Chapter 28: Gypsy Woman

GWAINE

I was surprised by how quickly Lancelot and Kay hit it off. Lancelot was a nice guy, but he was reserved. I suppose it was Kay's "leadership charisma" or whatever.

The two approached the campfire each holding a child. Lancelot had a little girl by the hand while Kay was holding a little boy back - presumably her brother. They seemed to be arguing about something.

"… I'll prove you wrong! I'm gonna marry Hale!" the boy cried. Huh?

"You gotta be able to protect her, stupid!" the girl shouted back. "You can't do nothing when you're that small!"

"I told you, I'm gonna get stronger!" the boy screamed. "Are you deaf or something?"

"What's going on here?" All eyes turned to Hale who walked up with a stern expression on her face. The boy quickly detached himself from Kay and hugged Hale's legs. Then he took a deep breath.

"I'mgonnagetstrongerwhenIgrowupsowecangetmarriedsodon'tmarryanyoneelsenotthatbrownhairedguyovertherenotevenKayeventhoughhe'sstrongandsmartandstuffbutIswearI'mgonnagrowreallybigsoIcanprotectyouandyeah." The boy slumped over panting. Hale blinked.

"I'm sorry Alec, I didn't quite catch that. Could you repeat it?" Alec's face went red.

"I'm gonna get stronger and marry you when I grow up," he repeated, hiding his face. Hale started giggling and kneeled down with some difficulty.

"That's very kind of you, Alec," she said sweetly. "But I think you're going to find someone else. Besides, you're much too young to be thinking of marriage already!" Alec pouted.

"Anyway, I think it's time for you and your sister to go to bed," Hale added.

"But I'm not sleepy!" Alec whined.

"Well, too bad, son." Kay sauntered over and grabbed the boy. "You need to sleep. How about I sing you a lullaby, hmm?" Alec immediately brightened.

"Yeah! Sing the one-"

"Sing the Druid song! The one for the princess!" Isolde interrupted. She scrambled over to sit next to Kay, who laughed at the children's eagerness.

"As you wish, my lady," he said gallantly. Then he took a deep breath.

"Walk onto the path ahead, you'll see yourself the things unsaid. Of past and future though it's dim, the light ahead it seems so grim. But nay nay, we shall say nay, as the evil of night takes over day. Walk into the lion's den. The past it will repeat again. Treading on a road you know. The sweet waters seem to flow. Traveling on the road beyond what you knew is now gone. The hearts you will have to mend, will then bring our story to an end. But nay nay, we shall say nay, as the evil of night takes over day. Nay nay! We shall sing nay, as the rain takes away the pain and dismay."

The song sent chills down my spine. There was power in those words, and it made me anxious.

"That song…" Hale started. "You sang it when we were captured by the bandits. What did Isolde mean by 'it's for the princess?'"

"Like I told you before, the song was meant to guide the princess… of… Actica…" His voice trailed off. He and Hale exchanged wide eyed glances.

"No…" he whispered. "The song of the Druids was meant… for you?" Hale looked shaken.

"It can't be -"

"But it was." We turned towards the source of the interruption. The children's mother - I'd learned her name was Vivian - stood there with a resigned expression.

"Mama? What do you mean?" Isolde asked. Her mother shifted nervously.

"Hale, I haven't been… entirely honest with you, I'm afraid." Hale reeled back like she'd been slapped.

"To start with… I was not always a gypsy. I was born a Druid. I'm a descendent of the Druids that were attacked by Cairon, which is how I knew Cairon's history so well. I left to travel with my husband, may his soul rest in peace." Her husband was dead?

"My husband, along with all the other men except Kay, was killed in the bandit attack," Vivian answered my questioning look. "I miss him, but I don't regret the life we lived. I'll always remember him, and raise our children to the best of my ability." She smiled and stroked Isolde's hair. Then her face turned grim.

"On a related note, that is not the entire song. Actually, it isn't a song at all. It's a prophecy." A prophecy? That would explain the feeling I had earlier.

