Chapter 13: The Horse and the Lion

It was pitch black when Elizabeth heard shattering glass and a scream. She threw the covers off and shook Lancelot to wake him. He opened his eyes slowly and looked at her questioningly. A scream sounded down the hall and he jumped up and threw his clothes on. Elizabeth already had her sword at her waist and was ready to rush out the door, when Lancelot grabbed her arm.

"Wait," he said.

Elizabeth gave him a somewhat furious look. She didn't want to get stuck in here to die.

There was a large thump on the door that made them both jump and Lancelot dragged her back. A rock came flying through the window, missing Lancelot by inches. Elizabeth's face filled with dread. They were surrounded. Even if they tried to get out, the minute they set foot outside that door, they would be obliterated.

"We're trapped," Elizabeth said, her voice rising with fear.

The door was continually being banged upon and the screws on the side were beginning to give. Elizabeth closed her eyes and took a deep breath. There was a sickening sound as the door fell and in rushed a dozen Woads, weapons raised.

Elizabeth raised her sword and sliced down the first Woad that rushed at her. Lancelot gave the several Woads attacking him, a cocky smile before swinging his twin swords around in a high arch and slashing each man across the chest. He ran each Woad through effortlessly, his smile never leaving his face. Elizabeth was having a more difficult time. The majority of the Woads were rushing at her. Lancelot helped her as best he could. Elizabeth spun and danced away from blades and countered with her own. Soon, all the rebels were dead and Elizabeth's room was filled with a bloody field of carnage. She wrinkled her nose and made a face.

"We'd better clean this up," she said.

Lancelot nodded. And, as usual, they carried the bodies out and dropped them out the window for their fellow Rebels to find. It took them a good hour and when they were done Elizabeth hurriedly washed her hands in the stone basin. There was a knock on the door frame and Elizabeth looked up to see a bloody Arthur smiling at them.

"I see you managed alright," he said.

Elizabeth nodded with a wide smile before going back to cleaning her blade. Lancelot walked in and Arthur quickly murmured in his ear and the two left. Elizabeth frowned, wondering what was going on. She hurriedly finished cleaning and left a quick note for the maid saying that the sheets and the floors would need to be washed. She apologized for any inconvenience, for she knew what it was like to have to always be cleaning for someone.

Her clothes were bloodstained as well and she stopped at the door, her hand on the knob. She gave a sigh and went to quickly change. Riding pants and a light shirt as usual. She hooked her sword back around her waist and, checking herself once in the mirror, headed out the door. She heard raised voices coming from Lancelot's room and she hurriedly ran inside. Arthur had left, but a very disgruntled looking Woad stood there in his place.

As soon as the two men saw her walk in, they became silent. The Woad rushed forward, however, and took her hand in his. He murmured words to her in a tongue Lancelot had heard, but couldn't decipher. Elizabeth's eyes widened with anger and she slapped the man across the face with all her might. He staggered back and drew his knife out, but Lancelot was too quick. He put his sword around his neck.

"Leave," he said menacingly.

The Woad gave them once last look, his eyes lingering on Elizabeth the longest, before scurrying out of the room.

"That man won't leave you alone. Elizabeth, he can't keep coming in here and speaking of you as he has. The villagers are already suspicious," Lancelot said slowly.

Elizabeth just stood there, silent.

"He has something to prove to his friends. One thing being that he doesn't lose a woman to a knight," she said.

"Ah."

"He never lost me. I was never his in the first place. Excuse me, but I'm going to find Guinevere," she said.

And with that, Elizabeth hurried out of the room. Lancelot sat down on his bed and looked at the ragged piece of paper the Woad had left for him. He slowly unfolded it and jumped, dropping the scrap on the floor.

The picture had been drawn with rough materials and showed a hanging. Blood dripped from the victim's mouth and underneath it said, "She's mine". The person hanging was in rough condition. She had black and blue spots on her arms and her eyes were shut tight. Her golden hair fell around her face limply.

Lancelot shook his head and ran out of the room. Arthur was in the hallway speaking with a guard. Upon seeing his friend, Arthur dismissed the guard and walked over to Lancelot, taking in his distraught look. His smile faded as Lancelot handed him the paper. He looked back at Lancelot' set face.

"Who is this man?" Arthur asked.

