Here you go… and, I still don't own any of this!
Laney mounted her horse and headed back to the fort. She didn't know what she would do when she got there, she couldn't talk to anyone about what she had learned, but she wanted to be with Lancelot. She had never felt so alone before. So different. She had always felt different in one way or another, but now she knew she was different and was afraid of what that meant. How would she be able to pretend she was the same person that had frolicked with her lover just that morning? How would she be able to hide that difference from him? Should she leave and go away where no one, not even Merlin, would be able to find her? 'No, I am here for a reason, if I run and hide, the history of these people will change and nothing I do will be able to get it back.' She thought. The weight of her duty now settled heavily on her shoulders. She now understood how hard it was for people to make decisions where others were concerned. How could she be sure any decision she might make would be the right one?
Merlin had told her to look inside her heart for the right answers. She would try, but she knew it would be difficult to forget her upbringing. She would spend the rest of her life remembering what her mother had said to her and trying to read things from what she had purposely not told her. She found herself lost in her mother's memory when she arrived at the gate. The soldier opened the gate and acknowledged her as she rode in. She saw Lancelot waiting in the courtyard and he stood up as she rode into it. He helped her get down from her horse and held her in his arms longer than necessary. "I miss you when you are away from me. Where is Tristan? The guard told me you had gone riding with him." She looked at him and said, "He left me a while ago because I wished to take a bath. Has he not returned?" "No, maybe he went riding to ensure all was as it should be. Do you enjoy watching my face wrinkle from worrying about your safety?" She looked into his eyes for a moment, then closing hers she listened to her heart without questioning what she heard.
When she closed her eyes, Lancelot saw her face relax. He didn't know what she was doing, but it bothered him that she didn't acknowledge his words of love. "Laney, is something wrong?" he asked. When he saw her eyes open, he pulled her closer into his arms. "My sweet lady, I see your love for me reflected in your eyes. Nothing in this world could make me happier for I saw the love I feel for you being returned to me." He then leaned down and gently kissed her lips. She expected to feel the electricity that she had felt from Tristan, but instead, she felt warmth spreading through her veins. His blood now coursed through her body giving her life, even as it coursed through his giving him the life he had. They were truly as one now, and nothing could take that away from them. She held him tightly and returned his kiss with all the love she held in her heart.
She broke the kiss and whispered, "I love you with all of my being, Lancelot. Just hold me and make me feel the security of your arms around me." Her voice sounded so melancholy that he looked at her with eyebrows raised in question. "Laney, you seem different. Has something happened that makes you hold on to me as if I would leave you at any moment?" She ran her fingers gently down his cheek, "No, my love, I just wanted to revel in the feel of you. I have been away from you for quite a while and I missed you terribly. I promise never to leave you for that long again." The kiss she bestowed on his neck held the promise of more to come and he growled as he picked her up and carried her into the barn.
The barn was deserted, but she didn't think it would have mattered at that moment. He lay her down gently on the straw and looked at her as he lay beside her. "You are more beautiful each time I look at you. Your body more enticing each time I touch it. You are truly an enchantress that has put a spell on me so that I must love you to live." As he spoke the words, his touches lent proof that he was telling the truth. She saw his breathing become faster, more labored as he began to unfasten her shirt to expose the skin beneath it. Their lovemaking was sweeter, somehow more beautiful than she could have ever dreamed it would be. Once they lay together, their bodies covered in the sweat of their exertions, she knew in her heart that she now carried his child. The child that would carry on the spirit she now knew she possessed. The child created of a love so powerful that neither time nor distance could keep it from being.
She sighed contentedly, and felt his arm tighten across her body, pulling her even closer into his. He then pulled her cloak over them and that is where they fell into slumber, only awakening when the sound of snickering was heard around them. Lancelot opened his eyes to find Gawain and Galahad standing looking down at the scene they portrayed. He raised up on his elbow and gently touched her cheek before getting up to put his clothes back on. As he dressed, he whispered to them, "Shhh, let her sleep. She is tired. As soon as I'm dressed, I'll carry her to bed and she can rest with my love surrounding her to keep her safe."
Gawain looked from Lancelot to Laney. Sighing he told him, "You are the luckiest man I know. What I wouldn't give to know the love you have. Don't ever let her go, for someone will gladly move in and possess that which you now hold." Galahad nodded his agreement as they turned their backs to give Lancelot privacy as he picked her up. He made sure she was covered and asked the other two, "bring her clothes. She will wonder what has happened to them when she wakes up." He marveled at the fact that she slept soundly throughout the trip from the stable to her bed. Only snuggling closer as he tried to lay her on the bed. He gave her a gentle kiss on the forehead and covered her with the blanket as he whispered, "I'll be back, love, rest until I return." Then he stepped out into the hallway where Gawain was still standing, waiting for him.
"Where did Galahad get off to?" he asked as he gently closed the door. "Tavern," was all Gawain said and Lancelot nodded. "Then lets join him. I need a drink to clear my head. She has ensnared me so that I can't think straight." Gawain laughed and said, "I would set the trap myself if I could be so ensnared." Then clapping Lancelot on the shoulder, he added, "When will you two marry?" Lancelot was telling him that he wanted to wait until he had his freedom but the few months left seemed like an eternity, as they walked toward the bar to get drinks. Their conversation held no tone of teasing, but was totally serious as they continued on their way. Anyone not knowing, would think the two men were discussing the fate of the world from their serious tones instead of the marriage of two people. Laney's influence had already begun to change the world around her she just hadn't realized it yet.