Sorry it took so long to update, but school is getting to me. I hope you like it ! I apologize for any spelling or grammatical mistakes. Also here is where we start with when the movie started so my details are a bit vague, after all I hope you all know the film. Enjoy!

Chapter 23

Possible Freedom

For the next three months Tristan remained as quiet as ever. There would be a full few days where the knights would not hear a word out of his mouth. The only person who did hear him speak would be Anera. She was only four months old but had a deep attachment to her father. The Sarmatian seemed to live only to come back to the fort to his daughter.

He would rarely go to woods where it was known that he had buried Lucilla. The exact place was unknown but it was common knowledge that if someone started looking for her grave Tristan would hunt them down. He didn't want anyone to go looking for Lucilla, she wouldn't want it. And he didn't want anyone to tell Anera where her mother was buried; she would be told when she was ready.

A few days into their last week of being stationed at the wall Tristan sat in the practice field. He sat with his feet planted firmly on the dirt he eyes intent on his daughter playing in the dirt. She was playing with a wooden toy horse; one Lucilla had bought while in Londinium. She was having the horse plod around in the dirt making quite a mess.

In the few months Tristan had been given he had become quite a good father. He learned how to dress her and wash her. He even learned how to put her hair in the pigtails that Penelope and Helen were so fond of. He adored the child more than he thought he could. She would look up to him and give him a huge smile, a smile that resembled Lucilla's in everyway possible.

He sat in the corner of the practice field watching his daughter as Vanora came up beside him. She put her youngest, number 11, Pelleas next to Anera. They began playing together. Vanora sat down next to the knight.

"They like playing together," Vanora said as she watched the two children share the horse toy.

"She likes the company," Tristan admitted. The truth was Anera wasn't like him, she didn't like being isolated. She wanted the company of other children.

"Why don't you go for a ride? Let me take care of Anera for a bit." Vanora's British accent said Anera's name with a maternal fondness.

"Where would I go?" Tristan wondered out loud. He voice was quiet. This was the most he had said in a few days, Vanora was pleased he still had a voice.

"Just around… get your mind off things." Vanora was only trying to help.

"You want me to try and get my mind off of Lucilla, don't you?"

"It wouldn't hurt to try and think of something else."

"What else do you suppose I should think of?"

"Your freedom?" Vanora suggested.

Tristan only nodded his head. "She's my freedom and I see Lucilla in everything she does."

"Go take a ride," Vanora pushed. "You need to get away from these walls."

Tristan took the hint and giving his daughter a kiss on the head he made his way to the stables to ready his horse. Bors and Arthur walked up to Vanora who was now enjoying watching the children. She had become very attached to Anera in these few months without Lucilla.

"At least he's talking," Bors acknowledged.

"Pity we can't get him to do it around his brothers," Arthur sadly said. He felt ashamed that Tristan wasn't confiding in him. He felt as their commander he should be the one person Tristan could speak to.

"He needs some more time." Vanora tried to speak for the knight.

"We don't have time Vanora," Arthur said, "we're free the end of the week."

"Do we even know where he'll go?" Bors wondered.

The three shook their heads, when Lucilla was around they were planning on moving to a small farm in the south of Gaul. Cassius had arranged the farmland for Lucilla when he had heard of Anera's birth. But now it was uncertain of where Tristan would take Anera. Bors hoped he would stay in Britannia but would not force him to stay.

Tristan did end up going for a ride and for the first time in the few months he stopped at the small patch of light in the woods. He sat at the stump of the poplar tree and spoke to Lucilla. He told her the happenings of the fort and of Anera; it felt good to talk to someone. It's not that he couldn't talk to his brother knights; it was that he was afraid to show a weakness in front of them.