"The man who Elizabeth's father had originally promised her to. She ran away. Her father caught her and hid her for the Roman's or to be sold as a slave. Now, this Woad suddenly wants her back. Arthur, we can't let him. He's dangerous as far as I can tell."

"We cannot kill him because that will ruin the alliance. We need to wait it out and keep a sharp eye out. I will show this to Guinevere."

"Elizabeth is speaking with her right now. I'm beginning to think that some of the Woads camping behind the wall are not all our allies."

Arthur nodded.

"The sooner we fight the Rebels, the better. This is getting out of hand," he said.

Footsteps rang down the hall and Arthur left to find Guinevere and Elizabeth. Lancelot decided to go find the other knights. He could really use a good laugh right now.

Elizabeth had tears streaming down her face as she told Guinevere what had happened. Guinevere combed her long fingers through Elizabeth's hair.

The wheels in Guinevere's head were spinning, thinking of who this person could be and what they were after Elizabeth for all of a sudden. It didn't make sense.

"Elizabeth, is there something you're not telling me?" Guinevere asked.

Elizabeth dried her eyes and sat still as a statue.

"My father had promised me to him and I ran away," she said, her voice tinged with anger at the thought of her father.

Something clicked in Guinevere's brain. She remembered someone telling her that Elizabeth had disappeared. It had been the night before she had been captured. She vaguely remembered the name. It wasn't a common name and it had begun with a different letter.

"Elizabeth, was the man's name Ulric?" Guinevere asked.

"Aye, that he was. A supporter of my father, abuser of women-"

Guinevere held up a hand.

"I understand, but what's your guess on why he's after you now?" she asked.

"I don't know," Elizabeth answered, looking away.

"I think I do. Lancelot. He's lost what was supposed to be his property, to a knight who has been invading his land for fifteen years."

Elizabeth simply nodded, for she had known this all along.

"So what do I do? I'm not going to end my life for some horrid man," Elizabeth snapped.

"Elizabeth, I honestly don't know. Just stay away from him and if you are near him, send Lancelot away so he doesn't become even more angry. And just be careful."

Guinevere gave her a hug and the two got up and walked out of Guinevere's room. They walked right into Arthur, who's face was calm, but his eyes were blazing.

"Hello, Elizabeth. Guinevere, may I see you alone for a moment," he said.

"Of course," she answered.

They left the room and Elizabeth decided to go find Lancelot and fill him in on Guinevere's plan. She found Vanora outside. The sun was almost fully up and the land was painted in pinks and oranges. Vanora was pulling plants that looked like weeds from the ground and a baby was on her hip. She spotted Elizabeth almost immediately and gave her a big grin.

"The men are around the side practicing. Lancelot had something urgent to tell them. But I'm sure, you'll still find them there," she said.

"Thank you," Elizabeth said with a small smile.

She walked around and did indeed find the men, however, they weren't practicing. They were deep in conversation, Gawain had a mad look upon his face. As soon as he caught sight of Elizabeth, he ran over and gripped her in a huge bear hug.

"Erm...Gawain, I can't breathe," she rasped.

"Sorry, love," he said with a smile.

"What happened?" she asked, looking at all their apprehensive faces.

"Any scoundrel that's after ye, won't be getting within a hands grasp of ye," Gawain said furiously.

Elizabeth raised an eyebrow, laughing inside at the questioning look that Galahad gave Bors. It was great to have such good friends.

"Thanks," Elizabeth said, giving them a smile.

"Since it's still early, why don't we go for a ride. Check on the villagers and save them from any Rebels," Gawain proposed.

The others nodded.

They walked over to the barn and went into their horses' stalls. Elizabeth walked over to Illusion's stall. The giant horse was lying on his side, dozing in the hay. She smiled and walked over to Darkness' stall. He threw his head around, eager for attention from his mistress. She brushed his silky black coat over and picked off the small scabs she found from his skirmishes out in the field. She tacked him up and met the knights out in the yard. She pulled herself into the saddle and they galloped off. They stayed behind the wall incase they were needed for defense.

Elizabeth found it hard to worry about everything that had happened when you were galloping and the wind rushed about you. The knights had similar expressions of happiness upon their faces. Elizabeth was starting to feel it was all too good to last. The day had been eventful and troublesome, there was more danger sure to come. As if reading her mind, a shriek went up and angry yells. There was the sound of scraping swords and groans of pain.

