Summary: Ordinary men make extraordinary heroes. Now Women, prove there
worth to King Arthur and his knights in the midst of a battle for their
homeland from the Roman Empire.
Disclaimer: I know what I wrote and I know what I got from the movie. Frankly, that's good enough for me.
------
"You have a lot of explaining to do." Arthur said coldly, not looking at her as she rode up beside him.
"Tell me King, which would you like to know? Logic or Lie, which ever suites you I would be happy to tell." Arien said, matching his heartless tone.
"Are they not the same in your mind?" Arthur asked, still not looking at her.
Arien turned to face him, her eyebrows raised. "Ask what you will of me."
Arthur sighed, "Why do you not trust us?" he asked quietly, not wanting anyone to overhear.
"I trust no one." Arien replied darkly, her icy tone unintentional.
"Even the men who have saved your life?" Arthur asked, his eyebrows rose as well now.
Arien shrugged, "What is a life? Mine has been nothing more then pain and agony, spare me from it and I will simply owe you eternal happiness.
"If you were dead, I could not hold you to such a promise." Arthur said, smiling a little.
"Then ask, I will not lie......but ask only questions you wish to know the answer of......sometimes we know to much about so little and the burden of intelligence becomes more then any one being should have to bear." Arien said, slouching a little in her exhausted state.
"Who are you?" he asked, honestly confused about the whole situation.
"I am the daughter of a King, the sister of a Prince, and Knight of the Shadow People." Arien said, rubbing her left hand across her right gauntlet.
"I have never heard of these 'people'. What can you tell me about them?" he asked, his eyes narrowed.
"They are a new race, living in the shadows of the Roman Empire. They have no names, no home, and no will to live. They would kill you with out asking your purpose before they even saw your face."
"How do you know them?" he asked even quieter as Lancelot and Tristan rode a little closer to them.
"The Roman soldier that found my father, was the leader of that race. He was employed on the inside, gather information in an effort to over through the Roman Emperor."
"They killed him because he was a traitor, not the care taker of the next King of Scotland." Arthur said suddenly, mostly to himself. "Then they did not know who your father was? How did they find out?"
"My father ran directly to a safe house the Shadow People had kept for themselves in time of great need. He was taken in and treated like one of their-own, he was more of a source of hope then anything. If the new king ever rose to power, the Shadow People would be free to live anywhere they wished, they would already have a bond unbound by mortal law with there savior."
"How so?" Arthur asked curiously, the puzzle pieces slowly starting to come together now.
"My Mother, she was one of there kind. She was also of Scottish descent as well, on of the first to escape from the Roman armies in the very beginning." Arien said with a slight smile, memories flooding back to her now.
"How did they know of you, not your brother?"
"Like the leader of the Shadow People, the Romans had heard of them and sent their own spies. Our nursemaid was one of them, but she was weak, after my birth she sent word of the last heir being a girl. They sent an army just to murder my family. It was this same maid that convinced Alecto a marriage to me would mean unbelievable power for himself."
"But what of your brother?" Arthur asked, getting impatient now.
"That poor maid claimed him as her own son, but he found out soon enough it had been her that betrayed our parents. He murdered her with his bear hands." She paused, looking at the melting ice in a lake nearby for a moment before continuing, "He was never good with a sword, but a friend of our Father, Merlin I believe you call him, trained him to use magic when weapons of steel were out of reach."
"So the old man has been involved from the beginning." Arthur whispered, sounding amazed by the news. "How does Artimus fight into this story?"
Arien didn't say anything else, but by the looks of it his last question deeply troubled her.
------
They rode through there next few days, sleeping in their saddles.
On the ninth day they were forced to make camp, Tristan and Lancelot had taken up fevers and were to weak to ride on there own.
While they slept Arien, Arthur, and Artimus talked quietly, watching the shadows cast by the fire.
"We can only stay one night, tomorrow we should double up and let two horses tail behind us." Arthur said, watching Lancelot roll in his dreamless sleep.
Arien nodded, "We are only a days ride from the Island."
"Yes Love, but how do you propose to get us in? We can not ride horses across the water." Artimus said curiously, sounding like he had already contemplated that plan.
"We will not need horses once we are there. The Emperors castle is near the water." Arien replied, her eyes twinkling like mad.
"But how do we get across? A boat would be to conspicuous." Artimus said, looking up at the stars.
"Then we go under." Arien snapped.
Arthur ignored there bickering and decided to change the subject, "I thought we were headed for the Pope's retreat?" he asked casually.
"Pope is simply code for pompous overly pale entity." Artimus paused, "However I was trying to work evil in there somehow, but then I suppose the other words would have to be changed as well for it to make sense......" he trailed off, mouthing words and counting on his fingers.
Arthur looked at Arien and sighed, "Should I know any other codes?" he asked dully.
