Chapter 1: Marian the half-breed.
Silently I, Marian trace the encasings in the wall I lay against. Only one of my fingers is not dislocated. The result of their last torturing. I never cried, never screamed, never sobbed. I wouldn't give them the satisfaction.
"Why?" they ask me, my answer is simple. "Worriers' daughters never cry."
Suddenly, I hear a soft whimper. It's my cousin Guinevere.
"Gwen, are you alright?"
"I don't think I will last much longer," she sobs silently.
"Don't say that! Don't even think that!"
"I know. I wish I could see your face." She is crying.
"I can't even see my own hair." I was trying my best to cheer Gwen up. I can't help but think of my waist length dark-brown hair and how dirty it must be.
"I'm happy that I can still see you sparkly blue eyes." Her voice sounds so faint and weak.
"Rest Gwen, please."
"I'll try," she whispers. I know she doesn't want to attract any attention to us. Those monks are seriously mental.
I can live with being tortured, but with hearing them torture Gwen I cannot cope. I will say things like; "She doesn't know anything! I know more!" and with them being the idiots they are, they buy it. They will torture me, beat me. The beatings are brutal, painful. Gwen always begs me to just stay down. But I can't, pride makes me crawl op again and again. "Why don't you stay down?" they ask. Again my answer is simple.
"You can break my bones but not my spirit."
There is a noise outside, I hear it. Hope, I cling to it. Maybe it can be someone that wishes to help us. The Roman's wife, maybe she's asked for help. Four months she has been helping us. Four very, very long months. She will give me food, sometimes I will eat but I mostly give the food to Lucan. When they take me out of my cell to torture me I will give it to him in a discreet way. The monks are too blind to see. The door flies open, a giant and a smaller Roman are standing in the doorway.
"Who are these defies of the Lord's temple?" a cruel monk yells. While he is saying this, this five more men enter. I carefully look at them. They kill one of the monks and begin to open the cells.
"This one is dead," a voice says.
"By the smell of it, they're all dead," another one says.
Shall I call out to them? Are they trustworthy? Their leader is Roman; Romans are the foulest things to walk the earth. But then again, Gwen needs help. So does Lucan.
"My cousin and a small boy! They live!" I yell out. The giant sees me as I nod to the box Lucan is in. Another one appears before me, he is younger than the others but still older than I am. He looks at my eyes; everybody always looks at my eyes. My Gallic eyes. I am a half-breed. My mother was a Gaul, a Belgae and my father a Woad. I stare a back at him. Slowly, he opens the box.
I give him a suspicious look.
"I mean you no harm, I swear," he whispers and lifts me up quite easily. I see the Roman lifting Gwen up, he is dangerous, he is Roman. I have to do something! I struggle to get out of the arms of my rescuer and I manage. He looks surprised.
"Let go of her! I have seen what your kind do!" I say, trying to get to her.
"We won't hurt her," the giant says, holding Lucan in his arms.
"Lucan! Are you alright?" I ask, staggering up to him. It has been so long since I have walked, I just can't anymore. I fall to my knees.
"You shouldn't do that, you're hurt," the man who saved me scowls and lifts me up again.
"If you harm my kin, I will kill you, hurt or not."
"I swear to you, we mean you no harm. We intend to save you," The Roman says while carrying Gwen outside.
"That's what the monks said," I argue and give him a warning glare.
The men carry us outside and put us down next to each other. The Roman woman kneels down beside us. She strokes my face for a moment.
"Gwen?" I ask my cousin.
"I'm alright," she mumbles.
The Roman and the giant walk over to us and give us water. I give mine to Lucan without thinking, it comes naturally.
"Is he your kin?" The giant asks me.
I decide not to speak, but I shake my head in response.
"Here, drink this, you need to drink. You're very pale," the Roman says, giving more water.
I look suspicious. I see the dark knight look at me questioningly.
"It's not poisoned," he says calmly.
He seems truthful. Warily, I take a sip.
"They are Woads," a knight comments. That really makes me mad.
"I don't mind if you don't help me, but the boy is innocent! Can he help it that he was born a Woad?!" I explode.
The knight looks at me with a strange look, not revealing his thoughts on what I had said.
"Stop what you are doing!" I hear the man I hate most of all shout. "These people are pagans!"
"So are we!" my saviour scowls.
"These people are pagans! They refuse to do the work God has set for them! They must die!" Marius shouts to them. I manage to crawl in front of Gwen. I want to protect her. I have no sword, so I use my body. The dark knight smirks at me.
"You mean they wouldn't be your serfs!" says the Roman leader.
"You are a Roman! A Christian! You understand! And you! You kept them alive!" he shouts at the Roman woman, who is sitting next to Gwen. He walks towards us and I know he will strike her.
