Cardeia: I think it probably was very traumatic for her, but you do what you have to, and as you said, Gawain got her off to a good start, letting her know how it was supposed to be. I'm glad you like Vanora - I think she's pretty smart and she can obviously handle herself - heck, she can handle Bors and that takes one heck of a woman as far as I'm concerned. I'll explain a bit more later about her role in the running of the tavern and how things sort of work around there. I think I'm going to do a sort of "random memory" type of thing that goes over various things that don't necessarily have to do with any of the knights in particular. I'm also working on a second part of the Tristan thing that shows how she reacts to her perception that he rejected her and the repercussions of her actions. It'll bring in a bit of the other knights and a Roman or two as well.This is really getting longer than I thought it would be but as I go I'm finding more things to write about. And it's sort of challenging to write the material and keep it within the M boundaries though as you saw I sort of stretched it a bit in the Bors chapter. This chapter might stretch those boundaries as well, but I think I cleaned it up pretty well. Anyway, I hope you like this chapter, I started to look at Galahad just a bit differently after this one.

Miggyrow: Thanks so much for reading. I've been reading your story as well, I'm sorry I haven't reviewed for a while. But I promise I will get to it. I very much like Tanjin and the whole Hun angle. The fierce and proud Hun vs the fierce and proud Sarmatians. Really good concept!

Furibondo: Yes, I could see where this girl and Gawain could fall in love, and indeed they do love each other in their own fashion. I think he also feels quite a bit of fondness for the other women in his life and this girl is merely one of them. She would see the hopelessness of giving her heart to Gawain totally and waiting for something that won't happen.I think she takes love where she can find it and sometimesit isn't enough, but it's all she's going to get. In the beginning she may have held a bit of hope, but I think when Lancelot broke her heart she quickly realized what the reality was. She could like these guys, even love some of them but there had to be a certain amount of distance. Anyway, thanks so much for reviewing; I'm glad you liked it. This one may not be so much to your taste. Generally I don't write slash but it just seemed the direction that this chapter needed to go in. If you don't read and review I'll understand.

Disclaimer: Obviously I don't own any of this, nor do I profit from it in any way. I just like to play with them.

Rating: M

Warning: The following contains scenes of slash - m/m sex, in other words. I do not believe they are graphic but it is very definitely slash and if that offends you please do not read any further. I realize that not everyone likes slash and I myself do not often write it. However, I felt that this chapter called for a certain interpretation of the relationship between Galahad and Gawain. If you do not like the idea of this interpretation, again, please do not read any futher.

My relationship with Galahad was complicated, to say the least. Though over time it changed, in the beginning Galahad didn't like me, nor I him. Even after things became more cordial between us we were still often at odds.

Because Galahad did not like me he did not seek me out on his own, and Gawain did not share me with Galahad for many months after our association began. The two of them shared many women, but I had thus far not been one of them. I eventually found out that Galahad was resentful of me for just that reason. His perception seemed to be that Gawain held me in special esteem and that seemed to be the reason for his hostility. However, I do not believe that to be the case. I assume Gawain did not share me merely out of consideration for my own sensibilities, for I was yet young and inexperienced. But Gawain continued to see me as such long after that ceased to be the case.

One night I was at the table with the knights, sitting on Gawain's lap. The drink had been flowing as it tended to do and Galahad was surly, as he tended to be. He sat in brooding silence while he watched Gawain and I kissing and caressing. Finally Galahad's foul mood got the better of him.

"It appears I'll be going home alone yet again tonight, while Gawain goes to a willing bed," he noted grumpily.

I looked around. It was odd, but the women all seemed to be otherwise occupied. I looked at Gawain and whispered in his ear. I had to admit that I was somewhat curious about bedding two men at once, and this appeared to be the occasion when I could satisfy that curiosity.

After I whispered my willingness to Gawain, he looked at me and asked, "Are you sure?"

I nodded to him and nuzzled his neck.

"You may join us this night, if you've a mind to, Galahad," Gawain said.

Though one would have thought that Galahad's mood would improve with that invitation, if anything he became surlier.

