Chapter Five:
Camping wasn't easy for a caravan. They were behind Saxon lines, and camping out in the open. It made Kelleigh uneasy. She liked to be cautious. Kelleigh knelt by Dagonet and Lucan with a false smile. "Sleep, young Lucan," Kelleigh said, as Dagonet gave the boy his coat as a blanket. Dagonet nodded at Kelleigh. Kelleigh smiled at him, and left, walking carefully back to the carriage Fulcinia and Guinevere were occupying.
"You must wash," Fulcinia told Kelleigh once she walked into the little carriage. Kelleigh looked at the woman.
"We'll be covered by grim in a day's time from now," she protested, but, in truth, washing was the thing that she wanted above all else. Kelleigh looked to the side and saw the fire where Marius and his mercenaries sat. Her expert hearing picked up a bit of the conversation.
"It is here, given to us by the pope. These people, they send an army for us," he said. Kelleigh didn't think anything of it. She turned away and waited for Fulcinia to finish washing Guinevere.
Kelleigh sat in front of Fulcinia, pulled her dark hair over her shoulder, and bared herself, covering only her breasts. Fulcinia proceeded to wash her back with a soft, but cold cloth. Kelleigh shivered from the coldness of the cloth touching her warm skin. She breathed in the delicious sent of the forest around her, and closed her eyes.
Lancelot turned away from the fire Marius and his mercenaries were talking at and caught a glimpse of Fulcinia bathing Kelleigh. He noticed that Kelleigh's dark hair was braided, and slung over her left shoulder, while a linen cloth covered her nakedness, preserving her modesty. Lancelot felt the first stirrings of lust awaken in his body. He looked at the way Kelleigh's hair contrasted with her alabaster skin, and thought how beautiful she'd become. Ten years ago, she was a lanky girl with eyes that were too big for her head. Now, Kelleigh was a beautiful woman. Lancelot looked away, took a deep breath, and lifted his head to see Kelleigh still being bathed. He didn't have the feelings of shame a normal man would have. Any man with half a brain would see that she was someone worth looking at.
Kelleigh was staring at the wall of the carriage when she felt eyes on her. Curiosity drew her to look outside, where she found Lancelot standing a few feet away, staring at her. Kelleigh looked into his eyes. Something about the way he looked at her sent shivers running through her body, and touching places unknown. She lusted after Lancelot, which was known only to herself, but Lancelot looked at her with raw animal lust in his dark eyes. The look sent her senses into overdrive. Kelleigh stared harder, and masked her look of pleasure with a glare.
Lancelot turned away, and Kelleigh felt disappointment. She watched as he walked off to sit by the sentry fire. "You'll need a dress," Fulcinia said, having just finished her back. Kelleigh nodded absentmindedly, not caring about what was said. She was lost in her own thoughts.
Kelleigh stood up and stared down at herself. She wore a dress of white linen, not befitting for one of her station. The dress clung to her in all of the right places, sloping slightly to reveal a little bit of her bosom, cinching under her breasts, and then falling down in gossamer lengths to the floor. Fulcinia handed Kelleigh her cloak with a smile. "Put it on and see to your knights," she said. Kelleigh didn't argue. Instead, she did as she was told and went out into the cold night.
The air was frigid, and Kelleigh had to wrap her cloak tighter around herself to keep out the cold. She saw Arthur walking in the rain, Excalibur drawn. He settled beneath a tree. Kelleigh made her way to him. "Regretting your decision, Artorius?" she asked, stopping in front of him.
Arthur looked up at her. "I do not," he said. He gave her a look that spoke volumes of his unease.
"Why do you worry?" Kelleigh asked, kneeling down to eye level with him.
"I want to get the family to safety," Arthur replied, looking at her.
"Yet you think nothing of the safety of your knights," Kelleigh snapped, anger rearing its ugly head in her voice. "The Saxons will come, Arthur,"
Arthur stared into her face. "You know not of what you speak," he snapped back.
"I know of what I speak, Artorius," Kelleigh snarled back, angrier than before. "Your nobleness will be the death of us all!" Kelleigh stopped. She'd never fought with Arthur before. They'd argued in fun, but never fought, hurling angry words at each other. Arthur stared up at her, his green eyes filling with worry and regret. "Arthur, I…" Kelleigh didn't know what to say.
"You're right to speak," Arthur told her. Kelleigh set her hand on his hand were it rested on the hilt of his sword.
"Our lives are changed, Artorius," she said, "We'll face them together," He looked at her, admiration in his eyes. The scared girl he and Lancelot had rescued all those years ago had grown into a woman, a warrior, with the knowledge of someone beyond her years. Arthur settled his other hand on top of hers.
"Together," he said.
