A/N: See end of chapter.
Disclaimer: See chapter 1.
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It took several days for Arthur to arrange to rent the wagons they needed to get back to the fort, and once they were on their way, it took far longer to reach Hadrian's Wall than anyone would have liked. Late snows fell several times during the journey, and the weather only really began to get warmer about halfway through the trip. However, by the time they finally began to near the Wall, the days were noticeably longer and warmer.
"D'you think we should send someone ahead, to let them know we're coming?" Galahad stared wistfully at the road ahead of them.
"Possibly, once we're a bit closer to the fort," Arthur replied, hiding a smile at the younger knight's evident impatience. "We're hardly even two-thirds of the way across the island, I think. Sending someone now would just be preemptive."
"I suppose," Galahad sighed, fastening his saddlebags to his saddle. "It's just that we're so close, but we're going so slow that it feels like we'll never be back."
"I never thought I'd see the day when you were excited to get back to Camelot," Gawain teased, his own saddlebags slung over his shoulder as he readied his horse.
"Neither did I," Galahad admitted, focused on the buckles and straps of his saddle and bridle. "But, now… after going to where I thought my home was… after seeing what was left of my village… Camelot is truly my home now—my only home. And, yes, I'm actually excited to be back there, for probably the first time ever. Well, except for maybe when we were coming back from Rome."
Gawain laughed. "I don't remember you saying anything about being excited to see Camelot again when we were coming back from Rome."
"I very carefully did not say anything about it, because I wanted to avoid this exact discussion," Galahad sniped.
Gawain laughed again as he finished saddling his horse. Arthur left the two behind to go and check on the other members of the caravan. Bors and his father were, unsurprisingly, arguing, while Elyan was studiously avoiding them by helping Gareth and Percival get their family packed up and on the move.
Arthur paused by the carts that signified Ban's extended family. "Good morning," he greeted the man. "How is everyone today?"
"Well enough," Ban nodded. "But I think we might have to catch up to you on the road."
"Why is that?" Arthur's brow furrowed.
"Evaine's gone into labor," Helaine said shortly, hurrying past them with a pot of hot water.
"Congratulations," Arthur smiled at Ban. "And don't worry about catching up with us; we'll all wait for you."
"We don't want to slow you down"—Ban began
"Not at all," Arthur rested a hand on the man's shoulder. "This is important. And these woods are too dangerous, especially to those who don't know them, to leave anyone behind."
"Thank you," Ban smiled, relieved.
"Of course," Arthur smiled back. "And congratulations, again."
Ban nodded and turned back towards his family. Arthur made his way around the camp to inform the other travelers that they wouldn't be setting out that day after all. At the small huddle of Gawain's family, Morgause excused herself and went to offer her aid as a healer and midwife to Evaine and Helaine.
"Well, it looks like we'll be taking a bit longer to get to Camelot," Gawain grinned at Galahad. "Do you think you'll be able to contain yourself?"
Galahad, who was unsaddling his horse, ignored him.
.*.*.*.*.*.
It was shortly before midday when the riders—some of the first they'd seen since leaving the port—came into view. There were two riders, one big and one small. The grey, dappled horse bore the smaller rider, bundled heavily against the cold in a short fur cloak and a hooded cowl, as well as a thick sweater and heavy trousers. A huge brown stallion bore the larger rider, bundled nearly as heavily in a bulky wool cloak, drawn closed in the front, a thick scarf, and similar heavy trousers.
Elyan and Enid spotted them on a trip to fetch water from a stream across the road. The teenagers dropped their buckets and raced back to the camp with the news. "Arthur!" Elyan called, half-frantic, racing up to the king.
"What is it?" Arthur and Bors were on their feet first, followed by Pellinore and Bors the Elder. The younger knights wandered over, curious at the commotion, despite Elyan's penchant for drama.
"There are riders on the road," Elyan pointed back.
"How many?" Arthur demanded, alarmed.
"Two," Enid replied.
"Two?" Bors the Elder repeated, arching an eyebrow. "For two riders, the pair of you run back in a panic?"
"Enough," Arthur hushed the old man before he could continue berating the teenagers. "Gawain, Aggravaine, Galahad, go and see what you can see."
Gawain grabbed his axe and led the other two to the edge of the road, where they crouched in the bushes and watched the road.
"I only see one rider," Grav whispered.
"One rider, two horses," Galahad pointed.
Across the road, the big rider was kneeling by the stream, filling a waterskin. True enough, there were two horses beside him, both saddled, but no-one else was visible.
Before anyone else could say anything, a thin, sharp, curved blade was against the bare skin of Galahad's neck. A small, cold hand found a grip in his black curls, and the breath of a whisper tickled his ear: "You've been gone for too long."
Gawain and Grav jumped, bringing up their weapons. With a laugh, the blade at Galahad's throat was gone and he was released. He whipped around and found a face grinning at him from within a knitted hood. "Cymbeline!" he exclaimed, then lunged forward to hug the girl tightly.
