7. Help and Thanks

Zoe was in trouble. Not serious trouble; it wasn't life-or-death, but it was more than just a spot of bother. She had to somehow get into the Roman fort, find one specific man and somehow get a shirt for the knight currently sitting in Braewyn's house with all his weapons around him.

That her Latin wasn't exactly great was only one of the problems she faced. The Romans all spoke Latin, but few of them knew much of the native language, and it was the native language Zoe was more comfortable with. She also assumed that Tristan didn't want his business kept quiet. He was getting the shirt to avoid getting whipped, so explaining that he'd hurt himself in a brawl with Romans and needed less bloody clothes to avoid suspicion wasn't exactly sneaky. So that meant she couldn't explain why she was looking for him, which mean that the chance of her being let in was next to zero.

Fucking brilliant.

And Tristan was very scary. He had knives, lots of them, and he wasn't squeamish about being covered in his own blood, or about being injured like he was. And his eyes… Zoe shuddered. When he looked at her, Zoe didn't think he was seeing a person, but something potential dangerous.

This was getting better by the second.

She walked up to the gates of the fort. They were open and two legionaries were standing outside. Dressed immaculately in red and shining silver, clean-shaven with gleaming spears and pristine shields, the contrast to the bloodied man in Braewyn's house was stark.

Walking closer, neither of them looked particularly nice. One of them had a scar that ran down his face, pulling his lips into a permanent snarl. The other one just looked like he'd drunk too much and hadn't shaved properly this morning. She decided to try her luck with that one.

'Excuse me,' Zoe said, carefully pronouncing the Latin words. 'I need to speak to Gawain.'

'Really? And what would this…talk be about, then?' The legionary looked her slowly up and down and licked his lips.

Probably should have asked the other one, Zoe thought, feeling uncomfortably exposed as he leered at her. She even looked down to confirm that she was still wearing the brown dress she'd put on that morning, and check that it hadn't suddenly developed a plunging neckline or torn a hole in an inconvenient location. Like where the soldier was staring, for example.

'I can't say,' Zoe answered. She'd told Tristan she wouldn't tell anyone but Gawain, and she wouldn't. She kept her promises. At least, she kept her promises to big, scary, muscular men who were currently sitting half-naked on the table she prepared food on.

'I think I'd like a bit of that kind of talk. Why else would a girl want to talk to a Sarmatian knight? Promise to find me when I get off duty tonight, then I might let you in. What do you say?' The man leaned forwards and reached a hand out towards her. This close, he smelled of stale beer and body odour. Fuck.

'No!' Zoe cried, slapping his hand away and stumbling backwards. 'No.'

'Don't be like that, darling. Come on, you and me. I'll give it to you better than any Sarmatian dog ever could.'

Zoe kept walking back, shaking her head frantically. The guard grinned, licked his lips and grabbed her arm, faster than a snake, in his large, dirty hands. Zoe tried to pull away, but he just tightened his grip and leered down at her.

'Why in such a rush to leave? Don't you want to have some fun?' The man pulled her closer in. So close she could smell him far too clearly, so close she could see the stains on his armour.

'Don't do that, we're on duty. It's things like that that stop you from ever getting some,' the scarred soldier rebuked his comrade, speaking for the first time. He seemed relatively indifferent to the whole thing, bloody selfish bastard. The only thing that was keeping Zoe anywhere near that place was what was waiting for her back at Braewyn's cottage. An angry (shirtless) knight. And his knives.

'I get girls begging to be with me. And I want to hear it from this one. Not very pretty, but I bet I could make her beg.' The legionary, still holding Zoe with one hand, leant his spear against the gate.

She felt her heart beating faster and she was pretty sure she was trembling. Damn. She just had to pick a creep, didn't she?

If I don't do something soon, I'm going to be-Zoe cut that thought off, too scared to even think it.

She yanked her arm out of the man's grip in a sudden, desperate burst of strength, dodged his grasping hands and turned to run away, but ran into a very solid chest instead. She stumbled backwards, only to be caught by a strong hand. A large, strong hand.

Oh crap, Zoe thought.

'Why is this girl running away from you?' It was a familiar voice, one she'd heard before. And when Zoe looked up, it was a familiar face, too. It was Arthur; the handsome man she'd learned was the commander of the most prestigious unit in Britain. The Sarmatian knights. The ones who had kidnapped her and taken her here in the first place. Her day just kept getting better and better.

'No idea, sir. Girl's slightly crazy, sir,' the legionary said, snapping back to attention and collecting his spear and shield.

