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Disclaimer: I don't own the characters ( except for Aurora and Alexander). I wish I would!
Chapter 1 The Arrival
It was already midday when they arrived at the Wall. The group stopped and
Aurora heared a voice speaking she hadn't heard since leaving.
"Why should Rome send more soldiers?"
"Artorius Castus. We were sent to help you and make sure that there will be no
complacitions when the bishop comes here."
"The bishop? Are 15 years already up?"
"Not yet. He'll arrive in a few months, because...Well we should talk about this
somewhere else."
"Right. Follow me then. Jols will take care of your horses. Jols!"!
Aurora could see that the Romans got off their horses and followed Arthur in the
conference room while Jols was leading the horses in the stable.
Aurora took Alexander in her arms and stepped out of the wagon with the others.
Everyone was busying around, jostling her, but nobody noticed her. Aurora felt
truely lost and for the first time she doubted that her decision to come back
had been right. She was more afraid than ever before when she suddenly heard a
voice behind her.
" Can this really be? Are you really yourself or am I dreaming?"
Aurora turned around an looked into the face of ...her old friend Vanora! Aurora
felt very reliefed and excited that Vanora was the first person to met.She
needed an objective and neutral person. Meeting Galahad or Tristan would be too
much trouble for her right now. Vanora grabbed her arm and led her in a corner
of the tavern. She took a pitcher of water and some apples and bread from the
bar and sat down opposite to Aurora.
"So you're finally back again. Tell me what's happened and who this little
gentlemen is."
She stroked through Alexander's hair and he giggled and screamed out. Aurora
gave him a lovely kiss on his cheek and Vanora a constrained smile, before she
took a deep breath and started speaking.
" It...it...oh Vanora...it was like hell! Not the stay in Rome but the way to
Rome. The general whom I was promised hadn't been as bad as I thought. He'd been
been quite nice but the... the soldiers..."
Tears leaked from her eyes falling on the table. Vanora could see that Aurora
was fighting against the bad memories and the tears. She didn't want her to
remember this awful experiences, but she also knew that Aurora could never erase
the pictures from out of her mind. She had to live with them. Vanora walked
around the table, took Aurora in her arms and soothed her.
Alexander slid off the lap of his mother, looked around in curiosity and waddled
through the tavern, watching everything and everyone carefully. When he came to
the sluce of water he stepped right into it, because he wasn't able yet to jump
that far, but he didn't noticed the sluice anyway. He squeezed sweetly and went
on. As he wanted to leave the tavern a man went in front of the child and
stopped. Alexander who didn't noticed the man on his little discovery tour ran
against those legs and fell back on the floor.
" And what do we have here? You must be the youngest soldier I've ever seen."
The man said and took the child on his arms. Alexander starred at the stranger
in interest and curiosity. Normally he'd started crying if there were strangers
around him, but he didn't. Something had to fascinate him Alexander.
The man looked at him, kept on smiling and talking to him.
"Where's your mama then? Can't imagine you're alone here, lil soldier.
Huh...where's your mama?" He still looked carefully at Alexander and finally the
child pointed with his fingers in direction to the bar.
"There."
"Let's get you back to your mum then, okay?", he said and led towards the bar.
"Yes." came the sweet voice of Alexander, pressing his hands together. "Yay."
In the meantime Vanora still had Aurora in her arms whispering calm words to
her.
"It's alright, dear. Let it out."
Aurora was still crying with some single words speaking.
"...horrible ... I'd thought ... never ... alive ... no help ...Galahad ...
Tristan ..."
As Vanora heard the names of the two knights she looked up and thought how they
had handled with her leaving. It wasn't as easy with them as before. They had
changed in a similar way.
She'd heard that Galahad wanted to know which of the two men Aurora really loved
but Aurora couldn't tell him. Tristan himself hadn't been there at all. So
Aurora had left them bothl. Galahad begun to develop his hatred against the
Romans and he wished more and more that the 15 years would be over. He was so
upset that he became more brutal in fighting than he ever had been. It seemed as
if he would vent his spleen on the woads they were still fighting. One night she
had spoken with Galahad and he just excused his behaviour with the words " They
took my biggest love ever!" So Vanora decided not to speak about it anymore.
Tristan also became more brutal and sadistic on the battlefield than Vanora
could imagine. She heard Bors speaking to Dagonet about Tristan. As she knew
that Tristan had never shown any feelings it would've been pointless trying to
speak to him.
"Vanora! I've found a lil child. It's not yours, is it?"
Aurora was shocked by the sound of this voice. Vanora turned around.
" No. It's not mine but Aurora's. I think you'll remember her, doesn't you
...Tristan?"
Tristan and Aurora were both thunderstruck. They stared at each other and Vanora could almost snatch the tension filling in the air. Aurora was the first who moved. She grabbed her son, who lightly protested and went out of the tavern.
Tristan peeked after her, his feelings a rollercoaster.
"It doesn't seems as if she really like you anymore." Vanora said and followed her.
