Sorry it took so long to update, fanfiction was giving me uploading issues. Again this is mostly what happens in the movie, with a little sidetracking on Tristan. Hope you all enjoy, please review!

Chapter 24

Freedom's Worth

The knights had left the Wall early in the morning. The pounding horses made their way into northern Britain, a place none would admit they feared. They made their way in and out of glens, forests and ditches. None were pleased about this 'final mission' but they knew that if they didn't do it they would never gain their freedom. They wanted to know that they were free of the Empire even if they decided to stay in Britain.

The pounding of the horses could be heard for miles in any direction. They hoped that the sound would keep the Woads in hidden places and allow them to get to the Roman villa without incident. The knights stopped only momentarily to water the horses and feed or relieve themselves. When they did stop the talk was kept in high spirits even though none of them wanted to be in the north.

"It seems colder here," Bors had said comically to lift his brother's spirits, but it was in vain.

It took them two days to reach the place they had been mostly dreading, the Cedar Forest. It was said in Celtic legend that the Cedar forest held the spirits of the Celtic Gods, Dadga and Morrigan. Their spirits lived in the Cedar Forest.

Six months ago Arthur had to persuade Marcus not to burn the forest. Marcus had believed that if he burned the 'sacred' forest the Woads would be too distraught to fight the Romans, but Arthur knew better. Arthur had known that if the forest was destroyed it would unite the Woads and the Romans would not be able to conquer their forces. Especially since Marcus had been having certain places in the wall remain lowly manned.

They entered the Cedar Forest at a breakneck speed hoping to outrun any Woad traps.

But as Arthur's white stallion crested a ridge a blue arrow passed in front of him extending a long rope in front of the horse. The horse reared in shock and by the time his hooves reached the ground again there were twenty more ropes cutting off the knights. They spun the horses around and tried other paths but the Woads had planned this. They knew they would be able to corner the knights and destroy them.

The knights realized that this might be the end; they halted the horses with their weapons ready and stood before the Woads. Only a barrier of twenty ropes stood in the way of the Woads and the knights. But before the Woads could take a single step toward the knights, a horn sounded through the branches. Three distinct noises came and the Woads reluctantly fell back disappearing into the dark Cedar Forest.

"Why would they not attack?" Galahad wondered. His sword still tightly grasped in his hand with his heart racing.

"Merlin doesn't want us dead," even as Arthur said it he didn't believe it. He thought it had been Merlin's goal in life to destroy Rome and Arthur. Merlin had not only killed his father, but his mother and tens of his brothers. There would be no reason to keep Arthur alive, unless Merlin needed him. Arthur tried to push it from his mind.

They galloped through the rest of the forest until they finally saw the villa on the other side of frozen glen. The villa was built a little less than twenty years ago when the North was still closed off. It annoyed Arthur that a Roman would build a villa so far north; the north was not Rome's. The white washed stone seemed to match the newly fallen snow.

The horses came to a closed gate halting before they ran over two Centurions who were guarding the small gate. A group of British workers had stopped working and came to surround the knights. They knew these were the knights of Hadrian's Wall, the great knights of the Empire. They both admired and feared the men that were standing before them.

The knights were too busy peering at the people in rags standing before them to realize that the man they were supposed to pick up and return to the wall was no soldier as they all thought he would be. He was boy no older than sixteen years, as small as scholar. He was no fighter, he was a poet.

Arthur demanded that the stocky Roman leave his home and return to Hadrian's wall, if he wouldn't Arthur would, "tie him to his horse and drag him all the way back to Hadrian's Wall," the thought amused the knights.

The Roman had finally given in but something had caught Arthur's eyes, a man hanging by his arms in a pile of his own refuse. Arthur angrily walked to him and cut him down telling the rest of the Britons to follow the knights to the wall. Tristan didn't want to stay and he had heard distant drumming he left his brothers to get a closer look.

He galloped his horse into the lightly dense forest that surrounded the villa on all four sides. He had gone almost four leagues before his heart leapt into his throat. An entire army of Saxons were making their way to the villa. He estimated that by nightfall they would be on the villa, Arthur didn't have much time.

Galloping back at full speed to Arthur he found the entire Villa in motion. Everyone was moving, doing something.