Arthur looked down at her, releasing her arm when he was sure that she was stable. Zoe hid behind Arthur's broad body. If she kept Arthur, who was perfectly capable of defending himself from creeps, between her and the guard she would be much more comfortable. Even if he was bloody scary and the future King of England, everything she'd heard at the market said he was kind and honourable and wouldn't start grabbing at her like the guard did. He was so trustworthy that even she'd heard of him, and she was from God knows how many years into the future. She did shift around to the opposite side to the dagger he wore at his hip, though.

'She doesn't look crazy, and if I hear you've been harassing women again I will not allow it to go unpunished.' There was steel in that deep voice of his, and Zoe knew that what Arthur said would be treated like a solemn vow.

'Yes, sir.' The legionary nodded his head respectfully.

'What's your name?'

'Gaius Ledipus, serving under Centurion Catiline, sir,' the legionary said, glaring at Zoe as if it was her fault he was a perverted bastard.

'I'll remember that,' Arthur promised, voice as cold and scary as any Zoe had ever heard. 'Why were you trying to get in here?' Arthur asked, his green eyes now turning to Zoe. Taking her arm, he walked her out of earshot of the soldiers.

'I was told to find Gawain.' Zoe answered, taking care to use the right words. She had a tendency to get them mixed up when she was stressed, or even to slip back into English. And to say she was stressed now was a bit of an understatement.

'Told by who?' Arthur asked, apparently taking her as seriously as he would a messenger from Rome.

'By a man called Tristan.' Zoe gambled on Arthur's faith in his knights. Tristan was one of Arthur's men, and had been for several years; Arthur should trust the man by now. If Arthur did, and let Zoe in she'd save herself a lot of effort, and Tristan, who was waiting for new clothes in Braewyn's house, would leave, with all of his weapons and the smell of blood. If she lost, she'd have to find another way to get into the fort. And then she'd have to find Gawain on her own. Or go back to Tristan. Neither option was particularly appealing.

'Tristan sent you to find Gawain?' Arthur's eyebrows rose, but he took her arm again gently. Zoe flinched a little, not comfortable with the strength in his hand, even if he wasn't exerting it.

'Yes sir, he said only Gawain,' Zoe answered softly. Her eyes were drawn to a dagger at his side. Less frightening than the sword he'd worn the last time they'd met. He seemed less scary out of his armour, more like a person than a killer.

Zoe tried to take a few deep breaths to calm down. It didn't work very well. She wasn't a naturally calm person at the best of times, but dealing with a bunch of shit in a time she wasn't even supposed to be in was pushing her past her limits. The grip on her arm wasn't reassuring either. Why was he holding on to her as if she was going to run away?

'Tristan is one of my best knights, and I trust him with my life, but I am puzzled as to why he would send you, a stranger, on an errand for him.'

'I was the only one there,' Zoe replied, tugging her arm out of his hand and edging away from the dagger at his side.

Arthur frowned, and seemed to be thinking hard about something. His eyes looked Zoe up and down, and she had the unnerving feeling that she was being checked for weapons, as well as judged as to reliability. Eventually, Arthur sighed, his posture relaxing a little.

'I'll take you to Gawain if you tell me what Tristan needs.'

'He said only Gawain, sir,' Zoe protested, torn between answering the man and obeying Tristan.

'Girl, Tristan is my knight, we have fought together for almost six years, and he will be with me for ten more after this. I am his commanding officer and if he is in trouble, I need to know.' Arthur's eyes were so intense that Zoe couldn't meet them.

'He needs a shirt. His was covered in blood and he didn't want to be whipped,' Zoe unwilling to look up at Arthur, stared intently at her bare feet instead. She definitely missed shoes. Her feet were incredibly dirty, the nails ragged and the soles rather tough. Shoes were expensive, so it was apparently easier to go without during the warmer seasons.

But even thinking about mundane things like her shoes couldn't distract Zoe properly from the oppressive silence as Arthur once again considered her. She really hoped he was happy with that explanation, because she didn't want to go back to Tristan and say that she couldn't get a shirt. Actually she didn't want to go back to Tristan at all, but if she had to it would be preferable to do so in the way that would make him least angry with her.

'Fine. I'll take you to Gawain. Stay close to me and don't cause any trouble,' Arthur said sternly.

'Yes, sir.' Zoe walked with Arthur through the gates and past some large, stone buildings. There were many Roman legionaries around, all with short swords strapped to their sides, spears in their hands or knives strapped to various locations on their bodies. Zoe at first shrunk closer to Arthur, but flinched away when she was confronted with the dagger swinging by his side.

Zoe thought rather giddily that she must look incredibly stupid. Maybe she was developing a nervous twitch of some kind. She was getting strange looks from the Roman legionaries, and she got as close to Arthur as she could while staying as far away from his dagger as she could. It must have looked strange, but Zoe didn't care. Too much was going on for her to care overly much at how she must appear to others.

