To ALL reviewers: There are too many to write individual notes to! So I am just going to write to ALL of you!...thank you soo much for reviewing…I didn't plan on getting a chapter out during the week, but thanx to you I did! Lol…expect more chapters on the weekend!..Keep reviewing! I need the motivation to keep writing and you guys are giving it to me!

Chapter 3

I was riding next to Arthur, leading the group, as we approached Hadrian's Wall. The wall looked magnificent. I had spent my whole life in our little village and never had I dreamt of a wall so big or so long. You didn't know where it started or ended, it just disappeared over the horizon.

I was in awe. Arthur noticed this, "It's beautiful, isn't it? Just wait until we get to Rome, it has the finest architecture in all the land."

I smiled just thinking about Rome.

Then Arthur's' face turned serious and he said, "Julia, I have to ask you something, Lancelot told me about what happened on the battle field back there…"

The smile immediately vanished from my face and my body stiffened up. I had hoped he wouldn't find out about my 'ordeal' on the battle field.

"…did your step-father ever do more than just hit you…?"

"No." I answered a little too quickly.

I didn't know why I couldn't tell Arthur about all that my step-father had done to me. I loved Arthur dearly, but I didn't trust him enough to share such a painful memory with him, and that made me feel guilty. This man had adopted me as his own daughter and I couldn't even answer a simple question without lying to him.

"…Julia…please, I only want to help…"

Then suddenly my guilt turned to anger.

"I said no! I already explained to Lancelot what happened back there!" And with that I turned Ray and cantered him toward the back of the group, but not before giving a mean look to Lancelot, who was riding behind Arthur.

The ride into Hadrian's Wall was pretty uneventful. I stayed at the back of the group and kept silent. I was thinking that I would apologize to Arthur, for snapping at him, as soon as we got into the wall.

We rode through the giant gates of the wall and I was amazed. Never had I thought of houses more than one story high or requiring horses to open a gate because it was so huge. I just sat on Ray, mouth open in awe and trying to take all of my surroundings in.

We rode into a little courtyard, where we dismounted our horses. The horses were then taken away by stable boys. Rhaebus didn't like this one bit and fought the young boy all the way to the barn, but he eventually calmed down and let the poor boy put him into a stall.

After I made sure Rhaebus, and the stable boy, were ok I went to find Arthur.

"Arthur, I want to apologize for the way I acted back there…I can't explain…"

"Julia, it's ok, I understand…" he put his hand on my cheek "there's no reason to bring up painful memories at a joyful time like this. I'll have Jols here show you to your room, where you can rest. I'll have him come and get you when the ceremony starts."

I gave Arthur a quick smile and hug and then followed Jols. He showed me to my room and told me that someone would be by shortly with some new clothes for me.

After Jols left I examined the room I was in. It was a very nice room, nicer than I was used to. It had a bed under a huge window, from where you could see Hadrian's Wall. Across from the bed was a vanity table with a huge mirror.

I dared to look in it and was very happy to know that someone would be here with new clothes for me. The beige dress I was wearing was not only torn and dirty; it was also covered with blood from the battle.

Then there was a knock on the door.

"Come in." I said.

A pretty woman, she looked to be in here thirties, with flaming red hair and green eyes walked in.

"Well aren't you something…" she said to me looking me up and down. I wasn't sure whether to take that as a compliment or not.

"…my name is Vanora. Now let's get you cleaned up."

Vanora…I was thinking where I had heard that name before. Then I remembered Bors talking about his lover, Vanora, and the eleven children he had with her.

After taking a quick bath Vanora helped me dry off and slipped a dark green dress over my head and matching shoes on my feet. The dress fit perfectly, and after my hair was brushed and styled, Vanora looked me up and down and seemed satisfied.

"Well aren't you something…" this time I knew she meant it as a compliment.

When I looked in the mirror I let out a quiet gasp. My hair looked silky and the top half of it was tied up in a bun at the back of my head. My face was clean and tendrils of hair hung in my face in a messy, yet sophisticated sort of way. The long green dress I was wearing was gorgeous. The sleeves of the silk dress hung off of my shoulders. It was plain, yes, but it fit me perfectly in all the right places.

Suddenly I was very proud of the way I looked, and when Jols came to pick me up for the ceremony I walked a little straighter, with my head held a little higher than usual.

He led me down a flight of stairs and through a long hallway. At the very end was a huge set of doors.

He opened them and motioned for me to go inside.

I walked into a huge room, with a giant round table in the middle. The table looked as if it could seat around forty people. Many knights must have lost their lives over the years, because now there were only seven seats occupied.

The seven knights rose when I walked in.

"Wow…"

"…well, aren't you a pretty sight…"

…were some of the comments I heard as I walked to sit between Arthur and Lancelot.

Lancelot pulled the chair out for me and whispered in my ear, "I didn't think it was possible for beauty to become even more beautiful."

It wasn't the smoothest line in the world, but I have to admit, it did make me blush.

"Julia, you look absolutely amazing," Arthur said to me with a smile.

I wanted to say something to him, but the huge doors suddenly flew open and a man, who looked like a minister of some sort, walked in. He stopped and announced, with a shocked look on his face, "His Eminence, Bishop Naius Germanius."

