Jillian returned to her tribe, which had settled just northeast of the wall. As time had passed, the woads had begun venturing further south more often. She discovered that her tribe had moved to a location ideal for slipping over the wall to the southern, Roman-occupied half of the land. Her old friend Revelin looked up at her approach with wide eyes as if he had seen a ghost. He rushed over to her and gasped, "Jillian! It is you! We thought you were dead!"

Jillian laughed, "Who? Me? Never!"

Revelin gave her a warm smile. "Welcome home, child," he said.

For Jillian, it felt right to be back with her people whom she loved dearly. Her thoughts, however, often drifted back to Hadrian's Wall. She wondered what life would have been like had she stayed. She assured herself that she had made the right decision. Hadrian's Wall was filled with Roman soldiers. She could never justify living peacefully alongside the same Romans who were denying her people their freedom. She anxiously counted the days, however, until the year's end when she could finally be loyal both to her country and to her heart.


Tristan's eyes met Cassia Gaius's, and she looked him straight in the eyes, not caring that he had caught her scrutinizing stare. She turned away after giving him a slight nod. Tristan now knew where Lucia had gotten her air of aloofness; although, Cassia Gaius seemed to have a certain wisdom and class that her daughter lacked. To Tristan, however, she was just another Roman.

Tristan had noticed Cassia and Lancelot conversing nearly the entire journey. When he left to scout they had engaged in conversation; and when he returned, they were still deep in discussion. The ease with which they talked to each other amused Tristan, given Lancelot's relationship with Cassia's daughter. For once, Tristan was grateful for Lancelot's womanizing nature, as it distracted Lucia and relieved him of the inevitable headache she caused him.

Tristan had hoped Lucia would return to her estate, but for the past four months she had stayed at Hadrian's Wall. Now that her brother was dead, she had no reason to return to the estate, and Lancelot had given her a reason to stay at the wall as well. Tristan shook the thoughts from his mind. He had no desire to waste his time thinking about such people as Lucia Gaius.

The caravan rode parallel to the edge of the forest, and Tristan noticed smoke rising from above the trees. A group of Roman soldiers emerged from the woods riding in the direction of the caravan. The leader cantered his horse over to Arthur.

"Arthur Castus," he greeted with a slight nod, "We received word of Lady Cassia Gaius's arrival and have come to aid in the escort of her caravan the rest of the way to Hadrian's Wall."

The arrival of the extra unit of Roman soldiers did not surprise Arthur. Important citizens such as Cassia Gaius often required superfluous numbers of guards when they traveled. Arthur motioned towards the trees. "What happened there?" he asked.

"On our way, we encountered a gang of woad rebels. They were evidently planning an attack on this caravan, but we have taken care of the situation. We left not a single one of those bastards alive," he stated proudly.

"I see," Arthur responded not at all impressed by the officer's report, "Her Ladyship appreciates your efforts, I'm sure." The Roman officer nodded and motioned for his men to take their places along side the caravan.

The knights looked up at the sky to the screeching sound of Tristan's hawk soaring down and taking its place on his outstretched arm. The hawk had something grasped in its claws which it deposited into Tristan's hand. Tristan's face went pale as he stared at Dagonet's ring lying in his palm. "What is it?" Gawain asked, concerned. All the knights turned in Tristan's direction, curious as to what was going on. He had even caught Cassia's attention who once again sat peering out of her carriage window at him. Tristan seemed not to notice any of them. He released his hawk which flapped its wings, soaring towards the source of the smoke. Tristan rode off hastily as if in a state of panic, following his hawk into the trees.

Before long, Tristan came across the site of the skirmish where several trees still blazed with fire. He dismounted his horse, as his eyes frantically scanned the woad corpses that lay scattered across the ground. He noticed that many of them had been burned beyond recognition and were now barely more than ash. Tristan's heart stopped when he saw a familiar figure lying in the dirt before him. Revelin lied on his back with an arrow embedded in his chest. Tristan recognized him immediately from when he had come to the Octavius Estate with Jillian. Tristan's heart sank. This was Jillian's tribe.

Tristan wandered amidst the sea of bodies that carpeted the forest's floor. Tristan searched everywhere for Jillian's body, but could find it nowhere. He wanted to believe that this meant she could have survived, but the Roman soldier's words echoed in his mind. "We left not a single one of those bastards alive." So many of the bodies had been burned to the point that they could hardly be called bodies anymore that it was enough to make Tristan feel sick to his stomach. He fumbled Dagonet's ring in his fingers, and his heart lurched with pain.

He remembered when Dagonet had confided about his gift to Jillian. Tristan had, of course, felt jealousy, though he did not reveal it to Dagonet. Now, he wished more than ever that Dagonet had never given her the ring. No, Jillian could not be dead. She survived. She had to have survived.

