When Arthur and his knights galloped up to the bath house they saw what appeared to be a body lying on the grass next to the entrance. He pulled his horse up and looked at the body of a beautiful woman. She was wearing less than he had ever seen on a woman without being naked. Her hair was a long mass of curls and a beautiful shade of auburn. Her eyes were closed as if in sleep. He had a sudden feeling of unease remembering the words Merlin said to him in a dream. "There is a woman, important to all, when you see her you will need to protect her at all costs. You will know her by her strangeness and her hair, the color of fire." This dream had been months before but the words came to him as if spoken at that moment. Then only last night he had again heard the wizard's voice. This time he only said three words, "She is come."
"Lancelot, see if she is hurt." He told his second-in-command as each knight drew their sword or axe from their place on the saddle. Lancelot heard the unease in Arthur's voice and looked up to find Arthur staring intently at the woman lying on the grass. Tristan had his bow ready with an arrow nocked. He swung from side to side ready to let it loose if he saw any movement from the shadows. The others stared at the figure lying on the ground.
Lancelot walked swiftly over to her. He dropped to his knees as he got to her side and saw that she was breathing. He watched the steady rise of her breasts for a moment under the thin material of the small amount of clothing she was wearing. Then he looked at the long shape of her leg. He diverted his eyes and looked back to her face. He didn't know why she was in such a state of undress but the outline of her curves made him remember he was a man. Her eyelashes were resting lightly on her cheeks. Her lips were slightly parted and she had a contented smile on her face. She was the most beautiful creature he had ever seen. Realizing Arthur was waiting for his response, he turned to the group. "She's alive." In almost a whisper so as not to wake her.
Arthur looked at his friend as if expecting more. When there was no more, he dismounted and headed over to him. If this had been some kind of trap it would have sprung as soon as Lancelot got near the girl. He walked up to Lancelot and looking over his shoulder saw a girl sleeping peacefully. He didn't see how she could have slept through the noisy group as they rode up. They were talking loudly and just the hooves of the horses so close to her should have startled her awake. He knelt beside Lancelot and reached over to shake her gently. As his hand neared her shoulder, she turned her head and a sigh escaped her lips. He jerked his hand back and watched as her eyes opened slowly.
At first, Laney didn't see anything, but as her vision cleared she saw two men leaning over her. Behind their heads she saw a beautiful blue sky. She lay there for a few minutes unable to decide if she knew where she was. She remembered a dream about a strange man and then she realized these men were dressed differently and had some very dangerous looking weapons in their hands. She tried to roll away from them so she could get up and run. When one of them grabbed her, she screamed and started kicking at anything she could feel close by.
Arthur watched as she realized there was someone near her. He expected an immediate response but when she did not scream, he began to relax. Just then he saw her eyes widen and she moved to get away. Lancelot grabbed for her arm and she began to kick wildly. Arthur didn't have time to respond and her foot connected with his face. He fell backward and saw the others getting quickly off their horses and head toward him. Lancelot was wrestling with the girl, trying to keep out of the way of her feet. She was kicking so wildly that she seemed to have more than two.
Lancelot finally got on top of her legs and was holding her down by straddling her. She tried to get her hands free as she tried to buck him off. He added pressure to her arms and she stopped fighting. By that time Gawain was at his side. He looked back and saw Dagonet and Bors helping Arthur stand up. Gallahad was standing to one side watching the wrestling match. Only Tristan was still sitting on his horse, watching the area for more trouble. Lancelot looked down at the girl. "Will you quit fighting me? We're not here to hurt you. We just wanted to make sure you weren't injured. Now be still Girl and I'll let you up."
Laney stopped fighting and looked up at him. She was seeing the most beautiful brown eyes she'd ever seen. There was fierce pleading in them. When he felt her form go limp he loosened his grip on her wrists. When she didn't move he let go and rolled off her legs. He quickly stood up and reached his hand down to help her get up. Laney took his outstretched hand and he easily pulled her to her feet. "Lady, remind me never to be the one to wake you from such a sound sleep. A man could get hurt!" She blushed as she remembered how she'd fought. She looked over at the other man and saw others trying to stop the blood flow from his nose. She flinched as she realized she had been the one to cause it.
When he walked over holding a rag under his nose, she defiantly refused to lower her eyes. He removed the rag and finding the blood had stopped running down his lip, he turned to her. "I am a Roman Commander. My name is Arthur Castus and these are my Knights. I apologize for frightening you and accept full responsibility for your response to being awakened so suddenly." He gave her a lopsided grin and extended a hand that had a little more than a smudging of blood on it.