A/N - To my reviewers, thank you all so much! You make me so very happy. . I love you all! Now, I hope you all received your review responses, if not let me know okay? I know we're not supposed to do this anymore, but I cannot ignore any of my beloved reviewers, you guys are what keep me going! To my anonymous reviewers : like i'd tell you - Thank you very much! I hope you like this chapter as well, it's not nearly as good in my opinion. DeerInTheHeadlights - Thank you for the review, and for your lovely comments. I'm sorry if you find their relationship confusing, it really was meant to be written the way I did. The reasons for that as well as all of your other questions will be answered in the chapters to come, I promise!
Now, as for this chapter, let me just say that I know it's probably not one of my best(In fact I know it's not). I've been fighting writer's block tooth and nail with this one, mainly I think because my more interesting ideas begin in the ones to come, but this one had to be done to get them there. .lol. Grrr. I hope you all are not too disappointed with it, I only ask that you please bear with me. . The next will be much better!
Chapter Eight : Another Surprise
Twelve Years.
Could it really have been TWELVE years since she had last seen him?
Over a decade apart. So many years spent searching, hoping, and praying night after countless night that she would somehow, against all odds, find him. After all of the wrong information, all of the dead ends, and the years without any leads at all. The hopelessness and despair that had threatened to consume her, after they had chased down one scrap of information, only to find that they had missed him by a mere month, and the informant had no clue where they had been sent next. She could not believe that she had found him at last.
Her Galahad.
Her heart felt as though it would burst with happiness, as she tightened her grip on him and breathed deeply of his scent. He smelled of the woods, of horses, and of leather. Much the same as Maelgwyn, or herself for that matter. To Brenna, however, it was like a sip of icy water on a hot day, or a breath of fresh air after many years in a dungeon.
Tears streamed unashamedly down her face as she clutched him desperately to her body. Afraid to let go, afraid that if she lost contact with him, that she would wake up to discover that it had all been but a dream. After a few moments, she pulled back slightly to gaze into Galahad's eyes.
Different than her own, he'd inherited their father's blue ones. They did however have the same veins of silver, swirling amongst the smoky blue, that she had in the depths of icy green.
They stood together, replacing old memories with new, as they took in the changes in each other's appearance. Gone were the children each remembered, in their place stood adults, warriors forged from circumstance. A fact that was loudly declared in the armor, the weapons, the well muscled bodies, hardened by years of battle, and the scars.
Brenna fingered Galahad's dark, scruffy beard, the small scar on his cheekbone, and the mop of unruly curls falling into his eyes.
While Galahad sighed happily as he gazed down upon her, into the eyes he remembered so well. The eyes that had remained with him throughout the years, haunting him, calling to him. Sometimes happy, sometimes sad, but always there at the edge of his mind. Uniquely exquisite in color, they had darker rings around the edges, then lightened into a clear, icy hue, that was streaked with swirls of silver.
Leaving them he scanned her face. He raised his hand and gently wiped away a streak of blood that trickled from the cut on her cheek. Then frowned when he spied a long white scar on her forehead, nearly hidden in her hairline, but visible nonetheless. About to question her on it, he was interrupted when Arthur's slightly frustrated voice cut through the protective haze that had seemed to surround them.
"Would someone care to explain just what is going on here?"
Blinking, Brenna turned her gaze toward the Roman, momentarily stunned at the sound of another voice. She had been so focused on her reunion with her dear brother, that she had forgotten that the others were even there.
Now reality crept back in, bringing with it a shiver of cold as the icy wind tugged at her wet clothing. She opened her mouth to answer him, but the words never made it past her lips. Another voice cut in, this one from the direction of the knights, the tone filled with disbelief.
"She is his sister. Brenna."
Brenna's eyes turned in the direction of the voice, brow furrowed in confusion. 'How does any other than Maelgwyn know who I am?' As her eyes sought out and fell upon the source, she blinked in surprise and stepped back from Galahad, though firmly clasping his calloused hand in her own.
'It cannot be. Can it?' The odds of them still being together, both of them alive and well after all these years, were astronomical. She watched as the man walked across the muddy grass toward her, eyes shining, dark hair ruffling in the cold wind.
He came to a halt in front of her and smiled, his dark eyes glowing behind the black locks.
"What? Do you not recognize your favorite cousin?"
Tearing her eyes from his tall, black clad frame, she gazed askance of Galahad. Her heart leapt at his smile and nod. Needing no further urging, she launched herself into the other's arms, which wrapped firmly about her, lifting her off the ground, as a low laugh rumbled through the man's chest.
"Lancelot!"
Laughing, he slowly lowered her back to the ground, then stepped back and held her at arms length. His deep brown eyes sparkled happily as he beheld the young woman before him. Gone was the short, skinny little runt that he remembered. She now stood nearly equal to his height of just over six feet, and he could feel the strength of muscle in the arms beneath his hands.
"You've grown."
A peal of laughter escaped Brenna's lips at his statement of the obvious. She wiped the tears from her face with a slightly shaking hand, as she shook her head at him.
"I should hope so! It's been over twelve years since we last saw one another! We were but children then!"