"Arthur, they have flanked us to the east; they're coming from the south, trying to cut off our escape. They'll be here by nightfall," Tristan was out of breath but he got his point across.

"How many?" Arthur questioned.

"An entire army," Tristan bluntly told his commander.

"And the only way out is to the south?"

Tristan shook his head, he knew Arthur would ask. "To the east. There is a path heading east across the mountains. It means we will have to cross through Saxon lines but that is the path we should take." Tristan finally got a good look at the Britons, they were packing their things. "Arthur, who are all these people?"

"They're coming with us," Arthur told the scout.

"They will never make it," Tristan told him. The path would be far too dangerous for the average person to make he thought to himself.

The few minutes later they were making their way to the east away from the villa. But before they could go Arthur got the brilliant idea to open a door near the rear of the gate that surround the villa. He argued with the Centurion mercenaries that were having two workers stone up the door. Dagonet got off his mount and with his obscenely large axe broke down the door. Marius was furious, "What are you doing?" he shouted at the knights.

Arthur, Lancelot, Gawain and Dagonet entered the dark door. They had been in the dark building for no more than ten minutes before they filed out. Gawain was dragging a monk with him, Dagonet held a small boy in his hands, Arthur carried a young woman who appeared to be half dead and Lancelot followed lastly. Dagonet and Arthur laid the people on the ground to better survey their injuries.

Tristan was able to get a good look at the woman lying on the snow covered ground. Her hair was a jet black, her skin as pale as silky milk, but her defining characteristic were the faded fhain marks on her body. "She's a Woad," Tristan pointed out to the others. The other knights quickly tightened on their weapons quickly surveying the other Britons.

"Stop what you are doing!" The Roman shouted at Arthur. He questioned what the Roman had been doing. "They are all pagans here!" He continued to shout.

"So are we," Galahad bluntly stated. All the knights had already taken a disliking to the stout Roman.

"They refuse to do the task God has set for them! They must die, as an example!"

"You mean they refused to be your serfs!" Arthur shouted in return, slavery was an issue for the knights. Arthur had never been for it, and Lucilla had instilled in their minds the wrongness of such things.

"You are a Roman, you understand. And you are a Christian!" He looked to his wife and shouted at her, "You! You kept them alive!"

Arthur couldn't stand this man any longer; he threw a hard punch sending the man to the ground. The knights silently chuckled at this. Arthur then grabbed his sword and pointed it at the stout Roman's neck. His mercenaries try to come to his aid but Marius stopped them. "When we get to the Wall, you will be punished for this heresy."

Arthur pushed the blade a little closer to his opponent's neck, "Perhaps I should kill you now and seal my fate."

One of the monks stood forward and explained that he would die with them, to lead them to the afterlife. All of this angered Arthur even more, this was not Christianity. Arthur ordered the monks to be walled back up. Tristan tried to intervene but Arthur would have none of it.

They left the villa by early afternoon making their way east, just as Tristan had told them to do. He kept a good distance from the caravan keeping watch. He scouted ahead, and made sure they were not walking into a trap. A few times he would have Jols take his spot as scout and go to the rear to make sure they weren't being followed.

As he rode passed the Britons traveling with them they would constantly point out, "there's the scout," "He's the one she fell in love with." He knew they were talking about Lucilla, what bothered him is how they found out. He supposed someone had spilled the news when Lucilla was in the Woad camp, but he didn't like being the center of their conversations. Just the thought of Lucilla sent a steak through his heart; he turned his thoughts to Anera.

They rested for the night in a secluded grove. Britons, knights, and Romans kept to themselves. Tristan took out a piece of wood he had been carving as he took a seat by the fire near his brothers. He began to carve the horse that he had been working on. He was almost finished with it and was hoping to give it to Anera when he got back.

He sat by the fire all night but he could feel the sun's morning rays coming through the trees. Silently he mounted his horse and began to look around the area. He cantered the grey stallion around the trees keeping his strides long and graceful. Not wanting to alarm anyone to his whereabouts. Coming around a curve in the path the slowed the horse down, something was wrong. He slowed the horse down and immediately the horse's ears pricked up. He could sense something too.

Tristan stealthily took out his bow and strung an arrow to it. Directing the horse with his legs on the horse slowly made is away around the bend. There they were. Four Saxon scouts just sitting around a camp fire. Tristan had the element of surprise, something the Saxons had had against Lucilla. They were not going to die easy deaths.

