First, I have to say sorry to all my readers - I've had a really bad case of writer's block, and I just couldn't get this one finished. But, at long last, it's complete and I've finally got it up.Thankyou so much to all my reviewers:)

I know this chapter is very choppy, but I just couldn't think of a better way to tell everything. So my apologies for the roughness, but I just wanted to get this chapter up so I could move on to the next.

Anyway, enough rambling from me, hope you like this chapter. Please review, and if you have any ideas I'd love to hear them!

'Run that by me again?' Galahad said after a pause when I had finished.

Gawain looked disbelieving for a second, then he burst out laughing.

'Of course!' he said, gasping for breath. 'Why else would that bird have been so intelligent? Lancelot always said it was more human than animal. I can't believe it!'

Finally he subsided. Arthur looked slightly sceptical, but Merlin stepped forward to speak. His expression didn't change, but I could see a glint of satisfaction in his eyes.

'It is true, Atorius. There is no lie in her tale.'

I shivered. His voice had power, as did he. I truly believed now that he was connected to the gods.

'What shall we do with her?' Arthur said, rubbing a hand across his forehead.

'Let her stay. Her presence has changed the fates of two of your knights. Tristan would have died.'

Arthur nodded tiredly. 'Lady, you can stay here at Hadrian's Wall as long as you desire. Forgive me for my uncourteous words.'

'I am no lady, Arthur, so please don't treat me as one.'

The last thing I wanted was to be shut up in a room like a Roman lady. Merlin left silently.

'Arthur, we'll check on the others,' Galahad said.

Gawain and Galahad left, leaving Arthur and me alone. I met his steady gaze, and he sighed again.

'I must thank you for saving the life of one of my men,' Arthur said, slightly awkwardly. 'You shall be rewarded with anything you desire.'

'You think that's why I saved him?' I said with indignation. I sat up, noticing that I had been dressed in a chemise. 'So I could be rewarded?' I was angry. My wounds were hurting, I was confused and tired.

'My lady-' Arthur began, but I cut him off.

'Arthur, I am no lady!' I snapped. 'I tried to protect Tristan because he was a good master to me when I was a bird. Because I-'

I stopped short. I had been going to say "because I love him" but that wouldn't have been a good thing to say. I couldn't imagine what Tristan was going to say when he found out – but he was alive, and that was something close to a miracle. I had seen the wounds he had taken from Cerdic.

I just realised that I had snapped at Arthur, the famous King. I immediately felt guilty.

Also, another type of guilt was eating away at me. I hadn't tried to save Tristan's life. I had flown in the air above his head while he was stabbed. If I had dived earlier, I might have saved him from his horrific wounds. But all I had done was try to follow him into death. I didn't deserve any gratitude at all.

'I'm sorry, Arthur,' I said softly. 'I didn't mean to become angry.'

He shook his head. 'You have every right to be angry. You save Tristan's life and I start talking about rewards. My apologies.'

I nodded, yawning. He moved towards the door.

'I'll return later. Until then, get some rest.'

I was half asleep before he even left the room. But as the door shut, I suddenly realised something.

I had just been speaking a language that I don't even know. I thought back. Tristan had always spoken in that language – Latin, I think. I had always understood him perfectly, and the other knights.

How had that happened? Perhaps just being around the Latin speakers had been enough for some of the language to rub off on me. I tried to find a more sensible explanation for why I now understood Latin, but I was too tired. I decided to worry about it tomorrow – after I had slept.

I was woken the next morning by someone moving about my room. I opened my eyes to see Vanora setting down a tray beside my bed. She smiled.

'I've brought you breakfast,' she said, sitting on the end of the bed. 'The knights are all very interested in you.'

She looked more closely at me. Her light brown eyes sparkled and her reddish brown hair shone in the sunlight through the window.

'Thankyou, Vanora,' I said, sitting up and wincing as I felt my wounds.

Vanora looked surprised. 'You know my name?'

I nodded. 'I know that you have eleven children, and that you and Bors numbered them after Gillie.'

'So you really are the hawk?' Vanora asked eagerly. 'I didn't believe Arthur when he said that you were really a bird.'

'Yes, I am the hawk. Or was. I don't really know any more.' I sighed. It was too complicated to work out at the moment.

'Tristan's fine,' Vanora said with a knowing smile. 'The healers managed to patch him up.'

I raised an eyebrow, and the older woman grinned.

'I heard how you fought the Saxon warlord.' The teasing left Vanora's eyes as she became serious. 'That took courage. Arthur and the knights will always be thankful to you. You saved Tristan's life.'

I shifted my shoulders uncomfortably. 'I thought he was dead. Because the best part of my life is when I'm with him, I wanted to die as well.' I felt the guilt ease away. 'There was nothing heroic about what I did. If I had acted earlier, then I might have made a difference.'

Vanora shook her head. 'You made a difference. You were loyal, and you fought for him-'

'If I was loyal, I would have acted earlier,' I said bitterly. 'I wouldn't have watched, I would have done something faster.'

Vanora met my angry, guilty gaze. 'You still did something. Most would have flown away, left him for dead. You were willing to die to be with him.'

