So I have the next three chapters mapped out and the Lancelot/OC comes to the front in this chapter... I know some were becoming uninterested because of the lack of how strong the pairing was but I hope you enjoy the story from here onwards cause Lance will take over her.

There is an straight out Lancelot/OC story in works, it's a rewrite of one of my old ones but it won't be up for a little while because I'm trying to make it better than it originally was- which was cringe worthy.

REVIEW REPLY to Sunny Girl: You were anonymous, but I hope you see this, anyway in answer to the question why I never finish my stories is simple and yet complex: I get wrapped up in another one way too easily. My mind never actually stops working when it comes to stories and I have a dilemma of (in the case of King Arthur fics- not this one- and my wrestling ones) not being able to keep myself focused on one single story. I always usually stop writing to the fictions in which I feel are not as good as what they could have been and I never feel like working on them once I realize that. Believe me, I wish I could finish some of my fanfictions, of my multi-chaptered stories, I never actually have completed one haha, because the idea is so long and I end up being side-tracked in the long run.

Kat

Check out videos for this story on my Vimeo channel: FanfictionUnlimited where there are some new videos for this.

I apologise for how long it has taken me to update this fic considering I love it so much. It won't take anywhere near as long anymore.

There is a note on my profile also.

Enjoy and remember to drop a review!

Chapter XXIV

Sophia woke at the feel of fingers stroking her cheek making her smile as she cuddled deeper into the blankets and fur; enjoying its comforting warmth and that of the body beside hers. Lips replaced the fingers and Sophia rolled over, burying her face into the chest she came into contact with, smiling as she felt the fingers tracing down her arm. If was so nice that it had her wishing time wasn't against her at the moment.

"Come on Sophia, time to get up," he said gently beside her ear.

"What time is it?" she replied, not moving away or opening her eyes. She snuggled in deeper against the hard body; moaning in protesting at being woken up.

"A little before dawn."

Sophia groaned lightly in replied. "And you're waking me now, why?"

Soft laughter followed her question. "Well I thought you might like to go back to your room before the others wake up."

Seeing his reasoning, Sophia opened her eyes and stretched out lazily before glancing at Agravaine. He was smiling at her, eyes slipping down. She leaned forward and kissed the corner of his mouth.

"Couldn't I just hide in here for the day with you?" she asked.

He chuckled before sweeping the covers from them, making Sophia blush heavily as he crawled over her. "I, contrary, to what you may think, do not hide in here all day. I have sparring with Lancelot to deal with before noon," he remarked making her smile at him.

"Sparring?"

After a moment of silence, he shook his head. "That is a no, again, to training you little one," he said grinning as she frowned and looked away from him.

Still not understanding why he refused to teach her Sophia got out of the bed, pulling the fur blanket up with her, keeping herself covered. She heard Agravaine move behind her and turned to face him. "Why won't you teach me?" she asked him, tightening the fur around her body a little more as she stared up at him in confusion.

He sighed heavily. "Sophia, why do you want to fight?"

"Because I want to make things right-" she told him putting a hand on his chest, "and the only way to make things right is to fight. I'm not completely novice, but I was trained differently to how you were."

Agravaine shook his head as he moved round her and grabbed a pair of breeches. "Sophia, I don't want to teach you to be a killer," he told her.

Sophia huffed and frowned at him when he glanced at her while tying the laces up on his breeches. She pulled herself away when he made to grab her arm. He took a step towards her and dragged her in against him. "Please," she said softly, her eyes downcast.

Hooking a finger underneath her chin, Agravaine made her look up at him. "You can watch and observe us in the courtyard but I am not going to spar with you. You'll only end up injured," he told her, smiling a little at her seeing the fire in her eyes and the thoughts running through her head. Leaning down he kissed her gently, smiling against her mouth as she leaned into him. "You really enjoy my kisses."

She giggled suddenly and buried her head into his chest as he chuckled. "Well they are nice kisses," she told him, running her hands up his chest lightly.

He groaned softly, his head swimming a little as her thoughts came through. "Hey, hey, hey that is not fair at all," he hissed as she turned the heat up a little more through thoughts. Sophia smirked as she loosened his breeches, making him look down with a raised eyebrow. "This is cheating."

