Reunion 8
This will jump P.O.V.s like all the other chapters-Knights and Sarmatians will be varied!
The entire group, whom had been watching with a range of thinly hidden amusement (the Knights) to out right rage (Atilla and his supporters), halted their horses as Pappy cried out, "Now how will we travel! I'm NOT walking the entire way!"
Gawain, who had been trotting closest to the three because he had the highest anger tolerance next to Marquess Emogen (her proper title-although people call her Your Ladyship and or My Lady) herself, snorted and said sarcastically, "Are you Sarmatians or not? Chase them down!"
Pappy, with muddy water still running down his face and back, shivered as the chilly Briton weather mixed with the breezy winds caressed his drenched body.
Lancelot's once best friend glared up at the blond hared Knight and crabbed out, "How? I have no other horse!"
Gawain rolled his eyes and said with false praise as he slumped down slightly in his saddle and waved his hand lackadaisically about his head, "And you call yourselves Great Sarmatians!"
He sat up straighter in his saddle and added darkly, "Some 'Great Horsemen', never mind, I'll go get them all."
Gawain heard his brother snort and answered the unasked question, "Well, it's either that or have them ride with one of us…"
The lion-like man watch with glee as his brother recognized the situation, Galahad's grass green eyes widened in horror. He knew who Pappy of the Lion Tribe would have to ride with-him. His horse, Maphestas, was the youngest and strongest horse in the group because he had been born only six years before. Maphestas was the son of his old horse, Flight of Freedom, whom he had ridden for most of his fifteen years of servitude to Rome.
Gawain nodded and turned his horse around and said, "I'll be back in an hour, at the most!"
Atilla, who was trying to brush off as much dirt and water as he could, growled in frustration as his attempts to cleanse himself off only made the dirt smear even more.
He was nearly ready to murder the entire group because the remaining Knights were not even bothering to hide their merriment. Even some of his more uncouth-like supporters were laughing at him.
"And what is so funny!" he demanded in a roar of ill disguised rage and slight fear-that arrow had just missed him after all!
Arthur, who had heard and seen the rage, sobered up and answered enigmatically, "The mud of our land, is unique. It clings to the body like mists do to the morning hills."
Habren watched all this with wide eyes. This was NOT how she imagined their reunion would be like. First, her brother tried to send her away without telling her who he was and continued to allow her to think that he was dead. Second, he married another woman-although that wasn't bad at all. I HATE Agrimpasa! I'm glad he married Lady Emogen. She seems like a wonderful wife, mother, and leader. Third, her brother wanted to kick her and the others off the island as fast as possible because the Knights simply didn't want to return to the land of their birth, and lastly, her brother was taking pleasure from others in pain. Well, I guess it isn't to bad since it IS Atilla and Tor, but Pappy is Lance's best friend! He shouldn't be acting like this!
Tarkan, who had been close to his brother, leaned over and asked flippantly but loud enough for all of them to hear, "What does that mean?"
Lancelot tilted his head in the direction of his brother, rolled his eyes, and replied as his head turned back to the forest they were currently traveling through, "It means, that Briton is a person all to herself. What she does with her lands is her own doing. If you want to survive here, you must first learn to live WITH her and not against her."
Agrimpasa smiled victoriously to herself as she walked closely to Lancelot, placed her hand on his chest, and with wide eyes accused, "You make this horrid land sound like it's alive!"
Lancelot smirked forebodingly at her, leaned in closer to the Sarmatians-AWAY from her, and reassured insultingly, "Oh, but she is…don't you know the legends of Briton?"
At their looks of repugnance, he knew that they would NEVER try to learn the ways of the land they despised; he added, "Briton is just a physical manifestation of the divine dragon, Britannia. The very ground we walk on is Britannia's own emerald belly."
Then he leaned in even closer and said in a mysterious whisper that traveled to them all along a suddenly freezing and amazingly scorching wind, "She watches everything, she knows everything, and she kills all who endanger her."
The Sarmatian jumped out of the trance-like state that Lancelot and the winds had placed them under as he sat up right and proud in his saddle and finished with a mindless shrug, "Why do you think the Romans had such problems converting this land to their own?"
With that they watched him trot over to Arthur and lean in to quietly talk with the King. They were startled to hear them chuckling especially when they had stopped in such a dangerous spot.
Tor, who was standing as close as possible to his older brother, Bors, without being to noticeable, asked in a voice just shy of antsy, "Shouldn't we just go? I mean, those Inish are still out there aren't they?"
Bors looked down on his little brother with delight in his brown eyes as he asked in deride concern, "What's this? Is the strong, fearless, and courageous Prince of the Bear Tribe afraid of a few Inish?"
Before Tor could respond, Gawain reappeared with three horses tethered to his own reigns. He snorted and silently tossed the soiled men their horse's reigns as he rejoined his brother near the other Knights of the Round Table.
