Alexandra- I was merciful…he's alive

Blue Eyes At Night- I would love for them to slaughter the bishop…haha maybe I should put that as sort of an "alternate chapter"

Cameryn- Thanks!

Babaksmiles- Haha Brilliant? Thanks man

Katemary77- Yayyy! I feel like Guinevere is soo misunderstood… I thought she was really strong in the movie… I mean after all, she had just been in a dungeon thingy for a while… And she was so calculating it was awesome. She knew what she had to do!

Kafan- Sweet!

Ok! Um if I start to turn this into a highly predictable, Mary Sueish fiasco, feel free to be brutally honest. And by the way, the woad dude, in my mind, looks like Cillian Murphy. So hot…So hot…


��� I cocked my head to the side and stared for a moment longer.

"Well." I said simply. While I looked at him, I became aware of my body. I felt rested.

"You Sarmatians… No manners at all. You should be saying thank you." He said while not blinking at all.

"So it was you." I said coolly. I was in a woad camp. I had been killing woads for years. They knew I was Sarmatian. Inwardly I weighed out the odds of escape. None. Right then.

"Yes, I happened to be fishing-"

"Fishing?"

"Why yes. Fishing. As I was saying… I was fishing for Saxons, when suddenly I came across you. Naturally, I pulled you out of the water and brought you here. You almost died…You were blue and as cold as death…" He added the last part with a disturbed look as if he wished he could forget the memory.

"Thank you." Came my reply. I was smiling despite the grim situation I was in. I had not thought …whatever his name was… to have a sense of humor.

"We pulled you out." A girl with flaxen hair and familiar green eyes said with a degree of annoyance. She looked to be no older than seventeen summers, but her eyes were wise. He returned her annoyed look and tugged on one of her thick braids. They muttered with the older woman for a few minutes in their own tongue. They were interrupted by the arrival of a striking man. I looked up sharply as the one I knew to be called Merlin entered the room. I stood up warily. I did not believe in such a thing as magic, but the tales told of this man still were enough to make my skin crawl. I kept my mouth shut with my teeth clamped together. I would not say anything that could be used against me.

"Isolde. Welcome to our home." He said in a quiet, yet powerful voice. Wild tangles of auburn and brown hair covered his aging face. His eyes… Once moment they were dark and stormy and next they were swirling and hazel…I fought the urge to look away. They only other man that had ever unnerved me was Tristan. Tristan.

"Are they safe?" I asked forcefully. I knew this man would know where my comrades were. He nodded and I let out a breath I had been holding. They thought I was dead. Otherwise I knew within my very core that they would have all drowned trying to recover me. I was not comfortable with the idea of them leaving what could have been my body however…Leaving me to rot in some godforsaken puddle…I nearly shuddered.

"My daughter told me about you Isolde. The exceptional one…She told me of the woman knight who embodied everything great in a warrior. Observant, commanding, fearless, loyal… I'm sure she will be anxious to see you with a sword in your hand on a battle field."

Guinevere. I had felt that she was no ordinary woad, but the daughter of Merlin? The surprise must have shown on my face for he smiled.

"Yes. When she was…taken I assumed the worst. Your Arthur rescued her." He explained.

My Arthur…My Arthur was probably mourning me at this moment with everyone else I cared for. I felt queasy at the thought of them weeping over my death.

"I need to go to them." I stated but it was more a question. Would he let me go? I knew my own limitations. Without Merlin's leave, I would be lucky to make it out of the camp alive.

"We're leaving in the morning. We have a new interest in the great Roman wall…" He said somewhat cryptically. "You may join your companions when we near the fort. Until then, March will watch over you."

��� If anyone else had said that to me I would have been offended… The idea of being "watched over" did not appeal to me. At least I knew the man's name now. With that, Merlin bowed his head slightly and left the room. March's shoulders relaxed slightly and he nudged forward the pale headed girl.

"My sister, Ealasaid." I nodded in acknowledgement. I realized I was standing there in front of them with only a shabby tunic on.

"Your clothes and armor are drying." She said noticing that I had seen my attire. I nodded again. I wasn't sure what to say to these woads, so I did what came natural. I was silent.

"Ealasaid." The older woman in the back of hut called out. She and March's sister began speaking rapidly in their language.

"We have to prepare for tomorrow. I will see you before noon." Ealasaid said. They left the room with my clothes and left me with March. I took the opportunity to examine him. I was surprised to find him around my age, if only a little older. He was handsome, almost pretty with fair skin and pale green eyes.

"So." He said lazily as he sat down on a pile of furs. He looked at me through long eyelashes. I felt my stomach twist strangely and I suddenly felt lightheaded. Strange, but pleasant.

"You kissed me in the middle of a battle." I said finally. I had to get it out. He smiled indulgently.

"Yes. Would you like me to do it again? Or would you set your reclusive lover on me?" March asked with the confidence of youth.

"Tristan would do nothing." I said suddenly not caring what Tristan thought of anything. I sat down on larger pile of furs I recognized as a bed.

