Out of Darkness Comes the Light - Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I don't own anything or anyone you may recognize. I don't even own the title. If you think I have ripped you off, sorry. This came purely from my own imagination, such as it is. I don't even claim that my story is any good...

A/N: Hi all. Wanted to post this earlier than I planned because I have RL to attend to this weekend. UCK! And I wanted to work on a future chapter because a little birdie put the idea of 'ghosts' in my train wreck I call a head. And to be truthful, though I like what I have written (I have most of this done) I'm having serious doubts about it. It has take a definite darker turn, and I'm afraid that it will scare off those of you who have been faithful to me.

Anyways...

dtmitchell1974: addy - E-mail address. Can't tell you about the damage. But remember, what was done, can be undone. LOL!

dellis: Thank you! I aim to please. But, I hope you still think so in later chapters.

nitestar: Maybe...

Op: I'm sorry for your confused emotions. I hope things are better. But I'm not sure about things with them being pretty...

June Birdie: A few people seem to be confused. But none more than our hero. He's had it only to have it taken away.

Cardeia: I hade to post it quick. So many didn't like them passing that I had to make it better. Sort of. And you've hit it dead on. More feelings. And the only one who truly knows how our knights come back is Merlin. And he's keeping mum! Ghosts! Gah!

Teagan didn't know how long she had been there. It could have been days, it could have been weeks.

After another round of beatings, Teagan closed her eyes and breathed in deeply. As deeply as her cracked ribs would allow. She focused on the cool air as it touched her throat, working it's way over her battered body. The pain of breathing was sending tremors through her body.

Teagan willed her legs to stop shaking. She tensed, then physically released each muscle in her body, forcing it to relax as much as she could.

As she hung there, her mind drifted off to a distant place.

It had been raining for days. Not a heavy rain, but a rain that drenches you to the very bone.

Rain. Rain reminded her of the day she had buried Tristan. The day her life had shattered.

It rained the day she visited his grave for the last time. Rained when she pushed the sword into the saturated ground. Next to his, the two blades stood, side by side.

It rained the day she said goodby to her friends, leaving the gate fort at Hadrian's wall.

As she hung there, her mind drifted to a fallen knight. Drifted to several fallen knights.

She saw movement ahead of her, entering the clearing she was in. Picking her head up, she looked at the large man. He didn't look Saxon, and he didn't look Roman. Maybe, just maybe...

Teagan gathered what strength she could. "Help me..." She cried, hoping the man could hear.

As the big man turned to her, Teagan slipped into unconsciousness. She didn't feel herself being cut down. Nor did she feel the large arms pick her up and carry her away.

0o0o0o

Dagonet looked at the woman in his arms. Something was familiar about her. Something very familiar. Her dark red hair looked like it used to curl, and on her neck was a tattoo that looked like a dragon. Thinking this familiar, he peeked down the woman's neckline and his suspicions were confirmed. The tattoo ran down her chest. Quickly covering her up, he gently turned her face so he could see it better. Her eyes opened and were the clearest blue he had ever seen.

"Dag?" Came the choked whisper. The girl fell into a coughing fit then lapsed again into unconsciousness.

It hit him. "TRISTAN!" He was running out into the clearing. "TRISTAN!"

Gawain was nearest to Dagonet. "Sorry Dag, Tristan went ahead." He glanced at the woman that Dagonet was carrying. "What you got there? And just why do you want that scout?" He came closer a peered at her. Recognition was about to hit him like a ton of stone. "Dag? Do we know her?"

Dagonet nodded. "You best go get Lancelot. Then, go get Tris."

Gawain ran to find the knights, but was met by Lancelot carrying his own bundled woman. Seeing Dagonet, he let loose alow laugh. "Hey Dag, looks like we've a matching pair." Hefting the woman up a bit.

Dagonet came abreast to Lancelot. "This one's not mine."

