Chapter Four: An Quite Interesting Night
Mardela was beginning to think that maybe coming to this place wasn't too bad of an idea, even if it wasn't really her idea to begin with. The last few hours had passed with merriment and joking for Gawain was proving to be a most entertaining and informative guide. Immediately after leaving her quarters Gawain asked her what she wanted to see first.
"Since I don't know what there is to see why don't you choose." He smiled at her response and they set off down the hall, with Gawain commenting on various things along the way. She found that she was quickly learning a host of amusing stories and events that she can bet the other knights would rather she didn't know. Mardela was interested to discover that her room was right between the rooms of Dagonet and Lancelot. Two extremely different men in such close proximity. Not bad! Gawain also pointed out the rooms of all the other knights and even the room of their commander, Arthur. She was surprised to find that Arthur lived on the same floor and wing as the knights; she had expected his room to be in a different place, perhaps where the largest rooms were located. "Why is it that Arthur lives among you all instead of in one of the rooms where the royalty usually sleeps? Does he need to keep an eye on you guys or something?"
"Arthur does not consider himself better or worse than any of us, we are all equal according to him." Mardela still wasn't satisfied by this answer and wanted to know more about the man who made her feel like she needed to prove to him that she was a good person. Before she got the chance to question Gawain further he pulled her by the arm and continued leading her through the castle.
After seeing the kitchen, dinning hall, and many other rooms that she had no idea the use of, Gawain finally led her outside. Mardela relished in the lovely feel of the breeze that met her as they walked into the open courtyard. She looked at the sky, which was alight with color as the sun was leaving the world for the night. Gawain led her towards an area that he explained to be the practice area of the knights. "Yep, this is the place where I whip all those guys into shape." He said while puffing out his chest and trying to look macho.
"Yes, I'm sure that is exactly how it goes." Mardela said rolling her eyes and starting to walk towards a building that she had spotted from her room earlier. "What is this place?"
"Oh, that is the stable." With that he opened the door and walked inside. For Mardela the smell was sweet: the fresh hay and the musky smell of the horses. Mardela went from stall to stall looking at each horse. They were magnificent animals each. In the last stall she found the youngest of the horses, almost full grown but still a youth with much growing left to do.
"What is this one's name?" She asked, her eyes never leaving the young beast.
"Oh that one, her name is Pedra. Tristan found her a few months ago wandering north of the wall. She had injured her leg somehow so Tristan took her in and he has been looking after her ever since. She is frightened by most people but Tristan seems to have won her trust." Mardela stepped into the stall and held her hand out to the animal. She started talking to Pedra softly.
"Hello girl. My name is Mardela. You are such a beautiful girl." The horse walked towards the outstretched hand and sniffed it. Pedra then moved closer and allowed Mardela to softly pet her nose.
"She usually doesn't like strangers." Mardela turned to see whom the new, and somewhat stern, voice belonged to. It was one of the men that she had not yet met but she assumed that it was Tristan by the protective tone in his voice.
"She is an amazing animal. You have done a good job with her." Mardela gave Pedra a last pat and after saying goodbye she exited the stall. When she looked at Tristan she couldn't understand the stoic but calculating look in his eyes. He simply nodded at her and left. What was that all about? Mardela asked herself. She couldn't understand the feeling of nakedness that the man had left her with. Not really nakedness of flesh but of soul and mind, like he could see all of her, all the things that she worked so hard to keep hidden.
"You okay?" The voice shook her from her thoughts and Mardela looked up to see the face of Gawain looking back at her. "Don't worry about Tristan, he always seems a little strange at first but he will eventually grow on you."
Mardela managed to muster up a smile for Gawain's benefit and tried to shake the feeling that Tristan had given her. "I'm fine. So what is next on the tour?" Gawain smiled and took her arm.
"I have saved the best part for last, the tavern!" Mardela pulled out of his grasp in mock-horror.
"You mean there is a place to drink and you kept it a secret from me for three whole hours? I may just have to kill you for that." Mardela joked.
"Let me explain, if I had taken you there first we would have never gotten to see anything else."
"And the problem with that would be what?"
"Good point, let's get going." Laughing, Gawain led her out of the stable in the direction of the tavern.
