A/N: I'm glad at least a few people are enjoying this! I know
crossovers can get really tacky and it's hard to make them work
sometimes, so I'm actually very pleased with the reviews I've gotten
thus far. Keep 'em coming! Anyway, hope you enjoy this chapter.
Chapter Three: A Silly Name and Saxon Invaders.
"Can't you move any faster?" Darwin screeched at the horse. It really was a shame she had absolutely no knowledge of horses, because as she screeched, she also pulled up on the horse's reins, causing the horse to veer off course and stumble.
She was frantically looking over her shoulder, as the three knights chasing her were, rather quickly, gaining ground. Sigh. The fact that they were who they were, and this wasn't some sick and twisted dream made her cringe. This was actually happening, and, the way things were going, she wasn't sure, but she thought that there was nothing left to go wrong.
When the first arrow whizzed past her head, she knew she was way out of her league. Not that there had ever been much question anyway, considering 'her league' would be a three year old armed with a stick or a rock. But now they were shooting at her! Trying to kill a weak, innocent girl. The nerve! Well, there was the small catch and that was she wasn't completely 'innocent'. She was, after all, riding a stolen horse.
They were getting way too close for comfort now. She racked her mind for any charm or curse that she could use, but her mind was blank. She had never been one for dueling, and when she did, it was with Sirius or James who always let her win. The Tickling Charm was always her best offense in those instances, but judging by the huge swords, bows, pointy arrows, sharp daggers and thick armour of these men, a Tickling Charm just wasn't going to cut it.
Her horse pounded away, faster and faster, but the knights were still gaining on her. Damn them for knowing how to ride horses! Damn them for chasing her! And damn the idiotic person/force/accident that brought her here.
Maybe they just wanted the horse back. This sudden revelation was appealing. She turned around again.
"Do you just want the horse?" She called. They were close enough now that they must've heard, but all she got in response was another arrow aimed in her direction. No such luck.
She kicked her horse in the sides, and leaned forward looking to the forest. So close. Another arrow whizzed by her, this one coming close to her right arm.
"Would you stop that?!" She yelled back. It obviously didn't do any good. "Why me?" She whined. Feeling sorry for herself was becoming second nature now.
After what seemed like an inordinately long time, she finally reached the edge of the forest. She supposed when things went wrong, they just seemed to take a long time, because you had to agonize over every second, and that could take awhile. She made the split second decision to go at it on foot. The forest floor was covered in a lot of brown stuff and even more green stuff (as it turns out, she knew even less about botany then she did about horses) but common sense dictated it would be too hard for a horse to move through all that.
She pulled back sharply on the horses reins, and thankfully it came to a quick stop. A little too quick, actually, as she was more or less thrown off. She landed in a heap, something pointy at her back and her hand in something slimey. She could feel mud on her face and thought she felt a bug scurry up her leg. Now she remembered why she never went camping.
She began to stumble through the bush, tripping and stumbling all the way. She heard the three men dismount behind her and she knew it was over. She couldn't win. There was just something about the odds, the hopelessness of it all. They were going to catch her. As if to echo her thoughts, one of them spoke.
"It is no use. You will not escape."
Smart ass.
"But I can try!" She hollered back. "Stupid bastard," She mumbled. "Reading my mind. Who's the witch now?"
She could hear them getting closer. They tore through the bush like it was nothing. The problem was, the closer they got, the more she panicked, and the more she panicked, the more she tripped and stumbled and the slower she went. As a last resort, she pulled out her wand. She was at least going to give it a go. You might be wondering why she didn't do this before. The simple fact was, Darwin was a smart girl, but her intelligence was quite limited to pure academics. James had once called her the dumbest smart person he knew. She knew all about the origin and history of spells, knew how to pronounce them properly and knew every effect they caused. She always scored high on tests and always knew the answers, but for actual practicality, she was at a loss. She wasn't capable of transmitting all of her learned knowledge into actual use. She had gained a mass amount of knowledge concerning magic over the past six and a half years, but she rarely ever employed it. She had never been forced to think in a defensive mind-set before now.
She racked her brain. All that studying, all those test scores, all those OWLs meant nothing now. She needed to think of something and fast. Just as one of the knights was making to grab her, she took a deep breath, and hit him with a Trip Jinx. Direct hit! He completely lost his footing and landed flat on his face.
She continued to run, and now found herself at a steep uphill slope. She used the thick tree roots to pull herself forward. She racked her brain a little more. Maybe the Conjunctivitis Curse? They couldn't chase her if they couldn't see her. The problem, she, of course, had forgotten exactly how to cast it.
She soon gave up on that when she remembered the full body bind. She turned and pointed her wand at the closest knight.
"Petrificus Totalus!" She said quickly. Well, it worked. Worked very well, actually. Now she knew what a petrified tree looked like. The knight had moved out of the way. Sigh, this just wasn't going well.
She tried casting the Blasting Curse a few times, but it was a tricky spell to cast, especially when the caster was breathing hard and trying to run at the same time.
In the end, it was all to no avail. Really, she never had a chance. The three knights caught up with her, and she was tackled to the ground by the heaviest one. Of course it was the heaviest one, it would've gone against the rules of this universe if something awful that could happen to her didn't.
She gave a little struggle, tried to kick him in the groin, but then got over it. She gave in and just lay there, being squished by the heavy knight gasping for breath.
"Gotcha!" He cried.
No shit, Sherlock.
"Alright, you've got me! You win. Uncle. I give up, now get OFF!"She panted. Her face was being crushed by his arm and in addition to being quite heavy, he also needed a shower.
"Good luck with that. Bors too much enjoys the feeling of a woman beneath him." This was from Lancelot. He gave a laugh and so did Bors, right in Darwin's ear. The other knight remained silent.
"That's disgusting. You need to take a bath, you need a breath mint and you're old enough to be my father. Please, don't make me sick." She growled.
This only made them laugh again.
"Ah, she's got spirit!" Lancelot laughed.
"Just the way I like 'em." Bors purred in her ear.
"Ew, ew, ew, ew." was all she could say to that. She elbowed him in the chest and he finally rolled off, but grabbed her wrists and held on tight. She wasn't going anywhere.
"We should return to the others." The quiet knight said. He had a thin face and shaggy hair. He had been the one shooting the arrows. Jerk.
"That's an excellent idea. Why don't all of you go back to the others and I'll just be on my merry way. Tell them I got away." Darwin suggested while glaring at the quiet knight.