"Let's go!" Bors yelled at them.

They flew down the hill to rescue the villagers.

Elizabeth, as they approached, saw the villagers running around in panic. Several small huts had their roofs on fire and bloody bodies lay on many doorsteps, darkening the hard soil. Lancelot and Gawain beat them there and were already slicing at the painted Rebels who had torches of fire and thick swords in their hands. They didn't last long, for Gawain and Lancelot showed no mercy. Galahad was fighting more Rebels and Bors was chasing three of them around on his giant horse. Elizabeth only had a moment before she felt hands around her neck. She spun and ducked, trying to pull free of the choking hands. The Rebel laughed evilly and pushed her forward onto the ground. Elizabeth gasped for breath as the Rebel pulled his long sword out. His eyes gleamed as he brought the blade close to her skin. Her arms were pinned on the ground and she couldn't reach her sword.

Lancelot danced away from two rebels before coming back and running them through. He glanced over to find Elizabeth and saw her on the ground. His heart stopped and he ran after her.

Elizabeth stared coldly back into the Rebel's taunting eyes. He ran the blade along the side of her arm. Elizabeth flinched with pain. At first it didn't feel awful, but within seconds the pain flared and hot needles ran up her arm.

"Goodbye, witch-girl," the Rebel sneered at her.

Elizabeth's head swam and the voice rang throughout her head. The Rebel raised the blade again and he was starting to run it across her chest, just as she passed out. She took one last glance and saw twin swords crossing with the broad sword and relief flooded her before everything went black.

Lancelot attacked the Rebel ferociously. He blocked and swung. After a few moments, he beheaded the man and he turned back to Elizabeth. She was gone. Maybe she had gotten up. Lancelot didn't have much time to think as another Woad rushed at him.

Meanwhile, Elizabeth was being carried over yet another Woad's shoulder. His face had a wide smile on it and he went farther into the forest. He placed her a thin bed of leaves and rubbed a rag across her bloodstained face.

"Perfect. The plan is going well," the Woad murmured to himself.

He got up and tied Elizabeth's hand with rope and tied her to a tree. He washed her wounds off and left.

The Woad returned a few hours later. He carried a plain brown dress and a heel of bread. Elizabeth blearily opened her eyes. The world spun into focus and as she laid eyes upon the man, her mind filled with dread.

"Hello, Ulric," she said miserably.

Ulric grinned.

"Lost you once, but not again," he said, his voice crazy.

Elizabeth felt like passing out again but told herself that would not help.

"Put this on," he said, chucking the dress at her.

He untied her from the tree and Elizabeth slipped her tattered clothing off and pulled the plain, coarse dress on. She was then promptly retied to the tree.

"Your wonderful knight has not come. Possibly he does not care for you as much as you thought he did," Ulric said wickedly.

Elizabeth sat there, not saying a word.

She looked up at the sky. It was getting darker out. Probably mid afternoon. Ulric threw the heel of bread at her and she gingerly picked it up and took a small bite to avoid a beating.

Back behind the wall, Lancelot was pacing in the stable. His horse watched him, tossing his head around. Lancelot made up his mind and pulled the horse out of the stall and climbed into the saddle. He couldn't wait for backup any longer. He took off back into the village and into the woods, trying to remember every time Elizabeth had tracked the Woads. He dodged tree after tree and looked down invisible paths. He stopped his horse and looked around wildly. He finally turned his horse and galloped down the path closest to him. It seemed to go on forever, but he finally saw a clearing.

At the tree, Elizabeth was watching Ulric. He was sitting by a small fire and staring avidly into it.

"So, how did you enjoy sharing a bed with a knight?" Ulric asked her nastily.

Elizabeth held back the urge to say, it was better than yours. Instead she sat there staring him down. He didn't flinch. Only laughed at her.

Suddenly, hoof beats could be heard. Elizabeth turned her head toward the sound. Ulric whipped his sword out and stood up. A dark horse came charging through the bushes and an arrow was immediately fired into the air. It missed the black horse by inches and the rider jumped off, swinging is twin swords in his hands.

Lancelot.