"Careful!" she laughed, holding her blade away from him. "I don't actually want to cut you!"
As soon as Galahad released her, Gawain was there to scoop her up into a giant hug. Galahad relieved her of the sickle so that she could wrap both of her arms tightly around Gawain's neck.
"I've missed you," Gawain whispered into Cymbeline's ear.
"I've missed you too," she whispered back. "There's so much I want to tell you."
Gawain set her down and smiled, his vision wavering oddly as tears pricked at the back of his eyes. Cymbeline beamed up at him in turn, tears already running down her cheeks. "You were gone forever, you know," she said thickly.
"Was I?" Gawain laughed.
"Yes," she sniffed. "I counted."
Gawain laughed again and pulled her close into another hug. "You can't count to forever," he teased.
"Well, I counted for so long that it might as well have been forever," Cymbeline retorted, grinning. She gave Grav a hug as well before leading them out of the bushes and towards a grinning Kei. "Welcome home," the red-headed knight grinned, clasping the forearms of each of the other knights in turn.
"It's good to see you again, Kei," Galahad grinned.
"You as well, little scout," Kei ruffled Galahad's hair.
"Where's Arthur?" Cymbeline asked.
"Back in the camp," Gawain nodded. "Come with us."
.*.*.*.*.*.
When they reached the camp, Arthur stood, Bors, Bors the Elder, and Pellinore lined up behind him. The rest of the Sarmatians stood further back, watching the new arrivals warily. Arthur stepped forward and saluted Cymbeline and Kei, a gesture which they returned, before smiling and clasping forearms with each of them. As soon as Arthur had stepped back, Bors took his place to scoop Cymbeline up into a massive bear hug, so tight that she lost her breath. Kei received a hearty handshake from the big man, and then Bors stepped back behind Arthur.
"What news of Camelot?" Arthur asked, leading Cymbeline and Kei towards one of the campfires.
"It's been a long winter," Cymbeline replied.
"Very," Kei agreed.
"The Woads in the north, under the warlord Ysbadaddon and Morgana, the one that everyone calls a sorceress, rose up against you once it seemed sure that you were gone," Cymbeline explained. "They either allied themselves with all of the other Woad tribes, or killed the chieftains and took them over. They killed Merlin and brought his head to Camelot as a warning to Guinevere; what would happen if she didn't abdicate and declare Ysbadaddon lord over Albion."
"They even took Camellaird," Kei piped up. "They threw Leodegrance and Guinevere's little sister into prison."
"Guinevere sent Bedivere and I north with Branwyr and Tristan to negotiate for their release," Cymbeline explained. "We were unsuccessful, so we broke them out and escaped south, but Ysbadaddon followed us and attacked the wall." She turned to Bors and grinned. "Bran was amazing. She led the archers at the fort and held back Ysbadaddon and Morgana's men. She was the one to fell Ysbadaddon; she put an arrow through his eye from halfway across the field."
Bors grinned proudly, but let Cymbeline continue her report: "After that, Morgana and Nimue withdrew, for the most part, but they never completely stopped attacking us. Recently, they've been growing bold again. We've been sending out patrols to mark their progress south; Kei and I were checking along this road. We didn't see any signs all day yesterday, but this morning we thought we heard shouting and wanted to see what it was."
"That would be my daughter," Ban said, having joined the circle partway through Cymbeline's story. "She gave birth to her son this morning."
"Congratulations," Cymbeline smiled at him. "I'm glad to know it wasn't Woads or bandits attacking anyone."
"How far are we from the fort?" Arthur asked. "I thought we had at least a week of travel left."
"Maybe thirty miles?" Cymbeline replied. "Even with all this, it shouldn't take more than two or three days. Well, maybe four with all the mud."
"Good," Arthur nodded.
Cymbeline stood. "I'll head back tonight. We should let Guinevere and the others know how close you are."
"You can't go back alone," Gawain argued. "Not if there are as many Woads in these woods as you say there might be."
Cymbeline paused. "I have a fast horse. It'll be better if I go alone and ride hard."
"Take Galahad with you," Arthur said. "His horse is fast as well, and he's a good rider, used to scouting."
"We could send Lamorak as well," Pellinore said slowly. "He's small, and a fast rider."
Arthur nodded. "When will you leave?"
"As soon as possible," Cymbeline replied. "If we leave now and ride through the night, we could be back at the fort by the time they open the gates tomorrow morning."
"Galahad, go and ready your horse—and tell Lamorak to do the same," he said. Galahad nodded and hurried off.
Cymbeline stood and bowed slightly to the king. "Welcome home, Arthur," she smiled.
"Thank you," the king smiled. "And it is good to see you again, little knight."
Cymbeline grinned, bowed again, and turned back to her horse. Gawain jumped up and hurried after her. "You should take Gringolet," he said, catching her by the arm.
