Blue Eyes At Night- Hahah I'm just kidding its fine!

Ok I'm back! Dun dun dun…Ice chapter! Whoooo!


The wagon was crowded as we traveled eastward. Kolaksay was tied to the wagon with my weapons on his back should I need them. The various bumps and creaking sounds faded into the back of my mind as I mulled over the situation. Dagonet and Fulcinia tended to Galina and the others as I watched. Galina drifted in and out of consciousness for nearly two hours. I was always there when she awoke, ready to wipe her brow and reassure her that she was in good hands. She called out for Lancelot every time she woke up. She mumbled mine and Geraint's names in her torpid state, but she always asked for the man she worshipped when she awoke. He poked his head in to stare worriedly at her several times, but he never stayed for her to wake.

Galina loved Lancelot with every fiber in her body and with every breath she took. Her love was feverish and boundless. She would never speak an ill word against him or be upset with him. That was part of why he would never love her the way she loved him. Lancelot needed a woman with a mind of her own, a woman who kept him on his toes. Galina, bless her heart, was not the one for him. And though he loved her, he would never look at her with the same fervor and passion as she looked at him. I could never be angry with him for it though. A man cannot help who he loves.

I caught the movement of opening eyelids and slowly turned my head to stare at the woad woman. She looked to be no older than me. I took in her appearance. Coarse, dark brown hair and eyes the color of fresh turned earth. She was beautiful, despite the red rimmed eyes and layers of filth. Her face was too thin, but unlike Galina's, her eyes and skin spoke of a youth that would thrive again once properly nourished. She gathered her thick fur blanked around her and stared at me like a cornered animal. I could see her eyes flicking this way and that; ciphering escape routes and weighing out her chances of success.

"We're not going to throw you in another dungeon if that's what you are thinking." I said breaking the silence. Dagonet and Fulcinia looked up for a moment and then went back to minding their business. They were listening though. She regarded me with intelligent eyes and I offered her a blank face. Her lips were pursed in a practiced manner and I felt that she could keep her mouth shut when she wanted to so I shrugged and went back to tending Galina.

"Are you a knight?" Asked a hoarse voice several minutes later. I looked to Dagonet who nodded and tossed me a water satchel. I handed the woad the skin and observed her stoically.

"Yes." I said and sat back. We stared at each other for a moment and nothing more was said. She regarded me with a certain amount of respect and wariness after that.

"Why would a woad be held prisoner by monks at a Roman estate?" I asked simply. The fact that the portly one's wife was sitting right by me didn't faze me. Women were usually perfectly, if painfully, aware of their husbands faults. Fulcinia stiffened, but didn't look up. The fur covered girl slowly dragged her eyes away from the spaces between the shabby side paneling of the wagon and stared at me hard.

"My village was raided." She said evenly but then offered no more. More silence. When Arthur entered the wagon moments later I quickly hopped out of the wagon and mounted my horse. I rode Kolaksay over to where Bors and Gawain were.


"How is she?" Gawain asked with forced lightness. They were upset with me. And her. They were unprepared to discover that their companion was dying from some sickness that was destroying her from the inside. Men did not deal with such fear and sorrow well.

"Dying." I said. The word fell out of my mouth like a rock. A cold, hard stone. I couldn't stand it. Now that everyone knew of the illness, it made her death seem even more real. Why couldn't I save her? I was supposed to protect her from everything. I had failed with Branwain, but now I found I couldn't save Galina from her own body. Bors opened his mouth to say something and then closed it again. He swallowed thickly.

"Stupid…" He mumbled. "Should have told us…Shouldn't have been out in this weather…Rest…Stupid…"

"I'm sorry." I said quietly. I was appalled to find myself close to blubbering all over the place. I knew if I started I would be able to stop. I had cried once since I had been taken from my homeland, and that was when Branwain…when Branwain… I stiffened my spine and dug my nails into my forearm. Don't cry. Don't be weak. I was no match for death. Whatever would happen would happen. I kept repeating in my mind over and over, but I couldn't get Branwain's face out of my head. I dug my nails even deeper until I felt my skin break.

"Did she tell you anything?" I asked Arthur as I rode up to where he and Lancelot were. I had watched him exit the wagon with a disturbed expression.

"Her hands…" He said shaking his head as if he was trying to block out a memory. He shook himself and then looked at Lancelot and me. "She calls herself Guinevere. She knew my name and who we all were."

Lancelot peered into the trees around us, as if nature itself spied on us.