As they neared the tavern Mardela could hear the sounds of chatter and laughter as well as the smell of alcohol and food. This is the place all right. They turned a corner and Mardela saw a small but busy area. There was a hut with a bar underneath and she could see what she assumed to be barmaids running in and out of the bar with drinks and plates of food. Around the area there were scattered benches and tables with men sitting around them. In one corner she observed Tristan, Dagonet and some other men throwing things at what she assumed was some kind of dartboard. "So, are you going to be an gentleman and buy me a drink?" Mardela looked up at Gawain and gave him her best smile.
"That is just what I was going to offer milady. Shall we." He motioned his hand towards the mob of drinking men and Mardela decided that the night might turn out to be interesting, at least that is what she hoped.
"Just lead the way my good man." Gawain smiled and led Mardela into the mess of people drinking at the tavern. It did not escape Mardela's attention that many of the barmaids were giving her a dirty look and she knew exactly why. Maybe Gawain has more to offer a girl than I thought. She smiled and held onto his arm tighter; making sure that all the women staring her down saw her actions. Gawain weaved through the people and found them a seat with some of the other knights.
"Mardela, so glad that you could join us tonight", the youngest of the knights said while getting up and offering her his seat.
"How kind of you Galahad. But, what does a girl have to do to get a drink around here." Mardela asked while looking around.
"Convince one of the barmaids that it will be worth their while to serve you." Mardela saw the man that had answered her question.
"Ah, Lancelot. Is that why you don't seem to have a drink in your hand."
"I'm just deciding which lovely lady will have the pleasure of my company tonight. If you had just been nice to me that lady could have been you but the whole crazy bitch thing had definitely taken you out of the running." Lancelot sauntered away smiling and soon found a pretty little thing to find him a drink and serve as entertainment for the night.
Mardela soon forgot about the annoyed feeling brought on by Lancelot and went back to trying to find a drink.
She soon noticed that the only knight that she had not yet met was standing right next to the bar talking to one of the barmaids. "If you will excuse me gentlemen I am going to go see about that drink." She made her way over to the bar and swung her arm around the knight. "Hi, I believe you haven't had the pleasure of meeting me yet. I'm Mardela." She gave the man a wink and he looked her up and down slightly.
"Yes you are." He said only to be hit by the barmaid that was behind the bar.
"And you, Bors, are very much taken." Bors immediately sidestepped out of Mardela's grasp and began to plead with the woman.
"What did I do? You know that you are the only woman for me."
The woman looked at him sternly saying, "That's right! Or else I am going to beat you until you can't breath anymore." Her serious tone then melted and she leaned in, kissing Bors tenderly. Mardela watched the exchange with approval. This is my kind of woman.
"I'm sorry, I didn't know. But I am glad to see that you have this one under control. I commend you on your achievement." Mardela held her hand out to shake the woman's hand and the offer was gladly accepted.
"My name is Vanora and you must be the new comer that all the knights have been talking about." Vanora gave Mardela a welcoming smile and continued to pour drinks as they talked.
"It is nice to meet you Vanora." Mardela smiled back. "So I guess I got the men's attention this afternoon, if they are talking about me already."
"Well it isn't often that we find women in the middle of nowhere. Especially one that was as dirty as you were when we found you." Bors laughed remembering Mardela's sad state when they first spotted her.
Mardela shrugged her shoulders stating, "I've been dirtier, in more ways than one." She winked then turned to Vanora before Bors could react and said, "So I hear that you are the woman to talk to if I want to get a drink around here." Vanora smiled and poured Mardela a drink. "Anyway you can make that two and save me the trip back here?"
"It would be my pleasure." Vanora poured Mardela another drink and with thanks Mardela made her way back to the table that the knights were sitting at.
"So, did you all miss me?" She asked squeezing into the seat between Gawain and Galahad.
Galahad seemed to drunk, or distracted, to hear what she had said because he was preoccupied with staring at some girl sitting at the table across from them, whereas Gawain was totally receptive to her flirting.
"I see that you got yourself something to drink." He then noticed another drink in her other hand. "And you even got one for me." He reached to take the drink from her hand just as he did so she moved it out of his reaching grasp.
"Sorry honey, these are all mine. I had to work hard to get these." With that she downed the contents of one of the drinks. The felt refreshed as the liquid began to create a warm sensation throughout her body.
"No you didn't. You just hit on Bors to get them. By the way, how did that go for you?" He questioned her, knowing full well how her attempts went from the exchange that he witnessed earlier.
