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It All Comes To An End

Six months had passed and all went well. Tristan and Dagonet had left Kida alone and she ignored them. Arthur kept a close watch on his knights, for he knew one of them was bound to do something. Anticipation filled the air, for within the week they would receive their dispatch papers and go home.

Bors had plans to stay in Britain, starting his own town where he would be mayor. Gawain and Galahad looked forward to go home. The others were just glad to have their servitude over with. Kida was a bit sad for she knew she still had to live out the last three years of her servitude at another fort before she could leave. Just what to do with Liam.

Arthur and his knights sat on a hill, watching for the Bishop Germanius to arrive. They were all anxious to get away from Britain and back home to their home lands. Around the bend the wagons came and they watched them. All seemed well then a cry erupted from the trees. Woads. Arthur and his knights formed one of their much formed formations and charged.

They battled, many Woads were killed. In the end they retreated and Arthur's knights waited for their discharge papers. They received none on the spot, perhaps they were waiting until they got back to their fort. They were all a bit nervous about the fact that they had not seen their papers yet, but they just thought that it was the Roman's need to a ceremony that kept him from handing over the papers at once.

They were all a bit anxious to receive their papers and tried their best not to show their anxiety. As they rode back to the fort, they spoke of what they wanted to do as free men, yet again. Gawain and Galahad wanted to find wives and settle down, while Bors wanted to govern his own village. Lancelot had no real plans, and Dagonet made no attempt to share his. Arthur looked forward to his reunion with Pelagius in Rome. Tristan thought a little about traveling.

As the knights talked, Liam rode in silence. He was receiving his freedom but Kida was not. He was not sure if he could leave her behind to finish out her term. Kida was not with them, for they thought it best that she was not around Tristan and Dagonet for fear of her discovery. So Liam was left to stew about things alone and undisturbed.

Kida sat with Vanora in the backroom of the pub. Over the last year, she had become good friends with Vanora, she was someone she could talk about things with that men could not even begin to understand. She had found Vanora to be sort of a mother-like figure, someone to help her in such problems as the one she had with Tristan and Dagonet.

They sat at a table, talking about nothing. She was upset about the fact that she would have to be stationed somewhere else and about the fact that Liam and everyone else would be going home. She did not show that she was upset though, for she was not about to have Liam try to find ways to get it so that she too could receive her papers of release.

Vanora must have felt her uneasiness, for she kept conversation on petty matters, such as what Gil had done the day before and what-not. Kida appreciated the small distraction from her worries and listened to Vanora's stories of her children latest troublemaking.

They came back to fort. Kida and Vanora stood in the shadows as the knights rode into the inner courtyard. Jols waited for the knights with a few of the other stable boys. Following the knights a carriage pulled in followed by a few more carts and a dozen or so Roman guard. From the carriage, an old man stepped out, dressed in Roman battle gear.

He looked around him, as if taking in everything, and then turned to Arthur. Arthur bowed to him and said, "My rooms are ready for you."

The man smiled and said, "Good, I need to rest." With that the man was escorted into the keep followed by a small, shaking man. Bors hounded the man, making him look even more scared, until he had disappeared after the other man.

The Roman guards began to unpack the wagons. The knights stood there for a moment, hoping for some sign of their papers, but there were none. After a while, they slowly began to walk away, somewhat disappointed but not hopeless. Their papers had to be somewhere; they just had to be patient, which proved to be hard for patience was not one of the virtues they were blessed with. Perhaps they would receive them that night. Perhaps.

Kida sat in the stables, alone. This was it. She would now have to continue on alone. She would miss the freedom she felt without the burden of having hide her gender from everyone. She would have to go back to the solitary life she led before she came here to serve under Arthur. The only good thing about this was the fact that she would no longer have Tristan and Dagonet trying to woo her.

Mentally, she prepared herself to shut herself away. She had only three more years. All she had to do was detach herself from the need of human companionship and suffice with animal comradeship as before. She scolded herself for letting herself get so comfortable and used to human associations. In the end, she knew she would be alone, even once she received her papers. There was no possible way she could return back to her home. Her mother would not accept her, and now that she had lived with such freedom, she could not find a husband and live under his rule.