"No, this is persuasion," she replied cheekily.

He grabbed her arms and tugged her close to him, smirking wickedly. "No this is called bribery."

She managed to pull away from him and head for the shut door where Loop was. Hearing Agravaine protest, she giggled. "Well if you want me to do what I just showed you then you had better think twice about not training me," she challenged over her shoulder before shutting the door behind her on a complaining Agravaine.

Lancelot was already up before dawn and his companion from last night had already left for which he was glad to be rid of her company. He had paid her extra to not say a word of last night after the slip he had made while with her. Lancelot knew how they liked to gossip.

Had it been a slip? He truly didn't think so as he knew in his mind, despite all the alcohol he had consumed, the woman he had been with last night had not been the girl whose name he'd said.

Sophia.

He still couldn't honestly comprehend why he had said her name during sex with another woman. He loathed her. Teased and tormented her, and apparently also liked saying her name during sex with another woman.

Lancelot felt like knocking himself across the back of the head with the butt of his own sword from how foolish he felt.

Running a hand down his face as he collapsed onto his bed and looked round at his room and noticed how untidy it was; he'd need to clean up the mess or make sure one of the maids did it today for him. He glanced at the door when someone knocked on it. Standing up from where he was sitting on the edge of the bed and crossing the room he wondered who it was. Probably Arthur coming to say they had been called out again.

When he opened the door; Lancelot stopped at the sight that greeted him. Sophia stood there, hands behind her back and a slight smile on her lips. He gave her an annoyed look as he folded his arms across his chest. "Yes?"

She rocked up on the balls of her feet slightly before settling back down. "Agravaine told me that you were all sparring this morning."

"Oh he did now?" he inquired, a smirk coming to his face. "And why would he tell you that?"

Sophia's smile flattered and she huffed. "Alright, so I asked him if he would teach me to fight like you all can but he won't." Lancelot nodded, leaning against the frame of the door, seemingly not concerned with the fact that he was in nothing more than breeches and boots, having been halfway through dressing when he'd just collapsed down onto his bed trying to mule over things. "I was wondering if, even though we don't get along well, you'd be able to teach me how to fight?"

"I don't teach," he answered and Sophia hung her head, her shoulders slumping in defeat, which made him chuckle. "However, I do need a partner other than Bors; damn loses his temper every time we start."

Sophia looked up at him and smiled. "Really?"

He nodded and lifted up one shoulder. "It couldn't hurt, after all you don't look like you could really do much damage to a person," he teased, stepping back and shutting the door on her before she could tell him off laughing when he heard her squeal out from the other side.

Walking over he picked up one of his swords and looked at it. Sophia would need a sword; one more fitted to withstand a blow than what she currently carried with her. He wondered whether Arthur would approve of his choice in teaching her but he didn't care, it would give him a chance to tease her and at least this way he and Agravaine wouldn't have to go chasing off after her every time a fight occurred. Remembering back to the forest when he'd killed the werewolf to protect her, Lancelot shook himself and set his sword back down near the fireplace and turned to finish getting dressed.

Come breakfast Sophia found Arthur, Tristan and Agravaine all absent. She gathered that Arthur was still in his rooms, probably resting while he could and Tristan was more than likely off doing something he shouldn't be, but Agravaine's whereabouts made her smirk. He was probably still in his rooms trying to get over what she had tortured him with through her mind, so he didn't do something in front of everyone else.

"So Agravaine and Lancelot is the last fight for this round and then-"

"I'm training with Sophia," Lancelot interrupted, not looking up from his food. Sophia smiled at the number sitting beside her who had asked if she really was going to fight a knight.

"Well it is only practice," she explained.

Carl groaned as he slowly began to wake up. His head hurt, his body felt like it he had just ran for hours and he also realized, as he came to, that he was naked beneath the sheets of his new bed. Sitting up sharply and regretting doing so immediately after, Carl clutched at his forehead as he checked the room, assessing whether he was truly awake or simply dreaming. A hand slid round his belly suddenly, startling him. He scrambled from the bed, dragging the blanket with him to cover himself. Turning round with the blanket tight about his waist, Carl came face to face with a sleeping woman.

