Hello Everyone! This is my first non LOTR fanfic. So... if it's completely horrible, it's due to new experience. I seen the movie a few times and I absolutely love it. So, I decided to write a fanfic and save a couple lives. Lol. I hope you enjoy it!
Disclaimer: I do not own Arthur or Guinevere. Nor do I own Bors, Gawain, Galahad, Dagonet, Tristran, or Lancelot (though I wish I did)
I only own Iraina(pronounced I-rain-a) and the little plot bunnies who eat my carpet.
What If...
Summary: What if Guinevere and Lucan weren't the only ones pulled from the dungeon by Arthur and his knights? What if another woad warrior had been found in Marius' dungeons? Iraina finds herself in the midst of those she has been fighting for fifteen years. Will she be able to put aside her differences and find friends among enemies? LancelotOC
Chapter One: Rescued
Iraina rubbed her manacled wrist against the rough stone wall. The small white scratch left behind marked her fourteenth day in Marius' dungeon. Looking at the crude iron chains around her wrists Iraina cursed the Romans for the countless time. It shamed her to be placed in some man's dungeons and being violated of her own private rights. Licking her lips, she looked in the direction of Guinevere's cell. "Gwen?" she asked horsely, her voice scratchy from the lack of water.
"What?" came the equally soft reply.
"Do you think that we'll ever get out of this hole?" she asked.
Guinevere's answer made Iraina's hope lower another notch into almost nothing.
"I have given up hope of ever breathing the forest air again. Nor do I think that I will ever feel the wind on my face nor the grass under my feet."
They stopped talking after that. Their parched throats made it painful to speak. Iraina retreated to her own thoughts. She could still clearly remember the day she was caught...
Flashback
A gray overcast sky greeted Iraina when she woke from her light slumber. A perfect day to match my moodshe thought bitterly. Merlin had sent her out to find out what had happened to Guinevere, who had been sent out on a mission to find out what a Roman man by the name of Marius, was doing to the Britons he kept as his serfs. It was a fairly safe mission. But the problem was, she had never returned. So Iraina had been sent after her, even though she would rather had stayed and helped with the rebellion that was taking place along the Hadrian's Wall.
Silently Iraina gathered her things and broke camp. Quickly, she made her way towards the roman man's villa. When she arrived at the village, she noticed the guards at the wall patrolling back and forth. Moving silently through the woods, Iraina slipped past the guards and to the other side of the forest, closer to the small village. One of the serfs was walking right in front of her, so Iraina reached out and grabbed the back of the man's robes and pulled him over to her hiding spot. Swiftly she pulled a knife and placed it at his neck. "Be still." she whispered in the man's ear. They watched as a roman guard walked by where she was hiding. As soon as he was gone, Iraina removed the knife from the man's neck and turned him to face her. Outwardly, Iraina's face was stern, her eyes piercing, but inwardly she was grinning. This man had to have been at least ten years older than her, but it looked as if he had never been more frightened in his life. Pointing the knife towards the man's heart, Iraina stepped forward.
"I won't hurt you if you answer truthfully." she said. "Agreed?" The man nodded numbly. Iraina lowered the knife to her side. "My name is Iraina. I am looking for one of my kin. Have you seen or heard anything about a woman woad coming anywhere near here?" she asked urgently. The man, clearly frightened, opened and closed his mouth as if trying to speak. Iraina rolled her eyes in frustration, she took a step away and sheathed her knife, distancing herself from the frightened man. "You need not fear me. You are of my blood. I have no wish to cause you harm. I only need to know if you have seen anyone else like me." The man stared at her for a moment before slowly nodding.
"A woman with blue tattoos similar to yours was captured almost a week ago. Our master Marius had her taken down in to the..." the man's voice dropped to a whisper, as if afraid of speaking his next words "...the stone chamber."
Iraina's brow furrowed. "Stone chamber?" she asked, "what is that?" the man in front of her looked around, as if fearing someone would over hear him. "It is what we people of the village call the evil place that the master keeps. It is where some are taken... when they defy our master. Once they go in... they are never seen again." The woad warrior nodded thoughtfully at the given information. As far as she could see, Guinevere had been caught and placed in Marius' dungeon. Looking back at the man in front of her, she said.
