Arthur sat by the grave's that belonged to his noble companions, Dagonet, Tristan and Lancelot.
"Lord why did you take them, it was my life that should have been taken so that they could have the freedom long deserved to them, not this."
Tears were rolling down his face. He often came here alone to talk to his deceased knights, he never had accepted the fact that they had died.
"Lord, please bring them back tonight, please give them their freedom, and I will pay you back ten fold, I will do anything you ask of me. I know your power; please use it now, for their sakes."
He waited, nothing. Just the evening breeze rustling through the trees, sweeping back his hair.
"Fine, I will return to my people, but mark my words, the next time one of my knights is spared, I will have no mercy against the church"
He arose from the ground and walked back to the fortress where the people were happy, they danced and sang and were happy. None of them but Guinevere, Bors, Galahad and Gawain knew of his loss.
As he disappeared over the hills, the wind strengthened, a sudden glow of moonlight came from the clouds and the ground began to shake. A swirl of black clouds as in the sky, and Tristan's sword fell to lie edgeways across his grave. The ground shook more violently and Merlin was watching from the trees. He felt the ground shake, the earth was rebirthing…
With a flash of lightning a body appeared by the edge of the forest. It was a man. His hair was dark, it hung over his face in its straight strands, some of it braided. His eyes flickered open; they were dark and black, mysterious and charming. His body seemed stiff as he pushed himself up, on his arms. He stared down at the mound of earth, at the grave. A curved oriental sword lay upon it, the black handle tattered. He bent down and picked it up in his hand, holding it in front of his face.
"Finally, I've been waiting for you to come back."
The man looked over his shoulder, swirls of ash's had formed in the air to create a man, tall and handsome, two short broad bladed swords where in scabbards crossed across his back.
"Lancelot?"
The man smiled and walked towards him,
"Who else looks this gorgeous?"
The man smiled and clasped Lancelot on the shoulder.
"I suppose Arthur's god was good for something, rebirth."
Lancelot smiled,
"I still won't praise him Tristan, no matter how much he saved me. I'll always be a pagan"
"Where's Dagonet?"
"Right here"
A bald man with a large axe appeared next to them. He was smiling.
"The Knights of the Round Table are reborn, let's go scare people!"
Lancelot said laughing,
"No"
Tristan replied,
"Let's go see Arthur."
They smiled and walked over the hill, heading for the fortress of Arthur and Guinevere. Another knight also rode towards the fortress, upon a black horse. They were cloaked and their pale skin was reflected in the moonlight. They halted before the gates.
"Who goes there?"
"I am a friend of Arthur, I come to visit him"
"Open the gate!"
The large iron gates slowly opened, and the mysterious rider came forth inside. They were greeted by Galahad.
"Welcome, what business do you hold here?"
"I am here to see Sir Lancelot,"
The rider pulled back their hood. It was a woman, clad in leather armour, with a long curved oriental sword in a scabbard at her waist, and two long oriental knives crossed over her back. She had long black hair, and dark emerald eyes,
"I am his cousin and only remaining relative after they were killed by the Roman Empire."
Galahad paused and caught his breath. She wasn't lying, her eyes and face were that of Lancelot's and she bore a striking resemblance to him.
"My lady I am afraid to say he died, in the battle of Hadrins wall, not two years ago."
He lowered his head in an awkward silence, and the girl looked crest fallen. Her eyes watered and she wiped away the hot tears furiously. Her face now ridden with anger and sadness.
"Take me to see King Arthur"
"Im afraid that is impossible, he will not see anyone at the present time"
She drew her sword from its scabbard, Galahad paused as he looked at it, and it was identical to that of Tristan's, except it had a finer oriental curve. She held it to his throat.
"Take me to see King Arthur"
Galahad gulped and smiled awkwardly,
"Of course my lady,"
"You can stop calling me my lady, I am Keirai"
He led her across the courtyard, Gawain and Bors joining him halfway as he led her up too Arthur's quarters.
