One Thing - Chapter 10
As the sun came up, it started to get hotter. Teagan had already shed her cloak. And after flinging the mess she called hair back, again, she contemplated cutting the damned stuff off. Again.
Lancelot watched in amusement as she fidgeted with her hair. It was quite lovely in his opinion. Long, curly and red. And right now, red was his favorite color.
Teagan let out a colorful curse and dropped the horses reins. Pulling her hair back she tied it into a tight knot. It was thick and curly enough, she knew the knot would hold.
"Why don't you just cut it?"
She laughed. "I'm tempted. But there are times when I need to cover my neck."
Lancelot took a moment to look at her neck. It certainly was shapely. And it held the most interesting tattoo he had seen in a while. But, she had never spoken about it, so he wasn't.
"You've got good balance astride."
Teagan smiled at him. "Thank you."
"Can you shoot bow on horseback?"
She nodded. "Of course. Our tribes were practically born on horseback."
Lancelot agreed. His tribe was the same. "How about sword?"
Teagan brought her hand to rest on the hilt of the sword Tristan had given her. She shook her head. "Only enough to not get killed. You saw the extent of my skills yesterday. And that was only what Galen had taught me."
"Who is Galen? Your beau?"
Teagan let out a light laugh. "No. Only a knight who taught me for a time."
This brought Lancelot to the reason Arthur had insisted she go with them on this trip. "Arthur thinks you are a knight." Lancelot was to find out the truth.
Teagan tossed Lancelot a haughty look. "I'm not. And if I were a knight, would I be openly working and living in a fort full of Romans?"
Lancelot shook his head, amused. "No, I suppose not. But there is more to your story."
She gave him a disarmingly wicked smile. "Isn't there always?"
Lancelot chuckled. "There always is."
As Tristan had ridden ahead to scout for trouble, Teagan and Lancelot rode together, gently talking.
Lancelot told her about his days as a young boy in Sarmatia and his days as a knight. He delighted her in the telling of tales of the other knights. Their missions, their mishaps and tall tales.
Of Teagan herself, she only talked about things that Lancelot already knew. Her childhood in her village. Not which village, though. She never did say where she was from. She wasn't Briton, that much he could tell. Nor was she Roman. She talked of her travels along Hadrian's wall to the different forts. How she was saving her money to finally buy a tavern of her own.
Soon that conversation lulled into comfortable silence. That, combined with the unseasonable heat, Teagan found herself drifting off, daydreaming.
0o0o0o
Teagan sat in the chair facing Victor Imperioli. Fidgeting with her papers, she noticed that he looked smug. In fact, he always looked smug.
"I'm giving you an opportunity to stay on, here, at the fort. You can continue to train as a knight."
Teagan snorted, waving her scroll. "You forget, Commander, I'm free now. Rome doesn't want me as a knight. I didn't fit their profile."
Imperioli rested cold black eyes on Teagan, taking in her features. Wondering why he wanted her so badly. She was too small, too thin, her hair too wild. And that ghastly tattoo. Why on Earth would anyone want to mark their body like that. In retrospect though, he wondered how far down her body that tattoo went. His body tightened at the though of running his hands over Teagan's body. She was a mystery to him. And he wanted to solve her mystery.
"If you stay, I can ensure the safety of your Galen." He spread his hands wide. "Or I can make his life miserable. It's your call."
Teagan's temper flared, her blue eyes blazing at Imperioli. "You cannot kill him. He has done nothing wrong."
Victor sat back in his chair and steepled his fingers under his chin. "No, I can't. And I'm not saying it will happen now."
0o0o0o
"Teagan? Teagan?" Lancelot called to her. He pulled his horse next to hers and gave her a gentle shove. "Hey, wake up."
Teagan turned her head to look at Lancelot. Not seeing him right away, it took her eyes a few moments to focus.
When they did, she smiled a bright smile at him. "What can I do for you?" It seemed she wasn't aware that she had been out to lunch.
Lancelot stopped his horse abruptly, causing the animal to skid a small bit. Shaking his head, he again came abreast of Teagan and Aodh. "Are you all right?"
There was confusion in her eyes. "Why wouldn't I be?"
"Because you looked like you were off in la la land."
Teagan bowed her head, just a little. "I'm sorry. I must have my mind on other things." When she lifted her head, she gave him a wicked smile.