He dismounted his horse and tied him to a nearby tree. He made sure he had enough arrows, and his sword was sharp and clean. Mentally he prepared himself then stood in the path. He raised the arrow to his bow, strung it tightly and released. The first arrow was in mid air when he already had another on strung and released, he did it a third time. Three of the filthy barbarians were already taken care of and they hadn't even known what it them. By sheer fate the fourth one would take the longest to die.

Tristan casually walked up to the Saxon who was still trying to comprehend what had just occurred. The scout put his bow behind him and brought out the long scimitar blade. Tristan allowed the Saxon time to at least stand up and take out his weapon before he cut the hands off. The Saxon fell to the ground in pain, blood was spilling everywhere. He was about to shout for help but Tristan wouldn't give him the opportunity. With one foul swoop the barbarian's neck was in two pieces, his head falling behind him and the body falling forward. This would be the first of many Saxon kills, Tristan promised.

He rode back to camp to find Arthur, Lancelot and the woman, Guinevere, and Dagonet standing before a few of the Roman centurions their weapons ready. Bors's greeting told everyone else they were not alone in the woods.

"How many did yah kill?" The gruff voice asked.

"Four," the scout solemnly replied.

"Not a bad start to the day," Bors laughed.

"Armor piercing," Tristan said as he threw Arthur a crossbow, "They're close we have no time." Arthur told the scout to continue on and he did as he was bade.

They continued into the woods with Tristan being the one to guide and to scout. Needless to say he didn't mind the solitude. Arthur spoke to the boy, Alecto and Dagonet stayed close to the young boy he had found named Lucan. Tristan thought he spotted something gleaming up ahead. He found what he was looking for; the sheet of ice was reflecting the stray ray of sunlight. The entire lake was a sheet of ice.

"Is there any other way around it?" Arthur asked as he arrived at the scout's side. The other knights were with him.

"No, we have to cross the ice," Tristan said.

"Get them all out of the carriages. Tell them to spread out." Arthur instructed Jols to tell the Britons and few Romans.

The knights dismounted as cautiously began leading their horses onto the ice, hoping not to find any patches of thin ice. Just as cautiously the other refugees began to do the same. The Roman Centurions took hold of the carriage horses and led them slowly onto the ice. As they all found their way onto the ice, the sound of cracking alerted the knights, and the sound of drumming Saxons was getting louder.

"Knights…." Arthur spoke in a tone as if they knew what the question was: Should we stay and fight?

"Well I'm tired of running, and these Saxons are so close behind, my ass is hurting." Bors bluntly said.

"Never like looking over my shoulder anyway," Tristan said. Truth was for Tristan he wanted to kill as many more of the filthy wretches as he could.

"It'll be a pleasure to put an end to this racket," Gawain conceded.

"And finally get a look at the bastards," Galahad finished.

"Here, now," Dagonet said already moving to get his weapons.

Arthur turned to Jols and ordered a few instructions making a rat-faced fellow named Ganis to take care of the people and to get them to the wall. Young Roman poet Alecto wanted to fight, but if he fell this entire mission would have been for nothing. Arthur refused. The one person he could not refuse was the Lady Guinevere. She simply took her bow and stood by the knights.

The knights were not extremely happy with her being there; after all she was a Woad. And Lucilla had told them stories of a female Woad she had come in contact with while in the Woad camp, this woman fit the description.

The caravan began to move off the ice and into the safety of the tree line. The knights stood stoically waiting for the Saxons to get to the ice; they didn't have to wait long. The barbarians finally made an appearance. In an army of almost two hundred the seven knights and one Celt held their ground.

"Hold until I give the command," Arthur ordered. The knights held their bows with an arrow already strung and a pile of arrows at their feet.

"You look frightened," Lancelot joked to the young Celt. "That's a large number of lonely men out there."

"Don't worry; I won't let them rape you." Guinevere said, a few of the knights chuckled, but most were too intent on killing.

They could hear an arrow fall short on the ice, Arthur smiled. "I believe they're waiting for an invitation. Bors, Tristan." Guinevere tried to intercede saying they were too far out of range but Arthur knew his knights. The two knights fired high into the air taking down four barbarians with four arrows. The Saxons began to move forward, "Aim for the wings of the ranks, make them cluster."