Arien shook her head, "We make them up as we go along." She said with a laugh.
------
Lancelot woke up suddenly with a throbbing pain in the side of his head, as he opened his eyes he saw he was leaning against some ones back, there hair in his face as he tried to distinguish who.
"Oh Lord." He said as Arien turned to look at him.
"This was not my choice either, Arthur would not give my swords back unless I agreed to ride with you." Arien hissed angrily.
"You could have beat him with your eyes closed, just admit you fancy the idea of me pressed against you as we ride up and down on this leather saddle." Lancelot replied coolly with a little smile.
Arien elbowed him as hard as she could in his side and he promptly fell right off the horse, gasping for breath and cursing his own stupidity.
Arthur jumped down from his own horse, "What the hell happened?' he asked angrily, pulling Lancelot to his feet.
"She hit me!" he whined, "Do not make me ride with a woman so-so-violent!" he yelled, feeling a little woozy.
Arthur glared at her as he pushed him back up behind her. "Do not harm him!" he instructed, pointing at her swords on the back of his horse, "Or I may just loose one of your precious swords as we ride past a cliff."
Arien sighed and rolled her eyes as she urged her horse forward. Lancelot wrapped his arms around her middle and rested his chin on her left shoulder, "I am positive through hardship our lust for one another will prevail full force." He said, smiling at his new found security.
Arien laughed and punched him in the nose with her right hand. "Oh god! My hand seems to have become as equally attracted to your face as your own ego seems to be!" she whispered as he cried out in pain and clasped a hand to his face to stop the bleeding.
Lancelot glared at the back of her head, much more of this and he would swear off women for the rest of his life.
"You know, I really dob understamb why we canb geb along." Lancelot said thickly, tilting his head back.
"No don't!" Arien said suddenly, reaching over her shoulder to pull his head back down, "You could choke on the blood!" she warned darkly.
Lancelot raised his eyebrows, she was more complicated then any one person had a right to be. He assumed her past had something to do with her sudden outbreaks of emotion here and there.
Then he sighed as he thought about the night in the bathhouse, had it been a dream? He decided he would have to be a dense fool to turn down such a beautiful woman offering her self to him. But then as he looked over her shoulder at her war stained face and stony expression, he realized she was more like him then he had thought.
He smiled, she would be with him for a while, but at that moment, they rode in silence, and it relaxed him.
He closed his eyes and his head rested against hers. She did not push him away or sigh in defeat. She merely looked ahead, ignoring Arthur smiling at her from beside her as he rode with Tristan.
Disclaimer: I know what I wrote and I know what I got from the movie. Frankly, that's good enough for me.
------
"You have a lot of explaining to do." Arthur said coldly, not looking at her as she rode up beside him.
"Tell me King, which would you like to know? Logic or Lie, which ever suites you I would be happy to tell." Arien said, matching his heartless tone.
"Are they not the same in your mind?" Arthur asked, still not looking at her.
Arien turned to face him, her eyebrows raised. "Ask what you will of me."
Arthur sighed, "Why do you not trust us?" he asked quietly, not wanting anyone to overhear.
"I trust no one." Arien replied darkly, her icy tone unintentional.
"Even the men who have saved your life?" Arthur asked, his eyebrows rose as well now.
Arien shrugged, "What is a life? Mine has been nothing more then pain and agony, spare me from it and I will simply owe you eternal happiness.
"If you were dead, I could not hold you to such a promise." Arthur said, smiling a little.
"Then ask, I will not lie......but ask only questions you wish to know the answer of......sometimes we know to much about so little and the burden of intelligence becomes more then any one being should have to bear." Arien said, slouching a little in her exhausted state.
"Who are you?" he asked, honestly confused about the whole situation.
"I am the daughter of a King, the sister of a Prince, and Knight of the Shadow People." Arien said, rubbing her left hand across her right gauntlet.
"I have never heard of these 'people'. What can you tell me about them?" he asked, his eyes narrowed.
"They are a new race, living in the shadows of the Roman Empire. They have no names, no home, and no will to live. They would kill you with out asking your purpose before they even saw your face."
"How do you know them?" he asked even quieter as Lancelot and Tristan rode a little closer to them.
"The Roman soldier that found my father, was the leader of that race. He was employed on the inside, gather information in an effort to over through the Roman Emperor."
"They killed him because he was a traitor, not the care taker of the next King of Scotland." Arthur said suddenly, mostly to himself. "Then they did not know who your father was? How did they find out?"
"My father ran directly to a safe house the Shadow People had kept for themselves in time of great need. He was taken in and treated like one of their-own, he was more of a source of hope then anything. If the new king ever rose to power, the Shadow People would be free to live anywhere they wished, they would already have a bond unbound by mortal law with there savior."
"How so?" Arthur asked curiously, the puzzle pieces slowly starting to come together now.
