The hours that Arthur had spent at Lancelot's bed side seemed to stretch longer and longer. Where Lancelot had been sleeping restlessly all throughout the last four days, this time he had not stirred once, not released one sound of pain or distress, since he had lost consciousness after Tracius' second attack. More than a day Arthur had already been waiting for his second in command to awaken again. All of the knights had at one time or another stepped by, to inform after Lancelot, to pass on news on Tracius, to bring food to Arthur or to just sit with their comrades. But it did nothing to shorten the wait until the Sarmatian knight would wake up again. Arthur had sent for the healer several times, but every time the man insured him that he would just have to wait and be patient.

The sun had long risen when Arthur finally heard a soft groan from the bed. He immediately sat down next to it.

Lancelot seemed to be struggling to come awake. Arthur could see how his eyes were moving under his eyelids. His brow was furrowed with pain. Slowly his eyes started to slide open partly, before they closed again, his eyes rolling in their sockets. Only at his fourth attempt did Lancelot manage to open his eyes completely.

"Lancelot, can you hear me?" Arthur asked in a whisper.

His question was answered with another moan that seemed to escape involuntarily from Lancelot's lips.

"Lancelot?"

Slowly Lancelot turned his head toward Arthur, and their eyes met.

"Arthur…" Lancelot sounded like he was still asleep.

"Are you actually awake?" Arthur asked with a smile in his voice.

Lancelot blinked twice before he answered. "I think so."

"How's your head?"

Arthur could see how that question triggered all of Lancelot's memories to rush back to him. A look of agony and fear passed over his face. A shudder went through his body. Lancelot closed his eyes deliberately, and breathed in deeply several times. When he opened his eyes once more the haziness had lifted from them, and was replaced by pain and fatigue and also a hint of anger.

"Is he dead?" Lancelot said, not answering Arthur's question. Despite the weakness, Arthur could detect the hint of anger in his voice as well.

"No."

"Who is he?" More anger in Lancelot's voice now.

"A decurion named Tracius," Arthur answered uncertainly. "Lancelot, it can wait. You…"

"Arthur!" Lancelot said in a soft but demanding tone.

"Please, Lancelot, calm down!" Arthur tried to soothe the knight. "You are going…"

"Why, Arthur? Why? Tell me!"

Lancelot wasn't listening. His voice was becoming more distressed with each question. Arthur realized that he had to stop it before Lancelot was hurt even more.

"No. Lancelot, listen to me." Arthur placed his hand on the dark man's chest hoping to calm him down. "You're not well enough to hear this. For God's sake, you were sleeping for more than a day! We've been worried out of our minds for you! Get stronger first, and then we can talk!"

Lancelot glared at his commander with dark eyes filled with anguish. "Damn you!" He winced at his own voice.

Arthur saw how Lancelot squeezed his eyes shut, while sucking in his breath, as he was assaulted by the pain in his head.

The door to the room opened, and Arthur saw in the corners of his eyes how Gawain entered.

Lancelot brought his arms up to his face, pushing the palms of his hands into his eyes to block out the pain. He had turned ashen white and was breathing heavily.

"Lancelot?" Arthur had kept his hand on his friend's chest to offer any kind of comfort.

Gawain appeared on the other side of the bed, watching Lancelot and Arthur with a very worried look on his face. Kneeling down, he whispered, "What happened?"

While not taking his eyes off of Lancelot, Arthur answered, "He wants to know why Tracius tried to kill him. I told him he wasn't well enough."

Lancelot groaned loudly while his arms fell back to the bed as though they had become too heavy to hold up. His eyes were still tightly closed, but his breathing had evened out again.

"Lancelot?" Arthur tried again.

"I need to know, Arthur," Lancelot said pleadingly, without opening his eyes. "Why?"

Arthur sighed. It was a no win situation. He knew that Lancelot would take the reason hard, but not telling him would cause him much distress also. "Try to calm down first. How is your head?"

Lancelot opened his eyes to narrow slits and glared at the Roman. "How do you think?"

Arthur sighed again. Sometimes his Sarmatian friend could be infuriating.

"Sounds to me like his sunny character is returning." Gawain chuckled.

Lancelot started to turn his head towards the direction where Gawain's voice had come from, but the pain quickly halted him. His vision started to gray around the edges. His eyes drooped close slowly.

Arthur was immediately alarmed by the way Lancelot's body went rigid. "Lancelot…? Try to breathe…" He could feel how Lancelot exhaled slowly as his chest moved down under his hand. "Slowly…" He knew Lancelot was listening to him despite his closed eyes as he felt him draw another shuddering breath. In a soothing tone Arthur coaxed Lancelot through several more slow inhalations, until finally he felt his knight's body go limp. Lancelot released a long sigh, before he slowly opened his eyes once more.

