Chapter Six:
Kelleigh took a position next to the Roman carriage again, and offered silent comfort to the family. She knew they didn't want her near, so she kept a few horse lengths between herself and the carriage. Arthur rode up beside the carriage, where Alecto sat, staring out at the snow-filled nothingness. Kelleigh heard the conversation that the two had.
"I'm sorry for you loss," Arthur told the young boy, who's become the man in the family.
"My father lost his way," Alecto replied. Kelleigh moved closer. "He used to say the church is there to help us stay on our path," Arthur nodded.
"It didn't help those he made suffer," Kelleigh stated, indignant.
"The path he chose is beyond that of the church, Alecto," Arthur added.
"But not of Rome," Alecto told Arthur, and looked at Kelleigh. "What my father believed, so Rome believes," he added.
"What, that some men are born to be slaves?" Kelleigh asked, looking at the young boy sharply.
"No, that isn't true," Arthur said.
"It is so! My father told me so," Alecto defended himself.
"Pelagius, a man as close to me as any, is there now, teaching that all men are free. Equal, and that each of us has the right too choose his own destiny," Arthur told them.
"Teach? How? They killed Pelagius. A year past. Germanius and the others were damned by his teachings. They had him excommunicated and killed. The Rome you talk of doesn't exist," Alecto said, tearing up. Kelleigh looked at Arthur, and put her hand out, reaching for his, knowing that the information they'd just received was going to hurt him. "Except in your dreams," Alecto added. Kelleigh and Arthur slowed, staring, stunned by what they'd heard.
"Is there any other way?" Arthur asked Tristan as the knights, Jols, and Kelleigh arrived at a frozen lake. Kelleigh felt the nerves in her stomach start to tingle.
"No. We have to cross the ice," Tristan replied, answering Arthur's question.
"Jols, get them all out of the carriages. Tell them to spread out," Arthur ordered. Jols turned his horse sharply and rode back to the caravan. Kelleigh dismounted carefully, trying not to spook her horse making a sudden movement.
Lancelot dismounted his horse and stood beside Kelleigh. The caravan slowly proceeded to cross the ice, spread out across, so as not to cluster, and cause the ice to break. Kelleigh jumped when she heard the ice crack beneath her feet, causing Lancelot to stare at her. She smiled sheepishly, and then turned her head to the Saxons drums that were beating closely behind the caravan. Arthur held up his hand to stop the caravan, and turned to face his knights. Out of the corner of her eye, Kelleigh watched as Guinevere gracefully stepped of the carriage she'd been staying in. "Knights…" Arthur said, looking from one to the other.
"Well I'm tired of running," Bors said, "And these Saxons are so close behind, my ass is hurting," he added.
Arthur looked at Tristan. "Never liked looking over my shoulder anyway," Kelleigh thought she saw Dagonet smirk from where she stood.
"It'll be a pleasure to put an end to this racket," Gawain added, staring at Galahad.
"We'll finally get a look at the bastards," Galahad said, nodding.
"Here, now," Dagonet said as he passed Arthur. Arthur looked at Kelleigh and Lancelot, as if seeking their approval. Kelleigh nodded her head at him, almost as if to say that he had no other choice, and that she trusted him, while Lancelot stared back, disapprovingly.
"Jols," Arthur barked out. Jols looked at the mercenaries behind him.
"You two take the horses," he ordered. The mercenaries jumped to obey, taking the reigns of the knights' horses. Kelleigh pulled out her sword just as one mercenary took her horse. He shied away from her.
Lancelot moved toward Kelleigh slowly, and touched her arm gently, causing her to look at him. Emerald jewels meet with dark brown fire. "I don't want you here," he said, gently moving his hand to touch her face.
"I am here," Kelleigh whispered, bringing her hand up to touch his face, rubbing her thumb gently over his cheek. "You'll need another bow," she whispered. Lancelot pulled her toward him and kissed her forehead gently, lingering until he knew he had to break. Kelleigh looked up at him, her green eyes full of an unnamed emotion. Lancelot thought it was love.
Arthur stood beside the pair, talking to Ganis. Kelleigh looked away from Lancelot and focused on what Arthur was saying. "Ganis, I need you to lead the people," Arthur said, "The main Saxon army is inland so if you track the coastline until you're well south of the wall, you'll be safe,"
"You're eight against two hundred!" Ganis protested. Guinevere came forward, walking toward Lancelot and Kelleigh.
"Nine," she said, causing Lancelot, Kelleigh and Arthur to stare at her. "You could use another bow," she added. Arthur looked back at Ganis, and Kelleigh prepared herself for the battle ahead. She set her sword on the ground beside her, just as the wind picked up and blew her skirts around her, giving her an ethereal beauty. Gawain handed her a bow with a smile.