"My Mother, she was one of there kind. She was also of Scottish descent as well, on of the first to escape from the Roman armies in the very beginning." Arien said with a slight smile, memories flooding back to her now.
"How did they know of you, not your brother?"
"Like the leader of the Shadow People, the Romans had heard of them and sent their own spies. Our nursemaid was one of them, but she was weak, after my birth she sent word of the last heir being a girl. They sent an army just to murder my family. It was this same maid that convinced Alecto a marriage to me would mean unbelievable power for himself."
"But what of your brother?" Arthur asked, getting impatient now.
"That poor maid claimed him as her own son, but he found out soon enough it had been her that betrayed our parents. He murdered her with his bear hands." She paused, looking at the melting ice in a lake nearby for a moment before continuing, "He was never good with a sword, but a friend of our Father, Merlin I believe you call him, trained him to use magic when weapons of steel were out of reach."
"So the old man has been involved from the beginning." Arthur whispered, sounding amazed by the news. "How does Artimus fight into this story?"
Arien didn't say anything else, but by the looks of it his last question deeply troubled her.
------
They rode through there next few days, sleeping in their saddles.
On the ninth day they were forced to make camp, Tristan and Lancelot had taken up fevers and were to weak to ride on there own.
While they slept Arien, Arthur, and Artimus talked quietly, watching the shadows cast by the fire.
"We can only stay one night, tomorrow we should double up and let two horses tail behind us." Arthur said, watching Lancelot roll in his dreamless sleep.
Arien nodded, "We are only a days ride from the Island."
"Yes Love, but how do you propose to get us in? We can not ride horses across the water." Artimus said curiously, sounding like he had already contemplated that plan.
"We will not need horses once we are there. The Emperors castle is near the water." Arien replied, her eyes twinkling like mad.
"But how do we get across? A boat would be to conspicuous." Artimus said, looking up at the stars.
"Then we go under." Arien snapped.
Arthur ignored there bickering and decided to change the subject, "I thought we were headed for the Pope's retreat?" he asked casually.
"Pope is simply code for pompous overly pale entity." Artimus paused, "However I was trying to work evil in there somehow, but then I suppose the other words would have to be changed as well for it to make sense......" he trailed off, mouthing words and counting on his fingers.
Arthur looked at Arien and sighed, "Should I know any other codes?" he asked dully.
Arien shook her head, "We make them up as we go along." She said with a laugh.
------
Lancelot woke up suddenly with a throbbing pain in the side of his head, as he opened his eyes he saw he was leaning against some ones back, there hair in his face as he tried to distinguish who.
"Oh Lord." He said as Arien turned to look at him.
"This was not my choice either, Arthur would not give my swords back unless I agreed to ride with you." Arien hissed angrily.
"You could have beat him with your eyes closed, just admit you fancy the idea of me pressed against you as we ride up and down on this leather saddle." Lancelot replied coolly with a little smile.
Arien elbowed him as hard as she could in his side and he promptly fell right off the horse, gasping for breath and cursing his own stupidity.
Arthur jumped down from his own horse, "What the hell happened?' he asked angrily, pulling Lancelot to his feet.
"She hit me!" he whined, "Do not make me ride with a woman so-so-violent!" he yelled, feeling a little woozy.
Arthur glared at her as he pushed him back up behind her. "Do not harm him!" he instructed, pointing at her swords on the back of his horse, "Or I may just loose one of your precious swords as we ride past a cliff."
Arien sighed and rolled her eyes as she urged her horse forward. Lancelot wrapped his arms around her middle and rested his chin on her left shoulder, "I am positive through hardship our lust for one another will prevail full force." He said, smiling at his new found security.
Arien laughed and punched him in the nose with her right hand. "Oh god! My hand seems to have become as equally attracted to your face as your own ego seems to be!" she whispered as he cried out in pain and clasped a hand to his face to stop the bleeding.
Lancelot glared at the back of her head, much more of this and he would swear off women for the rest of his life.
"You know, I really dob understamb why we canb geb along." Lancelot said thickly, tilting his head back.
"No don't!" Arien said suddenly, reaching over her shoulder to pull his head back down, "You could choke on the blood!" she warned darkly.
Lancelot raised his eyebrows, she was more complicated then any one person had a right to be. He assumed her past had something to do with her sudden outbreaks of emotion here and there.
Then he sighed as he thought about the night in the bathhouse, had it been a dream? He decided he would have to be a dense fool to turn down such a beautiful woman offering her self to him. But then as he looked over her shoulder at her war stained face and stony expression, he realized she was more like him then he had thought.
He smiled, she would be with him for a while, but at that moment, they rode in silence, and it relaxed him.
He closed his eyes and his head rested against hers. She did not push him away or sigh in defeat. She merely looked ahead, ignoring Arthur smiling at her from beside her as he rode with Tristan.