Arthur looked at Lancelot for a few moments before speaking. "You need to get well first, Lancelot. You'll hear everything soon enough."

Pain sparkled in Lancelot's eyes as he met Arthur's gaze. "Please. I'll stay calm. I won't move again. I won't do anything you don't want me to do, but just tell me. Please?"

Arthur felt how Lancelot's body was trembling slightly. He knew that the argument was draining all of Lancelot's energy. But knowing Lancelot best of all, he also realized that Lancelot wouldn't let the exhaustion stop him to get the answer he wanted. Not wanting to hurt his friend any further, Arthur gave in with a sigh. He nodded briefly.

"Tracius is a decurion under Livius. I think he arrived only six months ago or so. No one really seems to like him, Livius in the least. To use his words, Tracius is a cocky bastard." Arthur had spoken very briefly with Livius the evening before, when the centurion had come to Lancelot's room to inquire after his condition. He hadn't spoken with Tracius at all, since he hadn't want to leave Lancelot. Arthur had sent Gawain and Galahad to Livius to inform the centurion about his subordinate, and they had been present while Livius and the Roman guard questioned Tracius.

"He comes from a wealthy family and has brought his wife with him to Hadrian's Wall. Her name is Marcella." Arthur paused for a second to see if Lancelot recognized the name. "Do you know her?" he added.

"No," Lancelot answered in a tired voice.

Arthur briefly looked at Gawain, not sure how to continue. "Apparently, she knows of you."

Lancelot looked at him not understanding.

"She seems quite smitten with you. She has been watching you while we were sparring. She comes to the gates when we ride out and she is back again when we return to ascertain herself that you are alright."

Lancelot looked at Arthur bewildered. "But I don't know who she is!"

"I know that. Please, stay calm." Arthur soothingly rubbed his hand over Lancelot's shoulder. He once more looked over at Gawain, and nodded to him to continue.

Gawain took a moment to find the right words. "Marcella told her husband how handsome you look on your dark horse. And how fearless you are." Not a trace of amusement was present in Gawain's voice.

Slowly understanding dawned on Lancelot. "No…" He looked from Arthur to Gawain and back to Arthur. "No!"

"Calm down, please, Lancelot," Arthur tried, knowing exactly the turmoil that now held Lancelot in its grip.

"No!" Lancelot's voice was weak, but the confusion and anger in it was clear. "You can't be telling me that the Roman tried to kill me twice over a woman I don't even know? This is madness! Arthur?"

Arthur nodded sadly. "I couldn't believe what I was hearing either at first…"

"Gawain?" Lancelot turned in denial to the blond Sarmatian.

"I'm sorry, Lancelot. Galahad and I were there when he told centurion Livius why he did it, and he wasn't showing any remorse for it either. He couldn't bear the shame of having his wife in love with another. A Sarmatian knight no less… He spat out your name like he was talking about something inferior, "a slave to Rome" he called all of us. It didn't at all matter that you're unaware of her existence. When he saw you walking from the stable area towards the alcove, he knew you were going to meet a woman there. Something must have snapped in him, because he grabbed Jols' water bucket and went after you." Gawain paused for a moment before continuing. "He thought you were dead. He checked to see if you were still breathing, but he didn't think you were. That's when he picked you up and threw you in the midst of the round table. To make a statement that no Sarmatian would ever get the better of a Roman."

Lancelot just stared at Gawain while he was talking. He felt dulled by what he was hearing.

"Then after that first attack, his wife told him how brave you were to have survived, which angered him even more than before. He had just been waiting for another chance to finish you off, when we offered him the opportunity…" Gawain sighed. Together with Galahad, he had at first listened speechlessly, but soon he had been infuriated at hearing the man's confession. They had told Arthur how Tracius had burst out in rage afterwards, and once again threatened to kill Lancelot at the first chance he would get, but he had no intention of telling that to Lancelot.

Lancelot cursed. "This is madness…" His voice betrayed just how shook up and infuriated he was.

"It is. Are you alright?" Arthur asked worriedly. Lancelot looked completely worn out, and he could feel how the Sarmatian was trembling violently from exhaustion by now.

"No…" Lancelot closed his eyes. "So tired…"

"Get some rest then. We can talk later." Arthur commanded.

Lancelot let the exhaustion claim him, and was asleep within seconds.

Arthur rested his head in his hands.

"He had to be told, Arthur." Gawain had stood up and moved to the chair close to the bed.

The Roman's green eyes remained rested on the bed as he nodded knowingly. "I know. I just wish it could have been later when he would have had the strength to deal with it."