The knights followed orders and aimed for the wings. The Saxons, being moronic barbarians, did begin to cluster but even after countless volleys the ice still wasn't going to break. Arthur told the knights to prepare for combat but Dagonet had another idea. He rushed from the line with his obscenely large axe and began to chop at the thick ice. The Saxon commander, seeing this, pulled his archers forward. The knights quickly took up their bows once again and began to cover their brother. In a blink Dagonet had the ice breaking but was hit.

Arthur without thinking twice rushed from his spot to get his fallen brother. Grabbing Dagonet before he sank in the water Arthur pulled him out with Bors following close behind with a small shield to protect them.

The Saxons fell back losing more than half of their army. But there was no victory, Dagonet had fallen.

They reached the fort yet again but in extremely low spirits. So close to the end to lose a brother was like a steak in their hearts. How could they enjoy their freedom when the man who helped them wasn't there to enjoy it? Entering the courtyard they found Vanora and the children waiting, but there were no smiles today. She knew something was wrong.

The Bishop didn't notice. All he saw was the boy, Alecto, arriving to the Wall in one piece. But Alecto was saddened at the death of Dagonet. They all were. Lucan most of all, he ran to Dagonet's body that was draped across his horse. Two Centurions tried to stop him but Gawain and Galahad drew their daggers. Lucan didn't shed a tear; he just pulled off Dagonet's enormous ring, Guinevere tried to consol him but he just walked away.

The Bishop not caring about the death of Dagonet spoke in high spirits. "Great knights, you are free now. Give me the papers." A Centurion handed him an oak wood box, "Your papers of safe conduct throughout the Roman Empire. Take it, Arthur." None of the knights moved.

Arthur moved close to the Bishop, "Bishop Germanius, friend of my father." Arthur walked away.

None of the knights were going to get the box so Lancelot took the job. He pulled the scrolls from the box and walked over to his brothers. The knights miserably accept the scrolls and walk away. But Bors just stood his ground staring into space, he had been the closest to Dagonet, this hurt him the most. "Bors!" Lancelot harshly said to get his attention. Hold up two scrolls he said, "For Dagonet."

Bors grabbed the papers but threw them at the Bishop's feet. "This doesn't make him a free man. He's already a free man! He's dead!" Bors left the courtyard leading away Dagonet's horse carrying his body.

As all the knights left Tristan examined the oak box, and after a quick inspection took it from the Centurions.

At the cemetery only a few words were said. Everyone made their way to the cemetery to pay their respects: Guinevere, Lucan, Alecto, Vanora and the children, Ganis, and of course Jols along with the six remaining knights. "We'll be along soon," Gawain said as he laid the box with Dagonet's freedom scroll on top of his burial mound.

Slowly everyone began to disperse, Arthur left to see his father's mound and the Lady Guinevere followed. The knights left Bors to wallow in his despair and ale and took their places at the tavern.

The knights spent the evening drinking away their sorrows, they were free men, but they didn't care. Tristan had Anera on his lap and she was enjoying playing with the new wooden horse he had carved for her. The children were around either sitting at one of the tables or helping their mother, but Bors would not be spoken to tonight. "Look at that!" One of the Centurions said from a top the wall.

The statement made the knight curious. Tristan handed Anera to Penelope who was sitting next to him, he followed his brothers to the top of the wall. "Get Arthur," Lancelot told Jols.

Arthur arrived only a few minutes later with the Celt on his heels. He looked at his knights then looked to the land before the Wall. There were at least a hundred cooking fires lit, meaning there were no less than a hundred thousand Saxons waiting to invade the keep. Arthur looked at his knights, the free men.

"Knights my journey with you must end here, may God go with you." Arthur turned and left the top of the Wall with Lancelot yelling behind him and the beautiful Woad following.

The knights didn't know what they wanted to do. They wanted to follow Arthur and kill as many Saxons as possible but they were free men now they didn't have to. They wanted to be able to have lives of their own away from the Wall. But then again… what was life away from the Wall? The majority of their lives had been spent defending this piece of hell, should they really leave it now? What would life have in store for them as the left? What was life, without friendship?

Well! Did you like it! I hope you did, it acutally took me a little while to write. Please review! Thanks a million!