I must get up. Yet I stand shakily, a gush of wind can floor me.
"Don't you dare!" I hiss my voice, making it sound low and menacing.
"You still won't stay down! You half-breed." Instead of hitting her, he hits me. It stings and I fall to the ground. I try to get up again but somebody is holding me down, a strong hand.
Their leader hits Marius and places his sword at his throat. The man gives me a concerned look, while Marius squirms under his blade.
"Are you alright?"
I give him a small nod. I still don't trust them.
"Roman, you better hope they will protect you because as soon as I find a blade, I will hunt you and kill you, slowly and painfully. You will pay for what you did to my cousin!" I yell. He looks at me with wide, frightened eyes. My saviour gives me a look of respect.
"Stop!" Marius shouts at his guards. "You will be punished for this when we return to the Wall!"
"Then perhaps I should seal my fate and kill you now!" the leader says in a threatening manner.
"I was willing to die with them. It is God's wish that these sinners be sacrificed. Only then can their souls be saved," one of the monks says to the leader.
"Then I will do his will. Wall them back up!" he yells to the dark-haired knight.
The people obey him and the knights don't need to do anything.
"We have no time for this, Arthur. An entire Saxon army is coming. They will slow us down,"says the dark knight.
After that being said, I hear Saxon drums.
"Get the wounded into the wagon. We're leaving, Tristan," the leader decides.
The knight known as Tristan does as he is told and walks over to me. He picks me op, trying to be gentle. I know I will not be able to struggle against him, so I let him. He places me on a blanket in the wagon. I watch as the leader places Gwen next to me and the giant sits down across from me. He has Lucan in his arms. I see a curly-haired knight speaking angrily with the leader.
"Poor child," I hear the Roman's wife say. She and her son have also entered without my knowing.
The giant tries to tend to my wounds.
"Take care of them first!" I snap.
"You are in the worst shape," he says.
"I lived like this for four months, I can manage a few more hours!" I hiss.
I think he sees I can not be talked over.
The knight who saved me enters the wagon and walks over to me.
"Let me see your hands."
Slowly I stretch my hands out to him.
"Your fingers," he whispers in shock.
"I know," I say quietly.
"What did they do to you?" he asks, taking a look at my fingers.
"Torture me, beat me."
"I'm going to snap them into place," he says with a worried face.
I nod, bracing myself for the pain. I hear a loud snap. And feel pain, terrible pain.
"There. Don't move them around to much." He gets up and leaves.
I sit there, thinking, until the knight who is taking care of us begins to tend my wounds.
I can't help but give him a suspicious look. But then my gaze wonders over the others and their sleeping forms.
I see the leader enter and since I am the only one awake, he speaks to me.
"What is your name?" he asks politely.
"Marian, yours?"
"Arthur. That is Dagonet," he says pointing to the giant.
"Marius called you half-breed, why?" he asks with a hint of curiosity.
"I'm half Woad, half Gaul."
"What sort?" he asks, clearly interested.
"Belgae," I simply say.
"The Belgae?" he asks, obviously shocked.
"Aye."
"I didn't know they where here," he says thoughtfully.
"A small group, I would say about fifty men and eighty women and children."
I decide to tell the truth. "The leader is my uncle on mothers side, and Merlin took care of me after my parents died. My father was his brother."
"I will leave you now and let Dagonet take care of you." Then he walks off.
"They were rough with you, weren't they," Dagonet says, looking at the gashes on my arms. "But I don't think they will leave scars."
I nod and look at Gwen. But my eyelids feel so heavy, it wouldn't hurt to close them for a while.
"Wake up cousin!" I hear Gwen's voice call. I must have fallen asleep.
"It's time for a bath, dear," The Roman woman says. I nod and let her lead me to a basin filled with warm water. Softly, she uncovers my back.
"Your wounds are healing," Gwen says, while helping the woman scrub my back. I notice that Gwen is already washed and dressed in a blue gown. I feel water flow over my head. It feels so good, it had been so long. It did not take long before I was back to my old, clean self. The Roman woman puts me in a green gown. I hear a sound, a very soft sound. I grab the dagger that Dagonet has left behind.
"Gwen, get the knights," I whisper. She nods. Slowly, we leave the wagon and I see the man I hate so much hold a knife to Lucan's throat.
"How dare you?!" I snarl.
"I have the boy, half-breed! Drop your weapon!"
"No," I simply say. "You drop the weapon!"
"Don't you understand? Are you so dumb? I have the boy," he laughs evilly.
"Warned you!" I say and the throw the dagger. It hits him dead in the chest, and he falls to the ground.