"Tell me something. You're young and in your prime. You're the most beautiful woman I've ever seen and you're fascinating. Why do you keep an old man as your lover? Does he love you or does he just enjoy your bed?" He said sitting forward and looking at me intently. I was taken aback despite myself. I was not used to this forwardness… I was flattered though. I suppose all women longed to hear a man tell her some of the things March had just said to me. I felt a little defensive of Tristan however so I used that as an excuse not to respond to the other things he had said.

"He's not old. Of course compared to a boy such as yourself…" I replied lightly. Instead of sputtering or snapping back as one of the knights would, March smiled.

"I am young, I agree, but I'm no child. I'm older than you in all likelihood." He said sitting back once again. I agreed myself…Boys give off the air that March did. "How many summers have you seen oh wise Isolde?"

It took me a moment to calculate.

"Twenty one." I said. I felt old…Most girls my age were married with children. Not that I wanted that life…But it still made me realize how many years Rome had taken from me. March seemed to be thinking along the same lines.

"Will you marry your scout? Or will you marry a man you love?" Although he remained an appropriate distance away, March was making me feel like a cornered animal.

"Bah! Love!" I said with a small smile. "You act like you know all there is to know about it…Tell me woad, have you ever been in love?"

He looked me straight in the eye in a way that made my stomach float around inside me.

"Yes." I didn't know what to say so I said nothing. There was a moment of tension and March was beside me on the bed after one long stride. His eyes ran over my features and I tipped my head slightly forward.

��� I had no idea what I was doing. Part of me said that I should stop whatever was happening. I did not know March and he was a woad. And there was Tristan to think of. The logical part of me said that I should continue. If I wanted a man, why shouldn't I take him as my lover? And Tristan and I had an understanding…I was not his betrothed or his love and he was leaving as soon as he arrived at the wall.

��� With that thought drifting around my swirling thoughts, I returned the kiss that March placed on my lips. We smiled as we awkwardly grew used to each other. I had seen milkmaids and Shepard boys share kiss before…Young love…It looked entirely awkward and I had wondered why they even bothered with it. Tristan's kiss was did not have the same quality as March's. His was fluid and smooth and confident…March's was new and exciting. I tried to stop comparing the two men as March's hands went to push the tunic off my shoulders.


��� Dawn was drifting through the window when I awoke. My eyes snapped open and I remembered the night before. I rolled over in the arms that encaged me. March was sleeping soundly amongst the furs. I didn't feel uncomfortable with him, but I felt as though I had crossed some line by bedding him. Up until yesterday, he had been my enemy yet here I was wrapped in his arms. It had been an act of passion. We felt something for each other…There was some pull between us and we had answered to it. It made my ears burn to think of what the knights would think…They would never think me a whore, but I knew they would think me a silly love struck girl.

"Good morning." He said sleepily as he pulled me closer. Despite myself, I wrapped my arms around him and kissed him. He snuggled me into him and played with my hair.

"We're leaving soon." I said drowsily.

"Yes. I imagine you're very tired." He said pulling me on top of his chest. "It was a long night."

I smiled broadly and chuckled. Eventually we stood up and dressed. He brought me a lump of cheese and some coarse bread for breakfast. He kissed me deeply before running off to ready his men.

"He's longed for you for years now." Ealasaid said coming into the hut. She smiled warmly as she handed me my clothes and armor. I had a feeling she knew what had taken place during the night. "I remember when he came home after he had seen you for the first time…He was swearing he had seen a goddess."

"Oh…" I said dumbly. "Is he promised to anyone?"

I hoped she said no…Say no. Please say no.

"No." Ealasaid said with a teasing grin. I kept my face as blank as a stone. I was not going to marry a woad if that's what she was thinking…

"Ealasaid, time to leave." A man with a ginger head spoke as he shoved his head into the hut. I finished throwing on my clothes, but I left the armor off. I doubted I would need it. I felt somewhat naked as I helped Ealasaid gather some supplies…My hair was unbraided, I had no sword and my kohl was missing. I was very eager to return to the wall. A nauseating thought struck me. What if I arrived too late? I knew how eager my knights were to go home…What if by the time I got there, they had already left? I tried to push it away for a few minutes before giving in.

"March?" I said to my new lover as we prepared to leave. He looked up at me with bright eyes and a helpful smile. "Will the caravan reach the wall long before us?"

"No. They are traveling very slowly with those wagons… And no Roman or Sarmatian knows this land better than we do." He said comfortingly. He knew I wanted to say farewell to my companions. I smiled and prepared to leave.

��� I began paying attention to what was being brought with us. Weapons, food, bandages and medicine. Everything needed for a full scale war. I hid my suspicion as I looked around at the woads that were heading towards the wall. No man or woman was younger than fifteen and no one was a day over forty. They were all dressed in trousers with bits of leather serving as armor. They constantly applied and reapplied their blue paint. It suddenly occurred to me that the woads were going to the wall for a battle.


