This is just an edited version of chapter 7-nothing new. Chapter 8 is nearly done and should be up soon.
Okay, I'm just going to start by saying I'm VERY sorry if I've upset any of you by not updating since the beginning of time. ( I doubt there are enough people reading this to actually make anyone upset...but I digress.) I have been having really horrid computer problems. My word processor has been absolutely evil and I could not update for the longest time. Sorry all, I hope to have these problems fixed in the near future-but as of now that isn't going so well. Please stick with me, I'll give you updates as often as I can. Thanks.
Disclaimer: I don't own anything except for my own characters. Anything/anyone you do not recognize belongs to me. I may use lines and/or quotes from other sources, which are not my own, later on in the story. I'm not quite sure though-so I'm being un-specific. Those (if I do choose to use them) also do not in anyway belong to me.
NOTE: MERLIN CHAPPY...finally! I know how many people were waiting for this one...(that was a joke)
Choices
Chapter 7: That Haunting Heat
Lena walked silently through the snow, following Arthur. She had waited several minutes after Guinevere left before exiting the wagon and now was headed on her way towards Merlin.
She was a little less than halfway to her destination when she heard the footsteps. They were barely audible but Lena had detected them. Someone was following her. She couldn't very well lead this person to Merlin, Guinevere, and Arthur whilst they were having such an important conversation. She also couldn't miss the conversation. If only she could see who it was. But no, she couldn't turn around to check, that would be much to obvious. So instead, Lena began leading whoever it was through a tangled maze of trees and shrubbery, trying to lose them while appearing as though she was none the wiser to her follower.
Lena listened carefully. It seemed as though the footsteps had stopped but she couldn't tell over the light crunch made by her own. She hid behind a tree, her back pressed tightly against it, trying to remain inconspicuous and all the while straining to hear footsteps.
Lancelot had lost sight of whoever had been following Lena and was wandering somewhat aimlessly. He continued in the direction he believed the others to have gone, searching for some sign of their whereabouts. He would find out what was going on. He could understand why Arthur would follow Guinevere. There were certain...things...those two could be doing out in the forest. But Lena? Why the hell was she sneaking about after them? And who had been following her? That, above all other emotions it might provoke, was cause for worry. He wanted to know what the hell was going on!
Lena smiled in relief. No one was out there. She must have lost whoever it wasor imagined it. Yes, she had always had the tendency to become somewhat paranoid. There probably had never been anyone out there to start with. Feeling more secure she dared to look out from behind her tree. No one.
And just as the thought that she was perfectly alright passed through her mind, something shot out of the darkness and took hold of her.
Lancelot, sighing in frustration, turned and was about to head back to his sleeping accommodations when he heard it.
A strangled scream.
Lena.
He ran, oblivious to all his surroundings, in the direction the noise had come from, slowing only once he heard more sounds.
"Where are they?" demanded a familiar voice.
A very familiar voice.
Lancelot broke through a particularly difficult shrub that had been in his way and stared in confusion at the scene in front of him.
"Tristan!"
"Go back to camp, Lancelot." replied the scout as calmly as ever, not the least bit unnerved by the sudden appearance of Lancelot.
"What the hell are you doing?" he shouted at his fellow knight, gesturing towards the struggling Lena. Tristan had her pinned against a tree, left forearm held up firmly across her neck, ready to choke at a moments notice. His right hand rested ominously on the handle of his dagger.
Tristan ignored the bewildered knight. "Where has she taken him?" he demanded coldly, his eyes boring into Lena's. "What does the wizard want with him?" he began to push is arm slightly more forcefully against her throat. "Tell me." he demanded fiercely.
Lena cursed under her breath. Tristan had watched her follow his commander. He had gotten wise to what was going on. But, that look he was giving her...there was something more to it. There was mistrust in his eyes, that was certain, suspicion too-but there was another factor. Something she couldn't place. And then it hit her.
He had seen her at the fire as she received a vision. Lena had forgotten. She had forgotten to tell Merlin, and stupidly forgotten to ask his advice. Her strange actions must have sent Tristan's suspicions into a frenzy. And now she was paying for her foolish forgetfulness, pinned to a tree in the middle of a forest.
When Lena remained silent still Tristan applied even more pressure to her throat. She gasped unsuccessfully for air, managing only to make a strange and startling noise.
"WHAT ARE YOU DOING!" shouted the utterly confused and very nearly enraged Lancelot.
"Her friend has taken Arthur somewhere." He answered still maintaining his collected demeanor.
