patience, my ducks, patience...I'm trying to get Codi and Tristan together, I really am, but I'm kind of stuck...I mean, they can't just randomly hop in bed and get it on
Wanderer of the Roads...I'm not sure what you mean by the 'connection thing'. The connection she has with Shasa? Because she's not connected with Tristan, if that's what you're thinking. Explain a little more and maybe I can address it.
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Codi dropped into a tub of hot water with a huge sigh of relief. They had just returned from a routine inspection of the wall and the surrounding areas. It was an easy enough task, normally, but it had been raining almost nonstop for the past two days. Codi tipped her head back and wriggled happily as warmth seeped into her stiff, frozen limbs. For all it was April, it was still chilly most of the time.
"I think this is something very like heaven," she confided to Shasa, who lay on the bed. He gave a throaty grumble in reply.
"Be that way, then. I'm going to sleep," Codi yawned.
If she scrunched up just so, she might be able to get all of her limbs into the cask of water. After a few minutes of shifting and squirming, she gave up and let her legs dangle over the side. Sighing, she closed her eyes and reflected on the past three weeks. The knights were finally starting to accept her with a grudging sort of respect. Codi realized that it was difficult for them to come to grips with the new Codi and her changed role in their lives.
Most things had not changed, however. Galahad and Gawain were still more than ready to make mischief, although Gawain was still protective of her. Bors still made dirty jokes—even more so than before, it seemed, but Codi realized that he had always made that many; she had only heard a portion of them before she joined the company. Arthur was still solemn and Dagonet still gruff. Lancelot still flirted with her shamelessly and was not in the least bit fazed by her new, sometimes less than polite reactions. And it was still Tristan who gave her advice when she needed it and the deep, quiet friendship that Codi cherished so much. He had adjusted more quickly than any of them because he had supported her from the beginning.
Codi fell fast asleep with as smile on her face and was extremely displeased when she was awoken by the sound of her door slamming open.
"Wake up, sunshine," Lancelot bellowed, striding into the room.
"Gyah!" Codi hurriedly tried to pull her legs into the cask, succeeding only in giving herself a splinter. "Lancelot—what are you doing? Get out!"
Lancelot surprised her by blushing deeply and backing out of the room. "Oh—oh—I didn't realize—I thought you were asleep," he stammered. "You didn't answer--"
"I was asleep," she snapped. "Hand me that blanket there and say what you came to say."
"But—you told me to get out--"
"I've changed my mind," Codi said waspishly, still cranky at being woken up. "Give me the blanket."
Lancelot stared at the ground fetched the blanket and bent to greet Shasa, who had hopped down from the bed to receive the attention he felt was his due. Then, several things happened at once. Lancelot straightened to hand Codi her blanket just as Galahad skidded into the room, stepping on Shasa's paw by accident. Galahad, in an instinctive bid to correct his mistake, twisted awkwardly and tripped over Shasa, crashing into Lancelot and sending them both careening into the tub. Codi shrieked as the tub upended, spilling its contents—including her in all her naked glory—onto the cold stone floor.
Codi scrambled to behind the overturned cask and glared at the two men who were in the process of disentangling themselves. Gawain chose that moment to show up. Codi groaned and banged her head against the cask as he hauled Lancelot and Galahad to their feet and began questioning them in loud, angry tones.
"What's this, lads?" Bors demanded from the doorway. "What's going on?"
"That is exactly what I would like to know," Gawain said, glaring at his two soaked friends.
"I walked in on Codi while she was in the bath tub," Lancelot began.
"You what?" Gawain yelled.
"By accident," Lancelot shouted, beet red.
"Right," Gawain scoffed. "You walked in on a girl bathing by accident."
"Yes, by accident, you ass--"
"Excuse me!" Codi shouted, shivering. "Can someone please give me a blanket? I'm freezing—and completely naked, I might add, so if you don't mind--"
"Oh. Right," Lancelot muttered, and handed her the now wet blanket.
Codi wrinkled her nose, but took it and wrapped it around her body. "Now, get out. All of you."
The men obediently filed out and Tristan poked his head in. "Do I want to know?" he asked dryly.
"Not really, no," Codi said grumpily.
"Well, I just came to let you know that we leave at dawn," Tristan told her. "So you might want to get your things ready."
"But we just got here," Codi cried, dismayed. "And it's still raining."
"Aye, well, apparently there was a courier waiting for Arthur when we arrived," Tristan shrugged. "We're to escort a Roman girl and her ladies to her betrothed—Gaius Tullius. He owns quite a bit of land in the south."
Codi made a face. "Won't that be exciting."
"No one promised you excitement," Tristan admonished, waggling a finger at her.
Codi rolled her eyes and turned away to wring out her damp hair.