"Oh, have you finally decided to share?" he grumbled.

Gawain looked at me and we both burst into laughter, which caused Galahad to scowl even more. Gawain and I got up from our chair and as I wandered out the door, Gawain coaxed the young knight from his chair and followed me, throwing his arm around his grumpy friend's shoulders.

When we got to Gawain's room, I wrapped my arms around his neck and gave him a long, passionate kiss. I could feel him beginning to respond to me and was eager to begin the rest of our evening. Looking over at Galahad, I could see that he was slouched in a chair, sulking. I began to remove Gawain's tunic, kissing and licking his skin as I did so.

He moaned and invited Galahad to come over and join us. "Let her pleasure you as she does me, Galahad. That will surely put a smile on your face!"

Galahad said, "I'll join you soon enough. Go on without me for now."

I decided to give him an incentive to join us and I began removing my clothing as I continued kissing Gawain, who was only too happy to offer his assistance in stripping me. Fully nude, I embraced Gawain, feeling the bare skin of his chest against me. He buried his face in my neck and whispered, "I think he's starting to get interested."

I sank to my knees and began to loosen Gawain's trousers. I freed him and gazed in appreciation. I considered how much I enjoyed this beautiful, golden man as I leaned forward and began to pleasure him with my mouth. I smiled as I heard an intake of breath and then a low growl from above me.

"Come over here and give her something else to do, Galahad. If she keeps this up I'll be finished before the evening has begun."

I flirtatiously turned my eyes up to him and said, "You would recover quickly, as you always do. But while recovering, mayhap I would have another to occupy me?" My tongue came out to teasingly flick against him before once again taking him between my lips.

Gawain smiled wickedly, and looked at Galahad. "You've just received an invitation, boy. Come join us, for you may not get another!"

As I continued giving my attentions to Gawain, I was aware of Galahad removing his clothing. Galahad may not have been my favorite person due to his unreasoning dislike of me, but he was a very attractive man. I was eager to see what he had to offer me this night.

Then he was standing next to me. I heard Gawain's voice, low and gentle as he spoke to him. "Kiss her, Galahad."

A moment later, Galahad was beside me, kneeling next to me. I released Gawain's manhood and looked at the young knight. Would he do as Gawain asked, or would I have to make the first move?

I can only think that what came next was due to drink and Galahad's need to claim what he believed to be his alone. For Galahad came to regret his actions, which revealed to me his more intimate relationship with Gawain.

As I watched, waiting, he leaned forward. But instead of taking my mouth, he took Gawain into his. I watched this beautiful man doing what I had been doing only moments before, and my mouth went dry. I sat back and became aware of a sudden deep ache between my legs. I had never seen such a thing. Oh, I had heard about these two, mere whispers, but had dismissed them as gossip.

No gossip, this. I watched as Gawain's hand tightened in Galahad's dark curls, and Galahad moaned in response. Gawain chuckled, his voice husky. "You were supposed to kiss her, Galahad."

I was still watching, enthralled. I didn't want to interrupt them, didn't want to join in. I just wanted to watch. Gawain called my name, but I paid no mind. Instead, my hand moved between my legs, almost of its own volition.

He called my name again. I reluctantly tore my eyes away from the scene before me and looked up at him. His eyes were merry, twinkling with amusement at my lustful reaction. "We'll do that for you later," he promised. "Kiss him."

"I'm not sure he's going to share you," I replied. I was surprised by the huskiness of my voice.

Gawain smiled at me. "He'll share," he said. "Won't you, Galahad?"

As I watched Galahad pleasuring Gawain, I moved forward and began also to lick his shaft. I could feel Galahad's tongue flicking against mine, the merest brushes of his lips. Our tongues began to seek each other out as we worked our way down Gawain's length to meet in a full kiss.

I could feel Gawain's fingers sliding through my hair, becoming entangled in it and I knew he was doing the same to Galahad. Thinking back to his moans of pleasure still puts a smile on my face.

