I'm Back! I was so excited to take a shower that included Shampoo and conditioner. Words cannot express. After staying in crap hotels for an entire week, my own room and bed were quite welcome. Thank you for all the reviews!

Dazzler420- Not telling!

Nianko- Thank you so much! That's so sweet!

Archersaim- I did indeed survive the drive. We substituted Willie Nelson for a highly boring audio book on John Adams. It's no better, I assure you. I made a single bar of Hershey's last an entire week. It was quite a trial.

BebegurlPR- Here it is!

Camreyn- Thanks for the thoughts!

TalkIsCheap- I was telling the story from Fulcinia's POV. I personally find Dagonet to be cute in a big loveable teddy bear sort of way.

MonDieu666- Sorry, I don't have a script. I went out and bought the book, but a lot of the lines and scenes are screwed up. It's helpful for structural purposes, though. In my opinion, Tristan is far superior to any other life form. He has a really sexy accent, don't you think?

Fulcinia was almost feeling safe, wrapped in Sera's arms. Sera wouldn't let anyone touch her, Sera wouldn't let any harm come to her. Her tears had run dry, and her mind was starting to clear. It had happened so fast. Marius was on the ground, Dagonet standing over him. What had he done? Marius was an important man; no one defied him and got away with it. Dagonet had helped her, knowing that. He was looking after Lucan without any signs of regret, though the child was a Woad. She could trust him.

Sera held Fulcinia tightly. She wasn't usually into violence, but she had a few very pleasing ideas about what to do the next time she encountered Marius. Rebekah woke up soon after Fulcinia had arrived, and she too had a few ideas about what to do with the pig. They stayed awake long after Fulcinia closed her eyes.

"...So, you'll hold him, while I slowly cut off his fingers with a blunt knife..." Rebakah said, half serious.

"No, you're holding him, I'm better with knives than you anyway." Sera said, pouting a bit.

"That's throwing knives, not normal everyday use."

"Cutting off someone's fingers is normal everyday use?"

Rebekah sighed. Sera was right.

"Fine, you can cut off his fingers, but can I at least be the one to castrate him?"

"Alright, but I think Guinevere will want to be in on this mutilation."

"Where is Guinevere? She's missing all the fun."

They hadn't seen Guinevere since the sparring match that night. It had been several hours since then, and still she had not returned. Just then, Guinevere crept into the wagon. She noticed them awake and a guilty expression formed on her face. She hadn't told them what she was going to do. She didn't know why, exactly. It made a bit uncomfortable, she wasn't sure what their reaction would be if she told them that she was suppose to cozy up to a Roman commander.

"Where were you? We were worried." Said Rebekah. Her friend looked a bit breathless, and looked oddly guilty. What was she trying to hide?

He turned away from them, his expression cold. What did they know of it? They had killed her. They had killed his mother. And now they wanted his help.

"It was love of your mother that freed the sword, not hatred of me...Love, Arthur." Merlin was beginning to lose hope. Arthur was unwilling to set aside the loss of his mother to listen to reason. This man was their only hope, and he was turning away from them.

Guinevere didn't say anything. She was hurt that he was refusing even to listen to her or her father. They had nearly had a friendly conversation before, didn't he remember that? Did he think his mother would want him to hold a grudge against her own people? Arthur left without so much as a glance at Guinevere. She was only looking after her own; she had no real feelings for him. It was all a game to her, wasn't it? He got his emotions under control, and calmly returned to his bedroll on the ground. When they reached the wall, the Woads would be on their own. He had no obligation to help them further. That would be it.

Merlin turned to his daughter. Her eyes were sorrowful, her shoulders hunched in defeat. This was not like her. She never let anything stop her. Perhaps she had changed during her long imprisonment. Perhaps she no longer cared. But that was nonsense. Guinevere would always care.

"There was nothing you could do, Guinevere. Get some rest. I must return to the wall. Our people have been without their leader for long enough. You did what was asked of you, you tried your best. I can ask no more of you. Just keep them safe. He may yet change his mind."

With that, he kissed his daughter's brow, and hugged her tight. They may never see each other again. She hugged him back. He never blamed her when she failed. Not many people could claim that of their fathers. She knew she was extremely lucky, but she wasn't feeling lucky now. She was feeling inadequate. She drew back and attempted to smile. Their people would fall, all for her insufficient performance in this matter. She should have tried harder.

"We will see each other again soon, I can feel it." She said, with more confidence than she felt. There was no need for him to see her fear.

