Out of Darkness Comes the Light - Chapter 28
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...
Jack-O - Thank youfor becoming a reviewer! And I'm happy you like it and hope you continue to do so!
KnightMaiden - Here you go! And yes I did. My daughter, bless her, says out loud in a theatre full of people "Mommy thinks Mr. Fantastic is sexy." My reply? "Yes. Yes I do."
Lady11Occult - Everyone wants to know what she said. It was...
dellis - Good filler. Thank you. And there will be more for a bit. I'm working up to some things. And you are absolutly right. It is like several Ren Faires I have been to. Thank Cardeia, she put the darned idea into my head.
June Birdie - Thank you! Again people wanting to know what she said. And I'm so happy you have updated yours. I see I need to do some reading.
Cardeia - Yes, this is part of that bunny. I'm, squashing it, bit by bit. And I still have a few more I want to put there. This chapter is about a bar that I used to go to in Rochester, NY.We got to talking about bars and I got homesick. This is loosly based on a place called the Bug Jar.Fun times were had by all there.
I'm glad you think Tristan isn't sappy. I don't think that he realizes what's happening yet. But, others around him are. And they are starting to clue him in. You are right, she doesn't want to change him. And you know, I didn't even realize that I didn't have him jumpy or anxious with the crowds. See, you see things that I don't even think about. I just write what I think fits.
Isca - as dellis mentioned,sounds like a Ren Faire she went to. And she's right. Your trip made me pull out my pics. Hense that darned bunny. I've still got some more tidbits I want to put in.
Oh - sweaty men? Nice! Especially after they come inside from working outside...
A/N: More fluff...And you all wanted to know what she said...Sorry, but, it's easy to figure out.
It was a rowdy and boisterous bunch that left the archery grounds. More drinks were in hand, and they were getting quite loud.
The men were all walking in front, congregated into a small bunch.
The woman were walking behind, calmly watching their men.
The entire group was all talking at once, laughing, arguing or picking on Tristan.
Several, Lancelot the most, thought that Tristan had thrown the match, letting Teagan win. For whatever his reason. He wasn't saying.
Lancelot was still grumping as the group neared the Blue Fish.
"I can't believe that he let her win." He muttered for about the tenth or twelfth time.
It was all Tristan could do to keep his stoic face. He knew he was having a hard time...
"She cheated." He tried to sound slighted, upset.
Arthur couldn't believe that Tristan would let her win either. The man was just that competitive. No, not really competitive, but naturally the best. And he knew it. He wouldn't just let her win. Would he?
"Teagan wouldn't cheat." He looked at the smiling red head. She was looking way to happy with herself. She had that look that women get after they know they had gotten their way. "Did you cheat?"
She cocked her eyebrow at him. "Absolutely."
Arthur could only look at Teagan, not knowing what to say to her. He turned to his scout. Who didn't look as upset as he normally would. Maybe it was because it was her.
"You let her, didn't you?"
"Absolutely."
Now Arthur was stumped. He didn't know what to say. Or think. Things were happening with Tristan right before his eyes. They weren't necessarily bad things. Just things that one would not expect of the solitary knight.
He doubted that Tristan was even aware of what was happening.
0o0o0o
Everyone tried to pile into the large tavern door at once. Everyone still talking. Everyone still laughing.
It had been such a good day. No fighting, no looking over their backs. It was what Arthur had wanted, his people to unwind.
And unwind they were doing.
Gawain stumbled over the doorstep backward, losing his balance and falling onto a nearby barmaid.
Grabbing onto her, he pulled her down, on top of him.
She had lost her grip on the pitcher of wine she carried. The pitcher breaking and wine spilling everywhere onto the ground.
"I'm so sorry. I wasn't paying att..." The dark haired woman said as she stood up, her broken pitcher in hand.
"S'okay." Gawain didn't know what else to say to her. He hadn't been paying attention to where he was going. He had been more interested in what Tristan and Teagan were saying.
Gawain was concerned for the girl as he watched her smooth her skirts and shake out what wine had spilled onto them.
"Ceri?" It was more a shriek. And it came from Teagan as she flew past everyone, taking the dark haired woman by the arms.
The other woman nodded, looking at Teagan not unwarily. Recognition hadn't hit yet.
Finally, it did. "T?"
Teagan nodded, pulling Ceri into a tight embrace.
"Oh. It's been so long. I've missed you so!"
"And I you! Where have you been?" Ceri pulled away from her friend, taking in her appearance.
Teagan looked wonderful. Thinner than when she had seen her last. But her eyes were no longer the haunted blue they had been. They were brighter, full of merriment.
