Standard Disclaimer:Okay, just so everyone knows, I own nothing except Wynne.. And Ryker, is really just odd mentions. All recognizableKing Arthur characters and/or areas belong to those delightful peopledown in Hollywood. So don't sue me, because my motherwould be right pissed :D
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Fallen Angels Of A Darker Time
Stranger People Were Never Known
(Note: UnderlinedEnglish)
Appx. 11:00am
Wynne woke up slowly, her eyes closing tightly against the throbbing echoing through her head. She heard the birds singing in the sun, and a soft breeze flitted over her, bringing with it, instead of the smell of cars and a city, fires and wilderness. She sat up slowly, pressing her hand against the back of her head where a large bump was, and traces of dried blood specked through her black hair, and opened her eyes slowly against the bright sun. She felt her back, where her katanas were still strapped, and across her waist was the belt, her sais still tucked into the material. She frowned. If they had taken her prisoner, they had to be daft to leave her with her weapons. She cracked her neck, grimacing at the loud pop. She tried to remember what had happened the night before, but all she could remember was something hitting her in the back of the head and a bright light before she passed out.
She stood shakily, looking at the clearing around her. Where before it had been empty, it now looked like people lived here. She frowned and walked down the path. No longer overgrown, the path looked like it was used ever day, and numerous times at that. She was almost to the end of the path when she heard voices coming through the forest. There was two voices, male and female, and they were coming closer to her. Wynne ducked into the darkness of the deep forest, crouching down into the undergrowth. She sat silently, her hear beating along with the throbbing in her mind.
She stopping breathing deeply when they walked past her, their voices hushed as they came closer to the edge of the forest. She frowned at their clothing. They were wearing green and brown clothing, the man with a green tunic-like top and brown leggings, and high brown boots. The woman wore a green halter top style shirt, and a brown mini skirt with slits up the sides. They both seemed to blend into the foliage around them. They both had brown hair, long and loose, and wore a strange blue paint on their body. The woman had darker blue swirls on her back and chest, as well as wrapped around her upper arm and on her cheeks. The man had darker blue designs on his fore arms and his cheeks, matching the woman's. They had weapons, primitive looking axes and blades, and each had some type of bow slung over their arm.
Wynne frowned at the pairs strange language. She recognized the words from somewhere, but she couldn't remember where. She waited until the pair passed, and then stood slowly up and moved through the forest towards the edge, hoping to get out and get to the hotel soon. She reached into one of the pockets on her belt and pulled out an aspirin, kept in the belt for small injuries. She popped the cap and tipped two into her palm. She swallowed the pills thickly, and shut her eyes as she came to where the edge of the forest should end. She stepped out into the bright light, squinting her eyes.
There in front of her was a huge wall, towering over her. Wynne's eyes widened. "Nuh uh. No way was that put up in a night, so either I slept for about… Oh, judging by the moss on it… 2 or so years, or I am delusional." Wynne nodded. "That's settled. I am officially delusional." she shook her head at the vision in front of her and began to walk back to the road. She took in the scenery, the forest and the wall, the birds and wild animals strutting around the area. She stumbled only a few times, her body quickly taking care of the weak muscles, reinforced by the aspirin. She made sure not to look to often at the vision of the wall, and felt the warmth of the sun and the cool breeze with her eyes partially closed for the most part.
When she came to the road, she paused. There was a large gate, and it was heavily guarded by none other then men on horses. "Great…" she said shortly, her shoulders slumping as she looked for a way around the guards. She walked to the wall, out of eyesight of the guards, and searched for a path of hand holds. She pulled a pair of climbing gloves out of her belt, and pulled them on before starting up the wall, hand over hand. When she made it to the top, she took a deep breath, pulling herself over the edge of the wall and checking quickly for any observers. She pulled the gloves off, stuffing them back into her belt and pushed her hair back. She pulled her sais out of the belt and started down the stairs to the opposite side of the wall. She walked slowly, peering over the edge to watch for any guards. She stumbled a few times, and, limping down the last few steps and muttering an expansive string of curses, she decided the wall wasn't a delusion.
