Reviewer Responses
Badkittey- welcome to I am glad you're enjoying the fic. If you want other fics to read check out my other fics or the fics I have listed under my favorites or cechk out my fav authors list and check out their stories. Thanks for the review
RavenSparrow17- grins thanks for the wonderful review and compliment. Please keep reading and reviewing. The more you review the more I write.
Camreyn- LOL, if you want Lancelot, you can have him girl. Though I like the guy he's too much of a womanizer for me. I'll take Tristan any day. And I agree that it was rather bold of Lillian to say the Roman Empire was corrupt, but it's the truth and she had to get her point across some way or another.
Quinn-FanFicAddict- Glad you're enjoying the newest chapters. And I'm glad you like my take on Tristan. I always thought underneath his tough guy/macho man exterior he was always a sweet guy. Besides isn't it always the strong silent types that make the best…well you get my drift. Keep reading.
Chapter 6
The next morning everyone woke up just before dawn and set off after they ate and repacked their tents. Before breaking camp Arthur told Tristan to find out how far the Saxons were from the estate and to meet them there after words. Lillian opted to go with Tristan.
They rode quietly; listening and looking for any sound or sign of the Saxon army. It was about three hours before they found any sign of the Saxon army.
When Lillian saw the number of men, she gasped. There before them were about two to five thousand Saxon soldiers.
Only one thought came to her mind as he looked at the army, "We are so screwed if we are caught," she muttered quietly from behind Tristan.
Tristan turned his head and looked at Lillian, "I'd have to agree with you there Lily," he replied, as he turned his horse and urged him into a gallop as they rode off to the estate.
When they arrive Lillian was not at all shocked to see serfs packing their caravans and the mercenaries pushing monks to finish building the brick wall to seal up a stone building. As they rode up to Arthur she overheard a mercenary tell them to hurry.
Tristan pulled up next to Arthur, "They have flanked us to the east; they're coming from the South, trying to cut off our escape," he said, slightly out of breath, "They'll be here before nightfall."
Arthur looked grim, "How many?"
Tristan sighed and said, "An entire army."
"And the only way out is to the south?" Arthur questioned.
Tristan shook his head negatively, "East. There is a trail, heading east. Across the mountains. It means we'll have to cross behind the Saxon lines, if that's the road we shall take," he said catching breath, then looks at all the packing serfs before turning back to Arthur, "Arthur, who are these people?"
"They're coming with us," Arthur informed him.
Tristan looked a little angry, "Then we'll never make it."
Arthur looked down, solemnly. Suddenly the air filled with the sound of drums. Tristan and Lillian looked at each other with worried looks before looking up and listening to the pounding of Saxon drums. Lillian noticed the others also turned around, listening as well. She noticed a man, guessing him to be Marius, listening as well before ordering the mercenaries at the brick wall to continue. She watched as the mercenaries listened for a moment, and then turned back around
"Come on. Get back to work!" one mercenary growled out. "Back to work!"
The monks continued building up the wall. Lillian knew from watching the movie that Guinevere and Lucan were inside the building and turned to Arthur and the others.
"Arthur!" she called out to get his attention, Arthur turned and looked at Lillian, "Marius is walling up people inside that building."
"Are you sure Lillian?" Arthur asked skeptically.
Lillian nodded, "I am, we've got to get them out of there."
Arthur nodded and approached the monks on horse, and drew Excalibur before dismounting. The mercenaries stand in the way to stop him from seeing what is there but Arthur holds the end of Excalibur to them.
"Move," he ordered, but he received no response, "Move."
Lancelot, Bors, Gawaine, Galahad, and Dagonet rode up next to Tristan and Lillian to see what the trouble was.
"Move!" Arthur yelled.
The mercenaries backed away slowly as Arthur yelled and pointed Excalibur at them. Pointing to the building with his sword, "What is this?" Arthur questioned.
"You cannot go in there," one of the monks said snottily, "No one goes in there. This place is forbidden."
Lillian snorted, "We can and we will you idiot," she said under her breath as heard Marius' voice in the distance saying, "What are you doing! Stop this!"
She grinned as the knights blocked Marius' path, as Arthur proceeded to try and see what is inside.
Lancelot looked at Arthur with a look of exasperation. "Arthur, we have no time."
"Do you not hear the drums?" Galahad asked, nodding in agreement with Lancelot.
Lillian turned and leveled glares at the others as she dismounts her and Tristan's horse, "Let Arthur take care of this. There are people being buried alive, and tortured down there on Marius' orders," she told them, "and one of them is an eight year old little boy."