"Go now, and do not speak of our meeting. Is that understood?" The man nodded and he stumbled back out into the village. Iraina watched him go, making sure that none of the guards asked him any questions. Once she was sure that his absence had been unnoticed, she swiftly made her way up into the nearest tree, quickly climbing to a height where she could see the entire villa. Scanning her immediate surroundings, Iraina looked for something that would give her a clue as to Guinevere's whereabouts. Two red caped men caught her attention. They were standing outside an ominous looking stone doorway. It was obvious that they were guarding it.
"Stone chamber." she muttered to herself. Slowly, she started back down the tree. As she was nearing the bottom, the branch she was standing on collapsed from underneath her. With a gasp, Iraina fell from the tree, landing with a crash on the forest floor. The noise caused the closest patrolling guards to come investigate the sound. Painfully, Iraina gained her feet. She stood just as one of the Roman's spotted her. With a cry, he started back towards the villa, trying to get help, but his call was cut short by the small knife that had embedded itself in the man's neck. Unfortunately, His cry had been heard by his comrades. Shouting from across the estate made Iraina curse under her breath. Before she had time to hide, a dozen Roman guards burst through the foliage. Iraina new that their intentions were to take her captive as well. She also knew that if it was to be done, she wouldn't come quietly. They would have to fight her for her captivity. As they moved towards her, she pulled her twin long knives from her back and stood in a fighting stance. The roman men laughed at her, she only scowled in return. The first man lunged at her, sword swinging. Quickly bringing up her knives, she blocked the wild swing at her head. Pulling away, she turned and twisted her blade around, jamming it into the man's side, killing him. His comrades watched him fall to the ground. Iraina glared at the remaining Roman's, challenging them to take her. Suddenly, at some unspoken signal, they all rushed her at once. Iraina barely had time to block the first attack before having to duck a wild swing to her head. Turning quickly, Iraina plunged her knife into one of the Roman's legs, twisting it painfully before yanking the weapon back out. The roman guard fell to the ground, howling in pain. The next few moments were a blur of flashing blades, and clanging metal to Iraina. Moving into a roll to escape a thrust to her side, Iraina drove her knife into the other man's chest, killing him instantly. As she stood to continue fighting, she felt the cold bite of a steel blade against her neck.
"Put down your weapons or die, wench." a voice hissed in her ear. Iraina hesitated, loathe to give into the romans who already had control of half her country. When she didn't comply to the man's demands, he pressed the blade harder against her throat, drawing blood. Iraina felt the trickle of blood seep down her neck. Sighing, she dropped her weapons, and raised her hands in a gesture of surrender. Immediately, guards had her hands bound with rope and had place a loop around her neck, insuring that she wouldn't escape. Looking around, Iraina noticed that she had killed seven of the original thirteen men who had first charged her.
"Seems like you underestimated me. I would not think it wise to do so again. It may cost you your life." Iraina said coldly to the man who was holding her captive. The man just grunted in reply, but Iraina could tell that he was disturbed. As she came closer to the large house, she noticed the people in the village staring at her. The looks on their faces unsettled her. They were not looks of fear or hate, or even apprehension; but pity, sorrow, and sadness. Two serfs stationed at the wall doors quickly opened them when the captain motioned for them to open the gates. Roughly pushing her through, he jerked the rope around her neck, pulling her towards the front of the house. A plump man came bustling through the front doors. Iraina looked upon the man with disdain. She watched as his wife followed meekly behind the man, as if afraid to do anything but stand behind him.
"On your knees." the man behind her said gruffly. When Iraina didn't move, he repeated himself, his voice becoming more dangerous. "On. Your. Knees. Wench. Still, the woman did not make any attempt to get down on her knees. Growing angry, the man yanked the rope around her neck backwards, and pulled her hair, forcing her to raise her head. Then another guard punched her in the stomach, knocking the wind out of her. Finally, someone kicked her in the back of the knees, making her fall to the ground. The man in front of Iraina smirked, and nodded to his guards, showing that he was pleased. Iraina noticed that his wife had looked away from the scene, as if she didn't want to be a part of it. Inwardly, Iraina felt sorry for the poor woman who had married a monster and had become his slave. Her attention was diverted when the Roman man crouched in front of her.
"My name is Marius, and this is my villa. I can see that you are just like that other demon woman who came here and started a chaos in my village. I can not let you leave now that you have stumbled across my lovely home." He laughed cruelly. "Men, give the lady some, lodging and make sure that she is comfortable."
