Disclaimer: I don't own anything.

A/N: Hey, hey, how's it going? I think I might have to up the rating of this story to R. It's silly, really, the ratings on this. Down here, this would be classified MA, which means that people 15 years old can read it. It's sorta between PG-13 (which we don't have, we only have PG) and R (which is 18+). I dunno. Maybe Australia is a little freer with its ratings. Well, we're a pretty laid-back country anyway so that might explain it. THANKYOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR BEAUTIFUL REVIEWS! – pops open champagne—A HUNDRED! So thank you everyone who reviewed; you really light my fire. Heh. So if anyone has any huge qualms about me changing the rating, give me a yell. There are a few heavy chapters coming up. Should I just put warnings at the beginning of those ones? It won't be fully explicit or anything. Hm. Well, I'll just do that for now…

WARNING – PLEASE READ! This chapter contains what some may call R rated scenes… Personally, I wouldn't call it that because it's written, you're not seeing it happen on screen or anything. But everyone is different, so you have been warned!

Summary: Years after the battle on Badon Hill, Lancelot has resigned himself to a loveless life, ever watching from the sidelines. But his hope is slowly restored when he meets a young woman, who fills his world with light, like the rising of the moon.

Crescent Moon

By katemary77

Chapter Nine: Night Flowers

The moon looks upon many night flowers; the night flowers see but one moon.
- Jean Ingelow, Songs of the Night WatchesThe First Watch

A few weeks after Corin and Lancelot had ridden into Camelot to be greeted by a crowd of anxiously awaiting friends, the sun was rising high over the palace's training grounds, eliciting tiny tears of sweat to trickle their way down Corin's forehead. Grunting, she threw her upper body to the left in order to avoid the sharp blade that came her way.

"Come on, Corin, concentrate," her instructor admonished.

Corin growled. Lancelot had been training her for weeks now and she honestly couldn't see any improvement. Lancelot, sensing Corin's self-doubt, used this as an advantage and sprung around her, pulling her flush against his chest. Wrestling the hilt from her fingers, Lancelot held his dagger to her throat. "Lesson learned; never let your doubt show."

Corin laughed softly, fidgeting in his arms. "Talk about being caught between a rock and a hard place."

Grinning, Lancelot pushed her away from him and gave her back the sword. "Again."

Nodding, Corin readied herself and waited for the attack to come. The knight feinted to the left but then brought his sword in a high arc to Corin's right shoulder. Easily blocking the wooden blade, Corin sneakily slipped the short dagger hanging at her hip into her hand and brought her sword around to Lancelot's neck. Once the knight was open, Corin jumped forward and made to plunge her dagger into his chest, but then stepped behind Lancelot and brought her sword slashing down his back.

Both blades fell to ground with a clatter.

"Did you see that?" she whispered, her eyes wide with astonishment.

Lancelot nodded numbly. "I saw it."

Ignoring this, Corin let a huge grin slip onto her face. "Did you see that!" she screeched, before letting out a great peal of laughter. "I hit you! I actually hit you!"

The knight nodded again; slightly disgruntled he had let the inexperienced girl trick him. "I know Corin, I felt it."

She laughed once more, whooping with joy, and proceeded to do a small victory dance around the dumbstruck knight. "Aha! This is amazing! I actually hit the famous Sir Lancelot! How do you feel now, Mr. 'I'm Invincible'?"

"It's not like you beat me Corin – "

"Oh, it's alright, Lancey, I won't tell anyone," she cooed, pinching Lancelot's cheek.

He growled. "That would be because there is nothing to tell, Corin, you did not beat me, I merely let you slip past my guard – "

Corin pasted an overly pitiful expression on her face and smiled sympathetically at Lancelot. "It's alright, Lancey, I understand…"

Lancelot rolled his eyes. "That's it, Corin, one more word – "

"One more word about what?" she said, still dancing around the knight. "About the fact that I beat you? That I B-E-A– Lancelot!" she shrieked, as the knight pounced on her, wrestling her to the ground. Straddling her legs, Lancelot wrapped his hands around Corin's hips and began to mercilessly tickle her, revelling in the delighted giggles that spilled from her lips. "Lancelot, you stop that now, you devil!"

