Disclaimer: Don't own a lot, especially not seven of the hottest men to ever walk.
On with the story….
The couple rounded the corner and walked into the small group of people sitting around their usual table. Galahad, as always, was extremely drunk with his head on the table. Gawain had one of the bar maids sitting on his lap, whispering in her ear and by the huge grin on her face, she liked what he had to say. Bors was sitting on a bench bouncing one of his kids on his knee while Dagonet stood next to him pretending to listen while he watched everything that was going on. Tristan stood against a post on the edge of everything with one of his apples in his hand. Jols was sitting with a group of soldiers quietly playing some kind of game. The whole group looked like they didn't have a care in the world which made Laney smile. Nothing ever seemed to get this lot down.
Dagonet saw them coming but he couldn't get Bors to be quiet long enough to say anything to the rest. Lancelot yelled to Vanora, "Can we get a couple of cups here?" In her usual way, Vanora yelled back, "As soon as I get rid of these." She really wasn't always in a bad mood. She just got exasperated trying to keep up with the men who could empty a cup before she ever got back to the bar. They walked up to the table and Gawain glanced up from the cleavage he had been looking at. "Hey, Galahad, you owe me. They're here." He was nudging the drunken man with his elbow. Galahad let out a loud belch and continued snoring softly. "What does he owe you and although I think I know the answer, for what does he owe you?" Lancelot asked suspiciously.
When Gawain realized he had been talking out loud he tried to cover up, "Ah, nothing Lancelot. We just bet on whether or not you and Laney would come to the bar tonight." He wanted them to think it wasn't a big deal, but the laughter coming from behind them said he wasn't telling them everything. Laney leaned over the table and spoke quietly, "Is that so, Gawain?" She raised up and planted a big wet kiss on Lancelot and was satisfied when she heard Gawain clear his throat. "Well, we had to have something to wet out whistles with, didn't we sweetheart?" Lancelot was trying not to laugh but not doing very well as he agreed with her. He didn't know why she liked to flaunt her love for him, but after their argument, he was just glad that she could.
When Vanora took too long to bring their drinks, Lancelot told Laney he'd go get them and headed toward the bar. She sat there watching him walk away and tried to figure out how she could get around her promise of only moments before. She must have looked worried for Gawain asked, "Are you alright, Laney?" She looked over to him and noticed the woman he'd been bouncing was missing. "Yeah, I'm fine. Where'd your friend go?" He gave her a sheepish grin. "She'll meet me later. For some reason I can't explain, I felt odd sitting here holding her on my lap where you could see."
Laney thought he was joking, but she saw he was not when she looked at his eyes. "Gawain, you don't have to change anything you do for my sake. I won't judge you." He nodded slowly, then told her. "I haven't been lucky enough to find the love you found so quickly. It's been almost fifteen years for me here and all I can seem to find is physical pleasure." He sounded sad and she wanted him to cheer up. "Maybe you should quit looking so hard and just let it happen. That's what I did…" her words trailed off as she looked back toward the man she loved. "Gawain, is Lancelot always so bossy?" She turned her gaze back to her friend.
He looked toward Lancelot, then back to Laney. "He can be," he started, "but I've never seen him bossy with a woman before. Why?" She was watching Lancelot weave his way back toward their table. "I'll tell you later and maybe you can help me decipher what's going on." By the time Lancelot had arrived they were talking about things that had no importance to anyone. Just useless bits of fluff that kept the conversation going. Lancelot handed her a cup of wine, "tonight I'll keep a closer eye on how much you drink. I don't think you want to be sick again tomorrow." She swallowed her retort, 'I'm sure you will' and smiled at him instead. Starting another argument wasn't how she planned to spend her evening.
The group spent the next few hours laughing and teasing each other. Galahad had finally roused himself enough to start a friendly competition of knife throwing. Laney was amazed at how easily they handled such sharp weapons and realized that knives to them were the same as everyday items back home. They handled them with such familiarity because they were so familiar with them. The rest of her evening was spent just watching the men around her and how easily they accepted the changes they had faced with her presence there. She was so caught up in the banter between Galahad and Gawain over who was the best with a knife, that she missed when Lancelot had gone over to talk to Tristan. By the time she realized he wasn't standing by her chair anymore, he was coming back to take his place.
"What was that all about?" she asked him when he returned. "Oh, nothing, Tristan and I were just trying to form a plan on giving you lessons in combat so you could protect yourself if the need ever arises." He told her nonchalantly. His answer caused her to look up suspiciously. He was being too nonchalant after the arguments of earlier about keeping her out of danger.
"Is that so, my Lover?" she hoped he would pick up on her sarcasm. Sure enough he raised a hand in mock surrender. "I promise, that is all we discussed. I promised to guard you and keep you from danger, but there might come a time when I cannot be around when danger is. Don't you think it would be better if you could protect yourself if one of us isn't here?" She had to admit to herself that he made sense. "Okay, my brave guardian, when am I to learn this new craft?" she said flippantly.
