Out of Darkness Comes the Light - Chapter 18
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...
Sorceress Misha - Goodie! It may be slow going for a bit, but then again, I may get things going again. These two are awful thick headed.
blueskiezrusty - Everyone will find out who did it soon enough. Maybe. I'm working on it now.
dellis - Are you sure about Lancelot?
op - I've been called evil to much. My nickname at work is HB!
KnightMaiden - Patience, my dear. Patience.
Lady11Occult - He may kick some heiny. I haven't decided yet as so far he doesn't know who did it.
Cardeia - You are to funny. Evil man lurking. My upstairs neighbor heard me laughing over that one!
As I was driving to work, I pictured your man as a biker, on a Harley. As I live near Gettysburg, I see plenty of bikers. I keep thinking that's the kind of man I want, a biker. Something sexy about them.
Yup, having Lancelot step into horse poo with those nice, expensive shoes! I can picture him now, hopping and crying 'Get it off! Get it off!' Can't picture Dag as a mechanic though. He's to big. Watch the movie closely. His legs are so long that they hang do low on that poor horse. I'm sure all he'd have to do it straighten his legs and he'd be straddling the poor thing!
Tristan - Cook maybe? It'd be funny watching him try and cook. Or veterinian. Those nice, lovely hands moving over prime horesflesh. (I feel a hot flash coming on thinking about those hands!)
And I think I need your help. You brought up a point about how they react to her body. Or in Lancelot's case, what he saw. I started with him here. And Cassandra. I have to admit, I NEVER thought about that, how they would react. So I'm asking: How do you suggest I do it? I'm stuck and not sure how to go.
It had stopped raining sometime during the night and Teagan's bare feet sloshed in puddles as she walked slowly to her room.
She opened the door quietly in case Cassandra was still sleeping. She hoped she was anyway. She wasn't ready to answer the barrage of questions that she knew were headed her way.
First thing she noticed however, was the smell. It smelled like a bad night at the tavern. The stench of stale ale was heavy in the air.
Teagan's stomach turned. Had it not been empty to begin with, it would be now.
She looked around, trying to find the cause of the horrid small.
There sat Cassandra, sitting on her own bed, pointing to Teagan's side of the room.
In her bed lay Lancelot, lying on his stomach, his face hanging over the edge of the bed. He was snoring so loudly, Teagan thought that he'd wake up the entire fort.
She walked the short way to her bed, the smell getting stronger. Yup, he was the source of the smell. She backed off, covering her nose.
"What happened to him?" She asked as she lifted her hand just enough to speak.
Cassandra looked up at Teagan, taking in her appearance. She looked just awful. Her hair was knotted, sticking out in every direction. Her face was puffy and her lips were swollen, almost bruised. She had a blanket wrapped around her, covering gods knew what. Her feet were bare and muddy.
She looked like a street urchin just invited from the cold.
"You." Her voice was angry.
Teagan looked from Cass to Lancelot, trying to understand that one word answer. Finally, she shook her head, not comprehending. But almost getting it. She really didn't need this right now.
"Explain." Her voice was stiff.
"He's drunk, Teagan. Piss drunk. And it's your fault." She stood up from the bed, pulling on a bed jacket in fast, jerky movements. "I can't believe what you are doing to these men." Her breath came out in a fast rush, her voice rising. "These men who treat you like a princess, yet you do this."
She pointed to a stirring Lancelot, who was waking due to the racket. Both women watched as he groaned, his hand coming to his face.
"What did I do this time?" Teagan was shocked. She had done absolutely nothing wrong to him. In fact, she hadn't even seen him since the day of that attack.
"He came in here, already drunk. Saying that he saw the two of you. You were well...you know."
Heat started to raise in Teagan's neck, growing to her cheeks. She remembered all to well what she did last night.
"You mean Lancelot saw us?"
Cassandra nodded.
Teagan stuttered. "How much did he see?" Dagonet was supposed to keep him away. She knew he'd be hurt.
That was when Lancelot decided to sit up in the bed, holding his head in his hands.
"I saw enough." He mumbled to the ground, not looking at either woman.
Teagan moved slowly to her bed, sitting next to the knight. She almost had to get up, he smelled so bad.
But, she didn't know what to say. But, why would Lancelot act like this? Was he jealous?
"Lancelot..." She started.
Lancelot quickly got up, not looking at Teagan. He moved quickly to the door. He was embarrassed enough over what he had seen.
