Chapter 2: Behind the Wall
As Lancelot neared the Wall, the two guards swung the gate open for him and he galloped inside. He galloped right up to the barn and got off. He gently picked the girl off the horse and closed his horse's stall door. He'd untack later. He gently carried her upstairs into the castle to his room. She seemed weak and she was extremely thin. He placed her on the bed gently and got a cloth and a basin full of room temperature water. Gently, he wiped the cloth on her face and then put it on her head, before rushing out to find a surgeon or doctor to look at her. He found the castle doctor, Thomas, coming out of one of the guard's rooms and he quickly told him the problem.
"Her father was planning to sell her to the Romans. He was probably starving her and beating her as far as I can see," Lancelot said.
"Hmmm. One question Lancelot, what exactly are you going to do with this girl once she's healed? She's not going to be happy someone did indeed buy her," the doctor said.
"Oh I didn't buy her. I actually sort of ran away with her after her father tried to kill me. I was planning on just telling her she could go when she pleased. No one owns her because no one has her papers. Her father is dead," he said.
"Interesting. Well, I'll go tend to her."
And with that, the doctor went into Lancelot's room and gently shut the door to tend to his patient. Lancelot decided to tell Arthur what was going on. Arthur was sitting around the giant round table, which was deserted except for himself.
"Arthur, may I speak with you for a moment?"
"Of course. I'm just looking at some old maps," he said.
"I rescued a Woad warrior today. Her father was planning on selling her to the Romans and he would not let me buy her. I was going to free her as soon as I bought her as a way of rescue. So we fought and I won, but when I went to go get the girl, he tried to stab me behind my back. He's dead and I ran out of the forest with the girl. She is in a bad condition. She seems to be beaten and starved. And...well...Arthur, I just need to ask you, should I give her her freedom when she's better? Or will that give someone a way to capture her?"
Arthur took this all in with a calm face and he didn't say anything at first. He seemed to be contemplating just what Lancelot had done. He had killed a Woad. That meant a possibility of another war. However, he had done it for a good cause and in self defense. Merlin would understand that.
"Lancelot, we could always find her a job in the castle, but I think in the end, it should be her decision," Arthur said.
Lancelot nodded.
"Thank you, Arthur. I'm going up to see how everything is going," he said.
Arthur nodded, then went back to his maps.
Lancelot ran down to the stable quickly and untacked his horse and gave him a good rub down. He threw some feed into a stone trough on the wall, then shut the stall door and returned to his room. The doctor was just coming out as Lancelot opened the door.
"She'll be fine. Proper nourishment and putting this ointment on her bruises, she should be better in a couple weeks," the doctor said.
Lancelot nodded his thanks, then went inside. The girl was sitting a little more upright in bed and she had her eyes open. Her eyes were a brilliant blue and her hair was golden blonde. She watched him with hawk eyes as he sat down in a chair next to the bed.
"Why? Why rescue something as worthless as me?" she questioned of him.
"My lady, no one in this world is completely useless," Lancelot said and paused for a second. " What is your name?"
"Elizabeth. I was a Woad warrior and a slave. That is all I am seen fit for," she replied disgustedly.
Lancelot could not take his eyes away from her. Arthur was right. She probably would chose for herself.
"Miss Elizabeth, I'll send a maid in to find you better clothes," Lancelot said with a look at her warrior outfit. "She'll also bath you and show you were you can have some dinner. Or we can send it up to you."
Lancelot got up and left, closing the door behind him. Elizabeth sat up straighter. She owed her life to this man. He looked at her like she was a goddess when she knew perfectly well she wasn't. Her father had been happy to tell her all her faults and she believed him. She had never seen her reflection and she crossed the room to look in the mirror. She gasped. She understood a little bit better why Lancelot had rescued her. She would go down to dinner tonight and thank him. Maybe she would get a chance to see her old friend Guinevere as well. She heard footsteps and ran back into the bed. The maid came in with a thin dress. It went down to her feet and it had sleeves that billowed out at the elbow. Another maid brought in a tub of warm water. Elizabeth stepped over to get cleaned up. The woman helped her take off her revealing warrior outfit. It was leather and there was a top piece to cover her chest and then straps hung from it. Her pants were made of the same leather, with pockets for knives and daggers. The women gently placed it at the end of the bed and Elizabeth sank slowly into the warm water. She closed her eyes.
