I'm hoping this will finally get the March/Isolde-haters to be happy again!


I opened my eyes to see Mordred's dark swirling blue green eyes peering at my own eyes. We had been with my tribe for nearly a fortnight.

"I'm hungry." He said quietly. I cocked an eyebrow at my charge.

"Couldn't you get it yourself?" I asked as I sat up. I peered at the tent flap where a thin shaft of light was shining through. Mordred said nothing as he sat by me with pursed lips.

"I'd have to ask them for it by myself." He said unabashedly. I stood up and put my tunic on and belted it. Mordred stood up and took a hold of my tunic in his small hand. I absentmindedly touched his head.

"I can't go everywhere with you." I said lightly. I smiled teasingly at him. "And what would your mother say?"

"Well, she sent me with you." He said as we walked outside. The fumes from smoking meat stung my eyes. I still wondered why Modron had sent her son with me…

"Hm…yes." I said as I ladled a bit of stew into a bowl for him. I got a large bowl for myself and stared wistfully at it. There wasn't too much bread to be found on the steppes and I longed for a fresh loaf.

"I'm glad." He said looking up at me. I smiled at Mordred and yawned. The boy had grown in the long weeks since we had left his home. His skin was brown from the weeks of riding under the sun and wind chapping, and his wiry woad frame had broadened a bit with new boyhood muscle.

"Do you like it out here?" I asked him as I scraped my bowl clean. I spooned myself some more. I liked being able to fill my clothes a bit more.

"Yes. Will I be a knight one day Isolde?" He asked with a guarded voice. I snorted a bit.

"I never thought the day would come when a woad wished to be a knight…" I said.

"Well, if you train me, I'll be like a knight. So why wouldn't Arthur make me a knight?" Mordred asked. His logic surpassed that of a normal five year old. But, Mordred had never seemed normal to me.

"Ah so now I'm training you?" I said setting aside my bowl.

"You said you would." He said somberly.

"While we were out here that is…" I said wryly. I was just bothering the boy…Of course I would train him.

"And when we get back?" He asked.

"You assume that I'll stay in Britain?"

"Yes." He said giving me a look that said he knew more than he let on.

"Really now…" I said sitting back.

"Mother said that you wouldn't leave Arthur. She said he needed you there for him."

"Ha… Arthur can manage on his own."

"Mother doesn't think so. And you would go back for the other man." Mordred said as he pulled his knees to his chest. Damn it all… Everyone else was shoving that damned man in my face…Must the child do it also?

"What man?" I asked although I already knew.

"Tristan. Well, my aunt Yseult liked him also…Maybe he'll marry her if you don't come back."

I felt the blood drain out of my face. Don't be stupid Isolde. Would Tristan marry? Doubtful. Would he marry some high spirited woad? Never. Should I even care? No.

"Yseult barely met him… I doubt she's going to marry Tristan." I said airily. I wasn't pleased with this conversation.

Mordred said nothing to this. He merely gave me an odd expression and then scooted over to grab a hold of my tunic again. It occurred to me that we had been gone for nearly three months. Any number of things could have happened by now.

"Come on. Let's get you a sword." I said standing up.

Mordred's sword ended up being a stick. So did my own for that matter. I drew a circle with my…twig… and positioned Mordred in the middle.

"You can't always have a huge large area to fight." I said circling him. "Which means you can only push, or be pushed so far. So in the end, you have to fight to win."

Mordred gripped his sword with determination as his small feet moved sideways, never taking his serious eyes off me.

"Come on." I said. He shook his head.

"I won't win." He said.

"True." I said and I went down to my knees. I was now his height. "Now try."

He paused for a moment and then ran at me. He struck first at the wound in my side, but I caught it easily. I smiled amazedly at him.

"Very nice." I said appraisingly.

"I've seen you look for weaknesses." He said quietly. I was suddenly very proud of my boy and his observance.

"Always… Now up. Try again." I said. I tossed him back the stick and readied myself.

"If you can find a weakness… Don't just attack once. Wear your opponent down." I said as the boy circled me again. This was hurting my knees… I was going to have to get someone his own age for him to spar with. We practiced for another hour or so and then I went to find another child. A short girl of about seven who was a third cousin of mine came willingly.

"Toulnis, stay in the circle." I ordered and paired the two off against each other. Now that was amusing…I chortled as Toulnis whapped Mordred across the leg for the sixth time.

"No no Toulnis, remember the stick is a sword not a whip. But Mordred boy, I'm afraid you'd be quite legless by now." I said as the boy winced and pulled up his pants leg to show a bright red whip mark. He grabbed the stick again and eyed the girl with annoyance. This time, when she went to strike at his legs, he was ready. He slapped the stick down on her arm with all his might and she howled with pain. I smiled wryly as I picked them both up by their tunics.

"Now now, you can always kill each other tomorrow. That's enough for today." I said as I shunted Toulnis into her own tent. Mordred stopped struggling as soon as Toulnis was out of sight. He docilely grabbed my tunic and walked beside me.

"Your mother's going to be jealous when we return." I said eyeing his small frame.

"No." He said simply. "She'll be glad. She says chieftains need many friends."

I paused as I remembered that Modron was now the leader of her tribe. That meant that Mordred, as her only and eldest child was now the heir.

"All the more reason to improve your swordsmanship." I said as we entered my tent.