"Hurts to damn much to be a delusion." she said, glaring and rubbing her back. Then, seeing the road she came to clear, she started to the smoke rising in the distance. "Newcastle-On-Tyne, here I come." She said, starting to run, wincing at the sharp pain at each step.
Appx. 12:00pm.
Wynne knew something unexplainable was happening. She was walking to along the road when she heard the "battle" cries start up, followed by the sounds of swords clashing and men shouting. She pulled out her katanas, and started toward the sounds of fighting. There was a bunch of men on horses and in armor, and more of those blue-painted people. She stepped out into the clearing where the battle was, and was almost instantly attacked by a crowd of blue men. She glared and killed them swiftly, watching the armored men out of the corner of her eyes. She didn't know what was happening, but she was damn sure gunna find out.
One of the men acknowledged her, then seemed to ignore her, but she took it as a sign she wouldn't be killed by them. Instead she would be attacked by the blue men, so she turned her attention to them, killing as many as she could, her katanas swinging swiftly, striking often, and dismembering men with one stroke. She closed her eyes as a spray of blood hit her in the face, and, quickly wiping it off, she turned, searching for an opponent. Finding none, she wiped her blades on the dead bodies around her, and walked over to the men. They were standing around, wiping clean their blades on the dead bodies clothes, and sheathing them. They were talking, and Wynne recognized the strange language and could understand it, even though she couldn't speak more then a few words without butchering it hopelessly.
There was a group of the horse riders, about 10, all heavily armed and armored. A man was talking to another, astride a horse. She walked up to hear better, watching each of the men who had been fighting. They were an odd assortment, and Wynne was sure she recognized some of the names being called out. She came into earshot, and began translating the words that were exchanged. From a man who had just dismounted his horse, came a strange word. "Why did the woads attack?" He asked, his face puzzled. Wynne frowned. 'What in hell are woads?' she thought to herself.
"Obviously they were ordered to." a long blonde haired man said offhandedly. Wynne frowned. She was still in Britain, and yet she had no idea where she was. She recognized none of the paths around her, but some of the mountain ranges still appeared to be in the same spots they were last night. She turned back to the conversation, and listened, trying to appear unobtrusive. A large bald man looked over at her, but turned back to another man who he was stitching up.
"He's called Merlin, their leader." one man said from the back of his horse, his dark, curly hair covering his eyes. "A dark magician, some say." he said, grinning in Wynne's direction. Wynne's eyes widened. 'Merlin… Bloody hell… I must be going crazy' she thought, thinking of the other names she had heard. Arthur, Lancelot, Tristan, and Merlin. She shook her head slowly, her gaze flitting from each of the men to the next.
She looked at the obvious leader. "This is some fairy tale, and I'm crazy. There is no way I'm in King Arthur's story. Bloody hell… Then these are the knights of the round table…" She got some strange looks then, and she realized she had been speaking aloud and in English. She looked at each of the men, and they looked away with puzzled glances at their companions. Then she realized the leader, 'Arthur' she thought, was still watching her. He walked slowly over to her, his dark brown hair pushed back from his face, showing blue eyes.
"Lady," he asked, "You called out my name. Why?" he asked, puzzled. Wynne started. Of course. Names are the same in the language they were speaking. "And what do you speak? Do you even understand me?" Wynne nodded, and pointed at herself. Then she pointed to her surrounding, and shook her head. Arthur frowned for a minute. "You do not know where you are?" He asked. Wynne nodded her head. Arthur smiled slightly. "You are in Roman occupied Briton. Here, you are safe." Wynne frowned and shook her head. She knelt on the ground and drew in the loose soil with her finger.
