Chapter 11

It took another three days before they reached the fort. During the three days Lillian, Guinevere and Fulcinia cared for Dagonet and healed his wounds. By the time the caravan made it to the wall, he was at seventy-five percent.

Lillian was nearly one hundred percent and was ready for what ever the Saxons were going to throw at them. But she wasn't thinking on that as the group rode and walked into the courtyard. As she got off the wagon she noticed Bishop Germanius walking forward and all her anger for the Saxons left.

Alecto was one of the next to get down and Lillian noticed the Bishop's eyes and face light up when he saw Alecto.

"Ah! Good! Christ be praised! Against all the odds Satan could possi…" the Bishop started saying, when he noticed Alecto, "Alecto! Let me see you! You have triumphed! Young Alecto! Let me see you! You are here!"

Alecto moved back away from the Bishop when the Bishop tried to greet him. Lillian and Guinevere then saw Lucan exiting the carriage and start running to the front carriage where Dagonet was laying.

"Lucan!" both women yelled out as they ran after the boy.

"You! Boy!" a Roman soldier called out and tried to stop the boy.

'Thank you, bout time one of you stopped the Roman idiots,' Lillian thought as Galahad drew a dagger and pointed it at the Roman soldier's neck. Guinevere helped Lucan get into the carriage so he could see Dagonet.

The Bishop started chuckling nervously and began to present the papal discharge and papers for safe conduct. "Great Knights, You are free now! Give me the papers. Come, come! Your papers of safe conduct throughout the Roman Empire! Take it, Arthur," he said motioning for one of his guards to hand Arthur the papers as he laughs nervously to himself.

Arthur approached the Bishop and gave him very little breathing room. 'I hope Germanius gets what is coming to him,' thought Lillian as she watched the confrontation.

"Bishop Germanius. Friend of my father," Arthur stated with malice lacing his words. Arthur was too disgusted with the Bishop and left.

Lancelot watched silently as Arthur walked away then grabbed the papers from the box and handed them out to each knight.

Bishop Germanius looked at the knights nervously. "You are free. You can go!" he told them.

Lillian strode forward form her place by Guinevere and walked up to the Bishop. What she did next surprised everyone.

She spat in his face and glared at the man. "You are the sorriest excuse for a man I have ever seen," she said, "These men are probably the most honorable, kind, decent, and courageous men I have ever met. And what do you do when it was time for them to finally receive the reward that is their due…" she paused as the Bishop wiped his face off.

"You send them on a suicide mission! What were you hoping to accomplish?" she asked, "Were you hoping that they would end up sacrificing themselves and dying before you could actually hand them their discharges?"

The Bishop tried to speak but was completely dumbfounded and could honestly not think of a response. Gawain then approached the Bishop and took his paper. Lillian moved off to the side and watched as Tristan approached the Roman soldier holding the box that contained the papers and, after inspection, took the box for himself.

Lillian grinned in amusement as Tristan walked over to her and placed an arm around her waist as they walked to the area where their rooms were located.

"Happy now?" she questioned teasingly.

Tristan looked at her for a moment, and then grinned slightly. "Of course. I have you, I am alive, and I have my freedom. Today is a good day," he responded.

Lillian smiled and leaned into Tristan's embrace as they walked.

Hours later, there was a yell for the knights to come to the wall. Lillian and Tristan left their dinner and joined the others up on the wall.

As Lillian looked out into the piercing darkness, she saw hundreds of little fires out on the moor. The Saxons had come.

"Holy shit!" she muttered.

Just then, Arthur, with Guinevere behind him, ran up the steps and saw Lancelot. Lancelot motioned out from the wall. Arthur then noticed the fires. Arthur looked around, at his knights, then at the defenseless serfs before he looked back at Guinevere and Lancelot.

"Knights," Arthur began, "my journey with you must end here; May God go with you."

Arthur inclined his head and left everyone on the wall. Lillian noticed Lancelot and Guinevere look at one another before following him.

Tristan and Lillian then left to return to their dinner when Lillian sighed. 'Damn it! Why do things like this have to happen?' she wondered. As she stared out into the night, she became lost in her thoughts about the battle she knew would happen the next day.

Tristan noticed Lillian become melancholy and he wondered, 'What is she worried about?' He came up behind her and held her close.

Lillian sunk back into Tristan's embrace before she started to speak but she could not find the words.

"Lily, what is wrong?" Tristan asked.

Lillian turned around in Tristan's arms and spoke. "I am worried about tomorrow. I know there will be a huge battle and there will be a large loss of life. But I don't want to lose you Tristan," she admitted.

Tristan held her close and whispered into her ear, "And who says you are going to lose me, eh?"

Lillian grinned slightly through the few tears that were sliding down her cheeks. "No one, but it's just this feeling I have. I have this nagging sensation in the back of my mind that you and the others will join Arthur in the fight against the Saxons and that somehow I will never see you again," she said. Then she got an idea.

Tristan noticed the look on Lillian's face and wondered what it meant. It wasn't long before he found out.

"Tristan, if you and the others are going to join Arthur like I know you will then I am not going to leave with Vanora. I am going to go with you and the others," she told him.

Tristan was about to argue when Lillian cut him off with a kiss. She broke the kiss and looked deeply into his eyes. "No one truly knows what tomorrow will bring, but if by chance something does happen I want to know I did everything in my power to help," she told him

"Lillian…" Tristan started to say. He knew what Lillian said was true, and that no matter what he said she'd join the fight anyway. "I love you. And you know I don't want to see you hurt, but I know you'll find someway to join in the fighting…"

"Damn straight," Lillian said under her breath, but Tristan still caught it.

"I don't want to fight with you about this. If you feel you have to come with us then you will stay with me. Right?"

Lillian smiled and gave him a light kiss on the lips. "As long as we agree on those terms, yes."

"Good." Tristan said as he led them back to their rooms.

After bidding Lillian a good night, Tristan went to his room and began preparing to move with the caravan the next morning.

Lillian lay on her bed unable to sleep after packing. Thoughts of what might happen the next day running through her head. What if she wasn't able to prevent Tristan's death? What would happen to her? Would she just get sent back to 2005? Or would she be stuck here in 467 to spend the rest of her days as one of Guinevere's ladies in waiting?

If she did wind up staying, she wanted to know that she spent as much time with Tristan as possible in case the worse should happen. Quietly she rose from her bed and undressed. She put on a light robe and tied it around her waist and walked to her door.