Merlin nodded, and slipped deeper into the woods, in search of his horse. Not many of their people could ride, as they only had the horses that they managed to steal. Merlin, being a leader, could. It was much easier on a man of his years than running everywhere. He wanted to leave the horse with Guinevere to protect her, but knew that he would never be able to make it back to the wall in time without it. He mounted the horse and rode off, fighting the urge to look back a dozen times. It would not do for her to see how anxious he was. She needed to be focused on one thing, and it wasn't him.

Guinevere watched him go, the sadness settling in. Finally, she shook herself. It was time to sleep. She walked back to the wagon, only to hear Rebekah and Sera, awake and talking. What would she tell them?

"Oh, I just wanted to talk to Father for a bit..." she responded and turned away. She needed to make this sound insignificant. She didn't know if they would be able to forgive her of her failure. They would tell her it wasn't her fault, but what would they be thinking?

"Merlin was sticking around so you could talk to him whenever you wanted, when the Saxons are coming, and he is needed back home?" Asked Rebekah, incredulously.

She was doomed. Rebekah wouldn't let this go. With a sigh, she said,

"Arthur refused us. He won't help."

There was a long silence, as all three women contemplated what this would mean to their cause. They would have to come up with something miraculous, spectacular. If their people had no faith in them, all was lost.

"He could change his mind, maybe he doesn't really know what to do himself..." Sera said, though her words sounded lame, even to herself. Guinevere was beating herself up over this. It wasn't her fault if this Roman's skull was too thick to comprehend their undeniable logic. She wouldn't let her just sit there and feel bad about this.

"There was nothing you could do to change his answer. He has hated us for so long, there wasn't much hope anyway."

It was true, Guinevere supposed. It didn't make her feel any better though. She had accomplished the impossible before, why couldn't she do that now?

"Well, if we want to change his mind, we could start getting to know his knights better. He trusts their opinion. If they trust us, like us, he may reconsider." Said Rebekah. It was true, but she knew deep down that she was saying so for rather selfish reasons. She liked spending time with the knights. They liked a good laugh, and had a simple outlook on life. Keep your goblet filled and live. She liked that. They enjoyed the female company, as long as they weren't being prudish about it. Their jokes tended to be on the bawdy side.

There was Gawain, who would tell anyone who would listen about the beautiful Sarmatian woman that he would marry when he got back home. Galahad, the youngest. He had a beard, probably in an attempt to prove to everyone how manly he was. He would probably look better without it. Dagonet, who had looked after them with such care, and helped Fuclcinia as well. Bors who had eleven bastards, a lover named Vanora, and a friendly rivalry with Lancelot. Then there was Lancelot himself, a lover of women, always with a charming comment for everyone to hear. And Tristan, the man who kept to himself. She would like to know more about that one. His thoughts would be very interesting to decipher.

The other two agreed. It was a good plan, the best they had at the moment. What could it hurt?

"What were you two talking about earlier? I thought I heard something about castration." Said Guinevere, changing the subject.

Sera and Rebekah exchanged meaningful glances.

"Sera's going to cut off his fingers and I'm going to castrate him." Said Rebekah, matter-of-factly.

"Who?"

"Marius."

"While he definitely deserves that, he's under the protection of Rome at the moment." Said Guinevere.

"He tried to beat and rape Fulcinia tonight. Dagonet knocked him out." Said Sera.

For the first time, Guinevere noticed Fulcinia curled up in the corner of the wagon. She was such a sweet and gentle woman, that she inspired great protective thoughts in Guinevere's head. Her eyes narrowed at the thought of that ass of a man who would do such a thing to a woman.

"You can't hog all the fun. What do I get to do?" Asked Guinevere.

"See, I told you she'd want in on this." Said Sera to Rebekah.

Rebekah sighed. She wasn't sure she could deny Guinevere the pleasure and honor of being the one in charge of the castration. Guinevere's morale needed a boost.

"I suppose you could take my job. I'll just beat him senseless. Deal?" It was a rather glum thought, but oh well. What were friends for?

They shared identical devious grins, and turned in for the night. Tomorrow, Marius would be getting quite the surprise.

Marius awoke. His head was pounding. He had a sudden flash of memory. A hard blow to the back of the head. He felt the back of his cranium, and sure enough, a large lump was forming. That giant of a man had attacked him, all for some ugly wench. Bitch. She was probably sleeping with Dagonet. She had only given him one child, thus was God's punishment upon adulterers. God's punishment was too slow for this. He would have to do it himself. He wouldn't stand for being taken away from his land by common pagans. He could punish Fulcinia at the same time as he was taking control of the caravan. That little boy, Lucan was it, he had seen how she looked at him. She loved him. She needed to be taught a lesson. The boy would be the perfect means to do so. He would take care of Dagonet later.