So this one is a bit long. I got really into it, especially the ending, so it's over 4,000 words, twice the size of my usual chapter. Enjoy!

Bonding

"This world of ours ...must avoid becoming a community of dreadful fear and hate, and be instead, a proud confederation of mutual trust and respect.-Dwight Eisenhower

"Respect for self is the beginning of cultivating virtue in men and women."-President Gordon B. Hinckley


To everyone's astonishment, nobody could awaken Rowena for nearly forty eight hours. From Friday to Sunday, her people waited with bated breath, despite Helga's reassurances that her body was simply repairing itself. It was while the Princess's withering gaze was absent her people's hatred of all outsiders became quite clear. Only Helga was spared any suspicion as she was the one who had saved their ruler. Even Sir Godric Gryffindor couldn't placate the Ravenclaw clan fury.

On Sunday morning, as the sun finally cracked, Mina's spirits rose as Rowena's form moved and she sat up and stretched. She made to get out of bed, but stumbled briefly before one of her new maids in waiting caught her.

"Thanks," she said to the girl, who blushed deeply. "So, Mina, I'd like to get done this Friday..."

"No, Sunday," Mina corrected, bringing in a fresh blue dress and undergarments. "You've slept nearly two days. Helga said your body was repairing itself."

"Certainly seems like it," Rowena said. "Daighdear. What?"

Everyone but Mina had flinched when she swore.

"We just didn't expect it to come from you," the same maid commented.

"I'm a warrior first, princess second," Rowena said, furious now. "Swearing comes with the territory."

"With a temper to match," another one of her maids commented in an undertone.

Rowena glared at her, causing the maid to murmur an excuse and make a quick exit. Suddenly Godric Gryffindor and Salazar nearly came in, only to be thrown back by Mina. Rowena was still wearing a rather revealing nightgown and Mina was sure she'd roast both men alive.

"What's the matter?!" she demanded. "The Princess.."

"Has to save us!" Salazar said, panicked for the first time in forever, Sir Gryffindor's sword in his hands.

"I can fight our way out! It's the only way," Sir Godric protested. He was only there because Salazar had stolen his precious sword. "They respect strength, not cowardice!"

"What?" Mina said, glancing out to see a mob of twenty warriors armed to the teeth coming towards the cave. "Oh. Why didn't you leave two days ago?"

"We wanted to make sure Rowena was okay," Salazar confessed.

"How sweet of you," Mina said rather sarcastically, not sympathizing with them at all. "She's getting dressed right now. You'll have to wait until she's ready."

"We can't wait!"

"Go ahead, barge in there and get roasted alive, be my guest. I said no and I mean it. Wait here."

She moved into Rowena's room to see the Princess fully dress, but fighting off the maids trying to do her hair.

"I can do my own...Mina, what is it?" Rowena said.

"Armed men are trying to kill Gryffindor and Slytherin," Mina responded ruefully.

"Why didn't they leave two days ago?"

"Said they were concerned about you."

Rowena sighed with a smile; she definitely knew now they were her friends. To hang aroud a bloodthirsty tribe with no protection was something. She left the cave and met the Ravenclaw men at the entrance.

"I'm sorry, but sparring practice is that way," she said rather rudely, making sure they wouldn't try something like this again. "What do you want?"

"We want those interlopers out of our camp," one of them replied.

"And by what authority do you have to do that?"

"The power of the sword."

Rowena considered carefully her next options. None of her options were very good, and she still needed their loyality, yet her people needed to respect her allies in this fight.

"Under the Ravenclaw law of sanctuary," she said, trying to remember her laws correctly. She'd often doodled during such lectures, as much as she hated to admit it. "We are obligated to give safe passage to our allies. If a warrior has some issue with it, he can take it to the monarch, or challenge the guest to a duel. We may be hundreds of miles from home, but the law stands."

She glanced back at Sir Gryffindor, an idea coming to her. There was only one way to gain her tribe's respect.

"If you object, choose your best warrior," she said firmly. "He will then face the might of Sir Godric Gryffindor in a duel tomorrow. If you win they go, if you lose, they stay."

"What?" Sir Godric said, coming up to her. She switched over to Saxon. "It's the only way to gain their trust, as you so wisely said. Now, can you put your muscle to your mouth?"

Sir Godric nodded.

"Good," she said, switching back to Gaelic. "Well?"

One of them stepped forward, the burliest and (in Rowena's opinion) most ugly of them all.