"Charmed them into letting you have your way, did you?" he teased. Kelleigh stared back at him, trying not to smile.
"This is a serious time, Gawain," she chastised him. She lifted the bow in her small hands. It wasn't the bow she normally used, but it would have to do. Guinevere would take Kelleigh's bow. Kelleigh pulled back the bow, and let the string go with a twang. Lancelot nodded at her. He knew that she was a dead aim, just like Tristan.
"I am able," Kelleigh looked behind her, and watched Arthur talking to Alecto. "I can fight," Alecto told Arthur. Kelleigh walked to Arthur's side.
"No. You must bear witness to what you have seen here," she told the boy, placing her hand on his face. Arthur nodded his head in agreement.
"There is one thing you must do, and that is get back to Rome," Arthur added, placing his hand on the other shoulder. Alecto nodded, and went back to follow the retreating caravan. Kelleigh looked at Arthur.
"Together," she whispered, knowing he didn't want her to fight either.
As the caravan pulled away, Kelleigh saw Lucan, who waved at Dagonet and Kelleigh saw Dagonet wave back sadly. Jols and one other finished uploading the weaponry, and then made a hasty retreat to the caravan. The winds blew tossing the cloaks of the knights in the wind. Kelleigh felt her skirts lift, and a cold draft of air hit her legs. She shivered, but quickly shoved all thoughts of being cold from her mind, and became the ruthless killer she had been trained to be by Arthur and Lancelot. The knights, Kelleigh and Guinevere formed a single line, with Guinevere between Arthur and Lancelot and Kelleigh between Arthur and Gawain. Tristan and Bors were stationed on the ends of the line, while Galahad and Dagonet stood next to Gawain.
Kelleigh looked at Arthur, a smile playing on her lips. "Hold until I give the command," Arthur ordered. They watched as the Saxons began to form ranks on the ice. Kelleigh watched a Saxon archer move out of the ranks with his weapon, and shot an arrow in the direction of the knights. It fell short of them, hit the ice, and slid to a stop a few feet away.
"I believe they're waiting for an invitation," Kelleigh stated, looking over her shoulder at Arthur again.
"Bors, Tristan, Kelleigh," Arthur said. Kelleigh, Bors, and Tristan let their arrows fly from their bows.
"They're far out of range," Guinevere said. Arthur looked at her with a smile forming on his lips. They watched as three arrows hit and killed three Saxons. Guinevere glared at Arthur. Kelleigh smiled with satisfaction. Her arrow had hit its mark.
Kelleigh watched as the Saxons moved closer, and felt her body begin to tingle with the thrill of battle.
"Aim for the wings of the ranks," Arthur said. "Make them cluster," The knights began to fire, killing the Saxons relentlessly. They aimed to one side, killing Saxons and then went back to the opposite side, making the Saxons cluster. Kelleigh picked up another arrow and sidestepped, narrowly missing the arrow that flew from the Saxon lines. She looked up, alarmed, noticing how much closer the Saxons actually were. Arthur looked over his shoulder at her, making sure that she had no marks on her.
The Saxons weren't as stupid as the knight's thought. They immediately caught on to what Arthur was trying to do and countered his plans by holding the ranks. Saxon bodies fell under the arrows of the Sarmatian bows. Arthur bent down to check the ice. He looked up at Kelleigh grimly. "Arthur…" Kelleigh uttered under her breathe.
"It's not going to crack," Arthur said, standing. "Fall back!" He yelled, drawing Excalibur. Kelleigh stepped back, drawing her sword. "Prepare for combat!" Arthur yelled to the line.
Lancelot looked to his side, and saw that Guinevere had moved out of line, preparing herself for battle. He looked at Kelleigh and saw a strong woman, prepared to fight until her death. He prayed to whatever God he could that she was going to come out of the battle all right. He felt a shiver of fear run through his body, and quickly pushed it aside. This was not a time for worrying about death. He knew that Arthur needed him to be strong.
Kelleigh watched Dagonet as he fidgeted a bit from indecision. She knew he was going to do something. It was the kinship that she had with all of the knights. Dagonet immediately dropped his sword, picked up his battle-axe, and charged forward with a howl of fury drifting back to the knights.
"Dag!" Bors yelled. Kelleigh ran forward and strung an arrow.
"Cover him!" Arthur yelled, as everyone ran forward and went back to bows. Kelleigh shot off arrow after arrow with almost cruel accuracy, hitting each Saxon hard. If her arrows didn't kill them instantly, the Saxons who didn't die wished they had been, because the arrows went through limbs, shattered bones, making them powerless to fight again. Kelleigh was aware the ice was cracking when Dagonet hacked at it with his axe as she continued to relentlessly shot down the invading Saxons. Kelleigh watched at the Saxons came closer, within range of shooting Dagonet, and she focused her attentions toward them.
