Dark Forest, Bright Moon

Oh dear, I've given in to the romance muse. Well it's not that sappy anyhow. Thank you to all the reviewers, its been really encouraging! For those that aren't that into romance and OCs, I promise next chapter will be more generic and manly!friendship-centric LOL.

Please review! It really makes all the difference.

3.

Title: Second Rescue

Characters: Gawain, OC (Adara)

Pairings: GawainxOC

Summary: How they met that dark night at the Roman-Briton fort, or at least how he remembers it.

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They met in a back alley one cold winters night as he was walking from the barracks towards the fort where he and the other Samartian Knights had living quarters just beyond Hadrian's wall. He had parted ways with Lancelot, Galahad and the others who no doubt had already gone down to the tavern. Bors had gone to his own house which he had set up with his red-headed woman.

The night was dark, the moon was bright. The stink of the Romanic-Briton fortress town rose into the air in these back alleys, the dirty sewage with no where to go, the beggars on the street pitifully dressed in rags, children with unknown parents and scars on their faces running about laughing but hungry.

Gawain walked leisurely and slowly, swinging his axe. A couple of people, eyeing the weapon, straggled out of his way.

At the end of the narrow stony alleyway with a few establishments, he saw two struggling shadows. A woman obviously, and a man who was treating her too roughly.

"Stop it you brute!" Her voice rang out in the darkness. Not a woman then, just a girl. "I said it and I mean it!"

She slapped him and kicked him. It was somewhere obviously vital because he groaned and sank to the ground. Gawain gave a short laugh, feeling a little sorry for the man. Next second she was stepping over him, trying to run away. She had almost passed Gawain when the man pushed himself forward on the ground and snagged her ankle. She went straight to the ground with a loud scream.

In the blink of an eye the man was upon her, tearing at her skirts, muffling her screaming.

Actually Gawain had already walked past them but he paused and exhaled quite loudly in exasperation. He wondered at himself sometimes. Arthur must be having more of an influence on him than he thought.

Axe still swinging he turned around and the next second the man, still tearing at the girl's clothes, found the cold blade of it next to his neck. He froze and then his gaze followed the stretch of the weapon, up into Gawain's eyes.

"If you have to then at least find a room," He informed the man, quite pleasantly. "There are children about."

The man looked as though he was speechless, torn between outrage and fear.

The girl saw an opening. "Please Sir! He's no right to me. I'm a free woman and unmarried."

"Shut up you whore!" The man spat at her. "You should've married me when you had the chance. You-"

He gasped as the blade cut deeper into his throat, nicking blood.

"Shhhh…" Gawain whispered close to his ear. "I would be more quiet if I were you." He looked up, somewhat wondering. "You, girl!"

The girl stared at him. "What?"

"What is your name?"

"A-Adara." She stammered.

"Well Adara what are you waiting for?" He mirrored her look of astonishment blandly. "Well, get up!"

Comphrehension dawned. She struggled to her feet and immediately put him between herself and her attacker. Gawain released him and the man got up as well, staring at the blond man balefully. He spat on the ground near Gawain's feet. "You'll hear about this, mark my words."

"If you like," Gawain said, not missing a beat. "I'm Gawain of the Samartian Knights. I would welcome a little sport any day of the week. But not today. I'm planning to get piss-drunk today and you're rather wasting my time."

The man paled and opened his mouth as if to say something, but rather thought better of it, turned his heel and stumbled away in a rather comical, deformed manner. The girl had obviously kicked him harder than Gawain thought.

He sighed, hefted his axe over his shoulder and made to walk away.

"Wait!"

Oh yes. He had forgotten the girl. He swerved around. "Yes?"

"Is it true? You're Gawain? Of the Samartian Knights?"

He had said so hadn't he? "Yes."

She came out of the darkness into a stretch of moonlight. "I know you." She said this and paused, staring at him with an expression of abject wonder. Then she smiled. "You saved my life. I'll find some way to repay you, I promise!"

She was rather pretty, he saw now. Slender and pale, she had masses of agreeable wavy dark hair and great dark eyes which were now staring at him worshipfully.

He paused again and inclined his head thinking for a minute. On second thought, perhaps less of Arthur had rubbed off on him than he thought. He turned fully around.

"Well Adara I can think of a good way." He grinned at her. "Would you like to try it?"

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