Amazonian Support 11
Over the course of the week, Lancelot was subjected to teasing from Arthur because unlike his usually accurate weather predictions, Briton received none of its normal rainy days and foggy nights. Also, Lancelot's behavior, as of late, was a source of endless laughter for the mature commander.
Due to his dreams concerning Sarmatia, Lancelot, who had, almost embarrassingly, seemed to have fallen in love with the High Princess, was stumbling all about like he was born with two left legs and a tongue eternally twisted.
Arthur couldn't help but laugh as he remembered the events of yesterday, Arthur, Sarmatia, and Lancelot were out just beyond the Wall's protection when Arthur sighed, tilted, his head up to the sky, and said in satisfaction, "That's three silvers Lance. The Bishop will arrive on time."
Lancelot snorted in distain, but grudgingly reached into this money purse, and pulled out the agreed upon sum. Say what you will about him, but when it came right down to it-if he made a promise, vow, or bet, he fulfilled it honorably-PERIOD.
Sarmatia tilted her head and said in a questioningly tone, "When did the two of you make a bet? I don't remember that in any of the conversations from earlier?"
Lancelot turned to her, smiled, and said, "It's something we started a long time ago as boys. When we first arrived, we'd place bets on the weather and how long it'd take certain people to travel."
He stood straighter and said proudly, "I usually win!"
Sarmatia smiled at him, winked conspiratorially at Arthur, and said coyly sly as she dragged her finger down his chest in a teasing manner, "So, this was an off day then for your bedding…ah excuse me…betting prowess?"
Arthur burst out laughing as Lancelot ACTUALLY froze and gapped widely at Sarmatia. As he tried to shake the very thought out of his mind, Lancelot took a step forward and all Arthur heard was a giant SLAPT!
Arthur blinked and stared at the scene before him. Lancelot coughed and sputtered as he growled something in his native tongue. Arthur had to choke down his giggles (yes giggles) as Lancelot spit out a mouthful of horse water and gunk-Lancelot had fallen into the outer horse trowel.
All because the woman his First Knight was enamored with teased him!
And true to Arthur's prediction, the Knights received their final orders to leave the fort and escort the Bishop Germanous to the wall to receive their discharge papers that very same day.
Amazingly enough, the one couple that none of them would have thought to be so close, so quickly, was in truth not Lancelot and Sarmatia-though they were very, very, VERY close-but Tristan and Theaia.
The two were like two peas in a pod, if you believed in such idioms. Not only were they both very impressive at scouting, and bird of prey lovers, but they were both crazy for one another. They could hold entire conversations with their eyes and with slight tilts of their heads.
If Sarmatia didn't know any better, she'd think that they were identical fraternal twins. What with Tristan's dark, shaggy braided brown-black hair, dark skin tone, and tattooed cheeks and Theaia's dirty-blond curly blond hair, peachy skin tone, and clear skin-they were perfectly matched physically to one another. Plus, they were complete opposites when it came to their personalities as well. Tristan was closed, silent, and kept to himself more often than not-but kept his confidence to his hawk friend, Amod. Theaia, when she wasn't out scouting, easily interacted with other people, cheery, and was very hyper-active-she was very able in keeping up with her own hawk friend, Ameiya, one the ground when Ameiya was souring and shooting through the air at high speeds.
As soon as the battle and cleanup with the Saxons was done, Tristan, who had ACTUALLY stayed and helped clean ALL of the battlements, had quite literally dragged Theaia into the training square and fought her until she collapsed in exhaustion. But the other Amazons could easily see that she wasn't mad or depressed by losing to the Sarmatian scout. In fact, she was down right thrilled.
The Knights had been shocked when Tristan grinned rakishly at them, in Lancelot's legendary fashion, and threw her over his shoulder.
When he vanished into their bedchamber hall, Gawain cleared his throat and said with a suppressed laugh, "I don't think I want to be anywhere near them when they are…active."
Galahad, who had been slowly and leisurely drinking from his mug of mead with Areia petting his neck from her place on his lap, sputtered and fell helplessly to the ground in hysterics. He was quickly halted by Areia's tongue down his throat, but he wasn't too upset by her interruption. In fact, he was gloriously happy.