He ran at the Rebel and they crossed blades. As much as Lancelot hated to admit it, the Woad was good with his sword. He formed an X with his swords and pushed the Woad back. He took a second and spotted Elizabeth tied to the tree, her wounds still bleeding, her face painted with Woad blood. Lancelot heard footsteps and turned just in time. He rolled to the ground as a blade flew by his head. The two men fought on.

Elizabeth's heart was in her throat and she hurried to untie the knots on her hands. The same knots that Ulric foolishly used on her several years ago when she her escaped. She remembered how to start untying it and soon had the entire thing undone. She watched as the men fought it out. Lancelot had slashed Ulric across the chest and the Woad was still fighting ferociously back. Lancelot was now drenched in blood and had small cuts on his hands. He cut Ulric across the back, and Ulric fell to the ground. Lancelot, thinking he had killed him, rushed over to Elizabeth. He gave her a strong hug and over his shoulder, Elizabeth saw Ulric getting to his feet. He shook his head and ran at them.

"Lancelot, quick. Ulric!" she rasped.

Lancelot heard him and quickly turned around and blocked the oncoming blow. Elizabeth stood up and shook her hands. She picked her knives up off the ground, where they had been placed after Ulric had pulled them off her clothes. Her sword lay there too.

Lancelot was getting tired and the Rebel was as well. Elizabeth decided to just end it now.

"Lancelot! Run away! Hurry!" she yelled.

Lancelot did as he was told, as he saw her standing. She took her chance and hurled her knife at Ulric. It hit dead center in his chest. He stared at it and fell to the ground, a smile on his crazy face. The effort and blood loss got to Elizabeth and she crumpled to the ground.

Lancelot walked over to her and gently ran a hand through her hair before carefully picking her up. He settled her on the horse and picked up her weapons. He mounted his horse and he galloped home.

They burst out of the bushes and ran through the village. They reached the castle and Lancelot jumped off his horse and took Elizabeth off as well. Her breathing was shallow and he rushed upstairs. He saw a servant in the hallway and stopped them.

"Get a healer! Quick!" he said urgently.

The servant ran down the steps and Lancelot opened his room and laid Elizabeth down on the bed. He looked at her pale face and her bloody body.

"Hold on," he murmured, stroking her cheek.

The door slammed open and a healer came bustling in. Lancelot lingered in the doorway a few moments before walking out.

The healer undressed Elizabeth and her assistant came in carrying a large basin of water. She slowly washed Elizabeth's arm and chest with a soft cloth and took out a sterilized needle and thread. The wounds were deep and would need to be stitched to stop the bleeding. The needle punctured the skin and the thread was pulled through. She continued methodically until the arm wound was stitched up. She rubbed a thick ointment onto it and moved to the chest wound. It was still bleeding profusely and the healer worked fast to clean and stitch it. Within an hour, she was finished and she gave Elizabeth a drink to make sure she wasn't overcome with fever. She left the room and jumped to find Lancelot standing right there. She shook her head and took his hand.

"She'll be fine. A few days rest and I'm sure she'll be up running around with you men again," she said with a kind smile.

Lancelot thanked her and walked into the room. He sat on the edge of the bed and took Elizabeth's limp hand in his. Suddenly, her eyes fluttered open and she sat up.

"Damn!" she said, as pain seared along her chest.

"You should lie down. The healer just left," Lancelot said.

Elizabeth nodded.

"Thank you for coming after me," she said, her voice filled with a morose tone.

"I couldn't have lived with myself if I hadn't," he replied.

Elizabeth smiled.

"Is Darkness alright?"

"Aye, he's sleeping in his stable."

Elizabeth nodded and closed her eyes.

A young girl ran through a field of thick, high grass. A beautiful woman stood in the middle her arms stretched outwards to the girl. The girl ran into her arms and the woman picked her up and swung her around. Over head, an arrow flew by, landing a few feet in front of them. The woman froze as the girl giggled happily.

"Lizzy, hurry, go home," she whispered to the child.

The young girl just looked at her, confused.

