"Uhh…is he really…dead?" Violette pointed a shaking finger at the man lying in the grass. The three men nodded and began walking towards Mal, "Don't touch her! You just killed some guy; Mal got attacked and we're still lost….oh no, oh no!" Violette knelt by Mal, sobbing and wondered if this was her punishment for accidentally pushing her friend into the water.
"We have to go to the authorities and tell them what happened! I'll tell them you attacked out of self defense so they'll go easy on you! But, before that, we have to get Mal to a hospital!" Violette rambled in hysteria. The three men looked at Violette as though she was speaking another language.
The tall man walked over, picked up Mal and swung her over his shoulder. Violette opened her mouth to protest, but Galahad walked over, crouched in front of her and said, "We don't know what this hose-pit-all is, but she needs tending to that wound; and you said you are lost, we will take you back to camp. It's getting late and with woads around it is no place for two unarmed ladies." He winked and smiled slightly.
"You don't know what a hospital is? Oh, maybe in England they call it something else? You know the place where doctors and nurses take care of the sick?" Violette looked around at the faces pleading for understanding. "Wait, when you say woads, you don't mean, like in the time of Arthur and his knights, do you?" she spoke wildly with her hands.
"So, you have heard of us then?" the man with the braid said, "I'm pleased that we have such a reputation." The men chuckled slightly and peered back at Violette who asked, "You're the knights of legend, which means you're the Galahad?"
"Well, I'm a Galahad, I dunno if I'm the Galahad and this is Tristan and Dagonet." Galahad introduced them. Violette stared unblinking at the men and then blurted out, "Great, Mal has fainted and left me alone with psychos who think it's the Middle Ages! I'm going to close my eyes and when I open them, I'll be in a nice warm bed in the hotel!" she closed her eyes and clasped her hands tightly over her face; slowly she peered through her fingers and the men were still there.
"O.K. so if you are really knights then where is Arthur and why aren't you fighting some battle for the Romans? If you are knights then…then take me to your leader!" her shaky voice sounded weak and frightened.
Tristan glared at her with one eyebrow raised; he then responded, "That is exactly what we wanted to do; take you back to camp!"
Violette looked at Mal on Dagonet's shoulder, she stood up and wondered if this was the right thing to do, suddenly she thought, "Well, I don't want to be a bother, I'll just take my friend back the way we came and…"
Cutting her off Galahad swung his arm around her shoulders saying, "Nonsense, she saved my life, we'll look after her! You must tell me about where you come from and… what the bloody hell are you wearing?"
Violette pouted, looking down at her long flowered skirt and her blue t-shirt, "What's wrong with my clothes?" Mal was dressed in black jeans and a sleeveless shirt. "It's true Mal doesn't have much of a fashion sense but... hey, we're not the ones in armor and carrying swords! Oh, I have to grab our bags." Violette looked around to find their backpacks, but Tristan was already picking them up. He looked at them cautiously and then simply hefted them up onto his shoulder.
The odd party made their way out of the clearing stepping over the dead man's body; Violette shuddered, thinking, 'What if these men get mad at us and try to kill us too?' She tried to push the thought away from her mind and she looked hopefully back at Mal, wishing she were awake. Galahad was continuing to talk and ask questions, but Violette's thoughts were elsewhere; 'This is impossible! Time travel is not possible, they must be actors or something, but that man back there really was dead…oh no, what do I do? I want to go home!'
"So, once we get to camp, Dag can mend your friend's wound and we will bring you to Arthur, then we'll get some answers, right?" Galahad smiled charmingly.
"Uh, yes of course," Violette was still unsure about her situation, but Mal's arm looked pretty bad, it could get infected if not taken care of, these thoughts floated in her head and her face took on a permanently worried expression.
Tristan caught up to Galahad and Violette, who were slightly ahead of the others. "I hope that you would trust us enough so that you would tell us your names?"
Violette snapped out of her clouded thoughts and looked to her side, Galahad's arm still lightly resting on her shoulders; somehow it was a welcome and reassuring pressure. She smiled faintly saying, "Oh, my name is Violette and that is Mal."
Galahad gleamed and answered, "Violette? That's a beautiful name!"
Violette blushed and she began to bite her lip in a nervous state; she lowered her head and continued walking as Tristan and Galahad began talking.
It seemed like they had been walking forever and Violette's eyes were heavy with sleep and her feet ached with every step she took in her high-heeled sandals, she peered over at the knights, who looked dimly bored, but not tired and said pleadingly, "Can we…uh…rest, maybe?"
"We really shouldn't, the others expect us back before nightfall …" Galahad explained, but Dag sat down and gently laid Mal on the ground, checking the binding he put on her earlier; he glanced up and said, "We should take some time, for their shake. To be honest, I'm surprised she hasn't complained yet with those things on her feet."
Violette then took real notice of the big man. He was bald and incredibly tall, but he also had this kind look to him; she smiled her appreciation to him and sat down and began to rub her sore feet. Tristan wondered off into the woods, stalking some prey, while Galahad sat down beside her. They sat in silence for some time before Tristan returned with a number of dead rabbits hanging limp in his hands; Violette convulsed slightly and looked away. Dag then picked up Mal and Tristan geared up; signaling the time to continue. Violette pulled herself up and winced slightly at the thought of the journey ahead; Galahad saw her face and suggested, "If you want I could carry you?"
