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Chiefhow- Yeah I'm blushing…I'm stupid… Could you send it to cky6akr yeah sorry i had to put a space between "cky6akr" and b/c it keeps erasing the link!
The weather was foggy and thick the entire ride south. Mordred slept by my side at night for warmth and protection. I didn't mind waking in the mornings to find a child next to me. Galahad and Gawain seemed to like the boy too. They began teaching him how to hold a sword by the fourth night. The boy amazed me… He was different than other children his age. He never feared the dark, he never through tantrums and he spoke clearly and logically. My own brother had been a hassle when he was five, but Mordred seemed content to observe things and sometimes question them. He was now the heir to his mother's position, and I had no doubt that he would one day be a great leader.
We finally reached the coast and I suddenly wished that Britain was not an island. I hated boats and the sea. The rocking… the trapped feeling. The only sea I liked was the sea of grass that awaited me in Sarmatia. I stayed below deck the entire voyage to Gaul hoping that perhaps that I could sleep through it. I was wrong. Although Gawain and Galahad tried to convince me that the water was merely rough, I was sure that we were in a storm called down by the gods. I didn't eat anything on that damned ship. Thankfully I had Mordred, who sat by my side and held a wet cloth against my forehead. I was the first person off the boat when we landed.
From there, we traveled east. I had the strange urge to ride east forever. Never stopping…Just riding… East... My father told me there was a great ocean to the east, but I could not imagine it. I felt like I could keep riding eastwards forever, and never see anything but endless plains. Of course we had to cross Gaul, Germania and many other lands before we reached Sarmatia. The skies were clear at night and I could see nothing but the moon and stars. There was such freedom out here on the borders of civilization. I thought about my life and what I would do now that I was practically free… I had to tell my uncle that my cousin was dead. I also had to tell Galina's parents… I would have brought Geraint to show them if I had thought it was safe… I barely felt it was safe for Mordred to be there, much less a small infant.
"Isolde. Our night to hunt." Galahad said as we began to make camp. It had been two months since we had left Britain and it was our last night together. In the morning, Galahad and Gawain would begin riding south east, while I would head straight east still. It would probably be the last time we saw each other until we were back in Britain. Galahad would finish his journey a week or so, while Gawain's home lay several more weeks off. My own home was a fortnight away. I stood up and looked at the sky; there was an hour or two left before the sky darkened completely. I grabbed my quiver and bow and sword. Galahad did the same and as an afterthought he grabbed our water skins. There was a small river and clump of trees a mile or so to the south we discovered. Galahad immediately shoved his head into the river and drank deeply. We had not seen a river in days and our water supply had been limited. I knelt next to him and did the same after setting aside my weapons. I felt disgusting… I had not bathed in weeks. As if hearing my thoughts, Galahad picked me up and jumped into the river. I nearly yelped as the freezing water enveloped me. It was no deeper than our waists and there was barely a current. I breathed heavily for a moment, trying to overcome the shock of the water. Galahad's cheeks were furiously red from the cold as he smiled at me.
"It's cold." I said plainly.
"You were starting to smell." He said while shaking. I waded to the bank and nearly tore off my clothes. Galahad did the same and we quickly washed off. I let my eyes fall past his stomach and I grinned madly.
"It's cold!" He said defensively while covering himself. "Besides, you should know, remember?"
I promptly tackled him and shoved his head underwater. I held him like that for a moment and shrieked as I felt a hand pull my foot out from under me. Galahad bounded pathetically to the dry land again and threw on his wet clothes.
"I hate you." I said as I shivered in my sopping wet tunic. "Oh I hate you."
"Per-Perhaps it wasn't such a good id-idea." He said while rubbing his arms. I ran into the wooded area and tried to get the blood pumping through my veins. The cold air slapped my face and I mentally cursed Galahad.
"Hurry!" He said catching up to me.
"I can't find a damned animal!" I said as I willed myself to warm up. A flash of brown caught my eye. A deer. I took off after it. Galahad's footsteps started up and traveled to my far left. We would corner it. I felt like a predator…Suddenly the cold no longer mattered. All that mattered was the hunt. My feet sped up and made barely any sound as I followed the deer. The deer, Galahad and I burst from the forest and we were soon growing closer to it. I pulled an arrow from my quiver and set it on the string. The deer and sealed its death when it left the forest. Galahad and I had a hard time keeping up on the uneven footing among the trees, but here, out in the open, we would soon be able to kill it. I was quickly outpacing Galahad, but I didn't care. The sound of my heart pumping furiously filled my ears along with the strange music of the wind. I was almost there. I stopped suddenly while pulling back the string on my arrow. I aimed at the brown figure loping away in front of me. I let the arrow go and I savored the twang of the string. The dear stumbled and feel. Instead of waiting for Galahad, I quickly began walking towards the fallen animal. My shot might not have killed it. I drew my dagger as I neared the deer and looked fro the arrow. It had lodged itself in the shoulder of the deer. The animal was alive and bleeding slowly. I quickly slit its throat. Galahad caught up and looked on with interest.
