DISCLAIMER: We don't own anything. Except Marietta and Kamilia.
----------Chapter Five----------
-----Narrator-----
Like it was said in the previous chapter, things were back to normal. The knights trained, they fought, they drank and they joked around. Then after nine long yeas, the day came for they're final mission for Rome. They were to find Bishop Germanius and deliver him safely to the Wall....
-----Kamilia's POV-----
"Don't know why we have to help out this damned Bishop" I muttered under my breath. Lancelot smirked, Arthur glared, and Marieta just rolled her eyes, causing Dag to let out a soft chuckle. "Well, it's not like he's OUR bishop! I don't have a bishop, I don't want a bishop, and I never will have a damned old Bishop telling me who to pray to!" I hissed. After that comment everyone except Arthur busted out laughing.
"Well this 'damned bishop' is the one with your release papers so I would suggest that you show a little bit more respect!" Arthur hissed back.
"I know" I muttered "it's just that-"
"OH hell! Just shut up you!" exclaimed Bors. I pouted and took in my surroundings.
Tristan was staring intently, waiting for a chance to kill
some Woad (I swear it's sometimes frightening how much he enjoys killing so much); Gawain, Galahad, Bors and Dagonet were waiting tensely for the fight to begin. Arthur was waiting for some sort of signal to go in and attack; Lancelot was looking around indifferently and Marieta was toying with her dagger. I looked to the scene in front of me. Woads had just started to come out from the woods, the Romans were actually defending themselves quite nicely...for Romans that is.
"Ok, now we go" said Arthur, and he charged ahead.
"'Bout time." said Marieta and Tristan at the same time and we all followed to help the Romans, one last time.
-----Marieta's POV-----
The fight was soon over and done with. It turned out that the aptly named "damned bishop" wasn't in the carriage but was fighting alongside his Roman escorts. We rode back to the wall leisurely; we had no other pressing matters and never would again. We were free. Coming up upon the crest of the hill, we, the Knights of the Round Table, gazed upon the valley in which laid Hadrian's Wall. We would be leaving our home for the last 15 years. We started talking about what we would do, now that we were released from Roman service.
"I don't kill for pleasure - unlike some..." Galahad said, obviously glancing at Tristan.
"You should try it sometime, you might get a taste for it" Tristan replied with a mysterious grin. I laughed softly. Tristan glanced over at me and smirked.
"No, I will look back on this place as just a bad memory one day" Galahad said wistfully.
"It's in your blood" said Bors
"And what are you going to do when you get back home Gawain?" Kamilia asked.
"Well the first thing I'm going to do is find a beautiful Sarmatian woman to wed," he replied.
"Beautiful SAMARITAIN women?" Kamilia exclaimed "Sorry, but we're the last two!"
"Yeah, why do you think we left in the first place?" said Bors.
"And what will the oh so charming Lancelot be doing after this?" I asked.
"If this woman is as stunning as Gawain claims she is, I suspect I'll be spending a lot of time over at his house. She'll welcome the company." He said laughing.
"Oh really? And where will I be?" Gawain asked.
"Wondering at your good fortune that all your children look like me." Lancelot replied airily. I just rolled my eyes while Kamilia and Bors laughed out loud.
"Is this before or after I hit you with my axe?" Gawain replied and I joined in with Bors and Kamilia, laughing.
"And you my fair lady, what shall you do?" Lancelot asked Kamilia.
"Well, I don't know. I mean I'll eventually get married, I guess. I do want a few children though. But right now all I really want to do is to go home, see how my brother is, and give him hell for being sick and making me spend 15 years with the likes of you" she said grinning.
"Ah you've pierced my very heart with your harsh words" Lancelot exclaimed mellow-dramatically, placing his hand over his heart. I laughed at the gesture "Besides" he said with a smirk "I know you would just LOVE to wake up next to me every morning!"
"I don't think so" Kamilia said, a pensive look on her face, even though I could tell she was fighting to keep from laughing out loud. "Your a little to much of a man whore for my taste."
"Oh but think of all the fun we'd have" Lancelot replied, flashing a seductive smile. Kamilia joined in with me and Bors who had been laughing for the majority of the conversation.
"What of you Marieta? What are your plans?" Gawain asked, turning in my direction.
"Like Kami over there, I am going to get married. But not for a while. I want to travel around; not on this forsaken island but around Europe. I may even visit Rome. But I do know one thing that I want to do, that I haven't done in quite some time" I said with a seductive glint in my eye.
