A/N: Hello my wonderful readers! Here is the latest chapter…duh, so I hope you like it. I loved all your reviews, so please continue to give them and let me know you're reading my story. Thanks so much.

Disclaimer: There are two characters in this chapter (Dayn and Orainne) who I might use later on as well. They are NOT mine! They belong to a wonderful writer named Camlann. You all should read her story because it's REALLY good, and Adima's in it too. Lol. If you like this story, you'll probably like hers too.

Tristan Fan: I usually don't reply to short reviews, but I absolutely love it! Lol. I couldn't stop laughing when I read it. Lol, I'm glad you think my story's 'hot'.

SpectralLady: I don't really like Briac either, but maybe in this chappie we'll feel a little sorry for him…he is a jerk though…

Irishfire: Sorry about that 'almost heart attack'. I'm glad you like my story. Who knows what Briac's gonna do next…

Camlann: Yes! I love connections! Stellan is SO cool! I still think it's so funny that he and Mads (Tristan) are such goods friends. I wonder what it'd be like to kill your good friend in a movie. Lol, I think it'd be fun. J/K! I think you should listen to your feelings. I can't wait to see Beowulf! I LOVE Gerard Butler! He's one of my fav actors! And of course, I have started my phanfic for POTO already, so anyone who wants to read it can…OMG! I can review now! Yay! I hope I used Dayn and Orainne well enough in this chapter….If not, I can change it.

Zeriae: I agree. It's ok to have a little of that, but after a while it gets annoying.

Cari Shidao: Yeah, I'm sorry I took so long. I'm so busy right now with my other stories, and like I said, my beta didn't have time to read it.

Chapter Fourteen: Blade of Defeat

So much had happened to Adima at that moment, she didn't know quite what to think. Her sister seemed so casual, so urgent in her needs to take her leave as soon as she had arrived. She wasn't at all impressed by Adima's return. In her heart, Guinevere knew her sister would return, if only to see Tristan once more before he left. The Woad knew her sister well.

Guinevere had heard of the knights' plans to leave the Roman Empire as soon as their debts were paid; and they had been. And what of Arthur? All he had told her was that he planned to stay with his people, now that his place in Rome seemed to be unwelcome after the death of Pelagius. No, he didn't want to return there, to that place where good men die, and men of black hearts rot away with their power and greed, and rule the world with it.

Hints of an early spring lingered in the warming air. The snow from the mountain pass had not faded, but closer to the wall, the coming of the new season had already begun.

Adima succumbed to her inner thoughts, a warm mug of ale in her hand. She stood by Tristan, back to his front. She waited in silence for a moment.

Tristan put both hands on her shoulders. "Adima, are you alright?" he asked her. "Do not think of Briac," he said, with a slight smile. It was strange, for Tristan to smile, but Adima made him do that.

Adima's chest rose up and down again with a long lived sigh. "Perhaps you should rest?" Tristan offered in a worried tone.

Adima didn't answer. She couldn't forget what just happened. Briac's anger, she had hurt him so deeply. Tristan suddenly feeling so warm against her, his love for only her evident in his bold eyes. She turned to face him.

Tristan didn't know what to do. The girl remained silent. Their eyes met, and a slight smile spread across her face. Her eyes lit up. "Tristan," she breathed, as if realizing this for the first time. "We're free."

Tristan wondered what she meant by "free." Free from Briac? Free from the Woads? Her home? He looked at her calmly, and she looked at him. A calm wave of peace washed over her, and all pained feelings filtered away.

She brushed away the jagged bangs from his face, and stared affectionately into his deep brown eyes. She rested her left cheek on his chest, and closed her eyes, blinking away the last of her salty tears.

"What will become of us on the morrow?" she asked, her voice low shaken.

Tristan's heart plummeted. Tomorrow; it would come so soon. Night had fallen, and the moon beamed down at them as if telling the man time was short. "We will speak of such things in the morning," he said, simply, caressing the back of her head gently.

Adima didn't care to refuse that smile that grew on her face. Tristan's voice was so kind. Why? The thought hit her then- she'd given up her promised life with another man to be with him. This thought had crossed her mind before, but now it was truly sinking in. Everything had happened so fast…She was with Tristan now. That's where she wanted to be, by his side. She wanted nothing to change. Tristan could see this- it was not difficult for anyone to make out what Adima was thinking then.

Her eyes grew moist at the thought of her love leaving. Adima bit her lip. Tristan shifted his stance slightly. "You must relax your mind," he told Adima. "Come; let us take a walk." Adima nodded slowly.

Gawain and Talso watched in silence as they left the tavern. "It is late," Gawain said with a heavy sigh, weighed down by all his feverish sorrows. The night was heavy, as was his heart. He didn't expect it would be this painful, as time closed in all around him. In the morning, Talso would leave- perhaps even that night.

