Disclaimer: Alas, I own nothing, save Evangeline and Corin, and the plot. More characters will enter the story, and I own them, unless noted otherwise.
Summary: Evan and Corin, two best friends, set of for an adventure for riches and glory. But what else will they find along the way? This story is mostly about Evangeline, but Corin becomes more of a main character later on. (Rated T for some things that will come later.)
Chapter Three
After breakfast, the knights and women packed up and set off for the tournament, all very excited to arrive and watch Corin and Evan the next day.
Evan was probably the most excited, but was so nervous that she became sick. She mounted her ill-tempered gray stallion, her face pale and hands shaking. Willing herself to keep her breakfast down, Evan urged her mount to a trot until she was ahead of everyone, save Tristan.
The silent knight glanced back and saw Evan's pale face and trembling hands. Frowning, he slowed his horse down until Evan was next to him. "Are you alright?" he asked, his soft brown eyes looking into her bright green ones.
Evan suddenly realized that she had the chills; she tore her eyes away from his and tried to rationalize it as just a side effect of her nervousness. "Yes, yes, I think so," she replied hastily, then quickly urged her mount into a trot again.
Tristan gave a long sigh as he watched her go.
"She's lovely, isn't she?" asked a voice next to him.
Tristan quickly turned around and saw Lancelot behind him, watching Evan as well.
"Yes, she is," remarked Tristan softly.
"Evan will be mine; so stay out of the way, Tristan." And with that, Lancelot caught up to Evangeline, just in time to catch her as she passed out and almost fell off her horse.
Anger seethed through Tristan as Evan regained consciousness and gave Lancelot that dazzling smile. He is not going to break her heart, he swore to himself, then trotted up to the two, asking Evan if she needed any help.
"No, but thank you, Tristan," she said, giving another smile to Lancelot, who returned it all too gladly.
Tristan muttered a curse under his breath then muttered, "I'm going ahead to scout out a place for the night…"
Evan frowned as she watched him go. "Is something wrong with Tristan?" she asked Lancelot.
"No, no, he's fine. You know Tristan… always a mystery. Come, let us find a place for you to rest."
A mystery… Evan thought, smiling faintly to herself.
:-:
Later that night around the campfire, it seemed everyone was worried about Evan's fainting spell.
"Now, Evan, are you sure you're alright?" asked a worried Gwen for the umpteenth time.
"I'm fine," Evan said firmly. "I'm just nervous about tomorrow."
Gawain grinned. "I remember my first tournament…"
"Yes?" Evan urged him on, leaning in closer. "What happened?"
"I don't really remember… I was in the sword-fighting competition. I was so nervous I couldn't hold my sword up, and was knocked unconscious almost immediately by a blow to the head. Still have headaches every now and then." Then, seeing Evan's horror-stricken face, he laughed. "But don't worry! You'll do fine!"
Evan forced herself to nod, then muttered about being tired. She left the campfire and walked towards her tent. As she did, she found Tristan sitting nearby, twirling a dagger rapidly, though effortlessly. Evan watched, entranced, until she took a step and cracked a stick.
Tristan snapped his head around, stopping the dagger suddenly. He relaxed when he saw Evan. "Oh, hello," he said softly, a smile flitting across his face.
Those chills arrived all over her body again as she sat down next to him. "Why don't you eat dinner with everyone else?"
"Why do you think?"
Evan forced herself not to glare at him. She hated it when someone answered her question with another question. She liked things straightforward -- no fooling around. But, she tried to tolerate it. "I don't know. You tell me."
"A scout's job is to protect the rest. That means looking out for danger all the time, and sacrificing the enjoyment of relaxing with everyone else."
Evan's eyes flitted up to look into his. "Seems like a lonely job…"
He nodded slightly, and noticed for the first time just how intoxicating those eyes were. Their faces slowly came closer --
"Evan!"
Evan turned around suddenly, startled. It was Lancelot. She quickly stood up, brushed herself off and called, "Yes?"
"I thought you were tired!" She could now see Lancelot's form jogging towards her.
"What… Oh, well, I was just keeping Tristan company for a moment. I was just about to go inside my tent."
Lancelot finally reached her, and whispered into her ear, "Be very careful of Tristan. He is probably not what you think."
Evan's eyes shot to Tristan, and she frowned slightly. "Alright…" she muttered, then strode into her tent.
Lancelot smiled inwardly then sat down next to Tristan, who was furious. "What did you tell her?" he demanded, his soft brown eyes now flickering with dangerous anger. Lancelot noticed that Tristan's grip on the dagger tightened.
In an effort to mollify the scout, he said, "Nothing. I just told her goodnight. You really are paranoid sometimes, my friend." And with that, he walked back to the campfire.
Tristan clenched his teeth, and threw the dagger into a tree trunk in an attempt to get rid of his anger. "Friend? No, Lancelot, we are most certainly not friends…" he said to himself, then returned to his lonely job.
:-:
Evangeline sighed as she listened to her sister's deep, slow breathing. She wished that sleep would come to her… all she could think about was that almost kiss with Tristan… And then what about Lancelot? He really did seem to be interested in her.
For once, I have no idea what to do… she thought. This has never happened to me before.
Then, she decided to talk about it with Gwen the next morning. With a long, dramatic sigh, Evan turned on her side and waited for sleep to come over her.
A/N: Alright, there's Chapter three! I think that I'll continue this fanfic, and maybe start another one. But I don't know what it'll be about… And thanks to all of you guys who review! It really means a lot to me that you take the time to read my stuff and then comment on it.