At the sound of laughter, the rest of the knights began to dismount and gather excitedly around the trio, shoving and jostling each other for the best position.
Arthur joined them, but Maelgwyn stayed near the edge of the crowd, happily watching as Brenna was welcomed by her kin.
A smile lit his face at the joy radiating from hers, as Galahad began the introductions. He stood silently as he watched her reaction to the men and, more importantly, theirs to her. Most seemed friendly, respectful as they greeted her with a smile and a nod.
All but one.
Kay, he quietly noted as the name was spoken. There was something in the man's ice blue eyes as he looked Brenna over, something cold and lecherous, mayhap even slightly evil. Maelgwyn narrowed his eyes slightly and watched carefully as Brenna turned in the man's direction.
'I shall have to watch that one.'
A small smile reappeared, ghosting across his lips, as she stiffened slightly, before fixing the man with a cool gaze. He tried to work his charm on her, reaching to kiss her hand, but she thwarted his attempt. Pulling it out of his reach, she instead turned and offered it, and a warm smile, to the next in line.
Smirking proudly at Kay, the lad tossed his red gold curls and bowed low over her hand. Maelgwyn did not hear what he said to her, but whatever it was, it caused Brenna, as well as several of the other knights, to erupt with laughter. Kay reddened slightly and stalked off, roughly grabbing for his horses reins and swinging into the saddle, where he sat glaring at the others.
'Yes, I shall definitely need to keep an eye on that one'
Maelgwyn's thoughts were interrupted at the sound of his name, and he pushed them to the side for now, as he moved toward Brenna.
Slipping an arm around him and hugging closely to his warmth, Brenna turned back to her family and newfound friends with a brilliant smile.
"Galahad, Lancelot, there is someone I would like you to meet. This is Maelgwyn, my closest and dearest friend. Without him, I would not stand here before you today."
Brenna smiled up at Gwyn, a slightly enigmatic look passing silently between the pair, before they returned their attention to the knights. Their introduction was halted however, by Kay's sarcastic voice bellowing across to them.
"Are we going to return to the wall, or do you all plan to stand here and freeze to death! In case you have all failed to notice, it has begun to snow!"
Brenna glared at him, then turned her gaze skyward. It had indeed darkened and soft, fluffy flakes of snow had begun their slow, lazy descent from the steel grey clouds. She tried in vain to stifle the shiver that raced through her, as the wind swirled about her body, its icy fingers grabbing at her quickly stiffening cloak . She unconsciously pressed herself closer to Maelgwyn, drawing on his warmth. An action that caused Galahad to narrow his eyes, as he gazed thoughtfully at the pair, a surge of brotherly protectiveness swelling in his chest.
"Kay is right, if we leave soon, we should make it back to the wall by nightfall. We do not want to be out in a storm if we can help it."
Arthur stated, moving toward his horse through the already thickening snowfall. Glancing at Maelgwyn and Brenna as he swung into the saddle, he smiled and spoke once again.
"I am assuming the pair of you will be joining us?"
They returned his grin and Maelgwyn let loose a shrill whistle. Kalen and Ahern were at their side in an instant, followed closely by Aithne, Caedmon, and the two packhorses. Brenna shivered once more and turned toward one of the horses, where she promptly began rooting out a dry tunic and breeches, as well as some healing supplies.
"Aye, just as soon as I change, and tend to Gwyn's arm."
Arthur waved a hand and the huge man she remembered as Dagonet stepped forward, a bundle of healing supplies of his own already in his hands.
"Dagonet will tend your friend's wound. He is our healer, and the best I've seen."
Brenna looked up and, after searching the man's kind face for a moment, she decided she could trust the gentle giant with the task, and gave him a warm smile and a nod.
"Thank you, your assistance is much appreciated."
Dagonet returned the smile and silently moved to Gwyn's side, carefully inspecting the wound.
Turning back to the packhorse, she pulled her thick, black leather, fur lined cloak from its place. With a last glance at Maelgwyn, which assured her that he would be alright under Dagonet's care, she headed for the tree line, Ahern and Aithne trailing after their mistress.
Half an hour later, the snow falling steadily faster and thicker, they were mounted up and ready to leave. Brenna finally in dry clothing, her warm cloak wrapped firmly about her shoulders, hood covering her hair which had been rebraided. Situated between a bandaged and nearly good as new Maelgwyn, and a beaming Galahad. With Lancelot on his other side and the rest of the knights clumped loosely around them, they set off through the late spring snowfall in the direction of Hadrian's Wall.
A/N - Well folks, that's where I'll leave off for now. It's already after 11:30 pm, and I have to get up early for work tomorrow, but I did promise to have it out this weekend (which it technically still is. .lol) Sorry it is so short, I am just so glad to be done with this one it's not even funny. Have I mentioned how much I hate writer's block! Oh well, the next chapters will start to get much more exciting, the detail will be back as well, plus I already have several large chunks of the next two or so outlined in my notebooks! So that means possible quicker update next time.I know this one didn't have much detail, but it was all I could do to get this bit out. .lol. I may go back later on and revise this chapter a bit, we'll see (probably not though. . hehe) Anyway, I'm really sorry if this is a load of rubbish, please let me know what you think anyway, okay?