"Oh. And what may this be?" Galahad asked, obviously interested.
"Wear a dress" I said laughing.
"Do you even have a dress?" Dagonet asked.
"Why yes I do actually. Kami and I each got one before this last mission and I'm going to wear it tonight to celebrate the first evening as a free woman" I said staring of into the distance.
"Well it should make for an interesting evening; I can't imagine either of you in a dress" said Lancelot.
"But I'm sure you have no problem trying to imagine us without one" I said laughing.
"Well, you could always help me so I wouldn't have to imagine..." He said, again, smiling seductively.
"Ha-ha...I agree with you Kami," I said turning to my best friend "He is to much of a manwhore" Lancelot pouted as the rest of the knights laughed.
"I'm going to get so drunk I can't piss straight tonight." Bors said looking down into the valley.
"You never could piss straight." Gawain said glancing at him.
"I know. There's just too much of me to handle down there!" He said. I looked at Tristan and rolled my eyes. Bors noticed the gesture "It's a problem! Really! It's like a baby's arm-"
"Holding an apple!" we all finished for him. Laughing we continued our journey to the Wall, one last time.
-----Kamilia's POV-----
When we got to the wall we immediately went to the Round table where we would receive our discharge papers from Bishop Germanius. When he entered, we all stood up. There was a sudden tension in the room, an excitement, and it felt that if we had to wait much longer for those damn papers, we would explode.
"I thought there were more of you!" he exclaimed.
"15 years is a long time, many of our comrades have died while fulfilling their service to Rome" Marietta said, putting emphasis on 'Rome' as if it left a bad taste in her mouth.
"But 6 knights and 2 women?" he asked, hesitantly.
"They are knights just like all of the men present" Arthur explained with confidence.
"Ah well cough gentlemen and umm, ladies, your discharge papers!" he said, gesturing to a wooden box containing some scrolls of paper. All our eyes lit up at the sight of our freedom so close and yet - "But I must first speak to Artorius alone" the bishop said. The mood of the room immediately went from electric with excitement to quite downtrodden.
"There are no secrets between my men and me" Arthur replied coldly. The bishop looked taken aback.
"Come" said Lancelot "let's leave Roman business to the Romans" and he took his leave. The rest of us followed suit, but not after taking the fine gold goblets which held fine wine. The others went to the courtyard where we spent our time getting drunk, eating, and the
men trying to find some female companionship for the evening.
Meanwhile Marieta and I went up to our rooms to retrieve our dresses. After bathing quickly and combing out all the knots in my dark, insanely curly brown hair, I slipped on my gown. It was made of cotton, simple, yet elegant and very flattering. It was a rich blue, bright, yet it had dimension and depth; it was long sleeved and had a v-neck that continued over my shoulders and halfway down my back. The gown itself emphasized my curves, but not so much that it was indecent. I pulled my hair partially up so that it would stay out of my face and went into the hall where I was met by Marieta.
She had on a jade-green gown, also long sleeved. It was set off her shoulders which emphasized her collarbone in an attractive manner and the neckline was slightly dipped. Her gown was more tailored than mine because she was slightly smaller than me and had less curves. She wore her reddish-brown hair down save a white rose she placed behind her ear. Her eyes were green today, probably because she was so happy, and they shimmered with excitement.
"Well, shall we make all the little boys cry now?" she said grinning.
"Let's go!" I said, excited to see their reaction.
-----Lancelot's POV-----
We were all sitting there, getting drunk, awaiting the "unveiling" as Bors decided to call it. And then she came down into the courtyard. Every man there turned and stared at the two women who had fought, bled, laughed, and mourned beside us for 15 years. Galahad had his mouth hanging open in the most unattractive manner; Gawain, Dagonet and Bors had shocked expressions on their faces which were actually quite amusing. Tristan had stopped toying with his knife and was furtively gazing at Marietta, looking her up and down.
I never thought I'd ever seen a woman as beautiful as Kamilia did at that moment. I mean, she'd always been beautiful, I'd always thought that, and we'd always been better friends than she was with any of the other knights, but, oh gods I can't even explain it. Several men from the bar turned and had already started giving them suggestive glances. I would have liked nothing better than to hit them all over the head. I didn't want them or anyone else here to be staring at my Kamilia like that. Wait, MY Kamilia. I didn't mean that...ugh I need to say something or she'll think I'm an idiot...wait, THEY'LL think- shut up brain SHUT UP!