"I'll take up the challenge," he said.

"Good, I'll set out the rules tomorrow morning," Rowena said. "For now, nobody is to touch our guests."

The men left, laughing and hooting amongst themselves.

"I hope you're as good as your reputation says you are," Rowena said in Saxon as she went back inside the cave. "When I fought you, I wasn't really impressed."

"Thanks Rowena," Sir Godric said.

"Sorry, I'm rather blunt, get used to it. It's the only way to win my people over."


Next day couldn't come soon enough. Sir Godric tried to convince Rowena to be his sparring partner, but she refused, claiming it would look like favoritism. Dolag, who didn't share the people's distrust of the newcomers, agreed to practice instead.

"Wow, you're really something," Dolag said after an hour's worth of practice as his sword went flying out of his hand.

"Been practicing since I was five," Sir Godric said, helping the burly warrior to his feet, "My father hired the best knights to teach me."

"Hmm, if we'd used another weapon, I might've won," Dolag observed.

"Probably, my training is with the sword. If we'd use an ax, you'd probably have won. You are an worthy opponet Dolag. I can see why Rowena chose you."

"Thanks," Dolag said as the two put the wooden practice swords they'd been using away. "What is it about her?"

"What do you mean?"

"Most girls fawn over me," he said. "She didn't. She pretty much outright rejected me."

"How?"

"She didn't have to say anything, just a pointed look was all," Dolag conceded.

"Dolag, I don't know all the particulars, but from what Helga has told me, Rowena's father treated her as a marriage object, not as a woman. I wouldn't be surprised if she's well practiced in rejecting men."

Dolag shook his head; his mind wasn't on her, but one of her handmaids.

"The best thing to do is talk to her," Godric said. "Preferably now before all of our time is taken up by the tournament."

"I will."

Dolag found the Princess conversing with Helga and Mina in Welsh. He couldn't understand what they were saying, but they fell quiet as he approached.

"Give me a minute," Rowena told her two friends.

She got up and walked over to Dolag.

"Yes Dolag, what is it?"

"May we talk in private."

"Sure," Rowena said, wary but confident in her ability to protect herself. She waved him out of the cave and towards a nearby creek where nobody else was around.

"I need your opinion on something," he said.

"What?"

"A personal matter," he said, trying to prevent his cheeks from flushing red. "Usually girls fawn over me. You didn't. I'd like to know why?"

"You are entering dangerous territory," the Princess warned him. "Why?"

"I'm interested in one of your handmaids actually. She's cut out from your cloth. I need your help."

Rowena's expression changed and she let down her guard.

"Dolag, I have no room in my heart for a man right now," she said. "Especially with me on the throne...I know, the heir thing is bound to crop up."

Rowena's nostirls flared at the thought. She hoped that one of her brothers was still alive so she wouldn't be pressured into a match so quickly. But there had been no sign of any of them, and increasingly forbidden scenarios had been popping into her mind of ways she could give up the crown and get away.

"Our people are lost and I'm...I'm still not sure if I'm leading them correctly. You know...I don't know..."

She turned away, for once nearly breaking down. Again, her warrior facade dropped and Dolag saw a frightened young woman enter Rowena's features.

"Princess," he said. "This burden may be unexpected, but I know you're up to the task. Anyways, I need your help. May I date your handmaid Brytha?"

"Of course you can," Rowena said without hesitation. "But that creates complications. She's my handmaid and you're my personal commander, something that can be worked out. But what's your concern?"

"How do I win her over?" he said. "Like you, she isn't let's say...merely attracted physically."

Rownea smiled. "In that case, you're going to need to use her head, not your body."

"What do you mean by that?"

"Brytha is very headstrong, smart, and cunning. She's weaseled many a man with her beauty...that's is, she's left a trail of broken hearts. I make it a point to get to know my handmaids. I knew her before I was thrown from the castle. You should've seen the last man who came calling. He ended up drunk and naked in the marketplace the next morning."

Dolag winced.

"That is she outdrank him, stripped him and dropped him off in the marketplace. I'd suggest avoiding drink while around her."

Dolag nodded, now it sounding quite impossible. Rowena read the worry in his eyes.

"Believe me, it's not impossible. They all made the same mistake; thinking with their libido instead of their brain. Many men try to bed a woman before getting to know her; you'll have to get to know her first before then. She might not even give you that until you...or if you marry her."