"The entire prophecy goes like this," she said. "Walk onto the path ahead, you'll see yourself the things unsaid. Of the past and future though it's dim, the light ahead it seems so grim. Walk into the lion's den. The past it will repeat again. Treading on a road you know, the sweet waters seem to flow. Though a battle's on the brink, two more lives will interlink. Wait for her, she'll guide you through where the silver lights look so few. Where Sky and Earth seem to meet, you'll see a dancer on the whitest sheet. When every lie turns into truth, you'll see old eyes full of youth. Something small full of rage - you release it from its cage. Traveling on the road beyond. What you knew is now gone. The hearts you will have to mend will then bring your story to an end."

Vivian gazed at us sadly.

"The prophecy spells Cairon's downfall, and it is said that he will be defeated by a warrior wielding a specific sword." Her eyes turned to Hale's scabbard. "The sword's name was Leuxs. However, the sword's master was destined to lose everything." Vivian closed her eyes.

"While the prophecy was meant to guide the princess, I thought that the wielder of the sword and the princess were two very different people. But…" Here her voice wavered. "Hale, you are Leuxs' master. When I first saw your sword, I knew what it meant. But I didn't want to believe it. As far as I knew, you were just a poor lost soul who happened upon the sword by chance. Then I found out you were Actica's lost princess. I'm so sorry, dear, but… well… From what you've told me, it seems you have already fulfilled about half the prophecy."

And without a word Hale took off into the trees. Both Kay and I leapt to our feet to chase after her, but something in the gypsy's face made me pause. A sheer determination and something else. It was something I recognized, but I couldn't admit to it. Hale did forget everything, or at least that is what she says. Which means she forgot what happened between us. However, she spent weeks with the gypsies; it wasn't impossible that their affections for one another grew over time. But thinking about that just made me angry, as if I couldn't be more angry with Hale. It was irrational, I knew, but the pain and hurt she caused me was…

"Hey lover boy!" Someone yelled at me and I was instantaneously snapped out of my thoughts, "stop looking like an abandoned puppy, and let's get you patched up," Vivian continued in a gentler voice.

I sat back down and she cleared some of my wounds from the battle. As she did, I surveyed the scene around me.

Apparently many of the men were too injured to go on. The gypsies had offered to provide refuge for those fallen knights. Leon, Percival and Elyan were collecting the bodies of the man-beasts. It had taken us a while, but we finally figured out that the only way to kill the beasts was with a blow to the head. That caused quite a few problems considering how our enemies towered over us. Many of the knights took to overbalancing the monsters then hitting them while they were down. Soon there were three piles of bodies that were being planned to burn.

I felt a tap on my torso and looked back at Vivian.

"You're all patched up," she said. I nodded at her, a silent thanks. Without further acknowledgement I stood and started walking in the direction Kay and Hale had run, but Vivian stopped me.

"I see the way you look at the girl. But I advise against any romantic involvement with her, Gwaine."

I was offended. Who was she to tell me what to do? I'd had enough of this dancing around - perhaps it was time to confront Hale about everything. I walked up to Vivian and grabbed her arm.

"You don't know anything about me and Hale," I snarled. I shoved her back a little too violently. And she gasped. To my frustration, I saw that the whole camp was looking our way. I exhaled deeply and spat on the ground.

One of the knights covered in bandages and healing ointments, Sir Jeremiah, was on the ground staring at me. I stared back. "What the hell you lot looking at?!" I addressed everyone.

Everyone looked away but whispered to one another. I noticed Lancelot looking at me with an unreadable expression on his face.

Percival walked to me from across the camp. His burly size was almost equivalent to our fallen enemies, yet he had the face and eyes of a sad child.

"Gwaine," he spoke in his low voice, "what's been eating at you?"

I sighed and turned away from him, and chose to look up at the tall trees that surrounded us, "Nothing, mate."

"Come on. I don't believe you," Percival said more insistently.

"Well you better, because I am perfectly fine!" I snapped before storming off. I wasn't sure if I was trying to convince Percival or myself.