"Impossible. We didn't go through all of that trouble for nothing." Lancelot told her.
"Come ooooon." She pleaded. Sadly, that was her negotiation skills at their best.
At this, the knight called Bors, pulled her rather roughly to her feet. She was covered in dirt and muck and there were little scratches all over her hands and arms.
"Should we bind her hands?" He asked the others.
"No. You can trust me. Honest." She answered before Lancelot or the other knight could.
A look passed between them
"Yes." They said in unison.
"Tristan?" She heard Bors say behind. Darwin couldn't help but smile. When she was younger, she had a friend who owned a very spoiled, girly, treated-like-a-child Persian cat who had been named Tristan. It seemed an odd coincidence that this brooding, fierce knight shared the name.
Tristan produced a long, thin length of cloth, seemingly out of nowhere and tossed it to Bors.
"Do you do this often?" Darwin asked as he began to bind her wrists behind her back. She saw a smile curl on Lancelot's lips, but he said nothing. Tristan was being Tristan and said nothing, again.
Bors didn't really answer, only grunted in slightly questioning manner. Darwin took the opportunity to clarify.
"I mean, do often take innocent, young girls hostage for no reason?" Darwin asked, surprising herself. That was a pretty forward thing to say, considering her fate laid entirely in their hands for the moment.
"Occasionally, but there's always a reason." Lancelot answered for him, giving Darwin a sly little wink.
Bors gave a laugh and then stepped away. Darwin felt awkward standing there with her arms behind her back. She looked up at the knights and they looked back at her. They all regarded her with varying degrees of interest. Bors looked a little bored and was slightly red in the face from the exertion. Lancelot glanced at her face and then moved his eyes to the ground. Tristan was glaring at her and she couldn't read his expression.
"Where do you come from?" He asked finally when the silence was getting uncomfortable.
"I'm not from here." She said.
"That much is obvious, lady. Tell me, where do you come from?" He asked again, and there was an edge in his voice.
"Listen, it would be too difficult to explain. I wouldn't want to burden your primitive mind with the complex concept." She sneered. She had never responded well to rudeness or aggressiveness.
He gave no reply to this, only narrowed his eyes. If he was offended by being called primitive by a sarcastic young girl who could not remotely prove her intellectual dominance over him, he did not show it. He merely took a few steps toward her, the expression never changing on his face. When he neared her, he raised his hand toward her. The was a dark look in his eyes and she was suddenly afraid. She closed her eyes tight and feared for the worst.
"Please don't...." She whispered. She felt her robes ruffle at her sides and she opened her eyes. He had her wand!
"Hey! That's mine." She said and would've held her hand out, if they hadn't been tied behind her back.
"Just as that was Gawain's horse." He said simply and walked away, still holding her wand.
"Oh, but I need that." She whined. Without her wand she was utterly defenseless. She had no knowledge of how to use a weapon, or defend herself at all, and no knowledge of how to survive in this strange land. Without her wand, she would be doomed.
Tristan gave no response, only continued walking, most likely heading back to the others. Bors gave Darwin one last look before following Tristan. Surprisingly, Lancelot was smiling.
"You think this is funny, eh?" She asked him.
"Come. We must return to the others." For a moment there was an edge in his voice, as if he were daring her to try and get away. She knew there was no use, not without her wand, and so she began to walk.
He walked beside her. He walked proudly, with an air of nobility. He seemed so fierce and powerful. He looked like something out of a fairy tale. All clad in armour, he looked so grand, so much larger than life. The notion of it was somehow romantic. She suddenly felt small and insignificant next to him.
Their footsteps matched perfectly, despite his legs being longer.
"Gawain will not take kindly to having his horse stolen." Lancelot told her.
"I was only borrowing it." She countered.
"I suppose you would have set it free after you rode many leagues and it could no longer carry you. That's hardly borrowing." He said, but he didn't seem angry or indignant on his companion's behalf. His tone was light and it was quite appealing.
"Can't horses always find their way home?" She asked. "Or maybe that's cats. Or maybe there is no such animal." She said more to herself. Sometimes, she was convinced, she just talked too much.
"Perhaps some horses possess the talent." He said nothing for a moment. "What sort of name is Darwin, anyway?"
Ugh, not that question again. 'Doesn't anyone know who Charles Darwin is? And what's so weird about being named after him, anyway?' she thought.
"My father named me after a supposedly well-known scientist. Not what I would have chosen, but it obviously wasn't my choice." She said. Somehow, this was one of the less painful explanations of her name.
"Your father was a man of science? That's quite impressive."
Darwin gave a withering little laugh. That wasn't quite what she meant, but she'd take it.
"Lancelot's an English name, right?" This was quite obvious to her, but she wanted to keep the conversation going. This was rather entertaining.
He looked a little puzzled for a moment.
"It is a name of the Britons." He said. She supposed they were talking about the same thing.
"Yeah. That's what I mean. So, explain something to me." She said and he quirked an eyebrow. He was listening.
"I'm not quite sure I understand. Arthur's a Roman, but he's leading British knights?" She asked. She had only been mildly exposed to the Arthurian legends. Her parents were Canadians, so she had been subjected to hockey, poutine and learning French as a second language instead.
"We are not of Briton." He said sharply. It sounded like she had offended him. She waited for him to explain.
"My companions and I hail from Sarmatia." He told her, and she wished she knew where he was talking about.
"Where's that?" She asked.
"Far from here. Many years ago, all our families became indebted to the Roman Empire. All our fathers served the Empire, and theirs before them. Ours sons will do the same." He said, and his voice was heavy. Obviously this was a touchy subject, so she didn't push it. Lancelot, besides Guinevere, was really the only person whom she had met so far which didn't seem to inherently distrust her. Offending a possible friend would do no good at all.
They had left the woods now, and they continued to walk toward the group of peasants and the other knights. Gawain's horse had not strayed far from where Darwin had left it, and Tristan began to lead it by the reins.
It really was disorienting to walk with her hands behind her back, not being able to swing her arms. The forest had seemed so much closer before. The field between the settlement and the woods had flown by when she had been on the horse. But now, this was actually going to take a little while.
She suddenly got the urge to start off "I would walk five hundred miles......" but restrained herself. That would just make her look weird.
When they reached the crowd of people that had assembled she saw that there were several carts, loaded with sacks and wooden boxes. All the people were laden with their belongings. It occurred to Darwin that they were carrying their lives with them in those sacks and boxes.
