JUST BEYOND TIME
by VINTERSORG

We're like an old story
Written down long ago
In a book with ageing pages
Hidden in the sand of time

We're not like an old story
Retold so many times
That there is no truth left
Our faces lost in the folds of time

We're like the ones we were
So many years ago
Two kindred souls entwined
Forever together in the web of time

- - -

Prologue

The rain poured down and lightning split the sky while the thunder rolled outside the castle at Joyous Gard. In the main hall an old woman sat, her grandchildren and great-grandchildren at her feet. She had been an exquisite beauty in her time and although her hair was all white now the years had been kind to Guinevere.

"Tell us a story," they pestered her, "Yes, tell us a story! We want to hear about fearless knights, great adventures and far off lands; about fair princesses, daring sword-fights and magic spells!"

"All right, all right!" Guinevere laughed, holding up her hands in a submissive gesture. She loved children, her own and their own and their own own. She loved her family - full stop. "I will tell you a great, grand story which has all you asked for and a bit more. But...

"This story is not mine to tell, at least not in full, for I know less than half of all the twists and turns. It is a story of love and trust and betrayal, but also of brotherly love and friendship that could overcome any obstacle.

"I shall not pretend that this story has not moved me to both tears and laughter. Tears because it cuts deep in my heart, but also laughter because it's so tragicomical when all is out in the open.

"It all began a long time ago, years before the birth of my husband. Arthur's mother, the Briton lady Igraine, had left her husband Gorlois and their three daughters to wander the countryside with the battle-scarred Sarmatian knight Uther Pendragon. If she had known the consequences of her choice maybe she wouldn't have, but she had done this for a love so mad that no-one who has not experienced such a love can ever understand what it is like.

"I myself has done so, betraying my husband for the sake of his best friend, but this story has little to do with mine.

"In a dream the druid Merlin came to Igraine and told her she would bear the future king of all Britain. She told this to her lover who became suspicious, for he had fought the Picts for fifteen years. Igraine, who herself was related to the Pict leader, would not listen to her lover's fears and accusations, but promised him that he could choose a suitable wife to be a support for their son.

"Uther sent word and asked the King and Queen of the Roxolani tribe in Sarmatia for the hand of their daughter, the princess Isolde, in marriage to his son Arthur. He wished for a strong woman to stand by his son's side and knew of none better than a Sarmatian warrior princess.

"Queen Fiona was at first reluctant to promise her daughter away to anyone, feeling that it would come to no good and it was not their custom. But king Henzil, who himself had been a knight in Britain, felt that Arthur would need all the help he could get if it was true he was destined to be king over the Woad.

"Years past and the two grew strong, each on their own - one in the East and one in the West. Isolde became a fierce warrior, the foe of many an enemy and word spread of both her ruthlessness on the battlefield and of her breathtaking beauty. Arthur followed his father's footsteps and became the commander of the Sarmatian knights stationed at Badon Hill by Hadrian's Wall; a serious man and a great warrior who's fame spread across the Empire.

"Then the time came when Arthur, who had reached his twenty-fifth summer, wanted to meet with this woman whom his father had arranged for him to marry. He sent his scout, Tristran, to go to Sarmatia and bring back this woman to Britain.

"Looking back at it now it would have been better if he had sent her brother, Lancelot, who also was a knight under Arthur's command to fetch Isolde instead. Then maybe none of what would happen would have come to pass.

"But people are not always foreseeing - and who would have guessed that the reclusive knight would fall for the fair warrior princess and she for him?"

Ha! I can see old and grey Guinn telling stories to all her grandchildren before my inner-eye! Ack, I think it's so very cute. Le sigh... (dreamy look) I love Guinn, whatever people say about her.

• I couldn't find a suitable song lyric for the prologue so... (grins) I've written poetry! Wow, it's been way too long. Years ago I had this obsession with writing poetry, but it's been ages since last time.
• I spell Tristran's name the way I do because (1) it's how it's spelled in the novelisation of the movie and (2) if you listen close it's how the name is pronounced in the movie, too.
• The myths and legends rock my socks, but as you can see I've modified them slightly (ex. the whole Guinn becomes a nun is ignored and Isolde isn't engaged to Tristran's uncle but to Arthur).

Please don't forget to review! It makes my day and I feel inspired to write more when I know someone reads my stories!