Note: Thanks for the reviews! I know it's going slow but it should speed up. I probably lost most of you with the exposition that never ends and I apologize. I know you all are eagerly awaiting for the romance to bloom and I promise it will soon, that is if I can get things written before I forget what I'm going to do. Sorry for another cliff-hanger type end, it probably drives you crazy but it helps me get from point A to point B. Thanks for reading this lengthy note and please have a smashing day.

Troubles

Liam listened to the boy as he told stories about meeting Kida. The lad descried Kida exactly. The other knights listened as the boy related his meeting with Liam's famous sister. They badgered the boy for any thing on the topic of Kida and the boy spoke, at first hesitantly, but then he loosened up and told everything he knew about Kida.He smiled as he listened. Hearing the boy talk of his sister made him homesick for her but it somehow made him feel better to know that she was well and safe.

Kida finished her stories about herself, factious though they were the knights seemed to believe them and enjoy them. She wished she could tell Liam who she was but she did not trust the men he was with.

Arthur and the other commanders left the hall. He was greatly disturbed, for the next few years his men would be left alone to defend the borders alone for the span of a year. He did not know what to do. If he told his men they would riot. Why his post was the last to be deserted he knew not but he hoped his men would live to leave it.

Merlin sat around the fire, one of his scouts had come back with news. The Romans would be withdrawing from Britain. The Woads rejoiced over the news and Merlin had every intention on killing as many of the knights as possible before they left.

With the meeting over and their orders given; the commanders and their knights slowly began to leave Arthur's post. Soon all were gone except for Lysander and his men for Lysander still had much to discuss with the general. Lysander's knights did not care for they rather enjoyed doing nothing. When not in meetings with the general, Lysander kept up his old habit of watching Kiran's every move. He took great interest when he noticed that Kiran started to spend most of his time with Arthur's knights.

At night he would watch out his window for he could always see Kiran standing on the wall looking at the horizon as if searching for something. Lysander wondered at the odd knight who never slept and rarely talked. His other knights were used to his odd interest in Kiran that they didn't even notice but Arthur and his knights noticed and wondered what was going on between commander and knight.

Kida tried her best to keep away from Lysander as much as she could. It was not as hard as she thought it would be. She hardly ever saw Lysander for he was always in meetings and so she spent most of her time with the resident knights. She liked them for they were a humorous group with men like Lancelot, the resident cynic, and the gentle giant, Dagonet.

She grew fond of each of the knights. Lancelot for his cynicism and sarcasm, Bors for his simple humor, Galahad for his childlike demeanor, Gawain for his tranquil personality, Tristan for his eccentric ways, and Dagonet for his gentleness and kindness and the others for their positive attitude. They were all fond of her, or at least that is what she inferred from their behavior toward her.

It was hard thought to trust them, even though she certainly liked them. She watched for the right moment to tell Liam who she really was, but the opportunity never seemed to arrive. He was always with one of the other knights.

Of all the stories the group told among themselves, stories about her were the most popular. It was weird for her to make up stories about herself, but she did and they loved them all the same. Out of the lot, Liam and Dag and the other five main knights liked the stories the most. It baffled her. Why would these harden warriors have such an interest in a girl they have never met just heard about in stories?

Liam and the others liked the small lad. At first Lancelot and Bors did not like him much and made fun of him for his size but after they had a bout with him in the practice yards their teasing stopped, for he may be small in size, he was well skilled in the art of war. To see such talent in one so small is rare and when found it is a shock and that is what silenced Lancelot and Bors. The lad spent most of his time with them they noticed. The lad's companions seemed to ignore the boy and tried their best to alienate him from them.

They wondered at that until they noticed how the commander kept such a sharp eye on the boy. It was odd. It would be understandable if they were in a battle but in the fort it was not. Lancelot suggested that they were "involved" but they soon dismissed that idea when they saw how the boy tried his best to avoid his commander at all costs.

Soon, they took it into their heads that they would become the boy's guardians in the sense that they helped him loose Lysander when he was sought by him. They thought if a great game and did it all without letting the boy know. If they even saw Lysander coming close to the lad they would intercept him and distract him while one of the others would engage the boy in conversation and lead him away.