"Well, you really need to keep you eyes out." He told her, sternly.
As if on cue, an arrow whizzed out of the woods to lodge itself into Lancelot's right arm.
"Shit!" He hissed with pain. "Not now."
Teagan drew her horse alongside Lancelot's horse, drawing her bow as she did. Grabbing an arrow out of the quiver, she quickly notched it. Letting it fly in the direction the other had come from.
"You going to live?" She asked her friend.
He nodded at her, snapping the arrow off close to his arm. "Come on we need to get to cover." He looked around. "Where the hell is Tristan?"
Teagan was already away, headed toward the wood in the opposite direction that the arrow came.
Another arrow barely missed her as she made it into cover of the trees, Lancelot directly behind her.
He quickly dismounted and pulled one of his twin swords out of it's scabbard.
Sliding off her horse, Teagan notched another arrow, pointing it in the opposite direction. Crouching low, she watched for a movement, anything that would give the enemy's position away.
Lancelot crouched beside her, also keeping his eyes out. "Where is that scout?"
Teagan's eye caught a movement. Bringing her bow up to the ready, she waited, not wanting to hit Tristan if she could help it.
It wasn't Tristan. The woad crept out of the woods, looking everywhere around him. He had his bow up, ready to release the arrow should he see his target.
"Stupid Woad." Lancelot whispered. "Coming out of his cover."
Nodding, Teagan adjusted her aim, pulling the string to release.
Lancelot lay a hand on her arm. "It's to far away. It won't hit."
Teagan just grinned at the knight. "Okay. If you say so." She let it fly.
Lancelot watched in astonishment. Her arrow hit. Not only did it hit, it hit the Woad in the center of his chest, felling him.
"Shit." Lancelot whistled. "Wouldn't want to be on the wrong end of your bow."
She just chuckled at him. She may not be good with a sword, but the bow was another matter entirely.
Tristan then came out of the woods, his sword out and bloody. His eyes catching sight of Lancelot and Teagan, his horse trotted over to them.
"It's over." He said simply. He noticed the blood dripping out of Lancelot's arm. "You had best look at that." He pointed with his blade, sliding off his horse.
Lancelot chuckled. "I should. Shouldn't I?" He pulled Teagan to her feet. "Come, woman. Let me see this skill you have in stitching people up. Bors says that you do it better that Dag."
Teagan walked to her horse putting her bow up and getting her bag of supplies. Glancing at Tristan, she noticed that he had a cut on his cheek as well. Moving over to him, she pushed one of his braids out of the way. His body shivered slightly as her fingers brushed his cheek. She smiled shyly at him.
"Do you need that stitched?"
Tristan stepped away from her. "No. It will heal."
"Tristan." They both turned to Lancelot who was standing by his horse. "You best go check the area. Don't forget we have to camp tonight."
"I never do." Teagan heard him mutter. She watched him as he turned and walked away from her.
Lancelot gave her an impatient wave. "Come on Teagan. This isn't going to heal on it's own, you know."
Teagan came to where Lancelot was standing and gave him a swat in his injured arm.
"Hey! Ow!"
Teagan gave him an exasperated snort. "You two knew this would happen didn't you?"
Lancelot smiled. "Of course we did. There were only three of them. Tristan's been tracking them for days."
"And...?"
He grinned some more. "Arthur wanted to see what your skills are." He said as he pulled his shirt off, exposing his broad shoulders. And his arrow wound.
This time Teagan rolled her eyes. "I have already told you. I am not a knight."
Glancing at his chest, Teagan felt her breath catch. 'He certainly is well - muscled.' She thought. She reached out her hand and gently traced several of the scars she found. He chest felt hard, and soft. The scars leaving trails to different parts of his body. One in particular ran from his left shoulder, to cross over his chest to disappear near his right hip. She felt a sadness at what these men had to deal with in their service to Rome.
Lancelot watched as Teagan traced his longest scar. As she did, memories of that particular battle came to his mind. Shaking his head, he tried to get those images out.
Teagan saw Lancelot shake his head and pulled her hand away. "I'm sorry."
Lancelot caught her wrist. "Don't be." His voice hitched. He had wanted this woman to touch him like that. And now that she did, he was uncertain about it. "Let's get this hole stitched, shall we?"
Teagan just nodded her head, not sure what was going on.
