Under the spray of the water fall Keira and Gawain laid on the grass wrapped in nothing but a blanket, laughing together as they enjoyed some wine Gawain had nicked from the bar. Keira rolled over so her arms were resting on his chest. She looked at him and smiled as she let her chin rest on her arms.

"What?" Gawain chuckled at her staring gaze.

She just shook her head and continued to smile.

"I missed you."

"Not nearly as much as I missed you. Why do you think I was so eager to see you." He leaned forward and met her lips for a brief kiss. Keira laughed at the corny line and rolled off his chest, reaching for the wine bottle and some bread.

"You just came back to claim your… 'reward'." Keira's eyes ran the length of blanket, hinting as to what was underneath, "My brave knight." She adopted a false high pitch for sarcasm as she pretended to swoon before taking a swig from the bottle. Gawain laughed, reaching around her waist to roll her back over as she giggled, kissing her once again. They parted slowly, Keira gently stroked his hair as he gazed as her, unable to comprehend how lucky he was.

"What's it like? To go out and fight like you do."

Her question had taken him by surprise and was clearly illustrated on his face. "How do you mean?"

"I mean-" She paused so she could sit up on her elbows, "In the midst of all the death and chaos, do you ever feel like-like you're still you?" Keira's curiosity was genuine, she wanted to be prepared for when she and Jacquelyn faced real battle.

Gawain cocked his head to the side as if to mull the question over, breathing deeply before answering. "I suppose I've never really thought about it." He raised a hand to scratch at his beard. "Well you see, the thing is it's hard to care and kill, and if you let 'you' into the battle-into you're head, it gets very hard to come away unscathed mentally. Emotions in battle take a toll and can make for a very heavy heart."

"So in order to do your job, you can't care? Can't place any value in a persons' life?" She looked almost sad at the realization. This wasn't just a game, and reality was setting in on the decision she and Jacquelyn had made. Perhaps they weren't ready after all.

"However." Gawain detected her sadness and put his hand under her chin to draw her heavy gaze.

"Just because I don't care out there, doesn't mean I can't care here." He offered her a smile to lighten the mood. Keira gave a small smile back, placing a hand over his as it had made its way to her cheek. He brushed a stray piece of hair off her face, furrowing his brow a bit in doubt.

"Where are these questions coming from anyway?" He didn't want the dreary and depressing affairs of war causing any creases on her angelic face.

Keira faltered slightly before coming up with a reply. "Clearly, my dear knight, you forget that I am a woman. And as such, I am interested in getting to know more than just the physical aspects of a man." She practically purred, her hesitation utterly masked as she winked, just before she was pulled into an embrace.

"Ah-ha, now all that talking is starting to make sense." Gawain laughed, kissing the top of her head as she jokingly nudged him. Keira practically buried her head in his shoulder, soaking up the scent of his body as well as the heat it gave off. She sighed.

"As long as I get to have 'you' here I don't care what you do out there, just promise me this is the man who will keep coming back to me." She pulled her head from his shoulder to look at him, placing a hand on his chest for emphasis.

"I promise."

Keira smiled up at him, a twinkle in her eye. "Good." She quickly pecked his lips with a kiss and sprang to her feet. "Now, race you to the water!" She turned and ran as the blanket fell from her body, Gawain only managed a quick look before her slender figure was hidden by a splash. He cursed, smiling as he stood quietly thinking to himself 'This girl will be the death of me.'

As the moon began to sink back towards the horizon the pair left the waterfall, sharing a fleeting moment by the stables before slinking off to their respective beds to graciously accept however many brief hours of sleep they could manage. They had, after all, had a very tiring evening.

Gawain slowly opened the door, desperately trying to evaporate into air so as not to wake his siblings with the squeaking of floorboards. His body was just halfway into the entrance of his room when he heard a noise.

"Gawain? What are you doing?" Jacquelyn stood in the hallway looking quizzically at him as she finished the ties on her apron.

"I was just uh-" As Gawain fumbled for words, Jac noticed the beads of sweat which had begun to form on his forehead.

"Why are you sweating?" Gawain only then realized his exertions in an attempt to get home quickly had resulted in a damp neck and brow. He grasped at whatever words were floating into his mind to make an excuse.

"Sparring." He said rather abruptly, " I was um, sparring with…myself. Couldn't sleep. Heh." He laughed nervously as he shrugged his shoulders. She looked at him strangely for a moment before deciding to accept his bizarre excuse.