"You two should wear dresses more often" I said, making sure I had a suggestive smile on my face "they become you". Damn how I longed to put my hand all over her beautiful, bare back.
"Ha-ha, well coming from you that IS a compliment!" laughed Kamilia as she took a place at the table next to me and took a sip from my goblet. "Honestly, Galahad" she said turning to the shy knight who still had his mouth open "Your acting as if you'd never seen a woman before."
"Well maybe he's just not used to such beautiful women gracing his presence" I commented. She looked at me and laughed.
"And are you used to being in the company of such women?" she asked, raising her eyebrows and wearing a gorgeous smile.
"Well, I hope to be in your company much more in the future" I whispered seductively in her ear, wrapping my arm around her waist and hugging her to me. She laughed again and replied,
"We'll see. We'll see" I could only grin like a fool. I think I'm falling in love with her.
-----Marieta's POV-----
Lancelot was smitten with Kamilia. It was obvious beyond anything I'd ever seen in my life. It was amusing to. Kamilia had been hopelessly in love with him (she would never admit it though) for the past 5 years and they had always been exceptionally good friends before hand. I knew he had always been fond of her, but seeing her in a more feminine light probably made him realize his own feelings. Good. I sat down near Galahad and Dagonet.
Tristan was across from me, staring at me with an expression on his face that I had only seen once before. I've always been fascinated and, in all honesty, quite taken with the scout. He's so dangerous and quiet and mysterious and yet, he's nice and funny and cares more for that hawk of his than what I think would be humanly possible. I took a sip of wine and said, "Do you find something interesting about me Tristan or did you not think I would actually wear a dress?" Galahad was now drinking deeply from his goblet, trying to recover his senses and Gawain was staring at me also.
Tristan smirked mysteriously "Oh no, Mar, I knew you would wear the dress, and nothings interesting, I just didn't know there was such a beauty as you among us for all these years and none of us tried to have our way with you".
I laughed "Well thank you, Mr. Scout, but how do you know I'd let you have your way with me?"
He grinned again and my heart skipped a beat "There's
only one way to find out". I laughed again and noticed that Gawain was still staring at me. "And how about you? Why are you still staring?"
"I'm just trying to find a good time to tell you that I'm going to make you that beautiful Samaritan wife of mine" he said grinning, pulling me onto his lap.
"And do I have any say in this?" I replied laughing, and attempting to get down.
"No not really" he said grinning and laughing along with me.
"Well as much as I would like a big, strong Samaritan man, you're not really my type, and now I must really get down from your lap, it's certainly not proper!" I said feigning offense, and trying to keep from bursting out laughing and getting down from his lap, taking a proper place at the table.
At that time, Venora, Bor's lover, began to sing. It was a song of home. It was haunting and yet comforting at the same time. When she was done, Kamilia had tears in her eyes; she so desperately wanted to return to her family. As for me, I was touched, deeply by the song. But I had no permanent place to call home, I never had, and perhaps I never will. But that is the future, and I like to not think of things until they come to pass.
Then we saw Arthur, something was troubling him and I really didn't want to know what it was. When he started talking, it was as if it was the hardest thing he had ever been forced to do:
"My dear knights. I must ask you to go on one more mission for Rome" We looked at him as if he was insane, the celebrating had died and the atmosphere had become unbearably sober.
"My duty to Rome, if it was ever a duty, is done. It's done!" Galahad said with hate. Bors started ranting and by this time I had placed my head in my hands. I suddenly felt very, very tired. I glanced up at Kamilia. She looked stricken, and I could tell she felt just as tired as I.
"We all die one day. If you fear to die at the hands of a Saxon, then stay home." Tristan said calmly. Galahad gave him a death glare and
"If you want to die so bad then you can die now! I have something to live for!" He shouted.
"If Arthur gives his word then that will do for me! I'll get ready!" Dagonet loyally said. He passed Bors, who was quite upset, and suddenly said "Are you coming?"
"Of course I'm coming! Can't let you all get yourselves bloody killed! I'm just saying what everyone's thinkin'!" He shouted and went off muttering.
"I'm with you. As is Galahad." Gawain said. Galahad bitterly threw his goblet against the wall and stormed out.
"We're all with you Arthur" Kamilia said "We would follow you to our death's you know that". I nodded in agreement and set off to pack for our last mission for Rome, again.