"I ended up with two drinks in the end so it couldn't have gone that poorly." They both laughed and Mardela looked around at the cliental of the tavern. She found that almost all of the clients were men and most were Roman soldiers and a few town people. She also noticed that some of the barmaids were giving her looks of death still. Now to have some fun.
She turned to Gawain and started to turn on the charm. "By the mean looks that I am getting from all the ladies in the area I am starting to get the idea that you are somewhat of a catch around here." At this comment Gawain couldn't help but brag a little.
"Well they know a real man when they see one." He slyly put his arm around Mardela's waist and pulled her a little closer.
"Is that so? But the real question is have any of them had a quality man. That way they have the required knowledge to make an accurate comparison and dub you a real man?" Mardela started to playfully twirl one of Gawain's golden strands of hair with her fingers as he leered down at her, all the while she was sipping at her remaining drink.
"Have you had a man which you could use as a comparison to the performance of all other men?" Mardela unconsciously looked over to were Lancelot was sitting with a barmaid now giggling dumbly on his lap. Trouble, she heard that voice remind her. She forcibly drew her attention back to Gawain. "Because it would be my pleasure to be that man." Mardela lustfully looked up at Gawain as he pulled her closer to him. Gawain leaned even closer to Mardela and moved his free hand to her chin, tilting her face towards him. Just as their lips were about to touch Mardela paused and in an airy voice spoke into his waiting mouth.
"That is an awfully big offer to make, I sure hope that you have the skill to fulfill it." She then went the extra inch and pressed her lips to his. At first the kiss was sweet, each was simply testing the waters. But very quickly it grew in intensity until the two were completely aware of only the other person. Gawain pulled Mardela onto his lap and wrapped his arms around her. Mardela in turn inched her arms around Gawain's neck and played with the hair that fell down over his neck. Obviously someone has had a bit of practice at this. I'll have to thank those barmaids sometime. The kiss evolved to a state of pure passion as both parties became fully aware of the desire between them.It was Mardela who broke from the kiss first, though she wouldn't have minded if it lasted forever. She rested her forehead against his and both were panting from the level of intensity that had developed between them. Mardela could still feel Gawain's hands roaming over her shoulders back and waist, unable to sit still and obviously yearning for more. Mardela leaned her head to whisper in his ear, "Why don't we get out of here? Maybe someplace a little more private." Mardela didn't miss the sparkle that appeared in Gawain's eyes at her suggestion.
"Whatever you wish milady!" He said with a smile, lifting Mardela off his lap and placing her in a standing position. As Gawain rose Mardela finished off the remainder of her drink. Gawain then placed an arm around Mardela and started to lead her out of the tavern. Before they had exited Mardela looked over towards where Lancelot had been sucking face with some girl and she was startled to find him staring at her with an intensity that she had never seen before in any man's eyes. Little did she know, that intensity was the end of a development of internal feelings that had previously occurred within Lancelot.
It began upon their arrival when he saw Mardela and Gawain flirting. When Gawain put his arm around her Lancelot began to loose his interest in the pretty girl that was on his lap. What does she see in Gawain? I have much more to offer her. He then realized who was distracting him. What am I thinking? It is not like she would know or be able to appreciate the company of a real man. She wouldn't be able to handle a man like me. He quickly turned his attention back to the girl that was desperately trying to keep him entertained. A few moments later he couldn't help himself and he looked back over to the crazy siren and Gawain. What he saw did not amuse him in the least. Mardela was on Gawain's lap and both seemed to be enjoying themselves. Lancelot became angry and pushed the girl from his lap.
"What did I do?" She asked at his sudden move.
"Just get me something to drink." The girl was disappointed but didn't dare argue because the tone in Lancelot's voice scared her right down to her soul. She quickly scuttled away to the bar and soon returned with a drink. She handed it to him and he took it without even a look in her direction. She remained, standing there waiting for some kind of response. "I'm done with you, get lost." The girl turned and left, tears developing in her eyes.