Now he remembered exactly what had happened the night prior and felt like blushing crimson red as he recalled how hastily he had acted throughout the whole thing. Looking about the messy room of scrolls and papers, Carl searched for some semblance of clothing.

After breakfast Bors had pulled Sophia aside and asked her if she could help Vanora out while she was getting over the birth. Sophia had jumped at helping, she knew that some of the children would help her out as well and she had been correct. Five of the numbers; one, three, four, seven and eight had all come along with her to the markets to get what Vanora had asked for.

Sophia had laughed when the woman had cursed Agravaine and Tristan for eating all the apples in the tavern stores and told her to keep an eye on them if they get close to her while shopping so they didn't pinch the ones she brought in the market.

The numbers were highly entertaining. Number one, whose twin number two was off somewhere causing trouble as he liked to do, was the spitting image of her mother and Sophia had found that she also inherited her mother's temper as she snapped at one of the young numbers who pulled her hair as she carried her.

After another bout of hair pulling Sophia said she'd carry the small girl that was number eight who seemed extremely happy that she did so. Sophia found the tiny child adorable as she snuggled into her neck and wrapped her arms around her neck tightly.

While in the markets though, Sophia found that many of the people who were seeing her for the first time stared blatantly. It unnerved Sophia though she could understand why they were so intrigued by her.

When they were standing at a stall with piles of red and green apples Sophia felt him come up behind her. She felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand up as she smiled secretly to herself as the children all greeted him while she remained facing away from him. The woman behind the piles of fruit moved away hastily and Sophia realized that it was because of Agravaine's appearance.

"Let me guess; no apples left in the back room of the tavern?" she inquired in a taunting way over her shoulder, smiling at Agravaine whose mouth curved upwards slightly for a second before it dropped.

He greeted the numbers in turn of their age, moving closer to them as he did and Sophia turned to face him finally; holding in her free hand a red apple as she balanced number eight on her right hip. Clearly from the look on his face he wanted the apple but seemed to be debating with himself over something.

Sophia just waved the apple a little from side to side and noticed, with high amusement, that his eyes followed the fruit. He took the last few steps towards her until the only thing separating them was the child she carried on her hip. "Sophia," he mumbled, his eyes moving from the apple to her face.

Inwardly she questioned him on why he was acting so strange and saw the smallest hint of a smirk pull up the corner of his mouth. She thought she heard Galahad and Gawain's voices however Agravaine chose to lean down in that second.

His mouth pressed against hers in a light sweet kiss and she smiled against him at the outright display of affection she did not think would come from him. The child in her arms was giggling as Agravaine brought his hand up to thread into her hair at the back of her neck while he continued to kiss her.

"Ha! Pay up Gawain!"

Pulling back, Sophia leaned slightly round to find a startled Gawain and Lancelot and an overly joyful looking Galahad watching them. She turned red slightly as Agravaine took the apple from her hand.

"Volim te," he whispered into her ear, kissing her cheek for good measure before turning and walking off without another word, tossing the apple up into the air as he passed by the three knights who had come upon the scene.

Looking at the number she held Sophia felt herself turn redder when the child said that Agravaine liked her. The eldest number was giggling uncontrollably and Sophia quickly turned and went back to what she was doing, hoping the other three knights just continued on their way.

"Galahad, you should just attach yourself to her leg like a mutt in heat," Gawain groaned as he followed his younger cousin down the street, acknowledging a pretty girl or two as he passed them by.

Galahad growled back. "She is a friend and Bors just can't expect her and the numbers to do everything while Vanora is resting," Galahad shot back over his shoulder.

"The pup says what now?" Lancelot asked as he fell into step alongside Gawain with ease. Gawain chuckled as Galahad scowled back at them. "Wanna explain why he is rushing through the markets at this time of the morning?"

"Bors asked Sophia to help Vanora and Galahad is searching out his favourite new friend to offer her some assistance," Gawain remarked, smirking as Lancelot chuckled.

"What is so wrong with that?" Galahad snapped at them, turning to face them for a moment.

