My new beta for this story, BlackPaintedWhite, says this chapter is ready to post, so here it is. Thanks for all the reviews, I live for them. Oh, KnightMaiden, if you think a sequel is in order, drop me an email and give me some ideas of what you'd like to read about. Maybe a collaboration?
Disclaimer: Still only own things that are of sentimental value to me and unfortunately, none of the knights fit into that category. Sorry.
Sarah was up long before day break. It only took her a little while to pack what supplies she thought she'd need, and as far as clothes, she was wearing her leather pants and tunic. The only other thing she would carry was the green dress. She smiled when she looked at the dress, it was one of the few things she had splurged on. She had bought it with Derek in mind and wanted to change into it before she reached the village. He had told her he liked her wearing green, because it made her eyes shine. Shaking her head, she finished packing and headed for the stable to saddle her horse and start her journey.
She bought a horse with most of her money and the rest was tucked safely in her boot, just in case. She stopped by and told Vanora goodbye and apologized for leaving without giving advance warning. She wouldn't have done that, for they weren't close, but the woman had been kind to her the night before and she didn't like the feeling that she owed someone something. No debts, no ties. That was always best when you weren't planning on coming back.
The saddle that the man had thrown in wasn't much, but it beat trying to ride the whole way bareback. As the guards opened the gates, she turned around and looked at the fort one last time. It hadn't been a bad place to live, she had felt safe. But it wasn't home, at least not the way she remembered home. 'Yeah, I know it's partly my fault. I could have tried to make friends. But …' she thought. But for some reason she couldn't remember what the 'but' was for. 'It doesn't matter anymore, I'm going home, where I belong.'
When the gates were open just enough, she slipped through and headed north. She hadn't thought anything about a weapon or that she might need one. Why would she, she didn't know how to use one. It would probably just get in her way or cause her trouble somewhere down the road. The only thing she carried was a small dagger to skin small animals. She walked at a leisurely pace for a while, to give the horse time to get used to her and the other way around. Besides it was still too dark to see far, especially once she got to the woods, so slow was better than injured. When the sun finally came up she was well north of the fort in the darkened forest.
The knights rode away from the fort at dawn. Gawain hadn't known exactly which direction they should ride, so they just kind of headed north. Arthur had been amused at his reasoning, "We can head north, and if we don't run into her, we'll go a little east and come back that way." His voice had started off strong and sure, then as he ended it had slowly gotten quieter and hesitant.
If this hadn't been a potential situation where an innocent woman could be in trouble and one of his knights would feel responsible, Arthur would have broken into laughter at the embarrassed way Gawain was acting. The way Lancelot and Bors were still grumbling to each other just behind him made it difficult to think seriously even under the circumstances.
They had been riding for a few hours when Arthur called for them to stop. "We need to rest the horses and I for one am hungry. Tristan, as soon as we've rested, ride ahead and see how things look." He saw Tristan nod as they dismounted and prepared to rest. Arthur looked at Gawain and saw that he was trying to avoid the other knights. He also saw that he wasn't having much luck.
"Hey, Gawain, tell me again why we're out here instead of back at the fort getting drunk?" Galahad started the rather brutal teasing. Gawain just shook his head and moved to another spot to lay back and shut his eyes. Galahad seemed to be glad that for once he wasn't on the receiving end of the teasing.
"Aawh, come on Galahad, haven't you ever chased a woman across Britain to drag her back to your bed?" teased Lancelot.
Suddenly Gawain jumped up, "That's not why we're here and you know it! If we don't help her, she's going to be hurt! If not by Woads or Saxons, then her heart will be broken when she finds her village gone and everyone dead." He had started out shouting, but at the end his voice was just sad. "Do any of you remember her?" He looked around and saw that each one was shaking his head. "Until yesterday I didn't notice her either. Do you know she's beautiful, but she hides it under layers of clothes so none of us would notice her? She told me she didn't want any attention from the men at the tavern, but I think she meant us."
The others had started paying closer attention when he told them she wore layers of clothes. "Vanora told me she came to the fort a couple of months ago. The Saxons had attacked her village and she had escaped. She was planning to work and save her money to go back home and find her family." He wasn't looking at the others. He was looking at the ground between his feet.
"Find her family? Didn't anyone tell her that the Saxons don't leave survivors?" Asked Dagonet.
"Vanora tried, but Sarah wouldn't listen." He seemed to want to say more, but just kept staring at the ground. Finally, he looked up and the others saw the haunted look in his eyes. "Yesterday, I was looking around the tavern and realized that every woman there had been in each of our beds at one time or another. It made me realize just what we'd missed in our service to Rome. There was no chance of finding the kind of woman we'd want to marry and spend the rest of our lives with." He saw Bors start to say something and hurried to add, "except you, Bors. You got lucky."
"Well, I decided to just go to the top of the wall and think about things. That's when I saw Sarah walking under the big tree. She started pulling clothes off and I wondered why she was going to strip down. But she stopped when she got to her green dress. She then let her hair down. It was long, brown, and when she shook her head it flew about her head in a cloud. She was beautiful." His voice still had awe from the remembered scene.