Lancelot was fuming and the fact that he couldn't understand why only made it worse. Why is the idea of her with Gawain so infuriating to me? She means nothing to me. Everything is going wrong since that bitch got here and now I don't even have that girl, what was her name? Tara, Tanya, Trina? Who cares? She is just one of many. But that vixen, she might be more. It was at this point in his thoughts that Mardela rose to leave with Gawain and saw the intense stare that Lancelot was giving her. She felt her knees go weak and grabbed a hold of Gawain to hide her weakness from the prying eyes of Lancelot. Lancelot only watched them leave and after a few drinks in silence he found the girl that he had insulted before and charmed her into his bed for the night. Although it must be noted that his ability to charm was somewhat off with the anger and bitterness that was flowing though his body since around the time that Mardela left the tavern with Gawain.
All the way back to the castle Mardela couldn't get her mind off Lancelot and the look that he had given her. I never knew that I could feel that way from something as simple as a look. It was not until they were standing in the entrance of Gawain's room did she get the dark eyed knight out of her mind. Gawain led her into his room, hoping that he was not being to presumptuous at her previous statement. He soon discovered that he was not presuming anything at all.
The second the door closed the two had their hands busy. Ripping off shirts, awkwardly pulling off boots and pants. They finally dispensed of the remaining shreds of clothing and tumbled into bed. Gawain found himself pleasantly surprised at the command that Mardela took and found that he would never be able to bed to a quiet and voiceless woman again, not after this experience. Mardela found that she too enjoyed their little romp and decided that Gawain was well worth her while after all. Hours later the two finally had enough, they collapsed into bed, sweat glistening all over their bodies. Gawain then did something that Mardela had not expected; he pulled her close to his body and spooned her, whispering, "Goodnight!"
Oh no. She thought. I think Gawain and I will have to have a talk tomorrow to establish a few guidelines. But right now I guess could use the sleep. With that thought she fell asleep still in Gawain's arms.
When Mardela awoke the next morning she panicked when she felt the odd presence of an arm around her waist. Moment later she remembered the events of the previous night. She carefully pulled herself out from under Gawain's arm and got to her feet. Mardela searched all over the room trying to assemble the outfit that she had arrived in. She bent down and found her shirt, she held it up and noticed that something was not quite right, only half a shirt dangled from her hand. I know I am irresistible but why can't guys ever just remove the shirt rather than rip it off me? I am so sick of loosing clothing this way.
She quickly but quietly put on the rest of her clothing and she then held the half shirt over her breasts with her arm. Mardela put her ear to the door listening for any sound that might be a person on the outside. Hearing nothing she opened the door and exited.
She rushed in the direction of her room and turning a corner bumped into Arthur, the momentum sending her flying to the ground. In the frenzy she lost the grip on her shirt and it too fell from its not-quite-secure place covering her bosom. She looked up and from the look on Arthur's face; he had seen more of her than he had probably ever thought he would see.
He quickly recovered from his shock and picked up the shirt that had fallen near his feet. Averting his eyes to the ground he said, "I believe this belongs to you milady." Mardela quickly grabbed the shirt and covered herself. She looked up at Arthur and smiled as her face turned red with embarrassment. Arthur extended his arm and helped her up, giving her a sympathetic look and small laugh. Mardela soon felt a little better about the situation and she laughed right along with him. Arthur, seeing that she was more at ease teased, "Now it is imperative that I get to know you. I have never known a woman with out first knowing her." A look of shock crossed Mardela's face because she thought for a moment that Arthur was hitting on her but from the look on his face she could tell that it was all in friendly jest.
She smiled and looked to him, "Well then, would you care to dine with me for breakfast my lord." She then added the best curtsy that she could give; making sure that her hand was firmly holding the half-shirt in place.
"It would be my pleasure milady." Arthur replied, adding "I will send for you in about an hours time. I have to take care of a few things first." He bowed and Mardela smiled and made her way back to her room.
Once safely inside her room Mardela collapsed upon her bed, "I was right, last night proved to be quite interesting, as was this morning."
If any of you are like me you got to the sex scene between Mardela and Gawain and went, "That's all?" If you are not like me I apologize, I'm a good girl I swear. But in truth I would have loved to write it all steamy for you all but sadly will not allow me to do so. Trust me, I am as sad about it as you are.
Now on to the reviews.So far I am only baking cookies and taking two of you out to dinner because that is all who reviewed. So, FlamezBlaze1 and Marianna, where do you guys wanna eat? I just don't see how you can all pass up these offers? Make sure you R&R. How about I up the stakes?If you review I will take you to Disneyland (by'take' I mean that I will give you a coupon to get $3 off a ticket to Disneyland with the purchase of a small coke).