I don't know that I'm completely satisfied with this chapter. It's kind of cut and dry. The next one will be better, I promise!
"So she just left then? After he saved her life?" Cassia interrupted.
"Well---yes," Lancelot replied.
"Stupid girl," said Cassia, "She should have stayed." Lancelot shrugged. "I'm always right about these things," Cassia added, "She should have stayed."
"We'll see," responded Lancelot.
"What were you doing while all this was going on?" Cassia asked.
"My lady," Lancelot said with a grin, "I thought you'd never ask."
While the other knights sat huddled around the fire, I decided to engage in more creative activities. I found it convenient that Lucia had attained her own private wagon in which she had retired for the night. I strode over to the wagon and simply tapped my hand against the back entrance. Lucia peeked her head outside the wagon, seeming at first slightly confused by my presence.
"Yes?" she asked.
"My lady," I said giving her a ceremonious bow, "I thought you might be in need for some entertainment."
Lucia gave a seductive grin. "Come in," she said. I stepped into the wagon and then I, shall we say, entertained her the rest of the night.
The next morning the caravan started off at the crack of dawn, hoping to make up some time and reach the Octavius estate by nightfall. As usual, Arthur ordered Tristan to ride ahead of the group to scout out the trails for any potential threats to the convoy. Tristan was walking over to his horse when he saw three Roman soldiers approaching him followed closely behind by Lucia Gaius herself.
"Marcellus told me about the little stunt you and Arthur pulled yesterday," Lucia snarled, "I told you not to interfere."
"And I said that I do not take orders from you," Tristan answered, finding the hilt of his sword with his hand. The Roman soldiers looked ready for a fight, and he would give them one.
"Where is the girl?" Lucia asked with a devious smile.
"She left," Tristan responded plainly, still keeping an eye on the three soldiers.
"You know, I caught her snooping around Marcellus's study," Lucia said, "So I had my trusted soldiers here take her out and beat her. Then I had them beat her again---and again---and again." Lucia let her amusement show through the tone of her voice, but Tristan kept his face expressionless. He would not give her the satisfaction of his anger. "You know, Tristan, we could have been wonderful together. How much easier life could have been for you if you had only taken my offer. You've brought this upon yourself, I'm afraid," Lucia said; then turned to the guards, "Kill him. Dispose of his body in the woods." With that, she turned and walked away, not caring to witness the carrying out of her orders.
Tristan drew his sword in the blink of an eye as the three Roman soldiers charged at him. Within three moves he had effortlessly ended the lives of the first two guards, then turned and slashed the third deeply through his chest. He stood for a moment staring down at the three corpses at his feet. Yes, he had found great pleasure in those kills.
Tristan mounted his horse and whistled to his hawk. He then took off down the trail to scout as Arthur had ordered. As he rode, thoughts of the past few days flew through his mind. So much had happened in such a little amount of time. He had been enveloped by one event after another.
He was relieved to finally have some time to himself. He found solace in riding on the open road with no one but himself and his hawk. The wind blew through his hair and cleared his mind. If the heaven Jillian spoke of really existed, perhaps it felt something like this. Yet Tristan also felt something at the pit of his stomach that he could only identify as loneliness. It was a feeling that Tristan had never before experienced.
Tristan shook his head. He would not allow himself to grow soft. He saw an image in his mind of what he might look like if he succumbed to such pointless emotions. He looked a lot like the whining Galahad, actually. That thought amused him, and he was able to put his mind to rest. No, he would never let emotion get the better of him, be it loneliness or anything else.
Tristan met back with the caravan at dusk and reported to Arthur. "We're still a few hours away. We'll have to ride for a bit in the dark, but there's really no point in stopping to put up camp."
Arthur nodded. "That will be fine," he said. Tristan's eyes suddenly darted about his surroundings with alertness.
"What is it?" Arthur asked.
"Woads," Tristan responded.
As if on cue, a band of woad warriors emerged from the forest letting out their battle cries. The knights unsheathed their swords and readied their bows, circling the wagons and carriages protectively. Within seconds, Tristan had taken aim, dispatching arrow after arrow into his selected targets.