A loud knock emitted on the door, Arthur was sitting on a stool, staring at the tiny wooden wolf emblem he had found by Lancelot's body.
"Who's there?"
"Galahad Arthur, you have a visitor"
"I will see no one I thought I told you that"
He heard commotion behind the door and the drawing of a sword. A quick flash of silver ran down the line of the door frame and it fell to the floor, leaving a woman standing to face him.
"Where is Lancelot!?"
She cried and stepped inside, looking around but mostly looking straight at Arthur.
"Galahad who is this woman?"
Galahad opened his mouth to speak, but the woman answered quickly herself,
"I am Keirai, Lancelot's cousin. I have come to ask him why he did not return to his home after all those years, like he said he would."
Arthur paused and stood up, pushing his hands through his hair.
"He is dead my lady, I am sorry"
"He cannot be dead, I won't accept it"
"You better because it's true"
Gawain piped up, with his words she drew her sword once more and put it across his neck,
"If its is true you better shut up or you will soon be joining him"
She hissed, staring deep into his hazel eyes. He gulped and closed his mouth, not uttering another word. Arthur fondled the wooden wolf emblem in his hands before holding it out to her.
"Here, you should have this. It was the only possession Lancelot had with him when he died."
"Lupus…"
She muttered as she took it, holding it outstretched in her palm. Noticing all eyes were on her, she put it inside her cloak pocket.
"I must ask one other thing of you Arthur, that you take me too his grave,"
Arthur nodded to his knights, and they left the room. Taking Keirai by the hand she led her down the stairs.
"You shall have your wish"
"Lancelot, how exactly do you plan on getting in when everyone thinks were dead!"
"I don't know Tristan, Its not like I knew God was going to bring me back up is it!"
"Shut up someone's coming!"
Dagonet said and they pinned themselves against the walls. They saw Arthur, Galahad, Gawain and Bors head outside, followed by a woman in a hooded cloak. They were heading over the hill to their old graves.
"Come on"
Lancelot whispered and taking the long route through the forest they made their way back to the hilltop where they had been buried.
"Here is his grave, but he does not lay here. He was burned and his ashes were sent away to a strong east wind, towards the sunrise. Beside him are the bodies of his fellow knights, Tristan and Dago- What has happened here!"
Arthur cried as he saw the disturbed earth by Dagonet and Tristan's graves, Tristan's missing sword, Dagonet's axe.
"Galahad, Gawain, Bors, have you seen anyone up here tonight?"
"No one Arthur, no one since you came down from here."
"Then you probably didn't see us"
They all turned to see Lancelot, Tristan and Dagonet, walking out from the woods. Everyone fell silent as Lancelot walked over to Arthur, and clasped him on the shoulder,
"We were saying, your God is good for something, especially rebirth, resurrection that kind of thing"
"Lancelot, your alive?"
The woman said and she pulled back her hood, her bottom lip trembling and her eyes watering.
"Keirai?"
Lancelot whispered and she ran forward, flinging her arms around him in a warm embrace, fondling his hair.
"I thought you were dead…"
"That's funny because so id I"
He smiled and let her go. He turned to his fellow knights,
"Galahad, Gawain. Bors, good old bores, how the old girl doing, and how's number three?"
Bors looked livid but a small smile spread across his face, as he hugged him tightly.
"Both fine Lancelot, both fine."
Tristan didn't talk, he walked over to Galahad and clasped his shoulder smiling, no one saw Keirai though, when he had walked forward into the light her face had fallen, her eyes wide with longing, her face alight with love.
"This is a day for celebration, a wondrous time of love of friendship. Come let us go back, let us weep no longer!"
Arthur said, and Lancelot followed him, closely followed by the other knights, but Tristan seemed to remain behind, staring at the stars.
"I heard you were a mystery"
Keirai said, and Tristan lowered his head in a smile.
