21 – She Never Cried In Front Of Me – Toby Keith

Lancelot awoke in the middle of the night. He had volunteered to stay with her in case fever arose. Cara wasn't too keen on the idea, but she drifted off at an early hour. Lancelot took a moment to figure out what woke him and realized that Dagonet was back to check on Cara.

He said nothing for fear of waking Cara. Dagonet's hand trailed the lashes and he shook his head in disapproval. Even in her sleep Cara whimpered and groaned. Lancelot's eyes were dark and Dagonet could tell he was still angry with Arthur.

"Don't blame Arthur," Dagonet said softly as he unlaced the back of the dress she now wore. His voice was so low Lancelot barely caught what he said. "It was her own fault." Lancelot's eyes seemed to darken, but they held a sense of understanding.

"I know," Lancelot said softly Dagonet caught a tinge of sadness in his quiet voice. It quiet for another few minutes as Dagonet checked the injuries she had received prior to the flogging. Cara arched her back when Dagonet rolled her over and Lancelot's faces contorted in pain when he heard her moan involuntarily.

Dagonet grabbed her wrapped hand and Lancelot looked on in curiosity. He had assumed she had cut herself or something like that. His eyes widened in shock when he realized her thumb was dangling at an awkward angle now that it was unwrapped.

"Those dogs paid for what they did," Lancelot spat glaring at her hand in disgust. It was nasty looking. All black and blue and looked more painful than the lashes, but Cara didn't move. Dag caught his gaze and looked back at him with a sympathetic look in his eyes. "What?"

"They didn't do this," he said referring to her hand. "Cara broke it herself trying to escape." Lancelot dropped his gaze to the floor and Dagonet caught a few of the curses that escaped his lips.

"Will it heal," he asked seriously. It was her right hand and without it she wouldn't be able to use a bow or sword again. That in itself would be a crushing blow to Cara. He watched as Dagonet made sure the finger was still where it needed to be before he wrapped it.

"I don't know," was Dagonet's simple quiet reply. Lancelot looked at him with questioning eyes. Lancelot wasn't to be messed with right now and his eyes flashed dangerously. "It wasn't a clean break. It may heal it may not." Lancelot let out an exasperated sigh and buried his head in his hands.

"And if it doesn't?" Lancelot asked, looking up at Dagonet. The giant knight didn't know why Lancelot had asked him that. It was a touchy subject altogether and Dagonet didn't want to have to think about it. Besides, Lancelot knew the answer. Perhaps he just needed to be told again.

"Then there's nothing I can do," Dagonet replied solemnly.

"Why would she do something like that?" he asked mostly to himself. He couldn't understand why Cara would do that to get away. She should have known they wouldn't leave her alone. She should've known that they would come after her.

"Remember, Lancelot," Dagonet warned before things got out of hand. "She didn't know we were coming for her. If you were alone wouldn't you have done the same?"

"She should've known," Lancelot answered simply. Dagonet shook his head in disagreement.

"Cara had endangered Guinevere's life, Lancelot. Even I got the impression that Arthur wanted her dead before you went and talked to him," Dagonet explained. His voice was soft and had a wise fatherly sense to it. "What would you think if you were in Cara's place?" Lancelot didn't answer.

He understood what Dagonet was saying. Cara had some sense to do what she did, but now it might come back to bite her in the ass. Dagonet gave Lancelot's shoulder a reassuring squeeze before leaving him and Cara alone.

Cara awoke an hour later when her back began to throb. She was surprised to see Lancelot sitting in a chair beside her bed. Cara was silent and careful not to wake the sleeping knight. She struggled to sit up and groaned softly. She swung her legs over the side of the bed. She was feeling better than she was earlier, but the dizziness was still there.

She stood up warily, not sure if her legs would support her. Satisfied, she took a step. She swayed a little, but didn't fall. She took another and another. She walked faster now, but it didn't last long. She stumbled to the ground with a loud thump.

Lancelot jumped up at the sudden noise and his eyes darted warily around the room, finally settling on Cara. He hurried to her side. "What are you doing?" he asked half angry that she tried to sneak out. Cara didn't answer as Lancelot hoisted her to her feet. Cara wasn't expecting Lancelot to carry her back to the bed and she hissed when his hand touched her wounds.

Lancelot set her gently back on the bed and Cara stared at him with soft eyes. "Do you want to kill yourself?" he asked, not taking his stern eyes off of her.

"Lancelot, I don't think getting out of bed is going to kill me," she argued.

"No, but it won't help you either," Lancelot shot back. Cara internally flinched at his suddenly harsh tone. "What woke you?"

"Nothing," she said quickly, too quickly and Lancelot saw right through her lie. That was another thing that had changed. Cara wasn't that stone wall she used to be. Everything about her had seemed to soften.

"Cara," he begged, stroking her cheek lovingly. Cara pulled away from his touch and lay down on her stomach once more. Lancelot saw her face contort with pain.

One thing had been bugging Lancelot and he needed to know the answer. Cara was always a fighter and now she seemed…broken. "Why did you let Arthur do that to you?" he asked suddenly. Cara was caught off guard by the question.

She struggled to choose the right words. "Because I deserved it," she answered simply. Lancelot was about to say something, but Cara cut him off. "Lancelot, I'm tired could we finish this conversation another time?"

The dark curly haired knight nodded and gave her a small kiss on the forehead. "Get some rest," he advised. "You need it."