The woads charged at the caravan. Arthur swung Excalibur masterfully at the woads that surrounded his horse trying to pull him from his saddle. Galahad and Gawain stayed atop their horses as well shooting arrows at attacking woads, while Dagonet and Bors fought on the ground, Dagonet with his sword and Bors with his hand knives. I, of course, exhibited my superior combat skills with my twin swords.
It was a short battle, and the remaining woads retreated quickly back into the forest. The knights turned, however, to see Marcellus Gaius running wildly towards them in a state of panic. "She's gone! They've taken her!" he shrieked hysterically.
"Who?" Arthur responded.
"Lucia! She's nowhere to be found! Those blue demons took her!" Marcellus cried frantically.
"Are you sure?" Arthur asked.
"Her carriage is empty," Gawain called to them.
"Go after her! You have to go after her!" Marcellus shouted.
Arthur paused for a moment, assessing the situation. "It's too dangerous at night, and we don't know where they've taken her," he said, "We're nearly to the Octavius estate. The best thing to do is get there safely and then decide a course of action from there."
Marcellus opened his mouth about to speak, but realized protesting would be useless. Instead, he muttered something under his breath and stormed back to his carriage.
It was well into the night when they reached Marcus Octavius's estate. Though consisting of twice as much land as the Gaius estate, it had only about a quarter as many Roman soldiers. By comparison, the Octavius estate seemed abandoned and desolate. Arthur and the knights were greeted inside the gates by a pair of Roman soldiers who announced that they were to escort Marcellus to Marcus Octavius's study. "So much for a warm welcome," Gawain commented.
Marcus Octavius was a balding man ten years older than Marcellus. He had acquired much wealth over his years, but his greed could never be completely satisfied.
"Marcellus!" he greeted as Marcellus entered his study, "And where is the lovely lady Lucia?"
Marcellus frowned. "Our caravan was attacked not but three hours ago. She was taken," Marcellus disclosed soberly.
"I am very sorry to hear that," Marcus Octavius replied, "I will send my soldiers out at first light to look for her. Do not worry, old friend. She will be found and her captors severely punished. Now, have you brought the letters?" To discern which was the more villainous of the two men would only bring about an endless debate for as soon as one would chastise Marcus Octavius for his heartlessly quick changing of the subject, one would then blame Marcellus for not taking offense to it.
"I have them right here," Marcellus said, revealing the wooden box with the Gaius family crest carved into the lid. Marcellus set the box down on top of the desk, and Marcus Octavius leaned back in his chair. Marcellus took a seat across from him.
"Ah, my old friend," Marcus Octavius said wistfully, "A year from now, Rome will withdraw from Britain and we will be the very wealthy landlords of several of its most prized estates."
"Only a year? That is sooner than expected," Marcellus said, "Can we amass enough soldiers and workers in that amount of time? The land is meaningless unless we have means to defend it. That is, after all, why Rome is leaving."
"Nonsense," Marcus Octavius said, "Rome is leaving because its being here has lost support from the Senate. Let's speak frankly here, Marcellus, your father doesn't have the influence he used to. Britain lost favor in the Senate ever since that Pelagious fellow. Rome can't support a nation spawning such blasphemy, and they no longer have the motivation to exterminate it. Better to just cut their losses."
"I must say I admire your genius," Marcellus said, "Securing the deeds to estates of fleeing Romans and not having to pay an ounce of gold for them."
"Yes, well, your father still has some influence left, doesn't he?" Marcus Octavius said with an amused grin.
The knights returned to the estate at dusk the next day after spending the entire day searching the forest for Lucia Gaius along with a unit of Roman soldiers. They're outing was unsuccessful, however, and Lucia was still nowhere to be found. The knights entered the estate exhausted from the search. "Come," Bors said, "I could use a drink."
"You there," Gawain called, motioning to one of the house servants, "Liquor. As much as you can find. Bring it here." The servant bowed and scurried off into the main house. He returned with two other servants, their arms all full with bottles of alcohol.
"Ah, there we are," Bors said gruffly, relieving the servants of the bottles and distributing them among the other knights. The knights sat happily in the courtyard guzzling their liquor. There were no tables or chairs, but the knights were satisfied simply to sit on the ground or on the steps leading up to the house. Tristan took a sip of his liquor and sat on the ground with his back against the stone side of the house. He saw something move out of the corner of his eye, and looked up at the wall that surrounded the estate. He noticed two shadows racing across the top of it. 'What now?' he wondered.