"What does that matter! They're off forn-" Lancelot was cut off by Tristan furthering his explanation.
"They were planning to take him to the dark wizard. She has done something with Arthur." he explained as if speaking to a small child. "The other one has already lead him there. Now," he concentrated on Lena once again. "Tell me where they-" now it was Tristan who was cut off by Lancelot.
"Is that true?" he asked Lena, barely concealing the fury that was now boiling under the surface. When she didn't answer he asked again. "Is what he says true?" he shouted.
Lena didn't have many options here. Not answering, well that was getting old pretty quick. And lying? She could, and Lancelot would probably believe her, but she could never convince Tristan. They would be standing here at an impasse all night. Moreover, she didn't particularly wish to lie.
More importantly than any of that however, she needed to be there for the remainder of the meeting with Merlin. It looked as though there was no getting out of this one.
"Yes." she managed to choke out, her eyes begging him for understanding.
Lancelot grabbed Lena's arm roughly as he pulled her towards himself and away from Tristan. "Lead us to him." his voice was quiet and furious all at once.
They could be killing Arthur as he spoke! Planning a surprise attack on the knights, using their friend as a hostage. And Lena had tricked him!
Part of him knew that these were foolish exaggerations-but his friendship with Arthur meant he was obligated to protect him. They couldn't take chances. Especially on a mission as dangerous as this. They need their leader.
"He will not be harmed." Lena informed the knights. "There are no violent intentions."
She sighed, glancing between the men. "I suppose it is better if you know..." She mumbled.. "Follow me." Lancelot nodded, and walked beside Lena-his anger subdued into slight distrust.
Tristan followed behind cautiously.
Tristan wasn't all bad. In fact, he wasn't really bad at all. Distant, strange, emotionally deficient? To the untrained eye-sure. But he wasn't bad. Heartless? Certainly not. He cared about people-just in a much less open way than most. He cared very much about his fellow knights. They were his brothers. Perhaps he was not as close with any of them as they were amongst themselves, but they were the nearest thing to a family he knew. And Tristan was a warrior. An exceptional one. When you are an exceptional warrior you do not pity your enemy. You do not let emotions leave room for error. You are ruthless. And when it came to his enemies, Tristan was. As far as he was concerned, Lena was an enemy.
And as he followed her, he couldn't help but think Lancelot was a fool for having so much trust in a Woad. And yet, a small part of him knew that she was good. That he could trust her.
Tristan began to pick up the sound of voices in the distance, and quickened his pace.
"You betrayed me!" Arthur hissed after seeing Merlin emerge from the trees. He had followed Guinevere here under the impression that she was suggesting that they...well...He certainly hadn't expected to be lead right to the leader of his greatest enemies...
"He means you no harm." Guinevere informed him. 'Stay. Please, stay and listen.' she begged in her mind.
"Peace between us this night, Arthur Castus." Merlin spoke. His voice was strong and carried wisdom. "So Rome is leaving. The Saxons have come. The world we have known and fought for is ended. Now, we must make a new world." His eyes scanned Arthur, judging him, weighing him.
"Your world, Merlin. Not mine. I shall be in Rome," said Arthur defensively. He did not wish to fraternize with the Dark Magician.
At his words Lena silently broke through the trees surrounding the small clearing they currently occupied, followed closely by Tristan and Lancelot.
"How long, Arthur?" she asked simply before making her way towards Merlin and bowing slightly. The elderly man bowed back deeply. He gave Lancelot and Tristan questioning looks, which they returned, but nodded in approval when Lena whispered something. Again Merlin bowed to his niece.
'Why is he bowing to her?' the thought flitted through Lancelot's mind momentarily but was replaced when Arthur, having gotten over the initial shock of seeing Lena and two of his own men arrive, began to respond to Lena's question.
"How long until what?" he asked suspiciously.
Lena turned to face him. "How long until the Saxons come to Rome?"
"Impossible." Arthur stated simply. "They would never."
Lena laughed sardonically. "They will." she paused at his outraged expression. "It's inevitable, really." she informed the great knight. "And all that you can do to stop it is fight now-
" Lena was cut short by an angry Arthur.
"My knights trust me not to betray them to their enemy." he seethed, looking back to where his men now stood behind him.
Merlin spoke again. "Rome was my enemy. Not Arthur. Not his men." His dark eyes ran over the three figures before him. "We have no fight between us."
"You tell that to the knights you killed before my eyes! Whose bones are buried in this earth!" Arthur shouted. This man was a fool to think he would ever fight for him.
