Look, anpther chapter! Yea. Unfortunately I was distracted for much of the weekend, Which is why I told my dad that I shouldn't have come home...ahhh. But I did get to ride my horses...oh, and my parents got direct tv, so my Internet wasn't working right on my lap top, grrrrrr. Well, I did get my dad to hang something up in our horse trailer, and I did get to go see Ice Age II. Hee heee, that was awesome! Oh, and my car died somewhere along the way...yippee...ughh. So, in this chapter Krista gets all moody, apparatnly alcohol and her don't get along well the next day. Also, the part about Via Sacrae is something I learned in church yesterday, however my pastor didn't actually spell it, so that's just a guess. I asked my boyfriend, whom I swear knows everything, especially about history (stupid history majors...grrr) and he helped clean up the details on it and give me some better info...however, I didn't think to ask him about the spelling, so if anyone happens to know if that's wrong and how it is spelled, feel free to let me know. Now, I am going to grab some really quick breakfast and go to class! Bye!

Oh, I don't own King Arthur (just the movie) and I don't own a person named Krista, just her character...in fact I don't own anything...including those awsome suede boots I want SOOOOO badly for larping...(pouts) all well, enjoy!

Time May Change

I woke up early; the sun saw still coming up. I saw the brightening sky, realized it was early and had every intention of rolling back over and falling back asleep when the door opened and Tristan walked in.

"Sun's up."

"But I'm not." I sink down deeper, pulling the covers over my head, and roll over.

"You shouldn't sleep with a blade that is broken." I hear the distinct clink of metal being placed on the nearby table and I look up to see my switchblade lying half closed before me.

"Where'd you get that, that isn't yours!" I remember that I had dropped it when I had passed out but he had given it back because I distinctly recall holding it as I fell asleep last night…its about the only thing I remember, but I do remember it. "Why did you take my knife?"

"You dropped it when you were sleeping, I picked it up. You could have hurt yourself."

"What do you care?" I demand, sitting up with instant regret. Ow, my head hurts! I see his eyes shine in amusement at my antics and it angers. I stand and walk to him menacingly, picking up my knife as I do. "Don't touch my stuff. Now get out!"

"You know," he states with unnerving calmness, "this is my room."

"I have to change, I refuse to wear this stupid dress any longer, and I have to bathe I smell as bad as you and the other knights." I spit out through grit teeth.

"By all means go ahead, I'll just sit and stoke the fire to keep you warm while you bathe, the wash tub is over there." Again he speaks calm and steady…I mutter a curse in aggravation…why couldn't he have a hangover?

"Fine." What do I care if he sees my naked body, I'm sure its nothing new…besides I've had boyfriends…granted they never lasted more than a week, but they stared at me like crazy…that is until I socked them for looking where they shouldn't…no wonder they all disappeared so fast. I glare at him silently, sending little messages of hate with my eyes as he kneels in front of the fire, pushing the few burning ambers around from what remained. I started to put wood on but stopped.

"Do you want some help getting the water?" he asks without turning.

"What…oh, right…yea, that would be great." I forgot that water didn't come from sinks around here these days and inwardly groan…this is going to be a terribly cold bath I'm sure, cause I'm not waiting for it to heat, I am too filthy for that. When was the last time I bathed?

I trudge down the hall after him and run into Arthur in the process. I see him giving me an eye, taking in my disheveled appearance' wrinkled dress, messy hair, and sour hung-over face and he shakes his head. I can see the wheels in his head turning. He's thinking about how I'm not suited to be a woman, that I could never be a good Christian like him, that no man would marry me, not that I want one too, and that I am a drunken mess. Well I have a word or two for Arthur, he and his God can stop judging me. The man doesn't know me and I know more about him through history than he'll ever know. I grin to myself as I process all these hate thoughts. I am a very cranky person when I wake up after being drunk, very cranky!

"I glare at Arthur and tell him to move out of my way he's interrupting my bath.

"What bath would this be?" he looks from me to Tristan and I can tell what he's thinking.

"Alright, stop, we aren't doing anything, and it will never happen. I just want some water so I can get this freaking filth off my body already. So move your can out of the way!" I don't know why, but I am really getting pissed at everyone this morning, I should probably lay off on the wine…yet last night, last night was so badly needed.

"Listen lady…"

"I told you not to call me lady, Roman." I glare at him, wishing he would move. Why did I pick a fight with a Roman commander? I see Arthur's chest swell in anger. No, not Arthur, noble, good-deed doer Arthur. No, I think I not.

"Do not talk down to me, were I someone else, you would be punished. I will not act against you, but I warn you to watch your step, others won't be so forgiving." He's such a pushover…he thinks he's something great….

"You think you are some great leader…you want everyone to look at you in awe…bet you can't wait to take a ride down Via Sacrae on your big white horse huh? Some victory."

"What do you know about Via Sacrae?"

"I know you'll never be there." I walk past him and Tristan, intent on getting my water, somehow taking a bottle of mental Tylenol since the real thing is out of the question, and going back to bed. I hear footsteps approaching behind me. I stiffen, thinking its Arthur…I mentally slap myself, now regretting what I said but I realize the footfalls are too quiet…Tristan.

"Why must you argue with everyone?"

"Why must everyone anger me?" he says no more until we are carrying water back to his room.

"What was that bit about Via Sacrae?" he opens the door and steps in.

I dump the water in the tub, thinking about my answer. "Via Sacrae, it means holy road. Way back before Rome became a Christian empire…yes, there was a time when they weren't always crawling around on their knees, the temple of Jupiter, one of the Roman god's was at the end of it. After a great victory, the Roman general would march down the streets on a white horse, white horses are a sign of victory if I recall correctly, and they would go down the Via Sacrae to the temple. The army however would have to wait outside the city…to enter the city with one's army was a threat, a sigh that one wanted to become dictator…but that's' not important." I wait for him to lead the way out the door and back down the hall. As we walk however, he speaks up again.

"Why did you say Arthur would never be there? Do you not think him a good leader?"

"No, just the opposite," I reply, knowing full well that he would never go there, but become king of Brittan, "I think he is too good. He will become a great leader of his own."

"So you yelled at him and insulted him?"

"Well I can't have him knowing that I have thoughts other than hate in my head, besides, that is yet to come." He raises an eyebrow in question yet says nothing. We finish filling the tub in silence and he did me the courtesy of leaving while I bathed, but not until he got a big fire going.

I take my bath in silence, enjoying the sound of the water dripping off my body. I watch the ripples form around my bent legs and my fingers as I dip them in and out of the water. Its funny how one little thing, like a finger, can cause such an affect like ripples n the water. I reflect on the past week. Being stuck at school definitely made me desperate for Tristan's help, but do I still want his company? He was an alright guy to talk to, but he can really make me mad sometimes…him and everyone else. Being here, at Hadrian's Wall has been so different for me. In a way I have become more open, though only with Tristan. Plus, I am not only learning a lot about history, but also exercising what limited knowledge I already had on it. However, that I really didn't care about. What I did care about however was getting out of the tub, because the water is starting to get frigid and the fire isn't doing much good.

I step out carefully, unsure of what to do with the water in the tub, and leave it there. Maybe I'll give Lancelot a drink of water from it later, the little prick. My head is starting to feel much better I realize as I pull on my ratty old jeans, shirt and jacket. I brush some loose dirt off me and face the door. I want to ride a horse again, I just hope I can make it to the barn without killing anyone first.