Okay. I'm babysitting from 6:30 AM-4:30 PM. From there, I go directly to marching band until 9. I'm going to post little snippets of this chapter, as I am far too tired to type the entire chapter at this hour. It will be the same thing for tomorrow and the next day, but I'll try to update a bit each day. It quite tiresome, running after a three year old all day, changing his diapers. It's no picnic, I can tell you that. He wasn't even interested in reading the King Arthur book I brought with me!
TalkIsCheap-Everyone is proud of Galahad! I'll see what I can do about some more Arthur/Guinevere MRC.
Nianko- that's alright! I'm so glad you reviewed again; I was beginning to pine for one of your reviews!
Camreyn- Holland sounds nice! The Ladies of War (or Guinevere, Rebekah, and Sera) will definitely get to kick some Saxon-ass soon.
SunsetSparrow- Thanks!
MonDieu666- I do not know where to find a script. Sorry!
Elvish-princess130990- You have helped make me a fulfilled individual. Thank you.
LittleWolf4- Te He He!
I LIKE IT LIKE CHEESE- Thank you for being so understanding of little-old-me! I don't think that this story will continue on after the battle much. I may consider doing a sequel, if anyone would like to read one, that is.
TJ- Yea Galahad!
Dazzler420- (pat on back) I like that too. I'm a sucker for happy endings...
BebegurlPR- I hope you have not gone into cardiac arrest! How awful! Thanks for reviewing!
OK. Here are some notes, as most people tend to be confused about these things, and I was too tired to be descriptive in the last chapter.
Regarding the families' reactions to their daughters bringing home Sarmatians- In the first chapter, I touched on this briefly, saying something along the lines of- He couldn't blame these men. They were only doing what they needed to do to stay alive. He was doing the same thing himself- That was from Rebekah's father's point of view. Also, Merlin informed the tribe that the Sarmatians had rescued their ladies, and that they should not harm them. The Woads were grateful to have their ladies back, and were in turn welcoming to the Sarmatians.
Regarding the whole "Rebekah-Tristan- Etain- Laim" thing... Tristan knows that Rebekah has no feelings for Laim, and as long as Laim keeps his lips to himself, Tristan will not go out of his way to beat the shit out of him. Another question was why did Tristan let Etain sit in his lap in the first place. It was a rather sudden action, and Rebekah showed up, so she left. Some other people want me to get rid of Etain and Laim. In my opinion, you always need a good nemesis. I love writing about characters who are blinded by ambition. They're such hypocrites. (But then, we could theorize that all humans are hypocritical, and could very well be right. So, we'll just say that highly ambitious people are more hypocritical than others.)
Regarding the conversation that took place between Alecto and Merlin. It has always been my observation that when you look at every religion and boil it down to its core, they are all the same. In very basic terms, every religion say, "Do good for the world, treat yourself, your neighbor, and your 'higher power insert here' with respect." Even the atheists that I know go by this same core value (with the obvious exclusion of the higher power) We have fought and killed in the name of religion, when that is not what religion is, that is not what faith is. Killing is hatred, and has no place in a religious forum. Even the story of King Arthur has been twisted over the years, to fit various religious purposes. At a time when it was being seriously debated if women had souls, monks got their hands on the story, and twisted Morgan la Fey into a heinous bitch, who was always trying to kill Arthur, when in the earlier version, her only role was healing King Arthur. They created an adulterous affair between Guinevere and Lancelot, making them die of shame, broken heart...etc... the list goes on and on. They used the story to express their own moral ideals. Religion, when we see it as a barrier between us and 'everyone else' only serves to destroy us, and destroy any decent thoughts of the generations past. (I personally would like to hear the original story of King Arthur, the one that would not make me feel ashamed of having breasts.) I realize that this was not conveyed at all well in the last chapter. Perhaps, someday, I will type up the conversation, when no one expects romance or battle.
Merlin looked to Arthur, a question in his eyes.
Arthur had been thinking quite a bit of late about where he fit in the world. Every time he tried to put himself someplace else, all roads lead back to here. This was his country. These were his people. He would stay.
He gave Merlin a slight nod, and turned to his knights.
"I have no epic speech ready to stir your souls. I am simply going to ask you if you will stay with me and fight. If you do not wish to, that is your choice. You are free men, now." He said, simply.
The knights looked at each other, thousands of thoughts circulating around the group.
Dagonet looked to Fulcinia. He could go with her to Rome, but he would feel the shame of leaving his friends for the rest of his life.
Bors locked gazes with Vanora. If he died, she would have eleven bastards to raise on her own. But, who was to say that she would make it off the island in the first place? If the Saxon's won, they might very well overtake them on route. The only way to make sure Vanora and his children lived was to fight.
Gawain was rethinking his vision of the beautiful Sarmatian woman that he was to marry. There seemed to be plenty of beautiful women here. Why should he leave? This island had been a home to him for fifteen years, he would defend it.
Galahad had always wanted to go home, but he could see the decision in Gawain's face, and that held sway with him. Besides, he couldn't quite justify leaving Deirdre to fend for herself. She would be fighting tomorrow. They had hardly spoken, but she hadn't walked away, or made a derisive comment about his lack of masculinity. She was different.
Lancelot knew what he needed to do. The two people he cared most for in the world were staying. He would not let Sera or Arthur die alone. Sera would never be persuaded to leave. She cared about this land, and so did he. He lightly traced the rake marks on her cheek and sighed. How could he leave now?
Tristan didn't look any different than he normally did, but his thoughts were certainly not as bland as his expression. What would he do with his life, if he left now? Sarmatia was a conquered land. With the exception of joining the Roman army, they didn't fight anymore. He was a warrior. He would die honorably in battle. The battle was here, with Rebekah.
Arthur didn't need to ask for their answer. He could read it in their faces. They would stay. He gave them a grateful expression, and turned back to Merlin.
"My knights and I will join you." He said.
Merlin tried to hide his relief, but some of his emotion escaped, and if you looked hard enough, you could see it on his face.
"Ladies, knights, we will need to have a War Council. We will discuss this in my dwelling." He said.
He and the Ladies lead the knights to the agreed upon location.
Now, REVIEW! Or I may decide to be evil and NOT FINISH THE STORY! (Insert evil laugh here)