Tristan chuckled as Violette gapped, "No…no, that's O.K. Thank you though!" She hurried off with Dagonet, now leading and began to speak with him.
"Don't get too attached," Tristan laughed as the knights walked towards camp again.
Her feet kept moving only through sheer persistence; it was nearly dusk and the sky was beginning to darken. Violette took in her surroundings, noticing for the first time, how truly beautiful the woodland was. She looked up at the stars shining in the sky and saw smoke billowing from a nearby fire. "We're almost there!" Galahad reported pointing to the smoke; his smile was dazzling.
Their pace quickened and within minutes they were entering the camp. If Violette had any doubts about this being the Middle Ages, they quickly disappeared as she saw the men gathered about a fire and horses tethered near the trees.
"Dag, we sent you out for food, not women," a large bald man yelled as they entered the camp, "Now what are we suppose to eat?" Tristan answered him by slapping a rabbit across his face.
Dagonet gently placed Mal on a cot then started looking through a bag.
"Is she going to be okay?" Violette asked desperately at his side.
Dagonet pealed off the temporary binding he had placed earlier on Mal's wound and began cleaning the cut, "It's not too deep, but I'll have to stitch it close."
"My knight says your friend saved his life," Violette whipped around at the strong voice that demanded her attention; standing before her she found Galahad along with three other men.
"Uh…y-yes sir," she stuttered in response to the very intimidating man, 'This must be Arthur,' she thought with glee, then she said out loud, "Well actually I pushed her in. It was an accident though; I wouldn't push someone into a river on purpose. Especially Mal, because she's terrified of drowning-" Violette slapped a hand over her mouth to stop her rambling, she whispered, "Mal's going to kill me if she finds out I said that!"
Arthur gave her a gentle smile in amusement, "Where do you come from, m'lady?"
"Uhh…west…" Violette hoped Mal would wake up soon; her thoughts were exploding in panic, 'How am I supposed to tell them we come from a place that doesn't exist in this time? How do I tell them we're from another time?'
"So you are Britons?" Arthur asked curiously.
"Not exactly…well, actually Mal is half British…umm I don't really know how to explain…us," Violette gestured to herself and to her still unconscious friend, "being here…without you worrying about my sanity, although I am worried about it too…" Violette looked up at the incredulous looks of the knights. Violette bit her lip and thought quickly, "Are you really Arthur? Like the one from the legends?"
"Well, of course my knights and I are somewhat of a legend and yes I am Arthur, but why would that matter?" Arthur asked. He was looking at Violette and Mal with pure amusement on his face; his eyebrows were slightly raised and he smiled lightly. Arthur was a handsome man with black hair and a clean shaven face; Violette looked up at him and declared, "This is what happened; we got lost in the woods and Mal heard the river…so she took us there…and then she saved Galahad who brought us here!"
Arthur looked down at the small girl standing before him; he was speechless for a moment and was about to say something when Dagonet announced, "I'm done, her wound will be fine, but we must change her out of those wet clothes…"
All of the knights glanced at Violette, who shook her head with eyes wide, "Why me? Wake her up! You just have to say her name…"
Galahad walked over and knelt before her, "Mal?"
"No, her full name, Mary Ann Lydia get up RIGHT NOW!" Violette screeched.
Mal instantly jumped from the cot and pushed Galahad aside shouting, "Blasphemy!"
Violette rushed over to her friend and hugged Mal tightly. Mal was looking at the men and she whispered, "What's going on? Where did all the cute guys come from?"
A man with dark curly hair stepped forward; taking Mal's hand in his and raising it to his lips, "I will always come to the aide of a damsel in distress, m'lady."
Mal blinked; turning to her friend with a wide grin, giggling, "M'lady," Violette started to giggle also; Mal directed her attention back to the cocky knight, "Whatever you say princess."
The man was taken aback by this, but quickly composed himself with a smirk, "I assure you lady, there are two beautiful princesses here, but I am not one of them," Mal blinked again, looking to her right she saw Violette, as bright as a tomato, and too her left stood Galahad; leaning closer to him she raised a hand to her mouth and whispered, loud enough for the whole camp to hear, "I think he's talking about you," this was all the men could take as half of them burst out laughing, including Galahad after his initial shock.
The man in front of them opened his mouth to retort, only to be interrupted by another man behind him, "That's enough, Lancelot, could you go get this young lady a change of clothing; your closest to her size," Lancelot nodded, trudging towards the horses, grumbling all the way.
Arthur turned back to the girls, "Now ladies, I think an explanation is in order -"
"Of course, sir, but first may I just have a minute with my accomplice?" without waiting for an answer Violette dragged Mal farther away from the knights and whispered furtively, "We're in the past!"
"What? Vi, sweetie, are you feeling okay?" Mal put a hand to her friend's forehead, only to have it slapped away.
"I'm fine," Violette hissed, "but somehow we've gone over 1500 years into the past!"
"What the hell are you talking about? Time travel! That's impossible!" Mal yelled frantically.