Chapter Nine: The Road to Avalon

It was decided at lunch that they were to leave for Avalon at teatime.

The men had objected immediately, of course. Roxton refused to journey through the jungle at night. Ned felt Veronica's injuries forestalled even the thought of such a trip, while Challenger was exhausted from the morning's foraging. The ladies pretended to consider their opinions for a moment, then replied.

Marguerite informed Roxton that she, Elaine, and Veronica would leave at fifteen o'clock (A/N: I know nothing about European time). Veronica promptly performed a series of flawless acrobatic maneuvers that left the expedition men speechless, letting her actions speak for themselves. Strangely, it was Elaine who appeared the weariest, quietly observing the events from her seat.

And when--not to mention how--Marguerite and Veronica had resolved their differences, Challenger didn't want to know. It was usually at least a week before the ladies spoke civilly to each other, and yet they had been firmly united against the men of the house.

Challenger had encompassed the battlefield slowly. Marguerite and Roxton had been in one corner, Ned and Veronica in another. Between the two, Gavin Conway had towered over his sister, the two of them arguing as fiercely as the others.

"…you know the rules, Marguerite, it isn't safe--"

"--and you should know better than to give me orders by now, my Lord…"

"...but you've just recovered. Veronica, you can't just--"

"--don't tell me what I can and can't do, Ned. I've waited too long for this…"

"…Elaine, you can't possibly be well enough to travel yet. Let it wait--"

"--you know how much they need us there. We've wasted enough time already."

Seeing his troops falter, Challenger had sighed. With the foresight of an experienced commander, he acknowledged his defeat even as he watched his three soldiers surrender one by one.

After their victory, the ladies were inclined to be generous and allowed Challenger another hour's rest. Ned and Roxton agreed to travel only on the condition that they stop at dark, or as soon as Veronica or Elaine tired. Accepting their defeat with goodwill, the expedition men went to pack. Meanwhile the Conways further proved their kinship to Marguerite, beginning another argument on the balcony.

* * *

The tree house group met the siblings at the edge of the electric fence as Roxton suddenly realized how they would reach Avalon by nightfall. Tethered to a nearby tree stood a string of horses.

"Well, mount up," Gavin called.

Elaine stepped forward, offering Roxton the reins of a large stallion before presenting those of a dun mare to Veronica.

Roxton, a well-known connoisseur of horseflesh, examined his new mount meticulously. The black stallion was flawless. Strength, stamina, and beauty…the horse reminded him vaguely of the last stallion he had ridden, the king kidnapper.

"You're a beauty, my boy," he whispered, petting the stallion gently and wishing he'd brought an apple. Roxton was so engrossed that he failed to notice when Elaine walked up beside him.

"His name is Shadow. I thought you'd like him," she said pertly. Up ahead, Marguerite laughed openly at the scene. Roxton mounted with a smile, and paused to examine the company.

Challenger was seated awkwardly on a brown mare, while Ned held a decent seat upon a gelding. Marguerite smiled at him from atop a beautiful white mare in obvious pleasure, and Roxton couldn't help but smile back at her. He remembered.

/ Flashback \

"Did you ever have any hobbies, Marguerite? Things you did for fun, or just to get away?" Roxton asked her quietly. It was another one of those nights out on the balcony. She'd seemed in a particularly pleasant mood that night, so he'd once again attempted to get her to elucidate upon her rather unknown past. Sometimes she would give him "harmless" information about her past: old teachers, favorite dresses, books, or classes. He cherished these slivers of her past, hoping that one day she might be willing to share her past with him, so that he might share his future with her.

"Riding," she replied softly. "At one of my boarding schools, they had a stable. There was a horse there named Storm. They didn't let the girls near him; he was too wild. One of the older girls dared me to ride him once, and so I did." Marguerite smiled gently at the memory. Roxton listened, pleased that she had found one of her few happy memories to share with him. "He was wild, nearly too wild for me. Our equestrian teacher caught me out there with him and pulled me off before I could hurt myself. As punishment, I was to train him to accept riders. They thought that working with a full-grown wild stallion would cure me of my…mischievous streak, I suppose you could say." She smiled again, that rare, full, happy, beautiful, and utterly Marguerite smile that always made Roxton's heart contract painfully. "They didn't quite expect what happened next. Storm and I got along quite well, and within a week I could ride him. Strangely enough, I was the only rider he would accept. The nuns were furious and wanted to forbid me from riding, but Master Thomas, our riding instructor, felt I had earned the privilege. And so I rode Storm every day, until I left. It's one of the few things I miss about civilization. I could always escape to the countryside and go riding."

"Well, milady, this certainly isn't civilization, so all we have to do now is find you a horse."