Before he left he felt he needed to erect something to honor Lucilla more than just her favorite necklace that was becoming grass covered. He took two twigs off the floor and with some rope he tied the two pieces together in a cross. She had always been Christian even if while with him she didn't practice it. He wanted to honor that part of Lucilla, the part that gave up who she was for him. Pushing the cross into the ground he then laid her necklace around the rope. Saying good-bye he told himself that he would not come back here. He would not come back until Anera was old enough to see it. Lucilla was gone; he needed to deal with that. Soon he would be free and where he would go no one would have heard of the love between the Roman and the Sarmatian. He would return to Sarmatia and lead a life in solitude with his daughter at his side.

Returning to the fort early the next morning Tristan found the knights getting ready for their final mission. "Ready to pick up our discharge papers?" Galahad excitedly asked.

Tristan nodded, "Yea."

The knights rode out of the fort at a breakneck speed. They were needed to escort Bishop Germanius to the wall. It took a long day of riding to reach the ridge were they were finally able to see the caravan making their way through the open plains. The knights could barely contain their excitement. They knew the man sitting inside the coach was carrying something they had been wanting for the past fifteen years.

To Tristan all he saw was Lucilla. He saw the day he had first seen her in Londinium. Her face hidden from the world by a lovely ivory cloak, he had seen an angel that day the angel that had made this life worth living.

Even ask he tried to push Lucilla from his mind he heard the familiar sound of feet shuffling through the forest. Watch closely he saw an arrow fly through the air. "Woads!" he announced.

The knights scrambled toward the caravan that was now under siege. They knew what to do and all they had to do was fight. So close to the end none of them wanted to get hurt or fall now. They galloped with all their might, their blood pumping through their veins. Their weapons were at the ready as they made contact with the blue demons.

The fight went on for a good half an hour but to the knights it was only mere minutes. Their blood was still pumping by the time they realized the blue demons were either retreating to the woods or dead on the ground.

Out of the twenty or so Roman centurions that had been escorting the Bishop now only five made it out alive. The knights were surprised that such inexperience fighters had made it to the position of escorting such a high religious figure. The man inside the carriage had been killed by a few arrows but Arthur, after taking a look at the man said it wasn't the bishop.

He walked over to the Roman soldiers that were still mounted and one stepped forward. "Bishop Germanius, welcome to Britain." Arthur said to the soldier mounted. "I see that your military skills still have use to you, your device worked."

The Bishop began to speak in a heavy Roman accent. The knights were surprised he didn't have the same accent Lucilla had. They had assumed all Romans would have the same accent, obviously they were mistaken. After Arthur had spoken to the Bishop he entered the carriage and Arthur remounted his horse.

The ride back to the fort was uneventful. The knights were obviously excited about being able to leave the fort life and have the ability to do what they wanted. For the first time in their lives they were going to be free, could they want anything more?

Tristan rode up to the other knights and listened in on their conversation. "I don't kill for pleasure unlike some." Galahad said.

"You might try it some time, get a taste for it." Tristan smiled as he kept going. He knew most of the knight thought he was crazy.

For the past few months without Lucilla Tristan had been a killing man. If he came in contact with a Woad, he usually killed them. Especially when he was without the other knights, around Arthur he wouldn't kill without reason.

As they rode into the fortress there was a stream of people who wanted to see the Bishop. Many people had been converting to Christianity and all were excited to have someone like the Bishop at the wall. He had been the first Roman to come to the wall since Lucilla had come back to the Sarmatain.

They rode into the gate and dismounted. As the Bishop got out of the carriage the knights made their way into the Great Hall. Along the wall of the Great Hall were two more shields, those of Cai and Bedwyr. It was a constant reminder of what the woads could do when provoked.

The knights thought they would be free tonight but the Roman wanted to speak with Arthur. They were unhappy but left the hall. Tristan sat in the tavern with Anera on his knee. Vanora began to sing of home, her voice brought thoughts to each knight of what home might be. The tavern grew quiet with not only the knights but the centurions as well dreaming of their homes. Tristan looked to Anera, who was perched on his knee. She was his home.