As Darwin neared them, the people cleared the way and left ample space between themselves and her, strange looks on their faces. 'I feel like a leper' Darwin thought dramatically.
Tristan returned Gawain's horse to him and he quickly mounted it. She wasn't sure, but she assumed he didn't want her to ride with him , lest she try and steal his horse again.
Arthur rode up to Lancelot and certainly looked the part of Prince Charming on his noble looking white horse and Roman armour.
"Lancelot, we must hurry." He said with a nod of his head. "It's nice to have you back." Arthur said to Darwin before galloping off.
"It's great to be back!" She called after him. "Where are we going?" She asked. In all the fuss of realizing she was in the wrong century, she hadn't thought to wonder why all the peasants were leaving, or why she had ever been put on Gawain's horse in the first place.
"An army of Saxons is headed this way." Lancelot told her. "You'll ride with me."
"Saxons. They're Swedish, right?" She asked, as she trotted behind him.
He turned to regard her for a moment.
"Are all the people of your land this strange?"He asked.
"No. Only about half." She said as she assured herself she wasn't strange, it was just, er, a cultural difference.
He lead her to his horse. It stamped and whinnied.
"Why do I have to ride with you?" She asked suddenly.
"Would you prefer someone else? Perhaps Bors?" He shot back, a little annoyed.
"No, no, you're fine." He gave her a withering look. "I mean, why can't I just walk. I'm not too good with horses."
"You're just good at stealing them. You'll ride with me because Arthur does not wish you to walk."
"So he doesn't trust me? Either that or he's overly concerned with my well-being." If the accusations of being a witch hadn't already singled her out enough, this most definitely would. Especially since her hands were still tied and she had a sinking suspicion they would remain as such.
"He has his reasons." At this he pulled her forward, toward the horse. "We must hurry."
In one swift motion, he wrapped one arm behind her back and the other under her knees, and lifted her into the saddle. The horse took a step and stamped it's feet again. Lancelot mounted the horse, sitting behind her. He took the reins in his hands, gave the horse a little kick in the sides, and they were off.
"What's it's name?" She asked.
"Who's name?" Lancelot asked from behind her. The dynamic created by talking to someone who was right next to you, but that you couldn't see was strange. It almost felt like she was talking to no one and was just hearing voices.
"The horse's name." She said, and had the urge to turn and face him. She liked to look people in the eyes when she spoke to them.
"Darwin." He responded.
"Really?"
"No."
Darwin rolled her eyes. She had a dumb name, okay, alright, just let it go. She got it.
"He is called Hamilcar." He told her, and advertently or not, his mouth was right next to her ear, and this had a strange effect on Darwin.
"Heh," She sniffed. That was almost as bad as Darwin, but she didn't say so. She had decided to try and get on his good side.
Arthur was in the lead with Bors and Gawain, while Tristan and another knight Darwin did not know took up the rear. The carts and wagons were near the front, while the group of peasants on foot followed behind, leading their livestock and children. Lancelot rode near the front of the pack, keeping some distance between them and the others.
Darwin's eyes fell to a particularly large wagon, but instead of being filled with possessions, there were people in the back. Someone was looking at her from the back of the wagon and it was a moment before she realized it was Guinevere. She looked quite ill and lay on her back. The look in her eyes was not an entirely coherent one and so Darwin did not try to speak with her. She needed to rest. Darwin gave her a smile and a wink and Guinevere gave the slightest smile in return before closing her eyes. She saw that Lucan was there too. He too, looked incredibly ill. One of Arthur's knights was there with him. In that moment she was suddenly very thankful that she had not had to stay in the dungeon as long as they. The way they were now clinging to life terrified her in a way she had been before.
Their progress was very fairly slow and it was obvious to even Darwin that this was a great cause of anxiety amongst the knights. Gawain and Bors would occasionally looked over their shoulders, seemingly fearing that the Saxons would be upon them at any moment.
"What will happen if the Saxons catch up?" She asked Lancelot, who as well, had looked over his shoulder a few times.
"We will have to fight. Though I do not wish to consider the outcome." He did not seem afraid and his voice remained strong.
"What would happen to all these people?" Her questions were to be expected. She had never been witness to this sort of thing before and she was slightly confused.
"They will all be killed, most likely." He said and his voice did not waver.
"Even the children?" She asked.
"Yes."
"How many Saxons are there?" She was now beginning to understand the anxiety of the knights. The seven of them could not defend all these people.
"An entire army. That is why we must hurry." His tone had become surprisingly light.
"If they do catch up to us, I'll help you fight."She said this only half-heartedly. Her magical abilities might be of some help, but other then that, she would be completely useless.
Lancelot only laughed. He had quite a nice laugh, come to think of it. It was so honest, like he really meant it. Maybe he always found the humour in life too.
"A woman in battle?" He scoffed. Darwin tried to elbow him but didn't quite succeed.
"What's wrong with that?" She asked, pretending to be insulted. She knew perfectly well women would not serve in the British military for a long, long time.
"Women do not fight in battles. They raise their children and care for their husbands." The fact that he didn't say this with an air of superiority, merely as a stating of the facts, was actually quite agreeable. But still, Darwin could never openly agree with a statement like that.
"Not where I come from. Women fight in the military right along with the men in my country." Darwin told him.
"But why?" He asked. He seemed truly puzzled.
"Because they want to." At that moment, Darwin wished she was a bit more versed in feminist values, but feminism had never really made all that much sense to her.
"Why would they chose a life of hardship and death over a life of child rearing and safety?" he asked.
"Because they want to be equals, I suppose. It's kind of complicated. You have to understand the mentality behind it."
"And what, pray, would that be?" He asked, and she could just picture the smirk on his face.
"I don't really think any woman wants to live a life of hardship and death. I think the whole point was that they wanted to be part of the military because the men told them they couldn't."
"No doubt for their own well-being." He said. "Who raises the children then, if the women fight the wars?"
"Their husbands, I guess." At this Lancelot gave a long laugh.
"What a strange country you come from. I suppose it is an interesting concept, but an all together impractical one."
Darwin just shrugged. It really wouldn't do much good to try and discuss this with him.
Hamilcar trotted along at a steady pace but Darwin couldn't help but feel like she would fall off at any moment. Her arms were beginning to get stiff and sore now and she wished she could stretch them, if only for a moment.