Arthur looked down at the drawing. It was a crude drawing of the island of Britain, and Wynne looked up to him. She pointed at the map and shrugged. "You know you are in Briton?" he asked. Wynne nodded impatiently, and then pointed again at the map. She looked up at him, frustration etched on her face, and gestured to the area around her. Arthur knelt down, and studied the map. He picked up a small twig and drew a small line in the dirt, almost to where the border of Scotland is in present day, stretching from the west end to the east. He spoke, still looking at the map. "This is Hadrian's wall. We are here, just south of it." he said, gesturing slightly at the map. Wynne frowned. He was pointing at the exact same spot as Newcastle-On-Tyne was. She drew another picture in the dirt.
It was a small river, and she put a small stick figure a small distance away from it. She looked up at Arthur, frustrated at not being able to communicate. Arthur nodded. "Yes, Lady, there is a river a small ways north of the wall. Although, I would like to know. If you can understand us, why can't you speak the same?" Wynne shrugged, wrinkling her face slightly. Arthur smiled, and pointed her to one of the knights, the one bald one who had watched her. "That is Dagonet. He will stitch up your side. Then, you will accompany me to Hadrian's Wall." Wynne watched him walk away, and then placed a hand on her side. There was a warm trickle of blood seeping through the open side of her suit, where she had slit while pulling her sai out one day. She sighed.
"Here we go again." she said, grimacing and rocking back to her heels and standing up quickly. She walked over, and stood waiting as Dagonet finished stitching up the knight he was working on, Galahad. She then got his attention, and he looked at her.
"Lady. That was some fighting out there." he said, and Wynne stifled a laugh as his eyes widened when he looked at her outfit. She nodded to show thanks, and then pointed to his needle. "Do you have something I need to stitch?" he asked, frowning. Wynne nodded, pointing to her side. The large man lay her down on the ground and knelt over her, working swiftly. When he finished bandaging the stitches, Wynne sat up. She followed Dagonet to Arthur, and pulled on his sleeve. When he looked down at her, she pointed to her mouth, and then spoke in English.
"Could you teach me how to speak?" she asked, hoping he would understand what she was saying. Dagonet frowned for a second, and then nodded hesitantly. Wynne grinned and nodded happily, before 'hugging' Dagonet. Placing an arm around his waist and squeezing before running to Arthur really didn't count as hugging, in her opinion. "Arthur!" she yelled out. "When are we going to leave?" She called out, laughing as Arthur tried to decipher her words.
Arthur shook his head in puzzlement and turned back to the man he was leading to the horses. They were talking about the woads, and Arthur sent out his scout to search for any more. She paused as the man who had dismounted from the horse spoke. "They do not worry me so much as the Saxons," he said darkly, before mounting his horse again and spurring it away. The man who had spoken beforehand of Merlin spoke again, one eyebrow raised as he looked at Arthur.
"Saxons?" he said darkly, and Arthur paused for a second before ordering the knights to mount and start on the way to Hadrian's Wall. Just before mounting, he noticed Wynne starting to walk beside the mounted knights.
"Lady. You cannot expect to walk all the way there." he said, reining his horse in beside her. Wynne nodded, smiling. She knew she could walk there, she already did once, and had just this morning walked from there, and climbed over it as well. Arthur frowned. "No lady, we are going quite a long way. You must ride with the knights." he said, before spurring his horse forward. Wynne frowned.
He man with dark curly hair reined his horse along beside her. "Lady. Do you have a name?" he asked, an eyebrow raised suggestively. Wynne looked at him and nodded, though saying nothing more. "Will you tell it to me? I like to know my women before they warm my bed." he said, grinning. Wynne frowned and laughed offhandedly, shaking her head dismissively. Lancelot held a hand to his chest. "You wound me lady." he said, faking hurt. "And here I was going to ask you to ride with me." he said grinning a little. Wynne raised an eyebrow and smirked, and moved to another knight. Pulling on his shirtsleeve, she silently asked the stout bald man if she could ride with him. The knight, Bors, smiled and pulled her up behind him on the saddle, settling her in before spurring on the horse again.
