Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters in the movie.
Chapter 7: The Hawk
They rode hard all day. As Tristan predicted, they got there mid-afternoon. It was cold but none complained. There was only sheer determination in their eyes.
There was no warm welcome awaiting Arthur and his knights and they never expected one. Such impertinent things were just a waste of time.
"Who are you?" one of the soldiers asked.
"I am Arthur Castus, commander of the Sarmatian knights and by Bishop Germanius of Rome. Open the gate." Arthur replied unfalteringly. The gates were opened and out came Marius.
"It is a wonder you have come! Good Jesus, Arthur and his knights." Marius greeted
"You have fought the Woads. Vile creatures."
"Our orders are to evacuate you immediately." Arthur got straight to the point to the dismay of the older man. There was nothing good in beating around the bush.
"Th-that's impossible." He stuttered.
"Which is Alecto?" Arthur paid no heed to the man's words.
"I am Alecto." A boy standing above the high walls answered.
"Alecto is my son. Everything we have is here in the land given to us by the Pope of Rome." The man reasoned.
"Well, you're about to give it to the Saxons." Lancelot, who was observing the scene keenly, cut in.
"They're invading from the north." Arthur explained.
"Then Rome will send an army." Marius argued.
"They have. Us." Arthur answered. "We leave as soon as you are packed."
"I refuse to leave!"
All the knights including Alyna glared at the man. He was despicable. They continued to watch as he ordered all the serfs to go back to work.
"If I fail to bring you and your son back, my men can never leave this land. So you're coming with me if I have to tie you to my horse and drag you all the way to Hadrian's Wall myself." Arthur bowed in mockery of the man in front of him. "My lord."
Then, turning to the woman beside Marius, he said, "Lady, my knights are hungry."
The woman nodded and went to prepare a meal for them. After she had left, the two locked gazes. Arthur's eyes were filled with barely contained rage and anger at the man. If it had been another situation wherein the lives of his friends weren't at stake, he would've gladly left the miserable excuse for a man to die in the hands of the Saxons.
Later, as they were preparing to leave, Tristan arrived from his scouting and went directly to Arthur.
"They have flanked us to the east; they're coming from the south, trying to cut off our escape." He paused to catch his breath. "They'll be here before nightfall."
"How many?"
"An entire army." Tristan answered.
"And the only way is to the south?"
Tristan shook his head. "East. There is a trail, heading east. Across the mountains.
It means we'll have to cross behind the Saxon lines, if that's the road we shall take." He looked around at the few villagers who were loading their things into the wagon. "Who are these people?"
"They're coming with us." Arthur answered shortly.
"Then we'll never make it." Tristan muttered.
This time, the pounding of the Saxon drums could be heard. Alyna looked worriedly at Arthur and Tristan. She observed the activities going on around them. She noticed some monks walling up what looked like a passageway.
"Arthur!" She called, pointing to the monks. "Over there!"
Both Tristan and Arthur turned to the direction she was pointing, and sure enough also noticed the disturbing activity.
It was Arthur who decided to go and inspect. Tristan looked back at Alyna, his dark eyes holding her gaze for a second. Neither moved for a moment until at last, Tristan broke the connection and turned away.
Her eyes disturbed him. He saw those eyes before. A very long time ago. Those sapphire eyes that held so much emotion. He could drown in them if he wasn't careful. He shook his head. He was tired. No wonder he was seeing things. His train of thought was broken as he heard Arthur's voice.
"Water! Give me some water!" Arthur yelled as he gently laid the woman on the ground, his arm supporting her head.
Tristan approached him and took in the scene. Alyna followed behind him.
"She's a Woad." He stated. Arthur paid no heed to his statement.
"I'm a Roman officer. You're safe now." He tried to reassure the woman.
The rest watched in wonder as Arthur, enraged by Marius' treatment of his people, ordered that all who were responsible for this were to be walled back up.
"Arthur." Tristan tried to get his attention.
"I said wall them back up!" he was too enraged to pay attention to anything else.
"We're moving too slow. The girl's not going to make it and neither is the boy.
The family we can protect, but we're wasting time with all these people-" Lancelot began.
"We're not leaving them." Arthur cut in.
"If the Saxons find us, we will have to fight."
"Then save your anger for them." He simply was in no mood to converse about such things. What he really needed was to think things through. He knew that his comrade was worried, but he had no time to dwell on that.
"Is this Rome's quest? Or Arthur's?" Lancelot said as he turned and left.
"Arthur." Dagonet acknowledged his presence.
"How is he?" Arthur asked, concerned.
"He burns. Brave boy." He answered.
Arthur, now reassured, went to the woman. He unwrapped the bandage from her hand. "Some of your fingers are out of place. I have to push them back. If I don't do this, there's a chance you may never use them again."
The woman simply nodded, trusting him completely. The pain was almost unbearable but only brief.
"He tortured me. With machines. He made me tell him things I didn't know to begin with.And then, I heard your voice in the dark." She paused and raised her gaze to meet Arthur's. "I'm Guinevere."
She rode behind the caravan where the boy named Lucan was recovering. Dagonet informed her of the boy's condition and she honestly tried to listen although she just couldn't stop herself from looking around waiting for Tristan to show up.
"Dagonet, how long will it take until Lucan gets well?" she asked.
"Not long. He's a brave boy. Brave and strong." The gentle giant assured her.
"I'm glad to hear that."
"Although the fever still clings to him." He added.
Reaching into her satchel, she pulled out a bag of herbs and handed it to Dagonet. "This plant grows in the land I grew up in. It effectively cures my fever after I camp out on rainy nights."
Dagonet inspected the contents and was surprised at what he had found. "This plant grows in Sarmatia." He stated.
Alyna nodded, smiling, and rode away.
His eyes were glued to the fire. Many thoughts ran through his mind but foremost was their current situation. They were likely to die out here, being outnumbered. He suddenly thought of home. And when he thought of home, he also thought of Alyna.
"Do you think the Saxons will catch up to us?" she queried softly, sitting beside him.
"With the way we are traveling, it seems likely." He answered.
Alyna did not question him anymore. Silence reigned for awhile, that is until Tristan spoke.
"I apologise."
"What?" she asked, confused.
He didn't answer her and continued to stare in the fire but she had a pretty good idea as to what he was talking about.
"I could easily compare you to the hawk. Unpredictable and mysterious." She muttered. His keen hearing easily caught her almost whispered words clearly. He studied her for awhile until his gaze landed on her left hand. Her wrist was wrapped in a strip of cloth, covering a good part of her palm as well.
"What happened to your hand?" he asked. His eyes narrowed at her surprised and almost scared expression.
"It's-it's nothing." She quickly lied as she tried to hide it under the sleeve of her cloak.
With her guard down, he caught her wrist in a tight grip. She tried to pull herself free and his grip tightened all the more to the point where it already hurt.
"Tristan, let go. You're hurting me." Immediately after those words left her mouth, his grip loosened but not enough for her to pull free. Swiftly, he had untied the knot that kept the strip of cloth in place.
Alyna held her breath as the cloth fell to the ground and Tristan stared at the tattoo on her hand. The Hawk. She could not think rationally at that moment. She was scared. Scared that Tristan might push her away.
"Alyna." Was all he said.
AN: Sorry it took so long to update, guys! But thanks for all the reviews while I was away! Please keep on reviewing. I hope you enjoyed this chapter!