After several hours of only having trees, rocks, dirt, and more trees to look at, Darwin became quite bored. It was beginning to get late. The light was draining from the sky and the shadows grew long. Even though she really hadn't done much all day, she found she was quite tired now. All things considered, this wasn't so bad. Her hands being bound was understandable, she had stolen Gawain's horse and she was a witch. Despite these facts though, Arthur, and his knights, were not cruel to her, like the monks had been. They didn't trust her, but that was something she hoped was only temporary. Looking back now, she realized the knights had never really posed a threat to her, she had simply panicked.
But now all the panic, anxiety, and depression were replaced by simple tiredness. She now felt safe, but she was unsure why. She closed her eyes and breathed deep. The air was nice here. So clean and pure.
Before long, despite being quite cold, she found herself beginning to doze. She could hear the trudging footsteps of the peasants and Hamilcar's hooves hitting the ground, and it was somehow soothing. It was all so peaceful. Somewhere in the distance a bird cooed.
Without thinking about it, she leaned back and rested against Lancelot's chest. His armour was hard and a little pointy, but she barely noticed. She wriggled her head and shoulders to try and find a comfortable position.
"Sleep." he told her quietly. At this she felt him move one of his arms and a moment later, she found herself covered by his cloak. It was thick and soft and she felling herself getting sleepy. Just before she completely lost consciousness, she slumped in his lap and she felt him wrap his arm around her waist under the cloak. Hmmm....this was nice.
She slept. It was a rather awkward position to sleep in, but she had made herself comfortable. She slept and she dreamed.
She didn't know how much time had passed, but she knew it had been awhile. Lancelot gently shook her awake.
"We have stopped for the night," He told her quietly. She had the same feeling she always had whenever she would fall asleep in the backseat on a long drive home, only to be awakened by her parents when they reached their house. She suddenly felt cold and a little disoriented.
It was now completely dark. They were in a lightly wooded area, with a few tall trees and low lying bushes. It was quite here.
Lancelot dismounted first and then proceeded to help her.
"I believe you no longer pose a threat." He said with a small smile. At this, he drew a dagger from his side, stepped behind her, and cut the bindings around her wrists. Her arms immediately swung to her sides. They were so stiff and sore. She went about massaging her aching muscles at once.
"Thanks." She said sincerely.
Lancelot gave her a small nod before walking away, leading his horse behind him, no doubt in search of Arthur.
Around her, she saw little groups of people, all setting up camp. Some were cooking, some were tending to their children, some were already asleep. She walked about aimlessly for a little while. None of them would look at her. It was obvious she was not welcome. She felt feared and hated. She felt lonely. She was an outcast.
She considered trying to find Guinevere, but soon gave up on that. She and Lucan were being tended to and she did not wish to disturb them.
The smell of food cooking reminded her of how hungry she was. She could heard the fires crackle and wished to feel the warmth from one of them.
Just as she was considering approaching a small group of people, all seated around a small cooking fire, she made eye contact with one of the women there. She sneered and quickly looked away. Darwin very soon gave up that idea. She knew where wasn't wanted.
In the end, she plopped herself down at the foot of one of the trees there. All the people were clustered fairly close together, but she sat a little way off. Out of sight, out of mind. They wouldn't growl and sneer at her if they didn't have to look at her. She figured it would be best to just avoid drawing attention to herself.
However, this plan meant that she had to sit alone, shivering with her knees pulled to her chest and with her stomach growling. She glanced over at the nearest fire and had to admit, she felt strangely jealous. Jealous of the comfort and companionship those people now shared.
She buried her head in the space between her knees and chest and closed her eyes. It didn't surprise her that she was on the verge of tears. Awhile passed, and she just remained there, sniffling and feeling lonely and missing home.
She heard snow crunching under the feet of someone approaching. She looked up, praying it wasn't one of them peasants coming to bother her for being what she was. Instead, she was quite pleasantly surprised to find Lancelot standing before her.
"Hungry?" He asked and quirked an eyebrow.
She nodded vigorously and wiped at her eyes. She didn't want him to know she had been crying.
He sat down next to her and handed her a plate of food. She wasn't quite sure what it was, some sort of stew, but it was hot and very, very good. Normally, she was quite a picky eater, but now, anything would have been good.
"Thank you." She said without looking up from her food.
"You're welcome." He said simply. He sat next to her in silence, leaning back against the tree.
She finished her meal quite quickly, but didn't even think to be bashful about it. That was the first real meal she had had in quite awhile. She leaned back against the tree now, quite content, albeit, still quite cold.
"Are you really a witch as they say?" Lancelot asked her. He seemed genuinely curious. He, unlike many of the peasants, did not seem afraid of the concept, merely intrigued. So, she of course answered truthfully.
"Yes. I have been since I was born. But I'm a good witch. I don't do evil things, as these people seem to think."
"So you've never transformed anyone into a frog or eaten a child whole?" He asked with a laugh, as if the very concept of Darwin doing such a thing was preposterous.
"Of course not." She smiled.
"Show me some of your magic." He said, and at this he presented her with her wand.
"My wand!" She exclaimed, grasping it. "How did you get it?"
"To be honest, Tristan was quite eager to be rid of it." He replied, staring at the wand.
Darwin thought for only a moment before making a small dip in the untouched snow before them and then casting a bunch of Bluebell flames into the dip. They gave off immediate warmth, and pleased with herself, Darwin tucked her wand into her robes.
"Impressive." Lancelot stated, staring into the flames. "Why do you not stay with the others?"
"I think they're afraid of me. They must have assumed I was an evil person, which I guess I can understand. People fear what they don't know. I figured it was best for me not to push the issue."
"It is a difficult role to play, being an outcast. It is a shame you are so young with such a burden to bear."
Neither said anything for a moment, but it was a comfortable silence.
"This strange land you call your home, do you miss it?" Lancelot asked her quietly, after a moment.
"Yes, very much." She really didn't want to gush about all the things she missed about home. "Do you miss Sarmatia?"
"At times. I have been away from it for so long though, it does really feel like a home anymore, and neither does this land." This struck Darwin as very sad indeed. At least she had a home to miss.
They spoke for awhile longer, the conversation flowing very easily. After a time, Darwin grew tired and Lancelot offered his shoulder for her to rest upon. She fell into an easy sleep and dreamed of eating breakfast in the great hall with Remus and Sirius while Dumbledore and Arthur sat at the Head Table, watching her in grave silence.
A/N: I'm aware there are probably a couple of historical inaccuracy's in this chapter (hell, the premise of this story is historically inaccurate), but just ignore it though. This is just for fun and all that. Hmmm, looks like it's going to a Lancelot pairing! WOO! Yeah! Lol, anyway.....I'm starting to get a few ideas for this, and it's keeping me entertained, so expect an update soon! Bye!
