Thanks for all your great reviews! I'll try to be more regular with my updates, but spring break is ending and its going to be hard to keep up. This is a short chapter…I don't know if all my chapters will be this short, but I'm too tired to do anymore tonight. Enjoy.

Chapter 14

Certainly this was going to be interesting. After a few minutes of introductions, Arthur led my new recruits and I out onto the training field, where he left me in charge. "You may take it from here…" he exclaimed, patting me on the back and smirking. Why that weasel of a friend! Luckily, Gawain stayed with me, and I turned to face my charges.

They were in a straight line formation. Avery was on the far left, his back straight with respect. The three standing next to him were Remus, Tobias, and Gabriel, all having brown, curly hair, expressing a strong sense of excitement and bewilderment. Next to Gabriel came Wench hitter, whose real name I suppose I'll have to get used to is Gafran, his eyes continuing to stare at me in sheer animosity. That will quickly be rectified. The boy to his right was Aedan, the blonde who had clumsily fallen into me. His eyes were downcast, peering about and noticing Gafran's hard expression. Conall rounded up the group, the drunkard who couldn't throw a knife if his life depended on it….or perhaps it was only the ale that made him miss. Be that as it may, he smiled politely at me, still thinking me some common lady who will make his life easy.

I closed my eyes for a moment, praying that God would give me strength. I felt a tingling sensation rise in my back, straightening my posture as I smoothed my face as stone once more. I could do this, my heart stated. I just needed to show them a person worth looking up to.

"As Arthur stated, I am your Captain now. Please feel free to ask me any reasonable question you like, and I will do my best to answer it. As I am a woman, do not assume me weak as both commander and warrior, or you shall soon face those consequences. I am Arria Gaius, daughter of the great Roman Senator Nicoteles. I stand before you in hopes that through our discipline, honor, and loyalty, we can make a better world, a vision our king so desperately desires. You will be training with Gawain and I to better equip you for the demanding nature this post requires."

My confidence was building, and my voice steady. "I assume you all know how to use the basics. Arthur informs me that you were hand selected from his soldiers particularly for your various skills in weaponry, diplomacy, and tactics. Do not think your post as King's Rider asserts you any position of power. You are under my command, and therefore are subjugate to my orders. Between your hard work and my respect for you, not one sword will be able to withstand our force." They were all paying attention, even Gafran. "A great warrior once told me, 'there's no use protecting the weak. The weak always suffer in the end.' This may be true, but that is why you are standing here before me, plucked from your original posts for a special service to our lord Arthur. To protect the weak and oppressed we must be strong in unity, strong in body, and strong in mind. Both myself and Gawain will teach you all that we know, but it is up to you to see what you are made of."

With that, I ordered them to begin sparring with one another using simple wooden blades, sizing up each one's potential. Gawain approached me and whispered, "Fine speech captain. Although I could have done better…" I peevishly nudged my elbow into his shoulder as he chuckled.

As the next two days wore on, I began to notice each individual's strengths and weaknesses. Gafran was by far a superior swordsman, blocking every blow and quickly attacking back with lightning speed and precision. The only thing that matched his swordsmanship was his cockiness. Both Remus and Tobias were quite the archers, both long and short range. I smiled as each target was shot down with an eagle's eye of accuracy. Neither could wield a sword well, though through practice should be able to learn enough to defend themselves. Conall, I learned, was taught numerous scouting techniques by his father. He actually knew more about tracking than both Gawain and I combined, which excited me to no end.

Avery was a bit more pacifist than the rest. Though quite comical, he was in essence, a healer by nature, being the only one who new which herbs to use for various sicknesses, all the while not a bad axe wielder. Gabriel did not use swords. Instead, he preferred hand to hand combat and knives to slay a foe. He knew which parts of the body, if pressured accurately, could silently kill or paralyze an enemy. His father was a merchant, and while in the far east he learned to use his body as the sole weapon against an adversary.

Gabriel's quiet demeanor mixed with deadly precision made Gawain freeze for a moment in awe. I gave him an awkward glance, and he returned a slight smile, though a hitn of sadness hid behind it. "He's a lot like Tristan, this one."

Finally, there was Aedan. A born leader in my eyes. The others naturally looked to him for praise and respect, even Gafran took some of his advice. He was neither the best swordsman nor the best archer nor the best warrior skilled of any; but in him was an even rarer ability: the ability to make smart decisions under pressure and hold on to the mission at hand. The voice of reason and compassion.

It was hard to believe one could learn so much about one's subordinates in two days time. I did not speak much, giving out orders and every now and then making a few suggestions. None warmed up to me at first, keeping both their distance and eyes away. But I suppose it would take time. After all, I assume my own Sarmatian comrades were not exactly affectionate towards their Roman commander at first.

By nightfall on the second day of training, all were completely exhausted, and smelt like pigs. A new thing I learned was that Avery was always the optimist, cracking jokes to keep up his brothers' spirits. Even I cracked a smile later that night as the rest began to turn in. He came out dressed as a courtesan, with full makeup and wig to top. Needless to say, the men were either too tired or too stupid to realize at first who it was, and he proceeded to flirt with each one of them, raising their eyebrows in lust. That is, all were willing to take her…I mean him…to bed right then…until he lifted up his leg in seduction, and the faces of the men soon turned to mush as they discovered that no woman could possess such hairiness. Laughter and grumbles erupted amongst them as I watched from the end of the corridor.