A glittering veil of bright lights twinkled over head, surrounded by the ethereal darkness and peaceful atmosphere of the night. Perched upon a tree in the nearby wood, a female hawk sat, quietly ripping at the flesh of a minuscule rodent.

She blinked her golden eyes, and glanced down below her. Strange men cascaded down the running river of grass that flowed throughout most of the island. Their muscular bodies were laden with heavy furs and their hands with sharpened, sinister weapons.

Cerdic smiled. They were not far now from their quarry. He raised his hand for all his men to see, and suddenly they stopped. "How far," both words were uttered to the weakling beside him.

The man stood, crouched a little, black hair tossed in the docile winds, and matted from his long weary journey. "Not far," said he. "We could make it to their gates by tonight, if we just travel little further…"

Cerdic interrupted him, his voice cold and harsh. "Don't you think my men should rest?"

Was this a rhetorical question he was asking? The black haired man licked his dry, cracked lips nervously, thanking God that winter was ending. "It is your decision," he said. "We could make it tonight- fight tomorrow."

"Very well," came Cerdic's reply.

"Father?" Cynric came up beside him.

"Don't speak to me, boy," Cerdic's tone was icy as the bitter winds that fell in winter. His son remained by his side, a little taken back, and silent. "Keep up the pace!" he yelled to his men, and with several grunts of displeasure, the Saxons moved on. With every step they took, they were that much closer to Arthur and his knights, and the unfortunate fort and village that stood in their path.

Cerdic, Cynric, the man with tangled black hair, and several of high ranking Saxon officers sat scattered in a circle around a blazing fire. Cynric watched his father, eyes unmoving.

"Cynric," Cerdic muttered in his hoarse, stern voice. "Is there something that troubles you that you would like to talk about?" his tone was sarcastic; he knew what haunted his son.

Cynric frowned, remembering with regret when he was forced to tell his father of his misfortune at the lake. Cerdic had struck his cheek hard with the back of a leather-gloved hand, with no mercy for his son. "No, Father."

Ignoring this, Cerdic spat, "Perhaps next time I give you orders to kill someone, you should do it."

"There were five men!" taunted one officer, while his friends smirked.

"Ten!" Cynric corrected him with heated anger. "And they would have killed you."

The officer jumped to his feet, unsheathing his sword, threateningly. Cynric rose to challenge him. Cynric's heart seethed with rage. He would end this torment, he would end it now…"Sit down!" Cerdic scolded. Cynric glanced down at his father with a frown. "I won't have spilled blood of my own kind here; there'll be enough of that tomorrow."

Cynric forced himself to keep his smile down. As much as he wanted to kill that man then and there, the thought that his father wanted him alive made him a little happy. Then, all the happiness filtered out of him.

"Watch yourself, boy," his father began to add. "Halis could kill you before you could raise your sword," he chuckled.

"Would you think differently of me, Father, if I had not failed you?"

Cerdic recklessly pulled put a knife from his pocket and held it in his hand. He leaned inwards to his son, and placed the dagger on Cynric's right cheek. Cynric tried not to flinch, but anger and pain swelled up inside him.

He could feel the cold edge of the blade carving into his flesh. It stung, burned, and froze him. But he took the pain down with a hard swallow, and kept silent.

Cerdic was not finished. "Perhaps this will teach you a lesson," he snarled. "Never to disobey me, and never to fail me. You won't forget now. The reminder is carved into your skin!"

A male Woad stood at the edge of the woods, watching the Saxons from concealment. He glanced upward at the hawk. "Thank you for your guidance, old friend," he whispered to the elegant creature, as it took flight towards its master, towards home.

Dayn clenched his fists. He watched the savageness of the Saxons with a heart of sorrow. How they cruel they were, and to their own kind. He soon felt the warmth of another's body beside him. He turned to face his love.

"There are so many of them," Orainne whispered, breathlessly. "Come," she took Dayn's hand. "We must warn Merlin."

"Merlin already knows. He has eyes like that hawk. He knew this long before us."

Orainne let herself be taken in her lover's arms. He held her close. "I fear for tomorrow," she whispered.

"These men will not take our home from us, Orainne, I promise you that."

Orainne took Dayn's hand in hers with a light smile. "I want to fight with you, by your side."

"That will not be," he told her as she frowned. "You are a healer- you will be needed after the battle, and during, but no where the danger lies. You know this. Don't fret, my love," he kissed the top of her head tenderly. "Arthur and his knights will protect this land, as we will protect ours."

Ok, so read Peril of Secrets if you want to find out more about Dayn and Orainne and, thanks to Camlann for letting me use her wonderfully developed characters. Lol. Please review! Mahalo.