Bors, with a loud belch and a vivacious laugh, pounded Lancelot on the back and chortled, "And here I thought, you and Sarmatia here would be the first ones to hit the sheets, boy!"
The Knights burst into even louder laughs as Lancelot and Sarmatia blushed vividly. Their blush deepened when Arthur nudged Lancelot, with his elbow, in the gut, which sent the normally well-balanced, charming First Knight flying straight into Sarmatia's arms.
As they crashed into one another, the weight of Lancelot's body sent them both careening to the ground.
"Oof!" they cried out.
When Lancelot got his arms under him and lifted his weight from Sarmatia's flattened body, their eyes locked.
Bloody HELL! What in the Gods names am I doing! Why am I acting like some adolescent pre-pubescent, pimple-faced, VIRGIN! It's not like I've NEVER been this close to another woman before! GODS! What's wrong with me!...oh, her eyes are so vibrant and clear….not to mention gorgeous! STOP! IT! You can't think like this! You are LEAVING in a few days! If I sleep with her, I'll be committing myself to her for the rest of my life and into the eternal beyond! Remember your lessons BOY!
Lancelot scolded himself even as he continued to stare dreamily into Sarmatia's beautiful violet eyes. While he awknowledged the connection between them, he couldn't help but fear their bond as well. Very distantly, he was more than a little dismayed to realize that his conscience, which was telling him to get his butt moving and OFF of Sarmatia, and to act like a gentleman, sounded an awful lot like Arthur. But what truly made it ghastly for him was the fact that it was his Grandmother's words mixed together with Arthur's voice; the only two people to have EVER made him feel guilty about anything in his life!
Sarmatia bit her lip and stared passionately into Lancelot's churning, chocolate, brown-black eyes. She barely withheld the moan of desire as her hips accidentally rocked into Lancelot's as he tried to remove himself. I shouldn't be doing this! I shouldn't be doing this! He's leaving in three days! I'm the High Princess of the Amazons! I HAVE to have a consort when I become queen! I can't have relations with him this week! This is my fertile week!
As the Knights prepared to leave, Sarmatia nodded to her fellow Amazons. Although, Arthur had denied them, they were going to secretly follow him and the others and act as their backup. Arthur had said that the Bishop wouldn't like the fact that five women were going to be there to help them, the Knights, escort him back to the wall because they were women. "After all," he had said, "Roman women DON'T fight. They run the home-that's all."
The five Amazons watched with pride as their other-half, the Knights, quickly brought the fight between the Romans and the Woads to an end.
Theaia shook her head and said in a mock sad tone as she let Ameiya fly free, "Look at those sorry excuses of males! There were twenty-five of them and, granted the Woads DID have the advantage of coverage in the trees and slightly more numbers, but over three quarters of those ruddy Romans were dead before Tristan and the others reached the fight!"
Sarmatia sighed and nodded as she turned to Romana and asked, "Any word from the mainland Amazons?"
Romana's eyes widened as she watched Dagonet, her secret fancy, dive into the crystal clear lake taking two Woads with him, and answered professionally, "They shall be here in three months. Travel on the mainland is long and weather, raids, and other bad cases of "Bad-Luck" have caused some delays. But they assured me that they are on their way."
Athena pushed a strand of hair from her face and said with a smile as Gawain threw down his battle-hand-axe and relaxed, "Lets just hope they arrive before that dream of our comes true. I don't know about your guys but, that dream the Lady sent me was frightening…I saw Gawain take a bullet arrow to the chest!"
Romana gulped and answered as the Knights gathered around Arthur and the wagon, "Dagonet was lost to a lake along with at least a hundred Saxons."
Theaia quickly masked her emotions and replied blandly, "I REFUSE to let Tristan die in battle."
Sarmatia nodded and said cleared in a commanding tone as Tristan rode by them with a nod and a quick smile, "Then we're in agreement…the Knights will NOT die this time around. We will succeed in the mission our Lady has given to us."
As Lancelot came up beside her and smiled at her in surprise and welcome, she thought as she smiled back at him with love clear in her eyes, I won't let you die Lancelot. Even if I have to die in your place…I love you enough to die for you, my precious, First Knight…