Same disclaimers apply now and for the rest of my story…
The couple sat on the bed for a while after Arthur had left. His visit seemed to give them reason to search their hearts. Laney didn't like to see people as brave and gallant as Arthur suffering needlessly and she was sure that Lancelot didn't like to see his commander and friend that way either.
Finally, Laney turned to Lancelot, a big smile on her face. "Hey, you ready to teach me how to defend myself?" She had seen the look on his face when Arthur had offered to give her some pointers. She was smug in her knowledge that she had thwarted his plans, whatever they were. She gave him an expectant look. "Sure, we'll go to the practice yard as soon as we've had a bite to eat. Now that I'm feeling better, I'm starving." He gave her one final squeeze and stood up.
Laney stood up and gently caressed the back of his neck with her fingertips. The only movement he made for several minutes was to lower his head and close his eyes. He snapped his head up and took her hands in his, looking deeply into her eyes. "Laney, you make me feel things I never thought possible." He kissed her gently and pulled her into his arms. His touch held no seductive meanings, he just held her. She could feel his warm breath against her hair and the sensation made her feel secure and loved. When he released his hold on her, she was reluctant to move out of his embrace. She looked up and whispered softly, "I love you." Those three simple words told him more than all the words he'd ever heard.
Finally, breaking his eyes away from hers, he said, "Well, lets eat, then I'll see if I can teach you enough, but not too much. I don't want to feel threatened when I make you angry!" His teasing tone carried over into hers, "I have better ways to threaten you, my dark knight." The teasing banter continued all the way to the kitchen as they walked along holding hands. Neither of them noticed Tristan open the door to his room and close it quickly when he saw them. After they had gone past he peered out and silently went the other way, his thoughts going back to the conversation he'd had with Laney when Lancelot had been hurt.
He wasn't sure he truly loved her, but he knew that his feelings were stronger than mere attraction. He had told her he wouldn't do anything to hinder her relationship with Lancelot, but he had been pleased when there seemed to be trouble between the two. The way they were talking and laughing as they passed his doorway said they had made up or settled the argument between them. He knew it had something to do with what the Woad had told her. Lancelot had implicated that something would put Laney in danger and had gone to the extent of asking him for help. He never had to ask.
Laney enjoyed a quiet breakfast of porridge. The playful mood had remained with the man sitting beside her. She enjoyed their time together when he was like this, but the possessive attitude he'd had the day before had surprised her somewhat. She had decided he was a man who never allowed anyone to see his serious side. A man who never let anyone know anything really bothered him. She had found out in a hurry that he was anything but devil-may-care. As soon as things were out of his control he balked and would not listen to reason. She knew now and would be more careful in the future.
Once they had finished eating they headed to the practice yard. Laney was excited to be 'sword fighting' and a little frightened. She'd never really seen any real fighting of any kind and she knew that it was usually brutal. This would be like a game compared to what he had really done, and she didn't think for a minute she would be able to do it with real weapons, but she thought it would be fun anyway.
When they arrived there was already a crowd standing around. Gawain and Galahad had picked a couple of blocks of wood and had 'front row seats'. Bors and Dagonet were leaning against the stone wall like they had nothing to do or nowhere to go. Tristan was practicing with his bow a few yards from where they were going to be practicing. Arthur was standing in his usual manner kind of off to one side but close enough to call out encouraging words. When Gawain saw them walking up he gave a half wave and she smiled back at him. Lancelot saw the exchange and cocked his eyebrow. "What's that about?" he wanted to know.
Laney looked up at him, "Just being friendly, I guess." He didn't question her further and she didn't act like it was a big deal. He handed her a sword, "I think this is the closest thing we have to your size." He told her. She looked at it and saw it was the same one she had used the previous night. Not letting on, she turned it over in her hand and swung it around a few times. "You seem to know something about wielding a sword already." Lancelot acknowledged her aptitude for checking the balance and weight of the wooden sword.
"Well, I played a game back home called 'softball' where you hit a ball with a stick and then run around what was called bases trying to make it around all four before the opposing team threw the ball to someone getting you 'out'." She saw the confused look on his face and tried to figure out what to say to make him understand. "The main thing about using the bat was finding one that was balanced just right and the right length for your height. This just seemed like the same thing, sort of." She shrugged and looked at him expectantly.
"Oh, well, that's good. At least you have a feel for it." He still sounded confused but was willing to let it drop or just didn't care to understand. Whichever, he moved on to the next step. He walked behind her and put his arms around her to show her how to grip the sword hilt. When she had it the way he wanted her to, he moved to widen her stance and position her feet where he wanted them. She looked at Gawain with her eyebrow raised and he gave a sheepish shrug. She guessed he just forgot this was important. She gave him a frown and turned her attention back to Lancelot. "Now, I'm going to hold my sword in certain positions and I want you to swing like you're trying to block my swing. I won't actually follow through on the swing, I'll just swing to a certain point and stop. Got it?"