That night I snuck out of my tent to lay on the grass under the sky as I had when I was a child. I missed Arthur. I missed him a lot… It wasn't that I missed having a leader…It was that I missed the leader I already had. And I missed Lancelot and his son. Geraint would start moving on his own soon… And Dagonet and Bors would probably be missing me as much as I missed them. I missed Galahad and Gawain and I had been gone from them only a few weeks. I wondered if they missed the others… Yes. I knew the answer to that. I missed Tristan in a way I hadn't thought I would. When I thought of March, I felt nothing but friendship at the memory of his face. It confirmed my suspicion that I had engaged in a meaningless young fling. I didn't regret it really…Why should I? But I wondered what I had given up in its place. I missed Tristan terribly… All the swirling thoughts in my head were driving me crazy… Gawain's words about Tristan's feelings towards me… The herb girl's words about him never saying he didn't want a family…Everyone was pressuring me to find a man to marry… And I was suddenly no longer sure that I didn't want a family. I liked teaching Mordred to fight…I liked holding Geraint, no matter how awkwardly it was sometimes. I didn't even mind the days with Euxil made me hold Amnartes when he wailed at the top of his small lungs.

I banged my head against the soft earth in frustration. Damn it. Damn it all… What would marrying and having children mean? A husband meant nothing… Well the right man wouldn't. If he cared for me, he wouldn't care if I was a knight or not. And children…Well children would mean months of pregnancy spent with a bit more care but aside from that… Sarmatian women had raised children as warriors and queens for hundreds of years. I'd be damned if I couldn't do it too… That all led me back to the question of men. If I wanted a family, who was I going to start one with?

The only logical answer was Tristan. It all came back to Tristan. Tristan would never want to settle down as most men would. He probably wouldn't want too many children scurrying about… And he wouldn't want some apron wearing shrew for a wife either. Tristan loved battle…Could he love a wife who loved it as much as he did? I loved him, so couldn't he love-

I paused and felt quite cold as I realized where my train of thought had just led me. I breathed calmly for several moments before I let myself continue. I loved him. Or did I?

Why was I second guessing myself? I thought back to the time in the bar when I had been asked if I could picture myself settling down with any of the men… I had looked straight at Tristan and said no. Well I couldn't picture myself settling down…I couldn't imagine Tristan settling down…But could I think of a time when I could love him? And have a family with him? Yes…

I stood up and darted into my tent. I went to our private store of wine and poured myself a huge cupful. Then I went back outside. Oh gods…I gulped the liquid down with fervor. Oh gods…

A few days later my mother called me into our tent around noon. Her strong arms were bare as she nearly tore the tunic of my body.

"Here. It should fit perfectly." She said. Euxil popped her head in with a gurgling Amnartes in her arms.

"Well let's see it then." Euxil said. Tunic…Ha. The blessed woman had made me a loose tunic of a dark green to replace my other tunic. Along with it, she had made me a pair of dark brown trousers. A fine belt outfitted with two gold stag buckles completed the outfit. I put it on and smiled at my mother.

"It's very nice. Thank you. Both of you." I said looking at both of them. I would need to thank Oponis later…

"Well, let's see if this fits too, before I send Angunsl to find any fur." My mother said as she scooped up a coat. The coat was beautiful, yet unfinished. The cloth was fine and thick as my mother helped me pull it over my head. It was dark blue, with green embroidering around the whole thing. I saw some unfinished parts and I knew my mother had a few days more of finishing it. The three large tabs that closed the front from the chest to the waist were made of a light blue thread. The hems of the coat would be trimmed with a fur of some sort. The whole thing would be beautiful, and warm for the on coming winter.

Euxil sighed with envy.

"Mother this is lovely." I said. I mean it too.

"Well there's more coming. I'm going to be making you a dress soon. Next week Oponis and I are traveling to the south to my sister's tribe. The trader's are always there this time of year. I have enough gold to by silk I think!" She said the last part with motherly pride.

"Oh no mother, a plain dress will do fine, not silk-" I protested.

"Well if it's too expensive I won't bother. But if not, I'll buy it!" She said sternly. "And why shouldn't you have a silk dress? You're my daughter and you are a knight."

"Exactly, mother." I said even though the idea of a silk dress appealed to me. Never in my wildest dreams could I picture myself in a silk dress. "I'm a knight. Not a queen. And I already have a fine dress. I shouldn't dress too nicely-"

"Yes yes I saw the dress Galina made you. It was lovely, but you need a Sarmatian dress. Especially if you are going to marry that knight. How old did you say he was?" She asked.

"I'm going to by something nice too Isolde. All the women are. Even the men are talking about buying new saddles with gold inlay." Euxil said trying to talk me into it.

"And you are Arthur's knight…Arthur the king. Who is going to attack a king with a knight in silk?" She asked imperiously.

"Plenty of people will attack a fool who prances around in silk-"

"No one said anything about prancing, just on feast nights-"

"If anyone deserves a silk dress it's my queen-"

"Yes well I saw that crown you took for her-"

"Well if you keep loading gold and silk on me it's not going to make a difference whether I give her one bloody crown-"

"I am making you a dress. And I will make it however I choose." She said with finality. Mordred watched on with huge eyes. I realized that my mother wanted me to remain her daughter. Sarmatian and proud… And if she could give me silk, she would give me silk.

"Thank you mother." I said after a moment. She sniffed and helped me take off the coat.

"I was also thinking of putting those gold squares on-"

"No."

Why had she brought Tristan into it? I nearly groaned outloud…She was practically sending me off with a dowry. For the love of the gods…


Hope you all enjoyed that! Its finally happened! She loves him!