Laney and Lancelot made their way to the kitchen for something to eat. By mutual agreement they had decided to postpone the wedding until after the meeting with Merlin. She really didn't feel much like eating, but Lancelot insisted. She had to admit he was right, she had to insure their baby got the food he needed, for above all else she would take care of him. For some reason Lancelot seemed to feel the need to protect her, for his arm was tight around her shoulders as they walked. Normally, she would have been pleased, this morning she felt stifled. As though he sensed her mood, he slowly removed his arm. Her distance worried him and hurt him slightly, but more than anything she worried him. He was afraid she would take it upon herself to do something to try and stop what she thought would happen and get hurt in the process. He made up his mind to talk to Arthur and decide what they could do to prevent anything from happening.
When they arrived at the kitchen the rest of the knights were sitting there with nervous glances passing between them. Every one of them had heard about the night's happenings from Arthur and she could tell by the way they looked at her that they knew of her past. She pulled a chair out and sat down, noticing how Galahad moved slightly in the other direction. She looked at him and saw that he had not wanted her to notice. He gave her a look that seemed uncomfortable then cleared his throat and made some excuse to get up. Laney looked around the table and saw the same look on all the other faces. Even though they tried to hide it from her.
She let out a deep breath and stood up. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt anything," she looked at Lancelot and said the last to him, "I'm not hungry, so I'll go to see Arthur now." He made to stand up and she placed her hand on his arm, "No, you stay and eat. Join us when you get through." Then she turned and left the room with her head lowered. She had never felt so dejected in her whole life. Before she could stop it, tears began rolling down her cheeks. Holding back a sob, she ran, not toward Arthur's rooms, but toward the stables. She wanted to get away from the fortress for a while.
When she walked into the stable, she found her horse saddled and Tristan standing holding the reins. His horse was also saddled and she tilted her head and looked at him. He gave her a sheepish grin and shrugged his shoulders. "I saw the others earlier and thought you might need to take a ride." It wasn't much of an explanation for the most part, but knowing what he meant, she smiled in return. "Thank you." It was enough. He held the reins out to her and taking them, she mounted and patted the horses neck. She gave a little whicker and pawed at the barn floor. She smiled for real then and realized that no matter how bad things seemed right now, if she could save the people she loved, it was worth their reactions.
They rode toward the gate at a leisurely pace, enjoying the sunshine. The landscape was showing the signs of a changing season. The trees were beginning to change from their bright green to a pale yellow. Laney knew it wouldn't be long before they were brighter shades of orange, red, and gold. She lifted her face and closed her eyes, listening to the world around her. When she opened them, she saw Tristan looking at her. She flashed him her brightest smile and didn't have to pretend to be happy. The world around her spoke of peace and love. She hoped it would last. Maybe just by being here she could make a difference. Tristan reminded her that Arthur wanted to meet with her and said that Arthur would be meeting them at the bath house.
Tristan stopped to listen intently, he looked around the horizon looking for something she didn't see as she followed his gaze. "You don't have to worry, the Woads will ensure my safety. Merlin told me." He nodded and they continued their leisurely ride toward the bath house.
Arthur rode toward the bath house and saw Laney sitting on her horse, walking slowly toward the destination with Tristan by her side. As he rode up to her, she turned her gaze from the tree line to him. "Arthur." She said in greeting. He bowed his head in acknowledgement. Her next question surprised him, "You aren't afraid to look into my eyes?" "No, Laney, should I be?" He didn't know about the reaction of the others, she could tell by his confused look. "No, you shouldn't, but then neither should anyone else." The sadness in her voice made him wonder, "What has happened that I haven't heard?" Then he became agitated, "I used to know most everything that happened at the fort, now it seems I am to be the last to know anything now."
She moved her horse closer to his and put her hand on his arm. "No, you just haven't gone down to breakfast yet." He saw the smile and noted that it did not reach her eyes. "No, I had something sent to my room while I prepared for the meeting with Merlin. What happened?" She looked at him for a moment, then shrugged, "Nothing really, everyone just acts like I have some kind of terrible disease they will catch if they look at me or get near enough for me to touch them." She gave a bitter laugh and turned her head to look back at the trees.
Arthur watched her and tried to think of something that would ease her pain. Before he had time to say anything he heard the sound of horses galloping across the ground. He turned to see Lancelot riding toward the other three. He was looking at Laney and saw the way she held herself rigidly in the saddle. She was upset and he looked at Arthur for the cause.