A long time ago she came to the decision of traveling once she was free. She would have to continue her charade of being a man, but that was better than to let everything she had learned and mastered over the past twelve years to be forced to be forgotten.

Tristan searched the fort for Kida. He had hardly seen anything of her for days. He had to talk to her before he left. He wished he could take her with him, but even if he could she probably wouldn't go with him. She seemed to dislike him and he did not know why. He had done what other men had done to win the hearts of maidens and none of it seemed to work on Kida. In fact, the more he tried to woo her, the more she avoided him. He knew she told him to leave her alone, but he thought it was just a ploy to make him pursue her more; some women did that to make their suitor prove their devotion.

It had been a long time since they kissed but he was sure she liked kissing him. He had liked kissing her. It was all so confusing, and he had to sort everything out before he left. Before he found Kida, Jols found him and told him that the knights were assembling in the great hall. Tristan went at once, eager to get his papers and hopeful that he would find Kida there.

Arthur entered the great hall to find all his knights waiting for him. Sadness fell over him yet again as he noted how many places around his table were empty. They had all fought bravely and would be remembered for their great deeds. His spirits lifted a bit when he saw how jovial his living knights were. They were always a bit foolish with enough liquor, but they were even more so with their freedom so close.

He drank from his glass, watching his knights. He had gotten them out alive and soon they would all be going home. He would miss his friends but he knew they would be better off in their homelands. He looked at each of his knights; this probably would be the last night they would be sitting at this table together. Finally, his gaze rested on Kida, who sat apart from the other knights. She did not look well. It was probably the fact that they would all be leaving and she would have to be placed at another post to finish the rest of her time. He had come to think of Kida as if she was his own sister, he knew most of the men had and he expected some trouble with their parting, especially with Liam, Tristan, and Dagonet.

Before he could think anymore about his future problems with parting, the Bishop came in. He noted the disgusted look that came over his face when he noted that the table was a round one. The Bishop quickly covered his disgust and turned to Arthur and his knights. "Arthur and his knights. Rome has heard much about you." The Bishop continued on with idle talk. The knights were growing restless, waiting for him to get to the reason why he was here in the first place. Finally it came. "Now, before you receive your papers, I must speak with your commander alone." The knights took the hint and left, although they were not too happy about leaving their freedom once they were so close.

The knights gathered in the pub, kissing wenches, gambling, and drinking. Kida sat in the corner and watched them. This was the last night that she would ever be with these knights and probably the last time she would ever see them. They celebrated their freedom and were close to passing out when Arthur arrived. She noted the distressed look on his face and knew something was wrong. The knights gathered around Arthur, all of them cheering. From her post she could see everything.

The knights quieted down to hear what he had to say. "You have all fought bravely, but there is one more task we must do before we are allowed out freedom." They all argued.

"What!"

"We have served our time."

"Bloody Romans, damn them all to Hell!"

"You offer us not freedom but death!" All types of remarks were blurted out at once. Arthur silently took them all. Kida shook her head, there was always a catch.

Once the knights quieted down, Arthur explained what they had to do, "There is a Roman family in need of rescue. We must complete this task to receive our freedom."

Another outburst came. Kida could not take it anymore. "Do we have your word that they will get their papers?" she asked as she emerged from her corner.

"Yes."

The knights looked at Kida. She ignored them. "When do we leave?"

"What? Why are you asking that?" Liam asked. "We are free men, free."

Kida turned to Liam, "I do not believe this mission is optional."

"I'm not going to die for some Roman," Bors growled.

Kida looked at Arthur; it tore him up to have to betray his men in such a way. "You could try leaving, but I rather doubt you'd make it very far, for the Romans will have every man they could going after you. You can do one of two things. You can go on this mission and have a chance of living free, or spend the rest of your life under to feet of the Romans. It is your choice." She paused and then looked at Arthur. "I am with you Arthur. When do we leave?"