Arthur sighed and said, "Good, lets go. I don't want to remain in here any longer than we absolutely need to. Britannia might like us, but I doubt the Earl of Sherwood will be so understanding about us dilly-dallying in his county without "announcing ourselves" to him as is proper."
The Sarmatians were confused as the other Knights rolled their eyes at Arthur's words.
Ilona tapped her brother and signed very quickly her question. She watched Tristan and nodded. She understood their dislike because Agrimpasa acted just as superior, like this Earl of Sherwood does.
As they continued down the shadowed path, through the Mystic Forest, commonly named Sherwood, Tor, Atilla, and Pappy, who were ecstatic to have their horses back, jumped continuously at every abnormal sound that the forest made.
Habren, Agrimpasa, Ilona, and Calbur suddenly rode into the midst of the Knights and Habren announced, "Did you know that father wishes to see you once more before he dies Lancelot?"
This should get him to go home!
Lancelot stiffened and turned to his baby-NO!-little sister. She had a sadly coy smile on her face, but he found himself not trusting her facial expressions. After all, not to long ago, she, herself, had revealed that their father was alive and well. His father is younger than Duncan, his father-n-law, so he knew his father had many years left to live.
He sighed and replied, "No, I did not. But, I will see him once again be it in this life or in the after life. What of my new siblings that were born after I left? Will you tell me of them?"
Galahad piped in and exclaimed, "Yeah, Agrimpasa, tell us of our siblings too!"
Ilona simply nodded her head yes and made an action that mocked how a mother rocked a baby to sleep in her arms and held up one finger. Tristan understood-he had one new sibling.
Habren smiled as she thought of her younger brother and sisters.
Before she could talk of them, Tristan interrupted in, "What is the name of my youngest sibling?"
Melean leaned forward from his place beside Habren, his reluctant wife, and answered for her much to her consternation, "Galatan, he's fifteen this year and your mother's pride and joy."
She watched as Tristan snorted and mumbled to himself, "Yeah right…"
She raised and eyebrow and continued, "Well, there is Litaleya who is or rather WAS eight years younger than me. She was born three years after you left."
Lancelot felt a jolt of sadness at the enhanced word, was, he knew why it was past tense, but he still had to ask, "Was?"
Tarkan smiled sadly and answered softly in an attempt to soften the blow, "She died just before we left in one of the raids by the Huns. She was so beautiful. Every man in the village of marrying age wanted to marry her."
Lancelot bit his lip as Habren replied, "Just imagine a feminine version of you with softer cheekbones and you have what Litaleya looked like."
He could do that easily. He had plenty of exercise at visualizing a female version of himself thanks to the other Knights and their teasing. His little sister, one he had never met and would NEVER meet, was beautiful. He whispered to himself Take care little sister, may the Gods of Sarmatia and God and the Goddess watch over you as you rejoin the circle of life.
Habren continued after a short time, "Then there is Zimkar! He is father's exact look-alike. He is eighteen years old and very flirtatious. He is also a fierce warrior. He killed his first man during the raid that claimed Litaleya. In fact, he killed Lita's murderer. You'd be proud of him Lance. He has done our tribe great wonders. He has a great desire to meet you too!"
As Habren adamantly talked about her siblings to her recently absent elder brother and his best friend, Agrimpasa was also telling her twin and elder brother all about their younger sisters, Athena and Areia.
"Well, Athena is five foot even and had straight blond hair like you Gawain. She had hazel eyes and has an eye for archery. Areia is five foot five and has straight brown hair and blue eyes. She's taller than Athena by five inches and she's three years younger! Mother thinks she's half weed with all the growing she's done in the past five months alone! Areia is a mistress of nearly every weapon father has given to her. It's like she picks up a weapon and immediately knows what to do with it, sometimes. If she continues at this pace, she'll have a better handle of the weapons than me, and she could possible steal my title from me! It's wonderful! You both really need to come home and meet them!"
She watched as her brother exchanged glances. It bothered her to the high heavens that she couldn't distinguish what the tiny glances meant, but she held her tongue and snuck a glance at Lancelot. He was smiling and listening wholeheartedly as her sister-n-law told the group all about Lancelot's younger siblings.
Gawain was starting to feel bad. Perhaps they should have gone home that first year to visit their families. It would have made their families in Sarmatia happy and they would have gotten to meet their siblings. But, I don't regret staying either! I LOVE my life here! I wouldn't trade it for all the freedom in the world! Or all the gold in the Roman Empire…but, I wish I could meet my little sisters…
Before he could loose himself in his thoughts, Garen rode up and claimed cheerfully, "Ah! So, Agrimpasa telling you of Athena and Areia then, that's good! But, I and a few others have something of great importance and happiness to tell you and your brother Knights!"
Galahad raised and eyebrow and asked, "What's this good news? If it's important enough, I'll tell Arthur."