"Jillian?" Tristan called. No answer.

"Jillian?" he called again, this time louder. No answer.

"Jillian!" he screamed. No answer.

He knelt down on the ground, cradling the ring in his fingers. "Jillian…" he whispered. Still, there was no answer.

The knights were just outside the Wall when Tristan rejoined them. His jaw was clenched, his face hard as stone. He rode over to Dagonet and placed the ring in his hand. Dagonet gasped at the sight of it. "In the forest? With the smoke? She was there?" Dagonet asked, still in shock. Tristan nodded.

Dagonet swallowed hard. "Tristan, I'm so sorry," he said sincerely, "I know how much Jillian meant to you."

"What's going on? What about Jillian?" asked Galahad, completely oblivious to the sensitivity the situation demanded.

"Galahad, shush," warned Gawain.

"I'm just asking a question! What happened?" Galahad asked, still not catching on to the severity of the matter.

"She's dead!" Tristan spoke suddenly and harshly, giving Galahad the harshest glare he could muster. Galahad was quickly silenced and fidgeted awkwardly in his saddle. Tristan rode away from the others towards the main entrance of the Wall. He needed to be alone right now.

"Lancelot!" called Cassia from her carriage. Lancelot rode over to her side. "What happened?" she asked.

"She's gone---Jillian. She was in the woods. She's gone," Lancelot answered, still unable to believe his own words.

Cassia's jaw dropped and she held her hand up to her mouth. "No, that cannot be," she said, shaking her head in disbelief. Lancelot was shocked at how the news affected her. She certainly was nothing like her daughter.

"They found Dagonet's ring," Lancelot explained.

Cassia took in Lancelot's words, as a look of understanding crossed her face. "I am sorry to hear that," she said sincerely.

"You really are, aren't you?" Lancelot responded sounding somewhat surprised.

"Not all Romans are heartless, Lancelot," she answered.

"Well spoke, Madame," Lancelot said, taking Cassia's hand in his and kissing her knuckles ceremoniously, "A point well taken."

The caravan entered the main gate of Hadrian's Wall and made its way to the courtyard to unload. Lucia came racing towards the caravan at its arrival. She had a bright smile on her face and shouted excitedly, "Mother! Mother!" Cassia Gaius stepped out from her carriage and stood watching her daughter's approach. Her tall stature surprised Lancelot who had not been able to discern her height as she had sat in the carriage.

"Mother!" Lucia cried happily, "You're finally here!" Cassia did not share Lucia's enthusiasm. She stood staring at Lucia with a face cold as stone. She withdrew a stack of letters from within her cloak and held them in her hands for Lucia to see. Lucia's smile immediately dropped from her face and her eyes opened wide with dismay.

"Daughter," Cassia said severely, "We leave tomorrow at first light. You have much to explain to your father."

Arthur approached them with a slight smile. "Oh, Lucia," he said, "I found your box and sent the letters it contained back to Rome to Senator Gaius. It must have slipped my mind to tell you." Lucia glared at Arthur, but was soon distracted by Lancelot who grabbed her by the waist from behind.

"Don't fret, my darling, we still have tonight," he cooed in her ear. Lucia elbowed Lancelot in the gut and ran off in a fit of tears. Lancelot smirked at Cassia who was giving him a disapproving look.

Her frown soon faded into a wistful smile as she said, "Well Lancelot, I'm afraid it will be a short visit."

"Indeed it will," Lancelot responded. He gave her a formal bow and retired to the tavern with the rest of the knights.


Tristan sat atop of the wall at one of the currently unoccupied guard stations. He gazed out at the setting sun desperately searching for some kind of inner peace. He could hear laughter from the tavern below that stung against the complete numbness he felt inside. 'To feel numb,' he thought, 'Was that not a contradiction? How can one feel the absence of feeling?' He heard footsteps approaching, but he did not bother to look up.

"You are not acquainted with me," Cassia Gaius spoke to him, "but I am acquainted with you. I am Cassia Gaius." Tristan turned to her, his face devoid of all life and emotion. "I once loved a man named Augustus Liberias," she continued, "I loved him very deeply, and he loved me in return. I, however, was to be married to my current husband Maximus Gaius, a man of significantly higher social status. Augustus and I planned to escape Rome and elope, spending the rest of our days together in love. When my father learnt of this, he had Augustus brutally murdered. We live in an unfair world, Tristan---a world that makes no exceptions for love, no matter how true it is. Yet, to find such love---no matter how briefly---well, I would not have traded that for anything else this unyielding world could have offered." Tristan listened intently to her words, but could think of no other response but to bow his head in respect to her. When he lifted his head, he found himself to be once again sitting alone at the top of the wall. 'Alone,' he thought. Alone.