They rode abreast; the Roman commander in the middle with three of his fearless Sarmatian knights either side. They had heard of the attack on the village and had come to inspect it to see if there were any traces of a possible return south of the wall. They had been riding since the early hours of the morn from Badon Hill and finally their destination was in sight. The plain lay quietly in the dawning sun, the hills casting shadows upon the still meadows and breaking languidly upon the outer trees of the forest. The knights slowed their horses at the scorched view of the lonely village and steadily made their way across the grassy heath, always cautiously eyeing the woodland in case of an attack. Tristan glanced to the left occasionally through his dark braids; scanning the trees for enemy archers and any other disturbances amongst the swaying branches.
"Dagonet, Gawain and Lancelot ride ahead and check the village for any survivors." Called out Arthur, his voice resounding in the silence.
"I doubt there'll be any survivors, not by the looks of things." Came Bor's gruff reply, his eyes down and head tilted in apprehension.
Arthur turned to the knight on his right and gave him a cold stare.
"Check anyway."
The three knights pulled away and began galloping towards the burnt rafters in the distance; their horses neighing softly and whining as they went.
"Arthur, what do you expect to find here? Looks like the Woads won't be returning seeing as they've all but raised it to the ground."
Arthur turned swiftly in his saddle and looked quietly upon the youngest of the knights who rode upon his left, but was interrupted by the mysterious scout, Sir Tristan.
"No harm in checking. After all don't want to be giving them an invitation to return." He spoke gently, his eyes dark as they slowly slid to face the others. Arthur began to half-smile in return but was interrupted once again by a cry.
"Arthur!"
The four remaining knights' heads shot up as the shout reached them and they instantly forced their horses into a gallop towards Gawain who seemed to be crouched over something.
"What is it?" asked Arthur; jumping down from his horse and walking swiftly over to his fellow knight.
"A girl. She's still alive, just unconscious, but she seems distressed." Replied Gawain, a frown troubling his normally muted face. "I've sent Dagonet and Lancelot ahead to check the rest of the village but I doubt they'll find much, not from the looks of things." Gawain sighed as he titled his head towards the village and Arthur followed his gaze.
"Bors, Galahad and Tristan ride on and help with the others." Arthur's face was stern, as was his voice, and he once again returned his gaze to the young girl beneath him. The knights turned their horses and hurtled off to meet Lancelot and Dagonet, Galahad complaining bitterly on the way.
"How old do you suspect her to be?" enquired Arthur, nodding to the girl.
Gawain stroked his beard thoughtfully before shrugging and answering.
"17, 18 I'd say. She looks to be strong though and she has no injuries from the looks of her, but if we don't get her out of this cold soon she could get hypothermia."
"Very well Gawain." Frowned Arthur as he stared down at the ashen figure. "Meet with the others and tell them we return to Badon Hill once they finish checking the village."
Gawain nodded and heaved himself onto his stallion before gently encouraging his horse to gallop towards the others.
Arthur found himself once again staring down at the pallid figure. Tears stained her drawn cheeks and her hair was strewn amongst the undergrowth of the meadow and Arthur wondered what must have happened to her. He quickly looked up in the direction of his knights as they gathered on the edge of the village before gently lifting the girl's icy body into his arms and sitting her on his horse. He climbed up behind her using his thighs to stop her from falling off and leant her back against him to steady her and try and keep the chill air from seeping further into her. Taking one last look at the amethyst sky he urged his white stallion into a canter and rode off to meet his knights.
Once back at the fortress, Arthur carried the young girl to a chamber and set her down in a bed whilst the chambermaids attended to washing her and checking for any injuries. He left them to clean her up and returned to the stables to unsaddle his horse and remove his armour where he was greeted by Lancelot. He gave the knight a quick look as she walked past to hang up his horse's saddle and bridle.
"I'm surprised you aren't at her bedside Arthur." Arthur simply looked up at Lancelot's sultry face as he continued to remove his Roman armour. "Well you seem to have a connection with the girl that's all."
"The chambermaids are attending to her."
