When they had all gathered in the Round Table room, Arthur asked, "You said there was about one hundred Saxons here, correct?"
Sarmatia nodded and replied, "Yes, one hundred Saxons come up from the south. We do not know how many come from the north, but we're positive they will be here or are already here."
Lancelot cast a worried eye upon his commander and friend and sighed.
He glanced around and said, "You do realize, that even with the Roman soldiers here to protect the fort, we'll only be seventy strong with the Princesses here aiding us. While it isn't impossible odds to defeat, it will make things very difficult."
Romana nodded and said, "So, we need to fight smart. What can we use to change things into our favor?"
Dagonet's eyes stared into the open as he said slowly as if he wasn't sure if his idea would be taken well or not, "We could rig the bows to shoot when the Saxons reach a certain distance from the fort from all around the area. It'll take a bit of ingenuity, but it could work, I think."
Athena tilted her head and said, "I can work on that with Areia. We attempted something like this once before and it worked rather well. How many soldiers do you employ to protect this place adequately?"
Arthur squinted his eyes and answered, "Thirty."
Sarmatia nodded and said, "Then, we'll get to work weaving the correct number and lengths for this attempt. If you'll excuse us?"
Arthur glanced at them in shock as the women stood, bowed, and left.
Gawain asked the remaining Amazon, "What are they doing?"
Romana shook her head and replied, "They are going to create the ropes needs to rig the bows to shoot by themselves. It'll take most of the day."
The others nodded as they began to discuss in depth the needed changes to security that would needed to be implemented.
When they came to a break, Lancelot left and tried to find the three women. To his utmost surprise and happiness, he found Sarmatia quite easily since she was standing just inside the courtyard watching three Roman soldiers training against one another.
"They aren't very impressive are they?" he asked to announce himself.
"No, they won't survive the Saxons if they continue to fight like this. But, I'm sure you are just a bit biased. You are after all one of the famed Sarmatian Knights."
Lancelot grinned proudly and stated, "Well, be that as it may, they are still horrible. But, I think they are still awed by your entrance today."
She glanced at him from the corner of her eyes and asked curiously, "How do you know of our culture?"
Lancelot rubbed the back of his head and winced. Sarmatia watched in bemusement as his eyes jumped around warily as if searching for someone only he could see.
He replied, "My maternal grandmother was an Amazon who loved telling stories to me and my little sister, Habren. When my grandfather defeated her during a battle, he didn't kill her. Instead, he had earned her admiration and she had earned his respect. They were both in their older years and decided that the other would do for a mate and got married. They had my mother and taught her how to fight like a true Amazon. When mother birthed my sister and I, she began to train us earnestly alongside my father. It has been an awful long time since I've heard anything vaguely connected to the tribe. I must have danced around for hours after I received the dream about your arrival…"
"A dream!" she exclaimed shocked.
Lancelot nodded and replied, "Yes, myself and the others, not including Bors and Arthur, received dreams foretelling your arrival. You were the focus of my dreams. I still wonder about who that voice belongs to though?"
Sarmatia remained quiet but Lancelot didn't seem to mind as he continued to talk calmly about how he came to have knowledge about the Legendary Amazons.
Galahad as well, left the Round Table and headed towards the training hall. There he found Areia standing thirty paces away from three targets and in hand was a bow and arrow. She was very quickly and very accurately shooting at the target.
Galahad stepped up and said in awe, "You are a great archer! I'm one of the best we have, and yet I do not think my skills are anywhere near yours. I am in awe, Lady."
Areia glanced at him from the corner of her eye and shrugged. She pulled back her bowstring and let her arrow fly. With a twang, the arrow embedded itself in center most point of the center dot making that point completely covered in arrows.
She replied, "It is a gift that has been passed through my family line for generations. We're natural Archers. Sarmatia is a natural with double blades, Athena is a natural with double single blade axes, Romana is a natural with a large battle-axe and straight sword, and Theaia is a natural with scouting and talking to animals. I noticed your scout, Tristan, has those same skills as well. Theaia is our best fighter when it comes to battle. She's practically emotionless during that time and she seems to flitter through the enemy like a humming bird does to flowers."
Galahad raised and eyebrow at that and said dryly, "Well, don't our groups make the perfect match? Tell me, how are your skills on a horse?"