"Now, my brothers, my title must be Avery the Charmer, Seducer of pigs and men!" Smiling at his antics, I rounded the corner out of their sight. The next morning I was to take a trip with my men along with Arthur west to the province of Duahalaghn, where the Lord Cedric had just recently sworn allegiance to Arthur.

The ride there was a bit restless. Gawain stayed back at the fort, and so I rode next to Arthur the entire time, something foreign to me. I kept glancing back, hearing laughter erupt from my men, wishing I could join in. It began to sink in that perhaps I could not share the comradely I held with my other knights, since I was an older woman with a superior rank. I sighed in loneliness, but soon came to my senses. I was not made Captain to make friends. Indeed, it would be good if we got along, but my job was to protect the innocent, not mope about being lonely and out of place.

Arthur noticed my sigh as I turned back around and he gave me a quick pat on the shoulder as we rode on, our horses trotting side by side. "Give it time, Arria."

"My lord, how is it that you always know what I am thinking? It's a bit uncanny, it is."

He chuckled softly. "As king I have been given special powers from heaven, including the gifts of mind reading and…well….the second only Guinevere can explain." I rolled my eyes. "Plus, even though you would never like to think it true, you wear your emotions on your sleeve. You and I are a lot alike, if you have not already come to that conclusion. We come from the same place, hold the same values, both of us yearning for the approval of others. I may be king, captain, but I still doubt my every action."

"If you doubt your actions, sir, then why do you make them?"

He looked at me as if the answer was obvious. "Leaders make decisions. It is better to make the wrong choice than to make no choice at all. A life of indecisiveness is no life at all."

We both turned around as new fits of laughter exploded from the men, enough to startle our horses. I turned my horse around, pulling back on the reigns to a halt. "Would you kindly lower your voices, lads? The whole isle of Britain could hear your fits of giggling….including raiders."

A chorus of "yes mams" proceeded to follow, though the smirks did not go away. A few moments later loud guffaws echoed through the field, sending the birds flying. Arthur raised his eyebrow at me in warning.

I turned back around to face the men, this time my eyes narrowed in superiority. "I was told soldiers obey orders."

Avery continued to smile, unaware of my seriousness. "Come off it cap, we're just having a bit of fun. No harm done."

It was awkward to be the adult. How did Arthur stand it having to yell at his men when obviously any leader would want to join right in on the fun. I turned to my king, and he gave me a look as if to say 'don't back down. Not yet, at least.'

Looking at Avery, I once more straightened my back. "When I give an order, it shall be obeyed. By force, if necessary." He gulped, and said no more.

Gafran chuckled softly to himself. "Do we have a problem?" I asked him.

He stared at me, raising his chin high. "No, Captain. I was just wondering what exactly you deem a 'command'."

I tilted my head, wishing him to continue. "You asked if we could kindly lower our voices…seems to me more of a request than a command." Silence befell the company, the men looking at one another, wondering what I would say to such insolence.

He was trying to unnerve me, and make me look the fool in front of the others, including Arthur. Well I was done playing.

"Perhaps I will make it more crystal clear to you then, Gafran. When we get to Duahalaghn, you are to stay with the horses while we conduct business with our ally. You will sleep with them, brush them, feed them…from now on, until I deem otherwise, you are our stable boy. And the next time you talk back to your superior officer, your back shall bear the scars from my whip." I faced the whole group. "Riders, move along."

"Shall I cook and scrub your back as well, your holiness?" I froze as he dared speak again. He was dangerously on the verge of making me lose my temper.

"Gafran…" Aedan gruffed, getting in between his horse and mine, staring him down with hostility. "Know your place." Gafran sneered at the taller Rider, but did not dare look at me again.

"Actually, the cooking sounds wonderful Gafran, although I sincerely hope your cooking isn't nearly as bad as your bedskills….atleast, from what the bar maids have told me…still a bedpisser are we? Don't worry, most men who have a penis that small usually experience problems in performance. I suppose that's why you're a decent swordsman…making up for what you don't have aye?" With that, I kicked my horse forward towards Arthur, his mouth agape.

"Carry on!" I barked, hearing snickers roll through the men.

"She certainly told him.." Conall exclaimed.

"Couldn't have said it better meself.." Avery whispered, though it was within earshot.

We camped a few hours later, just in the clearing of a forest. We still had about a two day journey ahead of us, and I assigned Remus and Tobias to go hunt us some food. After a fire was lit, and our bellies full, we laid down to get a few hours sleep. "A bit below the belt, Arria." Arthur said, though he was still smiling.

"Probably. But he deserved it."

"Its what he wanted….still….I rather enjoyed that…"

I sat up. "Happy to hear my king has a sense of humor."

"Its what keeps men young and sane."

"And women."

"No. Women may stay young, but they are never sane."

I was about to retort, but thought better of it. "I suppose we are a mad breed. Goodnight, my lord."

"You did good today, Arria. They'll learn to respect you in the end. And please don't tell Guinevere about the insaneness of the female species. The one thing worse than an insane woman is a woman that nags."