Here's another chapter… Oh, still don't own anything connected to King Arthur, any version. Come on, won't someone please give me one of the knights?
Laney awoke some time later and saw that the sun had gone down leaving her in shadows. She remembered the feelings she had before she slept. Then looking around, she wondered how she came to be in a bed instead of the straw she had been lying on earlier. She raised up and looked around. She was in Lancelot's room, in his bed, but he was not there. She lay back down and remembered Merlin's words, 'you have no power to influence the emotions of others'. She was glad, for even though she enjoyed the love Lancelot had shown her, she did not think it would be so perfect if it did not come completely from his heart without any influence from outside. She placed her hand on her abdomen and remembered her last thought before falling asleep in Lancelot's arms. She was pregnant. How she knew so quickly, she didn't try to decipher. She just knew.
She marveled at the story Merlin had told of her mother and father. She wished she had known when her mother had still been alive so she could ask her questions. There was so much she wished to know about their relationship. That they had never married was evident. She wasn't sure where her family name came from. Was it her father's or just a made up name to appease the traditions of her time? How long ago had this happened? She was twenty-six, but had the years been different or changed because of the move? She sighed, her head would explode before she had any idea what the answers were. She slowly got out of the bed and realized she was still naked. She smiled as she thought about Lancelot carrying her here, unclothed. Her face began to heat up as she realized they could have bumped into any number of people before arriving at the safety of his room. She hoped he had explained it so that everyone didn't know exactly why she was without her clothes.
She walked around the room and gathered her belongings. She looked at the jeans she had been wearing most of the time lately. They were beginning to show the wear and she knew it wouldn't be long before she would have to throw them out. Normally she would just cut them off and make shorts, but that wasn't an option here. 'Oh, well,' she thought, as she put them back down and picked up one of Lancelot's shirts to wear. It wasn't far to her room and she needed different clothes to wear about the fort. She pulled his shirt on and gathered her other things in a ball, tucking them under her arm. She slowly opened the door and peeked out. There wasn't anyone in sight so she made a dash for her bedroom door. Just as she got to Dagonet's room, his door opened and he stepped out into the hallway.
"Oh," he said, surprised at her sudden appearance in his path. She smiled and quickly ran to duck into her room. He stood looking after her, wondering what he had just seen. Then a slow smile caused the corners of his mouth to creep up, 'Those two had better hurry and wed or we'll have a new bunch of bastards running around here.' He laughed silently as he walked past her door and around the corner thinking to himself, 'they should just move into the same room and avoid all the embarrassment running back and forth.' He was still smiling when he walked up to the bar to get a drink.
"Dag, where you been?" asked a very drunk Bors. This was the usual beginning to their conversations at the tavern, so no matter how he grunted the answer, it didn't matter. He looked around the room and saw Lancelot and Gawain laughing and talking. Galahad was trying to coax a pretty young girl onto his lap, without success, as usual. Tristan was standing in the shadows, watching everyone, so he headed toward the table to see what the two men found so amusing. "Hey, Gawain, Lancelot," he greeted them. They looked up and he continued, "Lancelot, I thought you were in your room." Gawain slapped his hands down on the table.
"Come, join us, Dag. We're discussing the upcoming wedding of Lancelot and Laney and what we're going to do when we get our discharge papers." Dag could tell that he had been drinking for some time by the way he was slurring his words. He looked at Lancelot, expecting to see him just as drunk. He was surprised to see the man's eyes were clear and his cup was almost full. It appeared to hold a clear liquid, could he be drinking water? Lancelot noticed him looking at his cup. "I don't feel the need for wine or beer. Water better suited my needs tonight." He said in answer to Dag's unspoken question.
Dag nodded and pulled a chair up to sit across from the other two men. "So, when is the wedding Lancelot?" he asked. Gawain spoke up as he slapped Lancelot on the back. "Soon, I hope. Otherwise we're going to have to shout as we walk around so they know we're coming. You never know where you'll find them laying naked." Galahad heard the last and joined in the conversation. "Yeah, they were in the barn earlier. Anybody could have walked in. No shame, no shame at all!" he admonished.
Lancelot laughed as he said, "Tell me you wouldn't do the same if you were in my place." When Galahad didn't answer, he laughed again. "See, I can't help it. She has me under her spell. When she calls, I perform." They had been carrying on for some time, when Lancelot saw Laney walk into the room. "Baby, over here." He stood up and motioned for her to take his seat as he pulled another up next to it.