Arthur soon appeared and prepared to walk away when Jols called his name. Tristan handed Anera to Penelope who had been sitting next to him. The young girl was used to taking care of Anera. It had been a job given to her by Lucilla when she needed to do a few chores and couldn't have the child around. Penelope adored her job, she felt Anera was her sister.

The knights gathered around Arthur. He explained they were being order to rescue the family of a Roman, bringing back a boy. The Pope wanted this done, after all Britain was now going to remove itself from the tiny island. None of the knights wanted to go into Woad Territory to rescue this boy but they knew also that if they refused this mission they would never be allowed to return to Sarmatia, they would all be traitors to the empire.

Bors began to rant and rave about being a free man. Tristan kept his stoic face but on the inside he was smiling. He was going to miss these men, their outrageous antics but also the brotherhood that had developed. Galahad on the other hand wanted nothing to do with going into the North the rescue the boy, especially since the Saxons had begun invading.

"I've got something to live for!" The young knight shouted. The entire tavern was watching closely the action of the knights. If the knights were angry the rest of the tavern would not enjoy the evening.

"Yea, yea… we're all going to die someday. If it's a death from a Saxon hand that frightens you… stay home." Tristan admitted as he shoved another piece of apple into his mouth. He wanted to kill every Saxon possible, they had killed Lucilla.

The knight quickly realized the same thing. They had taken a silent vow to destroy the Saxons, but if they were given their freedom before the battle, they wouldn't allow anyone else to fall at the hands of the barbarians when they had the opportunity to save them.

"If you're so eager to die, you can die right now!" The young knight continued to shout.

"The Romans have broken their word; we have the word of Arthur. That is good enough, I'll prepare." Dagonet said. He was the level headed one of the group. Walking away he looked to Bors who was pacing around the tavern. "Bors, you coming?"

"Course I'm coming, can't let you go on your own, you all get killed! I'm just saying what you're all thinking!" He ranted on. With all the shouting the children had become nervous. Pelleas and Anera were now crying.

"And you Gawain?" Arthur wondered, he was hoping he wouldn't get an argument.

"I am with you," he said. Putting his hand on Galahad's shoulder he spoke for his friend, "Galahad as well."

The young knight became angry he wouldn't strike out at any of the other knights. He took his jar of ale poured the liquid out of it and slammed the ceramic jar onto the ground. Gawain tried to put his hand on the shoulder yet again as they walked away but Galahad shoved him aside.

Arthur didn't even ask Lancelot, he knew Lancelot would be with him to the end of the world. Perhaps the north was the end of the world.

Tristan went and picked up Anera from her spot on Penelope's lap. He ruffled the hair of they young girl as he lifted is daughter into his arms. He looked at Anera, the crying had put her to sleep so he wanted to stay quite as not to wake her. He still wasn't great at putting her to sleep. As he made his way to his chamber he was stopped by the Bishop's right hand man, Horton.

"I am looking for the Lady Lucilla," he said to the knight. His voice was that of an upper class man speaking down to a scum of Rome.

Tristan didn't say anything he just walked away. The man was going to follow when he was stopped by Dagonet. He had been in the store room getting some food.

"Why do you ask about Lucilla?" he questioned.

"My master and I were told she was still alive, we wished to hold a council with her." The man still had the snobbish tone in his Roman voice.

"She's dead," Dagonet bluntly told the man.

The Roman gave the Sarmatia a questioning look, but realized the knight would not freely give out the information. "How and when?" was the question the Roman finally asked.

"A few months ago, by a Saxon hand." Dagonet said, he was about to walk away when he decided to give the Roman a bit of information. "Don't talk to the knight about Lucilla… you'll lose your head."

The Roman now wore a nervous glare, Dagonet smiled. It assumed him how he could scare the Roman. But it still hurt him that they spoke of the Roman beauty. The knights had been able to close that chapter of their lives; the arrival of these Romans opens those wounds yet again.

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