Alright, here's the deal. Katemary77 wins the grand prize b/c she reviewed, like, 5 minutes after I posted the 5th chapter. Congrats, you are my best reviewer.
Dazzler420 comes in at a close second, making up for it w/ 2 reviews (although they are the same review, hmm, are you trying to scam my fake prizes?)
SprectalLady- you win the prize for sounding the exact same way I think I might have reacted! Sarcasm is appreciated, thank god.
Gawain sighed as Jols' herb tea began to soothe his aching head. It helped it him to focus on things. Things code for the naked amazon in his room. Perhaps no longer naked, but still….
Gawain flexed his fingers, trying to forget the image he had caught on his hasty exit from the room. She had been rising out of the tub covered in soap suds. She was just about to stand up, and BANG! He was out of the room and in the hall, the door banging closed behind him. Since when did he have a chivalrous side?
Since you got drunk and there were little demons dancing inside your head, his common sense told him.
He mused slightly over what might have happened if he had been at all sober, or at least a little less hungover.
At that point, Bors, Dagonet, and Lancelot chose to join him at the Round Table. Jols had decided to lay out breakfast for all of them there, instead of them interrupting his duties by each asking for breakfast individually. It saved him time and wits.
He looked up from his tea to see Lancelot smirking at him.
"What?" he said, rather defensive.
Lancelot grinned even more. "Hmm, well, let's see? Your hair is messed up, not that that's a change or a surprise, you're still wearing the clothes you were wearing last knight, you smiling to yourself, and you're drinking Jols' herbal tea. I'd say you've done something our devout Christian lord wouldn't approve of" he stated, knowledgeable in these departments himself.
"Actually" Gawain said, slightly gruff "I woke up this morning not in my room, hungover, and my head pounding. There's nothing all that glorious in that, now is there?"
Lancelot pursed his lips, trying to understand. "Then what about the woman?" he asked, suspicious.
"What woman?" Gawain said, feigning surprise, as if that hadn't been Lancelot's aim after all.
"Come, come, we all know that you only smile like that when you've had a good night with a gorgeous woman"
"Well, I've seen one, a few actually, but not that that's any of your concern" Gawain said, a secretive smile on his lips.
At that moment, Galahad chose to walk in. Gawain did a double take. Galahad's hair was mussed, he was wearing the same clothes he had been wearing the other night, and he looked smug and in pain at the same time. The same way he had been described by Lancelot.
Lancelot didn't fail to take notice of this either.
"Alright, who are they?" Lancelot demanded.
Galahad stopped in his tracks, staring at him. "What?" he said.
"The women you slept with!" Lancelot near shouted, bursting with curiosity.
"Women?" Bors piped up "I'd say something like a girl. He's not ready for women yet" he chuckled.
Galahad shot him a death glare.
"Well, something happened to these two, and I intend to find out" Lancelot stated, sitting back in his chair and crossing his arms.
The three of them were engaged in a silent staring contest, waiting to see who would crack first. They were interrupted by a slight bang from the doorway.
They heard a muffled "Ow" from behind the door, and a stifled giggle.
Kirima and Hana chose that moment to enter, followed a few seconds later Damara, still rubbing her head ruefully. Kirima's face was red from stifled laughter.
Lancelot returned his attention to the two before him. They had both turned a flaming red when the girls had entered.
"Exotic enough for you Galahad?" Lancelot said in a low voice.
"What, too much for you dear?" a voice asked, dripping with sarcasm.
His head shot around, looking for the accuser. Kirima sat on the table, nibbling on a piece of bread. She smirked when she saw his look.
He smiled, all charm now. "No, I just thought the innocent one over there isn't ready to play with children from out of the playpen" He said, stinging back.
She lifted her eyebrows. "Oh really? He seemed experienced last night. I found him quite enjoyable" she said, almost absentmindedly.
Bors started coughing, covering his laughter. Gawain looked at Galahad. His friend looked as though his head was about to set on fire, he was blushing so hard.
Lancelot had sunk down into his seat, muttering something about "since when did he get girls…"
Kirima looked at him, laughing slightly. She said something to Damara and Hana, obviously an insult. Galahad could be light beacon, if this kept up for much longer. Red would make a stunning light in the dark.
Damara had been slightly on edge ever since she had reevaluated how her conversation with Gawain had gone during her bath. She had turned as red as Galahad was now, realizing that she had been close to revealing her naked body when she tried to help. He had unfortunately remembered that as well, judging by the look he had given her when she had come in.
Then again, she thought, it was slightly her own fault. She had found a favorite outfit of hers, light brown leather pants and top, with a braided belt. She couldn't carry her mace all that well with this outfit, but then again this outfit wasn't meant for heavy battle. More along the lines of twisting men around her finger. Just the way she had at court.
Damara snapped out of her thoughts when she heard Kirima speaking to the handsome womanizer.
Lancelot, she remembered. He was going to be trouble.
As she listened to their conversation, she was ready to burst out laughing.
Then Kiri had shouted across the table to her, in their language.
"Looks like someone needs a little timeout," she said, with a laugh. "Maybe he could use some of your charms, Damita".