��� The next two days were spent traveling quickly through hills and forests. I spent most of my time with March, and for the first time in all my life, I felt like a girl. I felt carefree and loved. Every night as we lay next to each other, we told each other about our histories. I told him of my family and friends and of Sarmatia. I told him about Bela, Branwain, Lionel, Geraint and more. We carefully avoided talk of Tristan, and when he saw the tattoo that blackened my neck, he paused only for a moment. I found out much about him also. I learned of his youth spent with Ealasaid and others. I was surprised to find that he was the nephew of Merlin, and therefore Guinevere's cousin. He made me laugh. I was always laughing and smiling with him. And when he kissed me or even looked at me, I felt a strange sensation in my stomach like I had drank too much wine. I suddenly realized, the night we reached the wall, that I loved him. Foolish as it may seem, I felt I loved him after only a few days of knowing him.


"Come with me." I said as the huge walls glowed in the moonlight. Merlin had informed me that I could go back to the fort if it pleased me and that the knights were a day behind us. While the knights had taken the eastern route, the woads had no fear of traveling through their own land. They could hide an army from the Saxons.

March continued stroking my back as we embraced. We couldn't take our hands off each other, something I normally found repulsive.

"I suppose I could. I could tell Guinevere…" He trailed off thoughtfully and I played with a strand of his hair. I was twenty one and I was acting like a young milkmaid…

And so it was settled. March conferred with his uncle and soon I was scrubbing the paint off his body and helping him into a plain pair of trousers and a tunic. He ran off and returned with a horse.

"They will let us in?" He asked as we mounted the sturdy brown horse. I nodded quietly. So long as they did not suspect March, we should have no trouble. I steered us towards the gates of the large Roman wall and paused.

"What's your business?" A Roman auxiliary soldier called from atop the wall. He did not recognize me in the dark.

"I am Isolde, a knight under the command of Artorius Castus." I called up. The man peered at me and then nodded. They asked no more questions. I was, after all, a member of the most elite and dangerous fighting force in Britain. The Romans, despite all their pomp and arrogance, feared us. As they should…

"Where is Arthur? And Alecto?" Bishop Germanius asked confusedly as he rushed outside to meet me.

"I was separated from the caravan. They will be here in the morning." I said stiffly. My love for Germanius had not increased during our separation. I felt March edge back into the shadows somewhat. He was trying not to be noticed.

"And who is this?" The bishop asked eyeing March with rancor.

"A villager." I supplied smoothly. He looked suspicious for a moment but then he shrugged as if it was beneath him. He cared not.

"You may go now." He said wearily as he waved me away. I felt my nose twitch in a sneer. Did he really think I was waiting for his permission to leave? I gave him a mock bow and strode off to my quarters with March beside me.

"Ass. Pig. Disgusting son of a worm." I ranted icily as I entered my room. I laid down on my bed while March peered around the room. He picked up my shield and admired it. Vanora's face popped into my mind suddenly. She and the spawn would be worried sick. She was also keeping Geraint.

"Wait here. I'll be back." I said and exited the room. I made my way to the small cottage that Vanora and her children called home. Bors stayed in his rooms at the fort often, but he also spent many a night at his lover's home outside the fort. I stopped outside the cottage. Golden firelight was glowing through various cracks and openings. Before I had ever met Arthur or the knights, Bors and the other's had built the cottage with their own hands after the second bastard was born. Is this what a home was like? It was warm and comforting looking… I wondered what Bors must think every time he stood where I stood. The wife of his heart and all their children, his family, awaited him inside. The wail of an infant startled me and I quickly knocked on the door.

"Bors-Isolde?" She asked as she threw open the door. A stampede of children ran to the door.

"I was separated from the others, but they'll be here tomorrow." I said looking around for Geraint. Vanora threw her arms around me thankfully. I hugged her back and after a moment she let me go and straightened her dress out and sniffled while trying to look dignified.

"Where's Geraint?" I asked. "I can take him now if you'd like."

"Here." Said a girl of about eleven. She smiled and handed me the little boy. It had only been a week, but he looked bigger to me. I smiled and let him run his tiny palms over my face.

"When is that Tristan going to marry you?" Vanora asked as she held her own infant. "He probably can't wait to settle down with you and start makin' babies."

"I doubt Tristan will ever marry and have children." I said thinking of the scout. Vanora shook her head.

"Even Tristan will want a family." She said knowingly. I shrugged and said good bye.

"Meet my boy Geraint." I said plopping down on the bed next to March. Geraint crawled from my chest to March's and gurgled. March looked awkwardly at the child. Tristan would have known how to handle the baby. I shook my head. I shouldn't compare them. Suddenly Geraint spit up on March. I laughed hysterically.

"It's not funny." He said disgustedly. He stood up quickly and tore of the tunic while I continued to laugh. He grinned and threw himself on top of me and began to tickle and kiss me. We could do nothing else with the infant on the bed with us like that. After a while Geraint fell asleep and March brought the roughly hewn crib into the room. I set Geraint down gently inside it and watched him breathe for a moment. March soon pulled me away and laid me down on the bed. His kiss still had that shy, questioning element to it and I wondered how long it would stay that way.


Uhhh Isolde's a who-re…Not really! Hope yall like it! Of course I didn't want her to be perfect so she has to do something to make yall mad!