"Okay… Well then perfect, since you're up would you mind tidying the stables and fetching some water for me? I meant to this morning but I overslept-damn rooster." She whispered the last bit angrily, as if to curse the bird who had failed to rouse her.

"I'll be late to the tavern if I go now, please do this for me?"

Gawain's adrenaline was still pumping throughout his body from his unexpected detection. In addition he was still lost for words and provided an ambiguous shake of his head, a shake which Jacquelyn interpreted as a yes. She squealed in gratitude.

"Oh thank you!" She hugged him and whispered into his ear, "I always knew you were my favorite brother." She smiled and kissed his cheek as she hurried out the door. It wasn't until she was gone that Gawain started to realize he wouldn't be getting to sleep anytime soon. His shoulders had already begun to sag as he made his way towards the stables, preparing for the long day of work that was now brutally staring him in the face.

"Keira. Keira? Keira!" Jacquelyn pounded on the door, unsure if her friend had even come back to her room after her little late night ride. All Jacquelyn did know was that Keira was far overdue for her shift at the tavern. She woke with a start, still wrapped in her cloak from the previous evening. "Bloody hell." Keira sat up rubbing her forehead, still exhausted. Jacquelyn continued her incessant knocking as Keira made her way to the door before quickly tearing the cloak from her body, tossing it under her bed.

"Keira ope-" Jacquelyn was taken back when Keira suddenly swung open the door, after how long it took for her to answer she had fixed it in her mind that Keira never did come back last night; fully expecting the room to be empty.

"What is it Jac?"

"Do you have any idea what time it is? You were supposed to be down at the tavern hours ago."

Keira's jaw dropped. The only thought that scrambled across her spinning mind was 'Not again'. She sprinted back into her room to grab a rag and apron, speaking quickly as she ran past Jac and down the stairs.

"Thanks Jac, I'll see you later!" Keira grabbed onto the post and spun round the corner. "If Rulf doesn't kill me."

"Oh trust me. You're already dead." She stopped dead in her tracks, the barman standing directly in front of her.

"Where the hell have you been? I should just kick your lazy ass right back upstairs."

"I'm so sorry Rulf, I-I overslept."

"I can see that." He pointed to her unkempt hair, his expression remained tinged with anger. Keira's face turned red as she realized she hadn't attended to her appearance before rushing down to the bar. Rulf sighed, shaking his head. "Get to work before I change my mind. You're lucky you're a good barmaid. "

She released the breath she had been holding and smiled, she mouthed a quick 'thank you' to the man before heading to her station behind the bar.

Keira had just finished drying the cups when Rulf brought a fresh batch of dirtied mugs. Her hands fell to the bar with a slam as she let her head bob backwards.

She practically huffed with exasperation, "Will it never end?"

"Nope. So I recommend you go get another pail of water to deal with these." Rulf motioned to the mound of dishes in front of him.

"It's days like these that make me feel like the luckiest girl in the world." Keira sarcastically fluttered her eyelids and clasped her hands together in front of her chest. Rulf gave a deep chuckle and tossed the empty water pail at her.

"Oh you're utterly hysterical, now go get that water before I find someone else to do your job." Keira almost ducked to avoid the bucket hitting her head, just barely grabbing it in time.

"Alright, alright! I'm going!" She grabbed the pail by the handle, swinging it by her legs as she made her way to the well. Keira attached the container to the rope and lowered it into the dark hole until she heard a splash. She struggled a little with the cord as she pulled the bucket back up from the abyss. After unhooking it she slowly made her way back to the bar, trying desperately not to spill the contents, she didn't want to have to drag yet another heavy bucket all the way back to the tavern.

"Well well well, what do we have here? A lovely lady, walking unattended and alone? My, this just won't do."

"Bugger off Bryce, I'm not in the mood."

"Here allow me to assist you." Bryce nimbly picked the pail out of her hands, sloshing it around a bit as he began to back up.

"I don't suppose you need this do you?" A wicked smile played at his lips, he thoroughly enjoyed teasing women, especially Keira.