"Aim for the archers!" she yelled, causing Arthur to look at her. Kelleigh ignored his look at continued with her orders. "Do not let them shot Dagonet!" Everyone obeyed, letting arrows fly, hitting the Saxons without so much as a second glance. Kelleigh's eyes widened when she saw three arrows hit Dagonet.
"Dag!" she and Bors yelled. Kelleigh threw down her bow and ran toward the knight, her skirt and cloak flapping after her. Kelleigh rushed to get to Dagonet before he fell over, not hearing Lancelot and Arthur call her back. She dogged arrows, and watched as Dagonet hit the ice one more time, breaking it. Saxons started to fall below the ice into the frigid water. Kelleigh dropped to her knees, sliding across the ice to Dagonet. She reached into the water to grab him, but his weight was too much for her to handle. He soon had her in the water with him.
Arthur and Lancelot threw their arrows and bow to the ground, and ran to catch the sinking pair. Both men slid on their knees to the hole in the ice, attempting to save one person. Lancelot felt the fear of losing Kelleigh grip his gut, and it pushed him to move faster, push harder, search relentlessly for a way to pull her from the water without going in after her himself. Arthur pulled Dagonet out, and looked at Lancelot. Both men knew that he was dead.
"I have to find her," Lancelot told Arthur, who nodded his head. Lancelot frantically put his hands in the water, hoping to grip something that felt like woman's clothing. When he came back up empty handed, he began to fear that he'd lost her. "Kelleigh!" he cried, adrenaline running his every move. Arthur had already begun to take Dagonet back to the line, leaving Lancelot to find Kelleigh on his own.
Kelleigh fought to keep her body afloat, but her skirts and cloak were just too heavy, and the water was just too cold. She clawed at the surface, hoping that someone would see her, but the cloak and skirts kept dragging her further and further away from the surface. Her mind flashed with images of her childhood; flashes of her mother, her father, Lancelot and Arthur when they were younger. Kelleigh felt the energy rush out of her body, and the fatigue began to take over.
Lancelot brushed the snow aside, looking for any sign of Kelleigh. He couldn't give up, not when he was so close to spending the rest of his life with her. "Arthur!" Lancelot looked back at his friend with fear playing in his eyes. "I can't find her!" Arthur nodded at Lancelot, and he knew what he had to do. Lancelot stripped off his armour and left it beside the whole. He took a deep breath and dove into the water.
Kelleigh felt the water swirl around her, and she eagerly accepted that she was being pulled under. She was so tired, and her limbs where numb from the cold. Suddenly, out of nowhere, a hand touched her, and jerked her upwards. The hands struggled with her cloak, until finally the hands ripped the cord that tied the cloak in place, freeing her of it. Her skirts were next, leaving her covered in barely anything at all.
Lancelot almost dropped Kelleigh in his relief that she had been found. After stripping her to barely anything, he was able to pull her to the surface where Arthur and Jols were waiting, blankets ready. Lancelot handed Kelleigh to Arthur, who took her and wrapped her in a blanket. Jols then pulled Lancelot up, and put the blanket over his shoulders. Arthur placed Kelleigh on the ground a safe distance away from the hole, and knelt above her. The decimated Saxon army wasn't shooting at them anymore. Lancelot rushed to Arthur's side.
"Is she…" Jols asked as he came up beside them. Lancelot gave him a look that told him not to even think that Kelleigh could be dead. Lancelot pulled Kelleigh into his arms and held her against his chest.
"Breathe, Kelleigh, breathe," he chanted, his blue lips barely forming the words over his shivers. Arthur put another blanket over the pair, and motioned Jols to get the horses ready to move out.
"Stay with us, Kelleigh," he whispered. "God, please let her stay with us," Lancelot rubbed Kelleigh's body, willing warmth into her. He'd prayed to every God he knew, praying that they would let her be fine, that they would let her live. The Gods must have heard his prayers, for Kelleigh opened her eyes, and began to cough up water. Lancelot pushed the hair out of her face, and leaned her over so that she could expel the water from her lungs.
"That was foolish of you," Lancelot whispered in her ear once she was done coughing. Kelleigh curled her arms around his waist and clung to him, seeking to envelop herself in his warmth. Lancelot looked at Arthur, who stared at Lancelot with new eyes. Arthur knew that Lancelot couldn't leave Kelleigh in Britain. It was in that moment everyone knew. That moment, Lancelot had laid his claim on the little Sarmatian woman who'd become a sister to the rest of them. Kelleigh looked up at Lancelot, her green eyes lifeless.
"Dag…" she whispered before slipping back into oblivion. The knights looked at each other, along with Guinevere and Jols. Dagonet's death was pointless. He should have been a free man. Yet, Fate decreed another line for the gentle giant.