"She's no ordinary woad." I said calmly. They both nodded in agreement. Normal people didn't hold themselves the way this Guinevere did. They didn't speak so boldly and with such authority to armed knights. And she was clever. Her eyes had been bright with a calculating energy.

"Not too bad looking." Lancelot said with a charming grin. Arthur's expression became somber at that and Lancelot quickly sobered his face.

"How's Galina?" He asked quietly as he grabbed my hand. He squeezed my hand when I didn't answer.

"Dying." The word came easier this time. I was doing what I was good at. I was removing myself from my humanity. Numbing myself to what could be a weakness if left unchecked. Without another word he rode off ahead from Arthur and I. Arthur patted my shoulder and wheeled his horse around to speak to Guinevere who was leaning at the front of the wagon. I watched their conversation become fierce and I smiled. Nothing better for Arthur than a woad who challenged him.


I enjoyed my solitude for a while longer until we all stared in horror at the carnage that we passed. Frozen bodies with gruesomely terrified faces. The Saxons had reached the village before we did.

"Monsters." I said disgustedly and Tristan nodded. His hawk stared at the bodies also and he tweaked her beak. Although the bird was probably considering picking at the dead bodies, I liked to think that even a bird was disgusted by the slaughter.

"I'm going to get a cold and have to stay in that damned wagon." I muttered.

"We'll be camping soon. You can sleep next to me if you'd like. You won't get cold." He offered. I had the sudden urge to drag him off into the woods and have my way with him. His offer had not been a lewd suggestion like Gawain or Lancelot would have made; it had been kind. I suddenly realized how great of a friend Tristan must have considered me.

As if some spiteful god had been listening, Arthur called us over and sent Tristan on a scouting mission. He wouldn't be back till morning. I supposed I'd just have to sleep between Gawain and Galahad for warmth. Tristan didn't look back as he rode off and so I shrugged and continued on with the caravan.


That night we set camp up in a grove of trees. Bors and I gave each other worried looks. There were at least six fires. We were practically a beacon in the night to the Saxons. I helped Dagonet fix up the wagons for the injured. I smiled fondly as he stroked the forehead of the small boy.

"What's his name?" I whispered. The boy with the tawny flop of curls snored lightly.

"Lucan." Dagonet said and laid his cloak over the boy. We watched the portly one talk conspiringly with his mercenaries. The man had to bloody hire his soldiers. I didn't trust him. The fool was willing to kill us and I knew it. He would slaughter the best warriors in Britain only to leave himself unprotected with Saxons on his tail. I was all for leaving him tied to a tree while we took the boy and his mother to the wall.

I was walking back to camp after unbridling Kolaksay when I saw Lancelot frozen in his tracks. I padded softly over to him. The snow barely crunched beneath my feet as I halted by him. His gaze was locked on Guinevere. A very naked Guinevere. In the darkness of the night, the wagon cover was pulled up and the sheer gauze of the side was see through from the lamp inside. Fulcinia was bathing Guinevere's back while the woad girl stared off into the distance. Galina was leaning heavily against the side of the wagon next to Guinevere. Her eyes were opened and her mouth was set grimly as she watched him stare at the naked girl in front of her. Fulcinia noticed the audience outside and silently pulled down the cover of the wagon. Lancelot's face was torn and confused. I gripped his elbow gently and he whipped around. He flinched, ready to take the anger he thought I would unleash on him. After all, Galina was my dear friend. Our dear friend.

"You've done nothing wrong." I said quietly. He settled back into his normal pose, although his usual cocky manner was gone. Instead it was a younger, less knowledgeable Lancelot that stood in front of me. One who was suddenly confused about his feelings for a woman that he shouldn't even have feelings for. She was a woad and it was evident that Arthur had also shown an interest in her. And as much of a womanizer as he was, hurting Galina was the last thing he wanted to do. I wanted to hate him. That would be the loyal thing to do. To hate a man who was hurting one's oldest friend…I couldn't though. It wouldn't be reasonable or fair. I nodded once more and left him standing there, bewildered by his own emotions.

I made my way over to the fire where Bors, Gawain and Galahad sat. I shivered in the cold. I wished Tristan had stayed.


I woke up early in the morning in Galahad's arms. I smiled wickedly to myself and kissed him sloppily. He smacked his lips together and mumbled something about Gawain's mother.

"Idiot." I said and stood up. I saw movement through the trees near the wagons and I took off with my sword.