After enjoying the sensation provided by our tongues against him for a while, Gawain stepped back and reclined in a chair as Galahad and I grew more passionate, continuing to kiss. Then realizing that we were actually kissing each other and belatedly remembering our dislike, we pulled back. From our place on the floor Galahad and I both looked up at Gawain.

"I want to watch you together," he said. "I'll join you later."

Gawain's wish being our command, Galahad and I retired to the bed, where the rivalry that was the basis of our relationship began. We fought for Gawain's attention, fought to provide each other with more pleasure than the other was giving. And where Galahad, I believe, strove constantly to make Gawain jealous by pleasuring me as skillfully as he possibly could.

After much thought, I believe I sought Gawain's attention not so much because I wanted it, but because Galahad didn't want me to have it. There was just something about the young knight that got under my skin, and me under his. It was almost a shame that we disliked each other so much because we were very well matched in bed. Whether we would have come to know each other's bodies so well without Gawain pushing us together, I could not say. But the two of us knew exactly where the other most liked to be touched, and in what ways.

For my part, I had little problem sharing Gawain. I had a great deal of affection for him, could even say I loved him, and I enjoyed him immensely in bed. But I was not possessive of him as Galahad was, for I learned early the futility of it. He did not mind sharing a woman with Gawain, and they did so often. But I believe that I was one of very few women who ever saw Galahad and Gawain touch as lovers, and Galahad grew to regret having opened up that side of their relationship to me.

We women talk. We share information about the men all the time – not out of idle gossip, though that can certainly be a part of it. But so we know whom to watch out for, who to stay away from when they've been drinking. Who has difficulties getting it up at times and what it takes to help him get there. We're a sisterhood, and while we are often rivals, of necessity we watch out for each other.

As I said, I had heard whispers of Galahad and Gawain. They were thought to be lovers, but not because any of the women had seen them together. Because we talk, because we share information, it would have been known. So their more intimate relationship was speculation only, and it remained that way even after I knew otherwise.

I was discreet, and no purpose would be served by flapping my tongue.

Most often when the three of us were together it was the two men pleasuring me, and I them. Very rarely would the two of them ever touch. In fact, I came to wonder if I had imagined our first time together, imagined Galahad's sweet lips pleasuring Gawain.

Then came an occasion when we were all together, and because of a game of chance that I had won, the two of them had to do my bidding. My every whim would be their command.

They had been drinking quite a bit and Gawain was up for anything. Galahad was somewhat less so, but if Gawain and I were inclined to do something, so was Galahad. He did not want to be the one to spoil the fun.

I ordered Galahad to kiss me, which he did, making my knees quite weak in the process. I then ordered Gawain to kiss me, and he pulled me close and gave me a kiss that curled my toes.

I sat down on the bed, and leaned back.

"Now I want to watch you kiss each other," I said.

Galahad shot me a murderous look, one that Gawain did not see. Gawain was amused, and turned to Galahad. "Whatever the lady wants," he said.

He leaned in close to Galahad and kissed him softly on the lips. Galahad held back for a moment but then his hand came up to Gawain's head and pulled him closer.

I watched as they shared a passionate kiss, seemingly forgetting that I was in the room. I didn't mind; I was enjoying the sight of these two beautiful men together. Belatedly, Gawain remembered I was there and pulled away from Galahad. He looked to me for his next order.

I waved my hand expansively. "Whatever you want to do," I said. Then I grinned wickedly and added, "With Galahad." I put my hands behind my head and prepared to watch.

Gawain smiled and pulled the younger knight again into his embrace. I watched as they kissed, and as the elder knight's hand wandered down to fondle Galahad. There was hunger in their embrace, in the sound of their voices, and in the way their hands roamed over the other's body. Again, I had the feeling that it was only the two of them in the room.

I laughed slightly, and unfortunately Gawain heard and looked up at me, a question in his eyes.

"Should I leave you two alone?" I asked teasingly.

"Yes!" snarled Galahad.

At the same time Gawain answered, "No, stay and watch!"

I laughed. "Sorry Galahad, I believe I'll stay and watch, as Gawain says." The young knight glared at me, and I stuck my tongue out at him.

"Please – continue," I said. "I'll be very quiet. You won't even know I am here."