"Hmmm...how does one do that?"

"Show her your personality. In this case, not your warrior side, which is already quite established. The gentle side, the man who cares deeply about his people. The side I see much of the time."

"Okay," Dolag said. "Thanks Princess."

"Please, just call me Rowena."


Rowena along with Dolag and Salazar selected a clear, flat, patch of ground in the middle of a clearing in the forest. They staked it off, leaving a large box fifteen feet in each direction.

Nearly everyone from Ravenclaw camp turned out round noon to watch a rare spectable: a knight of England taking on a warrior from Scottia. Even William and a small company of Normans, freshly returned from retaking London and killing a bunch the imposters, came out of his way to watch. When Rowena walked out silence fell over the clearing.

"Today we will see Sir Godric Gryffindor take on Ainsely from Ravenclaw clan."

A loud cheer sent the nearby birds into the sky. She held her hands out again for silence.

"Now, due to circumstances, they won't be trying to kill each other," she said. "We need every man and ally we can get.

"Today, I hope to see Sir Gryffindor prove himself worthy of the trust my father (Rowena had to filter out the bile that threatened to erupt from her stomach at the mere mention of his name) placed in his father."

Some moaning came from the crowd, but everyone knew she was right. They were just four hundred strong, just one hundred warriors. They would need many more men and allies if they were to take back a kingdom.

"The rules are simple, disarm or force them out the ring. The marshals who will watch will be a Norman knight, Dolag, a warrior of your choice, a man of Sir Godric's choice, and myself. I want fairness in this fight. What say you people?"

Another cheer kept the birds from land anywhere close in the forest. William of Normandy strode up to the Princess's side, a dirty, brown-haired knight in armor at his side.

"This man is the most trustworthy and has overseen many tournaments. His name is also William."

"Thanks William."

Willaim gave a slight bow and left to watch with his company. A man in warrior paint came from the Ravenclaw crowd and Salazar walked forward. Each man took a each side of the box, Norman on the north, Salazar east, Ravenclaw warrior west, and Dolag on the south. Rowena perched herself in a small tree that gave her a commanding view of the match.

"Sonorus. Please welcome Sir Godric Gryffindor," William's chief translator yelled in three different languages, his voice amplified by his wand.

Sir Godric walked out in borrowed Norman armor, his lion emblem emblazoned across his chest. Jeweled sword in hand and a shield, he walked to the center to boos and some cheers from the crowd.

"Welcome Ainsely of Ravenclaw."

Rancous cheers erupted from the Raveclaw stands at their champion. Wearing facepaint and just a lioncloth, the warrior was big, but Sir Godric was taller. He carried a large Viking sword forged from the real things invaders had left behind when the Ravenclaw clan had driven them from the highlands nearly a century before.

"Alright men, I will tolerate no cheating," Rowena said, striding around them. "No killing either. Take your stances."

Both warriors bowed to each other; Sir Godric put on his battle helmet.

"GO!" Rowena shouted.

The two men clashed and Rowena was reminded rather forcefully of the time she fought the mighty lion. She couldn't help but compare her experience to the one Ainsely was undergoing. Sir Godric was like a lion, his blows measured and carefully placed. Ainsely was wavering under the punishment, but he quickly regained his steps and the two broke inintialy contact, sizing each other up.

"What's going on?" Helga said, coming up to her side. "Oh. More fighting?"

"Don't ask me," Rowena said, wincing as Sir Godric avoided a punishing blow aimed at his stomach. "I'm just hoping Sir Gryffindor is as good as his reputation says he is."

Clang.

The Ravenclaw warrior managed to get a blow in on Godric's helmet. Sir Godric stumbled and the warrior pressed his advantage. Rowena finely tuned fingernails bore into her hands and Helga bit her lip until it blood, both now clearly consumed with worry. Ainsely bore down on his prey ready for the knockout blow.

"Ooff," Ainsely said, pushed back. Sir Godric had slammed his shoulder into the warrior's kneecap.

"Now what?" Helga queried, now holding onto Rowena's right arm, her grip tightening.

"Back to square one," Rowena said, as the two manunvered around each other again. "Hopefully Sir Godric can find a...he's got it."

Sir Godric undercut Ainsley's next blade, causing the Viking sword to fly into a series of grass. Ainsley went down and all the masters of the lists raised their hands; victory to the Saxon. Like any victor, even the mighty Sir Godric couldn't avoid a little showboating, he raised his sword and shield triumphantly into the air.