"What's wrong with my horse?" Cymbeline laughed. "She's faster."
"Yes, and tired," Gawain replied. "You rode her all day yesterday and today. Gringolet had today to rest, and we stopped early last night. He may not be as fast, but you'll probably have to go a bit slower than you'd like so that Galahad and Lamorak can keep up with you."
"Alright," Cymbeline sighed. She led her horse after Gawain, towards where Gringolet was hobbled along with the other horses in the camp.
"Cymbeline!" Lamorak grinned at her as they approached. "It's good to see you again."
"You too," she grinned in reply. "It's good to see all of you, really. I'm glad you're back." She glanced up at Gawain and smiled softly.
They finished saddling and readying the horses quickly, and Cymbeline transferred her saddlebags between her horse and Gringolet. As they were beginning to lead the horses back towards the road, Bors hurried over to them. "Cymbeline?" he asked.
"Yes?" she turned towards the big knight.
"How are"—Bors began.
"Vanora and the children are doing very well," Cymbeline interrupted. "At least for the most part. As I said, it's been a rough winter."
"And"—Bors began again.
"The baby was a girl," Cymbeline continued. "Vanora called her Jennie. She already has her mother's temperament."
Bors beamed. "Good. She was healthy?"
"Very," Cymbeline grinned. "Especially her lungs, as just about everyone in the fort can attest to."
Satisfied, Bors headed back towards where Kei was providing Arthur with more detail on the happenings of the past several months.
"You'll have to make sure that Kei tells Arthur about his new heir," Cymbeline grinned at Gawain.
"He has another son?" Gawain asked.
"Yes, born almost nine months to the day after you all left," Cymbeline nodded. She paused to allow Galahad and Lamorak to draw ahead of them. "And you have an heir as well."
Gawain stopped short. He turned slowly and stared down at her. "An heir?" he repeated.
"Well, strictly speaking, two," Cymbeline blushed slightly. "And a little girl as well."
Gawain's jaw dropped and he continued to stare down at Cymbeline. "Three?" he stammered finally.
"It was as much a shock to me when they were born," Cymbeline replied.
"Cymbeline!" Galahad called from the side of the road.
"I'll be right there!" Cymbeline called back.
"What are they called?" Gawain asked softly.
"I named the girl Bellicent, after my mother," Cymbeline replied. "The boys are Lot and Rhience, for both of our fathers. Bella looks just like you, and Lot looks just like me, funnily enough. As for Rhience, Bedivere swears up and down that he looks just like my father, which I suppose is appropriate, considering that's who he's named for…" she trailed off, her eyes drifting back down towards the ground.
Gawain laughed, and wrapped her in another tight hug. "I can't wait to meet them," he murmured softly.
"I can't wait for you to meet them," Cymbeline replied, her voice muffled. When he released her, she stepped back and beamed up at him. "But that'll be soon enough. For now, I have to get going."
"Right," Gawain nodded. "Ready?" he asked. When she nodded, he picked her up easily so that she could slip a leg over Gringolet's back and settle herself in the saddle. He started to lead the horse towards the road, but paused again. "Cym?" he asked, looking up and realizing how odd it was to see the small woman from that angle.
"Hm?" she asked. The light caught the tendrils of hair escaping her tight braid to form a halo around her head.
"Did you know?" Gawain asked slowly. "When I left? About…"
Cymbeline was quiet for a long minute. "Not for sure," she said finally. "I suspected, though. But… I couldn't let a suspicion be the reason you never saw your family again." She said the last part very fast, and in a well-rehearsed manner. "I couldn't let that be their fault. I know it wouldn't have been on purpose, but I couldn't let you blame me, or them, for that, especially if they didn't come back."
Gawain nodded slowly and started to lead Gringolet towards the road again. "I understand. I'm not happy about it, mind, but I understand."
"You'll love them," Cymbeline smiled down at the top of his head. "They're amazing."
"I can't wait to meet them," Gawain grinned.
"And they can't wait to meet you," Cymbeline leaned down to kiss him deeply. "I love you," she whispered.
"I know," Gawain murmured, stealing another kiss before she could straighten up. "I'll see you again soon."
"Very soon," Cymbeline grinned, sitting up tall in Gringolet's saddle. "Let's go, boys," she glanced over at Galahad and Lamorak, kicking Gringolet gently in the sides to spur him on. She glanced over her shoulder one more time and smiled back at Gawain before they reached the road, then dug her heels in and was off, Lamorak and Galahad just behind.
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A/N: Oh, my gosh, guys; no joke, but I wrote this reunion about a thousand times over in my head. It took me a while to decide how I liked it best, and that's basically what you've just read. As for the "you've been gone forever, I counted" bit... That's from a meme of a cat who missed its owner all day that my mom sent me a little while ago and I thought it was cute. I used it as a joke and decided I liked it, so I kept it.
As usual, let me know what you guys thought of the chapter! Are you as excited as I am for everyone to be back in Britain?