Timeless by SheWalksWithRavens
A/N: Thank you to my readers for having so much patience with me during this time. It was very difficult for me to write let alone find time do it as I was having issues in my personal life. However, I am back and due to my prolonged absence. As now is becoming my custom, look for the responses to your reviews after the actual chapter. Without further adieu, I leave you to it.
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Isolde had woken early out of habit, and found that Lancelot's strong arm was still wrapped protectively around her waist. Her former source of comfort was now her source of hindrance, because if she did not find a way to disentangle herself shortly, she feared her bladder might explode. She reached downward and began to pry each individual finger from her body, taking great care not to cause such a disturbance that he would awaken. Finally after a few moments, she managed to free herself from all of them. Slowly she began to slide from the mattress, and took delight in placing a stuffed teddy under his arm instead. He would kill her for that when he woke up.
She slowly made her way into the bathroom, shutting the door gently behind her as she went about her business. Her face however was still puffy from crying, and she looked greatly the worse for wear. Stripping off her night-clothes she ran the tap and slid into the large antique bathtub. Allowing the scalding water to relax her tense muscles and cleanse her body of this ill-feeling she let her cares drift away. She would have to make inquiries into purchasing one of these tubs in the future, should she ever buy a home in the country.
Slipping on the terry cloth dressing gown that hung from the bathroom door she secured it tightly about her waist and put her still soaking wet hair up into a loose bun. It wasn't until the moment the cold air froze her feet that she regretted leaving her bunny slippers behind in London. However if it spared her the ridicule of Lancelot for the rest of her life, perhaps the threat of catching a cold was worth it.
Knowing that attempting to get dressed in the dark when her clothes were tucked away in her bags, would cause a large enough disturbance to wake Lancelot and all she wanted to do was have some peace. She slipped from the room and down the stairs, which nearly frightened her to death when they creaked quite suddenly. When her pulse was once more in check, she continued the rest of the way down to the kitchen.
She practically cringed when her eyes were assaulted with the artificial light. But once they had adjusted, she set about making herself some tea. A welcome cup of earl grey in her hand, she headed to the small study she had seen earlier but had no the pleasure of exploring. It was a lovely room with rich mahogany paneling and shelves full of many old leather bound books. Setting her tea down on the ornate desk, she browsed the collection until she came upon one she had long been meaning to read, but had scarcely ever found the time for. An entire cup of tea and several biscuits she nicked from the kitchen later, she was nearly half-way through the novel. When a voice broke through her reverie.
"I hardly ever expected to find someone who was up so early as myself."
"Arthur, I find that this is a rather masochistic habit I have developed due to my work. If I am at all in your way, I can go to the parlor or back to my room or.." Isolde stammered as she rose to her feet and started to clear up her mess.
"Please, it is not necessary. What are you reading?" He said peering at the volume currently clutched in her hand.
"Pride and Prejudice." He read aloud as she showed him the cover.
"I had not ever read it before and now I find that I can't put it down." Isolde said with a smile.
"It is a good novel. It reminds everyone that we must look beyond our current conceptions of people because we might be entirely mistaken...that everyone might just deserve a second chance because who knows, you might love them after all." Arthur's eyes twinkled when he said this before he quit the room, closing the door quietly behind him.
Isolde let out an intake of breath, she wasn't quite sure why Arthur said what he said, but it was extremely unnerving to hear it. She waited a moment until she was sure that he would not change his mind and claim usage of the desk after all, before she resumed reading once more. She passed the rest of the morning this way, until a bustle in the hall caused her to put her marker in her book. Stretching out her muscles which had become accustomed to the lounged position she had ended up in, she headed out to find a slew of staff arriving and heading to the kitchen where she assumed Arthur and Guinievere were waiting.
Noting that her attire, wasn't exactly conducive to wandering about the house with everyone up and about for she didn't even have her bra or knickers on. Heading up to her room to dress, she was startled when for the second time in the past two days she collided with someone. Luckily for Isolde it was Dagonet and not Tristan. Smiling sheepishly she looked up at him, but he didn't make any indication that her walking at full force into his chest caused him the least bit of discomfort, after all, Dagonet was a large man.
"I am sorry, I always seem to keep doing that to people." Isolde finally said.
"Its quite alright, no harm done." Dagonet said gently before continuing on his way.
Taking a deep breath she plunged into her own room to find Lancelot yet again partially dressed.
"Will you please put your trousers on?" Isolde said with mock indignity as she began to go through her bag for her own clothes.
