Chapter Six

After a while of drinking and laughing and games, Arthur hugged Meg and walked to his room to relax. Meg watched as Gwen followed Arthur's progress with her eyes.

Meg leaned forward on the table, "Gwen, I know you want to go after him. So do it already." Gwen looked a bit startled then smiled and took off after Arthur. Dagonet and Tristan, who were sitting at the same table, chuckled.

The three of them sat there quietly drinking their drinks, when all of a sudden five piercing whistles were heard by everyone. The knights looked up to see what it was, but could not see anything in the night sky. Soon their eyes were drawn to Meg, who had gotten up, hastily, from her chair and was sprinting for the battlements. The knights looked at her fleeing body and quickly followed after her.

When they caught up with her, they found her looking out over the battlements with Lucifer on her shoulder. Confused at what she was looking at, they drew closer and followed her gaze.

Meg looked at the knights and said. "Jols, please go and get Arthur. He needs to know about this." Jols nodded his head and ran off to Arthur's room.

The knights either sat down or leaned against the wall waiting for Arthur. They didn't have to wait long. Arthur and Gwen came running up the steps, both looking a bit bedraggled. Arthur and Gwen look towards Meg and received a small smirk from her. With a little blush, they both look over the wall and were shocked to see thousands of camp fires littering the grounds in front of the woods.

"Knights, my journey with you must end here. May God go with you." Arthur said after looking out over the crowd of villagers. Without a nod or a smile, he walked off. Not believing Arthur, Lancelot raced after him calling his name. As Lancelot tried to talk some sense into Arthur, Meg takes Gwen's hand.

"I will see you at the camp site at dawn with your supplies. Don't waste the time you have with him." Smiling a small smile of thanks, Gwen followed after Arthur and Lancelot.

Meg turned to the other knights. "It your choice to join him and me on the battle field, I hope you will consider it."

With that, she smiled and hugged all of the knights, ending with Tristan and Dagonet, who both got pecks on the cheeks.

"If you choose not to join, then God speed on your travels. If you do join, I will see you on the field." She turned and left them where they stood, Lucifer flying after her.

Slowly the knights left. Bors to the tavern to collect Vanora and to pack their belongings. Galahad and Gawain, also, head to the tavern, but to get jugs of wine and some willing distractions. Dagonet went to his room to pack his belongings, his heart heavy with indecision. Tristan, too, went to his room to pack, but he finished quickly because he never collected much of the non-useful clutter.

After making sure his things were ready, Tristan walked out of his room and down the hallway to Meg's room. Knocking lightly so not to disturb anyone, he waited for a reply. He heard foot steps in the room and the door opened to show Meg.

She looked at him then turned and walked back to her bed. Tristan walked into the room and closed the door. He leaned against the door and watched as she got her knives and swords in order.

Without looking up she says. "Are you going to stand there all night or are you going to tell me what you came here for?"

Tristan chuckled. "You do know how to get to the point. I just came to say good-bye."

Her head came up and looked at him. "Was that it? You just wanted to say good-bye. You walked all this way for that? Will wonders never cease?"

Meg turned back to her weapons. She moved them from her bed to the chest that was placed under the window. As she turned around, she ran into Tristan, who had quietly come up behind her.

"Actually, that wasn't the only reason why I came here."

"Oh? What were the other reasons?"

By then they were standing close enough to have tension in the room. Looking deep into her eyes, he leaned close enough to allow his lips to gently play on hers as he spoke to her.

"I also wanted to know if you meant what you said to Lancelot earlier today at the tavern."

"If you don't know your own worth and how sexy you are, then I shouldn't have to waste my breath trying to convince you."

With that, she turned to walk away from him. She got about two steps from him when she suddenly found herself crushed against his chest and his mouth moving sensually over hers. After getting over the shock, Meg closed her eyes and moved her arms to circle his neck.

When they came up for air, they looked into each others eyes and knew that this was probably going to be the last time they would see each other. Not wanting to waste time, Meg gathered Tristan's shirt and walked backwards until her knees hit the edge of the bed. They kissed again and they undressed each other.

As he pulled her shirt off, Tristan trailed his lips along her neck and collarbone. After stripping Tristan of his shirt, Meg lightly ran her hand down his back and up his chest. Tracing his scars with a fingertnail, Tristan shifted a little when she found the scar on his side.

Meg smiled. "A little sensitive, are we?"