Her hair was certainly longer. It was braided, hanging low on her back, past her seat.
But, the woman was still wearing men's clothes. Ceri's mind cringed. Teagan always said that men's clothes were more comfortable. She preferred the more feminine look of dresses.
And she was laughing. It was good to hear her laugh. The last two weeks she had been in Isca had been hard for her. She had been found by some people who had been looking for her for years.
"Come, T. Let me get you and your friends something to drink." Ceridwen smiled, dragging her off toward the tavern's large bar.
0o0o0o
"Who are all these people?"
Teagan pointed to Arthur first. "That's Arthur. Our King."
"King?"
Teagan nodded. "Yup. He pretty much single handedly defeated a large Saxon army, uniting himself, his men and the woads."
Ceridwen couldn't miss the pride in her voice.
"He did that himself?"
"With the help of them." She gestured to Arthur's knights. Who were currently accosting a barmaid as she passed. Lancelot had pulled her into his lap while Gawain was whispering in her ear.
"Well, he's awful handsome."
Teagan smiled at her friend. "Sorry, love. He's married." She pointed to Guinevere who took the opportunity to take a seat beside her husband.
The beautiful woman had been hesitant about all the people she had seen in the bar. It was so much bigger than the tavern at the fort. It was like she had entered a sea of noise. But the way Arthur, his men and Teagan were acting, she knew she had nothing to fear form this place.
Arthur had gently pulled her inside, his smile reassuring her.
Guinevere would do anything for this man.
Ceri wasn't disappointed. She would just move onto the next. She pointed to Lancelot. "Who's that?"
"Lancelot." She didn't miss the way Lancelot had leaned into Cassandra, his hand finding her thigh.
He was such a letch. Having one woman in his lap while another was at his side. One day...
"The Lancelot?"
"The one and only."
"Wow." They single word conveyed all the interest that any woman would have on that handsome knight.
And he certainly was handsome. Dark, like in every stories she had heard about him. His prowess with women was legendary. Just as his skill with the two swords he was rumored to carry.
Ceri wondered if he was looking for company.
Teagan saw the look of lust in her friend's face. "He likes Cassandra."
"Who?"
Teagan pointed to Cass, who had gotten tired of Lancelot's actions and took a seat on the other side of the table next to Tristan.
"Oh. What about him? The one she's sitting next to." That one looked like he was dangerous. He oozed such a feral quality. His face nearly hidden by his unruly dark hair. Several pieces braided, the longest hanging just below his shoulder blade. And the tattoos on his cheeks. Ceri didn't see many like that. She had thought that Teagan was the only one to have tribal tattoos. The marks of her tribe, her people.
Teagan just smiled, her face warming.
Ceri got the idea. "He's yours."
She nodded. "Tristan."
Ceri's face took on a look of thought. All these names were sounding familiar. Mostly in whispers, stories told to little children. Arthur, Lancelot, Tristan...
She remembered something about a table. Some fool Bishop had come through Isca nearly a year back, whining about an Arthur and his knights. And some round table.
"T, are they the knights of the round table?"
"They are."
Ceridwen pointed to Gawain. It was the blonde haired one who had run into her. "Him?" He was the loveliest of the bunch. His voice was all rumble. Like thunder in the night.
Teagan looked fondly at her friend. He was such a good man. Her voice of reason on more than one occasion. "Gawain."
Ceri nodded. They were all so lovely to look at. No wonder Teagan took up with them.
"Aren't there more?'
Teagan nodded. "They are at the wall still. We are only here on a supply run."
"And you ended up with them. How convenient is that?" Her tone was droll.
Teagan looked at Ceri, realizing that she had missed her friend terribly. They had been inseparable while Teagan had been here in Isca. Both of them running the bar, serving until late into the night. Or, in most cases, into the early morning.
They had gotten into so much while together.
Singlehandedly emptying out the Roman's bath house by placing a skunk into the room. All because Ceri rebuffed the attentions of a Roman soldier. A Roman soldier whose lover had been sitting next to him while his attention were on the dark haired woman. He had been very slighted, making Ceri's life a living hell for two days straight.
Yes, she had missed her friend.
But, Teagan felt guilty that she had never thought to seek her out. To bring her to the wall.
She shook her head, trying to get that thought out of her head. So many things had happened these past years. She hadn't seen so many that she had loved in so long. And she had honestly not thought about Ceri in so long.
"Tell you what. Why don't you come and sit with us?"
Ceridwen wiped her hands on a towel. "I just might. And hold on, I'll get your drinks."
Teagan nodded her head, turning her back on the bar, looking around.
