38 – Over My Head – The Fray

Cara rode silently behind the knights like she usually did, but the trip seemed oddly quiet. There was no bantering for a change. The silence was eerily peaceful. Without Lancelot, the journey would be a boring one if this kept up any longer.

The horses plodded along and the only sound was the sloshing sound their hooves made as they sunk into the mud. Britain was being her cruel and usual self. The rain had started not even an hour into their journey and it showed no signs of slowing down. In fact, it only seemed to get heavier.

Then the complaining started. "Damn Island," Gawain cursed. "Arthur, do you even know where we're going?" he asked. All of the knights were eager to hear the answer to that one. Even Cara had no idea where they were heading and quite honestly neither did Tristan.

"Their camp is ten miles from here," he answered.

"And how do you figure that?" Galahad asked; his voice sharp. Apparently the dreary weather wasn't helping him either.

"I've been looking over the maps and I think I found where they are hiding," he answered, not bothering to comment on Galahad's callousness. Cara kicked Aidan into a trot to catch up and stopped when she was beside Arthur.

"Wait, think?" She wasn't happy about leaving Lancelot to go on a wild goose chase. Arthur seemed to sense her discomfort and tried to reassure her.

"Almost positive," he reworded. Cara wasn't convinced. She was giving him a death glare and Arthur was trying to ignore her. When he couldn't ignore her any longer he did what any man would do. He kicked his horse into a faster gait. In other words he ran before things got heated.

Bors gave her a slap on the shoulder. "Don't worry, Cara. He knows what he's doing." Cara gave him a skeptical look and almost laughed out of disbelief. Bors laughed heartily.

Dagonet had to reassure her due to Bors sudden outburst. "Don't fret, Cara. Arthur knows where they are." Cara nodded in mock acceptance and let herself fall behind the knights once more.

The day went on and at last it was time to settle in for the night. There was no need to push the horses. According to Arthur there was plenty of time. Cara couldn't disagree more. She wanted to get this mission done and over with and get back to Lancelot.

Tristan had found a clearing that was heavily shielded from the rain due to the thick canopy. The knights dismounted, all except Cara and Tristan. "I'll be back with dinner in no time, boys," she joked, trying to lighten the mood.

"Yea let's see if you can actually hit something," Bors commented, "unlike Galahad here." He gave the youngest knight a slap on the back in jest and Cara could only laugh.

"Tristan," Arthur asked, seeing that the scout was still mounted, "you going with her?" The scout said nothing. He simply gave a swift nod and pushed his horse past the knights.

"Guess that's my queue to leave. Boys," she said, giving them a small salute before following the silent scout. It didn't take her long to catch up to him. He was slow when he wasn't in a hurry. Cara still had a small smile on her face, having forgotten what she left behind for a few minutes.

They rode a few more minutes in silence, scouting as they went. Cara saw movement in the trees and halted Aidan abruptly. Tristan followed her lead. Cara had an arrow notched and it was trained on the heart of the buck that stood feeding in the thicket.

She had it trained on the animal's heart and Tristan had an arrow notched as well, just in case she missed. She would've glared at him, had she not been focused on the kill. Did he really have that little faith in her aim?

Cara let the arrow fly, but the moment she released the arrow her hand flared with pain and she dropped her bow. Tristan lowered his bow. The young woman had hit her target with grand precision, but it had cost her.

She had her hand cradled against her chest and a pained expression crossed her face. Tristan simply waited for her. Apparently, it wasn't as healed as she thought it was. At last the pain passed and she breathed a in a deep breath. She did not meet Tristan's stern and cautious gaze. He masked his worry well. She went to retrieve her prize, but Tristan caught her before she made it two inches.

His hand shot out like an arrow from a bow and constricted tightly around her arm like a serpent. She sent him a warning glare, but he ignored it. "It's bothering you." It wasn't a question. It was a statement. "Why didn't you tell anyone?" There was the question.

"Because it's fine," she lied, trying to pull away from his death like grip. He wouldn't let go and Cara had a feeling he would stand here all night like this unless she gave him a straight answer.

"You lie," he seethed, grabbing her hand roughly to induce pain. He did it to try and make her see that she had a problem, not to hurt her. She winced, but that was all. She spun her arm out of his grasp and gave him one of the deadliest glares she could muster. Neither one said a word.

Tristan followed her as she went to retrieve the buck. She grabbed her arrow and he heaved the dead deer over his shoulders and through it over the back of his horse. She mounted up and both headed back to camp in silence.

There was a roaring fire when they returned and Bors greeted them eagerly when he saw the carcass. Bors had thought Tristan had shot it, but he instantly turned the credit over to Cara and went to tend his horse and hawk. Neither scout was in the mood to speak to one another, but no one seemed to notice. That was one thing Cara was thankful for.

After the meal the knights settled down one by one until it was only Arthur and Cara left. Cara was staring at the flames and watching her commander. He seemed to be deep in thought and poke the fire with a large branch.

"Something on your mind?" she asked softly. He voice low so not to wake the other knights. Arthur looked up from the fire.

"Just thinking," he responded, turning back to the flickering flames. Cara lowered her head and stared at glowing fire as well.

"Anything I can help with?" Arthur shook his head.

"No." Cara knew well enough not to press Arthur when he was thinking, especially in times like these. He was stressing and Cara could understand why. Every knight's life was in his hands. One wrong move could be deadly and Arthur was not will to take that risk. Each and every move had to be thought out carefully.

"Just remember that I'm here if you need me," she reminded, leaving him room to ask for help, though she knew he wouldn't. She offered nonetheless and settled down for the night. It wasn't long before she fell into a peaceful and dreamless sleep.