Arthur walked back towards the fire that his men had started. It was late, and everyone was asleep except for Tristan, who was keeping watch, and himself. In his mind, he kept replaying the scene from earlier that day. It pained him to have gambled with the life of his knight and friend. But no one was harmed in the encounter, so not all was lost. He started slightly in surprise when he saw the dark shape of Lancelot sitting in front of the fire. Surely he would have been sleeping. He had kept watch just last night, not getting any sleep. What was he doing awake at this hour? Moving next to his friend, he sat down on the log. Arthur sat there for a while, silently watching his friend. It puzzled him slightly that Lancelot had not gotten angry, nor lost his temper at the woad woman. In fact, it seemed as though the young knight actually sympathized with the woman.
Lancelot's voice startled him from his thoughts.
"I know what it is you think. But it is true." The almost sarcastic tone in his friend's voice made Arthur almost smile. "I keep thinking that I should be angry at the woman, for threatening my life, but at the same time, I cannot." he fell silent again, allowing himself to become lost in the dancing of the flames in front of him. Confused, Arthur waited a moment before asking.
"What do you mean, you cannot?"
Lancelot sighed. "I have been trying to figure out that myself. It is hard to explain, but for you, my friend, I will try." he paused again, thinking. The two sat in silence, with only the sounds of the dying fire to break it. Before long, the curly haired knight spoke again. "I cannot help but feel sympathy for this woman. I don't even know her name, yet I feel drawn to her. In one way, I think that we have much in common. We both fight for freedom, her for her country, and me for the ability to go home. She did not want to kill me; that much I know from her eyes. I saw regret right before she grabbed me in the wagon. She was just trying to get away from anything that she believed would cause the other woman, Guinevere, harm. She is strong, and will not be broken. That devil, Marius couldn't do it, and I don't think anyone will." Lancelot stopped speaking and turned back to the fire, which was quickly dying.
In all honesty, Arthur still did not understand Lancelot's reasoning. The knight's thoughts were broken and unorganized, but he accepted it, knowing that his knight was confused himself. With a tired sigh, the roman commander stood from his seat on the log. "Well, Lancelot, when you find peace in your thoughts, get some rest. We have another long day of traveling tomorrow. I will leave you to your thoughts. Goodnight." Lancelot just nodded absently, placing his elbows on his knees, he leaned forward and rested his head in his hands. Arthur shook his head, a small smile escaping his lips. In all the years he had been with Lancelot, he had never seen him so focused on something. Suppressing the yawn that was about to leave his lips, Arthur left his friend and went to his bed roll, quickly falling asleep.
Lancelot was aware of his friend and commander leaving, but it didn't stop him in his thoughts. When he had first seen the woman in the cage, he had been filled with an immense sorrow. No one should ever have had to go through anything like what the woad had been through. He had been there when Dagonet had dressed her wounds, and had been astounded by the sheer number of them. Some much worse than others, and some small, but placed so that they would cause a great amount of discomfort and pain to the person they were inflicted on. But the fact that she had survived the abuse forced upon her was a sign of her strength. And when he had been on top of her pinning her down with his knees, the amount of terror in her face and eyes had been unimaginable to comprehend. His blood burned as he thought about what had happened to her to make her fear the position of being held down by a man. He sighed wearily. He was too tired to continue thinking about it. Rubbing his face, he stood and quickly doused the last of the flames. Slowly, he made his way to his sleeping roll, and lay down upon it, allowing sleep to overcome him.
The next morning, snow was falling gently over the mountains. It was a light flurry, but enough to make traveling quickly dangerous for the villagers. It was mid morning when Iraina woke again. She opened her eyes to find the worried face of Guinevere above her.
"You're finally awake!" Guinevere said relived. "It took you long enough. What where you thinking? Threatening one of the knights like that? It was folly. They do not mean to hurt us." As Iraina's sleep fogged mind registered her friend's words, she sat up abruptly.
"My actions were folly!?" she exclaimed. "I was just trying to get out of here! Guinevere, do you not realize it? Arthur is a roman! He works for Rome! Our enemy! Don't tell me that they won't bring us to the wall and leave us in the custody of the Romans. And you, you have already given your name to them. How do you know that they are to be trusted? Do you remember what happened to us last time when we were under the custody of a roman, or have you already forgotten the hours of torture and starvation? I don't know about you, but I am not about to let that happen to us, to you, again, no matter the cost. We will fight again, and when we do, we will get our freedom." Iraina's outburst caused Guinevere to shrink back against the far wall of the wagon.