"I have the boy!" Marius cried breathlessly as he clumsily held a blade to Lucan's throat. Silly Roman… He was as good as dead. What could he possibly hope to accomplish? Dagonet looked torn between following his instincts and killing the mercenaries, and surrendering himself to save the boy. "Get him!"

Fulcinia gave a cry and threw herself upon her husband, trying to free the boy. The portly one flung her aside and screamed at his soldiers.

"Kill him now!"

I could have told anyone that Marius's last moments were at hand, but I could not have predicted that at that moment, an arrow would come flying from behind me and lodge itself in the portly one's chest. He stared blankly his new appendage before collapsing. I turned around and gave Guinevere an appreciative look. It shouldn't have surprised me too much. I had killed woad women in battle before. I was surprised however that the frail looking woman could string that huge bow.

Lucan ran to Dagonet who shoved him downwards and whipped out his axe. Guinevere notched another arrow and let it fly into the ground in front of the mercenaries. I would have gone ahead and killed them if I had my bow.

"Do we have a problem?" Bors asked in booming voice as he rode over with a battle cry. Arthur looked at the mercenaries coldly.

"You have a choice. You help, or you die." He said with his godlike voice. I waited for them to drop their swords. It was very simple. They had picked the losing side, and now they were being give one last chance to join us. Galahad and Gawain arrived and survey the situation.

"Put down your weapons! Do it now!" The apparent leader of the mercenaries yelled as he dropped his sword. His broad face glared threateningly at his men. The roar Dag gave could have sent the dead scurrying back to their graves. That did it. The last of the mercenaries dropped their swords and Jols had snatched them up in a moment. I looked over sharply as Tristan rode up.

"How many'd you kill?" Bors asked cheerfully.

"Four." Tristan said and I could tell he was exhausted.

"Not a bad start to the day!" Bors said and began to laugh. I smiled. Not a bad start indeed. My scout rode over near Arthur and threw something at his feet. A crossbow.

"Armor piercing. They're close. We have no time." He said breathlessly to Arthur. I quickly scanned his body for evidence of armor piercing bolts. None.

"You ride ahead." Arthur said nodding. Tristan nodded back and I saw his eyes dart around, taking in Marius's body, the weaponless mercenaries and our fighting positions. He raised an eyebrow and rode off.


"I had the strangest dream…" Galahad said while giving me a sideways look. Lancelot and Gawain looked on curiously. "I dreamed that a beautiful Sarmatian woman slept in my arms all night and then woke me up with a kiss."

"That's a lovely dream." I said nonchalantly. Galahad looked at me, waiting for more. I gave him an innocent look.

"You want me and you know it." He said disdainfully. Gawain snorted.

"I didn't kiss you." I said plainly as if Galahad had gone mad.

"Nice try." Lancelot said to Galahad. Galahad's mouth dropped and he turned a delicate shade of pink.

"But-you-you-I know it wasn't a-Isolde…." He trailed off defeatedly and I winked at him while keeping my face blank. His eyes widened annoyedly and I rode off, leaving him to the jibes of Gawain and Lancelot.


I watched Tristan and Arthur converse quickly at the edge of the ice. I stared ominously at the frozen lake. The ice went on past the side of a cliff ledge. This would be dangerous.

"Off. Spread out." Tristan said to the serfs. In a moment everyone was on foot and we were hauling the wagons and horses across the ice. The frozen stuff creaked threateningly under the weight. I looked at Tristan as he stepped back quickly. He was frightened I realized. This quiet, deadly man was completely comfortable with the idea of dying so long as he had his sabre like sword in his hand, but when faced with a completely unglorified death such as drowning in a frozen lake, his vulnerability showed through. Kolaksay snorted at me and suddenly I heard the drums.

"Knights." Arthur said. It was a question.

"Well I'm tired of running. And these Saxons are so close behind, my ass is hurting." Bors said in his crude fashion.

"Never liked looking over my shoulder anyways." Tristan said shrugging. Dagonet gave anreckless smile.

"It'll be a pleasure to put at end to this racket." Gawain said as if he was about to swat a fly.

"To be honest, I was getting bored." I said relieved.

"We'll finally get a look at the bastards." Galahad said intently.

"Here. Now." Dagonet said as he began to prepare. I nodded at Arthur. I walked briskly over to where Galina was in the wagon. She was sleeping, deeply by the look of it. I left her that way as I gathered my weapons. She would probably do something stupid like try and fight. Branwain would have done that. The thought filled me with a determination to kill as many of the creatures who had taken my cousin from me. Perhaps it was not right to group them all together as one monster that needed to be eradicated, but I didn't really care. I hated them all the same.

