Before You Go…

Chapter 7

Tristan sat silently between two graves, his feet planted and his arms on his knees, a clay pot held in one hand. He watched with squinted eyes as Dagonet walked away with Bors leading him by the arm. To his right was a normal grave, the earth covering it fresh and just filled in. On his left the grave billowed out smoke and large flames leaped out of the pit, a sickening smell filling the air.

Tristan swallowed another gulp of the liquor in the clay pot he was holding, turning his attention to the earth covered grave. "You said you would marry me…" He said quietly staring at the earth. "You made me swear I would not die and for what? You are dead, there is no reason for me to fear the same fate." He took another drink, his stomach churning as he breathed in the smoke through his nose.

He looked at the fire, "He saw you in the wagon, that is why he made sure I did not see in." He blinked as a cloud of the putrid smelling fumes washed over him. "He was trying to keep both of us from facing the truth…" He blinked, "You were the only ones I ever opened up to…and you repay my trust with death…"

He ran his sleeve across his face, wiping away ash and tears as they ran down his cheeks. "Both of you left me…" He stared into the flames, "I told them to burn you like you asked…"

"Tristan!"

He wiped his face again and turned to see Galahad walking toward him, his sleeve pulled over his mouth and nose to block out the smoke. "Tristan, have you seen Douma?" He asked, his eyes watering as he breathed in the fumes.

Tristan blinked and turned to stare at the earth mound on his right, studying the black dirt that had been shaped into a hill and the small black bowl, the flame inside it flickering. "No, not today." He said quietly, taking another sip from the pot.

"If you see her tell her I was looking for…"

"Do you still love her?" He asked, staring at the bowl as the flame flickered again.

"What?" Galahad asked, staring questioningly at him.

"Do you still love her?" He repeated.

"Yes." Galahad responded, stepping back quietly. "What is wrong with..?"

"If you do still love her then forget her, she has gone beyond our reach." He said simply, turning away from the bowl and watching as a pillar of smoke worked its way out of the hole.

"What are you…?" Galahad noticed the pot in his hand and sighed, "Alright then."

"Let us drink." Tristan said as Galahad walked slowly away, unsure of what was happening. "Drink to the great knights of old…" He lifted the pot and poured the liquid into the flames, watching them jump up and burn fiercely for a moment before returning to their normal size. "To the knights of legend…

13 years later

Tristan stood for a moment in front of the small mound that was now covered in grass. The bowl on top of it burned just as it had thirteen years before. "Hello." He said, placing the tips of his fingers on the grass and smiling his half smile. "It has been a while, hasn't it." He let his palm rest on the earth and smiled as he remembered her words, "Until the end then." He reached up and pulled a worn leather thong with several different patterns of blue and white beads and a hawks feather from around his neck.

"I brought it, so you could help it work." He placed it beneath the bowl, spread as if it were hanging around a persons neck. "This might be the end…" He smiled as he flattened his palm on top of the beads, "Watch over me…"

"Tristan!" Gawain said loudly, pulling his horse into check beside the man, the staff in his hand wobbling slightly. "Lancelot has gone ahead, we need to go."

"I know." He said, standing and pulling his helmet on over his hair. "I know."

Tristan felt the Saxon king take his hair in his hand and looked up. He saw the hawk flying over him and remembered the necklace that Douma had given him. 'This is it…' he thought, watching the hawk wheel over his head. 'This is the end…'

'I will wait for you.' "I know…" He barely managed to whisper as he felt something run across his chest. There was no pain but everything went black.

He blinked and opened his eyes slowly, staring at the blue sky over him. "You are awake!" A voice he remember very clearly said from somewhere to his side. He turned his head and stared blankly at the face of Range as he laughed. "He finally came!" The giant man called with a grin as he pulled Tristan into a standing position. "We were waiting here for you for some time, we were actually glad though."

Tristan stared at him, although it had been many years since he had last seen the other knight he was not older. "I… I was fighting…" He began.

"I know." Range said, clapping him on the back. "We all know."

