A/N: Sorry peeps but I think this may just be a little bit of a filler for the moment, I'm trying to tie together a couple of loose ends that are annoying me, but I will try and get a couple of chapters ahead hopefully tomorrow!

Read on, Review and Enjoy!


XI.

The next morning, Kalyna woke up early, impatient to fulfill her appointment with the King. Under Vivianna's watchful eye she slipped into a dress Vanora had leant her (which had fit her before her pregnancies) and sat on the bed, fidgeting a little as she waited for her escort.

It was only as she got better that Kalyna began to miss the contents of her saddle-bags, which had contained all her clothes, and more importantly her weapons and armour. All lost because of her foolishness, she cursed herself inwardly.

'Stop that racket girl!' Vivianna snapped after a particularly long interlude of foot-tapping, 'The time will come soon enough! If you are that impatient you may hold these for me!'

Obligingly, Kalyna stood and took the small bundles of herbs the healer handed to her, glad to have something to do to take her mind off the wait. After the healer had made five packets of leaves, there was a firm knock at the door and the knight Gawain entered.

'Ladies,' he inclined his head formally, his eyes smiling, 'The king wishes to hold a meeting with you Lady Kalyna, if I may escort you.'

Kalyna smiled nervously back at him, leaving Vivianna with her things and walking out the door with the man. 'Are you always that formal Gawain?' she teased, 'Or is it just amongst women that you begin to smooth talk?'

He smiled charmingly at her as they walked down the corridor, 'Why milady, I do believe it is only when in the presence of the fairer sex that inclinations of chivalry overtake me!' he boasted, sweeping up her hand and kissing it wickedly, giving her a wink, 'I simply cannot control my urges.'

Kalyna giggled, 'Why Gawain, stop it, your positively drooling' she said, grinning at him, 'I had no idea the effect Vivianna had on you!' The man had to be the biggest shmooze she had ever met. Lancelot was famed for being a womanizer, but she would bet on the fact that Gawain was running a definite second. A golden version of the dark Lancelot (presumably with more scruples than the other man), whose flirtatious ways were infamous throughout Britton.

'Will you and the other knights be staying for the meeting?' she asked, becoming serious, 'If it alright with His Majesty, I would like you all to listen in. That way I will not have to repeat myself.'

Gawain's tawny coloured head turned, his eyes fixing themselves on her face. 'I am not sure exactly what Arthur will do but don't worry,' he smiled, patting her hand as she listened nervously, 'there is nothing you need to worry about. We will all support you, whatever you say.'

'We?' she asked confused, 'Who's we? Why would you do that?'

'Well 'We' is us, the knights of the round table, myself included,' he said, clearing his throat, 'And why? Because you're one of our people. Our own blood. We look forward to hearing what news you bring of Sarmatia - if you have any. Even though this has become our home, we are still tied to the place of our birth.'

He sounded so lighthearted, she could easily see that he and Galahad were very much alike. But somehow, Gawain still managed to seem reserved even when he was being friendly. The man reminded her of someone, and she couldn't quite place it. 'Thankyou' Kalyna smiled warmly at him. 'Your trust is appreciated.'

• • •

By the time Kalyna and Gawain reached the great hall, all the other knights had seated themselves in various places around the table, the King alone this time against the wall as Guinevere was absent.

As soon as he saw her, Galahad smiled, all the knights standing as she entered the room. Kalyna blushed at the sign of respect and hastily curtsied to the King, desperately trying to remember what her mother had told her to do in order to achieve a graceful curtsey. The end result was not a complete disaster as she didn't fall over, but it was nowhere near graceful.

Just as she opened her mouth to thank the King for seeing her, he smiled at her across the room 'Kalyna, we are glad to see you are looking better.' Arthur said, his deep voice rumbling through her, 'Vivianna says you are recovering well. Will you be ready to leave the infirmary soon?'

'Yes my Lord,' she mumbled, before realising that none of them would be able to hear her if she talked like a mouse. Taking a deep breath, Kalyna squared her shoulders and spoke up 'Yes, Your Majesty, Vivianna says i shall be ready to leave in about three days if all goes well.' she smiled politely 'I wish to be out and working as soon as possible.'