"Nice throw," I hear from behind me. It was the curly-haired knight.
"Thanks," I say as Lucan runs to Dagonet.
"Drop your weapons!" Arthur calls to Marius' mercenaries, advancing dangerously.
"Do we have a problem?" the older knight asks, riding up to us. Suddenly the knight named Tristan appears.
"How many did you kill?" the older knight asks.
"Four."
"Not a bad start to the morning," the older knight smirks. I watch them with interest. They have a strange sense of humour.
"Shouldn't we go?" I ask Arthur.
"Aye. Pack up!" He says to his knights.
I feel useless, I can't help, I don't have my sword. The monks stole it from me. Plus, the knights say that I'm too weak to help.
"Woad!" a voice calls.
I turn around and see my rescuer.
"Woad isn't my name, you know."
"Then what is your name?" he asks with interest.
"Marian, what's yours?"
"Galahad."
"Galahad..." I repeat softly. It suits him.
"Your wounds seem to be healing."
I give him a small nod.
"I suggest you enter the wagon, we are leaving soon. Will you manage yourself or do you need help?"
"I think I will manage," I say and walk to the wagon where Gwen is waiting for me. She helps me enter, my legs are still pretty scratched up.
Soon we leave. After a short while, we arrive at a huge icy plane between two mountains.
I get off the wagon and take a closer look. It was a lake, a frozen lake.
"Do we have to cross the lake?" Arthur asks Tristan.
"Is it a lake or is it a river?" Galahad asks, carefully stepping onto the ice.
"It's a lake and there's no other way around it," Tristan says, looking around.
We begin to make our way across the lake. Gwen, Lucan and the two Romans have to get out of the wagon, to spread the weight a little. Since Dagonet is already quite heavy on his own, I pick Lucan up and carry him. He holds on to me quite tight. He is scared, like many others. The cracking sound the ice makes with every step we take is frightening. I hear a noise and it is not the cracking ice. The drumming of Saxon drums.
"Doesn't give us much choice," Galahad announces.
"Knights?" Arthur asks.
"They're so close my ass hurts," the older knight says.
"I'm sick of all the noise they're making." Another smirks.
"Let's see what the bastards look like," Galahad says, looking very excited. I give Lucan a hug and hand him over to the Roman woman.
"I never liked looking over my shoulder anyway," Tristan shrugs.
"This man is your captain. You will follow his orders," Arthur says, pointing to a man.
The people nod and begin to leave us.
I hear Marius' son say that he will fight. I speak to him.
"He, who has not seen nightfall should vow to walk in the dark," I say softly to him and Arthur. Arthur nods and sends him off.
"You could use an extra bow," Guinevere says as walks up to us.
"You can use our bows and my sword," I say.
"You are too weak," Galahad says to me.
"You cannot make me go. I wish to fight."
"Tristan! Find her a sword!" Arthur yells.
"But Arthur," Galahad says to him.
"No buts, Galahad, we need all the help we can get."
I nod thankfully at Tristan as he gives me a sword. I use the sword to make splits on the sides of my dress so it will not slow me down in battle. And I tie my hair up so it will not get in my way.
I'm barely finished and the people are just out of sight when the Saxons appear. We are seriously outnumbered.
"There's a large group of lonely men out there," the curly haired knight says, smirking at us.
"Don't worry. I won't let them rape you," Guinevere says, smiling.
"Gwen, maybe he would like them to," I say, grinning.
A Saxon fires an arrow, it doesn't even reach half way.
"Bors, Tristan!" Arthur calls to his knights, they hold their bows ready.
"They're far out of range." Guinevere says.
I look at their bows, they are strung. I pick up the bow they gave me and hold it ready as well.
You never know if they are that good.
They fire, I follow their lead and yes, the arrows reached their targets.
Gwen smirks and picks up one of the bows as well.
"Aim for the outside! Push them together!" Arthur orders.
We do as we are told and many Saxons fall to our accurate aim. I understand the plan but its just not working. The ice cracks harder and harder, it still holds, but for how long?
"It's not breaking. Prepare for close combat." Arthur says, drawing Excalibur.
"Finally, I'm not an archer, I'm better in close combat," I say taking, my sword out.
"How can you be even better than this?" a knight asks.
"Wait and see, Gawain." Gwen says, smirking at the knight.
But suddenly Dagonet runs out on the ice.
"Dagonet!" I scream and follow him but Tristan pulls me back. I give him a glare and watch as Dagonet starts to hack down at the ice. I close my eyes and do something I haven't done in a long time...pray to the goddess. I hear two people storm off and I know...he is dead.
I sit there, quietly, as I hear Gwen sob.
