AN: I just wanted to give a little insight to the premise to this story. I see Derek as the traitor from the movie. I often wondered what would make a man betray his own people to the Saxons and it kind of came to me that he would do it for a chance at power. Some people have a need to feel important, why I don't quite understand, but that's what I have seen in some of the people I've worked with. It's sad really, that they feel they have to be important or in power to be worth anything. I think this chapter will give you a little insight to just how much I think the reputation of Arthur and his knights affected Derek and how his mind might work. The insane mind is a strange place… causing men, and women in some cases, to do bazaar things. They never see the big picture as it really is, just how it is supposed to be to them.
Thank you all for the reviews!
Devonshirelass: Yes, I could see it too. But as usual, no one will go against Arthur when he gives an order, no matter how much they want to. Arthur demands that kind of loyalty from the actions of all the things he has done over the years. I've known one or two people that were that great and even though you really believe they are being slow at deciding what to do, you wait and fume instead of balking at their direction.
Ninnaras: Thanks for the title of the song. I love listening to music as I write. Most of the time I listen to one of my Celtic CDs. I particularly like "The Celtic Circle" which is mostly songs from movies like Rob Roy, Braveheart, Lord of the Rings and of course The Mists of Avalon. I just recently found a website that features the lyrics to some of my favorite songs, so sometimes I even sing along. Bet your glad you can't hear me, huh?
Melosine: You got it. No matter how much he followed the man in the past, blood is thicker than water, as they say, and he will begin to see that just because she is female, doesn't mean she is stupid. You'll also see that Timothy was a little jealous of the relationship of his father and sister. Men just can't seem to accept that fathers have a soft spot for their daughters and it doesn't mean they love the sons less. I kind of took some of that premise from the relationship of my own children with my husband. My son has always said that his dad loved his sister best and no matter how much I tried to make him see it wasn't so… Finally, I just gave up and let them handle it. Mom can only do so much.
Nikkitagq: Of course he will if he gets the chance, but I couldn't let him cause her permanent damage or I'd hurt Gawain!
Luccilaq: Isn't he cute when he's all noble! But then I think they are all cute! My husband thinks I'm crazy because I told him when we saw the movie together that if I'd lived back then I would have been a whore for sure! It's become kind of a joke between us and he even let his beard grow because I liked Tristan's so much. He refuses to let his hair be braided though. Don't understand why…
As usual, I don't own the legend or the characters from the movie. But if I did… sigh.
William quickly ran through the deserted village toward the council hut. He found it ironic that he should be on this errand for Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table when the Council Hut had been made circular because of their reputations. He remembered Derek speaking long and loud about how they could be as famous as these knights. He had wondered then about the man's sanity. His people had always been simple folk and for one of them to spout off about being famous rulers had almost seemed a joke. When none of the other men had said anything, he had gone along because there didn't seem to be any harm in them meeting as equals to discuss the affairs of their people. Looking back, he realized they hadn't really been equals at all. Derek had always ruled the meetings, most of the time it seemed they met only to get orders from him. Strange how acceptable things could be when no one was willing to speak against them.
He slowed when he reached the hut. Looking around, he quietly opened the door and stepped inside. The only light inside the main room was from the firepit in the center. He walked toward the doorway in the back that led into Derek's living space, stopping to listen before he opened the door. No sooner had be stepped into the short hallway that led to the Derek's room than he heard voices raised in anger. The loud sound of a hand meeting flesh made him stop and listen to the words that were being spoken. What he heard frightened him, leaving him standing with his mouth open and his feet rooted to the spot. If he hadn't heard it with his own ears, he never would have believed the words coming from Derek's mouth.
Sarah woke slowly, momentarily forgetting what had happened earlier. She was lying on a bed of fur on one wall of the small room. There was a multitude of candles burning, leaving not a single corner in shadow. She looked to the wall opposite the bed and saw a man standing with his back to her, gazing into the fire that was burning in the small fireplace. She slowly raised up and moaned when she moved her neck. Reaching back with her hand, she felt a large knot and wondered how that had happened. The pain slowly subsided and she realized that as long as she didn't make any sudden movements, she wouldn't hurt as bad. The man speaking to her, brought her attention back to the fact that he was there. "Ah, feel rested after your nap?" he asked. "Derek, where am I and how did I get this knot on my head?" she asked him quietly to keep the pain bearable.