Grinning, Lancelot gave Corin one last squeeze before he stopped, believing her to be sufficiently punished. Realising their position, Lancelot's smile fell somewhat and he blinked down at Corin, who lay beneath him with a silly smile on her face. Exhaling softly, Lancelot bent down and quickly pressed his mouth to hers. Parting her lips easily, he deepened the kiss, his hands threading into her rich hair.

Corin broke away. "Lancelot…"

The knight nodded and untangled himself from Corin, reaching down to help her up. "I'll see you at dinner, Corin."

She smiled softly, touching her fingertips to her reddened lips. "See you then."


"Lancelot, could you pass me the potatoes?"

The knight grunted and wordlessly handed Corin the steaming tureen of vegetables.

"Thanks…" she mumbled, her face falling.

Why was he avoiding her like this?

Frowning, she nudged him in the ribs. "Lancelot, is there something wrong?"

"No, nothing is wrong," he said dismissively.

Corin sighed. He had been ignoring her since their training session that afternoon.

When the meal was finished and the group stood to leave the room, Corin caught Lancelot around the wrist. "Have I done something wrong?" she questioned bluntly. "Why are you avoiding me?"

He muttered something incoherent under his voice. "I'm not avoiding you."

She grumbled. "You're not avoiding me, Lancelot?"

He nodded; seemingly pleased she had grasped the concept.

She nodded wordlessly. "Alright then. I'm going to bed. Sleep well, Sir Knight." And with that, Corin stalked off.

He stared intensely after her. Corin lifted a hand to flip her braid back over her shoulder and there it swayed along her back, so sinuous and attractive a moment he could not keep his eyes from it.


Hours later, Lancelot found himself performing a now nightly ritual: walking the halls of Camelot. But on this night, he found his feet not leading him towards the heavy night sky, nor the moonlit battlements, but a very familiar, dark corridor. After a moment of quiet contemplation, Lancelot ran a hand over the smooth wood, grasped the door handle and stepped in.

She was sleeping. Her blankets were pushed down to the bottom of the bed, where her long limbs entangled them, and her golden hair was splayed messily across the dark pillow. A single beam of moonlight was shining through the drapes, and played softly across her face in an intimate dance.

As he was standing there, Corin murmured something garbled in her sleep and rolled over onto her side, her hand falling carelessly off the cot. Silently, the knight crept forward and placed that hand back upon her stomach, and then tenderly caressed her silver-tinted cheek. Exhaling sorrowfully, Lancelot turned on his heel and left the room.

It was just as he was closing the door, still visible if only for a moment, that Corin's cornflower eyes opened. After slipping out of bed, her brow furrowed as she padded softly across the room, she went into the hall just in time to see Lancelot before he turned the corner.

"Lancelot."

He turned swiftly, his eyes only just widening as they met hers.

"Lancelot, were you just in my room?"

"No," he answered, without hesitation.

"Really?" she prodded. "I was sure I saw you in there."

"I heard a noise," Lancelot explained. "I wanted to make sure you were alright."

Corin's face remained impassive. "Are you lying?"

"Yes. Goodnight, Corin." And he backed away slowly, the glint of hope and promise heavy in his eyes, before turning and disappearing swiftly into the darkness.

After making her way back into the room, Corin numbly slid down the wall until she was resting on the cold tiles. She understood this was the pomegranate, what he was offering her. If she took this step, there was no going back. She would be bound forever. If she ate the seeds of the fruit Lancelot was offering, something would die within her. But Corin would not be tricked into eating the seeds, as the pale Mistress of the Underworld had. She would eat them willingly.

With a firm nod and a bittersweet smile, Corin rose from her place on the floor and wrapped herself in her pale blue cloak, before striding out the door.


Without knocking, she slipped into his room, which was only lit by the moon pouring in. Lancelot was sitting shirtless on his bed. He stood slowly and moved toward her like a predator.

"What's happening?" she whispered, almost inaudibly.

"I think I might be falling in love with you."

It took only a small nod from Corin before his lips crashed onto hers. His warm hands circled her waist and then swiftly slithered up to her shoulders where he pushed her cloak from her body pooling it on the floor. Moving from her mouth, Lancelot trailed kisses down the column of Corin's neck and buried his fingers deep into her hair.