"What's this?" Codi was surprised to feel a finger tracing the tattoo on her back.
"I got that when I brought down a stag by myself," she told him proudly. "You like it?"
"Aye, I do," Tristan said. "It's a beauty."
"Do you have any tattoos?" Codi asked curiously. "Beside your Marks, I mean."
"Aye," Tristan said solemnly. "But I'm not showing them to you. Twould be indecent, it would. A lass shouldn't see a man with his shirt off."
Codi snorted. "And here I am in naught but a blanket. Your poor, virgin eyes! Will you at least tell me what they are?"
"No," Tristan said with a broad grin.
Codi glared at him with one hand on her hip. "Why are you in such a good mood?"
"I think it has something to do with Lancelot and Galahad being completely soaked and getting screamed at and you wearing naught but a wet blanket," Tristan said, smirking, and ducked the boot that was hurled at his head. "See you in the morning."
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The next morning, Codi pulled herself into the saddle feeling very much cheated. She had been looking forward to a day of rest, but no—they had to go babysit some silly chit. Codi sighed. At least it wasn't raining anymore. Codi turned to Arthur, who was leading his horse out of the stables.
"How long do you think this will take?" she asked. "We're just dropping her off and leaving, right?"
"Actually, we've been invited to attend the wedding," Arthur said suspiciously cheerfully.
"After May Day, of course," Lancelot said with a grin. "We should arrive just in time."
Codi groaned. Beltane was a time for lovers—young people spent the entire night out "a-Maying"--screwing like rabbits, Codi thought bitterly--and then danced around the May Pole the next morning. It was the one night in the year when married couples could remove their wedding bands and the restrictions they symbolized. Needless to say, Codi wasn't overly fond of the holiday. In fact, she had spent last Beltane night curled up in front of the hearth while everyone else was out celebrating and leaping over fires.
"Are you at least going to come to the May Pole dance?" Galahad wondered. "You need to have more fun."
Codi merely grunted. "Somehow I doubt I would fit in."
"If you put on a dress and braided flowers in your hair, you might," Galahad suggested, and laughed at the look on Codi's tattooed face. "Perhaps not."
"You'd better take yourself elsewhere for the night," Lancelot warned her, shooting a bright glance at Arthur. "If those Romans find out you don't approve of the holiday, they might try to make a Christian out of you."
"Can we just leave?" she said grumpily.
"As soon as the others are ready," Arthur said equably.
"Well, tell them to hurry up," Codi grumbled.
"Out of sorts, are we?" Tristan remarked as he emerged from the stables with Dagonet, Bors, and Gawain. "I wonder why."
"I can't imagine," Codi muttered darkly. "Are you lot quite finished? I could have slept another fifteen minutes."
"Were you always this grumpy in the morning, or is this a new development?" Gawain wondered.
Bors snorted. "No, lads—she's always been a hag in the morning. She lived in my house, remember."
"Can we please just leave?" Codi snapped, and urged Dancer forward without waiting for an answer.
"And you wanted to marry her," Galahad sighed, shaking his head at Gawain, who grimaced and stared stoically ahead.
"Clearly, he didn't know what he was getting into," Lancelot remarked. "Imagine waking up to that every morning."
"Well, then we must be thankful for a narrow escape," Galahad said heartily. "Elsewise our dear friend would likely have been unmanned long ago."
Codi felt her face flame and her insides twist up. A narrow escape, indeed! It's a damn good thing I got gang-raped, she thought bitterly, otherwise Gawain would have been forced to marry me—phew! That was a close call. She was about to turn and say as much to the still bantering knights, but opted instead to canter ahead past Arthur, who was in deep discussion with Bors and Dagonet.
Tristan cleared his throat.
"That's enough," he said simply, but there was something in his voice that made Lancelot stop mid-sentence.
"What's the matter with her?" Galahad asked uneasily, gazing after Codi.
"Do you recall," Tristan inquired, exceedingly calmly, "why Codi didn't marry Gawain?"
Galahad and Lancelot paled. "Oh," the both said.
"Oh," Tristan agreed disgustedly, and moved ahead to catch up with Codi.
"I shouldn't let it bother me," Codi said tightly, mouth pinched. "I should be prepared—people might use it against me. To hurt me."
"Some will," Tristan agreed. "And you should be prepared for your enemies to try to hurt you—your enemies, Codi. Not your friends."
Codi blew out a gusty breath and closed her eyes. "They're so stupid sometimes."
"Aye," Tristan agreed. "But don't be too angry with them. They didn't even realize what they were saying."
"Because they're stupid."
"Aye, because they're stupid." Tristan slanted her a sly look. "But they aren't wrong."
"Just what is that supposed to mean?" she demanded.
"You are a right bitch in the morning."