She saw him regard her through narrowed eyes and then smiling, he walked toward her. "You really don't remember?" She slowly shook her head. "How like you to conveniently forget what you've done." She didn't answer and he snorted derisively, "You, my betrothed, have committed a number of transgressions." He all but spit the word 'betrothed' at her and she flinched at his tone. She waited for him to continue, to explain what he was talking about and when he just continued to stare at her, she finally asked meekly, "What transgressions?" She saw him run his hands through his hair in frustration, "What transgressions? I'll tell you. You deserted me when I needed you most. You've been gone for months, leaving me to think you had perished. Then today, you show up like a queen in the company of the famed Sarmatian Knights!" Then his voice lowered and became even more hateful. "One knight in particular seems to be quite close to you. Do you deny that you have been unfaithful to me after promising to be my wife?"
The quietness of his tone frightened her and she racked her brain to try to remember what he was talking about. The last thing she remembered was going to the stream that morning to wash the clothes for her mother who had been feeling a little ill when she woke. Finally, when it was apparent that he was getting impatient, she told him, "I don't deny anything because I don't know what you are talking about! You know I have never been more than a few hundred feet from this village." Anger at being wrongly accused made her tone harsher than she had meant. He took two strides and was standing directly in front of her. The swiftness of his movements came as a surprise, but not nearly as surprising as the resounding slap that knocked her backward onto the bed.
"How dare you lie to me!" He yelled at her. "How long had you planned this little escape of yours?" She just looked at him, tears welling up in her eyes. He let a sigh escape before he moved back to the fireplace, his back to her again. "You know, I saw the signs. How you were growing more distant from me." He spoke so quietly that Sarah had a hard time hearing him. "If I hadn't been so busy, I could have stopped you. But, I had to finish what I'd started. I wanted you to be proud of me. I wanted you to hear the tales that travelers told about me. They promised me and then I found out that you had left and I thought it had all been for nothing. But, you're back now and you will be proud of me." Only the pain in her face kept her from feeling sorry for him.
"Derek, what are you talking about? You aren't making any sense. What did you start?" She hoped he would tell her something that would make her feel different. For she felt she was in the middle of a strange dream. She had no idea where she was and he was talking in riddles. Her head pounded from trying to sort through the confusion in her mind. Derek slowly turned back around, "All the years we were growing up, I did everything to get your attention. I wanted you to have as much pride in my deeds as you seemed to have in your fathers tales. But nothing I did was big enough, grand enough. Then you agreed to be my wife and I knew my time for greatness had to come quickly or I'd never make you proud to be mine. That's when I ran into that band of Saxons and their leader offered me this village. I didn't have to do anything for it, just be their guide for a while. It seemed harmless enough and I could picture you beaming at me when I became head of our people. I swear I didn't know they were going to attack. They betrayed me, the same as you." He looked like the little boy she remembered. Trying to be bigger than life and angry that no one else saw him as such.
"Why did you betray me, Sarah? Why? I only ever wanted you to be proud of me." He pleaded for her to make him understand, but all Sarah could think about was what he'd said about the Saxons. Slowly, images ran through her mind. She saw fire and smoke. She saw dead bodies lying on the ground. She saw men wrecking havoc on the home she loved. Saxons had attacked and killed many of the people she'd known most of her life. A sob involuntarily slipped from her lips, "You helped them kill my parents?" Then anger took over her sadness and she lunged across the room at him. "You betrayed us, all of us! You are doing the same thing you did as a child, you're blaming everyone else for something you've done. I'll kill you, you bastard!" Derek easily stepped away from her attack and she crashed into a small table beside the fireplace. The candle on top, swayed for a moment, then toppled over and went out with a little hiss. So incensed at what he had told her, she didn't notice the look on his face when the candle went out. She just kept lunging toward him and he kept sidestepping, avoiding her.