She nodded and bit her lower lip. This sounded much more difficult than it had last night. Maybe she was just being shy about doing this in front of everyone else, including Lancelot. She didn't know why it was so easy to play fight with Gawain. She just never thought about what he would think about her movements. She was afraid everyone else would be judging her and she would fail to meet their standards.
So preoccupied with her thoughts of embarrassing herself, she missed his first move. "Hey, are you going to do this or not?" Lancelot sounded amused. This fueled her ego and she moved to block. He looked kind of surprised that she made the sword do exactly what she wanted it to do. He moved into another swing and before he could stop she swung and she blocked it. Putting his hands on his hips, he looked at her with distrust. "Are you sure you haven't fought with swords before?" She smiled and answered, "Before last night when you mentioned it, I've never really even thought about it. We don't use swords back home." She kept her eyes directed at his. She could because she was telling the truth. She didn't finish by saying she had thought about it after he'd mentioned it or that she had acted on that thought.
Lancelot again took his stance and watched her for a moment. He never asked her if she was ready this time. He just moved. She moved a second behind him and blocked his sword over her head. She thought he might have stopped short of hitting her in the forehead, but she wasn't sure. He immediately moved to swing under her upraised arms and she quickly changed her position to stop him. Suddenly she saw a glint in his eye and he started moving faster. She was keeping up pretty well until he made a fancy twirling move and she lost sight of the sword in his final spin. She bent over to try to find his sword as he came around and his 'blade' caught her across the cheek. He immediately dropped his sword and tried to take her in his arms.
Her face hurt like hell, but she didn't drop her sword. When he put his arms around her, she tried not to cry, but the tears came anyway. "Oh, Baby, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean it." He cooed. Laney felt someone trying to take the sword from her hand. "It's okay, let it go." Came a male voice. Finally, she released the sword and raised her head from Lancelot's chest. Arthur was holding her sword and she could see the rest of the men standing around them. "I'm alright. It hurt like hell, but I think I'll be fine…" she started, then the tears started again.
Galahad, being the out-spoken young man he was, piped up, "Wow, you're gonna have a nice black eye by tonight. It's already turning purple." She looked up just in time to see Gawain slap him on the shoulder. "Well, that's what I get for trying to be something I'm not." She tried to smile, but it made her cheek hurt. She winced and she saw Bors flinch. Arthur spoke up, "I think you were doing very well, until Lancelot got fancy." The last part came out in a scolding tone. She felt Lancelot's embrace tighten. "I've already said I didn't mean it." He sounded like a small child trying to talk his way out of trouble.
Laney put her hand up to touch her cheek. It felt swollen but there was no blood. Arthur was watching her. "Are you sure you're going to be okay?" he asked. She smiled one sided and said. "Yeah, I'll be fine. Let's go somewhere and sit for a while. I'm feeling a little dizzy from the exertion." Just as she finished her sentence she fainted. Lancelot caught her before she fell and picked her up. "Damn, I knew better." He muttered as he headed for the stables. He lay her down on a bed of straw. As she stretched out, she opened her eyes. Everyone was watching her with worried looks and she couldn't understand why.
When Lancelot saw her open eyes he knelt down. "Laney, can you hear me?" She nodded and without warning started laughing. He looked at her skeptically, "What's so funny?" he demanded. She stopped laughing and looked around the group. "I wish my friends could see me now. They would never believe that I would do something so outrageous." Then she chuckled again. "The most outrageous thing I've ever done until now was come on this trip." She raised up on her elbows and looked at Tristan, "I guess archery lessons are out of the question now, huh?" He just shook his head and walked away. 'Damn, crazy woman,' he thought to himself. The others slowly started walking away, Galahad and Bors were talking about drinks. Arthur stood there for a few minutes waiting for the rest of them to leave.
"Laney, are you sure you've never fought with a sword before?" His voice was quiet, and Laney knew she would have to tell him the truth. "Well, actually… uh… okay. Yes, but only once and not with a real sword." Lancelot's head snapped up to look at her and she gave him a sheepish grin. "After you told me you were going to teach me I didn't want to make a fool of myself so I asked Gawain to teach me enough that I could at least look presentable." He raised both eyebrows and looked at her, "And just when did this lesson take place?" he asked. "After you passed out last night." She didn't elaborate on the details and luckily he didn't ask her to. He just looked up at Arthur and found him laughing silently.
"Lancelot, you're going to have your hands full with this one." Then he turned to Laney, "It's good to finally see a woman get the best of my most loyal knight. He's had it his way for too long." With that said he turned and walked out the door. Laney could hear him laughing all the way to the main fort. She expected Lancelot to be angry with her for trying to pull one over on him, instead she found him smiling at her when she looked back.
"He's right you know. I am going to have my hands full. But not exactly the way he was meaning." He stood up and held his hand for her to take so he could pull her up. "Come on, Lady Knight, let's get you inside, and cleaned up. I'm taking you out tonight to celebrate." Taking his hand, she let him pull her up and into his arms. She never resisted when he kissed her thoroughly before he let her go.