Hello everyone! Thank you so much for the continued reviews. Please keep it up! Here is the next chapter. It's been my favorite to write so far, so enjoy! It's also a long one because it might be a few days before I can update again with Thanksgiving coming up. Have a great holiday everyone!
She reached the stables in the middle of a heated argument between Lancelot and Arthur.
"No, I choose life! And freedom for me and the men!" Lancelot was shouting. He sat down on a step and put his head in his hands.
"How many times have we conquered in battle, outnumbered, outflanked, and yet still we triumph?" Arthur asked. "With you by my side, we can do the same. Lancelot, we are knights. For what other purpose do we fight if not for this?"
"Arthur, you fight for a world that does not exist. There will always be a battlefield." Lancelot paused for a moment, looking down at his hands. "I shall die in battle. Of this I am certain. And hopefully it is a battle of my choosing. But if it be this battle, do me a favor. Don't bury me in our pitiful little cemetery. Burn me, and cast my ashes to a strong east wind."
Kyla, afraid to disturb them, had not moved or uttered a sound, but Lancelot's eyes flicked in her direction, realizing they were not alone. Arthur also slowly turned, his eyes settling on hers.
"I am sorry, I don't mean to interrupt," she stuttered.
"No, we were finished here," Arthur said. "What is it you want?"
She walked up to the two men. "I heard you talking to your men about the mission. I want to help."
"Help?" Lancelot asked. "How can you help?"
"I am from this country. I know the Roman family you speak of, and I know the way very well. I could lead you."
"We can find our own way," Arthur said firmly.
"Yes, but you know as well as I do that with the Woads on your tail it will make things a lot more difficult," Kyla replied. "I am a Woad. If I am traveling with you, they will not harm you. I promise you that."
"How can you make us such a promise? And how do I know that you won't just leave us as soon as we get out into the woods?" Arthur asked.
"Because I give you my word," Kyla answered. "You have been extremely kind to me. This is payment for your generosity."
Arthur thought for a moment. "What do you want out of this?"
"Only what you promised from the beginning, freedom. Once I have taken you there and most of the way back, I ask that you let me go to be with my people."
"What if we meet the Saxon?" Lancelot asked. "You are a woman. How will you defend yourself?"
Kyla leaned back her head and laughed. "I told you I could take care of myself. Let me see your dagger."
Lancelot shook his head at first, but Arthur waved his hand as a signal to give it to her. He reluctantly handed it over.
"Just don't move," Kyla said, laying it carefully on the ground.
She took a step back, then brought her heel down forcefully upon the hilt of the dagger. It flew into the air, she grabbed it in mid-flight, and threw it all in one fluid motion so it hit and stuck in a wooden post between Lancelot and Arthur. Their heads both whipped as they watched it go by. Their faces said it all.
"Arthur, we don't know if we can trust her," Lancelot said softly, turning to his friend.
Arthur was silent for a few moments, then turned to the young woman. "Be here tomorrow morning ready to go."
Kyla grinned, happy she had proven herself. Lancelot sighed heavily but did not say anything. He grabbed the dagger, loosed it from its position with a considerable amount of effort, and stomped out.
That night brought no sleep for Kyla. This was the most comfortable bed she had ever slept in, and yet her eyes never even got heavy. Her mind could not stop buzzing about leaving in the morning. She would finally be free of the Romans. She would be free. One word never brought so much happiness.
She also thought about her people, her friends and family. She had not seen her family in so long. She wondered if any of them were still alive. Her brother was killed in the battle where she was taken captive. She had watched him die. She had a younger sister somewhere. Her name was Liana, but Kyla wasn't even sure if she was still living at home. She would be about fifteen now. Her father had died many years ago. Her mother had been ill the few weeks leading up to the battle which had taken her brother's life. She wasn't even sure if she had pulled through.
Kyla wondered what it would be like to finally go home, to see all the people who believed her to be dead. Merlin, the leader of the Woads, had become a mentor to her after her father died. Her disappearance had probably greatly upset him.