"Look who's talking." Lancelot replied with a self satisfying smirk.
It was only then that she realized that her dressing gown had begun to come undone and was exposing a great deal of leg as well as a sharp v-neckline that would have made J-Lo proud. She quickly righted herself before throwing the nearest object she could find at Lancelot's head which just happened to be her sneaker.
He caught it of course, which caused Isolde to mutter 'cheeky wanker' under her breath as she settled on her outfit for the day. It had been made known that Arthur and Guinevere wanted to see the town of Alston which would therefore require a great deal of walking and no need for formalities.
She grabbed her things and hurried into the bathroom, seeing Lancelot make an expression that went something like 'dang' before she shut the door entirely, and then locked it. She had chosen a white cashmere sweater that Bridget had given her last Christmas and a pair of comfortable jeans. Her hair was still wet, and she cringed as she began to brush out the knots that were starting to form before pulling it back into a slick ponytail. Practical and cute she should think.
Upon exiting the w.c. she began to put on one sneaker, only to realize that she did not see the other. It was only then she saw Lancelot smirk and shake her sneaker at her.
"Give me my trainer." Isolde huffed as she went over to him and tried to grab it.
"I should think not, you did throw it at me after all." Lancelot retorted as he held it higher.
"This is absurd give me back my shoe." Isolde said trying again with a small hop to grab it.
But it was no good, Lancelot was a lot taller than her, and she had no help of getting the shoe on her own. It was then that she had come up with quite a brilliant idea.
"Dearest Trouble give it back this instant." Isolde said in a sickly sweet voice.
"No... I don't think I shall." He said smiling all the same.
It was then when Isolde feigned jumping for the shoe that she promptly, and oh so delightfully kneed him in the groin. Lancelot's smirk immediately changed into an expression of pain and the trainer fell to the ground with a clunk, shortly followed by Lancelot falling to the ground.
Isolde picked up her trainer with a smile, and put it on. Walking over to where Lancelot was still in a ball on the ground she pet his head condescendingly and headed out the door.
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Isolde had just gotten back downstairs when she saw Guenevere, Lana and Karissa about to head out the door dressed in athletic wear. Karissa bounded over to Isolde when she saw her practically knocking her over in the process.
"We are going running, you should come." Guenevere said with a smile as she adjusted her ponytail and began talking to Lana about the best method of jogging.
"Karissa, you never want to go running." Isolde said questioningly in a hushed voice.
"Well, this is different. Besides, Lana was on her Universities' track team, and Guenevere goes running everyday. I thought it would be good to try and get to know them. Come on, you know you want to." Karissa said quickly.
"Alright, let me just go put on a different pair of pants and I'll catch you up." Isolde said before rushing back upstairs.
Lancelot had just come out of their room and was catching his breath. He instinctively covered his groin lest she attempt to knee him again. In her rush she neglected to shut the door. She threw off her sweater and began to undo her jeans and pull on a pair of sweats. Lancelot, had re-entered the room for another verbal sparring match but just stared slack jawed at her, and at that moment a knock sounded on the door followed shortly by Tristan's entering the room. Isolde looked up with horror in her eyes before she dived behind the bed.
"I am sorry... I didn't mean... I had no...I'll be outside." Tristan stammered before heading back out into the hallway.
He had thought Isolde left with the rest of the girls who he had seen jogging down the driveway out towards the road. He certainly was not expecting to walk in Isolde in the process of changing, in that one moment everything seemed to leave his head and he felt colour rushing to his cheeks. Imagine him, Tristan who was born with the same expression always planted on his face, blushing like a little school girl.
A few moments later Isolde emerged from the room fully dressed, and carefully made sure to avoid Tristan's gaze as she took the stairs two at a time. Lancelot walked out of the room after her his tongue massaging the inside of his cheek, which was reddened from her hand print, as he watched her go down the stairs.
"She's a feisty one...But it makes sex all the better. Is Lana as passionate?" Lancelot said with a wink
"I am not about to start discussing my sex life with you Lancelot." Tristan replied before heading off in search of Gawain, he knew that she wasn't.
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"Never...let...me...go...running...again." Karissa said wheezing as she grasped on to Isolde's shoulder for support.
"Come on, we are almost back to the manor now...don't give up." Lana said hanging back.
She was having no trouble at all with the run, and that infuriated Isolde to no end. Guenevere slowed her pace so that she was running on par with Karissa and Isolde. Though she was quite athletic, she was not as insane as Lana was when it came to running.