He had the door open when Teagan stopped him.
"Lancelot. Stop."
Only when she reached him did, he finally look at her. His beautiful dark eyes were bloodshot. From the looks of him, whatever sleep he did get, hadn't been good.
Teagan felt a pang of guilt that she had upset yet another person. But, she did not regret anything that happened last night.
She reached out to touch his arm, fully expecting him to pull away. Teagan was relieved when he didn't.
"What did I do?" Her question was quiet, wondering.
He shrugged his shoulders. "I guess I was worried." He pulled Teagan against him, his chin resting on the top of her head.
Teagan hugged him close, worried herself. Worried about so many things.
"Why are you worried?"
Lancelot sighed. "You slept with him." Last night, after what he had seen, his mind fell into a stupor. It had been the last thing he had expected from either of them. He had been a little surprised.
No. Surprised was the wrong word. Shocked was more like it.
It had made him realize that he was lonely. Very lonely.
Teagan only nodded. She couldn't deny the truth.
"Did he hurt you?" The concern was evident in his voice.
Teagan blushed again, this time letting out a small chuckle.
"Not exactly."
"Oh. Really?" Lancelot smiled.
Teagan nodded again, pulling away from him, tugging the blanket tighter around her.
Lancelot reached out and cupped his hand under Teagan's cheek, bringing her chin up. Though she looked a little worse for wear, her eyes held a bit more of their previous sparkle.
"Are you okay?" Teagan nodded as he dropped his hand, a sad look crossed his handsome face. "I really want you to be okay."
Teagan flew into his arms, tears starting to fall. As she hugged him tight, her blanket almost fell. She fumbled quickly to cover herself up, hoping he hadn't seen much.
If he had, he didn't say.
"I'll be okay, Lancelot. Really I will."
0o0o0o
Cassandra had just stood by the small fireplace that separated the two beds in the small room. She had watched Teagan with Lancelot and her temper was still simmering. All these men defending her, yet she never failed to make them unhappy.
These men loved her very much.
Yet, last night, Lancelot had come to her, Cassandra, moping because he saw Teagan and Tristan in the midst of lovemaking.
Mostly he had come trying to get into her bed. All round him, there were lovers. He was feeling a bit left out.
Cass laughed softly at herself. Lancelot had been so drunk that he had barely been able to stumble into the door. He landed on Teagan's bed, and there he had stayed. Drinking more, talking more.
He had been worried that Tristan would hurt her. He had been so angry at her lately. Lancelot had spent time wondering why now? Why did Teagan give in to him now? It had seemed as though she never would.
And there were rumors starting.
Rumors that Tristan was responsible for the beating of the prostitute, Arianna. Most thought it odd that she looked so much like Teagan.
Many were thinking that the knight had finally snapped.
Teagan was holding the blanket around her a little to tightly. Bits of her skin were showing while she was finding clothes in her trunk.
Cass moved closer to Teagan. "Let me see." She could have sworn she saw a mark, low on Teagan's neck.
"No." Teagan pulled the blanket closer around her. She tried to backstep as Cassandra advanced on her. But, she didn't stop as the other woman pulled the blanket down a bit, exposing a fair amount of her chest.
Cassandra sucked in a breath. Her eyes going huge.
"They say Tristan attacked that woman. Now he did it to you too."
"No. He didn't"
"Didn't what?" She was determined to get it out of Teagan.
"Attack Arianna."
"Could have fooled me. I saw what she looked like. I see what you look like." The blanket had fallen more around her waist, showing that Teagan didn't have anything on other than a shift. She had been there while Teagan had endured weeks of beatings from Saxon hands. She wanted to believe that she had the sense not to allow that now.
"Cass, I believe in my heart that Tristan didn't attack Arianna." She faced her friend, holding her bundle of clean clothes in front of her.
"I noticed that you haven't said anything about yourself."
"Listen, Cassandra. Tristan did nothing to me that I did not allow."
"You let him attack you?" Her voice incredulous.
Teagan blushed. "I wouldn't exactly call it 'attack.'"
"I don't believe you. Have you gone mad?"
Teagan gave her friend an evil look, one full of mischief. "I wouldn't say mad. I'd say happily confused."
The way Teagan said that, so serious, the evil glint in her eye with her eyebrow arched, Cassandra couldn't help but laugh.
Teagan hooked her arm into Cass'. "Help me take a bath. Please?"
A/N: Sorry so short and slow. But, things are moving along.