Lancelot shook his head and covered his eyes as the youngest knight ran backwards into a table and nearly knocked everything off it. Gawain refrained from laughing as he told his cousin that it was more than obvious he liked Sophia.

"As. A. Friend," Galahad said, stressing each word slowly once he had helped to clean up the mess he had caused.

They continued bickering as they headed through the markets until Galahad spotted Sophia at a stall of apples. He was about to call her when he noticed Agravaine already with her. "Looks like Aggy beat you," Gawain teased, elbowing his cousin lightly.

Lancelot looked at the pair a few metres ahead curiously, wondering what they were talking about as he watched her hold an apple out to their friend.

Gawain gaped when Agravaine leaned in and kissed Sophia suddenly. "Well... at least now we know who Tristan was talking 'bout last night," Lancelot drawled, smirking as he watched the pair, clapping a hand on Galahad's shoulder. "Sorry to see you..."

"Ha! Pay up Gawain!" Galahad stated in triumph looking at his cousin and best friend with a large smirk.

When Agravaine passed by them, Lancelot just shook his head and watched him go. Gawain managed to shake himself back to normality and smiled as he handed Galahad two coins.

"Well good to know someone can tame him," he commented which made Galahad laugh as Lancelot just looked at the pair with a quirked eyebrow.

"Galahad said it would be Agravaine, I thought it would be Arthur."

Lancelot gave him an incredulous look. "Arthur? What on earth made you think it would be Arthur?"

Gawain just lifted up one shoulder as he spoke: "Oh come on, it is not as farfetched as you may think." Lancelot just shook his head, trying not to laugh at the blond knight who just scowled in return.

Sophia had her back to them and Lancelot found he was unable to resist tormenting her now that he had one up on her. Walking over, he smirked as the other two followed him. "Sophia and Aggy sitting in a tree-" he began to sing only to have Sophia turn and whack his arm hastily.

"Could you just not?" she said harshly back to him.

He just leaned in close to her, chuckling as he ruffled the hair of number eight who giggled. "K-I-S-S-"

Sophia stood on his foot and put number eight down before walking off. Galahad grinned as number eight told Lancelot that he was a bully and proceeded to follow her older sister away from the apple stall. Lancelot cursed at the sourness of the woman as Galahad slipped away from the pair and followed after Sophia.

Galahad found Sophia in the stables, talking to Agravaine's horse much to Galahad's amusement. She was so wrapped up in the horse that she had not even noticed him come up behind her until he put a hand on her shoulder.

He felt her reaction and braced himself, quickly catching her hand as she swung round to hit him. After a second or so she smiled a little at him and he let go of her arm. "Don't sneak up on me," she shot defensively, trying to mask embarrassment with anger. It didn't fool Galahad.

"You know Lancelot only does it because he always gets a rise out of you," he commented off handily as he leaned back against the beam behind him.

He watched her look away for a moment before he received a curt nod in response. "He is like a bug," she mused and Galahad half-snorted and half-chuckled. "Though he is one I can't crush."

"Aye, but he ain't all bad; he just doesn't like to show what good there is in him," he told her, waving his hand round absently and making her grin.

"You and I have very different opinions on Lancelot then," she stated, folding her arms across her chest and smiling at him.

"That we do but you'll see his good side- someday, I hope," he remarked, giving her a weak smile. After a moment of silence, he huffed and stretched out a little. "But until that day comes you can always show him you're not as easily swayed by his tricks."

Sophia chuckled and hit him on the arm lightly. "Shouldn't you be siding with Lancelot, he is after-"

"Lance is Lance, he is arrogant, most times self-centred and as you've already seen, he cares little about the women he takes to his bed. No one is perfect, Lancelot just prefers to not work on his vices."

She could not argue with him at all on that.

Sophia stared at the weapon she was holding. The smithy was explaining how he'd crafted it to her and that when Lancelot had come looking for a sword for a woman, he'd handed him this particular one.

Looking at the curly-haired knight, she asked him only one silent question with her eyes. For a minute he just stared back before a smirk grew on his face. "Well, your current sword is not suitable and I am not training you if you don't have a proper weapon," he said as he glanced at the smithy and nodded in his direction before turning and beginning to leave.

