KnightMaiden: I hope I'm not spending too much time on Arian's first day with the knights…I wasn't planning to dwell on it so much, but as it turned out, a lot decided to occur that day ;) and we get a glimpse into Arian's life before she gets to Hadrian's Wall. :)

Chapter Six – Stampede

Arian glared at Arthur's back as he led the others away. Already, her father was kicking his gelding, urging him toward Arian to see what happened.

"Woads ahead," Arian growled. "Dunno how many."

"Get in the wagon."

Arian whirled on her father. "I will not! YOU may think Llyr is a better help than your children, but personally I know he's a quack."

"Arian!" Her father scolded, shocked.

Arian was embarrassed to see Llyr himself standing nearby, but tried not to show it.

"Look," she said, trying to make her voice reasonable. "What I mean is, he has little experience in warfare or the use of horses in warfare."

"And you do?"

Arian stared at her father, willing him to contradict her. "I do."

He studied Arian a long moment. He was thinking about her time away from them. What had happened during that time. Arian had changed. He could see that. She was also hiding some secret. Since her return, her attitude had mostly been one of deridement and difficulty. But every now and then she'd present a side, if only for a few minutes, that revealed a truer nature that had taken hold during her imprisonment. A part of her old beyond her years, wise outside experience.

And her fighting side. He'd seen it a couple times. It surfaced mostly when she was riled, which was rarely. And the ferocity and mercilessness of it startled him. She'd learned to do battle. Of that he was certain. And she'd become accustomed—somewhere—to being chosen. Not because she was a girl, but rather, for her tomboyish nature. For her strength. Her tenacity. Somehow he knew she had been favored over another source. But what?

"There is no time," Arian said, breaking through her father's musing.

"Arian, if you stay, so will your sister and then so will your brother."

"Arthur has gone to meet the woads," Arian said. "For some reason unknown to me, these barbarians seem to greatly fear them. If they overcome the knights, father, there really is naught left for us to do but flee and then we would be safer on horseback than in any slow jerky wagon."

Father's horse pranced in place and Arian saw him acknowledge her point with a nod before spinning and cantering back to the wagons to speak with his wife and Gryn. Arian supposed he would tell them to keep the two wagons back for a quick getaway in case the front was assaulted.

Ffanci was already on one wing of the herd when Arian galloped up alongside. Ffanci grinned and winked at her older sister, but Arian looked away. Her stomach was starting to churn. She remembered the fire, the screams, the red stain of blood…the horrifying but awesome feeling of a conqueror victorious.

Kynan was positioned with Llyr on the other side of the horses and Fercos waited at the back. Father rode to the front and peered down the road. There was nothing to be seen, however, and there were no sounds other than the faint rustle of leaves blowing across the trail. Arian's eyes shifted to the trees, noting how the foliage was beginning to change texture and flaunt different shades of yellow and light orange among the typical greens. Already? She thought. She looked at the horses and saw that their coats were already showing a slight wooliness. We are going to have an early winter. She reached forward and touched Misty's ears with cool fingertips. The hair was growing thick and heavy, poofing in little bobcat tufts. And a hard one, Arian decided, withdrawing her hand.

"What?" Ffanci nudged her gelding closer.

"Nothing."

"Arian?" Their father was shouting from the front.

"Father's calling," Arian added, spurring Misty. "I best go."

"Yes, you best must," Ffanci shot back cockily, earning herself a glare for bad grammar.

"Yes?" Arian inquired, riding up alongside her father.

"Ride ahead—just around the bend, mind you. I want you to report to me anything you see."

"Yes sir," Arian saluted crisply.

Her father stared. Her salute was straight while her head was cocked, a little lopsided. He felt he had seen that sort of salute somewhere before.

Arian felt the curiosity in her father's gaze and smacked Misty with the loose ends of the reins so the horse would bold forward and she could avoid any questions.

Keeping to the edge of the trail and hunching in the shadows, Arian nearly flew over her horse's shoulder when Misty skidded to a halt, her head up and nostrils flaring.