"Why didn't you just go talk to her then?" Bors asked.
"I did. That's when I kissed her and she seemed about to cry. She left because I went against her wishes. She didn't want me to try to kiss her, she didn't want any of us to try anything. I ran her off. Now do you see why I want to find her before she gets hurt?" The pleading in his voice made them all look down at the ground.
Finally, Arthur felt the need to break the tense silence that followed Gawain's plea, "We'll find her, now let's head out." The men all started to head toward their horses, each trying to find a way to cheer their friend up. Of all the knights, he was usually the one keeping everybody else's mood lifted. None of the others knew what to say or if anything they could say would take the blame out of his heart. This was different for all of them, including Gawain, himself.
Sarah rode through the forest, watching the thick foliage for signs of anything that could cause her trouble. She didn't want to admit it, but she had gotten used to having other people around her even though she hadn't had any dealings with them. Being alone in the darkness of the forest made her feel more lonely than she had ever felt, including the time it had taken her to get to the fort when she had run from her village. Then she had just been concerned with surviving.
She found herself thinking about the people who had tried to be friendly to her. The serving wenches had tried, at least they had until they found out she wasn't the plain, plump girl they thought her to be.
Some of the Roman soldiers had also tried at first. But she had to admit, she had been rather rude to them. All but the older ones. They had reminded her of her father. Always looking out for her. Warning her when the knights were coming back so she could change her appearance. She smiled at the memories of their words. 'Lady, the knights are due in today. You don't want them to catch you as you look now, do you?' Such kind men.
Then the blonde knight had tried to be friendly to her and she had lost it. She remembered the feeling when he had kissed her. He had been so gentle at first and she would have enjoyed it, but then she saw the look in his eyes and it scared her. She had seen the many times he had kissed the other women and then taken them to his bed. She didn't want that, she wanted what Derek's love had promised; closeness. 'Then why am I thinking about his kiss and not Derek's?' she berated herself.
She shook her head and looked around the forest. She did not want to think anymore. She just wanted to get home as fast as she could. She looked around to make sure she was still alone. She thought she saw something out of the corner of her eye and turned around to see what it was. She didn't see anything, but she was sure she had seen something move, so she quickened her pace. Whatever she thought she had seen was left behind as she rode forward.
After a few minutes she looked around again. This time she did not see anything. She slowed down a little and found her mind wandering again. This time she was thinking about Derek. He was such a good man. He had always been kind and compassionate. The children of the village flocked after him as they did Sarah. She had realized how much she wanted to marry him early in her life when he had always taken up for the weaker of the children as they grew up. He would be a good father and the families of their village had been pretty big for the most part.
Her own family had been one of the smallest in the village. But her mother had problems when she was born and for whatever reason had never conceived again. It was something that caused her mother much sadness and she had told Sarah how she looked forward to many grandchildren. Timothy and Anna had been expecting their first child when the attack came. 'Please let them be alright.' She silently pleaded to the gods. Anna had become like a sister when she married Timothy. Sarah missed her more than she had let herself realize during her forced exile.
Then she thought about Vanora. She reminded her of Anna. Outspoken, honest to a fault and stubborn. But she was loyal to the people she loved. Anna had loved Sarah like a sister and been beside her whenever she had been sad, which wasn't often, but she had always told her if she needed anything, she would be there. 'Anna, I miss you. You and Timothy.' She thought sadly.
The sadness brought by her thoughts brought tears to her eyes and she briskly wiped them away with her hand. 'I'm just tired,' she thought. 'I need to stop and rest and maybe eat a little. Then I'll feel better.' She looked around and saw a small clearing just off the trail. She jumped lightly from her horse and began to unsaddle him. He probably needed to rest as well, and she wanted to get her thoughts under control before she started again. She should be a little excited about going home instead of feeling so sad. Her mixed feelings confused her and she didn't like being confused.
She ate some of the dried meat and fruit she had brought, being careful not to eat too much. It needed to last most of the journey. She could probably find some berries in the woods but she didn't know how well she would do trying to snare small game. It had been a long time since she had to use her hunting skills and she didn't relish being hungry like she had been on the journey to the wall.
After she had eaten, she leaned back against the trunk of a tree and closed her eyes. She hadn't slept much the night before, partly because of her mixed up emotions and partly because she was preparing for her journey. She thought she would rest her eyes for a few minutes, then she would head back out. She wanted to make good time and reach her home as quickly as the elements and landscape would allow. She tried to remember her journey south, but she had taken so many turns trying to find her way that she doubted she would be able to go back the same way. Before she realized what she was doing, she fell into a sound sleep.
The Woads had been following the lone woman for a few miles when she stopped. They were intrigued by the fact that she traveled alone and seemed to be unarmed. When she stopped, they stopped and watched and waited. What could a woman her age be doing out in the woods all alone, especially on their side of the wall? The leader of the hunting party motioned for them to stay out of sight as he moved close enough to see her as she sat under the tree. He decided that they would not bother her unless she gave them cause later. They would follow her for a ways and be sure she would be alright before turning toward their camp further to the north.