Lancelot chuckled, 'Do you remember that time Gawain,' he said to the knight as he walked around the table, dumping himself next to Galahad, 'when you were stuck in the infirmary for a month?'

'Yes' he grimaced in reply, 'The worst month of my life. I swear that woman's concoctions did more damage than healing!'

'Don' be such a baby Gawain!' Bors guffawed, already halfway into his second mug of ale, 'You just couldn't take it like a man!'

'You're one to say 'take it like a man'!' Gawain growled, 'I'm not the one who got locked out of the house by his woman and spent the whole night practically BEGGING to be allowed back in!'

'It was COLD al' righ'! There was no way I wan' ed' to be stuck ou'side the whole nigh' freez'n me balls off!' Bors roared.

The man Tristan sat quietly the whole time, his eyes barely flicking up to observe his fellows, as he sipped from his wine, his feet planted on the table. Kalyna shook her head, smirking as they continued to argue, raising her eyebrows at their antics when she turned to find Galahad's eyes on her.

'Fellow knights,' Arthur called out when he felt their good-natured argument had gone on long enough. 'I think it is time we allowed Kalyna to say what she has come here to say. My lady...If you wish to sit, any space is yours. You may also stand as you please.'

'Kalyna, tell us how you came here.' Lancelot said

'Yes, what it is like in Sarmatia now!' Gawain called, gulping his ale.

'And what happened after you ran, please Kalyna.' Galahad added gently

'Lady. Please take your time and tell us whatever you feel it is important we should know.' The King said, 'We are listening.'

• • •

Slowly, Kalyna began the narration of her story, 'I was born to a Sarmatian tribe North East of the Baltic sea. When I was three years old, my tribe was attacked by Huns, who overran our people easily. My mother was killed and although I can remember my father was not with us at the time - he was trading with another tribe - I know in my heart that he is also dead.

Somehow, I survived the attack, the lone person amongst all my people. I believe I would have died had the Gods not looked upon me. As it was, I was discovered by a caravan on its way to Rome, which had passed my village. A man and his wife adopted me, as I could only count three summers at the time.

My new father's name was Bryyan and my mother's, Anichka. Bryyan was a Britton, raised to be an envoy to Rome. One story tells of how he met Anichka on one of his journeys, and the first time he saw her he fell madly in love. At the time he did not know Sarmatian women are trained to be as skilled in battle as their men and was pleasantly surprised one day when his young bride saved his life just as the wagons were besieged by were wonderful parents to me, and I will never be able to show enough gratitude to the memory of them.

Throughout my younger years we travelled extensively throughout the Roman empire, occasionally crossing back into Sarmatia and into other countries. I only went back to my home once, after Bryyan died and Anichka and I began the long journey to Britton to spread his ashes, as was his dying wish.'

'How did he die?' The usually silent Tristan spoke up, startling her.

Kalyna looked at the quiet man, 'He was killed when thugs attacked our caravan when I was 16. He was mortally wounded and his dying wish was that we would bring his body back to Britton to be spread on the shores of the homeland he loved.'

Lancelot grunted, 'Many men have felt the same. I too once wished to be burned if I died, and have them thrown onto a strong East wind, so that I could find my way home.' That is changed now, but part of me still longs to feel the ground of Sarmatia beneath my feet.'

'Tha's all well an' good Lancelot, bu' I wan' t' hear the res' of th' story if you don' mind.' Bors interjected, 'Continue girl.'

Kalyna smiled at him, 'Of course, but there is not much left to the tale. The lessons of warfare my mother had been teaching me increased tenfold after the death of my father. Soon I was sparring with others, and often men who I would beat, would follow me and catch me unprotected. Several of them at once would attack me and give a beating that suited the wounds to their pride. I can easily say that I have more wounds from those fights, than I do from actual battles.'

She could see the disgust on the knights faces, and she hoped that they were thinking of the mens actions father than hers. Doggedly she continued, 'After the fights became more frequent, and the wounds more serious, Anichka forbade me from wearing mens clothes and sparring as she did not want me injured any further.

