Out of Darkness Comes the Light - Chapter 22
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...
Lady11Occult - Teagan is about to stick it up his arse.
Sorceress Misha - What Tristan think of it? AHHH...Well... He's about to get a bit of information here that he'll need to process first.
op - Thank you for that great compliment! I try to make it at least interesting.
Cardeia - Cir is actually a character in a LOTR story that I have started. I see him like Bors. A big softie but without the mouth.
I'm so very happy that you picked out the connection of Teagan's tattoo. And it's a coincidence that I sort of explain Tristan's. It's not a significant as Teagan's, but Arthur will point it out to him.
And Woden is nothing but a toadie. How Tristan will react to him depends on how violent Woden gets. He's not who is pretending to be. Tristan isn't sure if he's the one who beat Arianna, but suspects.
A/N: I wanted to post this now as I am off to the beach for the day and I have to work this weekend. So have a wonderful weekend and I will try to have more sometime Monday.
On the walk to the great hall, Tristan didn't leave her side. In fact it was a good thing they were walking behind Arthur and Woden. He quietly grabbed her hand and held it in his. Woden didn't even pay them any attention, he was so engrossed in what Arthur was saying.
Once inside though, Woden turned on Teagan, causing her to backstep a bit. "And just what was that display back there? You look like a harlot." He didn't try to hide the anger in his voice. He pointed an angry finger at Tristan. "And that knight does not need to know our affairs."
He knew several things about this knight. One was that he was probably the deadliest of them all. This one had no compunction for killing at all.
And this was the one whom the beating of that whore had been blamed on.
"Woden!" Arthur came forward. "You will watch your tongue."
Teagan put a restraining hand on Tristan to hold him back. "It's all right, Arthur." She turned to Woden, her hands on her hips. Her eyes blazing. "That display? That display is none of your concern. Who are you to tell me what to do?"
Arthur stepped back and took his seat at the round table. Tristan, though, didn't leave her side. His eyes never leaving Woden. He didn't trust that man.
Something wasn't right with this. If Teagan was promised to another she would have told him. Or one of the others.
He shook his head, Teagan was too honest. She wouldn't keep something like that hidden.
Tristan did see Jols slip in through a side entrance, from behind a large curtain, and take his place behind Arthur.
Woden looked shocked at her display of independence. It wasn't something he remembered seeing in her before. "I said before, I am your betrothed."
She waved a dismissive hand. "Yes. Yes. You said that before. Who says that I am betrothed to you?" She had to look up at him, he was so tall.
"Our parents."
Damn. She knew about that arrangement, but then her tribe was decimated and she was taken. And Woden's parents were dead also. She help bury them. Surely, she wasn't bound by a dead agreement? "What proof do you have? Where is the document?"
Arthur's eyes snapped to Woden, to catch his reaction. He had never thought to ask for proof. Teagan was a smart girl.
Woden paled, shifting slightly on his feet. He needed to come up with something fast. "No, I do not have proof. The document was lost."
Teagan nodded and started pacing around the table. Her mind was whirling. This man was not who he was claiming to be.
Finally, she turned back to Woden. "Tell me. If you are chief of your tribe, where are your markings?" The Woden she knew had tattoos, similar to Tristan's.
Woden shrugged. "I chose not to mark my body. I find it distasteful."
"I have the markings of my tribe. I do not find them distasteful." Her hands were on her hips again.
Arthur found this amusing. It seemed her fire had returned. She was not afraid to speak her mind. No wonder the knights and Guinevere liked her so much.
Tristan also found it amusing. He knew she was getting angrier by the moment. Her body language told him that. He found that a smile twitched at his lips. She wasn't angry at him this time. Woden's ass was about to be handed back to him.
Both Tristan and Arthur watched, silent. They knew that if Teagan needed help, she would ask.
"Now. If you are Sarmatian, did you serve?"
Woden paled a bit more. "Yes, yes I did." He said talking fast. "I returned home to hear the news of your clan. It's destruction." He was talking way to fast, Tristan noticed. Was he telling the truth? "My parents said that you had been taken. To Britain. That you were a knight. Are you a knight?"
Teagan shook her head. "No." A feeling in the back of her mind moved forward. The Woden she knew was a knight. His parents had died shortly after he left, in a raid. Long before she had been taken. Being dead, they never knew about her tribe. She gave a glance to Tristan, who was looking at her intently. It almost looked as though she winked at him. "So what do you want with me?"
"To wed you, to bring you back home." How many times did he have to say it?
Teagan took to pacing again. Wondering how she was going to say this. Then opted for the truth.
"I don't want to go home. My home was destroyed. My family destroyed. This is my home now. I have a job and a roof over my head. I have good friends. They are my family." She let this sink in.
It did. And it angered him at the thought of her being a whore. He didn't like the idea of her being used goods.
"You work in a tavern. As a barmaid. Don't tell me you fill their beds as well as their cups." His voice was rising as he spat out the words.
