Lancelot woke up with a start as his entire body screamed in pain when he was roughly pulled to his feet. He tried to find his bearings, but he had completely lost his sense of balance. A shock went through him as he realized he couldn't see anything. For a moment he thought it was dark again or that he had gone blind, but then he became aware of the blindfold bound over his face.
Another rough push sent him stumbling forwards. He bit his lip to refrain from screaming. He could feel blood flowing down his back. After just two steps, he felt his knees buckling and nearly crashed to the ground once more if it hadn't been for two hands that grabbed his arms from behind, holding him up.
Suddenly he was lifted from the ground without any effort. He could feel the warm body of a horse against his legs, before other hands wrapped themselves around his middle, pressing down on the arrow wound. Lancelot felt his head swimming. A pain-filled groan escaped him. He was lifted up further until he sat on top of the horse, in front of it's rider. Almost immediately the support at his back disappeared as he heard heavy feet hitting the ground.
He swayed in the saddle. The blindfold left him blind for left and right, up and down. The pain in his back left him lightheaded. He could only see dancing lights in front of his eyes. Desperately he grabbed hold of the manes, trying to remain on top of the horse, not wanting to go through the agony of falling to the ground.
All of a sudden, he felt how his feet were grabbed at both sides. Before he even could think of responding, he felt a rope being tied around his left boot really tightly. When he felt his foot being pulled forwards slightly by the rope, Lancelot realized they were about to tie his feet together with the rope running in front of his horse's breast, effectively cutting off all of his escape routes.
With a surge of determination, Lancelot kicked out with his right foot before his capturers could bind the rope to it. He felt how his boot impacted with something soft. Lots of cursing ensued. A sharp stab of pain flared through him as someone yanked on the rope attached to his left foot. He clenched his teeth together, going completely rigid as he fought not to pass out again.
"If you don't want that to happen again, then keep your feet to yourself!" The bass voice kept his voice low, but the threatening tone was unmistakable. Lancelot felt how with quick motions the rope was tied around his right foot as well.
Another jolt went through Lancelot's body as his horse started walking. He concentrated on staying on the horse, trying to adjust to the feeling of a swaying body beneath him. Slowly the near intolerable pain radiating from his back subsided, turning into a throbbing ache.
The longer they traveled, the more Lancelot would hear his capturers speak. He tried to listen to get an idea who they were, why he had been taken, but he picked up mainly pieces of conversations. He could hear how a horse approached galloping.
"They found our camp site!" A panting voice almost yelled.
Snickering all around. "I think it's time for another gift for our dear knights! To give them a taste of what I went through, and something to spur them on to keep following!" The man with the bass voice burst out in laughter and the other men followed suit.
Lancelot felt his temper rising as he realized that Arthur and his fellow knights were being set up. Anger burned inside of him at the thought that he was being used as a pawn to lure his friends into a trap. "You don't think that they'll fall for your damn games, do you?"
The laughter around him died down, and even with the blindfold, Lancelot knew that all eyes were trained on him in an instant. He became aware of a horse that came to walk next to him and the next moment he felt a knife pressed against his throat.
"If you know what is good for you, pretty boy, then you'll shut your mouth…" For emphasis the Woad leader pressed lightly on his knife. Lancelot could feel a small trickle of blood running down his neck.
The knife was lifted from his neck, but only briefly. Lancelot felt the cold metal returning against his skin just a bit more to the side of his neck.
"And what do we have here?" bass voice grinned.
Lancelot felt how something, the knife, pulled on the leather string on which his sister's pendant hung around his neck. Involuntarily he jerked back. He hissed out in pain as the agony in his back returned at full force at the sudden movement
"Ah… not just a charm, but a precious one…" bass voice gloated.
"You'll have to kill me first before you get your hands on that!" Lancelot growled. Focusing on the sound of the bass voice and the pressure of the knife on his neck, he carefully let go off the horse's manes and grabbed the arm holding the knife, giving it a painful twist.
He screamed out loud in pain as a fist came down hard on his injured back. Blessed darkness claimed him immediately.
–– 8 ––
The sun was standing at its highest point in the sky as Tristan rode next to Arthur, with the other knights following in line. The scout had no problems reading the tracks that had been left by Lancelot's capturers as obviously no attempts had been made to cover them up.
No talking or bantering could be heard as the Sarmatian knights rode in silence behind their Roman commander, all of their thoughts with their comrade. It had been more than a day and a half since Lancelot had been taken captive.
"We're hardly gaining any ground at all," Tristan said quietly to Arthur.
Arthur nodded knowingly. "I have a feeling that they know exactly where they are going. They are leading us on… I just don't know why!" Fear and foreboding had taken up residence in his heart.
"Arthur!" Galahad's voice as he shouted out, startled all of his fellow knights.
Arthur turned around in the saddle just in time to see how Galahad jumped off his horse. The young Sarmatian knelt down and reached for an object he had spotted lying between the leaves in the middle of the path they had been following.
Arthur immediately turned his horse around and dismounted to join Galahad. With shock shining through in the blue-grey eyes of his youngest knight, he handed his find to Arthur.
His breath caught in his throat as Arthur stared in horror at Lancelot's pendant in his hand. He could hear the gasps of shock all around as the other knights recognized the object. Spots of blood were visible on the leather string that had been cut in two.
"He wouldn't have given that up without a fight," Gawain stated softly. "If there's any fight left in him…"
"When we find the bastards who took our Lancey, I can assure you all that there will be no fight left in them!" Bors exploded. "A slow death will be too kind for them!"
Arthur clutched the pendant tightly in his hand. He was reeling with shock and worry and rage. "They are playing with us! With Lancelot!" The Roman turned towards his horse, ordering his knights to do the same. "Knights! Mount up! I intend to find Lancelot before this day is over!" He nodded towards Tristan to take the lead once more.