Kelleigh left Arthur to slumber, while she made her rounds around the camp. Gawain and Galahad were slumbering softly in their bedrolls not far from the entrance of the camp. Kelleigh smiled at the face of Galahad. The youngest knight had many long happy years a head of him. She hoped that one day, Galahad would find a woman to love, and that they would have many children. Kelleigh dusted the snow off Galahad's hair and then turned to Gawain.
Gawain was another matter. Kelleigh knew that he didn't have any real recollection of what home was. He'd been fighting for too long. She wished that Gawain would tire of his recklessness and settle down with a family.
Kelleigh lovingly pulled Gawain's blanket around him tightly, preventing any snow from getting his body wet. Her actions reminded her of a mother tucking in her children. If truth be told, she was like a mother to the knights. They'd been taken from their homeland, brought to Britain to fight for a cause not of their own, and then, after fifteen years, when the day that they'd each longed for had come, they were denied. Kelleigh felt the anger and frustration rise in her body. She left Galahad and Gawain, making her way silently across the snow. She found Bors sitting silently by a fire, keeping watch. "You should be resting, little miss," Bors said, looking at her.
"I've a duty to my knights, sir," Kelleigh said, standing opposite the fire from him. She saw Bors smile.
"And soon you're duty will be done," he replied. Kelleigh gave him a sad smile, one that didn't reach her eyes.
"My duty to the knights is never done," she said.
"Even when you've married and had children of your own?" Bors asked.
"My sons will be knights," Kelleigh replied, looking at Bors. "I am Sarmatian,"
Bors nodded at her. "Sarmatian born, Britain bound," he said. Kelleigh agreed.
"A land not my own," she said. Bors nodded and gave her a smile.
"You're welcome to stay with us," he said, referring to him and his family. Kelleigh stared at him.
"Thank you, Bors," she said, giving him a genuine smile. Bors smiled back, and Kelleigh knew she'd have a place in the world.
Leaving the warmth of Bors' fire, Kelleigh looked about for Tristan. She saw his bedroll, but not his horse. "Arthur sent him scouting," a distinctly feminine voice told her. Turning, Kelleigh saw Guinevere standing there in a light green cloak.
"How long ago?" Kelleigh asked, looking for signs of when Tristan had left.
"A while," Guinevere replied. "What are you to these people?" she asked. Kelleigh didn't understand.
"What people?" she asked, looking at Guinevere.
"These knights of the Great Wall," she answered.
"Arthur and Lancelot saved me from a fate worse than death a long time ago," Kelleigh answered. "I became apart of the people who serve the knights,"
"You say they saved you, yet you talk of slavery,"
"I went willingly wanting to keep an eye on Arthur and Lancelot; prevent them from causing anymore trouble," Kelleigh snapped.
"Freedom, you willingly gave up, for slavery," Guinevere repeated.
"You will never understand," Kelleigh replied. "Arthur rescued me, I can't ever forget that." Kelleigh turned on her heal, away from Guinevere and went in search of Lancelot.
Lancelot sat under a tree, nervously fidgeting with his hands. Kelleigh watched him rub his face tiredly as she approached. "You're weary," Kelleigh said softy. Lancelot gave her a serious look.
"You should be resting," he said. Kelleigh waved his comment away with her hand.
"What is it like, Lancelot, your home?" she asked, trying to get him to talk to her.
"We sacrifice goats, drank their blood, and danced naked round fires," Lancelot said. Kelleigh smiled at his joke, while Lancelot laughed happily. He turned his head away, laughing, and then turned his head back to find Kelleigh still watching him, a smile on her beautiful face, not saying a word. He studied her for a moment, looking at the way the fire lit up her face, and the way the cloak was wrapped around her, keeping out the cold. She had kept her hair braided from earlier, and it now hung over her shoulder, falling to just below her breasts. He gave Kelleigh a half smile before a sad smile covered his face. She meant to make him talk. Lancelot stood up against the tree and looked at her, squinting to keep the snow out of his eyes.
Kelleigh walked closer to him, wanting to be near his warmth. Lancelot pulled her into his arms. She saw his demeanour change. "What do I remember…home…" Lancelot looked wistful. He looked down into her green orbs. "Oceans of grass the colour of your eyes spread from horizon to horizon," he whispered, "further than you can ride. The sky," he looked proud and sounded enthusiastic, "bigger than you can imagine," Kelleigh listened to the deep breath he drew in. "No boundaries."
"Some people would call that freedom," Kelleigh said. Lancelot smiled and looked down. "That's what the Woads fight for—their land, their people," Lancelot looked back down at her. "The right to choose their own destiny," He looked away then. "You and I are much alike, Lancelot," Kelleigh said, touching his face softly. He turned his gaze back on her. "And when you return to Sarmatia, will you take a wife, have sons?" Kelleigh asked, instantly regretting it.
