Disclaimer: As chapter one; so please, for the love of God, do not make me keep writing it out people!
WARNING: BAD LANGUAGE, VIOLENCE AND SOME SEXUAL REFERENCES (though not too graphic) SO READ AT YOUR OWN PERIL.
All reviews, and constructive criticism, gratefully received – but no flaming please; and I will try to update regularly.
'Thoughts'
"Speech"
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Bethan & Lucan
Chapter Seven – Attack
Tristan and Bethan rode out across the plain to the woods; they scouted silently together for 3 hours before deciding to make their way back.
"Did you see it?"
"Aye…"
"Arthur?"
"Will be told…"
"See us?"
"Nay."
"We are good."
"Always were" a rare smile "you happy?"
"Aye, blissfully."
"Not at first" a statement.
"I needed to grow up."
He looked at her then "You have because something bad happened." Another statement.
"Aye."
"Lucan does not know?"
"Nay."
"Only Gawain?"
"Aye."
"Then all is well, he is a good friend; you feel better now?"
"Aye; and aye I do."
"Then it happened for a reason."
She never knew if he guessed, he never mentioned it again. But he rode level with her, leant over and kissed her cheek before hugging her.
"You are a good daughter Bethan, and I know you will be a good wife." His face was its usual passive self, but his voice held a lot of pride.
"I try Papa, I do try…."
"And what does your mother say?"
They intoned together "If you try hard enough, you usually succeed!" They grinned.
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They rode back to the caravan; it had been on the road for a little over 2 hours.
As they rode into view Bethan's keen eyes picked out Lucan riding with Gawain. The young knight had taken the boy under his wing; he could see how he was desperately trying to be less possessive and jealous, to worry less when she left him.
Gawain could see he was anxious for a real friend; and decided if he was friends with Bethan, Milo and Tristan, then he might as well add Lucan to the mix.
There was also a method to this madness; he felt if Lucan began to fret he could tip Bethan off so she could deal with it before another war broke out between them. He was desperate for them to be happy; as happy as he and his Ysabeau.
They both heard the shout "LUCAN! LUCAN!" As she rode at break neck speed to her husband, Lucan too spotted her coming up the road towards them and kicked his horse towards her.
She leapt onto her saddle, steadied herself and threw herself on him. He only just remained in his own saddle. They clung together for a few minutes "I told you I would come back" she whispered in his ear "I always will. I will never leave you Lucan…."
He hugged her so tightly she could not breathe and the pain in her side hurt, but she never flinched; she loved him with all her heart.
"I love you Bethan; I love you so much…."he whispered back, his eyes alight with passion.
Tristan rode up to Sandrina "Missed you."
She smiled and caressed his cheek "you too…"
He leaned in and kissed her deeply "I must speak to Arthur, we may have problems ahead."
"Go then, I will be here when you return…" she brushed the hair out of his eyes, and smiling, kissed his lips once more; her eyes locking with his and heavy with promise. He grinned and rode off in search of his king.
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Lancelot got hit on the back of the head by a twig "What the?" He looked round and could not see where it came from, he faced forward again only for another piece to hit him.
He felt the back of his head and this time it was caught in his hair - he looked round and saw Amila sitting in one of the wagons near a tree looking innocently at the sky. Too innocently, it was not helped by their children sniggering next to her.
He scowled "Harpy! What are you doing to me now; throwing logs at my head!" he called to her, before dropping back and riding alongside the wagon she was in.
"Logs! No one is throwing logs at you, you idiot man!" she snorted derisively, the children giggling all the more.
"Nay? Then what in the name of Hades are they laughing at?" He pointed to his daughters and son.
"They are 6 and 4 Lancelot; they laugh at aught at this age!" She grinned evilly.
"Harpy! Confess or….."
"Or what?" she arched an eyebrow "Tell me, I am interested."
Her husband tried to think of something awful"Oh, I cannot be bothered!" he rode forward again, grinning. Amila laughed and rolled her eyes before lobbing another twig at his head…..
He sighed and shut his eyes.
"What have you done to piss her off now?" asked Bors, watching another twig bouncing off the back of his friend's head.
"You know what? I do not even know anymore!"
San rode to Amila "Why are you tormenting him now!" she asked with a grin.