"Tomorrow morning."

"Very well," she turned and left.

After Kida left, the knight fell silent. They felt betrayed, they were angry, and they loathed the Romans with every cell in their bodies. Kida was right though, if they left without the papers they were dead men. It was death or face the Saxons. One by one the knights came to their decisions. "Come Dag, we must prepare for battle," Liam said. He and Dag left. Tristan followed them, not saying a word. Lancelot shook his head but followed Tristan out. Galahad would not leave until Gawain pulled him away. Soon all that was left was Bors. Bors looked at Arthur. "Do we have your word?"

"Yes."

Bors shook his head and left to prepare. Arthur sighed. How he hated doing that. He turned to go when Kida appeared from the shadows. He nodded at her as she approached. "Thank you," he said. "I don't believe I could have reasoned with them."

"There's no need for thanks. I had to do something." They fell silent. "You didn't enjoy delivering the news."

"I feel like I betrayed them."

"You didn't betray them. The Roman leaders went back on their agreement. They are famous for utilizing what they have. Their anger will pass in time and all will be well."

Arthur nodded. Kida turned to leave. "What do you plan to do?"

"What?"

"Once this is all over? I have heard everyone elses plan, but not yours."

Kida thought for a moment, "I think travel would be best."

"No home?"

"I have no home."

"Liam doesn't see it that way."

"I know, but he doesn't see many things they way they really are. I have no home, I have no people. After this, no man from my tribe would marry me and I am not too fond of the idea of marriage. Men tend to want their women silent and obedient. After living as a man I do not think I could ever be submissive."

"Does Liam know this?"

"No, but he will before this is done." They stood there in complete silence. "Well, I must get ready. Good night Arthur." She left.

Arthur watched her go. She was certainly different from most people. She did not want to be dependant and seemed set on the idea of a solitary life. She was not fanciful as one would expect from one so young, Galahad was older than she was and he was very fanciful. Kida was grounded and a bit bitter. He did not know what made her think that she would be not be welcomed at home, but then again she was probably right, not many people were ready to accept different people and if he remembered Liam's stories correct, Kida had never been on good terms with her family or her tribe. But she would be welcomed somewhere, and marriage was not completely out of the question, there were men that would accept a woman like her, like Tristan or Dagonet.

He sighed and went to the stables where a cot was set up for him. Other troubles pushed their way into his mind. He had to get his men back alive. He had to.

The next morning all the knights assembled in the stables. They were all solemn. They were preparing to leave when the Bishop arrived to wish them luck. They all glared at him, having switched their target of hatred to the Roman Bishop. The Bishop did not notice their contempt and greeted them as if he was not sending them to their deaths.

They rode out, with Jols and the Bishop's secretary, Horton. They set their pace to a canter and rode hard. If they kept up this pace they would be able to arrive at their destination in four days. They all hoped that the Saxons were not close at hand for they could not take on an army of Saxons, no matter how good they were.

The knights let out their anger on their mounts; they rode as if they were trying to outride their anger. They had to stop many times to let their mounts rest, for they had no spare mounts. After the first day, they seemed to calm down a bit and the pace slowed down a bit for the benefit of the horses. Along the way, Kida had to switch mounts with Dagonet for his small mare was having trouble carrying him at such a fast speed for so long. There was little talk as they rode. Horton tried to start up conversations, but all he received in return for his attempts were glares. He had the feeling that the knights did not like him.

Tristan led the way. They took a short cut through a forest. Woads waited for them, Tristan knew it, but for some reason they did not attack. It baffled Tristan but he did not question their good fortune and got them out of the forest as quickly as possible. They rode and rode, the Woads following quickly behind them. They all felt uneasiness in the air.

Finally they broke free of the trees and rode on. Soon a building came into site. They had reached their destination, now all they had to do was evacuate the family and they were free. There was no sign of the Saxons and everything seemed right. The knights could almost taste their freedom. They rode up to the building, everything was clear now. It seemed almost easy. They were half way done, half way done. They would be free men soon.