William stood outside the doorway and listened to every word. This man who had fought harder than anyone else to stop the attack had been the cause of it. This self-proclaimed traitor had set himself up as their leader when he should have hung for his crime. When he heard Sarah trying to get to Derek, he stepped inside the doorway. "Derek." he shouted. "I heard it all. You will pay for what you've done with your life." He didn't have to shout. As soon as he spoke, the only sound to be heard was the sizzle of the fire burning in the fireplace.
"You heard nothing, Fool! Can't you see she is trying to start trouble so she can help her 'knights' escape?" Derek spoke with loathing about the knights and William raised his sword, ready should he need it. "Her knights? You really are insane. These knights are the famed Knights of the Round Table. Led by Arthur himself. Men who are honorable and fair in their dealings with people. Men who would die before they betrayed their own people." He saw Derek pull a dagger from his clothes and held his sword ready. Derek slowly edged his way closer to the other man. Sarah looked quickly around the room for some kind of weapon. Surprisingly, there was nothing that she could see that was suitable. She slowly began to move toward William. If she couldn't attack the man herself, she would make sure that he did not get past the doorway to escape.
Neither man let on that they saw her move until she was well away from Derek. Then William spoke, "Sarah, go to the hut where the knights are waiting and tell them I believe them. Bring them here, quickly." She looked toward Derek and saw the panic on his face. "William, don't let him get away. I'll be back soon." Then she ran past him and through the meeting chamber. As soon as she got outside she began running as fast as she could toward the outskirts of the village.
As she ran up to the line of huts, a man stepped in front of her, "Where is William?" he asked her. She looked at the man and didn't recognize him in the darkness. "He's holding Derek." she answered quickly. Then she looked over his shoulder trying to find Arthur. "Arthur, Gawain!" she shouted for them hoping they could hear. The man standing between her and the huts moved to the side. "They are waiting inside the hut. Tell me, is it true? Is Derek insane?" She hesitated just long enough to place her hand on his arm. "More so than you could know." Then she ran toward the door of the first hut.
Arthur, Timothy, Gawain and Lancelot stood inside the hut, quietly talking about their plan of action when the door burst open. As soon as Sarah saw Gawain she ran to him and shouted, "Hurry, we must help William! He's holding Derek at bay for me to bring help." They all stood and gaped at her, seeing the scrapes on her arms and face from being dragged to the hut. Her clothes were ripped and her hair was wild, with most of it coming loose from the leather tie she had around it. The thing that stood out most was a huge purple blotch on the side of her face where Derek had slapped her so hard. "What did he do to you?" Gawain demanded.
"I don't have time to tell you the details now, go... go help William before he kills him and escapes!" She yelled as she moved her arms in a shooing motion, trying to push them towards the doorway. As they ran out, she started toward the door and Gawain pulled her back. "No, stay here. I'm going with them, but I don't want you to be hurt should this not turn out the way we hope." He started toward the door with the assumption that she would do as he asked. As she darted past him and out the open door, he called, "Sarah, stop!" but she didn't slow down and he took off in a run to catch her.
When he caught up to her he grabbed her arm and stopped her. She looked at him and saw the lines of worry on his brow. "I'll be fine. Besides, won't it be safer with you than alone where he could find me?" He wanted to argue with her, but realized that she was probably right. Derek knew where they had been and if he got away from William, he might go there looking for her. "Fine, but stay close. I will not let him harm you again!" She saw the guilt in his face and though she didn't know what Timothy had told them, she thought he would have told them the truth. "Gawain, he didn't... he never... I'm fine." How could she tell him that what he thought happened never did without having to say it? But fortunately, Gawain did not require further details. "I don't know what stopped him, but that doesn't change the fact that I was not there to protect you. I'm sorry, but I swear to you now, it will never happen again."
The intensity of his words frightened her. He could not begin to keep the promise he now made. His duties would not allow him to be with her all the time. But until this mess with Derek was settled she couldn't worry about that. All she could think about was getting even with the man who caused the deaths of her family. "Thank you, but we've got to hurry!" and she took off again with Gawain right on her heels.