"We have all lost brothers." Merlin said wisely.
"You know nothing of the loss I speak!" Guinevere winced slightly at his sudden ferocity. "Shall I help you remember? An attack on a village. The screams of an innocent woman." he spat disgustedly, painting a picture no one wished to see.
At his words Lena felt herself begin to sway with dizziness. The hatred radiating off of Arthur was enough to send her into a sight. She needed no touch to feel the intense pain of his memories.
Thunder crackled in the distance, and Lena set her eyes upon a burning village-being attacked by woads. She watched as a young boy ran to a fence, panicked. Lena followed him, assuming that he was running to his home.
"Mother!" The boy screamed into a burning house.
"Artorius!" a woman screamed back from within. Her doorway was blocked by a burning wagon. She would never make it out.
"Arthur's mother..." Lena realized out loud. "This is how she dies..." She gave the young, frightened Arthur a sympathetic look. "Poor boy." she whispered as the young Arthur continued to scream for his mother through the blinding flames. Lena could faintly feel the heat from the blaze on her face.
She stood semi-conscious in two worlds.
While Arthur's horrible memory flashed before her eyes, she could still make out the shapes of Tristan and Lancelot in the clearing. She felt the scorching heat of the fire, but also the chilling winds of the forest. As she followed young Arthur running from his home, she heard the present-day Arthur speak.
"I ran to the burial mound of my father to free her." as he spoke she and the little boy came upon a graveyard. "To kill you." Arthur hissed, threatening Merlin with his blade.
"Father, please...let loose your sword," he begged, tears streaming from his eyes.
Finally the boy mustered enough strength to pull Excalibur from his Father's grave, and he ran with all his speed in the direction of his home.
Lena stood motionless in the silent cemetery watching Arthur race towards his doomed mother. Once he was out of sight she turned and gazed at the mounds of dirt. Beneath them lay the bodies of countless knights. The stories of countless men.
'They were just men.' she realized. Not Woads or Romans or Sarmatians any longer. Just buried men.
As the cemetery around her began to flicker and fade, Lena walked slowly in the direction the young Arthur had run before her. She had stayed too long in this spot. Arthur's memory could not keep it materialized for her any longer.
She came upon the now smoldering home of Arthur, and found the boy crying in defeat. The image around her faded completely and now she saw the grown Arthur clearly as he spoke.
"I feel the heat of that fire on my face even now." Arthur whispered, his voice filled with contempt. He slowly began to lower Excalibur.
Lena felt the heat, too.
"None wished her dead. She was of our blood." Lena spoke gently. "As are you."
"My men are strong but have need of a true leader." Merlin began. "They believe you can do anything." Arthur looked a bit taken aback at that. "To defeat the Saxons, we need a master of war. Why do you think I spared you in the forest?" he asked as he walked behind his daughter, resting a reassuring hand on her shoulder.
Lancelot restrained himself from cursing at the old goat, while Tristan, who had been carefully observing the three woads, seemed unfazed by Merlin's words.
"Tell me, Merlin," Arthur nearly spat the name. "What would make you think I would ever fight for you?" he demanded.
"It is your destiny." Merlin answered slowly.
"My destiny!" Arthur asked incredulously. "You cannot claim to know a man's fate."
"I cannot, no-" He paused, turning towards his niece. "But Lena is quite good at it." A smile ghosted across his aged features before disappearing. Lena gave him an odd look. She had known the knights would learn of her sight, but she hadn't expected Merlin of all people to tell them.
"Hah! Im-Impossible." Lancelot spoke up. He looked with frantic uncertainty from Merlin to Lena to Arthur and back to Lena, resting finally on Tristan beside him, who again appeared completely collected.
"UselessGive me something!" he muttered under his breath, giving Tristan an exasperated look.
Seeing as Lancelot wasn't going to further his opinion, Arthur took the opportunity to voice his own. "This is ridiculous," he stated, unamused. "No one knows what a man's future holds."
"Your mother was a Woad." Now Lena spoke. "Surely she told you the stories of her people?"
"Yes..." Arthur answered somewhat befuddled.
"Then she must have told you of our Seer." Guinevere spoke, understanding where her cousin was taking the conversation.. "It is the greatest story our kind has ever had." At the confused faces of Lancelot and Tristan(well it was really only Lancelot who looked terribly confused, Tristan was just...well...Tristan) Guinevere continued, "One of noble blood among our race who carries with them the sight. The ability to see all things passed, all things present, and those that are yet to be. Every child of a Woad knows the tale."