He had dragged Sophia into the smithy's shop which was directly joined to the training yards once he'd caught sight of her and Galahad at the fence while he was sparring with Gawain. Lancelot kept telling himself exactly what he had told her as the reason for buying her the sword but in truth he knew that he had bought it for her because he had just wanted to.

Agravaine leaned against the fence, watching out of the corner of his eye as Lancelot showed Sophia how she should stand when holding her new sword. He didn't fail to notice when Lancelot put his hand on Sophia's hip and quirked an eyebrow, wondering what game Lancelot was playing at this morning.

He smirked crookedly as Sophia's thoughts invaded his own giving him the reassurance that she wasn't enjoying the touching.

As they started, Agravaine watched how Sophia moved. She wasn't as strong as what he thought, in fact, watching her now against Lancelot made him see that the hard blows to her sword were hurting her wrist and forcing her to use more strength that she actually had.

Agravaine wished he had the ability to send his thoughts through to her. "Sword up, Sophia!" he called out and smiled as she did as he ordered.

"Don't cheat!" Lancelot shouted back.

"Parry!" Agravaine demanded and began calling out what she was to do and making the others laugh as he read Lancelot's advances.

Sophia yelped as Lancelot locked his sword with hers and spun round her, smacking her on the backside with flat of his second sword that he drew from his back suddenly.

He broke away, laughing as she spun around to scowl at him. "All is fair in combat," he quipped.

She gave him a sour look. "The term is "all is fair in love and war", not all is fair in combat," she shot back and he lost his smirk before raising his swords up to point at her. She knocked them aside weakly, barely putting any effort into it.

Agravaine could hear her thoughts. She was angry and drained. He ducked under the rail and drew his sword. "I think that's enough for the day," he commented and saw Lancelot glance over at him, "for Sophia."

She nodded. He could already tell, even without the invasion of her thoughts in his mind that she was not one for playing games when she was serious about something.

Carl found Agravaine and Sophia sometime in the afternoon and his after-morning effects from his first night of sin had worn of. They were in the stables, tending to Agravaine's horse. It seemed the knight enjoyed his time with his mount quite a lot and Sophia was sitting on the straw near the stable gate, watching as he brushed the dapple grey down thoroughly.

"Ah there you two are," he stated and Agravaine bit his tongue as Sophia asked Carl how his night had gone. The scarred knight had glanced round in time to see a deep crimson blush spread across the friar's cheeks and he chuckled as Sophia giggled. "Yes... Well I uh- Sophia, you should not pry into the business of others!"

Agravaine saw how flustered he was becoming and decided to cause the friar even more reason to squirm while he had the opportunity. "I do hope the whore was worth your coin, friar."

Carl began squirming even more and Sophia could not help but burst out into cackles almost as she watched her friend.

"Right!" he said sharply. "That'll be enough about my business!" Agravaine gave him a silent, placid look and Carl simply brushed it aside. "Now, how did last nights' venture into dream tracking go?"

"Poorly," Sophia piped up, lying. "It didn't work last night."

"Odd," Carl huffed and Agravaine smirked at the next suggestion of trying again tonight. "Or course, I would like to be involved in this one."

"No," Agravaine replied flatly. "I prefer it be just one person, and Sophia is who I trust, so I will only agree to it if it is her."

Carl frowned at Agravaine's back but Sophia just smiled a little. "It is easier when you're not there pressing things in that painful way you can, Carl," she added. "Not that you're always like that but lately, you have been."

"Very well, but I expect some results this time," he told them, pointing a finger at Sophia who grinned a little and nodded quickly.

"We'll try our best, I promise, but it isn't like we can control it one hundred percent," she remarked as he gave a slight huff and turned away, leaving them alone. She returned the huff with a quiet one of her own as leaned against the rail of stall. "I truly wish he would not push me into doing such a thing to you. There are only so many of their thoughts and memories that you are able to see at times."

"How do you know that?" Agravaine inquired softly.

She glanced over her shoulder before ducking under the rail and telling him she'd see him later. He frowned and tried to call her back only she kept going.