Rowena's eyes though, weren't on him, but on Ainsely. The cunning warrior had drawn a dagger out of his cloak. She sped forward, past her maids, her newly appointed bodyguards, and Helga. She grabbed a dagger off of a table. She tossed it straight at Ainsely, who was about to plunge the dagger into Sir Godric's back.

"AAAHHH!" Ainsely screamed as the dagger embedded itself in his left kneecap.

Sir Godric turned around to see Ainsely collapsing from pain, his blade falling out of his hand. Rage gripped the Saxon; Godric pointed his sword at the warrior's throat.

"No, don't," Rowena said, jumping inbetween the two of them. "Let me deal with it."

Sir Godric didn't argue the point. He sheathed his sword and left, to thunderous applause from the Ravenclaw clan. Ainsely could only glance up in fear at his ruler, who was bearing down on him like a bear.

"How dare you embarrass me-or us like that," she spat, absolutely furious. All thoughts forgotten, her worries about ruling, about etiquette were gone from her mind. Rowena erupted, her temper at full boil. "I trusted you to represent your clan's honor and this is how you repay me! Only cowards resort to daggers and stabbing men when their backs are turned! I'm stripping you of your rank as a warrior. You'll have to earn it back. COWARD!"

Ainsely let out a roar of rage, rose from the ground and charged at Rowena. The Princess saw a streak over her shoulder-she used the split second to tackle Helga to the ground, shielding the Welsh healer from what she knew was happening behind her.

"Hey, Rowena, what?"

"Don't look Helga, don't look," she warned her sternly in Welsh. "Mina, take Helga back to the cave. Don't let her leave and or look."

Mina nodded and lead Helga away.

"Trust me Helga, I'll explain later."

Helga didn't argue; she trusted her friend and allowed herself to head back to the cave. Rowena took a deep breath and looked behind her. Ainsely had an arrow embedded in his chest and was lying on the ground dead. Next to her was one of her guards, bow in hand. Some of Ainsely's family members had emerged from the crowd. She wasn't sure how to do this; so she did the best she could.

"I'm sorry," was all Rowena could say to them. "I lost it. He disappointed me."

His family took his body away.

"Mordar," Rowena said, causing the father of Ainsely to look at her. "Tonight, we'll give him a warrior's funeral. Even the best of us sometimes must recant our words."

Mordar gave the Princess a grateful look and then left. Rowena sped towards the cave, fresh hot tears threatening to coat her cheeks.

"Leave me," she commmanded her handmaids, guards, Dolag. Everyone filed out, throwing concerned glances at their leader. "You too Helga. I need some alone time."

When everyone had left, the princess collapsed onto her bed, her warrior facade gone for the second time in a day. Exhausted, Rowena laid there for what seemed like hours, fresh hot tears piling up in her eyes.

"Why? Why me?" she mourned out loud to no one in particular. "I can't lead this people."

The Princess could only roll into her covers and and she openly wept.


Rowena later composed herself to attend to some duties. She found it hard to concetrate though, what happened replaying itself through her mind continuously. Over her life, she'd seen much bloodshed and was hardened to it-or so she thought. Unknowingly, she'd comdemned one of her own people to death? Or had she?

Dolag entered to find Rowena staring at a piece of parchment.

"What going on my Queen?"

"Rowena, and it's Princess," she automatically corrected. It came out before she could stop it. "I just sent an innocent man to his death."

"No you didn't."

"Easy for you to say," she said more vehemently than she expected.

"The people now respect you and Sir Godric Gryffindor," Dolag said, coming as close as he dared.

"I don't know if that's good or bad," Rowena involuntarily said. Daighgear, why did I just say that?

What do you mean by that?" Dolag asked, concerned now.

"Nothing," Rowena said, trying to sweep her comment under the rug, absentmindly playing with her black hair. Dolag didn't look convinced though, and she was sure he'd bring it up again sometime.

Suddenly her warrior instincits perked up.

"Something's wrong," she said, getting up.

Two men brought (and to Rowena's bewilderment) Helga Hufflepuff into the cave. A third came behind them, carrying a bag.

"She had this on her," he said, showing a sword and three or four daggers to the ground.

"What?" Rowena said, stunned. This wasn't like Helga at all. Something was wrong, and she was sure she knew what.