The once youngest Knights of the Round Table, for that title went to Sir Lionel when he joined a year ago, watched as his cousin sat up straighter and said strongly, "It's about Atilla and his position here. We have much to discuss with King Arthur."
Galahad nodded sharply, pursed his lips together, and gave off a soft bird-like chirp. Arthur and the Knights halted their horses and turned to Galahad.
He stated with a shrug, "Garen and a few others need to tell us of Atilla."
He and the other Knights glared at Atilla and Tor as they joined the brothers. Galahad observed as Tarkan and Agravine joined them as well.
Atilla trembled in fury as he heard what that ostentatious, spoiled, princeling, Galahad, announced. He was about to march up to KING Arthur and demand that they return to the castle at once, when Melean placed his horse in front of the elder man and glared at him. How DARE they tell these foreign bastards about my dishonor! I AM still in charge! I AM the eldest Sarmatian here! My word is LAW not those pathetic Lion Tribe heirs! Thought the sixty-two year old prejudicial man as rage practically boiled his blood and made him turn a horrifyingly fearful red tone. It never occurred to him that his own people would betray him like they had, but he'd regain his power soon enough. He just had to bide his time patiently, that's all.
Arthur sighed when he stopped in front of the Sarmatians and asked, "Well, what's all this about?"
He tapped his foot impatiently against the stirrup that supported his foot and sighed as Lancelot's familiar weight and aura came up behind him. As Lancelot's hand came to rest on his shoulder, he added, "Well, come on, we have a long way to go before we can stop…unless you WANT to sleep in the forest?"
Since the Sarmatian men were all darkly tanned, he received a perverse pleasure in watching the Sarmatian men pale to a sickly yellow and watch as their eyes become large dilated dots of black with a small ring of color. He always found pleasure in the ways visiting people scared themselves with a little help from the legends told by himself or the other Knights and Briton's natural, mystical, magical aura. It was the perfect revenge-let the enemy's own imagination do all the work for you.
Lancelot sighed and pointed out rudely, "Sometime today Tarkan!"
He felt a small jolt of guilt in his heart as his brother eyed him with his large amber brown eyes, but he was to far removed from his ties with Tarkan and Habren to care all that much. He loved them and always would, but he did not feel the bonds of brotherhood and family with Tarkan and Habren anymore. He just wanted to get them to Hadrian's Wall and then off the Sarmatia. Is that too much to ask? I just want all this to be done with…especially Agrimpasa! I want her GONE!
He shivered in revulsion as Agrimpasa, once again, attempted to gain his attention by giving him seductive eyes. If those didn't work, her eyes changed immediately to innocent and wounded-like, like that would make him change his mind-yeah right!
He turned his attention to his brother as Tarkan quickly explained about what Atilla had said about himself and the placement of Habren in life. They also told him about Tor's silent support of Atilla even though he had been dishonored. Then they told the Knights about how Tarkan, himself, had revoked his leadership and made him nothing but a common Sarmatian. He ended by saying, "Miskoc is the new leader of the Horse Tribe."
Lancelot turned to his giant-like friend and raised and eyebrow in question.
Dagonet nodded and said with absolute faith in his voice, "We can trust Miskoc. He will treat our children with respect."
Galahad was appalled when he heard all about Atilla and Tor's actions. He could see the rage boiling just under the surface of Bors' control and announced in a sinister way as his eyes narrowed into two burning slits of green, eerier fire, "May I have your permission, my king, to slit that ass', Attila's head off?"
He saw how the Knights blinked at him in shock. He even felt a smile form on his lips as Gawain's mouth opened and closed like that of a fish.
He shrugged and said heatedly and passionately, "Yes, I know, I am the least violent of us, but this man needs to be stopped! If I have to bloody my hands to do this, I'll happily do it to enact justice for all the families he's destroyed and all the potential Sarmatian children he's slaughtered!"
The Sarmatians slowly backed away from the second prince of the Wolf Tribe as his raging, atrocious, and crackling aura overwhelmed them all. They shivered as the freezing fire rolled through them. As that happened, a glacial cold wind blew across them all shocking the Sarmatians as they grabbed their cloaks and wrapped them tightly around themselves to ward off the biting cold winds. They glanced around them in fear and suspicion. Lancelot's story was still very much in their thoughts, and many couldn't help but think that Britannia was anger at them. They were also amazed to watch their bloody brothers shrug off the cold as if it were nothing but a small hindrance and not the icy mountain top problem it truly was.
Arthur shook his head and said sympathetically, "As much as I would like to see that Galahad, we cannot. He is a visitor and we must give him that courtesy. But…"
He grinned maliciously and ended, "…should he bother us to much more, I think we can help the Inish along in their dining plans for tonight!"
That's it for this chapter! I'm going away again, this time to Austin and I won't be back for a few days. There is more to this, but I thought it'd be a good time to stop! Hope you like it!