Title: Lone Knight
Summary: An ambush leads to circumstances that rapidly spiral out of control, leaving a knight alone and many others in grave danger.
Rating: PG – 13
Authors notes: This idea has been plaguing me since I first saw the movie and I have finally got round to putting pen to paper so to speak. This is my first foray into a new genre and I hope it is successful. Feedback is very much appreciated :-)
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It was a bitterly cold day, snow flurries whirled around on the icy current of the north wind. Frost and black ice marred the cold landscape and all those of sensible persuasions were tucked up beneath furs in their thatched huts. This was apart from one Roman commander and six very disgruntled Sarmatian knights. Huddled beneath cloaks the six knights were glaring, albeit more good-naturedly than with all consuming hatred, at their Roman Commander, who was studiously ignoring them fearing the beginning of another pointless round of childish moaning. Unfortunately for him that was not to be.
"Well this is just lovely? Who needs toes and fingers anyway? Very much overrated." Galahad muttered loud enough for all the other knights to hear.
"That may well be so but I cannot live without my arms and legs neither of which at the present moment I can feel." Gawain replied shivering.
Arthur rolled his eyes. "They are probably laughing at us." Lancelot said. "Who else but the Sarmatian knights would be wondering around Britain in the depths of winter?"
An arrow sailing through the air answered the question and it impaled itself in the flank of Lancelot's horse. The bay stallion screamed in pain and shied violently to the side colliding with Bors, who reached out to try and hold Lancelot in the saddle. Lancelot shifted his weight in an attempt to steady the frightened animal but it had unbalanced itself and fell. The knight slipped forward onto the horse's neck and then proceeded to fall sideways as the animal desperately tried to regain its feet. With a shout of pain Lancelot hit the ground hard, his left foot becoming entangled in the stirrup. The normally calm horse was almost crazed with the pain and pranced around trying to get rid of the weight on one side of its body. Lancelot lay dazed and still, his body only moving in response to the horse's jerky movements. It was at this moment the woads broke free of the tree line and charged the knights.
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Everything had happened so quickly in Arthur's eyes. The complaining of the knights had commanded most of his attention and his first indication of a problem was when Lancelot's horse screamed. Arthur had turned in his saddle to see the bay horse stumble and eventually fall taking his second in command with it. Lancelot's head hit the ground hard leaving the man stunned. The animal thrashed for a moment before regaining its feet. Lancelot had not been lucky and his left foot was trapped in the stirrup. He watched as Tristan reached out to try and grab the reins of the panicked horse but it moved out of his way. Bors was more successful, grabbing the reins and pulling the horse to him. Before anyone could reach Lancelot woads burst out of the trees.
"Knights form up!" Arthur commanded and he watched out of the corner of his eye as Lancelot's horse reared up causing Bors to lose his hold. The stallion became further panicked by the harsh screaming of the woads and bolted. Arthur drew Excalibur and turned to face the oncoming battle knowing that he would not reach the stranded knight before the woads got to them. Hopefully the woads would be more focused on the remaining knights rather than Lancelot.
'God protect him' he whispered as he fought to get his heart and mind focused on the approaching battle and not his best friend.
A series of crossbow arrows brought down a number of the first line of Britains' and then with a war cry the knights leapt into battle.
As usual the fight was fast and furious but the knights moved instinctively, an ability they had acquired through years and years of hard training and battle experience. Bors slashed with his sword bellowing with every thrust. Dagonet was at his back as he always was, ploughing extremely powerful strokes into the enemy, sometimes taking two down with one pass. Galahad and Gawain were fighting together as was usual for them, so in tune with each other that when one ducked a blow the other was there to kill the attacker.
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Lancelot cursed and his dark mood didn't improve as he realised his horse was dragging him away from the battle field. Although he supposed it was better than being dragged towards into the battle in the position that he was in. He could hear the Britains' cries and he struggled to get the stirrup to release his foot. The mad dash of his panicked horse quickly came to an end as it grew tired and halted, breathing heavily. The loss of blood and extreme exhaustion resulted in the horse falling to its knees and moving to lie down.
"Don't you dare!" Lancelot threatened the stallion but to no avail as it lay down, his leg now trapped under the animal. There would be little chance of freeing himself by getting the horse to move so he reached behind him to try and retrieve one of his swords. With a lot of effort he withdrew one of the swords and reached down to try and cut the stirrup leather. Before he got very far a shadow loomed over him and a sword tip nudged at his throat.
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Arthur knew that this battle would be over quickly, this group were much smaller than what they normally faced and it was clear that it was only a scouting party. Just as those thoughts were playing across his mind he had to suddenly duck to avoid literally losing his head. The woad who had swung the blow stumbled as his blade hit nothing but air and this allowed Arthur to swing around and plunge Excalibur into the mans abdomen. Pulling the sword out of the man he whirled to face two of the blue warriors that sought to overcome him. With a smirk at their naivety and arrogance he fainted forward and both men leapt to meet him. At the last moment Arthur pulled back and the men had to desperately check their forward momentum leaving them unbalanced and unable to bring their swords to bear. Arthur capitalised on this and in quick succession he took out both men.
"Lancelot!" Galahad bellowed as he saw the predicament that the knight was in. Arthur whirled to see Lancelot's horse on the ground with the knight trapped below it. A woad stood above him with a sword at the knight's throat.
"NO!" Bors roared as he saw Galahad hurl one of his knives at the woad's back. Arthur watched in horror as the sword struck the man in the back knocking him forward onto the prone Sarmatian. The knights desperate to find out the fate of their comrade fought almost in frenzy. The woads' that had stood little chance before had no chance now and they were cut down swiftly.
Arthur ran towards his best friend, his heart in his throat. Skidding to a halt Arthur roughly pulled the dead woad off Lancelot and flung him aside.
"Can you get this bloody horse off me?!" Lancelot gasped.
"Oh god don't you scare us like that again!" Arthur exclaimed as he collapsed to his knees next to his friend. The Sarmatian groaned.
"You're bleeding!" Arthur suddenly cried. A long gash starting at Lancelot's collarbone ran down his chest. It was from the sword that the woad had held, which had scraped across the knights skin when he had fallen.
Arthur moved his hands to cover it, the bright red of Lancelot's blood staining his gloves. Lancelot hissed and batted his hands away.
"Don't touch it! I'm fine! Just get this damned horse off me." Lancelot growled
"You are most certainly not fine." Arthur snapped.
"I am to. It's a scratch." Lancelot's voice wavered and he closed his eyes. He suddenly didn't feel so good.
"Don't you close your eyes." He heard Arthur command. "That's an order."
Instead of a response Lancelot winced, his forehead crinkling with pain. He blinked frequently trying to clear his rapidly blurring vision. Nausea swelled and he swallowed trying to settle his stomach, he would not throw up in front of them.
"Lancelot!" a voice snapped and someone began tapping his cheeks.
"Lancelot!" the voice continued incessantly and he blinked his eyes open to see Dagonet poised above him.
"Do not go to sleep. You have a concussion and you must stay awake."
Lancelot closed his eyes again deciding that Dagonet was asking too much. His head hurt and he wanted to sleep. No amount of cajoling or even dire threats would stop him. With a deep sigh he let the darkness claim him.
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