She looked at her friend. Laughing, she replied, with a smile "I've told you never to call me 'Little noble lady' ever again. If you do, you're kissing Lancelot. Your other choice would be torture by roman ceremony"
Hana spluttered, half-spraying the food in her mouth across her hand. She put her head under the table and started laughing.
Sulking, Kiri slouched in her seat, looking not unlike Galahad and Lancelot. She muttered to herself, now exactly like Lancelot. The two could be long-lost siblings.
The knights were looking at the girls with varying degrees of confusion and curiosity. Tristan just observed it all from his vantage point with an appearance of detachment.
Damara smiled slightly, and helped herself to a piece of bread and some water from the table. Unsheathing a dagger at her waist, she leaned over the table and snagged some of the still-sulking Lancelot's cheese and ham while he still had his head down.
Grinning, she stuck the impaled food straight into her mouth just as Lancelot looked up at the sound of Bors' laughter.
"What?" he said, still moody.
"You should watch your food more carefully" said Bors, chuckling.
Arthur chose to make his appearance at that moment, looking around the room. Kiri and Lancelot obviously sulking, Galahad still blushing, and Bors, Dagonet and Tristan smirking.
He looked at Damara. She shrugged, still chewing Lancelot's food.
"Arthur, you should have been here two minutes ago" Gawain said, in a voice filled with mirth.
"And why is that Gawain?" Arthur said dryly. He was prepared for something bawdy already.
"Because apparently our little Galahad has grown up quite more than we thought he had" Gawain said. Galahad's blush deepened.
Arthur's eyebrows went up at this.
"Oh really? How did you learn of this?" he said.
"Because rumor has it that Galahad had the company of a certain woman last night" Lancelot said. Bors was choking with his laughter now. Galahad's head could definitely serve as a coastline beacon now. Gawain hadn't known that red had so many shades to it.
He laughed, slightly red himself at the thought of his encounter with Damara in his room. He blushed, his laughter subsiding as he looked up. Everyone around the table was staring at him and his newly refound blush. Even Arthur was staring at him skeptically.
"What?" he said, itching to get out of the spotlight.
"You're blushing as much as our friend Galahad over here" Lancelot said, indicating Galahad with a nod of his head.
"What of it?" he said defensively.
Lancelot's grin grew wider.
"Well, if Galahad's blushing this badly for no reason, why are you?" he asked, sniffing for a story.
"Maybe I don't have a reason either" Gawain said, desperate for an escape. Wrong answer for one though.
"I think you do" Lancelot said knowingly.
"I do too" Bors said suddenly, turning everyone's attention. Galahad's blush had lessened when the attention had turned to Gawain, and now he was sitting back in his chair, listening avidly to the conversation.
"Yes, tell us this story" came a female voice. They all shifted again. Kirima was sitting up, staring intently at Gawain with a barely disguised smirk on her face.
"We're all dying to know" Kirima said.
By now Hana had sat up and she was staring at Gawain also with a choked smile on her face that suggested that she was trying hard not to laugh.
Gawain looked around, desperate for an escape to this confrontation. All were staring at him avidly, waiting for an response to his apparently guilty appearance. Or so it had seemed.
"Yes, tell us of your mystery woman" said a voice with a slight accent. Damara was leaning back in her chair now, cleaning her nails with her dagger. She looked up at him, the outer corner of her lips turned up.
"From your blush, it seems that you had even more fun than Galahad" she said.
Gawain had to strongly resist the urge to let his mouth hang wide open. She knew exactly why he wasn't speaking, and yet she was teasing him about what had happened. Alright, if she wanted to play like that, she was gonna get it.
"Well, after I was unceremoniously dumped into that lovely room Jols found for us, I woke up, and went wandering for breakfast" he started, sneaking a peek at Damara's face. She had suddenly turned to color of a very ripe apple.
"While I was wandering, I came across my bedroom. Going inside I sat down and was about to fall back asleep when I heard-" Damara cut him off quickly.
"Arthur, could you show us where the stables are. We need to tend to our mounts, right ladies?" She said quickly, ending with a threatening tone, and looking at Kirima and Hana.
Hana was sitting straight up in her chair. Her struggle to not laugh was completely evident on her face. Kirima had stuffed a pastry into her mouth so that she wouldn't have to reply.
Arthur lifted an eyebrow, amused by their antics.
"If you would follow me then, Lady Damara" he said, motioning to the door.
Damara stood up, followed by Hana and Kiri, who had bowed their heads, their shoulders shaking with laughter. They followed her slowly out the door.
Arthur turned to the knights after Damara's hasty exit. Looking at them skeptically, he sighed.
"None of you are to touch the ladies without their express permission, do you understand? They aren't tavern wenches or village girls, so try to restrain yourselves" he said defeatedly.
Lancelot stood up, strolling towards the door.
"Well, Arthur, but I can restrain myself, but I don't know about Gawain and Galahad. Seems they've already gotten to know the 'ladies'" he said with a grin, walking out of the room.
"I hate it when he does that" Gawain said moodily, settling back into his chair.
A/N- sorry it took sooooo long to get this one out. School is tough, and I have the play coming up. I hate the school year in general. And to top it off, my favorite teacher got laid off. What a lovely year I'm having