Tristan smiled back and nudged her backwards on to the bed. Lying down beside her, he ran his hand down the center of her chest, from her neck to the waist-band of her pants.

"Do you have any idea what you do to me? I almost threw you over my shoulder when you took your shirt off this afternoon." He said to her in a desire-filled voice.

She looked into his honey brown eyes and saw the same thing that was reflected in hers, love and desire. She leaned down and kissed his lips, then kissed her way to his ear.

"No, I had no idea you felt this way. But do you know what you have done to me? You sit in a dark corner of the tavern and watch everything. Your face never shows what you are thinking. But when you look at me, I feel as if I am the only one you are looking at. And that really sets you apart from the rest." Meg said while kissing his chest.

When she got to his belly button, she suddenly found herself on her back with Tristan above her. He smiled wickedly at her and proceeded to do the same as she had done. When he got to her pants, he gently slipped them down her legs and let his eyes trace her body.

Meg felt that he was memorizing the way she looked. She let him finish and after he was done, she pushed him onto his back again and removed his pants and boots. Meg looked at him and committed this image to her memory. As she finished, their eyes met and they moved as one to get as close as they could.

Just before dawn, Meg woke up and tried to stretch. When she could not move, she remembered the night before. Smiling, she turned over to look at the peacefully sleeping man in her bed. Tristan cracked an eye open and then quickly closed it.

"Hmm. Go back to sleep. It's not quite dawn yet." He said with a sleep laced voice.

"I can't. I have to get ready for the battle, which means I have to leave now." She replied.

Groaning a little, he stretched his muscles. "Is there any way I could convince you not to fight? I just found you. I don't want to lose you."

Meg, touched by his show of emotion, cupped his cheek in her hand. Smiling sadly, she told him. "No, dearest. This is why I was sent back. We all have a destiny, this just happens to be mine. Yours is to take the freedom you were granted and live it and do as you please. There is no longer anyone to tell you what to do. No one to send you on suicide missions. It is your choice, something you have not the freedom to do in fifteen years."

Meg kissed him and got out of the bed. Still a little shocked at her speech, Tristan watched as she dressed. She put on a pair of tight fitting black pants, her shirt from the day before, and her knee-high boots. Then she put her weapons on, beginning with her daggers in her boots and ending with the twin blades on her back.

As she went to brush her hair, Tristan got out of bed and sat her down on the stool in front of the hearth. With gentle strokes, he worked through the knots and tangles in her hair. To finish, he started to put braids in her hair much like his own. After he was done, he leaned down and kissed her bare shoulder.

Reaching into one of her bags, Meg pulled out a silver necklace with an upside-down horseshoe hanging from it. She stood up and turned to face Tristan.

Holding the necklace up, she smiled at him. "I would like for you to have this. My sister gave it to me as a birthday present and I would like for you to have it. Not as a going away gift, but something tangible to remember me by."

He looked at her, but said nothing. Fearing he would start to cry, Tristan sat down on her vacated stool and allowed her to put the necklace on him. When she was done, he grabbed her hand and pulled her to sit carefully on his lap.

"I have no words to express what I am feeling right now. But if you will allow me to dress, I have something to offer you in my room."

They hugged and she got the rest of her things together as he dressed. Soon after, they were walking quickly, but quietly down the hall towards his room.

When they got to his room, Tristan went digging into his bags, looking for something. Meg sat on his unused bed and smiled as he rummaged through his bags.

With a cry of success, he lifted out a wooden box. Walking over to sit with her on the bed, he lifted the lid of the box to reveal a little jar of ink, another jar with needles, and a little wooden hammer.

He smiled at her. "In my tribe, it is an honor to receive the markings of a great warrior. This is the most personal gift I could ever give anyone, and I would like to put my markings on you." Tristan said with a little blush.

Touched beyond belief, Meg smiled and nodded her head. He instructed her to lie down on her stomach with her head facing him. He crawled onto the bed to get a better position to work on her back. When he got situated, he opened the box, then the jars and picked out the needle and wooden hammer.

After dipping the needle into the ink, he raised it to the place between her neck and shoulder blades. She tensed a little as he raised the hammer.

"Relax dearest, it won't hurt." Tristan said soothingly. And he began to tap the needle with the little hammer.

A.N.: Here you go Priscilla2 and Scouter, more of Tristan. And thanks for being so loyal and reviewing every chapter I put up. :)