I realized I made some mistakes in this chapter, so I fixed them. Here it is! Oh, and I still greatly appreciate KnightMaiden for reviewing, and I hope all you others continue to read and review as well! In case you've already read this, I'm just restating the although things may seem to be moving slowly, I promise they will pick up. Well, enjoy! And PLEASE read and review!

Chapter 5: Unwilling Hearts

"Carina."

The girl's eyes flew open. After crying for many hours, she must have dozed off. The voice startled her out of her fitful sleep. She turned to find Tristan standing in the doorway.

"Arthur wishes to speak with you," Tristan said, her eyes meeting his.

The walk to the meet the Roman commander was spent in silence. Carina's stomach was jumping with nerves, but her body felt empty. She had cried out every last remaining ounce of her strength. She stared blankly ahead as they walked.

They reached a closed door and stopped. Carina took a deep breath, trying to calm her nerves, realizing this man could decide her and Arabela's fate. Tristan, noticing her nervousness, attempted a small smile.

"Arthur is kind. He only wants to speak with you," he said, trying to encourage her. Carina tried to return his smile but felt how fake it must look. Tristan gave a slight nod and left her standing at the doorway. She took another deep breath to slow her breathing and opened the door.

There room was very large, so staggering Carina stopped after entering to gaze at it. There was a round table in the middle which took up almost the entire room. Arthur was already seated. He smiled warmly as she entered.

"Welcome. Come sit down." His voice boomed in the empty room

Carina walked slowly over to the Roman commander, her footsteps seeming to thunder on the stone floors. She reached her hand up and tried to smooth her tangled hair. She realized she must look a fright with red, bloodshot eyes.

Carina sat down next to him, feeling small and intimidated. The table was much too big for just two people. She glanced over at Arthur and noticed he was still smiling. His eyes were hazel and kind. He had dark hair, and curls fell onto his forehead. He almost reminded Carina of her father.

"Have you been resting well?" Arthur asked.

"Yes, thank you," Carina answered. "You and your men have been too kind to us."

"You and your sister were in quite a bad shape when Tristan brought you here," Arthur said. He was still watching her, studying her. It made Carina uncomfortable, and she shifted anxiously in her seat.

"Your name is Carina?"

The sixteen year old nodded. "Yes, and my sister is Arabela."

Arthur nodded. "I suppose you already know that I am Arthur, the Roman commander in charge of the Sarmatian knights."

"Yes, I know who you are. My father would tell me about you."

"Your father?" Arthur asked. "And who is he?"

Carina ducked her head, the memories shooting through her painfully. "My father's name is…was Taddeo Pretarche. He was a Roman, like you, and a good man."

"What happened?" Arthur's voice was soft.

Carina sighed, knowing she must tell the story.

"We were attacked by Saxons. They killed him. Arabela and I barely escaped."

"You rode away? And where were you headed?"

"Here, actually, although we never would have found it if Tristan had not come along. Father said we would be safe here."

Arthur leaned back his chair, his face thoughtful. "I know of the Saxon raid you speak of. It was put down by the Woads just a few days after you arrived. The Saxons had not brought the full force of their army; it seemed more of a scavenging party. I did not realize they had attacked any homes."

"Well, they attacked ours."

The Roman commander looked at her, his eyes still curious. "How long did it take you to ride here?"

"Three days," Carina answered.

"You spent three days out in the forest?" His voice was shocked.

Carina nodded her head, realizing it was quite an amazing feat for two young girls.

"It is a wonder you survived," Arthur murmured. "Do you have any other relatives? What of your mother?"

"My mother died when I was ten. Arabela is all I have left except for an uncle in Rome."

The Roman commander frowned, his face turning thoughtful again. "What are your plans?"

"I don't have any, really," Carina answered truthfully. "I haven't had a whole lot of time to think about it."

Arthur nodded. After pausing for a moment, he spoke again. "You and your sister may stay here as long as you like. Food and housing will be provided along with anything else you and your sister need."

Carina stared at him, tears welling up in her eyes. "Thank you, sir, but I could never accept such a generous gift. You have been too kind to us already."

"We would love to have you as our guests," Arthur smiled, "but if you feel the need to work your keep, I am sure Vanora will gladly welcome your help."

"Who is Vanora?" Carina asked.

"She is the lover of one of my knights, Bors. They have nine children." Arthur was almost laughing as he thought about the family.

"I will help however I can."

Arthur smiled warmly before returning to his usual seriousness. He placed a hand on one of her shoulders, leaning forward and looking directly into her eyes. "I am very sorry for your loss."

Carina smiled weakly in return. She felt his sympathy and knew it was genuine. "Thank you."

"Would you like to meet Bors and Vanora?" Arthur asked, standing.

Carina nodded, also standing and following Arthur out into the village.

"So this is her, huh?" The man standing in front of Carina was not extremely tall but broad shouldered. His hair was shaved close to his head, and a playful smiled plastered his face.

"Yes, Bors, this is Carina. She is going to be helping you and Vanora out with the children." Arthur was standing close to her, smiling and laughing at the chaos that was going on around them. Seven children were running mercilessly around, aged from two to nine. A younger one sat in the dirt, watching his brothers and sisters, laughing gleefully and clapping his hands.

