Ch. 2

Tristan grimaced slightly as the rain whipped at his face. Almost there, he thought bleakly. The lights ahead shined on brightly encouraging Tristan and his horse to move faster against the wind and rain.

When at last they had reached the entrance, they were stopped by Roman officers. One of them was wrapped tightly in a brilliant red cloak while the other only had regular armor on and nothing else to keep out the rain.

"Speak your purpose." The one with no cloak on snarled.

Tristan looked at him with narrowing eyes. He was in no mood to be messed with and the oncoming downpour was not helping. Still, he managed a reply with at least some politeness. "We are knights wishing to stay at the inn." He sputtered as rain streamed down his face.

The roman guard cocked an eyebrow at him slightly. "We?" he asked unpleasantly.

Tristan turned around in the saddle and pointed to the figures which were blurred in the rain and wind. "The other knights are following up behind me." He said pointing to the outline of horses.

The roman officer stared up at Tristan for a long time. "Go on ahead." He grumbled finally. Tristan nudged his horse and they trekked slowly onto the drenched street.

"Stop it! He's just a kid!"

Tristan snapped his head to the left to see a young girl screaming a Roman soldier.

"You be quiet!" the Roman officer sneered back.

Tristan dismounted his horse and called a small boy over to him. Handing the kid a silver piece he said, "You be sure to take my horse to the stable?"

The boy nodded happily and walked off with the reins in hand.

"He didn't know it was wrong!" the girl shouted again.

The Roman officer turned towards the girl. "I said be QUIET!" he roared and he slapped her across the face.

Unbalanced, the girl fell down in the mud while the Roman turned his attention back to….a small boy. He was even tinier than the one Tristan had gotten to take care of his horse.

Pulling the boy up by his shirt, the Roman stared into his eyes. "You be sure not to talk that way again, right boy?" he growled.

The small boy nodded and struggled to get down.

"Good." the Roman replied gently. Then he let go and the boy crashed into the ground.

As the Roman was getting ready to kick the kid, Tristan walked up and put his hand on the officer's shoulder. "Best leave that for the Saxons." He said.

The Roman turned and faced Tristan with tight lips. "And who are you to tell me what to do?"

Tristan looked thoughtfully for a moment as if he was thinking it over deeply. Both the girl and the boy watched him from the ground. "Why don't you ask the bishop?" he suggested while he pushed the Roman away from the siblings.

The Roman stumbled back a bit but remained on his feet. "Do you want to fight me, boy?" he asked drawing his sword.

Again Tristan took the question into deep consideration. "Possibly. It is what I do best."

The Roman's eyes suddenly went focused to something behind Tristan making him turn slightly.

Arthur stood on his horse behind Tristan and the rest of the knights behind him. "You fight Tristan," he said, "You fight all of us."

The Roman glowered at them for a moment before walking off angrily.

Tristan turned to the girl who was now holding her younger brother. She stood up cautiously and bowed before him.

"Thank you, great knight. My brother meant no harm. He jokes consistently but the Romans haven't figured that out yet." She said to Tristan giving him a small smile.

Bors snorted. "Well, the Romans were never too quick to pick up on things."

The girl smiled again this time bigger.

Arthur stared down at the girl as she sent her brother off into their small shack. "What's your name, girl?" he asked slowly.

The girl looked up at the knights and again smiled. "Rose."

"Well, Rose," Arthur said grinning, "Would you care to join us for a drink?"