Chapter Three: A Silly Name and Saxon Invaders.
"Can't you move any faster?" Darwin screeched at the horse. It really was a shame she had absolutely no knowledge of horses, because as she screeched, she also pulled up on the horse's reins, causing the horse to veer off course and stumble.
She was frantically looking over her shoulder, as the three knights chasing her were, rather quickly, gaining ground. Sigh. The fact that they were who they were, and this wasn't some sick and twisted dream made her cringe. This was actually happening, and, the way things were going, she wasn't sure, but she thought that there was nothing left to go wrong.
When the first arrow whizzed past her head, she knew she was way out of her league. Not that there had ever been much question anyway, considering 'her league' would be a three year old armed with a stick or a rock. But now they were shooting at her! Trying to kill a weak, innocent girl. The nerve! Well, there was the small catch and that was she wasn't completely 'innocent'. She was, after all, riding a stolen horse.
They were getting way too close for comfort now. She racked her mind for any charm or curse that she could use, but her mind was blank. She had never been one for dueling, and when she did, it was with Sirius or James who always let her win. The Tickling Charm was always her best offense in those instances, but judging by the huge swords, bows, pointy arrows, sharp daggers and thick armour of these men, a Tickling Charm just wasn't going to cut it.
Her horse pounded away, faster and faster, but the knights were still gaining on her. Damn them for knowing how to ride horses! Damn them for chasing her! And damn the idiotic person/force/accident that brought her here.
Maybe they just wanted the horse back. This sudden revelation was appealing. She turned around again.
"Do you just want the horse?" She called. They were close enough now that they must've heard, but all she got in response was another arrow aimed in her direction. No such luck.
She kicked her horse in the sides, and leaned forward looking to the forest. So close. Another arrow whizzed by her, this one coming close to her right arm.
"Would you stop that?!" She yelled back. It obviously didn't do any good. "Why me?" She whined. Feeling sorry for herself was becoming second nature now.
After what seemed like an inordinately long time, she finally reached the edge of the forest. She supposed when things went wrong, they just seemed to take a long time, because you had to agonize over every second, and that could take awhile. She made the split second decision to go at it on foot. The forest floor was covered in a lot of brown stuff and even more green stuff (as it turns out, she knew even less about botany then she did about horses) but common sense dictated it would be too hard for a horse to move through all that.
She pulled back sharply on the horses reins, and thankfully it came to a quick stop. A little too quick, actually, as she was more or less thrown off. She landed in a heap, something pointy at her back and her hand in something slimey. She could feel mud on her face and thought she felt a bug scurry up her leg. Now she remembered why she never went camping.
She began to stumble through the bush, tripping and stumbling all the way. She heard the three men dismount behind her and she knew it was over. She couldn't win. There was just something about the odds, the hopelessness of it all. They were going to catch her. As if to echo her thoughts, one of them spoke.
"It is no use. You will not escape."
Smart ass.
"But I can try!" She hollered back. "Stupid bastard," She mumbled. "Reading my mind. Who's the witch now?"
She could hear them getting closer. They tore through the bush like it was nothing. The problem was, the closer they got, the more she panicked, and the more she panicked, the more she tripped and stumbled and the slower she went. As a last resort, she pulled out her wand. She was at least going to give it a go. You might be wondering why she didn't do this before. The simple fact was, Darwin was a smart girl, but her intelligence was quite limited to pure academics. James had once called her the dumbest smart person he knew. She knew all about the origin and history of spells, knew how to pronounce them properly and knew every effect they caused. She always scored high on tests and always knew the answers, but for actual practicality, she was at a loss. She wasn't capable of transmitting all of her learned knowledge into actual use. She had gained a mass amount of knowledge concerning magic over the past six and a half years, but she rarely ever employed it. She had never been forced to think in a defensive mind-set before now.
She racked her brain. All that studying, all those test scores, all those OWLs meant nothing now. She needed to think of something and fast. Just as one of the knights was making to grab her, she took a deep breath, and hit him with a Trip Jinx. Direct hit! He completely lost his footing and landed flat on his face.
She continued to run, and now found herself at a steep uphill slope. She used the thick tree roots to pull herself forward. She racked her brain a little more. Maybe the Conjunctivitis Curse? They couldn't chase her if they couldn't see her. The problem, she, of course, had forgotten exactly how to cast it.
She soon gave up on that when she remembered the full body bind. She turned and pointed her wand at the closest knight.
"Petrificus Totalus!" She said quickly. Well, it worked. Worked very well, actually. Now she knew what a petrified tree looked like. The knight had moved out of the way. Sigh, this just wasn't going well.
She tried casting the Blasting Curse a few times, but it was a tricky spell to cast, especially when the caster was breathing hard and trying to run at the same time.
In the end, it was all to no avail. Really, she never had a chance. The three knights caught up with her, and she was tackled to the ground by the heaviest one. Of course it was the heaviest one, it would've gone against the rules of this universe if something awful that could happen to her didn't.
She gave a little struggle, tried to kick him in the groin, but then got over it. She gave in and just lay there, being squished by the heavy knight gasping for breath.
"Gotcha!" He cried.
No shit, Sherlock.
"Alright, you've got me! You win. Uncle. I give up, now get OFF!"She panted. Her face was being crushed by his arm and in addition to being quite heavy, he also needed a shower.
"Good luck with that. Bors too much enjoys the feeling of a woman beneath him." This was from Lancelot. He gave a laugh and so did Bors, right in Darwin's ear. The other knight remained silent.
"That's disgusting. You need to take a bath, you need a breath mint and you're old enough to be my father. Please, don't make me sick." She growled.
This only made them laugh again.
"Ah, she's got spirit!" Lancelot laughed.
"Just the way I like 'em." Bors purred in her ear.
"Ew, ew, ew, ew." was all she could say to that. She elbowed him in the chest and he finally rolled off, but grabbed her wrists and held on tight. She wasn't going anywhere.
"We should return to the others." The quiet knight said. He had a thin face and shaggy hair. He had been the one shooting the arrows. Jerk.
"That's an excellent idea. Why don't all of you go back to the others and I'll just be on my merry way. Tell them I got away." Darwin suggested while glaring at the quiet knight.
"Impossible. We didn't go through all of that trouble for nothing." Lancelot told her.
"Come ooooon." She pleaded. Sadly, that was her negotiation skills at their best.