"Why not? I'm sure she'll clean up nicely." Dagonet pull the girl's hair to the side, exposing a fair amount of the tattoo. Lancelot nearly dropped the one he was carrying. "Bloody hell, this isn't going to go well." He bent to get a closer look at her. "They both think the other is dead. Hell, she thinks you and I are dead. C'mon, let's get them back to the fort." Everyone present had hoped that they would find her. Just not like this.

The two men carried their bundles to the horses to await Tristan. Inwardly, Lancelot was dreading this. Tristan had shut himself down even further than before when he had returned and found her gone. And when that blasted horse of hers showed up, he was nearly unbearable now.

Suddenly, the blonde woman in his arms stirred. Opening her eyes, she started screaming, kicking and trying to set herself free. Lancelot found that he was having a hard time holding onto her. "Shhh. I'm not going to hurt you." She stopped screaming, but was struggling even harder. "I said hold still, I'm not going to hurt you. Dag, help me."

"Can't my friend. I'll not put Teagan down till Tristan gets here."

Lancelot tightened his hold on her and eventually she stopped struggling. Looking down at her, he realized that she had fallen asleep. "Great." He muttered.

Gawain entered the clearing again and brought his stallion and another horse next to Lancelot and Dagonet. "Can't find the scout. He probably went ahead. Brought another horse." He nodded toward Teagan. "When she wakes up, she'll want to ride alone." The knights agreed as they knew her well. "We best get going, if we're going to ride through the night. Give me Teagan, I'll hold her for a while."

Dagonet handed their friend to Gawain. He then swung onto his own mount and took the blonde woman from Lancelot. As the three knights made their way to the fort, they rode in companionable silence for most of the ride. Each thinking their won thoughts. Dagonet riding in front, then Gawain holding Teagan, with Lancelot in the rear watching for trouble.

The blond started stirring so Dagonet did his best to calm her. This time she wasn't screaming, and seeing that she wasn't on the ground and on a horse, she didn't struggle. "Where are you taking me?"

"To Hadrian's wall. We've a fort there."

"So you are not Saxons?"

"No, we are not." Dagonet could feel the tension let out in her. "What is your name?"

"Cassandra." Cass didn't want to offer any more information than she had to.

"Well, I'm Dagonet. Behind me is Gawain and then Lancelot."

Cass just nodded, not saying anymore. After a while, she leaned back into Dagonet and fell asleep to the soft cadence of the horse and Dagonet's breathing.

0o0o0o0o

Behind him, Gawain was having similar situation to Dagonet's.

Teagan had woken up before Cassandra had. She knew where she was heading and who she was with. Only she was having a hard time believing it.

"Put me down, Gawain."

"Ah, the lady is awake." He dropped a kiss on top of her head. "It is good to have you back with us Teagan."

"Put me down, Gawain."

"Sorry, love. Can't do it. At least not until we rest and see how badly you are injured." He wasn't about to let her down, Tristan was in a foul enough mood, he wasn't about to do anything to anger him more. He tightened his grip on Teagan just a bit more. He was beginning to wonder where that scout was all this time.

Teagan wasn't really feeling up to arguing, so she just spent the time looking around. Thinking that the back of the knight ahead of her looked familiar, she remembered that she thought she saw Dagonet. "Gawain?"

"Hmmm?"

"Is that Dag?"

"Yes, it is. And Lancelot is behind us." He tensed just a little, not sure what she would do. It had been a hectic few months. Tristan had reacted badly to returning. And finding Teagan gone just added to his stress. He had reverted back to his isolated self. Even more so. And temperamental. In the back of his mind, he felt that Teagan would react much the same way. "And Tris is somewhere ahead."

Teagan surprised Gawain. She was as calm as could be. "No, he's not. He's dead. And so are Dagonet and Lancelot." She held herself still, only taking a barest of breaths. This just couldn't be. They were dead. She helped bury them. Lancelot was cremated. There was nothing left of him but ashes and memories.