"Isolde if you are having trouble you should slow down." Lana said condescendingly.
This only caused Isolde however to push forward at a faster pace. Her body wanted to kill her but Isolde's will was too determined to not let Lana win. Lana upon seeing this impromptu competition took off keeping stride with Isolde with ease.
"You don't want to hurt yourself, you should slow down." Lana shouted.
"Speak for yourself." Isolde retorted before rounding the corner into the driveway.
However the gravel of the drive had scattered slightly on to the road, and in Isolde's blind determination she didn't see it. Her legs went out from beneath her, causing her arms to drag along the gravel.
"Isolde!" Karissa and Guenevere both shouted having seen the spill from the road.
Lana who was nearby was the first to help her up. It was obvious through her sleeve how badly she had been hurt, because the blood was already beginning to stain it.
"Bloody hell." Isolde muttered as she stood again. Her arm stung and her entire side hurt from colliding with the pavement.
"Lets get you inside, my brother can fix you up." Lana said quickly.
Isolde leaned on Karissa for support as the women made their way inside the manor. Leading Isolde to the kitchen they sat her down on one of the chairs. The new staff looked entirely confused, by the scenario and began whispering amongst themselves.
"Guen see if the staff can find you some medical supplies, I'll get Dag."
Lana bounded out of the room and up the stairs searching for her brother. She found him and the rest of the men at billiards, and immediately called them away. Dagonet looked determined, Arthur and Gawain concerned, and Lancelot and Tristan both had brows etched with worry.
The staff had produced an array of bandages and anti-septic cleaners which were now in a small pile on the Island. Karissa and Guenevere had cut the sleeve from Isolde's ruined shirt, and were now working on wiping away the blood so that the real damage could be seen.
"How did she fall?" Dagonet said as he washed his hands off in the sink.
"She was racing Lana and she took the corner too fast and slipped on the gravel." Karissa answered.
Isolde winced as Dagonet turned her arm, little tiny gravel pebbles had embedded themselves in her flesh. She was thankful that she had worn longer sleeves because they had protected her arms some what.
"Oh that is a beauty..." Gawain said as he leaned in closely to inspect the wound.
"So I take it you didn't win then?" Lancelot said with a grin as Isolde let out another pained noise.
"Dagonet perhaps it would be best if we sent her to the Hospital..." Arthur suggested.
"No, there is no need. I just need some tweezers to remove the gravel, the wounds aren't exactly pretty but they don't require stitches." Dagonet stated as he gently wiped off the blood that had once again begun to pour out of her wounds.
"How is it that you know so much about injuries?" Isolde said as she watched him pick out the gravel.
"I'm an army field doctor."
He worked diligently making sure to get every single rock. Once that was done he poured a bit of solution on to a cloth and swabbed off her arm. Nearly everyone in the room jumped when Isolde decided to let out a loud string of curses after that.
Not dealing very well with blood Lana removed herself from the room and Lancelot, Karissa and Gawain went with her to keep her company.. Arthur kept insisting that Isolde see a doctor when she went home, to which she replied, "Does Dagonet not count as a doctor?" She was going to have some pretty bruising along her right side tomorrow, and she was already feeling it now.
While Dagonet cleaned up the supplies, Isolde slid from the chair on to her feet. She clenched her teeth as she walked attempting to make it to the salon where she could throw herself upon the couch and be done with it.
"I wouldn't recommend walking, you just need to lie down with a few pain killers in you. Tristan can you carry her up to her bed while I get the medication." Arthur stated.
Tristan didn't need asking twice and had scooped Isolde up in his arms before she had time to protest. He settled her against his chest and positioned his hands to be as gentle as he could on her wounds. Isolde shut her eyes as pain coursed through her body and took in a deep breath. All she could smell however was Tristan's woodsy cologne.
He gently placed Isolde on the bed, removing her sneakers so that she could be more comfortable.
"Deja vu..." Isolde said with half a smile.
"Why were you so reckless?" He stated as he covered her with the blanket.
"I wanted to beat Lana..." Isolde said with a smile.
Tristan's eyes lit up in amusement as he brushed her hair from her face with his hand, allowing it to linger a bit longer than necessary on her cheek when Arthur came in holding a glass of water and two small white pills in his hand.
"Here we are... Ah Tristan, Lana was asking for you." Arthur said nodding his head as Tristan left the room.
"Thank you." Isolde said as she sat up long enough to take the pills and swallow water without choking upon them.