At this, the knight called Bors, pulled her rather roughly to her feet. She was covered in dirt and muck and there were little scratches all over her hands and arms.
"Should we bind her hands?" He asked the others.
"No. You can trust me. Honest." She answered before Lancelot or the other knight could.
A look passed between them
"Yes." They said in unison.
"Tristan?" She heard Bors say behind. Darwin couldn't help but smile. When she was younger, she had a friend who owned a very spoiled, girly, treated-like-a-child Persian cat who had been named Tristan. It seemed an odd coincidence that this brooding, fierce knight shared the name.
Tristan produced a long, thin length of cloth, seemingly out of nowhere and tossed it to Bors.
"Do you do this often?" Darwin asked as he began to bind her wrists behind her back. She saw a smile curl on Lancelot's lips, but he said nothing. Tristan was being Tristan and said nothing, again.
Bors didn't really answer, only grunted in slightly questioning manner. Darwin took the opportunity to clarify.
"I mean, do often take innocent, young girls hostage for no reason?" Darwin asked, surprising herself. That was a pretty forward thing to say, considering her fate laid entirely in their hands for the moment.
"Occasionally, but there's always a reason." Lancelot answered for him, giving Darwin a sly little wink.
Bors gave a laugh and then stepped away. Darwin felt awkward standing there with her arms behind her back. She looked up at the knights and they looked back at her. They all regarded her with varying degrees of interest. Bors looked a little bored and was slightly red in the face from the exertion. Lancelot glanced at her face and then moved his eyes to the ground. Tristan was glaring at her and she couldn't read his expression.
"Where do you come from?" He asked finally when the silence was getting uncomfortable.
"I'm not from here." She said.
"That much is obvious, lady. Tell me, where do you come from?" He asked again, and there was an edge in his voice.
"Listen, it would be too difficult to explain. I wouldn't want to burden your primitive mind with the complex concept." She sneered. She had never responded well to rudeness or aggressiveness.
He gave no reply to this, only narrowed his eyes. If he was offended by being called primitive by a sarcastic young girl who could not remotely prove her intellectual dominance over him, he did not show it. He merely took a few steps toward her, the expression never changing on his face. When he neared her, he raised his hand toward her. The was a dark look in his eyes and she was suddenly afraid. She closed her eyes tight and feared for the worst.
"Please don't...." She whispered. She felt her robes ruffle at her sides and she opened her eyes. He had her wand!
"Hey! That's mine." She said and would've held her hand out, if they hadn't been tied behind her back.
"Just as that was Gawain's horse." He said simply and walked away, still holding her wand.
"Oh, but I need that." She whined. Without her wand she was utterly defenseless. She had no knowledge of how to use a weapon, or defend herself at all, and no knowledge of how to survive in this strange land. Without her wand, she would be doomed.
Tristan gave no response, only continued walking, most likely heading back to the others. Bors gave Darwin one last look before following Tristan. Surprisingly, Lancelot was smiling.
"You think this is funny, eh?" She asked him.
"Come. We must return to the others." For a moment there was an edge in his voice, as if he were daring her to try and get away. She knew there was no use, not without her wand, and so she began to walk.
He walked beside her. He walked proudly, with an air of nobility. He seemed so fierce and powerful. He looked like something out of a fairy tale. All clad in armour, he looked so grand, so much larger than life. The notion of it was somehow romantic. She suddenly felt small and insignificant next to him.
Their footsteps matched perfectly, despite his legs being longer.
"Gawain will not take kindly to having his horse stolen." Lancelot told her.
"I was only borrowing it." She countered.
"I suppose you would have set it free after you rode many leagues and it could no longer carry you. That's hardly borrowing." He said, but he didn't seem angry or indignant on his companion's behalf. His tone was light and it was quite appealing.
"Can't horses always find their way home?" She asked. "Or maybe that's cats. Or maybe there is no such animal." She said more to herself. Sometimes, she was convinced, she just talked too much.
"Perhaps some horses possess the talent." He said nothing for a moment. "What sort of name is Darwin, anyway?"
Ugh, not that question again. 'Doesn't anyone know who Charles Darwin is? And what's so weird about being named after him, anyway?' she thought.
"My father named me after a supposedly well-known scientist. Not what I would have chosen, but it obviously wasn't my choice." She said. Somehow, this was one of the less painful explanations of her name.
"Your father was a man of science? That's quite impressive."
Darwin gave a withering little laugh. That wasn't quite what she meant, but she'd take it.
"Lancelot's an English name, right?" This was quite obvious to her, but she wanted to keep the conversation going. This was rather entertaining.
He looked a little puzzled for a moment.
"It is a name of the Britons." He said. She supposed they were talking about the same thing.
"Yeah. That's what I mean. So, explain something to me." She said and he quirked an eyebrow. He was listening.
"I'm not quite sure I understand. Arthur's a Roman, but he's leading British knights?" She asked. She had only been mildly exposed to the Arthurian legends. Her parents were Canadians, so she had been subjected to hockey, poutine and learning French as a second language instead.
"We are not of Briton." He said sharply. It sounded like she had offended him. She waited for him to explain.
"My companions and I hail from Sarmatia." He told her, and she wished she knew where he was talking about.
"Where's that?" She asked.
"Far from here. Many years ago, all our families became indebted to the Roman Empire. All our fathers served the Empire, and theirs before them. Ours sons will do the same." He said, and his voice was heavy. Obviously this was a touchy subject, so she didn't push it. Lancelot, besides Guinevere, was really the only person whom she had met so far which didn't seem to inherently distrust her. Offending a possible friend would do no good at all.
They had left the woods now, and they continued to walk toward the group of peasants and the other knights. Gawain's horse had not strayed far from where Darwin had left it, and Tristan began to lead it by the reins.
It really was disorienting to walk with her hands behind her back, not being able to swing her arms. The forest had seemed so much closer before. The field between the settlement and the woods had flown by when she had been on the horse. But now, this was actually going to take a little while.
She suddenly got the urge to start off "I would walk five hundred miles......" but restrained herself. That would just make her look weird.
When they reached the crowd of people that had assembled she saw that there were several carts, loaded with sacks and wooden boxes. All the people were laden with their belongings. It occurred to Darwin that they were carrying their lives with them in those sacks and boxes.
As Darwin neared them, the people cleared the way and left ample space between themselves and her, strange looks on their faces. 'I feel like a leper' Darwin thought dramatically.