Lancelot took this as his cue to ride alongside Gawain. "Nope, here we are, in the flesh. It's so good to see you." He gave her his trademark smile, all teeth and twinkling eyes.

Teagan turned and gave Lancelot a long look. She couldn't help but smile at the handsome knight. He looked just as how she remembered him. Reaching her hand out toward him, he grasped it, giving it a squeeze. Releasing his hand, Teagan settled back into Gawain. "You know, I can ride a horse on my own."

This brought a laugh from the three knights as Dagonet turned his stallion around a waited for the others to catch up.

"Dagonet!" Cried Teagan. "I'm so glad to see you. I missed you so!"

Dagonet smiled at Teagan. "It is good to see you also."

"You didn't miss me?" This from Lancelot.

Teagan shrugged her shoulders. In doing so realized that they ached very much. "Why would I miss you? You just give me grief." But she was laughing. Sort of. She was tired and weak. She looked at Cassandra asleep in Dagonet's arms. "Be careful with her Dag. She's not been with the Saxons as long as I." She let out a loud yawn. Settling back, she let herself fall asleep in her friend's arms, not quite believing what she had seen. Maybe it was a dream and she was still strung up and with the Saxons.

0o0o0o0o

Tristan couldn't find anything that would hinder the knight's return to the fort. They hadn't found what they had been looking for. Just an abandoned Saxon camp. It hadn't looked like there were anyone alive, so he had passed it by, looking ahead. Deciding that he had better make an appearance, lest they think he ran off, he made his way back to the others. He wasn't quite prepared for what he saw.

Dagonet held in his lap, a tiny blonde woman. Gawain right behind him with one who had red hair. Red hair that brought a stirring to his heart. All three had these damned stupid grins on their faces. The two women were sleeping so didn't hear him ride up. "See you brought souvenirs."

Lancelot rode up to and passed him. "No man, these aren't for us." He was still grinning at the scout. "But you may be interested."

Tristan eyed the women warily. Shaking his head, he pulled his horse around only to have Gawain ride up alongside him.

"This one's for you." Gawain eyed his friend warily. Dagonet, the wiser, hung back and watched.

"Sorry, not interested." He spurred his mount to go faster, Gawain keeping pace. He turned to look at Gawain, ignoring the woman. The woman who had the red hair. Red hair that brought unbidden memories.

"Tristan. Stop." Gawain pulled his horse to a halt. The fool wasn't about to do this to her. "You really need to see her." He took in a breath. "It's Teagan."

That did it. Tristan turned his horse around and back to Gawain. "No. She's dead. We didn't find her."

"No, Tris. She's not." Gawain pulled back her hair to expose her neck. No one missed the sharp intake Tristan's breath.

For long moments, Tristan stared at her. Not sure to believe if she were real or not. Memories came flooding back, faster and faster. He kept his hands gripped on the horse's reins, fighting every urge he had to touch her. In the end, Gawain settle the matter.

"Take her, Tristan." Gawain urged his friend. Tristan shook his head. "It's still a long way to the fort. Take her. She's heavy and I need the rest." He reasoned. She wasn't heavy at all. He just wanted to give Tristan a reason to take her.

After what seemed forever, Tristan finally nodded.

Transferring Teagan onto Tristan's horse wasn't to difficult. Soon, she was settled in front of him with her head resting on his chest. Her hand on his side. Looking down at the sleeping woman in front of him, Tristan wondered at where she had been and how she had ended with Saxons. He also wondered why she had left. At the thought of returning to the fort and finding her gone, anger started to build. She had promised never to leave him. But she had gone. He also felt relief. Relief that she was still breathing, still living.

He had longed to have her with him again. But, now that she was, he wasn't sure he could accept it.

The knights didn't talk very much as they urged their mounts faster to try and reach the fort. The women didn't wake, and for this, Tristan was thankful. He wasn't sure just what he was going to say to Teagan.

But right now, he wanted to choke her.

A/N: Methinks that Tristan is becoming just a tad bit angry.