Laney, waved back and stepped into the tavern. She walked over to place a kiss on Lancelot's cheek before she took the chair he offered. "You fellows seem to be celebrating. What's the occasion?" She asked. Galahad took it on himself to fill her in. "We're trying to talk Lancelot into marrying you soon so the rest of us can relax as we walk around the fort. It's getting tiresome finding you two laying naked all around the place," She felt her face flush at his words and she looked quickly at Lancelot. His face was normal, no sign that it bothered him at all. "Lancelot!" she admonished. "You could have warned me that we'd been found. It was bad enough that I had to dash through the hall in nothing but your shirt, I didn't know that I'd been seen in less!" Her tone was one of outrage, but her eyes were not angry.
Lancelot smiled. "They saw you in less than my shirt the first day that we found you," he laughed. "But that's not important. What's important is that I love you and you love me." His words made her smile in spite of herself. He reached his hand over and took hers. "Let's get married now. We don't have to wait until I get my discharge. We could be spending the next few months planning our life instead of planning our wedding." She squeezed his hand before answering, "I'll marry you whenever you say. Even now wearing my oldest skirt. All that matters to me is your love."
As they had begun to talk, they forgot the others sitting around the table. When Laney finally took her eyes from Lancelot, she saw the wistful look on their faces. "Come on, guys, don't look so sad. You'll all find the right woman some day. Just mark my words." She tried to make them feel better. Gawain was the first to come out of his thoughts. "Laney's right, we're still fairly young, and what woman wouldn't jump at the chance to marry one of us?" He motioned around the group and despite herself, Laney laughed. She saw the others begin to laugh at the situation along with her. "Sorry," she said through her laughter, "I'm not sure I'd be so cocky in your condition. Not many women take the words of someone who is as inebriated as you lot as truth." Then she turned to Lancelot as she picked up his cup and took a sniff, "how come you aren't drinking anything stronger than water?"
He smiled that mischievous smile she had come to love, "I want to have all my faculties later, when we go back to our room." He gave her a lecherous wink and she blushed. "You keep that up and you'll be going to your room alone." She tried to make her voice sound angry, but she knew by the twinkle in his eyes that she had failed miserably. Just then Dag spoke up, "By the way, why don't you two move into the same room and save us all the embarrassment of running into one or the other of you dashing back or forth half naked?" Lancelot laughed out loud as Laney choked on the drink she had taken of his water. "Not a bad idea, Dag, How 'bout it, Laney? You want to move into my room or vice versa?" She decided that nothing she said would deter their current topic of conversation, so she just said the first thing that came to mind. "Yours, I haven't been in mine enough to miss it." Then realizing what she had just said, she blushed and stood up, "damn it, no matter what I say, it comes out so that you can make it sound sexual." She walked toward the bar with the men laughing hysterically behind her.
When she stepped up to the bar to get a cup of wine, Vanora greeted her. "Hello, Laney, the guys giving you a hard time?" She sighed and told the other woman of their conversation and was surprised when she, too, laughed at the situation. "I remember the teasing when Bors and I first became lovers. It was horrible until I got used to it." She looked around the room and the fondness she felt for them came into her voice, "the whole lot of them are incorrigible, but I wouldn't want to see any of them hurt. They're really good men." Her voice trailed off as she remembered the ones who were no longer with them. "You should have been here when they were all still here. This place seems tame compared to back then. I miss the ones who have gone on, and I thank my lucky stars that my Bors is not one of them." She pulled her apron up to dab at her eyes. Laney thought about how she would feel if something happened to any of the ones she had come to know.
"Vanora, I understand what you're saying. If anything happened to any of the ones I've come to love, especially Lancelot, I don't know how I would stand it. They have taken me in and treated me with more respect than I probably deserve. They are good men and I will do whatever I can to ensure that they live to see their freedom." Vanora nodded her agreement and the two women shared the moment in silence as they watched the men acting like young boys around the table.
When Bors saw them he elbowed Lancelot, "Hey, we're being 'observed'," he whispered as he nodded in the women's direction. "I hope they are not plotting anything. We wouldn't stand a chance if those two joined forces." Lancelot looked at Laney. She had a sad look on her face, but when he smiled, she returned his smile with one of her on. His heart swelled with pride in her love. He didn't understand how he had been lucky enough to win her heart, but he was glad he had. His life now had the meaning it never had before. The future he had never dared to hope for.