Reunion 10

Chapter 8 part 2

When their midday meal was complete, Arthur stood up, whipped his hands clean of breadcrumbs, and said smoothly, "It's time to get back on the road. If we want to reach Bala Lake by nightfall, we need to get moving. Tristran, ride on ahead."

He saw from the corner of his eye, as his scout and friend nodded and silently mounted his gray spotted mare and leave just as silently as he always had. He smiled. Tristran was his best scout, and he always wood. He couldn't wait until Dunham was old enough to start learning from his father. He had a feeling that the son of Tristran would be just as skilled as his father. He also couldn't wait for his own son, Mordwen, to become old enough to start his own training, but until then he was more than happy to rely on his old friend and scout. Now, I just have to find a way to make these Sarmatians leave. I am truly saddened at how their lives have become so ruined by the Romans, but that's not my problem. I will NOT let them come back to Camelot. That'll put the children in danger!

As they trotted down the thin forest road, Habren noticed that the entire group was riding two by two. She glanced behind her and saw that her fellow Sarmatians was having a bit of trouble keeping their steeds from straying farther away from each other. She had to bite her lip at how far from their once proud ancestors they had fallen. She looked ahead to her brother and his fellow Knights and saw how easily they controlled their horses and realized that the Knights were the true epitome of the Sarmatian Knights and the Sarmatian people of old. That was a very hard realization for her to arrive at. Her people had prided themselves on the fact that the ones who Rome stole from them had to be reeducated on their Sarmatian roots when they returned home, but she understood now that it was the Sarmatians that were taken that were the ones whom remained true to their ancient past.

She closed her eyes and thought about whom her proud ancestors once were our ancestors are born from the love of the God of War and Hippolyta! We are the descendants of the Amazons and Scythians. The Amazons were a prideful warrior race of women who bedded any man who met their expectations. Our people are a mixture of races and blood! Our people have fallen so far from those ideals thanks to the awful Romans…and then there are our people's horse skills. Our people back home are losing their skills and I've become depressingly clear to the fact that those of our sons who leave retain their horse skills because they have the desire and the need too. Haaa, our people are no longer what they once were.

She bowed her head at that. It was depressing to see just how low their people had fallen. She glanced up ahead as the sound of horse hoof-beats came from a head of them. The Sarmatians froze up, as if they were reading themselves for a fight, but the Knights, she noticed, were at easy. Then from behind a large bushy tree, Tristran appeared. She saw that he had glanced at them all with an ease that amazed her. His eyes had simply passed over them all and he had deduced that they were all, all right and not in any trouble.

He turned to Arthur and said dispassionately, "The road is clear."

Arthur nodded and said, "Good, lets get going."

He turned back towards the Sarmatians and said over his shoulder, "We are about to leave the forest, so stay close together because the open land is actually more dangerous than the forest."

Atilla snorted rudely as he rode up to the man that was holding his mission back, because it was King Arthur's fault! Their sons would have returned if this MAN hadn't of brainwashed their boys into believing in him and his lies. He knew exactly what Camelot was-a simple place for simple, puny, pacifists! This so-called kingdom was NOT a place for good, honest-to-good, bloodthirsty Sarmatian Knights! I can't believe how far from their roots, these men have fallen. Our people are descended from the greatest God ever, Ares, God of War! In their blood lies divinity! We are the superior race on this earth! This MAN has ruined an entire generation of Sarmatians because he has corrupted our sons and made their sons abhor the bloodshed that boils in their veins.

My own prince, Dagonet, is a man of peace and healing for Gods sakes! With a sigh he remembered fondly how Dagonet once acted so long ago…Lord Atilla! Lord Atilla! Look! I killed a stag!

Good for you, lad! Now, lets skin it and then you can go hunt the orphan half-blood, Rolanani!

Atilla smiled evilly as Dagonet's eyes brightened in excitement and bloodlust!

Oh yes sir! Right away, My Lord!

He came back to the present just in time to see a low hanging branch, "Shit!"

Arthur halted his horse, turned it back around, and he asked pointedly and with unconcern in his voice, as he leaned over the fallen man, "Are you okay?"

Atilla grumbled something and said as he pushed himself back to his feet, "I am fine!"

Arthur shrugged his shoulders and said lazily, "If you say so."

As he swung back into his saddle, Atilla narrowed his eyes at the obvious dismissal from the King of Briton and with a growl he returned to the last statement he heard before his fond memory, "Oh really, and how is a effortless grasslands more dangerous than a forest?"