The guards laughed roughly pulled Iraina to her feet. Dragging her across the yard, the pulled her into the stone doorway. As they passed through the door, Iraina noticed the manacles hanging from the ceiling. An ominous feeling started to form in the pit of her stomach. The guards led her down a stair case until they came to another door. Pulling a set of keys out his pocket, he quickly unlocked the door and swiftly opened it. The smell that hit Iraina's nose almost made her gag. It was the smell of death, and rotting flesh. The man rudely shoved her inside, down another small set of stairs until they came to the main part of the dungeon. Iraina's eyes scanned the row of small cells, noticing the dead body's in most of them. A few still had live prisoners in them, but only a few. Iraina's heart jumped into her throat when she saw the dirty and tired form of Guinevere in one of the cells. Rage filled her as she noticed the bruises and cuts along her face, and the hollowed look in her eyes.
"This is another one of those blue demons that killed seven of my men. Deal with her in any way you see fit." the captain said to the two priests in front of him. He placed the rope in their hands and handed them each a dagger. "Do not underestimate this woman, if you aren't careful, she'll kill you and escape. That is my warning to you." with those words, the guards left the dungeons.
Iraina felt the smooth steel across her neck and immediately tensed.
"So, you are another pagan?" one of the priests asked scornfully. "It is of no matter, you shall be punished for your sins, just like the others were." He poked her in the back with the back of a wood hatchet and forced her towards Guinevere's cell. Motioning to the other priest, the cell door was unlocked. Quickly shoving her head down, he pushed her into the cell. Guinevere was unconscious, and didn't move at their arrival. Moving past her, the scruffy haired priest moved towards an even smaller cell door in the back of the wall. Opening it, he pushed her inside, grabbing her wrist and quickly locking it in a crude iron manacle. Iraina struggled with him, trying to keep her other arm free, but was stopped by the man's warning.
"Stop struggling with your arm. Or I'll cut it off." The crazed look in his eyes told the woad woman that he was serious. She nodded slowly, and watched helplessly as he placed her other arm in another manacle. As he closed the door, Iraina realized how small the cell really was. There was not even enough room to stretch her legs out. They were curled under her in an attempt to make enough room for her body to fit in. With a sigh, Iraina leaned back against the wall, hoping that this would be over soon.
Unfortunately, it was not. The days were blended together with pain. The small cramped space caused her muscles to cramp, and the lack of food and water made her weak. On occasion, the priests would take her out only to torture her; the whip and studded glove, along with various other machine like devices, being their favorite tools. After a week, the priests had tired of seeing her in the warrior outfit that she wore, and removed all of her clothing, dressing her in rags, thinking them more fit for a sinner. When that had happened, Iraina had never felt more violated in her life. Who were these people to undress her when she was hanging by chains in their dungeon. If they were truly men of god, she did not want to have anything to do with their god.
The first time that Marius' wife had visited her, she had been skeptical of the woman's attentions. But after seeing the food and water that she had brought, Iraina nearly wept, knowing that the woman was risking her life to keep her alive. A fate that she was not sure if she wanted anymore. After that first day, Fulicana came only twice more.
A small hole in Iraina's cell was the only sight of the outside world that she had. Every morning, the sun's first rays of light would shine through for a few minutes, the the light would fade as the sun moved across the sky. It was her only way of knowing the number of days that she had been in the dungeons of the Roman man. Oh how she hated the romans...
End Flashback
A noise outside her sell brought Iraina back from her musings. She watched hopelessly as the greasy haired priest unlocked Guinevere's cell door. She knew that he wasn't taking Gwen out, they didn't do much to the woad, but, the monks seemed to dislike herself more than any other of the captives. Anger boiled within her as he struck Guinevere across the face for no reason. As he came closer to her small cell, a look of disgust became clearly visible on his face. Quickly he slid a key into the lock , unlocking the lock that held the thick chains to the iron bars. Pulling the bars open, he reached in and roughly grabbed her face. Jerking her, he forced her to look him in the eye.
"Your racket has disturbed me in my prayers to the Lord." he seethed. "And for that you must be punished." he smiled cruelly as he pulled the studded glove out of his robe pocket. Iraina groaned inwardly. It seemed as though the monks used everything she did as an excuse to hurt her. She pulled as far away into the cell as she could before the walls stopped her. Closing her eyes, Iraina waited for the inevitable to come. Pain flashed across her being as the studded glove scraped across her face again, and again. When the priest finally stopped, blood was seeping from the corners of Iraina's mouth, and from the scabs that had been reopened on her face.