Tristan looked around and saw Lancelot standing beside Dagonet, both of them no more then eighteen years old. "What…?"

"Tristan!" A happy shout made him turn and he saw Douma running toward him, throwing her arms around him and laughing as she did. "I am both happy and sad to see you!" She exclaimed, "But I have had good company to share the years with."

"I do not understand…" Tristan said, suddenly aware that everything seemed taller then it should have been.

"You are dead." Lancelot said with sigh, "We all are." He turned and stared out over the grass fields that spanned as far as they could see, the wind blowing the birds across it like fish in an ocean.

"But where…?" Tristan began, Douma still holding onto him as he hugged her back.

"This, is Sarmatia." Range said with a laugh. "You do not even recognize home anymore?" He smiled widely and patted him on the back again. "We are all home." He said, "Well, excepting Douma of course."

"I told you I would wait for you." Douma said, pulling back, "We all did." She paused, "The others went ahead of us…"

He stared around at the landscape, everything infinitely more beautiful then it had ever been to him before. "I know." He said quietly, taking her hand in his and following the other knights as they walked off.

"Father!" A small Sarmatian boy said as he ran toward a man, "Come and see father!" He ran up a small hill as quickly as his short legs could carry him.

"What?" The man that had been walking away from him said questioningly as the small boy ran around his feet. "What is this now?"

"Come and see!" The boy said again, pulling his arm and leading him toward a large paddock behind their home. There lay five newborn horses, one pure white, one mottled grey, two black and one a reddish brown. The other animals giving the mothers and the new babies plenty of room.

"Well, look at that." The father said, smiling at the five baby animals. "Those are great knights." He said with a smile.

"Great knights?" The small boy asked.

"That's right." The man said with a smile. "The legend says that when a great knight dies in battle he is born again as a great horse." He stared at the animals and smiled, "You are named after a great knight." he said, leaning on the fence as the boy climbed up to stand on it and get a better view.

"You mean uncle Range?" He asked, staring at the white horse which showed its teeth as if it were smiling. "Is that him father?"

"I think it is." He said with a smile, "And Uncle Dagonet had a black horse."

"I think that one is Dagonet." The boy said, pointing to the larger of the two black colts which tossed its head as he spoke.

"Is that what we should call them?" The man asked, "Just like you and your brother?"

"Yes." The boy said with a smile. "And they will grow up to be great knight horses just like uncle Dagonet and Range were great knights!" He smiled widely and his father placed his hand on his head, mussing his hair as he finished.

"That is right." He said, laughing slightly. "And what of the others?"

"They are great knight horses too!" The boy said happily, smiling as the smaller black horse stood for a few seconds, wobbled and fell back down.

"Dram!"

The man turned his head and saw his wife walking around the shelter looking for him. "We best little Range." He said with a grin, picking the boy up. "We have work to do or your mother might get angry, and we do not want that."

The boy smiled, "Alright!" He laughed and said loudly, "Why do you call me little Range?"

"Because your uncle range was the biggest man I had ever seen!" Dram replied , holding his arms up and out in an exaggeration of his older brother's size. "He was part giant some said."

"Really?" The boy asked and his father nodded to him. The boy looked over his father's shoulder and waved as a hawk circled over the pen and landed on the mottled colt's back, spreading its wings before it settled back down. The mottled horse lifted its head and looked at the hawk for a moment before letting its head rest on the ground and closing its eyes.

THE END

Questions:

Q: How long have the knights been in service?

A: This is their first mission, they have been training for two years.

Q: Is Douma's death why Tristan has no remorse about killing Woads?

A: Yes

Q: Are they in the same village featured in the movie?

A: No, this village is close to the wall but set farther back and is the 427 AD version of the city of Hull

Q: What's with the Tristan, Douma, Galahad thing?

A: The Tristan, Douma, Galahad thing was an idea brought about by the way Tristan and Galahad act toward one another during the movie.

Q: What do the original knights look like?

A: visit http/remmygirl. drawings of them, labeled by name