Chapter 25: Captured

As we walked by the trees, there was an orange glow in the forest, though it was well after dark. All of the trees had the yellow cat eyes, and their eyes followed us as we continued our procession through the forest to wherever they were taking us. That wasn't the only light. There was also a glow coming from the moon. But it was an unusual glow; almost blue in color, like the butterfly I had seen that fateful day in Actica. But maybe it was just because we were weary from running earlier.

We finally stopped walking. I wasn't so happy to stop walking because all the pain of the day finally hit me. My knees and feet were aching, and my head was throbbing. I was about to collapse when they dragged us to this giant tree. I thought maybe that was the queen of the dryads. It was an enormous tree, hundreds of feet high and so wide I don't think the nine of us (Gizelle doesn't count for anything anymore) together could wrap our arms around it. About one hundred men could fit around its trunk. There was a giant hole in the middle of it, and there were torches guiding the way in. I couldn't help but worry, childishly, if whatever they had in mind for us was going to hurt. I'd experienced more than enough pain in the past few days, thank you very much. We were led down a narrow tunnel towards some cells made of wood. The sight of the wood cheered me up a little; after all, how hard was wood to break? One of the dryads must have guessed what was on my mind because she said, "The cells are unbreakable. Dryad magic is very powerful." I glared at her. Thanks, dream killer. Though maybe it was best to know beforehand because I didn't want to be lit on fire or something if I accidentally touched the bars.

There were two cells. One was down the hall from us where they took Lancelot, Merlin (to my horror), Elyan, Sir Leon and Arthur. They put Gwen, Gwaine, Gizelle, Percival and I in the other. At least there were two people I could get along with. The others... well, they'd better not get on my nerves too much. I've heard that sometimes, prisoners develop some form of madness and sometimes go insane and kill their cellmates. I've got magic now too, so Gwaine and the Witless Wonder had better watch out.

I was the last to be shoved into the cell. They pushed me right into Percival, who caught me with strong, warm arms... wait, what am I saying? I rudely shrugged him off and went to go sit and sulk in the corner. It was cold in the cell, and I was shivering intensely. Gwen came to sit next to me and she put her arms around me to keep me warm. The girl was a true saint. I smiled gratefully, and then put my arms around her so we could keep each other warm. It just occurred to me that I was the youngest of the nine of us. I felt very small suddenly, and not as powerful and almighty as before, and in the first time in a long time I really cried. Before I nearly drowned myself I cried, but not like this. I caught everyone by surprise as I wept.

"Aw, no," I groaned, hurriedly wiping away at my tears. "What is the matter with me?"

"It's been rough, Hale. Everyone feels the way you do," Gwen said kindly. I snorted.

"Maybe, but you don't see anyone else breaking down, do you?"

"Out of all of us, you've been through the most. You were the one whose life was completely turned upside down, not once but three times. You were the one who had to watch her family die. It's a wonder you're still sane," Gwen told me gently. I sighed.

"Well, if Merlin were here he'd tell me to stop watering the prison cell," I said. I laughed weakly and wiped the last of my tears away. Gwen looked at me thoughtfully.

"You and Merlin have grown really close, haven't you?"

"Yeah. He's like the brother I always wanted. But don't tell him I said that. He'd never let me live it down." I was starting to feel better. Gwen rubbed my shoulders in an effort to make me feel warmer. Percival surprised me by walking over with the soft concerned eyes of a young boy. He pulled out a blanket from a pack he had with him.

"I hope this might help." It was the first time I had heard him speak. His voice was deep, yet very soft and sweet. I smiled at him thankfully, but shook my head.

"No, you keep it. What if you get cold?"

"It would be an honor, my lady, if you took it." My lady? Yeah right. He handed it to me. I took it gratefully, and smiled.

"Thank you." I was barely able to whisper it through my parched lips. He smiled crookedly and was about to walk off.

"Wait! Stay here. I appreciate your company." Gwen eyed me strangely, and so did Gwaine, but I tried my best to ignore it. He sat in front of me and smiled weakly. He was a strange man. He was very silent and timid most of the time. Hardly ever made eye contact with me. If I hadn't known him better, I would think he was scared of me. But I had seen him fight before, and he was a valuable asset in our cause.

"Why haven't you ever spoken to me before?" He shrugged.

"Well, there has to be a reason." I smiled, and his face turned slightly pink, or maybe it was the way the fire from the torch glowed at that second.

"Are you scared of me?" He shook his head. "Well, then, what is it?"