"It is just so much fun!" laughed her cousin, throwing another bit of twig.
"Come on, the real reason….."
"That is it; well, and I would love to do like Bethan and Lucan…." She swung her eyes to the young couple ahead of them; Bethan was riding in front of Lucan on his horse, his arms wrapped tightly round her waist. They were whispering and laughing together and with Gawain and Ysabeau, who was riding in similar fashion on his horse next to them. Charity was tied to the pommel of Lucan's horse with Faith riding on the saddle.
Amila looked back at San, with a thoughtful look "can you watch the children?"
"Why?" Tristan rode up, hauling San from her horse onto his in a similar way to Lucan and Bethan; he saw her querying look and shrugged "It looked comfortable."
"You old romantic!" San leant back into him as he grinned and he kissed her deeply.
"I have a plan!" Amila said as she scurried to the back of the wagon and released her own horse "Children stay in the wagon. San and Tristan will remain alongside until I return." They all nodded.
"We do not have to watch you suck daddy's face do we?" Suriana called; everyone laughed.
She rode to Lancelot and carried out a similar move to Bethan; but slipped, landed on Lancelot awkwardly, who was not expecting his wife to leap on him from a moving horse anyway, and knocked him from his saddle. Everyone fell about!
"Why do hate me so much?" He groaned, trying to catch his breath….
"I was trying to be romantic!"
"Please…do not….it hurts too much!" He grinned.
He helped her up and they both climbed on his horse, he dropped back to the wagon "You are off the hook!" he told Tristan "We will watch them – but to save my skin I will let the wife ride with me for a while!" Amila batted him and then kissed him.
"Oh, another that smacks you first and then kisses you! Why do women want inflict pain before pleasure?" Cried Bors.
"Because it is the only way to get your undivided attention!" called Vanora.
All laughed. Tristan nuzzled San's hair "You always have my attention…" he whispered.
She smiled "I will remind you of that tonight!"
"Promises, promises!" he gently bit her ear, smirking when he heard her sigh.
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Further ahead Lucan was hugging onto Bethan, she was leaning back against him and he was nuzzling her temple when she stiffened. "What is it?" he whispered. As a wind blew to her left…..
She pushed her head into his shoulder "Do not get hurt - promise me!"
He went for his sword "I will not - I promise! Nor you!"
She leapt to her horse, Faith wheeling into the sky "CELTS! KNIGHTS! CELTS!"
Amila jumped down from Lancelot's horse as Ysabeau scrambled down from Gawain's. Dagonet rode down from where he had been riding next to the wagon holding Ilara and the boys.
A lot of men grabbed weapons as the Celts came screaming from the clearing ahead. Some stayed behind to guard the women and children.
The knights were surprised to see Lucan galloping with them, Bethan and Sandrina; though he was not shouting the battle cry of the knights.
He watched Bethan's face, and saw the love and softness be replaced by an emotionless mask, except for that smile and with anger in her eyes as she rode at full tilt; gripping Charity with her knees and firing her arrows in wave after wave, dropping Celts right and left.
She kept going until her quiver was empty and then, pulling her tridents, she leapt from Charity's back. She disappeared in the mêlée, though he could see her every so often as he fought to keep her in sight.
Dagonet came alongside him "Keep yourself safe boy; she can take care of herself, but she would kill you if you died on her!" he grinned.
Lucan smiled and took the hint and concentrated on not getting killed. It was minutes later as the last few Celts lay dying that he saw her….
She had three around her; she locked her swords with one. Using one of her tridents to block his claymore she stabbed him in the chest with the other, as his arm dropped she took his head.
She turned and thrust both her tridents behind her skewering the Celt behind her in the sides.
She stepped forward pulling her swords with her and turned, as he dropped to his knees she took his head. The she turned to the third that ran at her screaming - she waited until he was nearly on her and then lunged at him knocking his claymore to one side and thrusting both swords into his chest, as he dropped to his knees she took his head in a scissor action. It was all over in moments.
Another two came from either side, Lucan's heart was in his mouth but he was transfixed. She thrust her swords each side stabbing each man in the stomach, she stepped back withdrawing both swords as she went; as they fell on their faces she brought both swords down on their necks severing their heads.