Another arrow came down and the woman grabbed the girl's hand and they ran through the forest and came face to face with a young man on a horse. He was maybe in his thirties. He had an arrow in his bow ready to be shot. The woman looked at him with pleading eyes. He nodded his head slowly. The woman could not tell what was going through his mind, but he was awed by her. To him, she was beautiful. Flawless. He shook his head and rode on. The woman continued to stare after him. He had been handsome and he had spared her life. She continued back to camp and her husband stood waiting for her. He slapped her across the face for not returning right away. The young girl cried.

Suddenly, a horn went off and the woman's husband ran off. The woman picked her daughter up and followed the band of people running down a path to get to a safe point.

They were running up the path and the horseman appeared again.

"Do not fear me," he whispered to the woman.

She stopped and looked at him wondrously. He took her hand and pulled her onto his horse, along with the young girl. He galloped along the people and got her to the spot before everyone else. He helped down from the horse and gave her a kiss. He mounted his horse and rode off.

The woman stood there, a happy smile upon her face. She wished her husband didn't exist.

A light shone through the trees as they caught alight with fire. The Woad men ran through the tress and herded the woman away. The woman's husband grabbed her arm and dragged her. The young girl was left behind and she cried as she tried to keep up. The fire raced behind them and was catching up. They continued moving and were soon away.

The man pulled his wife into a small hut at the other camp and confronted her. He had seen her with the knight. He pulled a sack out from behind his back and dumped it. There was a thump on the floor and the woman fainted. The girl peeked around her father's leg and shrieked, recognizing the kind knight's decapitated head. A harsh laugh sounded as her father watched her cruelly.

Elizabeth sat bolt upright in bed, ignoring the pain. Her body was wet with a cold sweat. She looked around the room. Lancelot was dozing in a chair next to the fire.However, he heard her sit up and he walked over to the bed and sat down.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"I had a terrible dream. It was like it was trying to tell me something or warn me. It was an exact happening from my childhood," she said, tears spilling down her face.

Lancelot carefully wrapped his arms around her, watching for her wounds.

"Warn you of what?" he asked.

"It's a long story," she replied.

"Well, I have a lot of time," he said.

"Well, alright. When I was young, maybe seven, my mother and I were in field playing in the grass. And arrow flew over us and I didn't know what was going on and my mother brought me back, but we met a knight in the woods. He stared at my mother like she was a goddess. She looked at him in a similar way as well. He spared our lives and my father beat my mother for being late when we returned. We hurried up a trail to a safe point and the knight found us again and brought us there quicker. He kissed my mother and right after he left, a fire had begun surrounding us and my father ran through and dragged my mother away. I had to get back myself. He brought my Mum into a small hut that was at a different camp and he yelled at her. Then he took a small bag out and dumped it. She fainted and something rolled over to me. It was the knight's head. I screamed. My father laughed. Woad men do not take kindly to their woman being courted by knights," she said sadly.

Lancelot's eyes were wide and his eyebrows raised. He gave slight nod of his head and looked away.

"Is this why your father had such contempt for you and your mother?" he finally asked.

"He was always that way, it just became worse after the knight appeared," she said.

Lancelot nodded.

"Well, Elizabeth, no Woad will be killing me. I assure you," he said, a cocky grin on his face.

Elizabeth smiled back.

There was a knock on the door. Lancelot opened it cautiously and Arthur stood there. Lancelot opened the door wider and Arthur walked in.

"Elizabeth, feeling any better?" he asked.

"Aye. That I am," she replied.

"Did the healer give you a time for recovery?" he asked.

Lancelot spoke up.

"She told me several hours of rest, a few days off and she'll be fine," he said.

Arthur gave him a knowing look. They both knew Elizabeth would get Cabin Fever and start going on excursions. Elizabeth noticed their glances and a wry smile came over her face.

"Don't worry. I'll listen to the doctor to some extent," she said.

"Well, I'm glad to hear you are feeling better. I need to go talk with the guards," Arthur said.

Arthur left and Lancelot returned to his chair by the fire. Elizabeth continued sitting up in bed, watching him. Lancelot glanced back over at her and saw her sitting up, he gave her a knowing smile.

"You know, becoming a zombie who stays awake all the time will not help your wounds heal," he said.

Elizabeth gave him a withering look, but her lips twitched as she started to smile.

"I was just thinking about everything that's happened. You know, you and me, the Rebels, everything. It all seems so unreal when you think about it from another person's perspective," she said.