"He's shy, Hale!" Gwaine said, coming over to us and leaving Gizelle to shiver in the corner by herself. I was sort of okay with that. I had a strong feeling that she was the cause of all this, but I didn't have any proof. Besides, it could just be a byproduct of my dislike for the girl. Gwaine smiled at me, and butterflies started fluttering in my stomach. I instantly squashed those darn butterflies and turned away. Curse love!

"Gwaine," I whispered. "Why is she here?"

"She wanted to tag along and so I let her. Why not? What? Do you have a problem with her or something?" I rolled my eyes.

"She's only slowing us down. And she is useless! You have to admit that." I looked to Percival and Gwen for support. They nodded in agreement.

"It is true," Gwen said shyly.

"Ah! Don't worry about it," he said with a wave of his hands. "I find her a bit dull, not fun to mess around with, you know." He winked at me. I knew he was talking about the first few days we had known each other. I still couldn't help but wonder how he could get over a woman so fast, no matter how dumb she was. I felt Gwaine and I were on better terms, but still not like how we were before.

"Hey Percy!" It took me a while for me to realize he was talking to Percival. "You still have that ale from back at that healing village?" Percy threw his sack at Gwaine, who caught it and smiled like a child who had gotten a new toy.

"Thank you very much!" He opened up the sack and pulled out a black and brown leather flask. He opened it, chugged the whole thing, and collapsed backwards. When he fell, he started to laugh hysterically.

"Oh, why do you all look so worried?" he said, still laughing. He was howling now, and running around our cell saying something like, "Where are my dandelions?" I had only been around a drunkard once, and it did not end well. Gwen looked at me worriedly and whispered that this was normal for him. I wouldn't have guessed, but maybe I should have. Percival looked through his sack for something, as Gwaine started to roar with laughter. He went over to Gizelle, and took her hand and started twirling her around. He was humming a tune as they danced. They looked ridiculous, but I couldn't help but watch. Is this what that drink does to you? Does it intoxicate your mind and numb all sense of rationality? Does it obscure your mind in a cloud so that you can't see the difference between right and wrong? Like when I almost killed myself, because I thought that death was the easy way out? It was, but nothing would have been solved if I had died. I don't know what comes after that last heartbeat, and the slowing of your breathing. The unknown scared me more than knowing what may become of my future. And the future of others was on my shoulders. Ale caused a man to become greedy and lose all sense of compassion, not to mention manners. I thought this right as I saw Gwaine lean down towards Gizelle to kiss her, I think, but she shoved him away, as she almost fainted from his breath. He was getting angry, and was about to do something when our door flew open. A big man with one eye came in. He had a large tunic on and he wore no shoes. His teeth were brown with rot, and his breath smelled like death. He growled into Gwaine's face and Gwaine's hair flew everywhere. He waved his hand in front of his face and pinched his nose.

"You really need to work on that breath of yours; there's no way a woman will love you if you come home to her smelling like you've been eating animal carcasses all day." Gwaine wasn't laughing anymore, but there was still something comical about the way he said it. The giant one-eyed man sniffed Gwaine, and then growled. His deep voice sounded like rocks were grinding against each other. He talked with a peasants' slang.

"You been drinkin', ain'tcha?" Gwaine tried to hold back his laughter. As if that was funny! "Well, ain't no drinkin' allowed for the prisoners!" Gwaine became serious.

"And what name do you go by?"

"Heimech," the man growled, and Gwaine put his hand on Heimech's shoulders.

"Well then, it's my displeasure, my dear friend, to inform you that you are the one who cannot drink."

"What?"

"Well, you did say that prisoners weren't allowed to drink." We all stood there in horror, scared about what he would say next.

"And if I'm thinking straight," Ironic right? "I think that you, my dear Heimech, are a prisoner. Those dryads, those very beautiful and alluring," he slurred that word. "Dryads are keeping you prisoner. Tell me, do you ever get to leave this place? You know, to take a break?"

"No," Heimech answered skeptically.

"Soooo you are a prisoner, see! So we are all good friends now, eh?" Gwaine grinned and put out his hand for Heimech to shake. At first it looked like Heimech was going to, but then he bellowed and hit Gwaine, sending him flying towards us. Gwaine landed on his back, the wind knocked out of him. Gwen ran to him.

"All of you's! If I finds out you's been drinkin' again, I will give ya more than a blow to yer stomach! Don't be acausin' any more trouble than it is!" He grumbled as he sealed our cell door shut with a spell. Gwaine was rubbing the back of his head and holding his other hand to his stomach. Gwen put his head in her lap. He looked at Percival and mouthed something to him. He probably asked for more beer.

