Before You Go…
Chapter 2
"Tristan!"
He blinked and opened his eyes in time to see the stick before it hit him in the stomach. He sat up and doubled over almost instantly, a sharp pain racing from the point of impact outward in every direction. "What did he do?" One of the boys asked when Tristan had regained his breath.
The large boy holding the stick spoke, "The appropriate question is, 'What has he not done?' You poor bastard!" He jeered down at him with a gap-toothed smile. "All we ever hear about is how great a knight you will become, how amazing you are when it comes to fighting. Well," He kicked him in the stomach, pain racing to his extremities again. "Not so amazing after all, are we?"
He rolled over several times and, once on his hands and knees, shook his head. "You are annoying." He said in a calm voice he normally reserved for his 'family'.
"What did you say, little hero?" The boy asked, "You want another beating?" He lifted the stick again and swung it down, a loud thud echoing through the small clearing they were in.
For an instant nothing stirred, the air seemed to stand still as the older and larger boys stared in sheer astonishment. The stick had indeed connected with Tristan's flesh, but while the larger boy had been swinging, Tristan had been moving as well. "You missed." Tristan said, his hand still wrapped around the club.
Douma stopped short as she came around the corner in the path. She stood perfectly still and watched the limp form in front of her. "Hello?" She said quietly. When no one answered she stepped forward, crouched down and tapped the man on the shoulder. "Are you ill?"
The boy rolled over and she saw the face of the man she knew to be a knight, one of several placed in her village for training. This was the one they called Tristan, the one that had no reserves about killing. She drew her hand back until she was sure he wasn't going to harm her. Upon closer inspection she realized that he was covered in cuts and bruises, the tattoos on his face blotted out by the blood.
"Stay here, I will be back shortly." She said, starting to rise.
"No." He said shortly, grabbing onto her wrist, "No, I am fine…" He tried to sit up and felt the pain in his chest almost as if he had just been hit again.
She stopped moving the instant his hand touched her, she had been told stories of the terrible things he had done. "Please, release me…" She stared down at him and waited for an answer.
He released her wrist and fell back to the ground, coughing up a minute amount of blood. "Or maybe I am not…" He said, as he allowed himself to settle into the grass again.
"I will get you help." She said shortly, turning and walking several steps before she paused to look back.
"Please…" He said softly. "Do not leave me here alone, they may not all be dead or still afraid."
She looked down at him for a long moment and nodded. "I will stay with you for now."
He grinned slightly, "Thank you." After a moments pause he added, "Do not fear me, I do not bite." He laughed faintly and let his head rest flat on the ground.
She watched him for a mere moment before moving closer and sitting down beside him, her knees folded against her chest and her hands on top of them. "I will wait to leave until you awaken, then you will not find yourself suddenly alone." She stayed, against her better judgment, until the next morning.
"TRISTAN!"
His eyes opened and he jolted back at the loud sound without registering it was his name. He looked around for a moment before realizing that Douma was crouched in front of him. "Good morning." He said, judging by the light.
"Good morning?" She said questioningly, "It is near mid-day."
He stretched against the tree behind him and yawned, "Why did you come all the way out to the river to awaken me? I was having a rather pleasant dream." As he finished he closed his eyes again as if to go back to sleep.
"The Romans, they wish the presence of all of the knights." She said, poking him in the side. "They are interested in how you are making progress. If you do not wish them to come looking for you themselves, I suggest you come back with us."
"Us?" He asked, his eyes still closed in a pretend effort to sleep again.
"Galahad and I." She replied, "Were sent to find you and bring you …"
"Of course, Galahad." He said halfheartedly. "I suppose he volunteered?"
"Yes, but what does that have to do with anything?" She asked, still crouched down.
He opened his eyes and looked at her, his eyes pausing momentarily on the tattoo on her left shoulder, "Absolutely nothing I suppose." He said, closing his eyes again.
"You are odd." She said in a matter of fact way. "And you sleep too much."
"Why did you stay?" He said quietly, glancing around to be sure Galahad was indeed nowhere around.
"What?" She asked, obviously confused. "I left…"
"Not last night." He interjected, "The day you first found me laying out in the woods, why did you not simply run away like most would have done?"
She thought for a moment. "You needed my help, and I had sworn to my father not to allow a single knight to die before the Romans come to get them..." As she spoke he had closed his eyes again.
He grabbed her arm and pulled her up against him, "Let them come, I am too tired to get up and walk all the way back to the village." He said, keeping his arm around her just enough to prevent her from rising.
She punched him in the chest as her face turned red, "Tristan, we have to go back…." When he didn't move or reply she added quietly, "Please let me go before…"
"Am I, interrupting something?" Galahad inquired from where he had just come around a tree.