"I agree with that," he said.

"I mean what were the odds of me being found and rescued. Girls my age are made into bed warmers every day.Why should I have been any different?" she said.

"You were different because maybe you have something left to do in life. Arthur could probably tell you by using his God as a reason. You'd be better off asking him. All I know is that if you weren't here then a lot of people wouldn't be alive. Including myself. Don't doubt yourself," he said.

Elizabeth smiled.

Lancelot walked back over to the bed and leaned over her. He kissed her gently and took her chin in his hand.

"I'm going to go see how the training is coming along. Please rest," he said quietly.

Elizabeth gave a slight smile and leaned back. Lancelot left and locked the door behind him. Elizabeth sat in bed, a bit frustrated, and thought. She kept looking out the window. They sky turned darker and darker and not just because of the time of day. A storm was coming up. She soon grew bored looking out the windows and decided to listen to the people in the corridors. The maids always talked about interesting things, but it reminded her of Anne, so she decided to just try and fall asleep. But of course, that didn't work either. She gave an exasperated sigh.

"Lot of good I'm doing up here. I could be helping with training, or having a drink with the knights, or..." she said, mostly to herself.

She got out of the bed and walked around the room. She found an old, tattered book behind a table and she picked it up and sifted through the yellow pages. The ink was lightening and the words had been erased in certain parts, but it was still readable. It was a small book and inside were the names of all the Knights of the Round Table. Elizabeth read each name and stopped at the two most recent entries.

Tristan and Dagonet.

There were small pictures of their shields drawn underneath each of their names. Lancelot must have made this in honor of all of them. Elizabeth continued to look at it until there was a soft knock on the door. She walked over and opened the door a crack, lodging her foot behind it so no one could come in. It was Lancelot. His face was flushed from being outside and his dark hair was tousled from the wind.

"Elizabeth? Is everything all right?" he asked.

"Aye. Do you have the key to my room?" she asked, opening the door.

"Aye. I do. I had a maid start a fire and clean up somewhat," he said.

They walked out of the room and Lancelot unlocked Elizabeth's door. He helped her walk in, just because he was still nervous she was weak. She laid down on her bed and pulled the covers up.

"Lancelot, you don't have to stay," she said.

"I want to," he replied simply.

Elizabeth shrugged and suddenly got up off the bed and walked over to the window. She slowly opened it and what happened next made her scream.

On a spear, Ulric was hanging and the spear was against the building. Every time the wind blew, his limp body pelted against her window. His dead, open eyes stared back, the depths of them seeming to go back to Hell itself. Elizabeth turned away from the eyes and pulled a small knife out.

"Where did you get that knife?" Lancelot asked her.

"I always have one on me," she replied.

She cut the strings from the spear and it fell slightly away from the building. Elizabeth did her best not to touch it, but she had to push it away. Lancelot stood back, watching. He heard a snap as Elizabeth cut the last string and the spear and Ulric fell onto the Earth below. Elizabeth slammed the window shut and turned all the locks. She walked back to her bed and sat on the end.

"Interesting," she said.

Lancelot sat there quiet, thinking. Elizabeth noticed his quiet pose and decided to try and cheer him up. She had rested all day and she felt great, although she knew she really wasn't healed.

"I feel like a drink. We should go down to the pub and see the other knights," she said, trying to sound cheerful.

Lancelot looked at her in a little disbelief that she wanted to be up and moving about so soon. However, he just shrugged figuring it was no use to argue. So Elizabeth told him she'd be out in a moment and she slipped on a dress, careful not to touch the bandages. She slipped two knives on a belt under her dress and they weren't visible. She walked out and Lancelot was leaning against the wall, waiting for her. Together they headed down to the pub. The servants had put torches along the walkways for the time being, to make walking at night safer. They reached the pub no problem and Elizabeth spotted the knights together although they were not their usual cheery selves.

"Bors, what's the matter?" she asked him.

"Battle is nearly upon us, once again. 'Nother of us could be lost, or our homes here destroyed. Endless possibilities, lass," he said a bit gloomily.

Gawain and Galahad nodded in agreement.

"I'm telling you boys now, if you could survive the Saxon army, you can survive a bunch of Rebels. Their skills are folly. All they do is run around with a blade because they try to forget the Woads' ways, for they consider them traitors. They don't train, they just make weapons they don't know how to use. My father used to make me help," she said.