"That should teach you to be a little more quiet next time." the monk said with a mocking smile. He rubbed the glove harshly across her face a finale time, issuing a silent warning. Iraina couldn't suppress the groan of pain the action pulled from her lips. She watched helplessly as the monk crawled back out of her small cell and relocked the chains. He turned to leave, then, hesitated. Calling to the other priest, he asked for the small wooden hatchet they kept to cut the wood to keep the small fire going. As soon as it was in his hands, he turned back to Iraina. He smiled and placed the key to the lock on the ground. Raising the hatchet above his head, he grinned evilly at the woad woman in the cell and brought it down hard on the key, splitting it into pieces. Then, he picked up the now useless key and threw them back at Iraina. As the pieces came to a stop right in front of Iraina, all hope faded. She stared at the shattered key, and didn't notice when the monk got up and let Guinevere's cell. She looked up at her friend with empty eyes.
"Gwen?" she asked. "If you ever get out of here, don't let my body rot in this hell hole. I want to be burned, and have my ashes thrown into the forests in which I was raised. Don't let them forget me." She licked her bloody lips, and spoke for the last time to Guinevere. "Don't let them leave without me, don't let them leave. Do you promise?" She smiled sadly as Guinevere nodded slowly with tears falling down her face. She knew that it was probably the last time she would ever be speaking with Iraina.
With a sigh, Iraina leaned back against the stone, wincing as her lacerated back came into contact with the rough surface. She closed her eyes, and gave in to her body's exhaustion.
As Lancelot came down the steps of the Roman man's dungeon, he choked on the smell of rotting flesh. The smell alone was almost enough to make him run back to the surface for fresh air. As he cleared the small doorway, he heard a voice from within.
"Who are these defilers of the Lord's temple?" a greasy haired monk came out from around a corner. The sarmation knight only pushed himself past the man, and stopped dead in his tracks at what he saw. Dead bodies were lying in all of the small cages, each at a different stage of rotting. Turning disgusted eyes on his commander, he said,
"The work of your God." Arthur just stared at him before looking away.
"Check them, see if any are still alive." he said, addressing his knights. Dagonet opened a cell and looked in and covered his mouth and looked away.
"This one's dead." he stated somewhat shot of breath. Gawain looked repulsed by the smell.
"By the smell they're all dead." he said disgustedly. Lancelot ignored him and cut the chains of a cell, continuing to do what his commander had ordered. One of the priests lunged at the curly haired knight, yelling at him to stop. But before he could even finish his sentence, Lancelot had pulled one of his swords and stabbed the man in the chest, killing him.
The other monk looked on appalled. "How dare you!" he accused. "He was a man of God!" Lancelot turned on the man, his eyes glaring daggers as he pointed a finger at him.
"Not my God!"
The knights continued checking the cells, but kept finding more and more dead prisoners. Then Dagonet opened one of the small hole cells and cried out. "Arthur!" He reached in and pulled out a small boy. Placing the frightened child on the rim of the cage, he looked pointedly at the child. "You must not fear me." he said commandingly. The young boy could only nod.
Lancelot followed Arthur and knelt down and looked into the last cell. He was surprised to see a young woman still alive in the cage, battered, but living. He looked up at Arthur and watched as the roman commander drew Excalibur and swung at the chains holding the bars up. He then got on his knees and lifted the woman out of the cage. With Lancelot leading the way, they all made their way back out into the open. Lancelot threw the torch into the ground, looking relived to be out of the evil place. Arthur hurried and placed the woman on the ground, calling for water.
From atop his horse, Tristan made the observation that they all had missed. "She's a woad." It was then that Lancelot noticed the blue tattoos running up the woman's legs.
Suddenly, a loud commotion started when the master of the house came running towards Arthur and his knights.
"Stop! Stop what you are doing!" Arthur swiftly rose to his feet.
"What is this madness?!" Marius looked taken aback at the accusatory tone in Arthur's voice.
"They are all pagans here!" he exclaimed as if that explained everything. Galahad looked disdainfully down at the stocky man.
"So are we."
"They refuse to do the tasks god set out for them!" Arthur glared angrily at the man.
"You mean they refuse to be your serfs!" he shouted. Marius looked flabbergasted.
