Chapter 14: Pleasure And Jealousy

They all sat in their hiding places waiting for the Saxons to walk into their ambush, the sun was just rising and Tristan had been out scouting all night. Now everyone sat with baited breath waiting for the onslaught, Illyria stood at the edge of the forest and Tristan walked through the woods towards her,

' Any news?'

' They'll be here soon I was only just ahead of them'

' We should warn the others' she nodded

' See you on the battlefield Illyria' she smiled and walked away to inform the others.

Tristan had been right, the Saxons arrived not long after he got back there were more of them than they had expected but Illyria was confident in her fellow warriors. Illyria watched as arrows rained down on the Saxons from the woad archers concealed in the forest and then the onslaught began. People ambushed the Saxons from their hiding places, Illyria was in the centre of the fight, she'd never moved so fast in her life, she skilfully swung her sai's and took out as many Saxons as she could. She wasn't sure how long they'd all been fighting, sweat poured off of everyone under the blazing sun and the clash of metal rang out, Illyria panted as she dispatched another soldier, one after another they came to fight and she despatched them all, one of them was huge he lunged and swiped relentlessly at her and she dodged until from exhaustion he swiped her diagonally across the back, Illyria was so exhausted she couldn't help the shout that escaped her lip as she sank to her knees feeling the hot blood trickle down her back, she waited for the final blow to strike her and end her life but it never came. She heard the Saxons roar as he raised his sword to strike her but before he could he fell dead beside her, she turned and saw Tristan, a bloody sword in his hand and he took her hand and pulled her back to her feet before leaving to fight another, Illyria continued fighting, she heard movement behind her and turned bringing her sai's up to attack, she met Lancelot's swords and he smirked,

' Not turning on me already are you Illyria?' he smirked

' Not today' she turned and walked across the Saxon strewn battlefield and saw Tristan watching her as he took out yet another Saxon, she stared back at the expression on his face, his face looked impassive but his eyes seemed to flash with anger, she couldn't understand why though, perhaps this was how he always looked in battle. The fight ended in their victory, very few Saxons survived and none were unharmed, they ran back in the direction they'd come from, the camps were cheering and assessing their injured. They headed back to the village to rest and nurse their wounded; Illyria felt the pain burn through her back and she could feel the dried blood cracking, as she walked she reopened the wound and it began to bleed again, she heard Arthur yelling orders for his men to assist others with their wounds. Illyria cut away from everyone who was heading to the village and walked through the woods to a small pool, she pulled her damp clothes of her body and waded into the cool pool, she ran the water over herself flinching as it stung the wound on her back. Tristan had gone to scout the woods for survivors, though mostly he wanted to get away from everyone and be alone, he walked through the woods and couldn't understand why seeing Illyria talking to Lancelot had irritated him so much. He kept an eye out but knew none of the Saxons would be foolish enough to hang around and get killed; he paused as he heard splashing water and continued forward quietly, he came to the edge of a clearing and watched in wonder, he saw Illyria, she was hip deep in the water with her back to him but he knew it was her, he watched the water run down her back from her hands and wash away the dried on blood, he watched the water cascade down the curves of her back, he saw the curve of her breast as she lifted her arm and her glossy dark hair clung to her skin, Tristan felt the muscles in his lower abdomen tighten and he had to tear himself away. He walked back through the woods his mind awash with the image of Illyria naked, he heard the familiar cry of his hawk above him and he held out his arm as she landed, Illyria lay on the bank of the pool and let the light sun rays dry her, she pulled her clothes back on and pain shot through her back again. She walked back into the village and headed for Honoria's, Tristan was outside feeding some meat to the hawk and Accalia, he looked up at her,

' You should let me check your back it's still bleeding' she nodded wincing again as pain shot through her back again,

' I'll come through in a minute, give you a chance to change' she nodded again and walked inside, she pulled her clothes and boots off cringing in pain, she pulled a robe on just as there was a knock at the door,

' Come in' Tristan walked in as she fastened her hair up, he had a stone bowl in his hands,

'Lie down, it'll put less train on your back muscles' she did as he said and felt him sit next to her on the bed, he cleaned the wound on her back and she shivered as he ran his rough fingers over her skin,

' Your hands are cold' he smiled as he picked up the bowl and scooped some of the herbal paste out and ran his fingers across the wound, he took pleasure in being able to touch her smooth skin, Illyria closed her eyes and relaxed at his touch, she felt her eyelids grow heavy, Tristan looked at her and realised she'd fallen asleep, he pulled a strand of hair from her face and tucked it behind her ear, stroking her cheek as he did. Tristan watched her sleep for a few minutes before slowly standing, covering her in a blanket and leaving her to sleep. He walked downstairs to find Viviana in the kitchen, she watched him,

' How is Illyria?'

' She's fine, her back should heal quickly with this on it and she's sleeping now'

' You care for her don't you?'

' I don't form attachments to anyone'

' You have with her though, deny it all you want' Tristan didn't say another word, he stormed out to find the other knights relaxing in the garden,

' Tristan where have you been?' Bors shouted, he'd been drinking heavily to celebrate the victory,

' Following orders'

' Has anyone seen Illyria?' Lancelot walked in with Arthur,

' The old woman said she's upstairs resting'

' Maybe I should check on her?' Lancelot smirked and Tristan felt rage pound through him, he wanted to attack Lancelot for even daring to think of Illyria as one of his many conquests,

' She's fine I just checked on her' Viviana said walking out of the house, Tristan relaxed and met the old woman's eyes, she was smiling knowingly at him as she walked back inside.