Areia turned to him, grinned, and said, "Why don't we find out?"
Gawain sighed as he left the Round Table room and entered the Tavern. He knew he should go and practice some, but he was just too tired to go out and actually work. This wasn't fair. They are supposed to be celebrating the fact that they would be free in less than a week, and here they were preparing for battle against the worst kind of enemy-Saxons. When he sat down in a stool, a jar was placed before him and he wordlessly drank from it.
He was startled when a female voice in front of him, that didn't belong to Vanora, said, "Should you be drinking this early Gawain? There is a battle before us in a few hours."
He jerked up and saw his Amazon dream girl, Athena. She was busy behind the bar cooking something that smelled marvelous.
"I will not much and it's never been a problem for us Knights to drink and become somber quickly. I think it's a part of our warrior skills…I'll be fit to fight-don't worry."
Athena turned back to him and said, "Oh, it's not that. I know you'll be ready to fight, I'm just asking because you look as bad as you feel."
He raised an eyebrow and she elaborated, "You are depressed for some reason-that much is plain to see, but drinking those problems away will not make them disappear. It'll only come back to bite you on the arse later on. So, tell me, why are you drinking at such an early hour?"
He raised an eyebrow and looked outside. The sun was low in the western sky and looked back at her. She sighed and huffed causing a stand of her blond hair to fly up and over her head.
"Okay, so maybe not so early, but come on! Most don't drink until at least dinner, so what's your problem?"
Gawain sighed and proceeded to tell her about their fifteen years of slavery to Rome and how it was to be finished in less that a week. How they had been ecstatic at the thought of finally going home to see their families again and regaining their lives. But this, the Saxons, had put a damper on their festivities. Athena never said a word of that he was grateful, but her eyebrow did rise up a few times.
When he was finished, she looked him square in the eyes and asked, "What will happen when you return home, though? You are NOT the same boy that was taken. Do not expect them to be the same people as you remember."
He retorted, "I'm NOT expecting them to be. But they are family."
Athena nodded and replied, "Yes, they are. But remember this Gawain, family is always connected by blood, but it is the connection of the heart that truly makes a family strong."
He glared at her and demanded, "What do you know of it!"
She returned his glared equally strong and said passionately, "I love my family with everything I am, but I would not go back to them on my life! We cannot stay in one room for more than a few minutes before we are fighting about some silly thing that turns into a large fight! My sisters, Sarmatia, Romana, Areia, and Theaia are my family of my heart…they are whom I will bleed for and live for and die for…not my mother, father, or my elder brother."
With that she spun around, slammed a plate of food down before him, and stomped out of the Tavern. Gawain blinked down at the food and silently pondered Athena's words. Would he be able to go back after all this time and live with people he hardly remembers? More importantly, could he live one day without teasing Lance or planning a prank with Gal? What of knife throwing contests with Gal and knowing almost instinctively that Tristan was always there to watch over him and the others? It had become a security almost to watch that third dagger fly past his face and embed itself in the hilt of his own over the years-it meant that Tristan was still alive and with them. Could he really turn away from Arthur and his gentle understanding of him and the other Knights? Plus, could he leave all his "nieces and nephews" behind here in Briton? Now that he was actively thinking about it, he was almost certain that he couldn't. This was the cause of his depression. He wasn't sure he could leave behind these men who had become so close to his heart and his daily life. The Knights were closer to him then he had been with his blood brothers. With a sigh, he settled down and began to REALLY think about his future.
Tristan and Theaia were calmly trotting through the forest, when she suddenly stopped and became eerily silent. Tristan pulled up to her and waited patiently for her to reveal what she found. He was curious to see what she found but he had missed. Most would think that he was mad at her for finding something and he didn't. On the contrary though, he was impressed, so he waited.
"There are voices dancing in the east wind. They are right of us. We must go through the trees. We'll tether the horses here and make our way on foot into the camp, okay?"
Tristan just dismounted and looked to her. Now that he knew what to look for through the trees, he could also see where some men had skillfully entered the forest. He berated himself silently as he followed the Amazon. He had tracked Woads through these very forests for fifteen years, and was so used to them being there that he almost disregarded others using the tactics. This was not good. Saxons are supposed to be brute strength and had no use for stealth. If the Saxons were using new techniques, this battle would more than likely get even harder to win.