I had to smile at Galahad's sour face.

Gawain turned back to Galahad and soon the two lovers were embracing again. I made sure to remain silent, as I did not wish to further interrupt them. I was aching with lust and indecisive about what I would have them do next.

Gawain fell to his knees and lovingly began pleasuring Galahad with his mouth. I watched the younger knight's fingers catching in Gawain's hair, as my own had done so many times, pulling him closer.

"Lay him down on the bed, Gawain," I said in a throaty voice.

Gawain groaned in assent and pushed Galahad onto his back. As Gawain's head lowered and he once again began attending to Galahad's swollen manhood, I caught a glimpse of Galahad's face. He was looking at me and he seemed both angry and anxious.

I knew what he was worried about. He wondered else that I would request of them. What if I wanted to see Gawain take Galahad? In Gawain's current state of inebriation and good humor, he was likely to go along with any request I made. I knew the last thing that Galahad wanted was for me to witness his most intimate moments with his lover.

Truth be told, I considered requesting exactly that. I was curious and I would find it arousing. And I enjoyed having that power over Galahad. He'd never been exactly kind to me, and if the situation had been reversed I wondered how much mercy he would show.

After mulling it over, I decided I would not ask to watch them make love, as I did not truly want to do anything to hurt Galahad. But I was not above using the threat of it to make him uncomfortable.

I had been watching them for far too long, and was now eager to join in. Galahad's beautiful body was prone on the bed and I longed to feel him in my mouth as well.

I crawled over to the pair and joined Gawain in pleasuring the beautiful young knight. Gawain was tiring, and I urged him to let me take over. For a time we tended to Galahad together and then I took him fully into my mouth. Galahad's hands came down on my head, guiding my strokes, while Gawain moved to take me from behind.

I could feel Galahad relax – this was what he was more comfortable with, sharing a woman with Gawain, not being shared. I pleasured him well, and within minutes the young knight began crying out in need and came hard, spurting his seed into my willing mouth. His hands pushed my head down upon his twitching manhood and I swallowed as he filled me.

Moments later, Gawain found his pleasure and collapsed against me with a deep moan of satisfaction.

I had not yet found my pleasure, but I knew I would. These two always left me drained and barely able to walk.

I lay between and on top of my two lovers, all of us out of breath and drenched in sweat. I remembered the look on Galahad's face and smiling, decided to play with him a little.

"I very much enjoyed watching you," I purred to the two men. "I found it very…stimulating."

I heard a low chuckle from Gawain. "Did you now?" he said in his familiar growly voice.

"Mmm," I agreed. "I would see more, mayhap upon our next coming together," I said, looking at Galahad.

"Mayhap," Gawain said. "But what favors are you prepared to grant in return?"

I smiled, a salacious grin full of promise. "What am I not prepared to give?" I said, leaning forward and offering Gawain my tongue, which he eagerly accepted.

Galahad shot me a look of pure anger, but along with Gawain, he pleasured me until I begged them to stop.

When I left that night Galahad was still angry with me. But then, when wasn't he? My interest in seeing the two of them make love bothered him and though I could have eased his mind on the matter, I saw no reason to.

Instead, I gave him a wide smile upon taking my leave of them and noted with pleasure the anxious look on his face.

The next day I was soaking in the baths, enjoying myself when I looked up to see Galahad enter, also prepared to bathe. He was wearing a wrap and nothing else.

He looked around and then headed in my direction. "I was told you were here," he said. "I want to speak with you."

I heaved a sigh. Regarding him languidly I said, "About what?" I thought I knew very well what he wanted to say, and I was proved right.

"I want to talk to you about last night." His face was tight, betraying his anger.

I smiled. "Ah, I thought it might be something like that," I replied. "And what about last night was it that you wished to discuss?"

Galahad looked around to make sure we were alone and then squatted down next to me. "You will never, and I do mean never, ask to see me and Gawain together again. You won't ask to see us kiss, or touch, or…anything else you might be curious about."