With that, the bishop walked in and we all rose from our seats. He had a balding head and a gray beard, he was wearing a very expensive looking robe, and the expression on his face matched that of the other man; shock.

Then I realized why both were so shocked.

"A round table? What sort of evil is this?" whispered the minister-looking man to Jols.

"Arthur says for men to be men, they must first all be equal," replied Jols coolly.

Then I heard the bishop speak for the first time, "I was given to understand there would be more of you."

"There were. We have been fighting here for fifteen years, bishop," said Arthur.

"Oh, of course. Arthur and his knights have served with courage to maintain the honor of Rome's empire on this last outpost of our glory. Rome is most indebted to you noble knights. To your final days as servants to the empire…"

"Day. Not days," Lancelot interrupted the bishop. As we all sat down again, the bishop asked if all the knights had converted to Christianity. Of course Arthur immediately said that each knight retains that religion of their forefathers.

The bishop didn't seem very happy about that.

"Of course, of course. They are pagans. Hm?" he said in an un-approving tone of voice.

The bishop then started to talk to Arthur about his religion and his path to God through Pelagius; it seemed to me that the bishop disagreed with everyone's beliefs, except for his own.

He then told the knights that Rome has decided to remove itself from Britain and leave the land to the Woads and the Saxons, whom were invading from the north. This pretty much meant that Arthur and the rest of the knights had been risking their lives for nothing; this upset me almost as much as it upset them.

What made me dislike the bishop even more was when he didn't want to give the knights their discharge papers. He said he would like a word with Arthur, in private.

"We have no secrets," said Arthur.

The annoyed look on the bishops' face made Lancelot stand up and say, "Come. Let's leave Roman business to Romans."

Lancelot took my hand and I quickly glanced at Arthur. He nodded at me, and I got up and followed Lancelot and the rest of the knights out of the room.

As the knights went into the courtyard, I decided to make my way up to my room.

"Julia, wait…" Vanora ran up behind me.

"…do you think you could help me serve drinks down in the courtyard? Having had eleven children can take its toll on a woman," she said rubbing her back.

I chuckled and told her of course.

We walked down to the courtyard, where all the knights were yelling, throwing knives, playing cards, and especially drinking.

Let's just say I was way out of my comfort zone, but I didn't want to leave Vanora to do this all by herself. I went from table to table and filled up the mugs of the knights and some of the men from the village.

This also gave me a chance to observe Lancelot; not that I liked him or anything, I just felt pulled towards him, for some reason, and I wanted to know more about him.

I was filling up the Bors' mug when I spotted Lancelot, sitting at a table playing cards. Vanora was there asking if anyone wanted another drink. Lancelot grabbed her by the waist and sat her on his lap.

"Ahh. When are you going to leave Bors and come home with me?" he said to her smoothly, kissing her neck.

"My lover is watching you," she said as she got up and lightly slapped Lancelot.

At that point I felt disgusted. Just when I thought Lancelot was something else, he turns out to be a…man…; a womanizing, will-do-anything-to-sleep-with-you kind of man.

Lancelot turned around to laugh at Bors, who also saw the whole thing, but it didn't seem to bother him very much.

Lancelot saw me standing next to Bors and the disgusted look on my face. The smile immediately vanished and he turned around to get back to his card game.

"Ah! Why does he have to be so….so…" I angrily mumbled to myself as I walked over to Galahad and Gawain to fill up there drinks.

I was on my way to the wine-barrel when I felt an arm roughly grab me around the waist and pull me on a lap. At first I thought it was Lancelot, but then I realized it was the man sitting across from Lancelot.

He smelled my hair and whispered in my ear, "A pretty thing like you would look great in my bed tonight."

I jumped up and tore free from his grasp, I quickly grabbed the dagger Lancelot was holding and slammed it down on the seat of the man's chair, where seconds before, if he hadn't moved back, his 'you know what' had been. The man looked at me in horror as the dagger stuck deep in the wood of the chair.

I got close to his face and whispered in his ear, "Touch me, and I won't 'accidentally miss' again."

With that I walked away. I could feel Lancelot's eyes on me the entire time.

When I finally dared to look back, I saw that the man was gone, and Lancelot still staring at me with the weirdest expression on his face, I couldn't tell whether it was admiration or amusement; love or hate. Whatever it was, his eyes were intoxicating and they seemed to follow me everywhere I went, even when he wasn't looking at me.

Author: I wasn't really planning on stopping here….but I want to make all my chapters about the same length. Some things in my story may not make sense..but be patient it'll all come together in the end…but if there is anything that you really don't understand..write it in a review and I will fix it right away! I want to make this story make sense to other people….I mean it all makes sense in my head..but it may not make sense to you….am I making sense?? Lol….alright..I want you guys to know that I write these chapters really fast!..so I don't catch a lot of the mistakes I make…if you find any tell me. What my plan for this story is, is to write all the chapters like I have been, while you guys are giving me feedback on what I am doing wrong or right…then when its done I will make a final complete draft of this story and publish it on fanfiction again…that way I can involve you guys in writing a really good story! Thank you guys again…review…so that the next chapter can be out soon!

PS: I understand my story is moving kind of slow…I promise I'll try to pick it up a little bit.