"Yes, and I will ask you only once to go away." Tristan said with a slight grin, his eyes still closed.
"No, you are not." Douma interjected as she punched him in the side. "We were just coming to look for you." She continued, standing up as his arm loosened and brushing the dirt from her knees.
Galahad smiled slightly as she walked ahead of them, allowing Tristan just enough time to rise and tag along before following after her. "That was rather pathetic." He said as the two boys walked along beside one another.
"Most lover's quarrels are." Tristan said, pushing a small piece of hair out of his eye.
"Oh very funny." Galahad said, a small grimace on his face.
"You look as though you think so." Tristan said shortly, "But don't worry, I understand that Lancelot has several girls he might be willing to send your way, unless of course, you would rather have a boy."
"That is it!" Galahad called as he ran at Tristan. "I am going to kill you!"
"You can not kill what you can not catch." Tristan called back, running toward the village just fast enough to keep out of Galahad's reach. "We will see you later then." He said, pausing for only a moment before passing Douma.
She watched them running and smiled faintly. "Of course."
"So glad you could join us." Bohrs said as the two boys ran to the line of their peers in the village commons. "And we had thought that you and Galahad had tried to go home."
"Why on Earth would I want to go anywhere with him?" Galahad asked, attempting to look as though he wasn't out of breath.
"Because I get all the girls." Lancelot said with a vaguely devilish grin.
"That is what you think." Range replied, smirking back. He turned back to the front as a Roman walked past his place in the line. He was tall and had dark hair and, according to some, could swoon as many girls as Lancelot.
"Well, most of them anyway." Lancelot amended, laughing slightly.
"It would do you all well." A voice said quietly from in front of them. "To pay attention."
"Our apologies Arthur." Lancelot answered quickly.
"Oh come now Lancelot, kiss him already!" Range said with a large grin to a roar of laughter that was silenced in seconds by Arthur.
Tristan glanced over at Douma as she appeared from the edge of town, standing near her father and watching as the roman walked along in front of them. He paused for a moment at the rather unhappy look on her face. "You really believe she would love you Galahad?" He asked.
"Of course. She speaks to you does she not?" He answered quietly as the Roman reached the end of the line and walked in front of them. "You all seem to be doing better than we had hoped."
"What an honor." Dagonet said with a sarcastic grin.
"We have decided, given your current abilities, that you will be given your first assignment to begin in three days."
"Lancelot!" Bohrs called from his seat when he had come near enough to hear.
"Bohrs, here to get drunk again?" he asked, sitting across from him.
"Until I can't piss straight." Bohrs said as one of the bar maids brought him another mug and he flashed her a lopsided smile.
"Again." Range added. "And again tomorrow, and all the nights after we return." He laughed as he spoke, the woman that had been speaking to the man next to him grinning at him before turning her attention back to the older man.
"So, who is here tonight?" Lancelot asked, looking around at the men and women sitting around at the tables near by.
"The usual people." Range said, "No one you have not yet tried to seduce."
"What can I say," Lancelot said with a shrug and a grin, "It is my only weakness."
"Excepting that pitiful left handed thrust you have a habit of trying to kill people with." Douma said, placing a mug in front of him. "As well as your overly large ego."
"Ouch." Range said, clinking mugs with Bohrs and laughing as Lancelot grabbed Douma by the apron.
"Now when are you going to stop leading poor Tristan and Galahad on and come with me?" He asked, making sure she couldn't pull away.
"The day you grow up Lancelot." She replied with a grin, jerking away to lose his hand from her.
"That could take quite a long time." Range retorted. "It may never truly happen."
"Exactly." She responded, walking away from them and leaving the other men to laugh at the slightly annoyed look on Lancelot's face.
"Douma…" Galahad said as he walked up to her. "I was wondering…"
"I am working Galahad." She said politely as she placed several mugs onto her tray, "Your friends are making sure of that. We can talk later, alright?" She added at the disheartened look he was giving the table beside her.
He blinked and then nodded, "Yes, of course… can, can I help you at all?"
"No thank you, I am fine." She said before walking toward a small group of tables.
"Alright." Galahad said dejectedly, walking to the table occupied by thirteen other knights.
"Now you see, this is why it is better not to fall in love." Lancelot said, pointing at Galahad as he sat down, "You always end up hurting more then you think you will."
"Not to mention you walk around in a daze looking like a poor lost dog." Range said, the woman beside him looking over at him again as he spoke.
"Thank you for the concern." Galahad said sarcastically as he watched her clearing several tables off.
"Do not fret little Galahad." Bohrs said, placing a large hand on the smaller boy's head and mussing his hair. "I do not have a girl yet either."