When ever the practiced they would invite the boy to see what he was capable of and teach him what they knew. They found that he could use a sword well, knives exceptionally well, the bow and arrow wonderfully, and a spear fairly. The boy's aim was excellent but not superior and so Tristan took the lad and taught him how to better his aim so that he would always hit his target and to read the Earth for signs of other people, animals, and water. The boy seemed to enjoy these lessons quite well.

Not to be out done, Lancelot taught the lad how to fight with two swords and Galahad and Gawain taught him knife throwing. Bors taught him the art of womanizing and Dag the mace. Liam taught him how to do trick riding and Arthur even joined in on the lad's tutelage and taught the lad his basic letters. The lad thrived under their guidance and they found another thing to distract them from what sadness they felt for their families back home.

Kida thoroughly enjoyed the knights' lessons. Tristan was a master at stealth and scouting and she loved learning the craft from him. She noticed that some of the younger knights avoided him, but she could not see why. He was odd and liked to be alone but that did not merit fear. In fact she liked him for his odd ways and his hermit like tendencies.

Thought she enjoyed his company as much as Tristan's, the subject Bors taught her was not her most favorite. Bors was set that every man should be a master at attracting women and set his aim at teaching her how to be a master at it. She felt highly uncomfortable when he would make her practice on barmaids. He took her embarrassment as shyness, if only he knew.

Lancelot's lessons were fun but Kida did not bear a great liking to them for she already could dual hand fight, but she played dumb and let him think he was teaching her for he seemed to enjoy it, at least that's the closest he ever got to enjoying anything for he never seemed to enjoy anything.

Galahad and Gawain's lessons were spent primarily in fights and battles of wit for they were always getting into arguments about what was the best technique to throw a knife to land at one angle or another. She found them a comical pair and just watched them silently suppressing her laughter.

The mace with Dag was one of the most challenging of her lessons, for she had never held a mace before and this training was new to her. Unlike the others the training masters never even let them near a mace for they believed it to be a vulgar weapon fit only for pagans.

She loved trick riding with Liam and enjoyed the felling of freedom it gave her as she rode. She tried to reveal herself to him during the lessons but she never found the courage.

Letter learning with Arthur was new to her and she absorbed everything Arthur spoke of. She liked learning her letters and enjoyed playing letter games with Arthur as he taught her how to write and read simple words.

Oh how she wished she could stay with Arthur and his knights for the rest of her term. She wanted to learn more about letters and the mace. She enjoyed their company and they liked her. She would escape Lysander and be alone. If only she had been chosen to be one of Arthur's knights she would have been happy.

Lysander watched as Arthur and his knights took to Kiran. He hated it. He was always getting intercepted and they always got in his way. He counted down the days when he would go back to his post with Kiran. The thought of Kiran's sadness if he had to leave made it worth waiting for. It was strange that Lysander should love to see pain on another's face, but since Kiran came along he had not been himself. Kiran had to be an evil magician sent to destroy him and he was set to destroy Kiran before he got destroyed.

Merlin called to him his leaders. The gate fort had emptied and he was ready to start their fights with the fleeing knights. They had killed many of his people since they first started building the wall and sending knights to defend the wall and he intended on repaying them ten full.

While riding the width of the valley with Liam, Kida felt a sudden chill sweep through her body. Only once before had she felt this chill. It was the time before she was attached as she traveled to her post. She pulled her horse to a halt and looked around her. There was nothing visible, but that did not mean they were not there as experience soon dictated their enemies were skilled at blending in with their surroundings.

She turned to Liam and said, "There's something in the woods."

Liam stopped and looked around. He saw nothing. "I see nothing."

He rode forward. "Stop!" Kida cried, but it came too late and he rode into a trap. As soon as he passed the first tree a group of Woads jumped him and pulled him from his horse. Kida drew her sword ready for a fight. The Woads surrounded her. Her eyes darted from Liam to the Woads. They now stood in a full circle around her.

A large man walked forward. "We will not kill you now," he began in her language. "Go and tell Arthur that we wait for him. Tell him his knight will live to die with the rest of them. Go now."

Before Kida could offer a reply the man and his men had disappeared into the shadows with her brother.