"Yes..." Arthur began. "I remember such stories from my mother. But they are only stories. Tales that put children to sleep. No truth to them at all."
"And many call your Knights legend, Arthur." Merlin cut in. "Many believe that they cannot exist, for the tales of them are far too extraordinary to be truthful. Yet they are real." Merlin's eyes danced from knight to knight. "Here they stand before our very eyes. Their stories just as surreal as those of our Seer."
Still in disbelief, Lancelot made a bit of a choking noise and received a glare from Lena.
Arthur still appeared unconvinced. "To believe in such things would be heresy." He looked over Lena. "If you are trying to trick me, it is not wise." He informed her, subtle accusation in his voice.
Lena didn't know how to respond. How was she supposed to convince this man of her sight? She felt anger rising in her throat. Why should she have to prove it to him? This thing had been her curse all her life. People had feared it and her, and Lena had always resented it. And now the moment she needed someone to believe it, fear it even-they didn't.
Lena pointed a finger at Arthur, her sudden frustration becoming all too apparent. "I...Oh, I... will-"
"She is telling the truth." Everyone stared in momentary disbelief at Tristan, who had remained silent until now. Moving closer to her, he spoke again. "That's what it was at the fire-when your eyes turned white." It was a statement, not a question. Arthur gave a bewildered look and Lancelot made yet another sputtering noise.
"Uh..I..." again, Lena could not find her words. This time not because of anger, but the shock at hearing Tristan speak-and the fact that he was defending her! Hadn't this man had her pinned against a tree 10 minutes ago? Shaking her head clear of all confusion, Lena began to speak again. "Yes. When Lancelot grabbed my hand." she said softly. "You are right."
"Tristan?" Arthur asked, concern filling his voice. "Tristan, please tell me you do not believe this?" He asked somewhat desperately.
"I have heard the woads speak of her before. Like some sort of god." He kept his eyes fixed on Lena, and though she felt herself growing more and more uncomfortable under his scrutinizing stare, she managed to hold his gaze. "We had seers in our tribes," he continued, his thick accent making the words feel heavy. "I believe her." He gave a nod to Lena.
With that Tristan turned and walked away from the odd group, heading back to camp.
"I don't believe I have ever heard that man say as much as he did in the last 30 seconds..." She mused quietly, watching as his figure disappeared through the heavy forest.
"Neither do I..." Lancelot mumbled.
Arthur stared at the ground, in shock of what he was hearing-from his own men no less. Suddenly he felt a warm body at his side. He gave a look of confusion upon realizing it was Guinevere who had walked beside him.
"It will all be explained." She said kindly, trying hard to understand his disbelief. She paused briefly before adding hesitantly "You needn't like us, or agree with us, or fight for us at all-" her dark eyes were full of sincerity as they searched his light ones " but only trust that we harbor no ill intent."
Arthur nodded. For some reason he could not disagree with her and it made him feel slightly ashamed.
"We should go back." Guinevere let a small smile creep on to her face as she spoke. "The camp will be in a frenzy if they find you are gone." Again Arthur nodded. He cast one more doubtful look at Lena, and a slightly more menacing one at Merlin before beginning to walk away.
Arthur stopped in his tracks as he heard the old man's deep voice calling out after him.
"That sword you carry is made of iron from this earth, forged in the fires of Britain.
It was love of your mother that freed the sword, not hatred of me." He said, the same eerie wisdom riding through his words. "Love, Arthur." The knight could not help but hear the compassion the words held as well.
Arthur gave one look at the blade clenched tightly in his fist before leaving with Guinevere. A cool wind washed over his body, and Arthur found he could no longer feel that ever-present, haunting heat.
It was love, Arthur.
Okay, well sorry again for the late late late update. I don't think I really like this chapter. The characters are starting to seem sort of OOC to me. Does anyone else think so? I also don't think I conveyed Tristan in the way I really wanted to...uh...so disappointed. Please tell me if anything confused you. Lord knows how often I confuse myself, so I'd really expect you all to be horribly lost by now. Lena was also kind of annoying in this one... Overall this was a pretty boring chapter and I'm really sorry to have made you wait for this crapola. I think the next chapter will be good though because I'm having a lot of neato ideas for it.
Please tell me what you think of the characters in this chapter. I really need some feedback right now.
Sorry times a bazillionmilliontrillontillionquadrillllllllllion
Blue( who wants to cry)