"I think I might be falling in love with you too," she told him, before uttering a small gasp as his lips locked onto her pulse point.

As Corin's hands and lips skimmed idly across Lancelot's muscled chest, he gently pushed her over to his bed before easing her onto it. Crawling up the mattress, Lancelot settled himself over Corin before resuming his heated kisses. "You're so beautiful, I love you, I love you," he sighed sweetly into her skin as her warm fingertips moved from his back to the nape of his neck.

Corin's head was becoming hazy with passion and desire. His touch on her skin was like fire, his lips on hers like silk, he was completely flooding her senses. Running her fingers through Lancelot's curls, Corin felt a strange pull from her belly that she had never felt before, and she gasped into his skin as heat pooled into her body. She breathed in, but there was no air left in the world and all she knew was him.

Running his hand up the smooth skin of Corin's leg, Lancelot bunched her soft nightdress in one hand and smoothly pulled it off her and let his mouth trail down the valley of her breasts. It was when he gently pushed Corin's legs apart that she gasped and cried out loudly in protest. She shoved Lancelot off her roughly and sat up panting in panic. Her eyes were wide with fear as she scrambled to cover herself with the bed sheets.

Lancelot wisely backed away from her, his brow furrowed in concern.

"I can't. I'm sorry," she whimpered, her fingers toying with the ends of her hair. "I just – I just don't – "

"You don't need to explain, Corin," Lancelot said gently, edging closer to her. "I should not have pushed you, I'm sorry."

She shook her head sadly. "You didn't push me, Lancelot, I pushed myself." Wordlessly, Corin tightened the sheet around her before clambering onto Lancelot's lap. Wrapping herself around him, she rested her head against his shoulder. "Forgive me, my love."

"There is nothing to forgive," he told her, laying a small kiss upon her naked shoulder.

Corin nestled herself closer to his warmth. "But I love you," she said, not looking up to him, "and I want to show you."

"But you already have." Leaning back into his pillows, Lancelot brought Corin down with him so she was half on the bed, half sprawled across his chest. "Stay here?"

She nodded sleepily against Lancelot and watched out his window as the moon began to sink beneath the horizon "Yes."

"Goodnight then," Lancelot whispered, slowly bringing her fingers to his lips before entwining them with his own.

And as Corin drifted into a peaceful slumber by his side, Lancelot turned his face away from her to the window and the pale, setting moon.


A few hours later as the sun made its steady climb across the sky, Corin slipped soundlessly out of Lancelot's bedroom, her blue cloak swishing at her feet. She gulped down an overwhelming sob that was threatening to escape as she closed the door on her love.

Striding quickly down the hall, Corin carefully schooled her features into an expressionless mask when she bumped into Galahad and Gawain in the hallway.

Glancing down the corridor to his comrade's door, Gawain let a mischievous smirk settle on his face. "And just what were you doing in Lancelot's room this early, Lady Corin?" he asked, taking in her bed-ridden appearance.

Hurriedly flattening her hair, Corin scoffed at the two gentlemen. "Don't be so presumptuous, Gawain! Lancelot is feeling ill and I was merely giving him something to ease his pain."

"I see," Galahad chuckled. "And I suppose he won't be well enough to attend the council today?"

Damn!

"Of course he'll attend!" Corin cried convincingly. "Otherwise I wouldn't be much of a healer, now would I?"

Leaving the two gentlemen with that, Corin continued on down the hall swiftly and mercifully made it to the outer battlements before her façade broke. Sinking against the parapet, Corin shakily raised a hand to her temple. And it was only then that she let a few small tears slip down her cheek, soon lost in the puddle of dappled sunlight that shone upon the stone.

A/N:

Shorter than usual, sorry about that, but I had to cut it their to make the next chapter make sense. Have had to put in those line things because nothing else will work. And I really don't like those things. I didn't really want them to exchange I love you's so early, but it couldn't really be avoided. And Corin isn't a loose woman, so I figure she'd have to have heard it before anything happened like what just happened. She is very confused, this is all new to her. Desire is new to her. But you'll just have to wait and see to figure out what's happening at the end there. (cackles evilly…)

Thankyou all again for your beautiful, wonderful reviews, and please send me more!