Wow! I'm amazed and more than pleased at the response to this story!

LANCELOTTRISTANBABY: Is this soon enough?

BlackPaintedWhite: Glad you like it so far… hope you aren't disappointed later.

KnightMaiden: Didn't want you to wait too long. Here it is.

Lucillaq: Thank you so much.

It seems my beta is a little too busy right now, so if anyone else is interested, just drop me a line. I'm a little worried about chapter five and would like someone elses opinion before I update again.

Same disclaimer applies. Unless I win the lottery soon you won't get much if you sue, so please don't.

Gawain was up before the sun the next morning and had gone in search of Arthur. He found him sitting at the Round Table eating breakfast. "Arthur, I need to speak with you about something." He started as he rushed into the room.

"Slow down, Gawain. What is so important that you're up before the sun when you don't have to be?" Arthur questioned him.

"There is this woman who works at the tavern. She's from somewhere up toward the northeast and her village was destroyed by Saxons." He knew he was talking too fast and purposely made himself slow down just a little. "She's planning on leaving to search for survivors and I want to accompany her." He finished and looked at Arthur, waiting for some kind of response.

Arthur watched Gawain as he spoke, he wasn't surprised when he started with 'there is this woman'. A lot of Gawain's stories started that way. But when he mentioned Saxons, Arthur listened more intently. "Gawain, you know there are probably no other survivors." He wanted to make sure Gawain understood what to expect.

"I know that, but she doesn't and won't listen. Beyond the fact that she's probably going to find out that she doesn't have a home or family anymore. It's not safe for her to travel that far alone."

His voice had become softer as he talked and when he finished Arthur recognized the guilt in his tone. "What causes you to feel guilty where this woman is concerned?" he asked quietly. "I'm not trying to pry into affairs that are none of my business, but I need all the details if I'm to make the right decision." He watched Gawain lower his gaze before answering.

"I'm the one who made her think of her family. I'm the reason she wants to leave." He looked up and saw Arthur pondering his words.

"There is no reason for you to remain at the fort right now, but I'm not sure I like you going alone for the length of time you'll require for this journey." He hesitated before finishing his thought, then hurried to continue when he saw the look on his friend's face. "But I don't see any reason why we can't all ride that way. If there are Saxons entering this island, then it is our duty to check it out and send a report to Rome." He stood up, leaving his half-eaten food. "Wake the others and tell them there will be a meeting as soon as they can get here."

Gawain stood quickly and headed toward the rooms where everyone would be still sleeping. He knew they wouldn't be happy about being pulled out of their beds at such an ungodly hour, but right then he didn't care whether they were happy or not. As long as she didn't leave by herself.

The knights gathered at the Round Table and Arthur told them what Gawain had told him. Gawain saw the other knights looking at him curiously and finally spoke up, "Vanora told me that she was working to save money so she could go back home. If the Saxons attacked her village, she will have no home to go back to. I feel bad for making her think about her home and about making her leave. It is my responsibility to make sure she doesn't get hurt on the journey and I don't want her to face what she will see on her on." His look dared anyone to argue, but unfortunately Lancelot didn't pay attention to it.

"What makes you think you had anything to do with her leaving?" He sounded bored and Gawain swallowed the angry retort that had come to his tongue.

"I asked her why she didn't want any friends and she started crying. She said she didn't need friends because she didn't plan to be here long enough." Then he let his anger come through, "Besides, what difference does it make? It is something I need to do. If you have a problem with it you don't have to go!"

Lancelot stood up, then sat back down. Gawain was right, it didn't matter why. They had always stuck together and this time was no different. He held up his hand in surrender. "Fine, I'm with you. I just wondered, that's all."

The others nodded in agreement. Arthur told them to prepare and looked at Gawain, "Find this woman and bring her here. I wish to talk with her before we leave." Gawain nodded and left the room.

He wasn't sure where she would be, so he decided to try the tavern first. He hoped she wouldn't be too upset that he had intruded again in her affairs. But in the end it wouldn't matter how upset she was. If they ran into trouble, she would see why he had done it.

He rounded the corner into the tavern and saw Vanora behind the bar doing something with pitchers and mugs. She turned and put her hands on her hips. "What the hell did you say to Sarah last night? She packed up this morning and told me she was leaving. She was one of my best servers, too!" She told him angrily.

It took him a minute to realize what she had said. "What do you mean, she left this morning? What time?" He saw her raise her eyebrow at his tone and he shook his head. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to shout. What time did she say she was leaving?"

She moved her hands from her hips and said, "Before sunrise. She was all packed and woke me up to tell me she was sorry for such short notice. I tried to talk her out of it, but she said it was something she had to do." Then she looked at the way his face had fallen. "Why do you want to know?"

He sat down heavily and put his head in his hands, "I was going with her, I mean, we all were. I talked to Arthur this morning and he decided we should check out the story of the Saxons. If they attacked Britain, Rome needs to know." Then she heard him say as if to himself, "Why did she have to leave so quickly? It was only a kiss."

Vanora walked over and put her hand on his shoulder. "Gawain, I don't know what you're talking about, but I told you she was an odd one. She just wants to go home, like the rest of us. She acted tough, but I think that was just a cover for the hurt she felt. I should have made myself clearer when we talked." She sat down next to him, "Why did you kiss her?"

He looked up and shook his head, "I don't know. I was just trying to find out more about her, about why she wanted to look so plain when she was so beautiful. Then I looked into her eyes and," he hesitated, trying to find the right words, "and, I just couldn't help it. She seemed so all alone and I was feeling the same way. Maybe it was as much for myself as it was for her. I just don't know. Then she started crying and asked me to just leave her alone. I should never have left with her so upset. It's my fault and if something bad happens to her…" He let the words trail off.

"Oh, come on, Gawain, you can't be responsible for the actions of someone else. She made it here on her on and without the provisions she has now. She'll be fine. Like I said she's tough to a point." Vanora stood up and headed back to the bar. "Well, at least now I know why she took off so fast. Can't say I blame her, you lot can be pretty overbearing to a young girl that has no experience with men. She'd been here for a couple of months and has seen how you are with the other women. Maybe she just thought you were trying to take her to your bed and it scared her."

Gawain wished she would just stop talking. She wasn't making him feel any better about the situation. But she was probably right. Thinking back he remembered how disgusted she had sounded when she said she didn't want the attention of the men at the tavern. She probably hadn't been around many men who acted like they did when they got drunk. Well, he'd really made a mess this time. And he'd straighten it all out one way or the other. He quickly stood up and headed back to Arthur.