"Tomorrow. Tristan will teach you the bow and I will teach you the sword." She saw the gleam he thought he had hidden deep in his eyes. 'So, they think to frighten me with their teachings, do they?' she thought. She was getting better at hiding her thoughts for he never let on that he noticed any change in her. "That will be fun. I'll find you as soon as I get through with my talk with Arthur." She looked down at her cup and realized it was empty. "Lance, will you get me another drink. I think one more will be enough and then we can go to bed." He took her cup with a smile. "Of course, Milady." He said as he bowed mockingly. She playfully slapped him on the rear as he turned to walk away. When he looked back at her she smiled, "a spanking for an ungrateful child" was all she said.
When he had gone far enough that she thought he would not hear she leaned closer to Gawain. "Hey," she whispered to get his attention. When she saw him look at her she continued, "will you do me a favor?" He gave her a suspicious look before nodding his head. "That depends, I'll try." She smiled her gratitude. "Will you teach me to fight with a sword? Secretly?" He thought for a moment, then nodding, "I guess, why secretly?" He had not been listening to the exchange between Lancelot and herself. "Lancelot says that he and Tristan will teach me, but I think he just wants to scare me so I won't go off and do something stupid. I want to show him I can take care of myself." She was afraid that Gawain would change his mind and not agree to help her, instead he smiled mischievously, "I'd love to get one over on the two of them. When do you want to start?"
Laney thought for a moment. "I need to start tonight if they are going to give me a lesson in the morning. But I don't know how I'll slip away from Lancelot," she hesitated then hearing Galahad's drunken snore she came up with a plan. "Unless you can help me get him drunk enough to pass out early." Gawain looked where Laney was looking and saw Galahad in drunken slumber. The smile that was forming on his face let her know he would be glad to help. Just then Lancelot walked up. "What are you two smiling about?" he asked innocently. Gawain just pointed at Galahad and just at that moment he let out a particularly loud snort. Lancelot nodded, "Ah, I see, making fun of him while he can't defend himself. Someday he'll learn not to put himself in such a vulnerable position." They all laughed, supposedly at the same thing, but Laney knew she and Gawain were laughing at their plan of action.
She was surprised at how easily Lancelot had fallen into their trap. Every time he finished his mug, Gawain made sure there was another to take its place. Laney kept talking and pretending to sip her cup but she was really only swishing the liquid around her tongue before spitting it back in the cup. Gawain had two cups on the table and she kept swapping back and forth pretending to be drinking a new freshly filled cup each time. Lancelot had not caught on and thought if she could drink so much and remain sober, then he didn't have anything to worry about. By the time he was getting drunk, he was too inebriated to catch on, and she stopped pretending to drink. When she stood up and announced, "I think I've had enough. I need to get some sleep." She knew he would be asleep before his head hit the pillow. She flashed Gawain a smile and asked him, "Can you help me get him to his bed?"
Gawain pretended to ponder his answer then announced, "Sure, I guess I've had enough as well. Come on Lancelot, your lover wants you in bed." Even in his drunken state, Lancelot latched onto his implication. "Of course she does," he slurred, "that's where Arthur's 'heaven' awaits." Laney smiled fondly at him and pushed his hair out of his face. She suddenly felt bad about what she and Gawain had done to him. He had told her earlier that he wanted to make love to her again and she knew he wouldn't be able to after so much drink. She kissed his head and whispered, "I'll make it up to you tomorrow." Then she looked at Gawain and finished, "as soon as I whip your ass in battle!" Gawain laughed and the three of them headed out of the tavern with Gawain and Laney each taking an arm to help Lancelot walk. Neither of them saw the look Tristan gave them and forgot how astute he was. He was really good at melding into the shadows so that people forgot he was there. It was amazing how much you could learn when you were the same as invisible.
Tristan waited a couple of minutes and proceeded to follow the trio. He had no doubt that they would take Lancelot straight to his bed. But he wanted to make sure he was correct in what he thought they were planning. If things went as planned, they would never know their secret had been found out. Whether or not he let Lancelot in on what he thought would be determined by what happened over the next few hours. He was curious to see just how well she could handle a weapon. He might find it interesting to teach her the bow. He had seen a lot of women who were very good with one. Maybe she wouldn't be as bad as he first thought when Lancelot had asked him to 'teach' her.
He thought back to the conversation he'd had with the man earlier. "Tristan, I need you to help me with something. Laney thinks she can protect someone in battle thus fulfilling her destiny. I think she will only get hurt. Will you teach her how to use a bow?" Tristan had been glad to agree to that. He thought everyone should know how to fight if it was necessary. Lancelot's next question had caught him a little by surprise. "Will you teach her the wrong way, so she thinks she can't handle herself?" Before he had time to answer, Lancelot had continued. "I'm afraid for her. I can't think of losing her and if I don't do something to dissuade her, she will get in the way and possibly die." He had sounded so worried that Tristan had reluctantly agreed, with one condition. "Only if you promise you won't let her get into trouble where the wrong way will cause her harm."
Lancelot had readily agreed saying, "I give my word. But that may also require your assistance. She knows I'll be watching her and will probably lead me to believe she has given up. You must watch her when I am not around." Then he had said something that made the scout look at him in surprise. "I know you love her too. We have to keep her safe or neither of us will be able to see her smile." Tristan had hung his head for a moment before looking into his friend and comrade's face. "Is it so obvious?" he had asked him. "Only to one who feels the same" was all Lancelot had said. Then the two of them had made a silent pact. She would not come to harm as long as either of them took a breath.