Chapter Three
The next day yet again saw a lone figure rise before anyone else, except this time it was noted by a quiet and reserved scout. Meg got up and stretched her aching muscles; it had been a while since she had slept on the ground. After she was done stretching, she cleaned up her little area and again walked off into the woods, not knowing that someone else was watching her.
After she had left, Tristan got up and followed her into the woods. Meg walked until she came to a small clearing. She went and stood in the middle and closed her eyes. She took several deep, calming breathes and started moving.
When Tristan came to the clearing, he stopped beside a tree. He was fascinated by what she was doing. It looked like a dance, but it was some what different. She moved with the grace of a bird and every movement was precise. Tristan watched as she moved, wondering what she was doing. He thought it was a form of meditation, but he was not sure.
They went on like this for about half an hour. When she was through, she was standing in the center of the clearing covered in sweat. As she finished, Meg realized that she was not alone as she thought she had been. As she turned around to go back, her ice blue eyes collided with a pair of honey brown. Meg smiled as she walked towards Tristan.
"Ah, I see I have been caught. Did you enjoy it?" She asked.
Tristan flushed a little. "Yes, I did. What was it you were doing? It was interesting."
She glanced at him and noticed that he was sincerely interested in what she had been doing.
"It is a form of martial arts. It is a fighting style found in the Orient. It helps me to focus and concentrate better. If you want, I can show you some of the moves. It takes a lot of discipline to do it correctly."
Tristan was shocked at the offer, but he knew better than to let something like this pass up. "I would like that very much. In exchange, I will show you some of my fighting skills."
Meg thought that was a good plan and agreed. They continued talking until they got to the camp. By the time they had returned, several knights were a little worried. They had woken up to see not only Meg gone, but also Tristan. Those knights that didn't trust her thought she had killed Tristan. The others thought the opposite. So, when they returned, they were greeted with mixed emotions. Meg and Tristan looked at each other and smiled. They were thinking the same thing; Let them think what they will.
It took another day to reach Hadrian's Wall. When they got there, an ornately dressed man came out and greeted them, well most of them. Meg felt bad for the Roman boy, Alecto. He did not look comfortable with the greeting from the man. The knights were, then, given little scrolls. Apparently these were their discharge papers. The men took them with great hostility, which was amusing to watch to Meg.
As she was watching, Jols walked passed her. "Excuse me, Jols?"
"Yes, my dear." Meg smiled.
"Could you tell me where I might take Angel? I do not know my way around."
He smiled at her and said. "Don't worry, Lady Meg. Arthur has already made arrangements for you and Lady Guinevere. You, both, have rooms near the knights and your horse has a stall open for her near Tristan's horse."
Meg laughed. "He sure does not waste time, does he? And he is smarter than I gave him credit for. Well, Jols, will you show me Angel's stall? She needs a good rub down. She's worked hard these last few days. Oh, and please call me Meg, I am no lady." Jols laughed and agreed to show her to the stables.
Meg took almost an hour to care for Angel. But it was mostly for herself than for the horse. When she was done, she grabbed her weapons, two swords and several throwing knives, and her saddle bags of clothing and went to find Jols or someone to show her to her room.
After she got to her room, she placed her things where she wanted them. When she finished, she went to find Gwen. Meg came upon a slightly open door with raised voices coming from the room. So, being a little nosy, she stood next to the door and eavesdropped on the occupants.
"But Arthur, you and your men came back safe. Isn't that enough?"
"No, it isn't. I almost lost the life of one of my trusted knights and friend. All because you sent us on a suicide mission, but it wasn't just the mission that has me so pissed off. You and Rome decided to hold the freedom that my men have worked so hard for over their heads and mine by the way. That was unforgivable in my eyes and theirs."
Meg had been listening so intently that she did not know someone was behind her until she felt a hand on her shoulder. Stifling a scream, Meg whirled around to see Gawain and Galahad behind her. She looked at the pair and shook her head.
"Did you want me to die of fright?" She asked. They looked at each other and than shook their heads. Meg smiled.
"Come on then. I am in need of something to drink, and then I might even challenge the both of you to a duel." She batted her eyelashes, and then turned to walk away. Again then looked at each other, but this time they smiled wickedly.
The three of them laughed and joked all the way to the tavern that Bors' lover, Vanora, worked in. Meg was enjoying herself when the rest of the knights showed up. She noticed that that Vanora was having a hard time keeping up with the demands of the knights. So, she got up and went to Vanora.
"Vanora? Do you need any help?" Vanora looked up and saw a woman she did not recognize, but she soon remembered what Bors had said.
"You were the one to save Dagonet, yes?" Meg nodded. "I should be the one asking you if you need anything. You saved Dag. My Bors would have been heart broken to have lost a good friend. For that, I thank you." Vanora said.
Meg blushed slightly. "Oh please. I just could not let something so finely made to go to waste." Meg winked at Vanora, who burst out in laughter.
"I could get to like you. But if you really want to help, would you take the baby? He is fussing and I don't know what is wrong with him."
"Vanora, I would love to care for your son. Where is he?"
"Let me get him from Bors, would you take this cup to Tristan while I get him?"
Meg smiled and took the cup. She looked around to find the scout, but did not see him. Just as she moved to ask where he was, she saw a flash coming from one of the dark corners. Meg walked over to the corner with the cup and sat down at his table. She realized that the flash that she had seen had been the light reflecting off of his knife as he sliced pieces of apple and ate them. Tristan looked up from his apple to see Meg sit down.
"Can I help you?" He asked.