"Well, we could use a little help around here," Bors replied. He turned to see one of his children chasing after some chickens. "Seven! Don't you do that! You're gonna scare 'em so bad they'll stop laying eggs!" He turned back around to see Arthur and Carina staring at him, amused looks on their faces. "Maybe we could use a lot of help."

Carina found Vanora to be a beautiful woman with a curvy figure and fire-red hair. She was kind and gentle with her, although when Bors came around she wasn't afraid to let him have it. Carina smiled at her seemingly split personalities.

Vanora took her around their small house, nothing like the large estate Carina had come from, but it seemed cozy. She introduced her to all the children, including the youngest one which was practically attached to her hip. Carina found it odd when she realized Vanora was introducing the children as numbers. Vanora laughed when she questioned her about it.

"Oh, I wanted to name the children, but it just got too hard. After you havenine children, you know, you kind of run out names. So we gave them numbers. It's easier to remember."

Carina laughed, finding it felt so good to laugh again. The relief that had flooded her when Arthur announced they could stay had done wonders for her attitude. She liked this family. They were very different from anything she had ever known, but still very loving. Bors was very affectionate with his children, which surprised Carina at first, but when she got to know him better it only seemed natural.

She stayed with them through dinner, helping to make sure all the children ate their food and then helping to clean up. Carina was weary when she left but happy. It felt good to be part of a family again.

Back in the fort, she trudged up the stairs to her room, but stopped at Arabela's room. She poked her head in and saw her sister was sitting up in bed, her face cast toward the darkening window. Arabela turned when she heard the door creak open.

"What are you doing here?"

Carina's heart panged when she saw the look of hatred on Arabela's face and the anger in her voice. "I came to see how you are doing."

"Well, I'm fine. Now leave me alone," the younger sister replied, crossing her arms over her chest defiantly.

"Why are you so angry with me?" Carina asked, closing the door behind her, refusing to leave.

"I'm not angry with you."

Carina frowned, sitting down in the chair next to Arabela's bed. "Yeah, right."

Arabela sighed and looked away. Her voice was soft when she continued. "Because you let him die."

"I let who die? Father?"

"Yes, father. You said the Saxons killed him. How do you know that? He could have still been alive. You left him there to die!" Arabela's voice was rising until it reached a high-pitched shriek.

Carina shook her head. "No, Arabela. Father was dead. I saw it; you didn't. I'm sorry I had to lie to you, but I couldn't bear to tell you then. When father was shot, it was like a part of me was shot too. You were the only thing keeping me alive, and you are all I have left. Please don't be angry with me." Her voice was pleading but she saw no relenting in her sister's eyes.

"And how do you think I felt when I realized I had been lied to? When I realized that father wasn't coming for us, and the only hope I was hanging onto was dead!"

Arabela turned her face towards the windows once again. "I don't ever want to speak to you again."

"You don't mean that," Carina said softly. Her body felt numb. There was no reply.

Carina got up slowly and began to walk out, but before she shut the door behind her, she turned back around. "You may hate me, but I will always love you. And one day you will realize that I did everything I could to save you."

Carina returned to her room, tired and heavy-hearted. She had lost her father in death; now she had lost her sister in anger. Her body was still too numb to feel the full effects of it, so she dragged a chair over to the window, looking out at the villagers beneath her as they finished their last-minute chores before sunset.

God, why this? Why now? Why me? So many questions swirled in her head, but there were no answers. She wondered if God even cared about her anymore.

Carina was so lost in thought, she didn't even hear the door open. Tristan was halfway into the room before she realized she was not alone. She turned to meet the scout's eyes.

"How did it go with Arthur?" he asked, his voice soft, soothing.

"He is letting me and Arabela stay as long as we want," Carina answered. "He is a kind man."

Tristan nodded, sitting down on the edge of her bed and folding his hands, placing his elbows on his knees. "He is honest for a Roman."

Carina smiled slightly. "You don't like Romans, do you?"

"Some are not so bad." Tristan shrugged, his face still unreadable but his eyes seemingly searching out every hidden thought of Carina. "How is your sister?"

"The fever broke this morning," Carina answered, sighing.

Tristan smiled knowingly. "But things are bad between the two of you."

"She hates me."

Tristan said nothing, waiting for her to continue.

"I saw my father die. I watched it happen, but Arabela…she thinks I left him there to die. She thinks I just ran away. But we had to run! The Saxon were right behind us. If we hadn't left right then, we would be dead as well. I was trying to save her. She was all I could think about. And now she hates me for it."

"Surely she doesn't hate you," Tristan said.

"You don't know my sister," Carina replied. "As if losing our father isn't enough, now she is going to blame me for it."

"It was not your fault."

"I know, but Arabela will never realize this."

Tristan shrugged. "Fact cannot be hidden forever, even from an unwilling heart. She will come around."

Carina sighed, looking back out the window, hating how he made it so simple, yet knowing he spoke truth. She glanced back at him. Tristan was still staring at her expectantly.

"Is anything ever complicated to you?" she asked, exasperated, wishing he would simply sympathize with her.

Tristan smiled. "Only women."

Carina laughed. "Well, at least there is something I know about that you don't."