The place hadn't changed since she was here last.
Teagan's eyes were drawn upward, to the ceiling. The Blue Fish was named that because of the huge wooden fish hanging from the highest point in the roof. The thing was dyed this awful blue color.
It was a hideous looking thing. And a night did not go by without someone trying to throw a knife into it.
Several had succeeded, evident by the blades sticking out of it's horrible body in various places.
As good as Teagan was, she never had a blade stick to the fish. It kept swinging to and fro so much.
The place was wall to wall people. The Blue Fish was not just a place to drink. It boasted of good food at prices that were reasonable.
Teagan particularly like the stew. The meat was fresh.
The walls were covered with boats. Parts of boats. Oars, nets, sails. The was even a half of a boat, neatly sliced down the middle, attached to a far wall.
A huge mast stood on either side of the large bar. The large bar that took up one side of the tavern. It's kitchens and latrine in the back. The staff's sleeping quarters upstairs.
The owners had given up renting out the many rooms that were up there to bar patrons. They made fare more money with the food and drink. Now, the staff paid a fair amount to have clean rooms. And a safe place to live.
Teagan had spent many months in those rooms. They had always been neat and clean. Never was she wanting for heat in the winter. It got hot in the summer, but opening the windows usually made it better.
And further back, behind the building, the tavern owners kept a small farm. They had their own meat butchered. Their own poultry slaughtered.
The craving for another turkey leg came to mind. She smiled at Tristan's reaction to the thing.
At the thought of him, her eyes were brought again to the table of knights.
It seemed as though they all took their familiar places that they had at the tavern at the wall.
Lancelot sat next to Gawain with just a space between them. Cassandra sat next to Lancelot, her hand resting lightly on his arm, her face turned to Guinevere who was seated across from her. In what would normally be Galahad's seat, Arthur sat.
And as usual, Tristan sat on the end of the table, several places away from the rest. His eyes looking upward
Teagan followed his gaze. She smiled as his eyes narrowed. Calculating.
He was eyeballing the fish.
Her thoughts were interrupted by Ceridwen handing her a platter. Filled with two pitchers and cups. There was also a basket full of filled to overflowing of rolls.
Fresh baked rolls, steam still rising from them.
Thanking Ceri, Teagan rose making her way to the table full of her friends. The smell of the rolls making her stomach grumble.
She was hungry again.
As she placed her tray on the table, she quickly grabbed a handful of rolls. So many people had taken her food today, she wanted to be sure to get some this time.
0o0o0o
Eventually, the topic of conversation came back to the archery tournament.
Again, Lancelot was grumpy.
"I just can't believe it..."
Gawain threw a bit of roll at him. "Give it up already."
Arthur rolled his eyes. "It is kind of hard to believe..."
Teagan started giggling, her long day and the wine starting to take affect. She gave a wide yawn. "I wonder what I'm going to do with all my winnings."
Tristan rolled his eyes at everybody. He'd be hearing about this for days.
0o0o0o
It was late into the night when Arthur finally stood up, Guinevere following. They had spent so much time telling stories and laughing.
His wife had even laughed, telling stories of her own childhood. She had not told many except him, the hatred of her people had been so great for many years.
It had felt good to spend this time with his men intimesotherthan battle. It warmed his soul to see his people happy and relaxed.
But, tomorrow would come early and there were things to accomplish.
"Alright men. Ladies." He nodded to everyone. "If you will excuse us, we are going to bed. We have business to attend to tomorrow."
As he passed Tristan he lay his hand on the scout's shoulder.
"Are you alright?" Arthur was genuinely concerned. Tristan usually stayed as much to himself as he could on this trip.
And this time...
This time, the reason was sleeping quietly, her head resting on Tristan's arm, her arms hugging his.
Tristan nodded to his commander, his usual stoic mask in place. "I'm good."
Arthur gave him a slight pat on his shoulder before moving off.
0o0o0o
Tristan lay holding Teagan close. Both were sweaty and sated.
Teagan had her cheek resting on his chest, her fingers playing with the trail of fine hairs that ran from his navel and lower.
Tristan's own fingers were trailing the tail of the dragon tattoo on her back, his eyes closed, his mind contented. The tattoo that he knew by memory.
He pulled her close, bringing her face to his.
He couldn't help but groan when her hands started moving, his body reacting to her touch. Very slowly, Teagan's leg wound it's way around his back, drawing him closer to her.
Tristan's heart leapt as she opened her eyes, her blue orbs gazing into his dark ones.
"Did you mean what you said?"
"Absolutely."
A/N: I hope you all like this one. Just a bit more fluff.