"Won't I?" I was feeling uncharacteristically bold, especially to address one of the knights in such a way. But I'd never really seen Galahad as one of the knights, for to me he'd always seemed a petulant child. "And why wouldn't I?"

Galahad's anger exploded, though he was forced to keep his voice low. He hissed at me, "Because that is mine, and it is Gawain's and it has nothing to do with you!"

I kept my calm, which infuriated Galahad even more. "Oh, is that it? I thought it was more that you didn't want me to see you being taken like a woman."

He jumped down into the water beside me, not bothering to take off his wrap. His hand went to my throat, drawing back the other as if to strike me. I felt a moment of fear. I was suddenly aware of his greater size, and the fact that while I might see him as a petulant child he was in fact a very dangerous man. One with a temper.

Though I was afraid, I still could not resist needling him. "Gawain wouldn't like this," I said.

I doubt he would have hit me. He wanted to, I could see, even though it went against his nature to hit a woman. If he was going to do so, I thought he would have done so already. Even so, he did not move his hand from my throat, and he continued to loom over me.

The tension between us grew. He glared down at me, longing to strike, while I looked up at him defiantly, almost daring him to do so.

Slowly the tension turned to something else. I could see it change in Galahad's eyes, I could feel it in the slow dull throb between my legs. In a husky voice, Galahad said, "No, but would he like this?"

Galahad's mouth quickly came down on mine, roughly claiming my lips. At the same time his fingers found the spot between my legs that he had always known just how to find. Unable to stop myself, I opened my legs further to give him access.

I couldn't stand him, but gods, did I want him.

Pulling off his wrap, he quickly impaled me upon his stiffened member. I was unprepared, but I relished the pain of his entry. This was how it needed to be between us right now. Rough, angry. We both had aggressions to take out on each other and we could not do so in front of Gawain.

As we were in a public place, our coming together was of necessity brief and both of us were left unsatisfied. We retreated to my room to finish what we started in the baths.

The sex was violent and lengthy. He took me against the wall of my room, upon my floor and on all fours. I rode him hard as he sat in a chair, until the chair broke and we fell to the ground. Laughing together, we lay upon the floor holding each other amid the ruins. Then our laughter stopped and I pushed him to the floor and rode him until we both cried out.

We both came away from it with bites and bruises and with our lust curiously not sated, though we had both climaxed several times.

For the next several weeks we carried on a strange sort of affair. When we saw each other in public our eyes would meet and our lust would rise. There were secret kisses, hidden caresses. We would grope in secluded corners, I would stroke him under the table. He would leave the tavern for a few moments and I would follow shortly after, falling to my knees to take him into my mouth. If I were feeling particularly evil I would decline to finish him off, leaving him in a state of need for the remainder of the evening.

Through it all we kept it as secret as possible. Though nobody would have cared, and Gawain least of all, it was the clandestine nature of it that kept our lust running high. And oddly enough, we still bickered and sniped at each other as we always had. That we wanted each other did not increase our liking of the other.

Gawain discovered us one night in Galahad's room. Though there was no reason for either of us to feel that way, guilt was all over our faces. Our being together confused Gawain, as did our reactions. And neither of us could explain it, other than we both felt as if we had been cheating on him. That was particularly silly because it simply wasn't in Gawain to be jealous of his lovers. But maybe Galahad and I both needed him to be.

Galahad and I still got on each other's nerves, but the outright warfare was over. And we no longer battled for Gawain's attention, for we had something between us that belonged only to Galahad and to me and had nothing to do with Gawain. Even so, we shared that with Gawain, and he would watch as Galahad took me, watched as we laughed and caressed and sometimes broke the furniture. As Galahad also sometimes watched me with Gawain. I'm sure at times Gawain felt a little left out, but he only ever needed to touch one of us to be instantly included. Our golden lover was always foremost in our minds.

I did not ask again to see Gawain and Galahad together, or even hint at it. It was something between the two of them and I would no longer seek to intrude on that. But one evening, Galahad set me down in a chair and bade me sit still and enjoy myself. I wondered what my two lovers had in store for this evening but I was not to wonder long, for Gawain joined Galahad on the bed and reached for him.

And I watched.