Her mind also wandered to the knights. They had been gone fifteen years. What would going home be like for them? They were merely children when they left. She thought how it was so silly how the Woads and the knights had been fighting each other for so long. They were both fighting for freedom, a freedom from Rome. And yet these two had ended up on opposite sides. She wondered what would have happened if they ever would have joined forces and fought the Romans together. The thought made her laugh. Her people would never agree to fight with these knights, especially with Arthur being a Roman. But weren't there also tales of Arthur having a British mother? Wouldn't that be quite a combination. Half Roman, half British.
Kyla tossed and turned for several hours before finally deciding to take a walk. The nights in Britain were often chilly, so she grabbed the blanket off her bed and wrapped it around her body.
She wasn't exactly sure where she was headed, she just started walking. She ended up outside in the village area. All was quiet except for a few animals bustling about. Fog was beginning to sweep through. The dark sky held an innumerous number of stars. She breathed the air slowly, once again happy to be back in Britain.
Kyla found herself at the wall overlooking the great expanse of green field. She climbed the stairs to look out and sat down on the gray brick, her legs dangling over the side, the blanket wrapped tightly around her. Just on the other side of this wall meant freedom. She thought about what it would be like to escape now, but she had made a promise to Arthur. She was a woman of her word and would not break it.
"You're not trying to escape are you?" The voice startled her. She twisted from her seated position to see who had interrupted her silence. Lancelot came out of the shadows from a bit farther down on the wall.
"If I was trying to escape I would have done it by now," Kyla replied, turning her attention back to the grassy expanse. "What are you doing out here?"
"I couldn't sleep." He had walked towards her and was leaning against the brick a few feet away from her. "I often come up here to think."
"Think about home?" she asked, surprised by her own question.
"Yes, I suppose. And freedom. What it will mean to finally leave this place," Lancelot answered, he too staring out into the dark sky.
"Then our thoughts are lost in the same place." She turned to him and looked him in the eyes. She was surprised to find that they still held a small amount of suspicion, but there was also something else. Understanding.
"What do you remember of home?" she asked.
"It's home," Lancelot simply replied. Kyla let the subject drop.
"What makes you love this land so much?" the knight asked.
"It's home," Kyla repeated his statement and laughed. "I love Britain. It is a beautiful country, still untainted by the evils that surround her…and that are within her," she added, referring to the Romans.
"I don't understand you Woads," Lancelot said, shifting his position.
"What is that supposed to mean?" Kyla asked, a frown crossing her face.
"Just that, you fight us when we have nothing to do with the Roman occupation of your country. Our men have been fighting and dying for years..."
"As have ours," Kyla interjected.
"Over something that is neither side's fault and that neither side can do anything about."
"We did not know you were merely slaves," Kyla said softly. "Our fight has never been with Arthur or you knights. It was always against Rome and what it stood for. And we believed you were standing with Rome. I see now that we were wrong, and I was wrong about Arthur, and I am sorry for your losses from all of my people. But we have lost many as well in these battles, so do not pity your plight above ours."
"Of course I am going to pity our plight above yours. We were taken from our homes. We had nothing to do but to fight to stay alive," Lancelot answered.
"As we have done. Do you think the Romans just left us alone? They took our country by force and have been using it for whatever they desired since then. Our men have become their soldiers; our women, their lovers, when there were no authorities from the Church around, of course. They have been stealing from this country what can never be replaced. We were fighting for our right to live, as you have been."
The two, Sarmatian knight and Woad warrior, glared at each other. Kyla refused to back down, however.
"You do confuse me," he muttered, being the first to break the gaze.
"Why am I so confusing?" Kyla asked.
Lancelot sighed in frustration. "Because…because look at you! You just won't back down from a fight. I've never met a woman so stubborn."
"Were you expecting me to back down?"
"Why, yes, actually. I was."
Kyla laughed. "Then you really don't know me at all."
"I guess I don't."
Lancelot stared at her a moment. He wanted to hold onto some suspicion about her, but sitting here tonight, she seemed so honest, so real. Here she was, just a woman, suddenly no longer a Woad who had battled against them. He watched as she breathed the air in and out deeply, like she could not get enough of it. She really did love this country. Not a hint of anything other than sincerity was in her face. He sighed and looked away, confused by his own thoughts. "You should get some rest. Tomorrow will be a long day."