"Bryce I'm serious, give it here." Keira followed the large man off the main path in front of a building across from the bar. He held the bucket above his head and out of her reach, spinning as she hopelessly reached for it. She felt foolish as she continually grabbed at air, spinning in circles until her back faced the wall. Bryce's' lips curled into what she could only interpret as a smile as he carelessly flung the pail and its contents off to the side. Keira ran a hand through her hair and crossed her arms before making a move to get around the burly man.

"Woah now, where you going in such a rush beautiful?" He lightly pushed her, her back hitting the wall behind as he trapped her there, his arms on either side of her.

"This isn't funny Bryce. Now move."

"Aw comon' now Keira it's just a little fun." He slowly ran a hand down the side of her jaw, she immediately turned away at his touch.

"Hows about a little trade hm? I'll get out of your way-hell I'll even go refill the bucket if you do a little something for me." His eyes hungrily trailed her body, hand had now somehow found its way to her waist and was continuing to move south.

"Or, how about you get your dirty hands off me and I promise I won't embarrass you by kicking your ignorant ass." Keira's eyes held a dangerous glint in them, Bryce took her bravado as a challenge, practically laughing at the thought of her causing him any physical pain.

"I like a woman with a little fight in her." Bryce roughly grabbed her face and kissed her. Keira's eyes bulged. She had told herself she wouldn't use her "skills" in public for fear of someone noticing, but the second his lips sloppily collided with hers if was as if all she could see was a searing bright light. It was only a matter of seconds before her knee swiftly came into contact with his groin. Bryce doubled over, his hands moving to defend his lower half from another hit, yet leaving his entire upper body unprotected. Just as quickly as she had kneed him, she brought her head back before forcefully hitting it against his own.

The force of the hit had him reeling back, "Bloody hell, you bitch!" Bryce howled in anger.

"You should've listened." The edges of Keira's lips turned up as she registered the fear in the brute's eyes, he hadn't anticipated she would literally put up a fight. Her hand curled tightly, she had thrown all of her weight behind the punch as her fist crashed against the side of his face. Bryce collapsed in the middle of the path moaning in pain, balled up like a child unsure which part of his body was in more pain. Keira scoffed at the pathetic figure before realizing she had an audience. She looked around as several people turned to each other in whispers, shocked at what they had witnessed.

"Bugger." Keira whispered under her breath before hastily turning to get away from the scene.

"Well, glad I didn't try to step in, I think I just would've gotten in your way. Silly me to think you would need any help."

"Dag!" The knight startled her, walking closer to her and the scene she was trying to escape. She winced as she spoke. "How much of that did you see exactly?"

"All of it." He laughed, putting his arm around her shoulders as they walked. "I swear Keira, if you keep this up there'll be no men left in town. At least none who'll want to marry you." He raised his eyebrows and smiled down at her.

"Why is it you always seem to find me when I'm in a pinch? You're going to start thinking I'm a bad egg or something."

"Oh I don't think it, I know it." Keira nudged him in the gut. Dagonet looked over his shoulder at Bryce, still a lump on the ground with people now starting to circle him with curiosity as he angrily waved them off.

"I almost feel bad for the bloke."

"I don't. He got what was coming-horny bastard."

"Where did you even learn to do that?"

"You honestly think I grew up with Bors and never learned how to at least defend myself?" Keira answered with a surprising amount of honesty, the moves she had used on Bryce were basic ones she had learned from her years of keeping a young hotheaded Bors at bay. Dag nodded with a chortle.

"S'pose that's true"

Keira released an exasperated sigh as they reached the tavern, realizing she hadn't brought back any water.

"Damn it.I forgot the water."

"I'll go with you, I'm assuming Bryce will still be there."

"Dag I can handle myself."

"I'm not worried he'll hurt you, I'm worried you'll hurt him." Keira saw him wink one more time as her 'brother' playfully pushed her, the pair laughing while they walked back towards the well.

I'm backk! Same old song and dance of an apology for the wait-life just seems to keep getting in the way of timely uploads, but I hope it was worth the wait! And don't worry, the next few chapters will be full of some interesting encounters!

Please keep reviewing! Words can't describe how much I absolutely LOVE getting reviews constructive, or otherwise. As always I will make a sincere attempt at a quicker update for the next chapter but I'll be taking 18 credits in the upcoming semester so I will be quitee busy. Maybe if I get a bunch of reviews I'll be encouraged to finish the next chapter a tad quicker...who knows, only way to find out is to review! Keep reading and I'll keep writing-thanks!

missonasi