Disclaimer: I do not own anything related to the movie. (POOR ME!)
Cbapter 3: Without thinking twice
It has been too long. She was at the brink of her mission – her mission to find him. It would be a waste to give up now. No, she will continue, even if it would take another three years, she will continue. She could not give up on him, not now, not ever.
No sound could be heard from where she stood alongside her horse. She wearily looked around for any sign of the Woads who inhabited most of the woodlands in this side of Britain. Nothing. She continued on her journey.
Mounting her horse, she urged it into a slow trot. She was almost out of the clearing when she heard the screeching sound of a hawk. She looked up. It was flying to the opposite direction. Strange, that a hawk could be seen here. It was flying swiftly, as if it was carrying very urgent news. She turned her horse around and followed the mighty hunter.
She followed it relentlessly until it led her to the edge of the forest. She stopped, making sure that she was still concealed behind the trees. Her eyes followed the bird, as it flew down and landed on the outstretched arm of a man.
She observed him. His hair had tiny braids and there were two lines across each of his cheeks. Her eyes traveled to his weapons, one of which was a curved sword and a couple of throwing knives, and lastly, a graceful bow. A graceful, Sarmatian bow.
A Sarmatian bow? Could it be? Arthur and his knights? Hope swelled up within her, and she could not contain her excitement. She had found them at last.
He felt it. Someone was watching them, particularly, him. He turned and focused his gaze on the trees as they passed by. For a brief moment, he thought he had seen a rider on a white horse partially concealed behind the trees. But as soon as he blinked, he saw nothing but the endless stretch of the forest. He sighed. This was already caused by fatigue and exhaustion. Hallucination was never a good sign. He needed rest, and he knew he needed it badly.
He vowed to himself that as soon as they reached the wall, he would eat until he could barely speak, and go directly to bed. He will not exert himself anymore. He had done that too much for the last fifteen years.
That was too close. She was sure he saw her. She couldn't risk being caught, not this time. This mission was much too important to her. She could only hope that those men were indeed Arthur and his knights.
She had not forgotten how his eyes searched the trees as keenly as a hawk's, hunting for its prey. His eyes were sharp and could catch even the smallest movement. He was someone to watch out for. Although she was wary of him, she could not shake off the feeling that surged within her at the moment she first laid eyes on the knights. It was a great feeling of hope.
"Could it be? After all these it be?" Her voice came out in a soft whisper. It had yet to be proven, but she felt that her intuition was right. She had not seen him, or even heard a description of him for fifteen years, but she heard a lot of great stories about the knights. Arthur's knights to be exact.
I miss you, Tristan. I miss you a lot.
Sighing, she searched for a place to stop and rest, where she could see the gates of the wall. She intended to prove her intuition right, and hopefully, bring Tristan back home with her. She will cease the chance when it presented itself.
Finally finding a place that matched her standards, she dismounted and tied her horse to a low hanging branch of a tree. Making sure it was secure, she turned and faced her trusty companion. The horse snorted and nuzzled her neck. That was how it showed affection.
Her lips curled up into a soft smile as she patted the magnificent animal. It was only them for now, as it had been for the past two years when she had started her journey. They started it together, and together, they will finish it.
"There. Beat that." Galahad challenged Gawain as one of his throwing knives hit the middle of the post.
Gawain let out a snort. Tristan slowly came up behind him, and threw his own knife. It landed on the handle of Galahad's.
"Tristan, how do you do that?" Gawain asked incredulously.
"I aim for the middle." He answered curtly, and took a bite on his apple.
"Sing!" the three men turned as they heard Bors, who was telling Vanora to sing. At first, she hesitated, but finally gave in.
Land of bear and land of eagle
Land that gave us birth and blessing
Land that pulls us ever homeward
We will go home across the mountain
We will go home
We will go home
We will go home across the mountain
We will go home
We will go home
We will go home across the mountain
Everyone was silent as they listened to the song. Each knight had his own vision of coming home. What would it be like? That was the big question. They had been away from home for so long they could hardly remember it.
Meanwhile, Arthur was watching from a far. He was observing the expression on each of his men's face. He felt a great pang of guilt as he thought over what he was going to say to them.
Hear our singing
Hear our longing
We will go home across the mountain
We will go home
We will go home...
"Arthur! Come join us!" Jols, finally noticing him, called out.
Arthur had a grim and serious face, opposite the ones his knights were seen with at that very moment as he approached. Facing all of them, he took in a deep breath.
"Knights. Brothers in arms. Your courage has been tested beyond all limits, but I must ask you now for one further trial." He said in a low voice.
"Drink." Bors said good-humouredly. Galahad laughed. This made Arthur feel guiltier, if that was possible.
"We must leave on a final mission for Rome before our freedom can be granted." They all laughed yet again, thinking it was another joke.
"Above the wall, there lies a Roman family in need of rescue. They are trapped by Saxons. Our orders are to secure their safety." The Roman commander continued.
"Let the Romans take care of their own." Bors face was now somber. It no longer held any humor.
"Above the wall is Woad territory." Gawain pointed out, words a bit slurred.
"Our duty to Rome, if it ever was a duty, is done. Our pact with Rome is done." Galahad said with barely suppressed anger.
"Every knight here has laid his life on the line for you. For you. And instead of freedom, you want more blood? Our blood!? You think more of Roman blood than you do ours?!" Bors' voice boomed above the noise.
"Bors, these are our orders. We leave at first light and when we return, your freedom will be waiting for you. A freedom we can embrace with - " Arthur's words were cut short.
"I'm a free man! I choose my own fate!" his outburst was addressed to no one in particular. No one except himself.
"Yeah yeah, we're all going to die someday. If it's death by a Saxon hand that frightens you – stay home." It was Tristan. To him the situation seemed like a normal everyday occurrence, as if he'd known all along. He pretended not to care. At least not for their new mission, but for the troubled faces of his comrades. He saw anguish and sorrow where there was, only a while ago, humor and cheer. It hurt him in a way, although he would die first before openly admitting it.
"If you're so eager to die, you can die right here!" Galahad made a lunge at Tristan.
"Enough. Enough!" Lancelot held a furious Galahad at bay while Tristan, calm and composed, took another bite from his apple.
"I've got something to live for!" The young knight shrugging Lancelot's arm off.
"The Romans have broken their word. We have the word of Arthur. That is good enough. I'll prepare. Bors, you coming?" he asked calmly, trying to break the tension.
"Of course, I'm coming! I can't let you go on your own; you'll all get killed!" he exclaimed. Turning to Vanora, he whispered, "Vanora, kill me."
Tristan, following Dagonet out, had quite so much to think about.
"The weather here is unbearable!" Alyna hissed as she wrapped the thick cloth tighter around her slender frame, the rain soaking her to the skin. She looked around, her sapphire eyes ever alert. If this were what she had to go through to get to Tristan, she would gladly face it without thinking twice.
Her gaze went to the magnificent horse not far away from where she was curled up, trying to preserve any warmth left in her body. The wool cloth that she draped on its back was soaked, yet the animal showed no sign of uneasiness. A small smile graced her full pink lips as her gaze continued to linger. The fire she had built earlier began to die out as she tried to plait her wet hair. As the last sparks of the flame were finally extinguished, the raven-haired woman finally drifted off to sleep.
AN: There! That concludes chapter three. By the way, the raven and the hawk have no connection with each other. I just made it up on my own. Thanks for the reviews on the previous chapter! Please review this one also. You can give me an idea as to what the next chapter should contain. : - )