Dun dun dun…. LAST CHAPTER! It is imperative though that you read the author's note at the end of the chapter because the surprise will be in it. I apologize in advance for the fight scene and if it turns out horrible. I'm not good at writing them and I hope I do it justice. Well, there's not much else to say, but enjoy! This chapter may be short, but don't forget about my present at the end! Oh ya, this chapter may be riding on that fine line between R and PG13, so I warn you now, the battle scene might be a tad bit gory.

Disclaimer: I do not own King Arthur, but I do own Emma and Braelyn (Emma's brother.)

Faded Roses in a Heart
Chapter 10
Petals in a Battle
Emma's POV

Riding up to that hill beside Tristan and Gawain was the most frightening thing I've had to do with the knights so far. I was prepared for the physical battle, yes, but I wasn't ready for the emotional fight. What would happen if one of the knights were to fall? I had gotten to know each and every one of them, some more than others, yet they were my family. I was so close to losing Dagonet, I wouldn't be able to bear losing one of the knights. The only thing I could do was protect and watch over them to the best of my ability. I could only hope and pray that nothing went wrong.

Arthur looked over at us as we lined up on either sides of him. I rode to his left side and looked nervously at his rapidly angering face.

"I won't let you do this alone. We will protect each other," I quickly said to diminish his fury.

"That wasn't the point! You are disobeying a direct order. Go back and protect Dagonet. He needs you more," Arthur replied sharply.

"Arthur, let her fight," Lancelot said from Arthur's other side. "She will be sheltered from harm, I promise." Arthur looked decisive for a minute, then sighed and turned back to me.

"Stay at the back. Do not move away for any reason," Arthur ordered before shifting his eyes in front of him. I nodded to myself and mentally prepared for the oncoming event.

"Knights, the gift of freedom is yours by right," Arthur stated riding in front of us. "But the home we seek resides not in some distant land. It's in us and in our actions on this day. If this be our destiny, then so be it. But let history remember that as free men we chose to make it so." Arthur drew Excalibur and proudly brandished it in the air.

"Rus!" Arthur started the cry, and the knights followed. I called out loudly with them, drawing my own swords and readying them. This was my revenge, for Dagonet. And to protect my brother as he protected me, Braelyn.

The knights stuck their staffs into the ground, and Tristan pulled out his bow. He fitted an arrow into it and let it soar past the Saxons and to the tree that held the scout. The Saxon scout fell out of the tree onto the ground below it.

We then followed Arthur back over the hill and into position behind the cloud of smoke. I was on SunDance in between Tristan and Arthur once again, as we heard the Saxons enter the wall. Everyone held up their weapons, ready to eliminate as many Saxons as we could. Suddenly, arrows flew into the air and past us into the fog. Hearing the cries of the enemies, I turned and noticed Woads with bows in their hands. Leading them was Guinevere, the lady we found in the dungeons at Marius' estate. Arthur must have convinced them to fight with us.

I turned back around and arranged myself in the best possible way to reach down and slash the Saxons. Heeding the dying sounds of the opponents, the knights and I made our way towards them. Through the fog, the Saxons couldn't see us until we were right upon them and we were ready to take them down.

The first time through, I had some trouble plunging my swords in and taking them back out. I only killed one Saxon on the first run, but it was better than none. We traveled back into the fog as more arrows descended on our foes. After the arrows fell, we journeyed once again through the Saxons and eliminated more of them. I was able to slaughter two on this try, they were lined up which made it difficult to get any more than that. They attempted to use crossbows, but the haze around them made them lose track of us.

Our paths took us through the remaining Saxons a couple more times until there were none left standing. I couldn't help but feel proud of myself that I was helping the knights.

We rode back to the hill and waited for more Saxons to travel through the door. Only this time, the rest of the Saxons from outside the gate traversed inside. The Woads behind us brought out catapults and set the up towards the Saxons. They were also lighting their arrows that were already in their bows. They drew the arrows back and fired them, taking down many of the Saxons that didn't have their shields ready. The Woads ran towards the left group of Saxons and began the battle.

The knights and I followed Arthur towards the other group of Saxons on our horses. The catapults were apparently lit as fire grew around the Saxons. The fire was almost more difficult to ride through than the fog. Riding through, I killed more Saxons as my training was remembered. I could control my swords easily, if instead of plunging them in, I tried slicing through. The only thing about this, was that the blood spewed instead of gushed. (AN: Ok, this is my first one during a chapter, but I have to admit, that was just horribly gruesome.)