'Only because he's all I have left.' I looked at Vanora. 'I died, in my human life. I left my horse, my family, me friends… Tristan was all I had for a while.'

Vanora smiled slightly. 'You have a human life still,' she said.

'I never thought it would turn out like this,' I said softly, closing my eyes. 'I don't think he's going to like what I did.'

'Why not?' Vanora's voice was sharp.

'He hates being dependent,' I answered, my eyes still shut. 'He'll see his loss to Cerdic as a failure, and that I saved him will be hard to accept. His pride won't let him forget that he couldn't beat Cerdic, that he crawled away from him. That a girl stepped into his fight.'

For a moment Vanora was silent.

'You really do know Tristan.' I opened my eyes, looked at her. She was completely serious, her face sombre. 'I don't know how he's going to be when he wakes up.'

I nodded and gave a wry smile. My face felt stiff, as if smiling was hard work.

'I'm not looking forward to meeting him as a human.'

'I'm sure it'll go fine,' Vanora said, her voice cheerful. 'I'll leave you to eat in peace. You can get out of bed tomorrow, but for today stay in bed. Call for me if you need anything.'

I nodded. 'Thankyou, Vanora.'

She paused at the doorframe and smiled. 'It's a pleasure to meet you… what did you say your name was?'

'I didn't,' I said with another crooked smile.

A wail came from down the hallway.

'M-m-mother!' a small girl cried.

Vanora grimaced and rolled her eyes. 'Coming, Nine.' She smiled at me. 'Make sure you don't get out of bed, otherwise I'll get Bors to put you back in – and keep you in.'

I grinned, feeling slightly more cheerful. 'I'll stay in bed.'

It was evening when I woke again. I still found it hard to believe that Vanora and Bors gave their children numbers instead of names. I stretched out, smiling slightly.

Well, here I was. With Tristan, in his time. What would he say when he found out who I really was? Well, knowing him he probably wouldn't say anything – but the way he looked at me would tell me what he thought.

I really wasn't looking forward to meeting him as a human. I rolled over, wincing as I felt the cut on my shoulder pull open. I knew how close I had come to death – if Cerdic had put more power behind his stroke, I wouldn't be breathing.

The door opened and Vanora came in. She smiled when she saw I was awake.

'You were asleep not long ago,' she said, closing the door behind her. 'You were mumbling in some other language.'

I smiled wryly. I still hadn't quite figured out how I had come to understand and talk Latin, but I wasn't going to spend time thinking about it – I had more pressing problems.

'Not surprising,' I muttered to myself.

'Hmm?' Vanora asked, setting down another tray of food.

'Nothing, just talking to myself,' I said, eagerly taking u the tray. 'This is wonderful.'

Vanora grinned. 'Actually, I didn't make it. I can't cook to save my life.'

Her smile was infectious, and I couldn't help but grin back.

'Tristan's getting better,' she said softly. 'And so is Lancelot.'

I felt my heart leap inside me. Tristan was recovering. I could still remember the awful feeling I had felt when I had thought he had died. Vanora smirked.

'You're quite taken with him, aren't you?'

I didn't answer straight away. 'He was a good master,' I said eventually. 'He let me be free, he gave me the choice of leaving or staying. He rescued me from a wolf.'

Vanora put her head on one side. 'That doesn't answer the question.'

I shrugged, and continued eating. Vanora nodded and stood with a smile.

'Alright, keep your secrets. You can get up tomorrow.'

'Thankyou, Vanora,' I said softly.

She nodded and smiled, closing the door behind her.

The next morning Vanora gave me a dress to wear. It was deep red, nothing special but I was thankful. Vanora waved away my thanks.

'It doesn't fit me any more. I used to wear it before I had eleven children,' she said with a rueful glance at her body. '

I smiled as she helped me into it. I looked in the mirror to brush my hair – and got a huge shock.

It wasn't me looking back at me.

Well, it was – but I was different. I was older! Vanora had turned at my gasp of surprise.

'What is it?' she said anxiously.

'How old do I look?' I asked, trying to keep my voice steady.

'About twenty-two,' Vanora said, puzzled. 'Love, it's not that old-'

'It's not that…' I said, studying my face closely. 'I used to be fourteen. Before I became the hawk… I was fourteen…'

Vanora raised her eyebrows and whistled softly. 'How did you age like that?'

'Maybe…' I thought hard. There had to be an explanation for this. 'Hawks age differently. Perhaps I'm twenty-two in hawk years or something…'

'That might be it,' I said softly.

I was pretty shocked, and with good reason. I felt like I was missing out on something important – hell, eight years of my life had just passed in less than two months.

I studied my face more closely. It was definitely me; my eyes, my face, even though I was definitely older. My hair, though, had changed. The brown had become more red – more like the colour of my feathers.

'Do you want to see Tristan or not?' Vanora laughed.

I turned away from the mirror, still rather unnerved. I had learnt Latin, had aged eight years, gone back in time – hell, what else could happen?

Vanora led me down the hallway. She paused outside a door several down from mine, and motioned for me to go in.

'That's Tristan's,' she said softly.

I paused, suddenly so nervous that I felt sick. What would Tristan think when he saw me? What would he say and do when he found out who I really was?