The others looked at Lillian in surprise. They had not expected that to be the reason. The looked to Arthur to see what they had to do.
Arthur, ignoring Lillian's speech, looked at Dagonet and pointed his head in the direction of the structure. "Dagonet."
Dagonet nodded and dismounted his horse. Using his axe and strength he tore the whole thing down as the knight's watch. Once the bricks were down Dagonet hit a door.
Arthur looked at one of the mercenaries, "Key," he ordered.
Mercenary, looking shocked, "It is locked... From the inside."
Arthur nodded at Dagonet. Lillian watched as Dagonet kicked door open, and she could see the chains and metal are visible. As Lancelot and the others dismount their horses, Arthur entered followed closely behind by Lillian and Tristan.
Gawaine grabbed the obnoxious monk by his cowl and pushed him inside, "Here you," he said pushing obnoxious monk forward, "go. Move!"
Tristan following Lillian and Arthur unsheathed his sword. Using a torch for light the group entered the building and ventured further into its depths. Lillian reeled back slightly at the stench of the dead bodies.
Lancelot handed his torch to Gawaine as they went further inside. As they walked inside they came across a monk chanting in Latin. Arthur held his a torch up to the wall revealing a dead man hanging by chains.
The monk looked up and saw them. "Who are these defilers of the Lord's temple?" he screamed.
Lancelot shoved the monk aside. "Out of the way," he growled.
Lillian started to look for Lucan and Guinevere as the knights looked around at all the dead people.
As she began looking in the cages and the cells she overheard Lancelot ask, "The work of your God!" he said angrily, "Is this how he answers your prayers?"
Arthur sighed, thoroughly disgusted himself with the actions of Marius, the mercenaries and the priests.
"See if there's still any alive," Arthur ordered, slightly disturbed by the deaths of innocents.
The knights spread out and began searching. Arthur opened the cage of one cell, finding only dead bodies inside. Dagonet opened another cell, but recoiled from the horrid smell.
The obnoxious monk grabbed Lancelot, "How dare you set foot in this holy place!"
Lancelot stabbed the obnoxious monk in the stomach, killing him. Lillian watched in approval. 'Bastard deserved it,' she thought as she looked in cells. Suddenly a sight she never expected met her eyes and she felt tears welling up as she turned away and threw up.
Inside the cell were three bodies, one was a woman. She was about 20 years old. Also inside were the bodies of a three year old and a five year old. As she threw up she heard the crazed monk speak.
"There was a man of God," he told Lancelot.
"Not my God!" Lancelot said angrily.
Lillian looked at the mental monk, tears spilling down her cheeks. "How could you?" she whispered, her voice filled with ice and hatred for the monk, "Just because they were pagan…
does it not matter to you that the Rome you grew up in was pagan until one hundred years ago."
The monk looked at her fear in his eyes. "You just hope that when you die you get sent to hell because that's the only place you will be safe from me. You say you are a Christian, well… WHERE THE HELL IS YOUR COMPASSION? DIDN'T CHRIST HAVE COMPASSION FOR THE WHORES, THE TAX COLLECTORS, THE SAMARITANS, AND OTHERS? WASN'T HIS GREATEST TEACHING 'DO UNTO OTHERS AS YOU WOULD HAVE DONE UNTO YOU?" she yelled.
"I don't think that when God said do not worship graven images, or hold others Gods above the One God, he meant you had to force everyone to convert. He meant that if you already believe in him as the Christian God then you can not believe in others Gods nor should you worship images of him or Christ," she said.
As she turned away from the monk she saw Dagonet opening another cage, "This one's dead."
"By the smell, they are all dead," Gawaine said as he turned to the monks, "And you…" he said glaring at the monks, "you even move, you join him," he said pointing to obnoxious monk on the ground, dead.
Arthur walked on noticing a dead, withering old man. Dagonet opened another cell and found a little boy, who Lillian knew was Lucan, hurt and starved, but alive.
"Arthur!" Dagonet called out as he lifted Lucan out of the cell he was trapped in.
Dagonet set Lucan on top of the small cells. "You must not fear me," Dagonet told him.
Lillian heard Dagonet and walked over to him. "Dagonet," Lillian said, getting his attention, "let me take him."
Dagonet nodded and looked at the boy, "This is Lillian," he told Lucan pointing to Lillian, "She'll help you."
Lillian smiled at Lucan gently, "Don't worry, neither I nor any of these men would hurt you, least of all Dagonet here," she said as she lifted Lucan into her arms ready to move out as soon as Arthur found Guinevere.