Arthur passed by the larger buildings until they came to a smaller one that had a large wooden door carved with strange symbols and horses. He opened the door and led Zoe inside. A door, several corridors and few sharp turns later, they were in what appeared to be a training yard given the activity going on inside it.

'Gawain!' Arthur called. 'You have a visitor.'

The blond man, hair longer than Zoe remembered but definitely cleaner, bounded over. He seemed cheerful, a smile on his face, chest heaving and shirt sticking to him because of sweat, an unsheathed sword in his hand. 'Who is it Arthur? You?' he looked down at Zoe, who was hiding behind Arthur, casting frightened glances at the blade, and back at Arthur.

'She says Tristan sent her for you specifically.' Arthur nodded to Zoe and walked towards the men. Zoe watched him greet a man with dark curls who Zoe thought might be Lancelot, the far too pretty man she remembered very clearly, with a hand on the shoulder.

'Tristan sent you? What for?' Gawain's voice was concerned and he started off down the corridor Arthur had just led Zoe through. Apparently things like this didn't usually happen. 'Hold on a second.' Gawain said before Zoe could even begin talking. 'Galahad!'

Another attractive man (why were there no guys like this in her own time? Zoe thought plaintively) with dark curly hair and the wispy beginnings of a moustache walked over, another sword in his hand. 'Yeah?' He, too, was panting and sweaty and smelled terrible. Zoe was staring between the two men and their weapons, shaking just slightly as the steel seemed to menace her, despite being completely stationary.

'Hold this for me, will you?' Gawain threw the sword at Galahad.

Zoe let out a squeak of alarm, flinching when the blade flew past her face, closing her eyes. She heard Gawain laugh and the other man snicker and opened her eyes cautiously to see them both staring at her. Gawain's grin made Zoe blush. He was incredibly attractive smiling like that, and she'd just made an idiot of herself in front of him. The other man was just as amused by her antics, if the smirk on his face was anything to go by. Zoe made an effort to appear more relaxed, as the two knights went back to ignoring her.

Galahad pointed Gawain's sword at its owner, ignoring another unintentional squeak from Zoe. 'You're just too lazy to clean it yourself,' the man scowled. Zoe couldn't tell if he meant it or not.

Gawain apparently didn't take offence, because he clapped Zoe on the shoulder, making her knees buckle a little and grinned. 'Important business, Galahad. I'll kick your ass another time.'

'In your dreams,' Galahad retorted and walked back to the group of men in the courtyard, taking Gawain's sword with him.

'Now, what did Tristan want me for?'

'He told me to ask you for a shirt,' Zoe replied. It was easier to talk to him now that he wasn't holding a blade, but he was still rather intimidating, and his stench certainly didn't help any.

'A shirt? Why would Tristan need a shirt?' Gawain started walking into the building, impatiently gesturing for Zoe to follow.

'He got into a fight. His shirt was covered in blood.' Zoe hurried to keep up with the man's long legs. Damn her for being so short.

Gawain stopped and grabbed her biceps, looking into her face. 'He's hurt? Where is he?'

'He is at Braewyn's house,' Zoe answered quickly. He may not have a weapon, but Gawain was still scary. Particularly when he was holding on to her arms that hard. Knowing Zoe's skin they'd probably bruise. 'It is a-' Zoe floundered for the word for 'wound' in Latin for a moment. 'It is a cut on his chest. It bled a lot.'

Gawain seemed to accept this and let go, a frown marring his forehead. Zoe took a deep breath to calm herself down before jogging to catch up to Gawain who was marching off down the corridor again. He had pushed open a door and thrown open a chest by the time Zoe had caught up.

'Mind if I come down with you to take it to him?' Gawain asked. The tone of his voice implied that even if she did mind, she wasn't going anywhere without him.

Zoe nodded and Gawain moved to another door, this one led to a room considerably messier and smellier. Gawain stripped off his sweat-soaked shirt, dropping it onto the floor. He, like Tristan, had a very nice body, Zoe noticed. He had lighter skin than Tristan, but he had fewer scars and his muscles were broader. He was very attractive. He was, thankfully, also very oblivious to her scrutiny as he sifted through a pile of clothes, grabbed a shirt and held it up to his face, sniffing. He nodded to himself and pulled it over his body. Zoe averted her eyes, conscious of the heat in her cheeks that reminded her she'd been blushing.

The blond knight grabbed a large knife and strapped it to his waist. Zoe moved to the other side of him, and together they left the fort and walked through the town. It was much easier for Zoe to be in the town than the fort. The number of weapons decreased dramatically, the people were more relaxed and they didn't stare at women the way Zoe's dog back home in the future eyed off any bacon she cooked.