Arthur quickly took care of getting Ganis and the mercenaries on their way. Alecto's brave attempt to join us was put down and the rest of them were soon on their way. When Guinevere offered to stay, no one argued. She said we could use another bow, and no one was stupid enough to disagree.


We stood on the ice with piles of arrows at the ready. I was perfectly aware that our chances of survival were slim. Dagonet and Lucan's farewell was stuck in my head. I couldn't help but wonder what that sad looking boy would do if Dag didn't come back. What chance did that orphan stand in Britain if we died? My morbid thoughts were interrupted by Lancelot. I could here him quiet plainly from my position between he and Tristan.

"Hold until I give the command." Arthur said loudly. My hands gripped my Sarmatian bow tightly. Just a little farther onto the ice…

"You look frightened." My enamoring friend said to the woad girl. "There's a large number of lonely men out there."

I smiled as I listened to Lancelot try to frighten Guinevere. I looked over my shoulder only to see her narrow her eyes insolently at him.

"Don't worry. I won't let them rape you." She said cynically and Lancelot's face twitched at the quickness of her retort.. I let my lips turn up in amusement. What she said had meaning though; a woman had more to lose on the battlefield.

"If someone tells you to bend over, Lancelot, call for me and I will rescue you." I in my most serious voice. I saw the slight look of distaste that crossed his face. Tristan scooted a little closer at the underlying meaning of our conversation. We all looked up as a Saxon stepped forwards from the ranks and fired an arrow. The pathetic shot didn't come halfway.

"I believe they're waiting for an invitation." Arthur said with a refined savagery. "Bors, Tristan."

"We're far out of range." Guinevere said alarmedly. She looked at Arthur as if he had gone daft. He only smiled knowingly.

Our two most brilliant archers quickly raised their bows. The pleasant sound of a bow twang filled the air for a moment and there were several arrows flying through the air at once.

"Good shot." I said to Tristan as a number of Saxons fell pierced. He said nothing and only reloaded. The Saxons immediately moved forward.

"Aim for the wings of the ranks. Make them cluster." Arthur ordered and I knew what he hoped to accomplish. I would try and kill as many as possible, just in case the ice didn't break.

We silently rained down arrows and the Saxons soon picked up on our firing pattern. They were soon scrambling to penetrate through the ranks into the middle. I fired arrow after arrow. The ice was not breaking. I watched amusedly as the bald Saxon leader frantically tried to keep his men in ranks.

"It's not going to break. Fall back! Fall back!" Arthur cried drawing his sword. "Prepare for combat."

We grimly threw down our bows and drew our weapons. For several moments we stood there, adrenaline charging through our veins. My breathing was ragged as I gripped Pata. I blinked and suddenly Dagonet was galloping across the ice. He was running towards the Saxons with a fierce cry with his huge battle axe swinging. What in the name of all the hells was he doing?

"Dag!" Bors cried out. "Dagonet!"

"Cover him." Arthur said trying to remain calm. We started firing arrow after arrow into the front lines of the enemy. If it carried a bow, we shot it. Dagonet was hacking into the ice and I realized he was trying to break through. I dropped my bow and dove over to Gawain. I snatched up his huge shield and took off across the ice. I arrivedand looked down at the ice only to see cracks begin shooting violently towards the Saxons lines. I shoved the shield in front of my huge friend just in time to let an arrow bounce off it. I stood with my right leg forward and I looked calmly at the arrow sticking out of Dag's side as he continued to hack. Suddenly two more arrows came and I felt my entire right leg begin to buckle. There was an arrow imbedded deeply into my thigh. The sounds of panicking Saxons filled my ears asI looked back to see Dagonet fall with an arrow in his side. I used my momentum to fall beside him and the shield dropped from my hands. I looked over his body to see Arthur running determinedly out towards us. The look on my Roman's face was something I had never seen before. He was not going to let us die. He would not abandon us.