"A legend of old, you seemed so perfect before, I doubted that you ever existed."
Tristan turned around; the moonlight flickered upon her features, her wavy hair played across her face and her dark eyes.
"I am a mystery that much is true. No one has ever been able to understand who I am. Until I was brought here to Britain when I was younger, I was completely alone. I had no family, no one to care for me. No one could ever understand what that was like."
His voice was smooth and melancholy, as he lowered his head in sad memories. Keirai walked forward and placed a hand on his shoulder, rubbing it warmly. Tristan looked at it, no one had ever touched him before, no one had ever cared…
"I can. Ever since my family were killed by the Romans, I was alone. I came here hoping to find Lancelot, which I have. But the thing is, I still always feel alone…"
Tristan looked up to face her, his eyes were confused and he squinted at her, he looked extremely bemused,
"How can you still feel alone?"
She paused and looked to the stars; they shone like diamonds on a dark velvet cloth, piercing the night.
"Probably because I'm still waiting for the one person I need, the one person that can make me feel whole."
An odd silence crept over them and Tristan was amazed, someone knew how he felt, someone was like him…
He touched her arm and she turned to look at him, his eyes amazed her, the mystery behind them was unknown, but the history seemed sad and regrettable.
"I have had a lot of things happening in my past, melancholy times, regrettable times. Yet now I find you, and they seem to wash away. You understand me; I've never met someone like you before…"
His voice trailed off as he seemed to bend over, lowering his face to meet hers. Her eyes were innocent and charming, they too held mystery behind them, and this was a person just like him, a person who had led his life in their own way.
He was so close to her now he could see the tears glistening like stars upon her eyelashes, the way they stained her cheeks as they fell when she blinked. He raised a hand to touch her cheek, and she trembled slightly. This was it; this was what Arthur had described to him before, when he had talked to him about Guinevere, love. He leaned in closer, closer, and closer still, she wasn't pulling away, her eyes were closed as her diamond tears fell, until he felt it, their lips had touched, silhouetted against the sky.
"Lord why did you take them, it was my life that should have been taken so that they could have the freedom long deserved to them, not this."
Tears were rolling down his face. He often came here alone to talk to his deceased knights, he never had accepted the fact that they had died.
"Lord, please bring them back tonight, please give them their freedom, and I will pay you back ten fold, I will do anything you ask of me. I know your power; please use it now, for their sakes."
He waited, nothing. Just the evening breeze rustling through the trees, sweeping back his hair.
"Fine, I will return to my people, but mark my words, the next time one of my knights is spared, I will have no mercy against the church"
He arose from the ground and walked back to the fortress where the people were happy, they danced and sang and were happy. None of them but Guinevere, Bors, Galahad and Gawain knew of his loss.
As he disappeared over the hills, the wind strengthened, a sudden glow of moonlight came from the clouds and the ground began to shake. A swirl of black clouds as in the sky, and Tristan's sword fell to lie edgeways across his grave. The ground shook more violently and Merlin was watching from the trees. He felt the ground shake, the earth was rebirthing…
With a flash of lightning a body appeared by the edge of the forest. It was a man. His hair was dark, it hung over his face in its straight strands, some of it braided. His eyes flickered open; they were dark and black, mysterious and charming. His body seemed stiff as he pushed himself up, on his arms. He stared down at the mound of earth, at the grave. A curved oriental sword lay upon it, the black handle tattered. He bent down and picked it up in his hand, holding it in front of his face.
"Finally, I've been waiting for you to come back."
The man looked over his shoulder, swirls of ash's had formed in the air to create a man, tall and handsome, two short broad bladed swords where in scabbards crossed across his back.
"Lancelot?"
The man smiled and walked towards him,
"Who else looks this gorgeous?"
The man smiled and clasped Lancelot on the shoulder.
"I suppose Arthur's god was good for something, rebirth."