Eventually, the enemy line thinned out and it was easier to find the victims of my swords. Pausing for a moment to gain ground, I looked for the other knights. Closest to me was Gawain who was just embedded with an arrow in his shoulder. Rushing over to him, I noticed a Saxon coming up on him with an axe. Arthur killed the Saxon just in time as I reached Gawain.

"Are you alright?" I asked him touching his arm gently. He looked down into my concerned gaze and nodded slightly. I didn't know whether to pull the arrow out or leave it there. Gawain fixed that problem for me as he wrenched the arrow out himself. I nodded to Arthur's silent question of whether I, myself, was alright and went on my way to find the other knights.

I started with horror slowly bubbling inside of me when I found Tristan. He was fighting the Saxons' leader on his own. Making my way over to them, I fought off any enemies around them as I kept my eye on Tristan. I could feel the rose he gave me burning inside of my pocket. The Saxon leader nicked Tristan's side and he pulled away. I sighed with relief as he continued to fight.

I took my eyes off for a moment to see if anyone else was near, but when I turned back Tristan was on the ground holding his head. I tried to fight my way over to him as quickly as possible while he tried to stand. Knocking the nearest guy away from me, I started to run when he gained another gash. His sword was knocked away from him and the Saxon leader was walking towards him. Tristan's opponent kicked his sword to him and he once again joined into battle.

I ran past Lancelot as the Saxon leader rammed Tristan's own sword into his side. What I didn't notice while I darted for Tristan was Lancelot being struck by an arrow and falling to the ground.

Tristan fell to the ground as the Saxon leader went off to face Arthur. Crying out, I tried to push my legs faster to Tristan as he collapsed upon the grass. I wasn't running nearly as fast as I could, as his eyes closed slightly.

"TRISTAN!" I cried as my heart clenched around itself, never noticing the faded rose petals descending out of my pocket and into the battle air.

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Well… That's the end! Bwahaha.. This chapter was short for good reason. Okay, well you guys probably hate me now for leaving it like that, but I did promise you a gift. Here it is…. SEQUEL TIME! I am proud to announce that there will be a sequel to this lovely story. The sequel will continue where this story left off, or close to it. It will be harder to write because I won't have a movie to fall back on, but I promise to write it to the best of my abilities. Romance will appear in the next story. I don't know how soon it will be out, but I will let you guys know everything in my profile when I do. Thanks to all my reviewers and readers who made this story so much fun to write. Until next time…

Love, Archer

Review responses for Chapter 8:

GalahadsFallenKnight0: Thanks for reviewing and sorry for not putting this in the last chapter. I'm happy that I was able to keep the knights in character and I'm glad that you like Emma. Thanks for reviewing again.

Review responses for Chapter 9:

LANCELOTTRISTANBABY: thanks for reviewing and here's the chapter you were waiting for

Elfvamp1-13-97: thanks for reviewing. It won't be revealed until the sequel what Tristan actually wanted to say to Emma. I'm not sure what her brother will do yet, but I promise it won't turn out bad.

tlm1633: thanks for reviewing. I made you almost cry? Wow, I don't think that's ever happened. Alas, no worries, everything will turn out alright. No more tears now, be happy!

tHe vOiCe WiThiN: thanks for taking the time to review for both chapters. Alright, for chapter 9. I am so happy that Emma turned out to be the character that I had planned for her in the beginning. There will be much more interaction between her and the other "forgotten" knights in the sequel (especially Gawain). Hehe. I really love her personality and how her brother turned out. I played on the idea of making him evil, but I really couldn't. I really wanted him to be as sweet as she is. I guess they take after their mother. Alright, chapter 10 now. About Gawain, there will definitely lots more contact between him and Emma in the sequel. I couldn't leave him out, I love him too much. I'm having a bit of trouble with the pairings of the next story, Gawain or Tristan. I guess it'll just come along sooner or later and we'll see who ends up with who. I didn't write a lot about Emma's background and I will absolutely dig into that in the continuation. I took your advice also on her brother's name and I decided on Braelyn. I thought it was cute and sweet like him. I didn't get a meaning though, so I might just make a meaning up eventually. Thanks so much for all your support throughout my story and I must say that I look forward to your reviews. Thanks again, love Archer.