"Veageance is a fickle entity," she said, leaving Dolag puzzling. "Bring her to my quarters and let no one else in. I must fix it before that girl becomes a liability. Liabilities get people killed."

Five minutes later, Helga was thrown rather unceremoniously into Rowena's meager chambers along with the bag she'd been carrying. Rowena opened the bag, pulling out two daggers and a small sword.

"Explanation please," she said rather bluntly, hands on her hips.

"I wanted to go hunting," Helga lied lamely. Her hands were shaking in the fold of her dress, something that wasn't missed by Rowena.

"Remember what I said back in Godric's Hollow. That I'd stop you from seeking veaganance. Well you leave me no choice."

"I'm not seeking vegeanance!" Helga screamed, outraged.

"Don't lie to me," Rowena said, trying to keep her voice under control. She approached the Welsh healer, dropping the bag and the daggers off to the side. "I know you too well."

"You just condemned a man to death. Hark who's talking?"

"I didn't do that," Rowena said, suddenly defensive. "It was an accident. The men were about to kill Sir Gryffindor if I must remind you."

"Fine, what if it's vegeanance I seek!" Helga screamed back, wanting to tear her friend apart. She paced about the room relentlessly. "Morgana murdered my family."

"Oh, so that's it," Rowena said, seizing upon Helga's slip like a bird of prey. I'm impressed, most cower when I'm in a temper. But she hasn't...yet.

"Let me go," Helga said, getting up in Rowena's face. Both were contorted with anger beyond anything either one of them had seen in each other before.

"No."

Helga threw over the table, spilling cups and water to the ground.

"Go ahead, destroy my possessions," Rowena said, taking a seat on the bed. Her most prized possession, a necklace from her mother and a carving of a bear from her youngest brother were stowed safely away in the cave wall. "I've got far too many."

"I...I...I'll" she said, pulling out her wand.

Rowena lunged faster than Helga could possibly have imagined. She covered twenty feet in two seconds, then latched her arms around Helga, tackling her to the ground, throwing the wand into a dark corner of the cave.

"I won't let my sister be destroyed by hate," she said, easily subduing the healer. She was determined to get to the bottom of this by any means necessary.

"Let me...what?" Helga said, temporarily speechless.

"I won't let my sister be destroyed by vegeanance," Rowena said, trying to stop from crying for the third time today.

"But I thought..."

"You thought wrong, and that's my fault," Rowena confessed. "I don't show my feelings well."

"But..I...I hate those men," Helga shouted, on the verge of complete breakdown. "I want...so bad to hurt...them..."

"I know Helga," Rowena said, still pinning the healer to the ground. "I've been consumed by it as well. Let it go. Let it go right now. Just start, for me."

"I...I...can't..."

"Daighdear," Rowena swore at the top of her lungs. "JUST LET IT GO!"

Helga lost it and Rowena finally relaxed her grip on the healer, who stumbled up and away as the nervous breakdown continued. The hate she'd been harboring for weeks crashed against her emotional dam, trying to break free. Helga's caring nature pushed back, causing what the healer felt to be a massive internal civil war. Crying hysterically and in sudden need of comfort, Helga seized the only source of living heat in the room-the Warrior Princess. Stumbling, Rowena's once again blessed her warrior stamina as Helga's full body weight crashed onto her.

She lifted Helga up bridal style, and carried over to her bed. As soon as she set her down, the healer latched onto Rowena like a lifeline. Discomforted, the Princess could do little but hold the healer close, who was now howling loudly, wetting Rowena's blue dress with her tears.

"It's okay, just breathe," Rowena said.

Some of her maids came into the cave; she waved them away, mouthing to Mina to give her some alone time.

"I love you," Helga finally got out.

"What?" Rowena said, stunned. No one but her deceased mother had ever said anything like that to her before

"You're my sister now," Helga said, still howling madly, snuggling into the warmth of family. "My best friend. I love you."

"Me too," Rowena said, positioning the healer better so she could better cradle her. "I'll admit I nearly left you in that slave stall in York. I'm glad I didn't."

The healer went limp; Rowena saw she'd fallen asleep-in the middle of the day. She tucked the girl into her bed and left the chamber to find Mina looking on.

"I'm so proud of you," she said, tucking a piece of the princess's black hair behind her ear. "You finally learned to open up."

"Only to Helga," Rowena said, marching past her. "To no one else."

Mina sighed; Rowena still had a ways to go before she became the women she had always seen in her.