Chapter 3
Later that day, Lyndsey was still lying in bed. She was silenced to the bed by Dagonet when she protested about being stuck in the room. Dagonet would hear none of it so he put her under house arrest. There was a knight stationed outside of her door all day. She grew bored and had nothing to do. She tried to entertain herself, but without music or the computer, she couldn't do much.
"How people stay sane here is mind boggling." She said. She got up off of the bed and went to the window. It was a bright and sunny day, which is rare for Britain. Birds were signing and children were playing in the streets. She noticed a stable and wondered if she could start riding soon. She knew how to ride. She learned when she was younger. She would love to go to her aunt's house and be able to ride the horses with no one around. To be free with the horse, let the wind blow through her hair. She missed those days. She didn't dwell on it for long because there was a knock on her door.
"Come in." In came a young woman with fiery red hair.
"Hello luv. My names Vanora. I came because I thought you might like a bath."
Lyndsey could have kissed the women right where she stood. A nice hot bath would be just the perfect solution to her worries right now.
"Yes thank you." replied Lyndsey.
After Vanora warmed up the water, she helped Lyndsey slip out of her clothes that were still dirty and smelly and had blood on them. As she slipped into the water, she forgot all of her problems. Vanora helped wash her hair. She put lavender oils in Lyndsey's hair which made it smooth and shiny. She then began to wash all of the dirt off. The water was a mess, but as Vanora got rid of the dirt, she began to notice how beautiful this girl really was. She wasn't a natural beauty, but something about her, the way she carried herself, made her radiant. After the bath, Vanora gave Lyndsey a gown to wear while she washed her clothes. Lyndsey looked at the dress. It was a moss green color. It had a square cut top so you wouldn't be able to see the bruises, and the sleeves went all the way down to her wrists where they flowed out. The dress seemed to fit her perfectly. It didn't show too much, which Lyndsey was thankful for. Vanora then did her hair. She brushed it out and began to pin it up in every which way. It looked like a messy bun, but with elegance. Lyndsey looked at herself and couldn't believe who she saw. She looked so different. Aside from the bruises on her face, she looked like she belonged here.
There was a knock on the door and Arthur walked in. He was a tall man with dark brown curls and the greenest eyes she had ever seen. He had an aura around him that just screamed royalty.
"Hello milady. How are you fairing?" said Arthur.
"Well thank you. The bath was much appreciated."
"No worries. We would like your presence at the round table this evening. Hopefully you would be willing to tell us what happened to you?" inquired Arthur.
Lyndsey thought for a moment. Could she really be able to tell them what happened. Where she came from? Would they even believe her? Well there was only one way to find out.
"Yes, I would be honored."
"Good. Shall we?" Arthur offered his arm and she took it with a smile.
As they were walking down the corridors, she began to feel nervous. Would the knights accept her? Would they accept the fact that she isn't from around here? And most importantly, would Tristan be there? 'Where did that come from?' she asked herself. She didn't have time to answer because the doors to the round table opened and in they went.
Lyndsey looked around at everyone sitting at the table. She knew who everyone was by their faces. They looked the same as they did in the movie. How weird is that? Arthur had her sit next to him. As she sat she felt eyes on her. Of course all of the knights would be looking at her. But as she looked up, she noticed no one looking at her; they were all involved in their own little conversations. As she looked around, her eyes landed on Tristan. So it was him staring at her. She began to feel a little uncomfortable, but then the food arrived, and they began eating. Lyndsey never had a problem eating in front of men. She didn't care what they thought of her. One, she was starving, and Two; well they will just have to deal with it. No one noticed the way she ate, except Tristan. It seemed that he never looked away from her. It was like he was studying her for some project or something. She began to feel like an animal in a laboratory or something. She looked up and stared at Tristan with a look of annoyance and curiosity. Tristan gave a small smirk and went back to eating.
After dinner, everyone was itching to find out who this young woman was at their table. She could tell by the way they sat restlessly in their seats. Wine was brought in and placed in front of everyone. Arthur roseto give tribute to the men who had lost their lives. Lyndsey feeling like she owed it to them, so shealso stood. The men looked at her with gratification.
Finally Arthur began his questioning. She hoped that she could control herself long enough to be able to tell them everything.
"If you begin to feel uncomfortable, don't hesitate to stop. We won't force you to say something you don't want to." Replied Arthur.
"Thank you."
"So where are you from?"
Lyndsey didn't know how to answer this. "Um, well see that's hard for me to explain." She said. How was she going to explain this?
"Just try your best." Said Tristan. She looked into his eyes and new that he wouldn't judge her for what she was going to say.
