. "But more importantly," Guinevere continued quickly, "I remember how she lived, always making sacrifices for the freedom of our country. I held so much admiration for her…"
Jade could sense that she was holding something back. "But how did she die?" Jade asked, "What happened?"
"She died in battle," Guinevere replied sharply, "That's all."
A chill ran up Jade's spine. "What were you about to say?" she asked, "About the knights?"
"Listen," Guinevere replied, "It's better to leave well enough alone. No good will come out of drudging up the past."
"She wasn't fighting one of the knights..." Jade said, a rock of anxiety sinking deep into her stomach, "That's not how it happened...It couldn't have been...Tell me that's not how it happened..."
Guinevere was no longer able to look Jade in the eyes. "They were only doing what Rome had enslaved them to do…" she stammered, "We have always blamed Rome, never Arthur or his knights…"
"Guinevere," Jade whispered, her voice hoarse and shaking, "Who was it?"
Guinevere looked at Jade apologetically, knowing that any further stalling would be pointless. Jade could not live the rest of her life carrying around suspicions, always left to wonder about her mother's fate. Guinevere drew in a deep breath.
"Arthur's scout. Tristan," she answered, "I'm sorry."