"Good shot." He said in an approving manner. I looked up. The sun was almost completely hidden and the cold was seeping back into my awareness. We tied the animal's legs together and hooked them with a spear. We jogged back to camp and set the animal down. Gawain whistled.
"That's a big deer." He said appreciatively. Mordred looked on with interest.
"Why are you two wet?" Gawain asked us suspiciously. Galahad looked at me and smiled sheepishly.
"We decided to go swimming. And of course, we made lo-" I looked at Mordred and his bright eyes and decided to hold my tongue.
"Well then…" Gawain said realizing the boy was still there. "Let's eat."
We skinned the deer and cooked all the meat. What we didn't eat, we rubbed down with the block of salt we carried and smoked it over the fire. Later, once Mordred was asleep, I crawled nearby to where Gawain and Galahad slept. I laid between them and smiled faintly.
"Come with me to my tribe and marry me." Gawain said without opening his eyes. I threw at arm around him and yawned.
"Mm… Alright." I said.
"Good then…" He said half asleep. "Of course, Tristan will probably kill me…"
"Nuh…uh…"
"Yes he will. I wouldn't be surprised to find March missing when we get back…" Galahd said from my other side.
"Mad…both of you." I mumbled.
"Stupid girl." Gawain said grouchily as he rolled over. "You've just never seen the way his eyes follow you wherever you go."
I felt goose bumps on my arms for some reason. I held my tongue and pretended to fall asleep although it was a while before sleep found me.
I kissed both of my friends deeply before we mounted our horses. As an afterthought, as Galahad put his foot in his stirrup, I grabbed fistful of his curly hair and pulled his head backwards until I could see his eyes.
"You had better come back to Britain." I said with an edge to my voice. Arthur would need us.
"I will." He said honestly. Something had changed in Galahad since the battle…He had matured a bit more. Without another word I mounted my horse and Mordred mounted Una. Galahad and Gawain rode off and I watched them for a moment.
"Ready?" I asked Mordred and he nodded. The boy and I rode for several days without seeing another living creature. On the sixth day, I stopped Kolaksay and held out a hand for Mordred to stop. There was a clump of large Kurgan's ahead of us. I counted at least seven. It must have been a place for a line of old kings… But I had seen something move in between one of the burial mounds… I reached behind me and grabbed my harness and my old helmet. I put them on and checked my weapons. My quiver and bow were in hands reach, and both my swords were loose in their sheaths.
"Put the shield across your back Mordred." I commanded without taking my eyes off the Kurgans. My ears, tuned in for the slightest sound, heard him slip the leather strap across his shoulders. "If something happens, you keep riding. If I don't follow, ride five days east. That is where my tribe should be at this time of the year. If you do not see them, find wood and make camp. Make the biggest fire you can and wait for them to come to you."
He nodded somberly and gripped his reigns even tighter.
"Come." I said as I steered my horse a little towards the south. We would go around the Kurgans as far as we would. I kicked Kolaksay into a gallop and made sure that Mordred stayed close. We had not gotten far when I heard the shouts. I jerked my eyes toward the Kurgans and watched as eight men on horseback materialized from between the mounds and began riding towards us. I felt my blood run cold with fury. These men were worse than animals…They were either grave robbers or bandits or both…
"Keep riding." I commanded quietly. Mordred kept going and I drew my bow. I notched and arrow and waited until the men rode closer. My first arrow killed a man near the front and he fell only to be trampled by those riding behind him. Suddenly two other riders from the group began riding towards Mordred. The other men were quickly catching up to me. I swore and began riding towards Mordred. The boy's horse didn't stand a chance against horses born and bred on the plains of Sarmatia. Thankfully however, Kolaksay had been bred from the lines descending from the horses of the old kings. His hooves pounded furiously against the ground as we caught up to the men chasing Mordred. I notched another arrow to my bow and let it fly. It lodged in one man's rib cage, but he didn't stop. I loaded my bow again, this time taking more care with my aim. This time, the arrow went through the base of his neck and he flew backwards. Kolaksay jumped over his body and continued. Kolaksay was tiring out as the chase stretched on. I had begun to string another arrow when I felt a sharp pain in my left side. I slide my hand around my rib cage and felt the arrow. It was nearly a hand's length into me. I prayed that it hadn't pierced anything important as I ripped it out. Realizing that I was bleeding too heavily to fight for long, I willed my hands to work faster. I loaded the bow and aimed. The man in front of me bunched up his shoulders when he felt the arrow tip pierce his back. He slumped in his saddle and his horse whinnied and slowed down. I wheeled Kolaksay around as fast as I dared and let fly another arrow. It stuck itself in a man's eye and I smiled grimly. I had time to kill one more man with my bow before they began firing their arrows. I flung myself off Kolaksay hoping he had the sense to get out of the line of fire. I was on my feet and darting towards the last four men in