"You are roman, you understand. And you are a Christian. You!" he said, turning on his wife. "You kept them alive!" he slapped his wife across the face. Lancelot started to move forward angrily, but Arthur beat him too it. He punched Marius in the face, knocking the man down. Immediately he had drawn his sword and had placed it at his neck. Two of the guards rushed forward, but Marius stopped them when he felt the blade press against his neck. Glaring up at Arthur, he narrowed his eyes.
"When we get to the wall, you will be punished for this heresy." he said angrily
"Maybe I should just kill you now and seal my fate." Arthur growled. At that moment, the priests came over, and one of them started talking, making Arthur take his attention away from the man on the ground. He removed his sword from the man's throat, allowing him to get up onto his feet.
"I was willing to die with them, as to lead them to their rightful place. It is God's will that these sinners be sacrificed." he said mournfully. Arthur stared at the man, clearly angered. "Then I shall grant his wish. Wall them back up."
"Wait..." Arthur looked back at the woman he had just saved. Moving quickly to her side, he was surprised as she gripped his wrist.
"There was another woad in there. She was my friend, and I promised her that I would not let her rot in that hole. Please, go and retrieve her body, so that I may be able to grant her wish." Guinevere's words were soft, and Arthur barely heard them. Looking down at the woman, he nodded, showing her that he would do it. Guinevere smiled gratefully as tears fell down her face. Then she closed her eyes, and fell into an exhausted sleep.
The roman commander looked up at his knights, silently asking them which ones would go back into the death filled hole.
"I will go." Artur looked up gratefully at Lancelot. Nodding, he turned back to lift Guinevere into his arms.
Lancelot lit another torch and walked back into the dungeons. He was aware that Gawain had followed him in, watching his back. Coming again into the row of cells, he looked in the cells, looking for a body with the telltale blue tattoos of a woad warrior. After his first inspection, he couldn't find another woad woman. Going back, he rechecked the cells, making sure that he didn't miss anything. When he got to the cell that had held Guinevere, he looked all along the walls, seeing if he had missed something. A piece of brown cloth hanging at the back of the wall caught his attention. Handing the torch to Gawain, he crawled to the back of the cage, and moved the cloth away.
He heard Gawian gasp in shock behind him. When he had pulled the cloth away, he had revealed an even smaller cage. And inside, was crammed a woman, practicality crushed in the small space. The smeared blue paint on her skin told Lancelot that he had found whom he had been looking for.
It was his turn to gasp in surprise when the figure opened her eyes and looked dazedly at him. He had been sure that the woman would have been dead. He swiftly pulled one of his blades and drew back his arm and slashed at the chains holding the bars up, cutting them down and bringing the metal bars to the ground with a crash. Sheathing his sword, Lancelot moved closer to the injured woman, slowing when he saw her shrink away from him. He noticed the cruel manacles holding her wrists above her head. Moving his hand to the front of his armor, he pulled a throwing dagger from it's holster. He reached over to place it in the manacle's lock, but stopped when he saw the terrified look in the woman's eyes.
"Don't worry, I'm not going to hurt you." he soothed softly. He moved to resume his original purpose. The Sarmation knight worked slowly, after noticing the frightened shaking of the woman in front of him. Quickly he worked the knife around the key hole until he heard the satisfying click of the locking mechanism. He did the same to the other side, making sure that he did not aggravate the woman's wounds any further. Gently, he pulled the woad from her cell, wincing as she whimpered in pain as her legs straightened out. Moving as quickly as possible, Lancelot inched out towards the open area.
"Gawain!" he called. Immediately Gawain's face appeared in front of the cell. "I need you to take her while I get out from here. It's too small for me to just duck under." The blonde haired knight nodded and reached under and took the woman from Lancelot's arms. He started slightly when he realized that the woman was still alive. Lancelot swiftly came out of the cage and gently took the woman back.
"Come on, let's leave this place." he said. Together they walked back out into the fresh air.
Okay! That was the first chapter! I hope you liked it! This is a whole new experience for me, and I'm still testing the waters. Also, as my readers, I think that you should know that I play for my school's JV volleyball team. As a freshman. That was kinda cool. So, we practice five times a week, leaving very little time for anything else, writing included. So, if it's taking forever to update, e-mail me, and I'll gladly give you an estimate as to when the next chapter will be up. Thanks!
Elvenstar5