Lancelot looked resigned. "I've killed too many sons. What right do I have to my own?" he asked her.
"No family. No religion. Do you believe in anything at all?" Kelleigh asked, a little breathless. Lancelot looked at her, as if to say something, and then looked down, ashamed. He removed his arms from around her.
"I would have left the girl and the boy there to die," he said, and walked away, leaving Kelleigh to stare after him.
Morning dawned bright and early, promising a good day to travel. Kelleigh stoked the fire to life and spread her hands out to warm them. She'd slept near Lancelot that night, hoping he'd take her in his arms, but he never did. Kelleigh felt bereft without him.
"Kelleigh," she heard her name. Turning, Kelleigh saw Lancelot standing beside his horse.
"Yes, Lancelot?" Kelleigh asked, willing the excitement from her voice.
"I'm sorry," he said, looking at her softly.
"Whyever for?" she asked, looking into his dark eyes. Lancelot never got to tell her why he was sorry. Guinevere went past them with a bow, followed by Arthur. Lancelot drew his swords and Kelleigh drew her dagger, following Arthur and Guinevere to where Dagonet stood in a fighting stance. Guinevere pulled back her bow, but didn't shoot. Kelleigh saw Marius with a knife at Lucan's neck. She threw her dagger, hitting the Roman man in the chest, killing him instantly. Lucan ran to Dagonet.
"Down," Dagonet said, pushing Lucan and drawing his sword.
"Your aim is better," Lancelot teased Kelleigh. She gave him a smile, while Guinevere shot an arrow at the mercenaries' feet.
"Artorius!" Bors yelled, riding up on his horse. He stopped behind two mercenaries. "Do we have a problem?"
"You have a choice. You help or you die," Arthur told them. Kelleigh watched Lancelot and Arthur move forward. She reached out and took the dagger at Lancelot's waist. They met eyes briefly, and Kelleigh felt her pulse race at the fire she saw in his eyes. She knew that his passion for fighting fuelled his arousal, and it made her think of things that they could be doing together. Her cheeks flushed, and Lancelot quirked his brow at her.
Lancelot into the green pools of Kelleigh's eyes and read her desire. He knew that his passion fuelled his arousal, and its effect on her made him want to forget the world, take her to the nearest tree, and have his way with her. He knew that she wouldn't protest if he took her to his bed. He nodded his head at her and turned back to the scene at hand.
Tristan rode up to Arthur and threw a Saxon weapon at his feet. "Armour piercing. They're close; we have no time," he said.
"You ride ahead," Arthur said, and Tristan nodded. Arthur looked Kelleigh. "You ride," He said, and left. Kelleigh looked at Lancelot.
"Stay close to the caravan," he whispered in her ear as he cupped her face with his hands. "Don't leave sight of the caravan," he added, hoping she'd do as she was told for once.
As much as Kelleigh hated being ordered around, she found herself nodding at Lancelot's words. She looked into his dark eyes, thinking how incredibly handsome he was. She stood on tiptoe, and placed a gentle kiss on his lips. Lancelot slid his arms around her, and pulled her more tightly to his body, crushing her against him as he deepened the kiss she initiated. He didn't care that they were in plain sight of everyone in the caravan. All he cared about was branding this woman as his for all time. Nothing short of death could part them now.
"Ahem—" Gawain cleared his throat from behind them. Kelleigh and Lancelot broke, but remained entwined. Kelleigh flushed scarlet and hid her face in Lancelot's neck, while Lancelot laughed joyously.
"You ride beside the caravan and the Roman family," Gawain said, looking at Kelleigh, though she still hid her head from him. "Arthur's orders; you are to have a weapon on you at all times,"
"All times?" Kelleigh asked, lifting her head to stare at Gawain. She knew that they were all expecting trouble.
"Aye," Gawain confirmed. Kelleigh nodded knowingly, and watched Jols bring her horse to stand beside Lancelot's. Lancelot stared at her, putting her an arms length away from him.
"Be careful," he said, knowing why Arthur wanted her by the caravan and the Roman family. Kelleigh beamed at him, her small frame unable to contain the excitement coursing through her blood. She wasn't scared that she could die, not yet. She had too many things to live for.
Lancelot felt fear for the first time in his life. Never had he a fear so consuming, it seemed to eat him whole. He felt that if he let Kelleigh ride, she'd get hurt, and he didn't want that. Yet, if he told her not to ride, she'd do it anyways. She didn't like anyone telling her what she could and couldn't do. "Be careful," he whispered to her.
"You'll be near," Kelleigh whispered, gazing lovingly at him. "But I'll be careful," she added, pressing a chaste kiss on his lips, and flouncing off to her horse.