Arian threw an arm over the mare's withers to stop the fall. As she righted herself, the sound of metal clanging against metal reached her ears. She started look for the source, but an arrow whizzed past her wrist. She instinctively jerked her hand back. Looking up, Arian could see a woad adjusting his aim, and she dug her heel into Misty's soft flank. The mare leaped to the side as another arrow narrowly missed her rump.

Cursing herself for not getting another bow when she'd had the chance, Arian directed Misty behind a nearby tree. The horse pressed close to the rough bark, her breath coming in uneven snorts. Behind the tree, leaves crackled and crunched and Arian realized the woad was re-adjusting his position.

Kissing to her mount, Arian changed course and galloped up the bank toward the blue warrior. The woad dropped to one knee and fumbled with his bow, but was knocked aside by the fierce charge of the chestnut horse.

Arian whirled Misty and raced down the back and back down the road. Dust spurted up from under the horse's dark hooves as she hurtled around the bend before jerking back on the reins. Misty skidded in a halt, rearing in protest. Arian twisted in the saddle and saw Arthur's knights desperately battling a large force of woads. She frowned. They didn't look like they were winning, that was for sure.

"Get the horses moving," Arian hissed to Ffanci. "Now!" She turned Misty and shouted to her father. "There is no way out. I don't think the knights will last much longer."

Her father paused, digesting this piece of news.

"Get the horses moving!" Arian yelled at a startled Llyr and Kynan. They exchanged dubious glances, but complied by whistling and cracking their reins at the already nervous herd. The horses churned and begin to simultaneously move forward.

"What do you think you're doing!" Father roared.

"Starting a stampede!" Ffanci had picked up on the idea and grinned at Arian across the clearing.

"WHAT!"

"Get them going!" Fercos shouted. "Hiya!"

Arian galloped around the flank and Misty snaked a bite at one horse before charging at the slowest.

"Hoa!" Arian exclaimed, restraining the mare. She patted the mare's neck. It still amazed her how sensitive Misty could be at times.

The horses were gathering speed and Father's shouts of protest were drowned out by the drumming of hooves on the hard-packed earth. Arian seized a quiver of arrows and gave Misty her head. The mare sprinted up along the side of the horses and Arian shouted to Ffanci over the noise.

"Three—in front!"

Ffanci nodded and urged her gelding toward the head of the onslaught. Arian let Misty race up and take a position as breaker in the charge. It was something she'd learned from—well, it was something she'd learned. A V turned upsidedown could be deadly and the leader was responsible for breaking the enemy.

Arian reached inside her saddlebag, closing her eyes as she felt the smooth stones and leather strap within. Drawing out one medium sized stone, she fitted it to the sling and began to twirl it over her head as they raced around the curve and the enemy came into plain view.

She released the stone and it whistled through to air to crack the skull of the nearest woad warrior. Ffanci already had an arrow to her string and Kynan, who had come up alongside, had secured a long spear that he hurled into the melee. Arian saw the knights, bloodied and weary, turn and their eyes widened as they perceived the horses bearing down on them. Galahad's horse leaped onto the high bank beside the road, narrowly managing to escape being trampled as the horses crashed into the woads and galloped over them.

Arian closed her eyes. There were screams, cracks of bones breaking and excited whinnies. Beside her, she could hear the draw and whoosh of Ffanci's bow and the sickening thunk of Kynan's short sword carving a death blow.

For a minute, she was gone. She was back in the village, again. Watching, listening, waiting. It was sick—sick. But the fascination—the gory draw of battle—had never ceased to amaze her. In fact, it fascinated her. For some unknown reason.

She recalled an ancient Athenian play. In 431 B.C. audiences in Greece had listened—maybe without reflection—to the words of the heroine.

What they say of us is that we have a peaceful time

Living at home, while they do the fighting in war.

How wrong they are! I would very much rather stand

Three times in the front of battle than bear one child.

Arian's mother would have been horrified to hear the thoughts of the foreign woman resounding in her own daughter's head.

Hmmm, I was going to make this longer, but as it happened, this was a good place to end it. :) So it's four pages instead of the planned six, but I hope you enjoy it anyway! If you are reading this, please review! I would like to hear any suggestions/comments:)