Lancelot smiled,
"I still won't praise him Tristan, no matter how much he saved me. I'll always be a pagan"
"Where's Dagonet?"
"Right here"
A bald man with a large axe appeared next to them. He was smiling.
"The Knights of the Round Table are reborn, let's go scare people!"
Lancelot said laughing,
"No"
Tristan replied,
"Let's go see Arthur."
They smiled and walked over the hill, heading for the fortress of Arthur and Guinevere. Another knight also rode towards the fortress, upon a black horse. They were cloaked and their pale skin was reflected in the moonlight. They halted before the gates.
"Who goes there?"
"I am a friend of Arthur, I come to visit him"
"Open the gate!"
The large iron gates slowly opened, and the mysterious rider came forth inside. They were greeted by Galahad.
"Welcome, what business do you hold here?"
"I am here to see Sir Lancelot,"
The rider pulled back their hood. It was a woman, clad in leather armour, with a long curved oriental sword in a scabbard at her waist, and two long oriental knives crossed over her back. She had long black hair, and dark emerald eyes,
"I am his cousin and only remaining relative after they were killed by the Roman Empire."
Galahad paused and caught his breath. She wasn't lying, her eyes and face were that of Lancelot's and she bore a striking resemblance to him.
"My lady I am afraid to say he died, in the battle of Hadrins wall, not two years ago."
He lowered his head in an awkward silence, and the girl looked crest fallen. Her eyes watered and she wiped away the hot tears furiously. Her face now ridden with anger and sadness.
"Take me to see King Arthur"
"Im afraid that is impossible, he will not see anyone at the present time"
She drew her sword from its scabbard, Galahad paused as he looked at it, and it was identical to that of Tristan's, except it had a finer oriental curve. She held it to his throat.
"Take me to see King Arthur"
Galahad gulped and smiled awkwardly,
"Of course my lady,"
"You can stop calling me my lady, I am Keirai"
He led her across the courtyard, Gawain and Bors joining him halfway as he led her up too Arthur's quarters.
A loud knock emitted on the door, Arthur was sitting on a stool, staring at the tiny wooden wolf emblem he had found by Lancelot's body.
"Who's there?"
"Galahad Arthur, you have a visitor"
"I will see no one I thought I told you that"
He heard commotion behind the door and the drawing of a sword. A quick flash of silver ran down the line of the door frame and it fell to the floor, leaving a woman standing to face him.
"Where is Lancelot!?"
She cried and stepped inside, looking around but mostly looking straight at Arthur.
"Galahad who is this woman?"
Galahad opened his mouth to speak, but the woman answered quickly herself,
"I am Keirai, Lancelot's cousin. I have come to ask him why he did not return to his home after all those years, like he said he would."
Arthur paused and stood up, pushing his hands through his hair.
"He is dead my lady, I am sorry"
"He cannot be dead, I won't accept it"
"You better because it's true"
Gawain piped up, with his words she drew her sword once more and put it across his neck,
"If its is true you better shut up or you will soon be joining him"
She hissed, staring deep into his hazel eyes. He gulped and closed his mouth, not uttering another word. Arthur fondled the wooden wolf emblem in his hands before holding it out to her.
"Here, you should have this. It was the only possession Lancelot had with him when he died."
"Lupus…"
She muttered as she took it, holding it outstretched in her palm. Noticing all eyes were on her, she put it inside her cloak pocket.
"I must ask one other thing of you Arthur, that you take me too his grave,"
Arthur nodded to his knights, and they left the room. Taking Keirai by the hand she led her down the stairs.
"You shall have your wish"
"Lancelot, how exactly do you plan on getting in when everyone thinks were dead!"
"I don't know Tristan, Its not like I knew God was going to bring me back up is it!"
"Shut up someone's coming!"
Dagonet said and they pinned themselves against the walls. They saw Arthur, Galahad, Gawain and Bors head outside, followed by a woman in a hooded cloak. They were heading over the hill to their old graves.