She straightened panting, her face covered in blood - in fact all of her blood spattered. She caught Bors' eye and grinned "How many?" he called.
She shrugged "You are a sick man to keep count Bors!" she laughed.
She spun round "Where is Lucan? WHERE IS LUCAN!" She saw him and flew over; throwing her arms round his neck "You are safe, thank God you are safe!" Immediately checking him over and seeing an injury, instantly the killer was gone and his wife was back "You have been cut…."
Tristan came over and hugged her, smiling at the concern on her face for her husband "Little Scout, you fought well; so did you…" he smiled at Lucan over her shoulder.
Lucan smiled his pride at his father-in-law's compliment. From anyone else it would be scant praise, but from Tristan it was as much as all the knights hailing him a hero.
He then noticed Bethan had a wound on her arm. "You are bleeding too…" he chafed her shoulder as Tristan released her and went to find San.
She glanced down "it is a scratch! It will not even need stitches; yours will." She wiped off some of the blood from her face to see better.
He tilted her chin and said softly "You do it."
"What?"
"You are brilliant at stitching, better than my father – I saw the work you did on Gawain that time when Lancelot cut him by accident."
She grinned and grabbed his hand "come on then" as they made their way back to the one of the wagons they say Lynette crying. "What is it?" she asked her mother.
"Thurston was killed."
"NAY!" Lucan cried horrified.
"A Celt caught him from behind…"
Bethan went over to Lynette "I am so sorry…I…..he died protecting us all."
Lynette nodded; but then as Lucan came up she ran over to him and hugged him. "What am I going to do, Lucan? I cannot work a Smithy! How will we eat?"
"We will work it for you…I will speak to Gilly. He will do it, I know he will. Thurston told me I was good enough to work on my own now, but I will stay with you instead."
Lynette hugged him tightly "Thank you…thank you Lucan….I will pay you more I promise."
"It is alright Lynette; fret not. Look, I will bury him for you….are the children faring well?"
"Aye, I will have to tell them…I….do not know how…." She sobbed anew.
Bethan put a blood spattered hand on her arm "I will tell them" she said softly "Do you want me to?"
Lynette could only nod before hugging Bethan "He…he was….a good man, was he not he Bethan?"
"Aye Lynette, he was a very good man. I will speak to the children." Then she looked down at herself "Give me a moment to clean up a little." She went to a ditch on the side of the road and rinsed off as much blood as she could.
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A little while later Lucan returned with some of the other men from burying their dead, to find the knights and some of the other families who had lost loved ones all standing round the wagon that Lynette was using.
"What is it?" He asked Gawain who had returned a little before him.
"Hush….Listen…"
Inside the wagon were Milo and the knights' children along with Bethan.
"Now we are all here can you tell us what happened to our daddy Bethan" asked Ivo (13) and Ela (14) – two of the children that Sandrina originally brought to the fort and who were adopted by Thurston - along with their younger sisters aged 2 and 4.
There were other children there from families who had lost relatives that day too, all looking for answers.
Bethan sighed, she had to do this right and she had to be honest "Well, all of you who have missing daddies and brothers they are……." She figured there was no easy way to say this "dead. They are all dead…nay, nay…do not cry…." A few gasps had been followed by tears. "See, it is not a bad thing. Well, it is obviously to you because you cannot see them anymore, but they are still here."
"How can that be?" asked Ivo, upset. "How can they be here when we are burying their bodies?"
"Because they live in here…." Bethan pointed to her heart "They will always live in here; and they will always be with us. We can never really lose them then, can we?"
"Nay….but he will not be here with me. I will miss him….."
"I believe in Heaven, I believe that when we die we go to a lovely place where we live together and in peace for all time." Bethan said "They are happy there."
"You are a Christian" said Suriana "What of my father? What if Daddy died, he is a pagan." She sounded worried and Lancelot's heart went out to his darling daughter.
"Pagan, Christian, Woad, Druid - it matters not, Heaven is a place where all good people go Suriana; even your daddy" she glanced round "do not tell anyone, but he is a very good man."
"Thank you, Bethan…" Suriana hugged her. Lancelot suddenly found he had a lot of dust in his eyes.
"You lost your father, did you not Bethan?" asked Ela "How did you cope?"