"'Ello, lass. Me name's Bors. Wots yer name, if ya don't mind me askin'," he asked looking over his shoulder at her gray eyes. Wynne smiled and shook her head, patting him on his strong back. Bors smiled, and Wynne grinned before speaking.
"My name is Wynne," she said, pointing to herself, since he didn't understand her words. Bors nodded, his hazel eyes, surrounded by laugh lines, searching the area for any enemies. Wynne frowned, something bothering her. Calling a word to her mind, she asked him a simple question. "What woads?" She asked, frowning. Bors looked at her.
"An' here we all thought you was unable to speak wit' us." he muttered. Then he answered. "Woads're the natives 'round 'ere. Gives us knights a right 'ard time, they do, always fightin' us an' such." he said, "Well, Wynne, do ya 'ave any more questions fer me? If ya can ask 'em, tha' is." he added. Wynne shook her head, and settled down for the trip.
2:10 Appx.
Wynne was getting seriously annoyed by the strange looks she was getting from the knights. They kept shooting glances at her when they thought she wasn't looking, well, most of them did. Bors seemed to be perfectly fine just laughing and joking with one knight, Porter. Wynne laughed along with the two knights, pretending not to notice the other's gazes, wishing fervently for the ride to be over. She almost shouted out with joy when the fortress appeared over a hill. Actually, she did. "Oh! Finally!" she yelled, beaming widely. The knight all looked at her then, not even disguising the curiosity in their eyes.
She shrugged and hopped off Bors' horse and began running for the fortress, which still lay a far way ahead. She looked back quickly as she ran and, seeing the knights surprised glances and shouts, ran even faster, nimbly jumping over the fallen logs and jutting boulders that, in her own time, had been pulled up and disposed of. She narrowed her eyes against the cold wind in her eyes, her steps sure and quick. She didn't slow until she was about twelve feet from the gate, the guards at the top yelling down at her in the language the knights used. "Halt! What be thy name, Lady, that you be running outside the walls dressed in those.. Clothes" They spat out the word venomously, and for the first time, Wynne looked down at her attire.
"Well.. They can't think me very ladylike, now can they" She muttered, grinning. She turned and looked over at the approaching knight, standing lazily with her feet spread, her hand planting on her hip impatiently. The knights rode up and reined in their horses, the animals tossing their heads. She looked up at Arthur, squinting to shield out some of the sun that shone down into her eyes. Arthur looked down at her in disbelief.
"Lady, what were you thinking?" he asked, his eyes wide. Wynne smiled and laughed, shaking her head slightly. Arthur closed his eyes and then motioned to the guards on top of the wall. "Open the gates, quickly. She's with us." He said , almost reluctantly, spurring his horse forward when it opened, sending a quick look back at Wynne and shaking his head. Wynne laughed slightly, her shoulders shaking slightly before she sauntered in after him.
Wynne looked around and was set to go exploring the large fort before she felt a large hand on her shoulder. She looked up, startled to see a tall blonde haired man, his hair short, brushing his cheek bones. His blue eyes narrowed as he studied her. Wynne shrugged his hand off and he caught her arm. "Arthur says you are to be accompanied to your rooms. There, he wishes for you, him, and Lancelot to talk of your purposes of for being in these areas, armed nonetheless." Wynne rolled her eyes and took a firm grip on his arm. His eye tightened as her fingers pressed on a pressure point, and his fingers went limp. She removed his hand and gestured for him to lead the way.
"After you, you pushy bastard." She said, a smile on her face. The man eyed her strangely, as if trying to understand. After a few seconds, he nodded, judging her comment one of agreement. Wynne smiled once more and followed her new guide through the fort.
So, There we have my first chapter. I kind of cut it short, but there it is nonetheless. I don't really like it, and, in fact, have started cussing at it quite often, but there it is all the same.
Please R&R
Thanks much, B