Tristan returned Gawain's horse to him and he quickly mounted it. She wasn't sure, but she assumed he didn't want her to ride with him , lest she try and steal his horse again.
Arthur rode up to Lancelot and certainly looked the part of Prince Charming on his noble looking white horse and Roman armour.
"Lancelot, we must hurry." He said with a nod of his head. "It's nice to have you back." Arthur said to Darwin before galloping off.
"It's great to be back!" She called after him. "Where are we going?" She asked. In all the fuss of realizing she was in the wrong century, she hadn't thought to wonder why all the peasants were leaving, or why she had ever been put on Gawain's horse in the first place.
"An army of Saxons is headed this way." Lancelot told her. "You'll ride with me."
"Saxons. They're Swedish, right?" She asked, as she trotted behind him.
He turned to regard her for a moment.
"Are all the people of your land this strange?"He asked.
"No. Only about half." She said as she assured herself she wasn't strange, it was just, er, a cultural difference.
He lead her to his horse. It stamped and whinnied.
"Why do I have to ride with you?" She asked suddenly.
"Would you prefer someone else? Perhaps Bors?" He shot back, a little annoyed.
"No, no, you're fine." He gave her a withering look. "I mean, why can't I just walk. I'm not too good with horses."
"You're just good at stealing them. You'll ride with me because Arthur does not wish you to walk."
"So he doesn't trust me? Either that or he's overly concerned with my well-being." If the accusations of being a witch hadn't already singled her out enough, this most definitely would. Especially since her hands were still tied and she had a sinking suspicion they would remain as such.
"He has his reasons." At this he pulled her forward, toward the horse. "We must hurry."
In one swift motion, he wrapped one arm behind her back and the other under her knees, and lifted her into the saddle. The horse took a step and stamped it's feet again. Lancelot mounted the horse, sitting behind her. He took the reins in his hands, gave the horse a little kick in the sides, and they were off.
"What's it's name?" She asked.
"Who's name?" Lancelot asked from behind her. The dynamic created by talking to someone who was right next to you, but that you couldn't see was strange. It almost felt like she was talking to no one and was just hearing voices.
"The horse's name." She said, and had the urge to turn and face him. She liked to look people in the eyes when she spoke to them.
"Darwin." He responded.
"Really?"
"No."
Darwin rolled her eyes. She had a dumb name, okay, alright, just let it go. She got it.
"He is called Hamilcar." He told her, and advertently or not, his mouth was right next to her ear, and this had a strange effect on Darwin.
"Heh," She sniffed. That was almost as bad as Darwin, but she didn't say so. She had decided to try and get on his good side.
Arthur was in the lead with Bors and Gawain, while Tristan and another knight Darwin did not know took up the rear. The carts and wagons were near the front, while the group of peasants on foot followed behind, leading their livestock and children. Lancelot rode near the front of the pack, keeping some distance between them and the others.
Darwin's eyes fell to a particularly large wagon, but instead of being filled with possessions, there were people in the back. Someone was looking at her from the back of the wagon and it was a moment before she realized it was Guinevere. She looked quite ill and lay on her back. The look in her eyes was not an entirely coherent one and so Darwin did not try to speak with her. She needed to rest. Darwin gave her a smile and a wink and Guinevere gave the slightest smile in return before closing her eyes. She saw that Lucan was there too. He too, looked incredibly ill. One of Arthur's knights was there with him. In that moment she was suddenly very thankful that she had not had to stay in the dungeon as long as they. The way they were now clinging to life terrified her in a way she had been before.
Their progress was very fairly slow and it was obvious to even Darwin that this was a great cause of anxiety amongst the knights. Gawain and Bors would occasionally looked over their shoulders, seemingly fearing that the Saxons would be upon them at any moment.
"What will happen if the Saxons catch up?" She asked Lancelot, who as well, had looked over his shoulder a few times.
"We will have to fight. Though I do not wish to consider the outcome." He did not seem afraid and his voice remained strong.
"What would happen to all these people?" Her questions were to be expected. She had never been witness to this sort of thing before and she was slightly confused.
"They will all be killed, most likely." He said and his voice did not waver.
"Even the children?" She asked.
"Yes."
"How many Saxons are there?" She was now beginning to understand the anxiety of the knights. The seven of them could not defend all these people.
"An entire army. That is why we must hurry." His tone had become surprisingly light.
"If they do catch up to us, I'll help you fight."She said this only half-heartedly. Her magical abilities might be of some help, but other then that, she would be completely useless.
Lancelot only laughed. He had quite a nice laugh, come to think of it. It was so honest, like he really meant it. Maybe he always found the humour in life too.
"A woman in battle?" He scoffed. Darwin tried to elbow him but didn't quite succeed.
"What's wrong with that?" She asked, pretending to be insulted. She knew perfectly well women would not serve in the British military for a long, long time.
"Women do not fight in battles. They raise their children and care for their husbands." The fact that he didn't say this with an air of superiority, merely as a stating of the facts, was actually quite agreeable. But still, Darwin could never openly agree with a statement like that.
"Not where I come from. Women fight in the military right along with the men in my country." Darwin told him.
"But why?" He asked. He seemed truly puzzled.
"Because they want to." At that moment, Darwin wished she was a bit more versed in feminist values, but feminism had never really made all that much sense to her.
"Why would they chose a life of hardship and death over a life of child rearing and safety?" he asked.
"Because they want to be equals, I suppose. It's kind of complicated. You have to understand the mentality behind it."
"And what, pray, would that be?" He asked, and she could just picture the smirk on his face.
"I don't really think any woman wants to live a life of hardship and death. I think the whole point was that they wanted to be part of the military because the men told them they couldn't."
"No doubt for their own well-being." He said. "Who raises the children then, if the women fight the wars?"
"Their husbands, I guess." At this Lancelot gave a long laugh.
"What a strange country you come from. I suppose it is an interesting concept, but an all together impractical one."
Darwin just shrugged. It really wouldn't do much good to try and discuss this with him.
Hamilcar trotted along at a steady pace but Darwin couldn't help but feel like she would fall off at any moment. Her arms were beginning to get stiff and sore now and she wished she could stretch them, if only for a moment.
After several hours of only having trees, rocks, dirt, and more trees to look at, Darwin became quite bored. It was beginning to get late. The light was draining from the sky and the shadows grew long. Even though she really hadn't done much all day, she found she was quite tired now. All things considered, this wasn't so bad. Her hands being bound was understandable, she had stolen Gawain's horse and she was a witch. Despite these facts though, Arthur, and his knights, were not cruel to her, like the monks had been. They didn't trust her, but that was something she hoped was only temporary. Looking back now, she realized the knights had never really posed a threat to her, she had simply panicked.