Upon arriving in Britton, we spread fathers ashes and began our way to Camelot, to the court of the legendary King Arthur and his knights. With the imminent fall of Rome we both felt that Britton was the safest place to be, despite the lawlessness of several fiefs.

On our way we passed through many estates of Romans that have sworn allegiance to you King, and many of the reactions we got, even though we were only passing through, were very unwelcoming. You all know what happened next, and I would rather not repeat the events of that day. They are still to clear enough in my memories, ones which I would rather forget.' Kalyna sighed.

The room was silent for a moment, as her story sunk in. Suddenly, Arhtur cleared his throat, refocusing Kalyna's attention on him as she blushed. 'I think, Kalyna, now would be a good time to tell us what happened in the forest.' he said gently.

'Your Majesty, I am sorry, I cannot tell you much,' she replied truthfully, 'Vivianna says I have amnesia and I can only catch snippets of memories. She says that all my memories will come back, but I cannot say when. I can tell you however my Lord, that I was captured by Woads.'

The Kings face grew stony at that and the other knights began to mutter amongst themselves. 'How do you know this?' he asked sharply.

'Because I recognised their language Sir,' Kalyna answered, 'I have been attacked by Woads before and they spoke the same language.'

'Do you know what they wanted Kalyna?' Arhur said, a frown creasing his forehead

She smiled bitterly, 'At first they wanted just me, as an object for their own pleasure' she spat, 'but before they touched me, one of them saw my tattoo, and all of them backed off. I cannot understand why, they have no relation to Sarmatia.'

'Do you remember what happened next?' Galahad asked softly

'Yes,' Kalyna whispered, 'I was taken before their leader, and then thrown in a small hut for I don't know how long. After some time, several of them came into the hut and held me down, then they started burning me.'

She looked the King directly in the eye, his expression kind 'I am sorry, I do not remember much after that, everything is hazy. I escaped when one of the Woad's, came in to have some fun with me. They hadn't realised I was carrying my small dagger, and I slit his throat before making my escape.' After Kalyna dropped to a seat, she thought for a moment, before continuing, 'Your Majesty, there is something else, I do remember a word. The Woads kept saying the word Epona, and it made me think it was a name.'

Frowning, Arthur leaned forward against the table, 'I do not recognise it, but I shall ask Guinevere when she returns, she will know. Thankyou for your honesty Kalyna.' Speaking to all his knights he said, 'My fellow knights, if I may, I would like to speak to Kalyna for a moment, alone.'

Obligingly, the men all stood from their chairs, filing out of the room. As Galahad passed, Kalyna shivered as she thought she felt the tips of his fingers brush across her back. After each of the knights had left, Kalyna turned back to the King, 'Your Majesty?'

Arthur sighed deeply, looking at his hands as they rested on the table 'Kalyna, I do believe I owe you an apology.'

'Me my Lord?' she asked dumbstruck, 'What must you apologise for? You have been nothing but kind to me!'

'The day that you left,' he replied, 'Several of the knights wished to go after you and bring you back, but I told them not to. It is my belief, that had I allowed them to follow, the events that have befallen you would not have happened. I blame part of myself for the hurt you have endured.'

Realising she must look like a fish with her mouth open, Kalyna closed it, 'No my Leige, The fault is all my own doing. But if I may ask, why did you not send your knights after me?' she said, puzzled.

'When I was young, I too lost my mother. All I wanted for some days after was to be alone and have time to comprehend my grief. ' Arthur smiled wryly, 'However, my new duties did not permit it. I thought, that by letting you go I was doing you a favour. But how wrong I was. It would please me greatly If you stayed to be part of my court Kalyna.' he leaned back on his chair, studying her face, 'Not only to make it up to you, but to provide you with a home. Guinevere finds you intriguing, and she would be glad for another feminine presence, the knights all find you interesting, and Vanora has nothing but words of kindness to speak of you. What do you say?'

'T-t-thankyou My Lord,' she choked out, 'I would be more than grateful.'

'It is settled then!' the King slapped the table, 'You will move back into the room you were assigned when you first came here, as soon as Vivianna sees fit.'