"Well, Bohrs, that makes me feel a lot better." Galahad said dryly to roars from the rest of the table.
"Catch." Tristan said, tossing a piece of the fruit he was eating at Douma as he walked toward a table.
She turned and almost caught it. "Give someone more warning than that." She said, picking it up and brushing it off.
"That is a pretty necklace." He said, motioning to the silver piece hanging from around her neck.
"Father made it for me, and no, you can not see it." She said, picking up a chair and setting upright at the table she stood next to.
"Why is that?" He asked, furrowing his brow.
"Because when you 'see' things, they disappear." She said with a slight smile as she took a bite of the fruit he had given her.
"Only when they are of value." He retorted with a grin. "Or if they shine." It was the truth, for the most part.
"What do you want Tristan?" She asked. "I have to work." She wiped her hands on the apron around her waist and turned to look at him, placing her hands on her hips.
"I was wondering if you wanted to go for a walk." He said clearly, "After all, I might die tomorrow and I do not want to spend the last night I am guaranteed around Bohrs, he smells."
She grinned, "I am working Tristan." She picked up a tray. "Besides, I can not leave until everyone has gone home."
"Well, then I will follow you around and give you no peace until you agree to walk with me." He said, making a point not to stare at her by watching a dog finishing the bones from someone's evening meal.
"I can not go with you," she repeated, placing a mug onto her tray and allowing a pair of children to pass before moving to another empty table.
"But you can take the time to talk to Galahad?" He asked, taking a bite of the fruit he had just cut with the small, white handled knife he carried. Even though he knew she was aware he was teasing her he hoped it would work anyway.
"To tell him I will speak with him later? Yes." she replied, walking toward an empty table to pick up the mugs and dishes.
"Then you can at least tell me you will walk with me later, even if it is a lie." He said, picking the mugs up for her.
She smiled at him, "Fine, if you will leave me alone now then I will walk with you later." She retorted as one of the knights called her name in a feeble attempt to get her attention.
"Alright." He nodded his head and walked away.
'Just tell her now.' The voice said quietly in the back of Tristan's mind as he watched her clearing tables and fending Lancelot off from his seat at the corner table. She was tall for a woman, he had decided, almost five and a half feet. 'She does not hate you, there is no reason to think that she would simply turn you away if you told her. After all, she has proven not only to be kind but extremely forgiving. You stole her horse…'
"Tristan." Galahad said heatedly as he walked toward the table, the stager in his steps giving away his over intoxication.
'Not now Galahad.' "Go away." He said, taking a sip of the drink he had ordered.
"Do not tell me what to do." Galahad said shortly, "I can decide for myself what to do."
"Congratulations." Tristan said dryly. "Now how about you decide to go away?" He took another sip from his glass, looking at the table where the other knights sat.
"I will say this only once." Galahad said in as close to a commanding voice as he could muster. "I want you to stay away from…"
"No." He responded before Galahad could finish his statement, "You have no right to try and claim her like she is some kind of prize and I will not sit here and listen to you talk about her like she is merely an object and not a person." He spoke in an even tone that made the hairs on the back of Galahad's neck stand up.
"Now you listen…" Galahad began.
"No, you listen to me." Tristan said shortly, turning his attention to Galahad for the first time. "I do not care who you were before you came here but it is obvious that your father never taught you to pick your battles, here you are the lowest, the smallest, and the least skilled. Before you decide to make threats I suggest you make sure you can back them up." He said in the same monotone he knew made most men turn tail and run. Galahad tried to hold the gaze he was being given. "I also suggest you, in no circumstances, attempt to stare me down like you are doing now."
He tried to stare again but found himself blinking and turning away. "This is not yet finished Tristan." Galahad said as he started off toward the town.
"Wow." Bohrs said as he and Range walked to the table Tristan was occupying. "I suppose even little Galahad will stand up to someone when you get enough ale in him."
Range grinned, "Yes, but our dear friend Tristan here is more frightening than most men, am I right?" He asked, clapping Tristan on the back.
"Only when I am drunk and people are touching me." He said with a slight grin as he took another sip from his mug. Range pulled his hand back and folded his arms across his chest to a bellow of laughter from Bohrs.
"Now that is the strange little bird lover we picked up in Sarmatia!" Bohrs said between laughs. "You never fail to scare the living daylights out of someone."
"That was why they chose me Bohrs." Tristan said, setting the mug down on the table he was leaning on, "It was not merely my good looks, that is why Range is here."
Bohrs laughed again as Range grinned, "You do have me there." He said, glancing at the woman who had been sitting beside him earlier as she went past. "If you will excuse me my fine gentlemen friends, I have business to which I must attend." As he spoke he gave them a mock bow and followed after the dress the woman wore.