Immediately Iraina regretted her harsh words. She had overtaxed her throat, and it was burning. She took a shuddering breath in, and all of a sudden started coughing. Racking coughs shook her frame, causing her to double over, putting pressure on her side. Iraina tried to still the coughing, but no matter what she did, the coughing wouldn't stop. Guinevere watched in horror as her friends face started to turn blue from the lack of air. It seemed like Iraina was not getting enough air. Guinevere tried to turn Iraina over to rub her back, but her weakened state did not allow her to.
"Somebody! Please, help!" Guinevere cried, as Iraina continued coughing. Her fear only grew when spots of blood appeared on Iraina's lips and the blankets around her. Suddenly, the deerskin flap flew open, and two knights rushed into the wagon. Dagonet immediately grabbed the girl and pulled her into his arms, while shouting instructions to the black haired knight.
"Lancelot! Quickly, start rubbing her back in small circular motions. You, woman, get me some water." Lancelot and Guinevere sprang into action. Slowly, as Lancelot rubbed her back, the coughing started to subside. After it stopped, Iraina was left, gasping for air. She was shaking, and her side was burning.
"Slowly, slowly. You will start coughing again if you breath too quickly now." Dagonet warned, referring to the way she was gulping up the air into her oxygen deprived lungs.
Iraina nodded and took a slow shuddering breath. The last thing she wanted to do was start coughing again. When she finally got her breathing under control, she glanced up at Guinevere and made a silent promise to give the knights a chance at earning her trust. She was interrupted from her silent conversation when something was gently pressed into her hand. Looking down, she realized that someone had placed a cloth in her hand. Surprised, she looked up into the dark brown eyes of the man she had threatened the last time she was awake. Eyeing him warily, Iraina nodded her head slightly in thanks. Even though she had said that she would give them a chance, it didn't mean that she was going to trust the men on the first thing they did. But saving her life was a step in the right direction.
Lifting the cloth to her lips, Iraina quickly wiped her face clean of the blood that she had coughed up. When she was done, she looked at the cloth in surprise. The once white hand cloth was now stained with red. If they hadn't stopped her from coughing when they did, she would be dead now. She doubted that she could have stopped the coughing herself. She opened her mouth to speak, but was stopped by Dagonet.
"No, do not talk. You have already stressed your throat and lungs enough today. What you need now is rest-yes, you do need it, even though you have already slept a great deal. I assure you that a long rest now will allow you to be up sooner. You will have to trust me."
Iraina searched the big man's eyes for something that she could use as an excuse, but all she saw was honesty and concern. Sighing softly in defeat, Iraina nodded and lay back down on the pile of blankets, making herself as comfortable as possible. Immediately her eyes began to droop in weariness. The last thing she was aware of before sleep overcame her was someone gently draping a blanket over her.
When Iraina next woke, she woke to find her stomach complaining loudly for food. Sitting up, Iraina was pleased that the motion did not cause her nearly as much pain as it did before. Looking outside she noticed that it was dark. That meant no one was awake except for the few on watch. Glancing at Guinevere, Iraina made sure that the other woman was completely asleep before quietly making her way to the opening of the wagon.
Pushing aside the deerskin flap of the doorway, Iraina stuck her head outside and breathed in the cool night air. She closed her eyes and smiled. It felt wonderful to be back out in the open, away from the constant smell of death. Opening her eyes again, Iraina slowly unfolded her legs from underneath her and sat on the edge of the wagon. Placing one foot tentatively on the ground, Iraina slowly eased weight onto it. When her leg held, she swiftly put the other leg down and slowly stood up. When she didn't fall, Iraina smiled triumphantly.
Suddenly, her legs buckled and Iraina closed her eyes as she felt herself fall. But, the ground never came. She felt strong arms catch her underneath her knees and behind her back. Hesitantly Iraina opened her eyes to see who had stopped her from falling. Her breath caught in her throat when she found herself looking up into the now familiar dark brown eyes of the knight whose life she had threatened. He gently picked her up all the way and made his way over to the now dying fire.
"You shouldn't be outside, you are not dressed warmly enough." The knight said as he shrugged out of his cloak. Swiftly he placed it around her shoulders and wrapped it around her, keeping out the cold winter wind that was blowing through the woods.
Iraina scoffed. "I have been cooped up in that wagon since I was taken out of that dungeon. I deserve a chance to breathe the free air again. Besides, my stomach-" she paused as her stomach growled loudly. "has told me that it wants to eat." She finished. The knight laughed quietly.