Arthur held his gaze but offered no explanation for Laney's mood. Finally, Lancelot moved closer to her and tried to get her to look at him. When she did, he saw first the unshed tears in her eyes and then the defiant way she held her head. He tried to smile at her, but she had turned her gaze back to the trees. He looked back at Tristan. Tristan was watching Laney with a sad smile. Things had sure gotten crazy since Laney's origins had become known. He felt for her and turned back to find her looking at him with a questioning look.
He cleared his throat uneasily, "Laney, they didn't mean it. They told me so before I left. They'll apologize when we get back." He knew she wouldn't believe him and he wouldn't tell her that they had been reluctant to accept his words at first. He remembered the conversation after Laney had left the kitchen. Galahad was the most vocal with Dagonet and Gawain trying to get him to shut up before Lancelot really got angry.
"I don't like this," the younger knight had complained. "What if she's seeing the future or worse, causing the things she sees by being here?" His voice had hardened as the other two tried to stop him from talking. Finally, after several minutes of this kind of talk with him trying to reassure the man, Lancelot had stood up, knocking his chair over in the process.
"DAMI IT, GALAHAD, IT'S LANEY YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT!" he shouted at the top of his lungs. Galahad had closed his mouth, if for no other reason but the shock of hearing him yell so loudly. The other knights were all looking at him with open mouths. They knew he would get angry. But they had been prepared for him to lunge at the younger man, not scream at him. He had taken a deep breath, calming himself a little, then proceeded in a milder tone, "Do you really think Laney is doing something evil to any of you?" He looked at each of the men in turn. When no one answered he sat back down and tried to talk some sense into them.
Gawain had been the first to speak finally. "No, I don't, but it does make me wonder about the attraction we all had for her." He had looked at Lancelot with a challenge in his eyes as he added, "the attraction that some have still." Then the others had made a remark about how right Gawain was. He'd finally just stormed out of the room. Before he had gotten to the stables, Jols had found him and told him where Laney had gone.
As he was saddling his horse Dagonet had come to him, "Lancelot, we talked after you left and no, we don't believe she is trying to do anything to hurt us much less anything evil." He had felt him put his hand on his shoulder and when he looked at him he saw the truth in his words. "Thanks, Dag. You all saw her last night. She was terrified and she wouldn't tell us what she saw. Arthur asked and she said she couldn't." He lowered his head and said, "I'm afraid for her. Afraid she will get hurt or killed. Did you also hear that she is carrying my child?" he asked as he looked back at Dag.
No, they hadn't heard. He could tell by the look on Dag's face. "I have to protect her and I can't do it all alone. Tristan will help, of that I have no doubt, but I need the rest of you too. And I can't trust that any of you would help if you're afraid of what she could do." Dag had looked at him and thought for a moment before answering, "If you asked us we would, no matter what we believed." He took that to mean that they still weren't sure, but because he was their friend, their brother, they would do as he asked anyway. Arthur interrupted his thoughts, "Lancelot, I thought it was decided that no one but myself and Laney would visit Merlin."
Lancelot glared at him for a moment, "Arthur, I will not let my love and the mother of my expected child be in danger without me there to protect them. I don't care what Merlin thinks." When he mentioned the baby Arthur had looked surprised. Lancelot remembered then that only he and Tristan had known about her condition and unlike the rest of his friends, he had kept the secret and not told even Arthur. His friend and commander looked at Laney, then back at Lancelot, "Congratulations. I wasn't aware." Lancelot felt a little guilty for his tone and told him, "Your welcome. I only found out yesterday. She said Merlin told her."
As he had finished the final sentence Arthur had snapped his head back toward Laney. "It seems the wizard knows too much. I wish I knew what his plan was." Lancelot watched his friends face. "So you don't think there's any truth to what he tells Laney?" Arthur took a while to answer. "Lancelot, I don't know what to believe. I want to believe it. Laney believes him, but then if he could control what she remembers, then he could be using her to some end that we can't see. It scares me to think that he would resort to something like that and we would fall for it because of a pretty face."
Lancelot began to think about what Arthur said as he watched Laney ride beside Tristan. She kept looking toward the tree line and then away. Was she expecting something or someone to appear? He shook his head to dispel the image of what could be waiting for them if this were a hoax. 'She loves me, there is no way she could fake what I've seen in her eyes', he quickly reassured himself. But that old nagging voice kept asking, 'What if she doesn't know'? Yes, what if indeed. He sped up to get next to her and Tristan let his horse fall back beside Arthur.
"Sweetheart, are you alright?" he asked her quietly. She looked at him and smiled, "Of course, I barely remember the dream. It was just some nonsense about my father. I guess all the talk of him yesterday made me have that dream." He noticed the smile didn't go all the way to her eyes and he was sure she wasn't being honest with him. But after the way she had been treated that morning, he wasn't sure he would do anything any differently if he had been him.