"I can not wait for the day he stops doing that." Bohrs said as he watched him go, "who knows when that will be though eh?"
"The day you stop drinking is the day he stops chasing women Bohrs, you know that." Tristan replied, taking another sip of his drink.
"Well then, I suppose I better stop drinking soon then eh?" He looked at Tristan for only a moment before he burst into laughter. "I will see you bright and early the day after tomorrow then." Bohrs said, leaving the glass he had brought with him on the table beside Tristan's.
"The day after tomorrow." Tristan replied with a nod as he searched the area for Douma again.
"Where are we walking tonight?" A voice said from behind him as he turned to see her hanging her apron on the hook that jutted out from the wall of the building.
"It is your turn to decide." He answered, smiling as he stood and waited for her to decide.
She took something out of the pocket of the apron and started toward the door, "Why don't we walk in the woods tonight?" She said, not waiting for an answer before she started to walk.
He waited a moment for her to leave first and had the sudden urge to stay in the building. Something told him he shouldn't go, that they should stay somewhere small. "It is your choice." He said, mostly reassuring himself. He had the strange feeling that would be the last time he saw her.
"Douma." Tristan said as they walked along under the trees, "Would you miss me if I died? Tell me the truth." He added, "I will know if you are lying."
She stopped and turned to look at him, "Certainly I would… Why would you have to ask?" She looked worriedly at him.
His heart sank as the joke had the opposite effect he had wished. 'Stupid' "No reason, I was simply thinking again." He said, walking once more and staring at the trees that stretched out in front of him.
She smiled slightly, "They say those that become lost in thought only do so because it is unfamiliar to them."
He laughed, "Well that explains it rather nicely does it not?"
She smiled and looked at him for a moment. "Tristan."
He stopped and looked at her, the smile on his face fading as he saw her more serious expression. "Is something the matter?" He asked seriously, walking toward her as if afraid she might try to run.
"This is for you," she said, holding out the thing she had taken from the pocket of the apron.
He took it. It was a strip of rawhide with a small hawk's feather, probably from the breast of the bird, attached by a large drop of silver. The rawhide had several different patterns of blue and white beads on it. "It is beautiful…" He said slowly, looking at it in awe. "Did your father make this?" he asked, holding the beads in his hand.
"I did." She said quietly. "The beads are arranged in a pattern that is meant to protect the wearer." She added.
"You speak as though you will not have another chance to explain." He said with a small grin, "I was joking when I asked…" He paused when he saw the look on her face, "What is wrong?"
"My father has forbidden me seeing you and your fellows off, he says it is not appropriate, that I should be doing the housework instead." She stared at the ground beside her, "He is right of course, he is my father after all. I wished to say goodbye, no matter the consequences from him."
"He does not like me." He said shortly, studying her face as she spoke and freezing in his steps as he saw a tear falling down her cheek.
"No, he simply, has other plans for his daughter, I suppose." She stopped as he reached out and wiped the tear from her face. "He has every right to tell me not to go, but I still wish to."
"Then come." Tristan said, "If he becomes angry then tell him I forced you to go." He sat down on a tall stump and hoped she would smile.
She did, "No, I have things to do tomorrow in the castle, I will be gone all day. That is why I gave you that tonight." She said looking at him, the tears gone from her eyes.
He smiled back at her, "I will wear it the day after tomorrow, when we leave."
"Thank you." She said seriously, "I appreciate it." She leaned forward and kissed his cheek, wrapping her arms around his neck in a hug.
He froze for a moment when he felt a tear hit his neck and slide down onto his shoulder. He blinked at the strange feeling almost akin to pain he felt in his heart. 'Do not do it.' The voice warned as he had the urge to pull her closer, to keep her next to him until the next morning when she had to leave. "I know." He said quietly, hugging her reassuringly. 'You can not do it.' The voice continued, 'You should not even think of such things before you tell her…'
"Douma?" Galahad's voice called through the trees.
She lifted her head and pulled away from him, he let her go. "I should say goodbye to Galahad as well." She said, wiping her face clear of any evidence she was crying.
"If you do not, I fear he will complain until we return and see you again." He said with a slight smile.
She smiled as well, although it looked forced, taking a deep breath before she started away. When she was several yards away she paused and turned back to him, "Farewell, and goodnight."
He nodded to her and she turned and continued away, walking toward Galahad's calls. He watched her until he couldn't see her anymore, his eyes reluctant to leave the place she had been.
He looked away and stared out at the trees in front of him, looking down when he heard something hit the leaves beneath his feet. He blinked at the blurred colors he saw and reached up to his face, touching it with his fingertips. He looked at his fingers when he had pulled them away and they sparkled back at him, he was crying.