"Ah so that's why you're attending to your horse rather than her." Smirked the dark knight, leaning against the door of the stable. Arthur gave him a sober look and walked to face the knight before patting him on the back and pushing him towards the pub and the other knights.
"I do not even know the girl's name yet Lancelot, she's still unconscious. Anyway she seems to be the only survivor of the Woad attack so they least we can do is nurse her back to health."
Lancelot sighed and gave Arthur a sidelong glance before putting his arm around his friend's back and chuckling.
They were met by sounds of laughter and drinking at the tavern and were greeted by the other knights with a hearty pat on the back and call for another round of ale.
"Do you know how the girl is Arthur?" questioned Dagonet quietly as the two knights sat round a bench watching Gawain, Galahad and Tristan throwing knives.
"Nay. I left her with the maids but I'll check on her soon and make sure she hadn't received any injuries we hadn't noticed before."
Dagonet nodded his head slowly as he raised his mug and took a gulp of the strong ale. He sat in thought for a moment before staring sternly at the Roman opposite him and lowering his voice.
"You don't suppose the Woads will come south of the wall again do you?"
Arthur smiled softly at his loyal knight and set his mug on the heavy wooden table.
"I doubt it. For the moment at least." He replied and Dagonet nodded as he moved to once again watch the three men competing and laughing at Tristan's unbeatable skill.
"Tristan we can't expect to win when you're around!" laughed Gawain, taking a gulp of his ale.
"Well then, stop competing." Chuckled the mysterious figure, a small smile tugging at his lips.
The other knights laughed with them but Arthur was stopped when a flustered maid ran up to him and panted out a message.
"Come quick Sir, the girl's delirious."
The girl thrashed wildly in her sleep; tossing her head this way and that, a range of emotions flitting across her face and her breaths coming out in quick, sharp pants.
Arthur rushed into the room, followed by Gawain and Lancelot and spoke brusquely to the nurse attending the girl.
"What's wrong with her?"
The nurse gently patted the girl's head with a wet flannel which seemed to calm her a little and raised her head to look at the knights.
"She sleeps fitfully. Her dreams are making her delirious and she thrashes freely in the bed. The girl has a fever and needs to sleep it off but we can't help her if she continues to create such a commotion." Cried the nurse, fighting to hold the girl still.
"Here, lady, let us help you." Murmured Lancelot softly as the three men walked over to the bed and gently tried to restrain the girl from rocking so wildly.
The girl's hair was plastered to her forehead as the fever increased and her breaths kept coming in urgent pants and whimpers. The nurse once again tried to dampen the girl's brow with a cool cloth but it made no difference and she simply resisted even harder. The knights looked uneasily to one another as the girl's thrashing became stronger and her whimpers became louder until she finally screamed out.
"MOTHER!"
Then all of a sudden the girl stilled and her body went limp. Arthur called the nurse instantly to check her pulse, and the nurse replied the girl was fine. Her fever had broken and her breathing was slowing as she passed delicately into a restful sleep. The three men relaxed their grip on the girl and stood back as she lay peacefully amongst the linen sheets and let the nurse soothingly dab the wet cloth to her forehead.
"At least we know she has a strong spirit." Breathed Gawain with relief and Lancelot smiled slightly at his friend's joke. The two men began to make their way towards the door and Lancelot paused as he turned to face Arthur.
"Aren't you returning to the tavern with us Arthur?"
The Roman looked briefly over his shoulder before resting his gaze upon the girl once again and silently shaking his head. His friend shook his head sullenly and hurried off to join Gawain.
The nurse soon left Arthur as he sat at the girl's bedside; closing the heavy oak door behind her and reminding him to call her if she was needed. The girl he held in his gaze was beautiful; an angel with her hair spread around her like a halo and her flawless skin untouched apart from the odd scratch or bruise from the attack. He longed for the girl to awake so that he could ask her about the attack and what had happened to her, but for now he was content in simply caressing the girl's hair and watching her finally sleep.
A/N: So what did you think? I was a bit nervous about writing about the knights in case I didn't do them very well but I gave it a good try lol. I'll try and update as much as I can seeing as it's the summer holidays now but you'll have to keep reviewing! Thanks for the reviews btw x