When he could finally breath again, Gwen left him, curled up in a corner and fell asleep. Percival and Gizelle drifted off to the dream world soon after Gwen, leaving a half-breathing Gwaine and me awake. I just sat there in the cold, looking and listening for Gwaine's breath, scared that he would stop breathing altogether. What was the creature Heimech? Was it a troll? No, it was too clean and tall for a troll. Maybe he was just a human after all.

"Hale!" Gwaine called out, interrupting my thoughts.

"Mhm?"

"Come here!" I crawled over to where he was and sat next to him.

"This shirt is weighing down on my chest. Would you unbutton it for me?" Woah! That was definitely the ale talking. I was hesitant, but then thought maybe his chest was bruised and did as he said. It wasn't bruised, but I could see a faint burn mark. I absentmindedly traced my hand around where it was. Gwaine started to giggle and he grabbed my hand. I had to fight a bizarre urge to blush, crack up and smack him all at the same time. He started to breath regularly, as if a massive weight had been removed.

"Is that all you want from me, Gwaine?" I talked to him like a mother would her son.

"Stay with me. I am so lonely here." I sighed and sat next to him, and squeezed his hand. He just stared at me in a very weird, yet very familiar way. Not the way he usually stared at me, but a way someone else had stared at me years ago. I had all but forgotten about the boy. I realized then that I had unconsciously taken Gwaine's advice and stopped looking for and wondering about him. Without realizing it, I fingered my necklace, and as usual Gwaine noticed.

"Pretty," he slurred. "Shiny... like you." Now I'm shiny? He really needs to lay off the ale.

"Um, thanks... I think," I mumbled. I was starting to worry about him. Gwen said this was normal for him, but did "normal" include the drunken ramblings?

"My mum had something like that once."

"Really?" I asked. He laughed innocently.

"Yes!" His eyes were turning glossy. What was happening? Was he about to go into a rage?

"I took it from her. I stole it because I was mad. I don't remember why. But I remember... fire." I gulped. I had been in a fire too. He started to smile as he remembered.

"I remember this girl, this pretty girl. I don't know what she was doing there. That place was not for women. But her... brother... no, her father! Yes, her father started to fight, with my uncle you know." What was he saying? This couldn't be true.

"Then the tavern was alight, and I saved that girl. Stupid me. I could have saved my mother, but something told me to save that girl."

"Gwaine! Stop it. This is all nonsense. That's the story I told you. You weren't the boy. You can't be. Remember, you said you were his friend."

"Why are you denying the truth? Don't you get it? I was there! I rescued that girl! I remember it as if it were yesterday. I gave her that necklace you're wearing! Why did you steal it from her?" He was starting get angry, and everyone was waking up because of him. I ran to where Percy and Gwen were. Percy pulled me behind him as we watched Gwaine try to get up clumsily. He almost stood, but then collapsed in front of us. I stared at him, struck dumb by what he said. It wasn't true. But it made sense now why he continuously looked at my necklace, why he always got jittery when we talked about the boy. But he was drunk, and probably confused. I had told him the story before, and he probably knew some of it since he knew his friend was the boy.

"I remember how she felt!" he cried. "I remember the tender way she looked at me. The way she cared for me when I was still recovering from the fire. I remember one day when she tried to make bread..." His eyes were drifting past our heads and he looked as if he was in a trance. "She made it, but it burnt, and so we had nothing to eat that day." How did he know that? I didn't tell anyone about that. No one knew but the boy.

"Hale, is he saying he is...?"

"Yes," I whispered to Gwen. "I think he is. But why didn't he just -" Gwaine interrupted me.

"I remembered how she insisted that we should go hunting." He laughed a little. "She told me her father had taught her how. So we did, and we caught two rabbits. We ate like royalty that day!" He smiled at the memory, and then hiccupped and giggled. Suddenly, he frowned.

"The drinking... she always got mad about the drinking..." he murmured. "She told me one day I was going to drink myself sick, so sick that she wouldn't be able to care for me. She told me instead of mourning she would say 'I told you so,' but I knew her better than that. It was easy to see that if I did die, she would be devastated. I guess I'm just a ladies man!" He grinned stupidly. I was still frozen; I hadn't told anyone that either. The longer he talked, the more obvious it seemed that Gwaine was the boy. He continued, "I mean, when I left, I thought she was going to fall apart completely! She kept begging me not to go. I wouldn't have left her if I thought she couldn't fend for herself, but that girl was more than capable of living on her own. I only left so that she wouldn't be in danger." His voice grew soft. "I couldn't bear it either if she died..." He rubbed his eyes and broke himself out of the trance, and decided to lie down on the hard dirt floor. He closed his eyes and fell asleep.

END PART TWO