"You are welcome. Just rest for now. I'll send Lancelot up later with some food... or perhaps you would prefer Tristan?" Arthur said with a smile before leaving the room.
Isolde's mouth dropped and then shut abruptly. She found herself dozing off, and realized that Arthur must have given her something to sleep instead of something for pain.
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Isolde sat on the edge of the knight, Tristan's, bed running a cool cloth over his head. He had been brought in nearly two days ago with an infected wound, and his fever had been raging ever since. She was not but fifteen summers and he looked to be several years her senior. Isolde looked upon him with curious eyes, studying the shape of his jaw and his stoic countenance, the lines of his muscles and the scruffy beard growing on his chin. She pressed the back of her hand to his cheek to feel if the warmth had subsided when his hand reached up and grasped hers bringing it to his mouth so he could place a kiss on her palm. Isolde pulled her hand away, a faint blush on her cheeks.
"You need to rest, or your fever will never break. And I don't think Arthur will look kindly upon me if I kill one of his knights."
"I have no inclination to get well again, if it means a beautiful woman shall wait on me day and night, and watch over me while I sleep." Tristan said with a twinkle in his eye.
"You are delirious sir, please calm yourself." Isolde stated turning away from him but he took hold of her arm once more forcing her to look at him.
"No, I am not delirious."
"You hardly know me, do not be so forward." Isolde replied as she dipped the cloth back into the water and wrung it out once more.
"I feel as if I have known you forever."
"I shall leave you now to tell Arthur how his knight fares..." Isolde bowed her head to him and left the room.
Once safely outside its door, she allowed her face to be consumed by a smile as her palm still tingled with Tristan's kiss. Forever indeed! That man would be her undoing.
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To my reviewers... (This may be the last time I respond to everyone's reviews though I do enjoy getting them, it just ends up being a bit much)
Addicted2LancelotAndTristan- I think everyone wants to know if Lancelot feels for Isolde... But I don't think Tristan will ever let us get the chance to find out.
KnightMaiden- Lancelot might have his own girl soon. That's all I have to say. And though you didn't get a falling out in this chapter, rest assured the big kaboom is occurring next.
Jenni- The cooking scene was my favorite part also just because whenever my friends and I cook together there is always dancing and singing with spatulas.
Priestess of the Myrmidon- Still haven't seen the movie -cheshire cat grin-
Lady Marek- You are my 100th review! Yay! So many people wonder if Tristan has the dreams that Isolde has... and well I don't think I'm going to answer that question for now. My story is really focused in on Isolde obviously, so we won't find out about if he does or not unless she asks him about it.
Dferveiro- Did you enjoy their alone time? Better times to come I promise you.
Sweet Krab Whacka- You flatter me. I'm glad you enjoy my story, and yes I like to allude to various different books and movies when writing. The allusion to Pride and Prejudice in this chapter was a shameless plug for my other story however.
LithiumAddict- I'm glad I inspired such insane amounts of laughter. You seem to enjoy thinking about Tristan's extra-curricular activities, then again who doesn't? And Lancelot is a lot more than we took him to be. As many before have asked, maybe he does really like Isolde...then again maybe not. I enjoy your sneaky tactics to leave me two reviews for one chapter. I'm glad you enjoyed that final scene, I enjoyed writing it and I agree the imagery it invokes is powerful. Thanks again.
Firbereth- Everyone loves the kitchen sequence, and I have had varying views as to whether Tristan should suffer or not. I felt like being nice this chapter, not so much next one though.
Medieval Warrior Princess- I'm happy you enjoyed the chapter that much. There were quite a few funny lines in there if I might say so myself, but I can't help it when both Gawain and Lancelot are involved. :)
Sekhmet88- As I mentioned to someone earlier, big boom comes next. I wanted to make Lana hate-able, but not the entirely evil character that the other woman always seems to be in these situations. See my response to Lady Marek regarding the dreams. As for your second question all I can say is :) . Isolde is very much a mental image for me, Karissa is actually based on my beta-reader for another story, Lana would be sort of like Rosamund Pike and Shelby would be like Sienna Guillory. Good questions.
Chaos- 4 in the morning! Wow, I can say I've done that with some stories before. It means a lot that you would forgo sleep for mine. Coffee is on Lancelot, and the dream sequence question that everyone has. All I can say is wait and see.
Thanks to: Scouter, 404, BrownEyedGirl1, WandererOfTheRoads, and Chakrum girl