"I have not lost my father. My father is still alive thank God; and I give thanks for that every day he survives another battle."
"Aye, but your real father died in that dungeon; I still remember San telling you that when we were little." Ela persisted.
"Nay." Bethan was emphatic "I know of who you speak; but I have only one real father and he is outside, his name is Tristan. I am extremely fortunate to have such a one as he as my father. He is a legend; he is a scout and a knight, and I will be just like him if God is good to me." Her voice was full to the brim with love and pride.
Tristan stood motionless outside the wagon – his face as passive as always, but his eyes were a war of emotions; all the knights had lumps in their throats - but then they heard Bethan continue.
"I cannot say what it is like to lose someone like your father, husband, or brother……God has been so good to me; I have a best friend, a father and a husband who are angels themselves to me and who I would rather die than be without, and who all survived this day." Tristan, Gawain and Lucan all glanced at each other and smiled, their eyes full.
"But my mother has lost people and one thing she told me is this….time is no great healer, that is a lie. So here is the honest truth - when you suffer a loss so terrible you think it will kill you, you can only do one thing.
You live a moment, then you turn that moment into a second, the second into a minute, the minute into an hour, the hour into a day, the day into a week, the week into a month and the month into a year…..eventually the pain will lessen." Gawain felt a tear trickle down his cheek as he thought about the loss of his baby and hers.
"But until then?" asked a little boy called Vitus, she knew he belonged to one of the peasants from Germanius' village and whose father had only just been buried.
"Until then I will be here if you need me." All the children crowded round her, hugging her and patting her face to get her attention.
A little boy leant against her "How does it feel to kill?"
"What?" she was shocked, it was something she had never been asked. She sighed "I kill so that I am not killed, and those I love and wish to protect are not killed."
"Aye, but what does it feel like?"
There was a long pause, all the knights outside were waiting "it….it feels good to kill those that might kill us. The only good enemy is a dead one. Always remember that." The knights were surprised at the bluntness of her reply, but glad the warrior in her answered, not the woman.
Arthur sighed, she was a warrior; and it was this feeling she got that made her such an effective killer - he looked over at Lucan.
The young man looked at him and came over "Do not tell me you are surprised Arthur? For I am not; she is like Tristan. She enjoys killing, she enjoys ensuring that there is one less enemy to worry about. She explained it to me only the other night." He smiled. "It scares me, but after I saw her fight today I have to admire her. She is right, it is like a dance. You know what else? I do not think I would have her any other way now" he walked back the wagon.
Arthur watched him go; she was lucky to have him, very lucky – but something told him she already knew that.
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Milo climbed onto her lap "Tell them the dream Bethan; it might make them feel better…."
"Nay….for the children who lost their fathers and brothers and such this day, I have a better dream for them tonight."
She stopped and thought for a moment, she wanted to give them something that would comfort not only them, but also their families through the trying time to come.
"When you go to sleep tonight dream of a large plain with waist high grass…..it stretches as far as the eye can see. There are blue skies above and the sun shines warmly on your back…….and all those you have loved and lost, particularly your fathers, are there; they watch over you and make sure you are alright, and when your time to leave this world comes, they will return to take your hand and lead you to that wonderful place.
But for now they are your guardian angels, and they watch over you from that wonderful plain. They are always keeping you safe and well - they will walk through life at your side; you will never be alone."
All the children had snuggled up to her and each other; Tristan's heart lurched as he remembered Sandrina with all the children she looked after.
There was weeping outside, and all the knights had to swallow hard. Lynette turned to Tristan, her eyes full of unshed tears "You have a special daughter there Tristan; it will be comforting to dream of my Thurston tonight, and to know he will always be with me."
"Thank you…" He nodded, not trusting himself to speak further.
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Lucan came in and lifted a sleeping Milo from her "Let him sleep with us tonight Bethan - he has missed you. You can hug him and I can hug you" he smiled.
They left the wagon and went to their makeshift tent. "We will have Milo with us tonight Mama" Bethan said to her mother as she passed her parents who were talking to Gawain and Ysabeau.
Tristan strode across and embraced her "Thank you for being my daughter" his voice hitched.
"Thank you for being my father" she clung to him, bunching his shirt in her hand as she had as a child. There was not a dry eye amongst those looking on.