"No!" I shouted as an arrow shaved his neck. Arthur kept going however and only touched the wound to make sure it hadn't opened up his artery. Dagonet had hauled himself up and gave one last final blow to the ice. He dropped next to me and gripped my forearm fiercely as the ice suddenly shattered. The roar of the splintering ice surrounded me and I closed my eyes to keep ice shards from blinding me. The ice beneath us gave away and I felt my head nearly split open as an overturning slab of ice slammed into my head. Dagonet was losing blood but his grip on my arm didn't slack as the cold enveloped us. My vision was darkening as I suddenly felt him being wrenched away from me. He tried pulling me upwards, but I couldn't help him. I was no longer floating; I was sinking. My body was like a dead weight and my leg was stiff. The water swirled around me with the currents created by the breaking ice. I was being pulled downwards and away. I fought to keep from calling out Arthur's name and swallowing wateras Dagonet suddenly disappeared through the hole filled with light. I was vaguely aware of more hands being shoved downwards. I even had an impression of a person flinging themselves through the hole into the water, but it was too late. I was falling and everything was going black.


I opened my mouth and panicked. Cold…My lungs were being filled with winter itself. My eyes snapped open,but I was too disoriented. I had been unconscious for only a few moments I realized. Otherwise I would not have woken up at all. There was a thin blue glow above me and my body forced itself upward. Air. Air. Air. My leg wasn't working and I remembered the arrow. My hands clawed frantically at the ice, willing it to break. Where was the hole? Where had I drifted to? I found an air patch and greedily sucked at the air. It wasn't enough. I ducked again and began swimming. I saw red currents and violent swirls of air and ice and limbs. I immediately registered that I had swam to the Saxon side of the ice where they were currently drowning. I popped my head up among the flailing bodies and gasped. So cold…So cold. It was too cold. I was going to die. I began to heave my body over the ice, but a thin dark haired mansaw me and pointed me out to a man with a shaved head and a flaxen goatee. He snarled and slammed a broadsword down by my head. I took a breath and went under again. My thoughts were become disjointed and abstract. I looked for another place I could go. I was losing blood and the cold water was taking over my body. I felt as though I was made of lead. My limbs scrambled to keep me from sinking. I couldn't hold my breath any longer and I was losing myself to the darkness again. I shot upwards with my last bit of energy and pulled a dead Saxon's body over me to hide myself.My handsgripped onto the edge of the ice. Blood seeped through myfingers as the sharp edges bit into my hands, but I couldn't feel it.

I looked towards the knights where Arthur and Bors were helping Dagonet walk. Iwas relieved at his survival.They allwere looking back to the hole in the ice where we had fallen through. Don't leave me I wanted to scream. I didn't want to freeze to death surrounded by Saxon corpses. Anything but this. I tried yell at them but I couldn't. No sound but a hoarse croak would come out. I nearly wept as the edges of my vision started to shadow away. I was going to die with a dead Saxon on top of me. I was going to die with all this horror. The Saxons were retreating off the ice, but I dared not make any movement to alert Arthur and the men of my presence. I couldn't have moved anyways. I sagged pitifully against the ice, disgusted by my own weakness. I began shivering violently as I watched Galahad being restrained by Lancelot. He was screaming something but sounds no longer made sense to me. Tristan was just standing there with his bow at his feet as he looked out towards the ice. They had no choice but to retreat. Gawain pulled at Tristan as he threw looks over his shoulder. There was a sword in his hand. My sword. I smiled as I closed my eyes. At least my sword wasn't going to be at the bottom of the lake like me.


I wasn'tprepared to give up easily. I fought my way in and out of consciousness for what seemed like years. I wasn't going to die like this. Never. I was surrounded by bodies and I shivered at the though of how many of them were swirling around beneath me. I nearly threw up when I thought of what the lake would be like once spring came. But then again, that could have been the blow to the head. Everything was cold, including my body. The shivering had stopped. A bad sign. My body was running out of heat. The coldness of my limbs did not bother me…It was when I started to turn warm that I needed to be worried. Of course I probably wouldn't be aware of anything then.


I felt myself being lifted from the water. My hair was frozen and my face felt the same. I prayed to every god I knew that my body was not ruined. I did not want to live with out a leg or an arm. There would be no purpose to my life. How could I go to battle like that? I couldn't…


Warmth… Fire… Hands stripping me down and patting my body to make my blood flow. I slowly came to in a hut. The window was black with night. I was wrapped in several layers of fur and cloth, and I was precariously close to the fire. I wiggled my toes and fingers thankfully. All there. I was not in a Saxon camp, nor was I with the knights. That left few possibilities.

"Go tell Merlin she's awake." I heard a male voice say. I couldn't place the voice exactly… I watched a young girl run out of the hut. I turned my head slowly over to a table where two women and a man were watching me. I paid no heed to the two women; my eyes were locked on the man. Bright green eyes and shaggy brown hair. Damn it. Damn it all. I was in a woad camp.


Ohhhh cliffhanger… Lalalalala! More later!