As the girls continued to walk, Violette could hear the roaring of a nearby river and Mal was determined to lead the way through the thicket. Suddenly they stepped out onto a wide clearing in which a river flowed. The river swelled and threatened to flood the entire clearing, which seemed peaceful next to the rapids of the river. The trees ringed in the grassland and it was silent expect for the howling of the river. Mal looked at her friend with a great smirk on her face and yelled, "See, we're fine! I found us a river to follow!"
Violette looked back to her friend, unbelievingly and cried, "A river to follow? What do you mean?"
"In the movies, they always follow the river to a town!" Mal nodded as though she had made a logical conclusion.
This was all poor Violette could take; her face turned red, she shrank down to her knees and was just about to begin to sob when there was a loud intense yell coming from the river. They could hear that men were shouting from up-river; abruptly a man clad in armor was being pushed down the river by the strong current. "Galahad!" the men's voices screamed.
"Oh no, oh no Mal; he'll drown, we have to do something!" Violette protested.
"Well, we…" before Mal could finish her statement Violette took a step toward the waterway and accidentally slipped, pushing her friend into the river.
Mal began swimming towards the man in amour, although furious at Violette for pushing her. The current was strong, but Mal did not have the cumbersome armor weighing her down and she reached the man quickly; she yelled over the river, "Take off your clothes!"
The man looked at her with shock in his eyes, he bellowed back, "WHAT!"
"The armor is weighing you down; take it off!" Mal screamed and she began to pull off his breastplate and heave him toward shore. The man did as he was told and began hauling off his protective coverings. Violette was standing on the water's edge with clenched teeth and faintly mumbling "Oh no, oh no!" when she looked about her; two men clothed in the same heavy armor as the man in the water were standing next to her. They looked out of place, like from another time and Violette couldn't help, but notice the very real swords hanging at their sides. Mal and the man slowly made their way toward the shoreline and as Mal reached the shore, strong arms dragged her out of the water.
The two men huddled around their companion to make sure he was okay, while Violette dashed to her own friend's side. Mal was on her knees leaning over to catch her breath, "Mal?" Violette asked cautiously, "Mal, are you okay?"
Mal's eyes snapped up to meet Violette's brown ones, and it took two seconds before she exploded. "What the hell were you thinking? Have I been that bad of a friend that you want me dead?"
Violette's eyes were locked onto the men before them, but she replied to her friend, "It was an accident; I didn't mean to push you! Besides, you were so brave, you're a hero!"
Mal held out her hands in exasperation and said, "Brave? I'm a horrible swimmer and…"
"Are you alright…sir?" Violette pushed aside Mal and stepped closer to the man that almost drowned, but the tall chap blocked her way with a menacing glare. Violette stood back beside Mal and both looked at the big man, who towered over their small stature, and whimpered, "Please don't…eat us!"
"Eat you? Why would Dag do that, when you just saved me!" the man the others had called Galahad was now standing and although soaked, he was not hurt. Galahad had a smirk on his face and his eyes were full of curiosity as he looked at the girls. No longer wearing the armor he simply wore a black shirt and leather breeches; his smile implied friendliness and his blue eyes shined brilliantly. Violette looked at the man in front of her and she stared awe-struck, neither of them moved a muscle; the big man was growling faintly.
"He does not threaten you, but rather the woads, which now surround us," the other man explained. He looked like a woodman, his long hair unkempt and braided in front of his scarred face. A bow was strapped across his shoulders and his eyes were moving rapidly among the trees, there was a sense of mystery about this man, but also the hard face suggested he would be a terrible foe. Swiftly a hawk circled over head and the man looked up; he paused and then announced to the other men, "They are leaving; they will not attack."
"Attack? What do you mean attack?" Violette shuddered slightly.
Mal looked from one man to the next and then back at her friend; she thought for a moment before bursting out, "So, we're going to be attacked by woads and you guys are real like fighters and stuff? You think I'm going to believe that? What T.V. show are we on?" Mal yelled hysterically, waving her arms around to help make her point. "That's it, this excursion is officially over! We're going back!"
With that she turned on her heels and stormed back the way they came. Her dramatic exit was interrupted when a blue man jumped out of the tree line heading straight for her with a knife raised in his hand. Mal let out a short screech, holding her arms up in front of herself in a pitiful attempt to stop the man, only to have the knife slash into her forearm. The tall man pounced, faster then thought possible for one of his size and the blue man was left lying limp on the ground; blood seeping from the gash in his stomach.
"Ha ha, that looks real, but it isn't…right?" Mal bent over the man and felt for a pulse, there was none; she suddenly went white and walked slowly over to Violette's side. "He's dead," she whispered; she continued to stare at the dead body and then looked at her own arm where blood stained her pale skin. Mal let out an audible squeak before promptly fainting, leaving a frantic Violette alone.