There was a problem, though. The people in the town all seemed to stare at Gawain as he waded through them and by extension they stared at Zoe. It was like being with Brad Pitt or something; he seemed to be their equivalent of a celebrity. Complete with giddy female fans. He seemed oblivious to the attention he attracted, but Zoe wasn't. She blushed every time someone looked at her, sure they must be wondering why he was associating with her. This was only confirmed when after glances at Gawain, and then herself, she saw people turning to each other to whisper.

Zoe tried to hide herself behind Gawain, but somehow managed to stumble over her own feet, falling into the knight. He caught her, more to avoid ending up on the ground himself than through any sense of chivalry, Zoe suspected. She heard some sniggers from around her, but was too embarrassed to look up. She was making an absolute idiot of herself. This had to stop, she had to get away. She sped up the pace of her walking, to get out of the presence of so many staring eyes.

Zoe's relief at entering Braewyn's house was so great she was able to ignore Tristan for a second. Only a second, because when Gawain followed her inside he was standing up from the furs he'd been lounging on and holding out his hand for the shirt.

'How did this happen, Tristan?' Gawain asked, slapping Tristan's chest, earning himself a rather intimidating glare.

'Romans at the tavern. One of them pulled a knife.' Tristan's explanation to Gawain was barely longer than the one he'd given to Braewyn, but Gawain nodded as if he'd given a thorough report. Maybe, knowing him as Gawain undoubtedly did, it made sense. But to Zoe it seemed as if Tristan had gotten into a senseless brawl with Romans for no particular reason and got himself cut up.

Zoe tried to edge away from them and to Braewyn, who was scrubbing the bench rather vigorously with a rag. The smell of blood and lavender mixed in the air and made Zoe almost long for the smell of open sewerage outside.

'Let's get you out of here. Arthur was worried when this girl showed up looking for you.' Gawain nodded his head at Zoe, who pretended to ignore it, choosing to grab another rag.

'He'll live,' Tristan grunted, sliding the last of his knives out of sight. This didn't make Zoe any more comfortable, knowing he had knives all around him made her worried for her own safety. Tristan dug in a purse hanging at his waist and handed a few coins to Braewyn, who didn't even bother counting them.

'Any time you need, I'm here,' the old lady said, smiling her toothless smile at Gawain and Tristan.

Tristan walked out without a word, Gawain thanked the two women and followed him. Zoe shut the door behind them and leaned against it, letting a deep sigh escape her.

'He wanted to know about you,' Braewyn said in her native dialect. She'd returned to scrubbing the table, leaving the coins Tristan had given her lying on an already-cleaned part of it.

'Why?' Zoe asked, pulling a stone from the wall, revealing a decent-sized hole. She extracted a box from it and handed it to Braewyn.

'He wants to know about everything - it's his job.' Braewyn put the coins in the box, closed the lid and shook it a little.

Zoe nodded, and put the box back in the hollow. She threw another log on the fire to get it ready for cooking on and moved into the storeroom to gather vegetables for that night's meal.

'What does he do?' Zoe asked.

'You've heard of him-he's one of Arthur's knights,' Braewyn said, as if talking to a child.

'Yes, but what is he? He's not a normal knight if it's his job to know everything. Knights just need to know how to kill people.' Zoe pulled out the required vegetables from where they were stored and went to check on the hellebore, the rat poison, she kept in the corners.

'Ah. He's the scout.'

Zoe wondered what he'd thought of her, before deciding it was better not to know. With all her cowering she couldn't have made a good impression. With her luck today, he would have probably decided she was absolutely pathetic.

'Must be a difficult job to do,' Zoe murmured, getting to work washing the vegetables. She really didn't want to use the table- Tristan had bled on it for God's sake!

'That reminds me, did you find work anywhere?' Braewyn asked and their night continued as normal, despite the air smelling of lavender and blood.

xxx

A/N: Ok, so this one took a little long to get out. And I would like to point out that it was entirely my fault, because my (brilliant) beta got this back to me several days ago, and I was too busy/lazy to get this up. Sorry! But anyway, here's a chapter full of knights to make up for the lateness.

Any advice, criticism or anything on Zoe, Arthur, Tristan or Gawain (hell, anything) is appreciated. Reviews are brilliant.

On that note, thank you to everyone who has reviewed this fic, and to everyone who has put it on their alert list or favourites. I never thought this fic would be this popular. I'm treating myself because I've now got over 2000 hits for this one fic! Thank you so much for reading, there's lots more to come, I promise!

Disclaimer: King Arthur does not belong to me and neither do the sexy knights.