He was beginning to rethink this mission. He didn't like the idea of dealing with knights. Especially these knights. But she was so beautiful. And he could curb her spirit on the way back to Rome.
"Woden." Arthur's voice was a warning. Tristan's hand came to rest on the hilt of his long dagger.
Teagan held up her hand to Arthur, coming to stand just inches from Woden. Daring him to do anything. She took a deep breath, then resumed her pacing. This time her hands made little fists at her side. She turned on Woden.
"I am a tavern wench. I have been a tavern wench for thirteen years. I enjoy the company of the knights. Those knights you saw me with this evening? They are my friends. My brothers. If I request, any one of them would slit your throat. No questions asked. But I do not share their beds."
Teagan saw Woden relax a bit. She gave the man a wicked smile. Then pounced.
She pointed to Tristan. "I share his bed."
Tristan's head shot up.
Woden gasped. This was not good. This one was deadly.
Arthur smiled. She was good. And she just may have given Tristan the encouragement he needed.
Teagan let out another sigh and went to the door, her anger spent. Stopping she turned to Woden again, giving the man an annoyed look. "I will not wed you, Woden. You have no documentation that says I have to. Please do yourself a favor. Go back to Rome." She turned to Arthur and curtseyed. "If you will excuse me Sir Arthur. I need to get some air, then I am going to my quarters." She turned and slipped out of he door.
Arthur motioned for Jols. "Please escort Woden to his quarters." The squire left immediately. He looked to Tristan. "Tristan. Stay."
0o0o0o
Arthur waited until Jols returned and showed Woden to some guest quarters.
"Tell me about marriage agreements between Sarmatian tribes."
Tristan shrugged. "They are all different."
"What about yours?" Arthur asked gently. He was getting to something, he just wanted to see where Tristan was.
"I don't remember. I guess similar to her's." Tristan was lost. Marriage was something he never considered. He was not husband material. His blood lust and love for war were to far deep-rooted into him.
Right now, his mind was to busy mulling over the information he just received. Teagan was engaged to another man, but did not want to marry that man. She had freely admitted that she was his lover. And after what he had done to her. He needed to talk to her.
Soon.
Arthur's thoughts were similar, but calculating. He thought that Teagan complemented Tristan completely. She defended him after the way he had treated her. So he decided to try a different approach. "You have markings. Are they for chieftain also?" One chieftain could marry another, no questions asked.
Tristan knew this answer. He nodded. He brought his fingers to his right cheek. He remembered getting his tattoos very well. He didn't deserve them. He wasn't a leader, he didn't want to be a leader.
But his tribe had other ideas. They thought Tristan had earned the right to be chieftain. He had lost so much in his young life. Yet, he had thrived. Giving everything he had to provide for his family and others of his clan.
"Yes. But I was taken after getting them." He didn't deserve to be the leader of any clan. He had protested the entire time it took to get the marks.
Arthur watched as Tristan's mind was working. He sighed. "Can one marry from another clan?"
It clicked. Tristan nodded. "That's usually how it's done. I think. It strengthens both tribes." He gave Arthur a pointed look. Was he trying to say what he thought? "It doesn't need to be a neighboring clan. It usually isn't. Marriage just makes things easier for trade and protection."
Arthur sat back further in his chair. He steepled his fingers. Resting his chin. "Well?"
Tristan sank into a nearby chair, his head hanging. "I know what you are asking. I don't know if I can do it."
"Tristan. You need to decide. She's left it up to you."
Tristan shook his head. "But, I've never told her."
Arthur leaned forward. "Told her what?"
Tristan looked up at his commander. Fear was in his eyes. His heart hammering so loud he was sure that Arthur could hear it.
"I've never told her that I love her."
Arthur smiled. "It's about time that you did."
0o0o0o
Tristan took a gamble and hoped that Teagan had gone to her room as she had said she would. He stopped and stood at her door for many long moments, wondering if he was doing the right thing.
Pushing the door open, he made his way quietly into Teagan's room. Without a sound, he closed the door and moved to her bed. Standing there, he watched her sleep. It wasn't a peaceful sleep. She almost looked as though she were having another nightmare. Her eyes were moving under her eyelids. She was moving around in the bed, not quite thrashing about, but her body wasn't still.
Watching Teagan, Tristan quickly shed his clothes, leaving only his breeches. Climbing next to her, he brought her close to him, her head resting on his heart.
Almost immediately, she settled. Though she didn't wake up, she brought her hand to his cheek, brushing her fingers into his beard.
Tristan brought his hand into her hair, brushing her neck. He bent his lips to the top of her head.
"Amo, Teagan, Amo." He whispered.
A/N: And here is a dilemma for the men. They are to be leaving for two weeks. And with a man around claiming to be her long lost fiancee. What should our men do? Leave someone behind to watch her or take her with them?