But now all the panic, anxiety, and depression were replaced by simple tiredness. She now felt safe, but she was unsure why. She closed her eyes and breathed deep. The air was nice here. So clean and pure.
Before long, despite being quite cold, she found herself beginning to doze. She could hear the trudging footsteps of the peasants and Hamilcar's hooves hitting the ground, and it was somehow soothing. It was all so peaceful. Somewhere in the distance a bird cooed.
Without thinking about it, she leaned back and rested against Lancelot's chest. His armour was hard and a little pointy, but she barely noticed. She wriggled her head and shoulders to try and find a comfortable position.
"Sleep." he told her quietly. At this she felt him move one of his arms and a moment later, she found herself covered by his cloak. It was thick and soft and she felling herself getting sleepy. Just before she completely lost consciousness, she slumped in his lap and she felt him wrap his arm around her waist under the cloak. Hmmm....this was nice.
She slept. It was a rather awkward position to sleep in, but she had made herself comfortable. She slept and she dreamed.
She didn't know how much time had passed, but she knew it had been awhile. Lancelot gently shook her awake.
"We have stopped for the night," He told her quietly. She had the same feeling she always had whenever she would fall asleep in the backseat on a long drive home, only to be awakened by her parents when they reached their house. She suddenly felt cold and a little disoriented.
It was now completely dark. They were in a lightly wooded area, with a few tall trees and low lying bushes. It was quite here.
Lancelot dismounted first and then proceeded to help her.
"I believe you no longer pose a threat." He said with a small smile. At this, he drew a dagger from his side, stepped behind her, and cut the bindings around her wrists. Her arms immediately swung to her sides. They were so stiff and sore. She went about massaging her aching muscles at once.
"Thanks." She said sincerely.
Lancelot gave her a small nod before walking away, leading his horse behind him, no doubt in search of Arthur.
Around her, she saw little groups of people, all setting up camp. Some were cooking, some were tending to their children, some were already asleep. She walked about aimlessly for a little while. None of them would look at her. It was obvious she was not welcome. She felt feared and hated. She felt lonely. She was an outcast.
She considered trying to find Guinevere, but soon gave up on that. She and Lucan were being tended to and she did not wish to disturb them.
The smell of food cooking reminded her of how hungry she was. She could heard the fires crackle and wished to feel the warmth from one of them.
Just as she was considering approaching a small group of people, all seated around a small cooking fire, she made eye contact with one of the women there. She sneered and quickly looked away. Darwin very soon gave up that idea. She knew where wasn't wanted.
In the end, she plopped herself down at the foot of one of the trees there. All the people were clustered fairly close together, but she sat a little way off. Out of sight, out of mind. They wouldn't growl and sneer at her if they didn't have to look at her. She figured it would be best to just avoid drawing attention to herself.
However, this plan meant that she had to sit alone, shivering with her knees pulled to her chest and with her stomach growling. She glanced over at the nearest fire and had to admit, she felt strangely jealous. Jealous of the comfort and companionship those people now shared.
She buried her head in the space between her knees and chest and closed her eyes. It didn't surprise her that she was on the verge of tears. Awhile passed, and she just remained there, sniffling and feeling lonely and missing home.
She heard snow crunching under the feet of someone approaching. She looked up, praying it wasn't one of them peasants coming to bother her for being what she was. Instead, she was quite pleasantly surprised to find Lancelot standing before her.
"Hungry?" He asked and quirked an eyebrow.
She nodded vigorously and wiped at her eyes. She didn't want him to know she had been crying.
He sat down next to her and handed her a plate of food. She wasn't quite sure what it was, some sort of stew, but it was hot and very, very good. Normally, she was quite a picky eater, but now, anything would have been good.
"Thank you." She said without looking up from her food.
"You're welcome." He said simply. He sat next to her in silence, leaning back against the tree.
She finished her meal quite quickly, but didn't even think to be bashful about it. That was the first real meal she had had in quite awhile. She leaned back against the tree now, quite content, albeit, still quite cold.
"Are you really a witch as they say?" Lancelot asked her. He seemed genuinely curious. He, unlike many of the peasants, did not seem afraid of the concept, merely intrigued. So, she of course answered truthfully.
"Yes. I have been since I was born. But I'm a good witch. I don't do evil things, as these people seem to think."
"So you've never transformed anyone into a frog or eaten a child whole?" He asked with a laugh, as if the very concept of Darwin doing such a thing was preposterous.
"Of course not." She smiled.
"Show me some of your magic." He said, and at this he presented her with her wand.
"My wand!" She exclaimed, grasping it. "How did you get it?"
"To be honest, Tristan was quite eager to be rid of it." He replied, staring at the wand.
Darwin thought for only a moment before making a small dip in the untouched snow before them and then casting a bunch of Bluebell flames into the dip. They gave off immediate warmth, and pleased with herself, Darwin tucked her wand into her robes.
"Impressive." Lancelot stated, staring into the flames. "Why do you not stay with the others?"
"I think they're afraid of me. They must have assumed I was an evil person, which I guess I can understand. People fear what they don't know. I figured it was best for me not to push the issue."
"It is a difficult role to play, being an outcast. It is a shame you are so young with such a burden to bear."
Neither said anything for a moment, but it was a comfortable silence.
"This strange land you call your home, do you miss it?" Lancelot asked her quietly, after a moment.
"Yes, very much." She really didn't want to gush about all the things she missed about home. "Do you miss Sarmatia?"
"At times. I have been away from it for so long though, it does really feel like a home anymore, and neither does this land." This struck Darwin as very sad indeed. At least she had a home to miss.
They spoke for awhile longer, the conversation flowing very easily. After a time, Darwin grew tired and Lancelot offered his shoulder for her to rest upon. She fell into an easy sleep and dreamed of eating breakfast in the great hall with Remus and Sirius while Dumbledore and Arthur sat at the Head Table, watching her in grave silence.
A/N: I'm aware there are probably a couple of historical inaccuracy's in this chapter (hell, the premise of this story is historically inaccurate), but just ignore it though. This is just for fun and all that. Hmmm, looks like it's going to a Lancelot pairing! WOO! Yeah! Lol, anyway.....I'm starting to get a few ideas for this, and it's keeping me entertained, so expect an update soon! Bye!