"Well, um, see I am not from around here. I'm from the future." She said apprehensively.
"Really?" said Lancelot.
"What's it like?" asked Bors. Lyndsey couldn't believe it. Here she was trying to explain something they probably couldn't comprehend, and they wanted to know more. They weren't being sarcastic or anything, they really wanted to know more. So she began her tale.
"Well, I was going to school one day and I forgot something at home. I went to turn around and the next thing I know everything went black."
"How did you end up in the middle of a field?" asked Galahad.
"Um, I'm not sure actually. I woke up with a headache and I thought I just got drunk or something."
"Yea I know how that goes." Replied Gawain.
"What happened to you?" Everyone looked at Tristan. Everyone wanted to ask that question, but they didn't want to push her. She looked at Tristan with panic and apprehension. They didn't think she would say, but she did.
"I woke with a headache in the middle of a field. I didn't know how I had gotten there or where I was even. I was trying to figure it out when I heard a voice from behind me. I turn around and there are two men standing there watching me." She said. "I, uh, I didn't know what to do. I couldn't go anywhere because I didn't know where I was. They started walking towards me. I didn't know what to do. I couldn't move my legs. I finally snapped and started running, but I wasn't quick enough. They tackled me onto the ground and," she stopped suddenly. A few tears escaped and ran down her cheeks.
"You can stop if you want." Implied Arthur.
"No, I need to get this out. They tackled me to the ground and starting hitting me. I knew what was going to happen, you see and hear about it all the time on the news and stuff, well I knew I was helpless, so I just gave up, I couldn't win it. So I started crying and they started hitting me like it was an everyday thing. They beat me so hard I couldn't even move my hand. After that they, um, they, uh, theyraped me."
Finally she had gotten it out. What surprised her most was that she wasn't crying. Sure she was upset, but she couldn't find the reason to cry. It wasn't her fault that any of this happened. She felt like crying but couldn't.
"Thank you, for telling us." Replied Arthur. Lyndsey just smiled and thanked them all for everything. As she was about to leave Arthur stopped her.
"Do you happen to remember what these men looked like?"
She told him of their ugly hair, missing teeth, and smelly bloody clothes. Arthur thanked her and everyone bid her a goodnight.
As she went to her room, she knew she wouldn't be able to sleep. So she took a cloak that she found in her room, and went to have a look around the fort. She got lost on the way out but soon found herself walking up onto the wall. She found herself basking in the cold wind of the night. She was so caught up in herself she didn't notice the figure standing next to her.
"A beautiful night isn't."
Lyndsey almost jumped out of her skin. She looked over and saw Tristan there with a ghost of a smile on his lips.
"Yes it is. A little cold but beautiful."
Tristan then noticed the cloak she wore as his own. He forgot that he wrapped her in it when they had found her.
"Nice cloak." He said.
"Thanks, I don't know whose it is. I just found it."
"Its mine."
"O, well here you should have it back then." She said ready to take it off.
He placed his hands over hers to stop her. "You need it more than I." he replied. He stared into her dark brown eyes and soon began to feel himself leaning into her.
Lyndsey didn't know what was happening. Never in her life had she ever kissed a man, and here she was, in a totally different time era, with a man that she had only known for like a week. 'Shut up' she told herself. Soon, Tristan's lips softly touched her own. It then progressed to soft kisses. Lyndsey felt like she was on cloud 9. She never thought kissing was this good. She never thought it could mean so much. Tristan soon ended the kiss and looked at her. Lyndsey was still in a daze. Tristan then realized what he had done and quickly apologized.
"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have done that."
Lyndsey snapped back to reality. "No, no, it's okay. I liked it." She said with a smile. Thank goodness it was dark, because her face was as red as a tomato in the middle of summer. Tristan looked at her with a look that only could be classified as love. But it was too soon, he scolded himself. I can't fall in love. It's too painful. I could never put her through that. As he thought about this, he began to realize that maybe he did want to fall in love. Maybe it's not a bad thing after all.
"Come." He said. "Let's get you inside before you freeze to death."
"Ok." They both walked quietly back to her room. No one knew quite what to say to each other. Lyndsey finally gave up, pushed her embarrassment down for 5 seconds, and kissed him again. When she pulled away she smiled. Tristan found himself falling in love with that smile.
"Thank you for everything. Goodnight, Tristan."
Tristan found himself liking the way she said his name. It rolled off of her tongue beautifully.
"Goodnight." He said.
She went into her room, and chanced one last glance at him before she closed the door. Tristan knew, in that glance that he was falling, hard. Hopefully she would be there to catch him.