"So yer saying that the quicker we kill 'em, the easier it will be?" Gawain said with a grin.

"Erm...yes. If you would like to put it that way," she said.

Galahad looked up, a wide smile on his face.

"When do we fight?" he asked.

"As soon as the lass here is healed in a few days," Bors answered.

"Well, until then, I'm not going to fret over it," Galahad said.

Gawain let out a loud yell and the men laughed.

"Another round of ale," Gawain called to a barmaid.

She hurried over with a large tray of ale and set it down on the knights table. Lingering for a moment, probably hoping to catch Gawain, Galahad, or Lancelot's ever watchful eyes. However, they didn't seem interested tonight. She rushed back behind the bar and hurried over to another table of guards, hoping to earn some coins tonight.

The knights started a game of what was a form of chess and soon, Elizabeth joined in. This chess was not the same classical chess that other people played, but a form made by the knights. She played against Gawain, who was discreetly cheating to see if maybe she would notice, but Elizabeth was too new at the game. She lost spectacularly and watched as Gawain was then challenged by Galahad. Their game was loud and one yelled at the other.

"No! You move yours there and then neither of us will have a move!"

"What's wrong with that?"

"Everything!"

"Oh?"

"Yes!"

Elizabeth laughed and found a barmaid sitting on a stool, a letter in her hand.

"Excuse me, are you alright?" she asked her.

"Aye, miss. Just reading a letter from my friend. She decided to leave. I don't think she'll get very far. The scouts are saying that Rebels are moving into the forests around us," the maid sniffled.

"Was your friend's name Anne?"

"Aye, that she was. Been friends ever since we was small children, her and I," the maid answered.

"I'm sure she'll be fine. She was a strong woman," Elizabeth said, giving the woman an encouraging hand on her shoulder.

"I hope yer right, miss," the maid said.

Elizabeth saw Lancelot sitting with Gawain and Galahad again, and both were now yelling at him.

"What do you know about the game!"

"If I do that, then he'll obliterate me!"

Lancelot laughed and shook his head.

"Stubborn," he said.

He saw Elizabeth coming and waved a hand so she saw them through the crowd of people. She made her way over and sat down next to him and watched Gawain and Galahad go at it. They had been playing for a while now. She looked around at the pub. The small torches belched red-hot flames and there tiny specks of light floated off into the black night. They seemed to turn into stars as they floated up. Lancelot lay his arm across her shoulder and tried to figure out exactly what she was staring at. She suddenly turned.

"I think I'm going to head up," she said softly.

"Alright," Lancelot replied.

"It's getting awfully late and if the healer checks in and doesn't see me there then she'll surely tan my hide," Elizabeth laughed.

"Tan who's hide?" Gawain butted in.

"Nothing. Go back to your ale," she said, continuing to laugh.

Elizabeth stood up and Lancelot followed her. He really didn't trust anyone anymore.

"Lancelot, really, I"ll be fine," Elizabeth said without turning around.

"I'll believe that once I see it," he said, a wry smile on his face.

The two of them continued on their way up the steps and came to the door. It was a quiet night and the windows rattled slightly with the wind. Elizabeth's room was warm from the fire and the candles lit on the wall in their holders. There was a pale dress lying on her bed with a note. Elizabeth walked over and picked up the note and read it. It was from Guinevere.

Elizabeth,

I heard about your capture and I'm glad you're finally healing. I decided to send this up for you to wear one day. I'm sure you'll find a "special" occasion to wear it on. Or when you come visit me. I also received word from your friend Anne. She safely reached a town far from here and sends her best regards.

Sincerely,

Guinevere

Elizabeth fingered the silky material of the dress before hanging it up in her closest. She jumped as Lancelot spoke.

"Special occasion?" he asked with a charming smile.

"Aye. Like when the war is over," she replied sweetly.

Lancelot nodded. He walked over and gave her a soft kiss.

"Good night, Elizabeth. No midnight excursions," he said.

"I promise," she said, smiling.

Lancelot left and shut the door behind him. Elizabeth locked it and put her night gown on. The bed sheets were clean and warm and she instantly fell asleep knowing exactly what the "special occasion" would be.