/ End Flashback \

Gavin's voice snapped Roxton back to reality. "If we push hard enough, we should reach the Crossing by nightfall. I wasn't expecting five of you, but if Elaine rides with you, Lord Roxton, we should make good time. I would take her with me, but I've been pushing Mist and Elaine's Angel all week." Roxton agreed immediately, honored that the young man would trust him with his sister's safety. The hunter helped pull the girl up, placing her securely behind him.

Two hours later, Roxton was more confused than when he'd started. They had been traveling at a slow, steady gallop that was eating away at the miles. That in itself was an oddity. The Conways had acquired three horses in the time it had taken the explorers to pack, and for the life of him, Roxton couldn't figure out how. There were simply no stables within whistling distance of the tree house. Even the Zanga village was too far. And the path Gavin was leading them on! After three bloody years on the Plateau, Roxton considered himself nearly a native. He knew the lands immediately surrounding the tree house as well as Veronica, and yet he had never seen this path. From the strange looks Veronica was giving him, she didn't recognize this path either.

Roxton didn't voice his suspicions to his young passenger, but Elaine somehow recognized his disquiet anyway. "The path only appears for those who know where it is, Lord Roxton."

"How is that possible?"

He could feel the girl's smile. "It's the Plateau, isn't it? Anything is possible."

The two engaged in pleasant conversation for the remainder of the journey, as did Marguerite and Gavin. Challenger and Ned were busy keeping themselves on their mounts, while Veronica alternated between worrying and chatting with her cousins.

Just before nightfall, Gavin slowed the pace to a walk. "We're nearly there. I think it best we camp here for tonight. We'll make the Crossing in the morning."

Camp was made quickly. The ladies retired early, still recovering from injuries and strange events. The men sat around the fire, quietly watching the flames. "I'll take the first watch, if you two would like to sleep," Roxton offered.

"That's not necessary," Gavin interrupted. "Nothing will harm us here."

"What do you mean?" Challenger queried, curious.

"As I said. Nothing will harm us here. We're at the foot of the Crossing. We cannot be harmed here. Well, by the Plateau's creatures, anyway. There are no raptors, ape men, or cannibals here."

"What?" Ned was incredulous. Roxton was forced to agree with the reporter. After three years of avoiding, fighting, and running from the plateau's various carnivores, Gavin's statement seemed ridiculous.

"This is sacred land, belonging to Avalon. They would not dare come here."

"Still, I'd feel safer with a watch," Roxton told Gavin. "No offense intended, of course."

"Of course, Lord Roxton," Gavin agreed. "A soldier and adventurer such as yourself would always be prepared. But you'll need your rest for tomorrow's crossing…please excuse me gentlemen, I must speak with my sister."

A few minutes later, Gavin returned to the fireside. "Our guards will be here shortly." Seeing the questions on their faces, he elaborated quickly. "The Avatar warriors. Surely Veronica must have mentioned them."

"Yes, Veronica told us what little she remembered, but she was told as a child that they were just a myth."

Gavin frowned slightly, glancing briefly at the tents. "The Avatar warriors are chosen at twelve and trained to serve Avalon. Their sole duty is to protect the bloodline, and they are to obey any order from one of the blood, provided that it does not interfere with their first priority."

Challenger and Ned were both intrigued and about to press Gavin further, but with the snap of a nearby twig, the expedition men were on their feet, rifles ready. A young man stood not ten feet away, armed but unthreatening. "Lower your weapons," Gavin told the explorers. "These are the Avatars." The men lowered the guns, and another nine warriors stepped forth from the brush. All wore light leather armor and were armed with two short swords. They bore the traditional markings of the Avatar warriors Veronica had described from her memories.

"My lord," the first warrior addressed Gavin, bowing. "My Lady Protector said that the Lady Elaine called for a guard."

"Kirin," the young man replied, acknowledging his salute. "I'd like the men to form a perimeter watch. We'll make the Crossing in the morning."

"As you wish, my lord," Kirin replied, issuing crisp orders to his men in a language the explorers didn't recognize. It sounded vaguely like an altered version Gaelic, and Roxton found it vaguely familiar. The Avatars fanned out, forming a protective circle around the group, just out of earshot as the explorers watched in surprise.

"They have been well trained and are formidable warriors, Lord Roxton. No harm will befall us here. I would suggest that we all get a good night's rest, but if you still find it necessary to post a watch, I am willing to take a shift."

The hunter paused for a moment, his mind working. He trusted Gavin, and his aristocratic upbringing flinched at the thought of insulting his host. "No, even I can see an additional guard would be superfluous," he said with a friendly smile. "Thanks for the relief watch, Gavin. I think I'll be off then, gentlemen. Good night."

Roxton slept peacefully that night, a sleeping Marguerite in his arms.