Reviewer Responses
Cameryn, All your questions will be answered in the last three chapters. Thank you for the wonderful compliments.
Chapter 13
Lillian woke as the sun was rising. When she felt the warm, hard body next to her, her first thought was 'What the…?' But as her consciousness slowly came, so did her memory. She smiled and looked at Tristan lovingly.
She hadn't known it could be like that. And it was then and there she made her decision. 'I will not leave, and I will not let him die.' She vowed silently as she burrowed into the covers and closer to Tristan.
She was about to close her eyes again where she felt Tristan stir and she looked up into his eyes.
"Good morning, sweetheart," she greeted with a smile.
Tristan smiled back. "Good morning my love," he replied then looked out the window. "We need to get up and start packing the wagons."
Lillian sighed in disappointment, but rose form her place anyway. As she got off the bed Tristan touched her arm and she turned back to look at him curiously.
"Meet me in front of our rooms in ten minutes?"
Lillian smiled and nodded. "Of course darling," she said giving him a quick kiss.
Lillian quickly replaced her robe and then hurried across the hall to her room and quickly changed into a light green shirt, and light brown breeches and brushed her hair out before quickly plaiting it before leaving her room.
As she stepped out of her room, Tristan did as well and she automatically stepped into his embrace as he wrapped an arm around her waist before they began the trek to the dining hall.
As the newly engaged couple stepped into the dining hall, they noticed that everyone was already there. They tried to make their way to their seats quietly, but Gawain noticed and spoke up.
"Where have you two been?" he asked, "You'd think that the two of you were lovers or something," he joked.
Lillian coughed at that and nearly choked on the water she had drunk. Tristan sat there, in shock.
Lillian was the first to recover. "Funny you should say that Gawain," everyone stopped eating and turned to look at her. Lillian looked at Tristan.
"Last night, I asked Lillian to marry me," Tristan said, "and she agreed."
The entire room went quiet for what seemed like hours, but in reality, it was only a couple of minutes before the room erupted in shouts of "Congratulations", "Good luck" and "I didn't think you were one to get married".
The rest of breakfast was spent talking and enjoying each other's company and for Lillian the happiness ended all too quickly.
Two hours after breakfast the caravan was on the move and Lillian was riding her own horse along side Tristan when everyone turned and looked to their right.
Lillian saw Arthur sitting astride his horse on a hill, fully armed. Bors and Tristan looked back at Arthur. Lillian scowled noticing that only Lancelot refuses to look back. She watched as Bors drew his sword and galloped toward the bottom of a low hill. Lancelot looked at Bors darkly.
Bors raised his sword and yelled out, "Artorius! Roasss!"
Lillian, Tristan, Gawain and Galahad watched and Bors slowly lowered his sword.
Suddenly they noticed Arthur raise the standard he is holding in his hand.
"Raaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!" he yelled out, loud enough for all to hear.
Bors smiled slightly and rejoined the caravan. The caravan continued on, but from across the wall the sound of the Saxon drums could be heard and the horses began to nicker and turn around.
"Whoa," Bors said softly, trying to calm his horse.
Gawain, Galahad, Tristan, Lillian and Lancelot attempted to calm their steeds as well but to no avail. The horses turn around, and started heading back to the wall.
"Sshh," he said stroking his horses head, slowing as he heard the drums.
Lancelot looks at Bors, then Gawain and Galahad, then Tristan.
Tristan grinned and looked at his hawk. "Hey," he said then clicked his tongue, "you're free." He raised his arm and the hawk flew off circling the battlefield.
Bors looked back at Vanora and bastard children giving her an apologetic look. Lancelot nodded looking at the others and Lillian and the other knights began to smile. Lillian turned to speak to Tristan and noticed that he already had a bow and watched as he drew back the string.
Twenty minutes later the knights and Lillian join Arthur riding up the hill. Lancelot was the first to reach him and the two smiled. Lillian, Tristan and the rest of the knights joined them on the hill, bearing Roman standards. Arthur smiled.
"Knights," he began, "the gift of freedom is yours by right." Everyone could hear the Saxons shouting their war cry. "But," Arthur continued, "But the home we seek resides not in some distant land. It's in us! And in our actions on this day!" The Saxons continued to chant. "If this be our destiny, then so be it. But let history remember that as free men, we chose to make it so," Arthur said before turning his horse to the fight.
Arthur drew Excalibur and the knights yell out, "Riiiiiiidddeeee!" as they anchored their standards into the ground with manly grunts, except Tristan, who does so silently. Lillian grinned as she noticed Tristan aim and shoot an arrow towards the tree beyond the wall.
As the arrow landed, they all heard a scream, "Ahhhhh!"
'Yes! Direct hit!' Lillian thought.
A few minutes later, a contingent of Saxons rush inside the wall not knowing what they will find.
One Saxon soldier noticed the knights on the hill and yelled out, "There! On the hill!"
The knights were barely visible behind the fire. Suddenly the doors close. Blocking any escape the Saxons might have had as the Woads launch an arrow shower. While the Saxons are distracted by the arrows and trying to keep form getting hit Lillian and the knights attack, decimating the Saxon line only leaving one survivor.
A while later the doors to the wall creak open, and the single Saxon soldier staggered out, only to die a few steps later.
While the Saxons marched forward, Arthur, Lillian, Tristan and the other knights waited preparing to fight. As the Saxon army split in half the Woads shot off flaming arrows, lighting the oil spread on the grass. Once the army was split by the fire, the Woads, lead by Guinevere, then charged into battle.
Lillian and Tristan fight side by side. Both cutting down as many Saxons as possible, suddenly Lillian's horse was shot by an arrow and bucked in pain, knocking her off the horse.
Lillian shook her head and got up. "Fucking horse," she muttered.
A Saxon came up to her, sword drawn, and a lust filled leer on his face.
'Ewwww! I soooo don't think so asshole!' she thought as she took one of the throwing knives and made a direct hit right between the eyes.
As she looked around the battlefield, she saw Tristan fighting the leader, Cerdic.
"No," she whispered as she watched the fight between her love and the large Saxon.
Lillian fought her way to where Tristan and Cerdic were fighting. And she felt as if her heart had been ripped out when Cerdic caught Tristan off his guard and cut his arm.
"Please God, don't let him die," she prayed as she took one of her throwing knives and threw the knife directly into Cerdic's hand, effectively stopping the blonde man from killing Tristan.
Lillian breathed a sigh of relief as she saw Arthur walk over to Cerdic and challenge him. While Arthur and Cerdic were busy fighting Lillian quickly headed over to Tristan's side.
"Oh my God! Tristan, are you all right?" she asked as she ripped some cloth off the bottom part of her breeches to act as tourniquets for Tristan's wound.
Tristan smiled slightly at Lillian's concern. "Just a slight cut, I'll be fine."
At Tristan's nonchalance, Lillian gaped before she gave him a determined look. "A slight cut? 'A slight cut' he says," she muttered as she tied off the wound and helped Tristan onto his feet as Arthur and Cerdic squared off.
They watched as Arthur faked getting hurt, then just as Cerdic tried to decapitate him Arthur stabbed Cerdic from behind and, wounding him fatally.
As Cerdic fell to his knees Arthur grabbed him by his hair.
The last thing Cerdic saw was Arthur's face.
"Arthur..." Cerdic whispered as the last breath of life left his body.