"Come on"
Lancelot whispered and taking the long route through the forest they made their way back to the hilltop where they had been buried.
"Here is his grave, but he does not lay here. He was burned and his ashes were sent away to a strong east wind, towards the sunrise. Beside him are the bodies of his fellow knights, Tristan and Dago- What has happened here!"
Arthur cried as he saw the disturbed earth by Dagonet and Tristan's graves, Tristan's missing sword, Dagonet's axe.
"Galahad, Gawain, Bors, have you seen anyone up here tonight?"
"No one Arthur, no one since you came down from here."
"Then you probably didn't see us"
They all turned to see Lancelot, Tristan and Dagonet, walking out from the woods. Everyone fell silent as Lancelot walked over to Arthur, and clasped him on the shoulder,
"We were saying, your God is good for something, especially rebirth, resurrection that kind of thing"
"Lancelot, your alive?"
The woman said and she pulled back her hood, her bottom lip trembling and her eyes watering.
"Keirai?"
Lancelot whispered and she ran forward, flinging her arms around him in a warm embrace, fondling his hair.
"I thought you were dead…"
"That's funny because so id I"
He smiled and let her go. He turned to his fellow knights,
"Galahad, Gawain. Bors, good old bores, how the old girl doing, and how's number three?"
Bors looked livid but a small smile spread across his face, as he hugged him tightly.
"Both fine Lancelot, both fine."
Tristan didn't talk, he walked over to Galahad and clasped his shoulder smiling, no one saw Keirai though, when he had walked forward into the light her face had fallen, her eyes wide with longing, her face alight with love.
"This is a day for celebration, a wondrous time of love of friendship. Come let us go back, let us weep no longer!"
Arthur said, and Lancelot followed him, closely followed by the other knights, but Tristan seemed to remain behind, staring at the stars.
"I heard you were a mystery"
Keirai said, and Tristan lowered his head in a smile.
"A legend of old, you seemed so perfect before, I doubted that you ever existed."
Tristan turned around; the moonlight flickered upon her features, her wavy hair played across her face and her dark eyes.
"I am a mystery that much is true. No one has ever been able to understand who I am. Until I was brought here to Britain when I was younger, I was completely alone. I had no family, no one to care for me. No one could ever understand what that was like."
His voice was smooth and melancholy, as he lowered his head in sad memories. Keirai walked forward and placed a hand on his shoulder, rubbing it warmly. Tristan looked at it, no one had ever touched him before, no one had ever cared…
"I can. Ever since my family were killed by the Romans, I was alone. I came here hoping to find Lancelot, which I have. But the thing is, I still always feel alone…"
Tristan looked up to face her, his eyes were confused and he squinted at her, he looked extremely bemused,
"How can you still feel alone?"
She paused and looked to the stars; they shone like diamonds on a dark velvet cloth, piercing the night.
"Probably because I'm still waiting for the one person I need, the one person that can make me feel whole."
An odd silence crept over them and Tristan was amazed, someone knew how he felt, someone was like him…
He touched her arm and she turned to look at him, his eyes amazed her, the mystery behind them was unknown, but the history seemed sad and regrettable.
"I have had a lot of things happening in my past, melancholy times, regrettable times. Yet now I find you, and they seem to wash away. You understand me; I've never met someone like you before…"
His voice trailed off as he seemed to bend over, lowering his face to meet hers. Her eyes were innocent and charming, they too held mystery behind them, and this was a person just like him, a person who had led his life in their own way.
He was so close to her now he could see the tears glistening like stars upon her eyelashes, the way they stained her cheeks as they fell when she blinked. He raised a hand to touch her cheek, and she trembled slightly. This was it; this was what Arthur had described to him before, when he had talked to him about Guinevere, love. He leaned in closer, closer, and closer still, she wasn't pulling away, her eyes were closed as her diamond tears fell, until he felt it, their lips had touched, silhouetted against the sky.