an instant. I drew the machaira and slammed it into one man's thigh as I ducked between their horses. He screamed as his leg fell to the ground without the rest of his body. I quickly switched swords. The men tried to turn their horses around to face me. The chaotic turning resulted in two of the horses tripping into each other. I looked on with disgust. These men were too careless. They didn't look after their horses. They should have known their animals would have knocked into each other. I ran forward again with a ducking motion and sliced Pata upwards. The man looked down at his scarlet torso in horror. I turn Pata and gripped it with both hands as I turned to face the man behind me. The blade slammed into his chest up to the hilt. I ripped it free and dodged the spear that was shoved at me. I jumped and grabbed a hold of the mounted bandit's armor. I yanked him down with me and let Pata lodge into his skull with a thud. The last man reared his horse upwards at my back. I dropped my sword and flung my hands over my head. I was knocked into the ground as a horse hoof hammered into my right shoulder. I force of the blow had slammed my teeth into my lower lip. I spat out blood and rolled over. My shoulder was on fire. I wheezed to catch my breath again. I had to get up. The last man had dismounted his horse and was drawing his sword. Get up. Get up Isolde. He was the last one. I needed to kill him, and then I could pass out or sleep or…Get up. I rolled over and used my knees to get up. I looked around for Pata while trying to remain calm. The man's scarred face formed a depraved grin. I tried to move the fingers of my right hand. I was not going to be able to fight with that arm. I drew the machaira with my left hand. I was not terrible with my left arm, but my right was the one I usually relied on. I was woozy. My entire left side was warm and slick with blood from the arrow wound. I stiffened my back and gathered up the last of my strength. I lunged at the man and attacked. I couldn't panic. I couldn't become careless. I fought down the urge to attack the man frantically. That would get me killed for sure. The man feinted and ducked to my right side where my arm hung limply against my side. His sword met empty air as I turned his own ploy against him. I ducked over to his right side and slammed my foot into the side of his knee. He howled and went down to his knees. I brought the machaira up and arced it. His head fell to the ground and rolled out of his helmet.
I sat down and looked in all directions. I was getting cold… My vision had darkened and I couldn't see Mordred in the distance. I held a hand weakly in the air and Kolaksay was at my side in a moment. He went down on his knees and waited for me to get on his back. I pulled myself over the saddle and secured my feet in the stirrups. I laid my head down on his neck and prayed that he remembered the way home.
"Isolde!"
Someone was calling me…I opened my eyes with some difficulty… Mordred was riding next to me on Una.
"Isolde, hold on. It won't be long now…I saw a tribe…We're almost there." He said and he no longer sounded like some otherworldly creature. He was just a scared little boy. A little boy who would be all alone if I died. He was on another continent and he would not survive long with out me. It was enough. I sat up and kept my face blank. Mordred looked at me to see if I was in pain. I ignored the dried blood on my wound as it cracked. My shoulder felt like it had been shattered.
"Where?" I asked in a hoarse voice. I strained my eyes and looked into the distance. I saw a sight that made my heart pump with renewed vigor. Tents. I saw shapes moving in the distance and a few trails of smoke wafting into the fading blue sky. I was home. Something in my bones told me it was my tribe. They say children always recognize their family. Their blood… I knew I was home. I nudged Kolaksay to go as fast as I dared. His pace sped up and I winced as every muscle and bone in my body was jostled. It seemed like hours until we reached the tents… By then the inhabitants were already ready with swords and bows. Of course they were wary of travelers. All Sarmatians were in this day and age. Huns, Romans, raiders… I recognized the faces of my parents. If the blood loss didn't make me pass out, seeing my family was going to. My mother's black hair was streaked with gray but her eyes still shone beautifully. My father's face was deeply lines and his beard was earthy and white. I looked for my brother. He would be nearly nineteen… A pair of blue black eyes caught mine. Marhaus. He was handsome, as was the young man who stood next to him. Arghil looked on with distrust. I saw my father's eyes rake over Kolaksay. Would he recognize the horse he had given his firstborn?
"Who are you and what is your purpose here?" My uncle said stepping forward. He reminded me so much of Branwain. I closed my mouth, ending my nostalgic moment. I reached a hand up to my helmet painfully and pulled it off.
"Not much of a welcome for your niece now is it?" I croaked. My brother yanked me down from my horse and squeezed me. I saw stars as my wound and shoulder were crushed all over again.
"Let go." I wheezed. He obeyed and stepped back with a worried expression. All at once I was surrounded by a crowd of loving family and tribesmen. The rapid movement had reopened the cavern in my left side. I swore as I sagged on my father's chest. I was not going to even have time to greet everyone…
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