She watched as Gawaine searched for survivors. And finally let go of the breath she'd been holding when she saw Arthur kneel over and notice a woman in rags, hiding behind the wall, but alive. Lancelot bent down next to Arthur and saw her as well. Arthur handed the torch to Lancelot, and with Excalibur cut the metal cage open.
As Lillian and the knights walked out, Lancelot threw the torch onto the ground, extinguishing it in the snow.
Arthur, carrying Guinevere, called out, "Water! Give me some water!"
Lillian looked around and found a woman from the little community, after handing Lucan to Dagonet, Lillian approached the wise woman, "Do you have willow bark? And hot water?" she asked the woman. The woman nodded. "Good, bring me some," she ordered, when the woman didn't move Lillian glared and screamed, "Now!"
Arthur laid her on the ground as the other knights exited the structure. Dagonet took over carrying Lucan as Gawaine pushed monks forward. Ganis brought water for Arthur to give the woman.
Arthur looked at Lillian questioningly, "It's willow bark tea. It helps with pain and it brings down fevers," she explained, "I may not know a lot about herbal medicine, but what I do know comes in handy on occasion."
Arthur nodded as he and Dagonet proceeded to feed Guinevere and Lucan the tea. But as Arthur fed her the water, Guinevere choked, having not had anything to eat or drink in a long while. Dagonet took the water bag and gave some water to Lucan as well.
Horton, the assistant to the Bishop, looked at the two survivors bent over and examined them. "His arm is broken. And his family?" he asked.
Dagonet just shook his head as Lillian came walking forward with the herbal concoction.
Handing the cups to Arthur and Dagonet she turned her attention to Horton, "His family is dead. Because Marius," she said spitting the bastard's name out, "has a God complex and decided that if they would not convert and serve him as serfs they would die."
Tristan sheathed sword and watched. As he looked at the woman in Arthur's arms he noticed the blue tattoos on her legs.
"She's a woad," he stated matter-of-factly
Arthur looked at the woman, "I'm a Roman officer. You're safe now," he said as the woman tried to finger his cloak, "You're safe..."
"Stop what you are doing!" Marius screamed as he approached Arthur.
Arthur looked at Marius incredulously, "What is this madness?"
"They are all pagans here!" Marius stated righteously.
"So are we," Galahad informed the Roman ass.
"They refuse to do the task God has set for them! They must die as an example!" Marius argued.
As they spoke Fulcinia went to comforts Guinevere. Guinevere embraced Fulcinia's touch and began to let her fatigue take over as Arthur argued with Marius.
"You mean they refused to be your serfs!" Arthur retorted bitterly and angrily.
"You are a Roman. You understand. And you are a Christian!" Marius said, shocked that Arthur would be this appalled. He then saw Fulcinia comforting Guinevere and walked over to them, "You! You kept them alive!" he said angrily as he slapped Fulcinia.
Lillian knelt down next to Fulcinia and the woad woman and began to help them. She watched out of the corner of her eye as Arthur immediately retaliated by punching Marius, knocking him over. Arthur grabbed Excalibur and pointed it at Marius' neck.
"No, no! Stop!" Marius ordered the mercenaries who were coming forward to aide him. He looked at Arthur, "When we get to the wall, you will be punished for this heresy," he said giddily.
Arthur grabbed Marius and pressed Excalibur's tip to his throat, "Perhaps I should kill you now and seal my fate."
Lillian looked up from Fulcinia and Guinevere, "You sadistic son of a bitch," she growled out as she rose, "You think it is right to force people into slavery, you think human sacrifice is right?"
Lillian walked over and got into his face, "You make me sick, and ashamed to be a Christian. I hope you rot in hell," Lillian spat in his face.
The mental monk walked over and spoke, "I was willing to die with them. Yes, to lead them to their rightful place. It is God's wish that these sinners be sacrificed. Only then can their souls be saved."
"Then I shall grant his wish," Arthur told him, then looked at the others, "Wall them back up."
Tristan looked at Arthur, "Arthur…" he said warningly.
"I said, wall them up!" Arthur ordered.
Bors urged his horse forward as he and the others forced the monks inside the building.
"Don't you see it is the will of God these sinners be sacrificed!" the crazed monk sobbed.
The serfs walked over and push the monks inside and start to wall them up as the monk's voice drowns out Lillian could hear him say, "These sinners! These sinners!"
The woad woman looked up at everyone before passing out. Lillian sighed in resignation before looking at Arthur, "I'll ride with the woman and boy," she told him, "They will need some medical attention and I know enough to help."
Arthur nodded and Lillian, Guinevere, Dagonet, Lucan, Fulcinia, and Alecto were loaded up in one of the wagons before they set off.