"Well, milady, I think that it one thing that I can help you with. That is, if you will allow me to." He waited as he watched the woad woman on the log next to him. She stared at him openly, trying to judge if he was trustworthy. Finally, after a few moments, she nodded her head and the knight turned away and went over to one of the pack horses and rummaged through the bags for a few moments before pulling out a small loaf of bread and a tankard of ale.
He walked back over to the woad woman and handed her the food. Iraina immediately snatched it from his hands. She instantly started ripping the bread into pieces and was about to shove it in her mouth when an amused but gentle voice stopped her.
"I wouldn't eat very fast if I were you." Iraina paused and looked up at the knight. She saw sense in his words and slowed herself down and slowly at the food he offered her. A silence fell between the two as Iraina ate the bread. Finally, she finished and drank the ale. When she was done, she wiped her face with the rags she wore as a shirt and handed the glass back to the knight.
"I'm sorry." She said quietly. Lancelot looked at her in surprise.
"What for?" he asked.
"What for? I threatened your life, and placed a dagger at throat. I think that that is something to be sorry for." Iraina exclaimed.
A look of understanding passed through the knight's eyes. "There is nothing to be sorry for. You acted as anyone else in your position would have done. You tried to get yourself and your friend free from what you thought was a threat to your life." He paused for a moment, his eyes glazing over slightly. "There is nothing wrong with fighting for freedom." The last part was said quietly and Iraina immediately understood why the knight didn't blame her. He was a man who had been torn from his home to fight for a cause not his own. And he had to fulfill a service of a number of years before he was granted his freedom.
"What is your name?" The knight asked her, while looking at her curiously. He wanted to find out who the woman who was so strong was. He wanted to know her name and tell his children of her, if and when he had children. Even though he had just met her, he knew that she was someone that would play a part in his life. Either big or little, he knew not, but his instinct told him to find out more about the woman that they had found. The way she held herself and spoke told him that she was more important than she seemed.
Iraina looked up at the knight in slight surprise. She didn't think that the man would want to talk to her because she was woad, and the added fact that she had threatened his life earlier. And, she didn't know if she was willing to trust the men enough to tell them her name. She pulled her face into an impassive mask and looked back up at the man.
"Why should I tell you my name?" she asked. The knight shrugged.
"It would be easier to talk to you, and I would like to know the name of the woman who has shone bravery beyond what is expected of her. But, if you wish to keep your name a secret, that is fine with me."
Iraina was startled slightly when the knight said that she was brave. Taking a leap of faith, she let her guard down and answered him.
"My name is Iraina, my lord." She said formally. The knight smiled, the action brightening up his already handsome face.
"Well Iraina, now that we have over come that particular barrier, shall we do this properly?"
Iraina looked up at him confused. For an answer, the knight stuck out his hand.
"Good evening, milady. My name is Lancelot; might I ask the name of a lovely young woman who has graced my presence?" Iraina laughed quietly at his charming remark. She placed her hand in his.
"Iraina, my lord. It is a pleasure to meet such a handsome and daring knight such as yourself." She answered in a friendly sarcastic voice. She started slightly when he pulled her hand up to his lips and brushed his lips over her skin. Iraina gasped slightly when she felt a shock run through her body at the contact.
Lancelot straightened up and smiled cheekily. "I didn't think that you thought so highly of me, Lady Iraina." Iraina started slightly at the title. The fact that she was of noble birth was not widely known, but the knight was treating her with the respect that her title deserved. Slightly on edge, Iraina questioned the man worried that he had found out that she was one of the most important women of the woad tribes.
"Why do you call me lady? I do not deserve such a title." She said, laughing nervously. Lancelot raised an eyebrow.
"Not deserving? Now, I believe that is an understatement. When you first came out, you held yourself proudly, and you have a regal air surrounding you. Your cautious, but wise words also pointed to the fact that you are used to situations where one's words can easily be turned against you. Also, the name Iraina is not unknown to us. You are the daughter of the chief of the largest tribe. Your father is the second in command, following Merlin. I think that that is a reason to treat you with some respect."
Iraina stared at the man in stunned surprise. He was far more observant than she thought. And the knowledge of the knights surprised her. She hadn't thought that she would be recognized by her name, except by Arthur. Silently she cursed herself. She should have known better. With a determined sigh, she raised her head proudly and waited for the worst.
Ooo… a little plot twist. Well, what do you think? Was this chapter ok? Because I personally thought that it stank. Oh well, please review!
p.s. oh, and I named my Hermit crab Jacques! Thanks for the great ideas!
Elvenstar5