"Not really. Vanora asked me to bring you a drink while she got number eleven from Bors. Apparently, he's fussy tonight and she doesn't know why. But between you and me, I would be fussy too if my father was Bors." Her eyes twinkled with suppressed laughter.
Tristan didn't even try to hold it back. His laughter rang out above the noise of the crowd. Just then Vanora walked up with a very cranky baby.
"Here you go Meg. I really appreciate your help. I have to go; I think Gawain and Galahad are out of drink already."
"Vanora, tell them they still owe me a duel. Maybe that will ease their drinking a bit." Meg said while taking the baby.
Vanora smiled and left to refill glasses. Tristan looked at her while eating his apple. She was at ease at holding a cranky baby as she was at doing her strange meditation exercise. Meg cooed and rocked the baby, and when that didn't work, she stood up and swayed back and forth.
"You look like you've done this before." Tristan said.
Without breaking her rhythm, she replied. "I have a couple of nieces at home. My mom says that I have a calming effect on children. My sisters get annoyed when I'm the only one able to quiet their children down."
He looked at her with a searching gaze. He agreed with her mother about the calming effect. When he was around most people, he got nervous and it came out as sarcastic; but with her, he could be the man he had always wanted to be. Funny, witty, caring, and a hint of charming, all in all a toned down version of Lancelot.
Speaking of Lancelot, Tristan looked up from his musing to see him coming to join Meg and him. Lancelot sat down in the chair that she had just got out of.
"Well now. Tristan you do work fast. I didn't even know you knew how to pleasure a woman." He said sarcastically.
Meg turned around with a scathing look in her eyes. "Well, you know Lancelot. It's always the quiet ones you have to look for. The loud obnoxious ones are the ones trying to prove something. So you might want to take some advice. It's better to keep your mouth shut, than to prove everyone correct."
With that she leaned down and placed a chaste kiss on Tristan. Lancelot's mouth dropped open. He had never had a woman choose Tristan over him. Meg and Tristan looked at his face and laughed. Tristan had been as shocked as Lancelot had been when she kissed him. It humbled him a bit to know that she liked his quiet ways.
A strange sound broke both men from their thoughts. They looked towards Meg. The sound was coming from her, but when they sat closer, it turned out that she was humming to the little boy. Also, she had a decent voice, which sort of shocked Lancelot. Most women he knew were not quite so talented in other areas besides pleasuring a man.
Vanora walked up to Meg and heard her humming and made a quick decision. She loudly asked, "Meg, would you sing for us? It would be good to know I am not the only singer here."
Most of the patrons heard and started chanting for a song. Meg, embarrassed, quickly agreed. Bors pulled her to the center of the floor and everyone quieted down. She hummed a few bars to get her voice ready and started to sing.
Home is behind,
the world ahead.
And there are many paths to tread.
Through shadow.
To the edge of night.
Until the stars are all alight.
Mist and shadow.
Cloud and shade.
All shall fade.
All shall fade.
As she finished, she looked around the crowd. Most of the women had tears in their eyes, and most of the men were deep in thought. Meg looked towards the knights to see their reactions. Gawain and Galahad had their eyes closed, but had tiny smiles. Bors and Dagonet were standing with Vanora between them. All three were a little misty eyed. Lancelot had his head bowed so she could not see his expression. As she looked at Tristan, she was just a little scared at his reaction, but he was just watching her. His eyes were tracing over her facial features like he was memorizing everything about her. When his gaze met hers, the intensity of it was tremendous.
It wasn't until Bors came to claim the sleeping child, did their gazes waver from each other. Startled a little, Meg looked towards Gawain and Galahad. She smiled as she walked over to them.
"I hope you are not too far into your cups to duel with me, because I am still a little rusty for I have not practiced in a while." She said with a little smirk.
And with that both men grabbed her by her arms and started to drag her away. She laughed at their enthusiasm, but told them that she needed her weapons and to change into "proper" dueling gear.
As she walked back to room, she ran into Gwen. Meg told Gwen about the duel and Gwen decided that she wanted to play too, so she got her things and the two women went to meet the knights.
As they came up to the practice ring, they noticed that all of the knights, most of the Roman guards, Arthur, the Bishop Germanis, and young Alecto had gathered around. The great and pompous Bishop was disgusted at the sight of the women.
Gwen had dressed in traditional Woad battle gear. Meg had her cloak on so no one could see what was under it. Her hair was pulled back at the sides, but left the rest down the back. Her hair was a wealth of auburn curls that reached her waist.
The knights watched as she took off her cloak to reveal an interesting outfit. Her pants were black and looked a little big on her. Her shirt was un-tucked and the sleeves were rolled up to reveal wrist sheaths with a pair of throwing knives. But the most astonishing thing about her outfit was her shoes. They were a pair of slippers more suited for being under dresses. On her back was a pair of matching swords with sheaths that criss-crossed.
Meg got to the ring and took her shoes off. She also started stretching her muscles.
"I hope you don't mind Gwen joining us. She and I usually spar each other and rarely find someone willing to spar with us." She asked while bending over.
Both men agreed and got ready to spar with the women. Arthur was in charge of who was the winner, as Jols and Ganis took bets on who would win. The Romans betted on the knights while the villagers, and, secretly, Tristan went with the women. Gwen walked over to the knights and said.
"We start with weapons. When the first person is out of weapons, everyone else puts theirs away and go hand- to- hand. Sound fair?"
Both knights agreed a little bit smug. Gwen walked back to Meg and they each got out their chosen weapon. Gwen's was a small sword and a battle ax, but Meg's was a pair of swords much like Tristan's. Gawain looked at Galahad as they pulled their weapons out.