"Worriers' daughters never cry," I whisper to myself. I feel an arm slide around my shoulder.
I open my eyes. Galahad, my saviour. Tears are in his eyes.
"He is dead, isn't he?" I ask.
He nods.
"Worriers' daughters never cry," I whisper again, convincing myself over and over.
I feel bitter, I liked Dagonet. Poor Lucan, he just lost another father.
I softly start to sing in my native tongue. My mother told my once to honour those who fall in battle.
"What are you singing?" Arthur asks.
"A song for the brave fallen."
"That's good," Lancelot says.
"What are you singing about him?" Bors asks, crying.
"That he may find peace in death, freedom. And that he will not be forgotten." I close my eyes and start to sing again. After a while I end with these words.
"Find peace, friend, healer, warrior."
Arthur looks at me with teary eyes; Tristan nods; Galahad, Gawain and Lancelot cry silently; Bors and Gwen cry out loud. I, however, show no emotion. It is how I deal with my grief, with a cold hart and songs from my childhood. I look at Dagonet's dead body, images flash through my head, memories of a distant past. I feel weak, dizzy and cold. My vision becomes blurry...
"Marian! Marian!" I hear Gwen say.
"Stop yelling" I growl, getting up.
"What happened! I was so scared!" Gwen says, hugging me.
"The emotions got the better of me and I saw..."
"You saw?" Galahad asks.
"Romans." I say darkly.
Arthur gives me a strange look.
"The Romans?" Gwen asks.
I nod and close my eyes.
"Care to explain?" Lancelot asks.
"The Romans, who killed my mother." I shiver as I say this and think; worriers' daughters never cry.
"I'm sorry, I didn't know." Lancelot says.
"I don't mind, it was a long time ago." I shiver even more.
"Did you see them do it?" Arthur asks.
"Yes." I keep repeating in my head; warriors' daughters never cry.
"You're shaking," Galahad says, putting an arm around me.
"I'm fine."
"Marian, you can cry you know, its time to let go of that stupid phrase," Gwen says.
"What stupid phrase?" Lancelot asks, frowning.
"Worriers' daughters never cry." I shake even more.
"Everybody needs to cry sometimes," Gawain says, staring at me.
"I haven't cried since I was six."
"Was that when they killed your mother?" Arthur asks.
I nod.
"Let's get going." Lancelot says, trying to divert everyone from the subject.
"I'll take you with me on my horse, you're to upset to ride on your own," Tristan says to me.
I nod and climb onto his horse. I don't speak one word on our way to the wall.
Time passes by so fast, before I know it I am there, standing next to Lucan while he looks at Dagonet's dead body. He cries. And still I think "worriers' daughters never cry."
Softly, as softly as I can, I lift the boy up and hug him. I'll take care of him, I promise you, Dagonet.
The bishop comes out and tries to hug Marius' son. But the boy won't let him.
"Bishop Germanius, friend of my father," Arthur says coolly.
The Bishop's smile fades. The knights' discharge papers are brought out. Lancelot snatches them and hands them out. I hold onto Lucan even tighter.
The knights stare at the rolls of paper. Their freedom is a piece of paper handed out by a lord of the Roman church. I pity them.
"For Dagonet," Lancelot says giving Bors two rolls. Bors gives the rolls a look of disgust and throws them down at the feet of the bishop. Then he walks off.
"He needs no piece of paper!" I scream, outraged. "He is free! Free from the pain inflicted by Romans!"
Tristan looks at me and nods. I give Lucan a kiss on his brow and give him to Marius' wife.
Gawain picks up the rolls and Tristan takes the wooden box that the rolls came in.
I walk over to the knights.
"We most bury him with honour, you make a coffin. I most find some things." They nod and I walk away. I ask a servant for pieces of cloth and water. She helps me carry it outside.
The knights look at me strangely but Gwen nods.
"What are you doing?" Arthur asks.
"I am tending Dagonet's wounds, cleaning him up." My voice sounds like a whisper. "It is a Gallic ritual. It shows respect for the dead."
They stare as Gwen and I clean Dagonet's wounds. When we are done, they put him in his coffin.
I stand there and watch them bury him. I keep repeating to myself; Worriers' daughters never cry.
When I am finally awakened from my trance, everybody but Bors has left. I walk over to him and softly put a hand on his shoulder. A sign of condolences in my mothers culture. Then I silently walk off.
"You know, you're not so bad for a Woad," his voice calls.
"Thank you," I reply as I leave him to deal with his grief in his own way.
That's it for today!
PLEASE NO FLAMES! It's my first real fic!
And if you review can you tell me if you would like her to end up with Galahad our Tristan?
-xxx- BillieLiv