Arthur gazed at the man and said as he crossed the boundary of the forest into the emerald grassy hills, "There is nothing to hide behind if we are attacked. I'm surprised you didn't know this yourself…after all, Sarmatia IS grasslands 'as far as the eye can see', right?"

Arthur smiled smugly as the elder growled at him and grudgingly moved back to his place in the line. Arthur could tell that Atilla wasn't used to having people go against his commands, and he was reveling in his power over the prejudice man. He couldn't wait for tonight when the Inish would come out to play! He also knew that Atilla wouldn't be steaming mad by his answer. His last sentence had been said in fluent Sarmatian after all! Atilla had to be incensed that him, a Roman and a dirty half-blood, had managed to learn their honorable language!

Lancelot glanced behind him as they exited the forest and sighed. He had noticed his sister becoming increasingly depressed as they reached the edge of the forest. He pulled back and led his horse to trot close to Habren's.

As he reached her side, he asked lightly, "So, how has life been since I left Sarmatia?"

He felt bad. He had left his family all those years ago with a promise to return after his fifteen years were finished, but he had remained here in Briton because he had fallen in love. Out of all his family, he had missed Habren most of all. He felt obligated to ask her how her life has been since he left because it was his job as her big brother to protect her and he had not done his job.

He watched as Habren's eyes grew slightly dimmer as she explain in a droll type of voice, "Not much, really. After you left, mother gave birth to the others and mother engaged me to Melean-against my will, might I add. Then I was forced into marring him and Pappy became my number one stalker. When your fifteen years were up, I was so excited. I thought that with your return, you could annul my marriage and return our tribe to its former glory. Then there were all the raids from the Huns, Saxons, and the Romans who returned more often for more of our sons, so they could protect their precious empire…"

As she talked, Lancelot felt a swell of disappointment in himself rise in his belly and he lowered his head in shame. He couldn't believe that his sister had to suffer through an unwanted marriage just because he didn't return home. He glanced up as two other horses and their riders came up beside them. He raised an eyebrow as Habren raised and hand and said dispassionately, "The man with blond hared man with brown eyes is Melean and the other is Pappy."

Lancelot raised an eyebrow at their introductions, but decided to think about it later. He pulled out one of his swords, placed the point under Melean's neck just above his Adam's apple, and said seriously, "I may not have been there for Habren as much as I wanted to be, but she is still my little sister and I am still her older brother. If you do anything to hurt her, I cut you open stem to stern-understand?"

Melean eyed the sharp shiny sword nervously and gulped as the sword nicked him lightly, and said in a shaky whisper, "I understand?"

Habren felt a swell of love and warmth raise in her heart at her brother's words. He did love her after all! Perhaps there was still hope! Perhaps she could actually persuade him to come home!

Lancelot nodded, replaced his sword, and said lightly to Pappy, "Hey Pappy, sorry if I came off a bit rough earlier, but I had to make a point to the others. Briton isn't a nice place to those who do not know her secrets. And if those who live here or visit here, do not learn her secrets, they will perish under her powers."

Lancelot smiled slightly as Pappy glanced around them and asked nervously, "Those Inish really won't kill us, right?"

Lancelot couldn't help the grin that formed on his lips and he felt a laugh bubble in his gut as Pappy's face became even more nervous. He watched the sweat bead up on Pappy's upper lip and forehead. He knew that the Inish frightened Pappy, Tor, and Atilla but he also knew that the real panic would start, later on that night, by the lake.

He shrugged and said in a voice that didn't leave Pappy with much hope, "They come and go as they please. Sometimes they kill those they've marked, and sometimes they don't. It all comes down to chance and how well you play their games."

He leaned in closer and ended with raised, knowing eyes, "Like I've been warning you the entire time since we started out this morning."

He watched Pappy gulp back the bile in his throat and sat back as Arthur came forward and said, "It's getting late. We'll be camping here tonight. By this time tomorrow, we should be four hours from Hadrian's Wall."

From the other side of his line of sight, he saw his younger brother, Tarkan, ride up to them and ask warily, "Just what is our path anyways, King Arthur? I mean we've been through that forest and now we're on grasslands. What is next?"

Lancelot glanced at his friend and answered instead, "Next, is Bala Lake. We'll arrive any minute now actually."

Before anyone could say anything after that, the group came upon a beautiful lake that had a sea of white lights reflected back upon them.

As the horses came to a stop, Gawain called back, "We're here! And it looks like the lake is going to be beautiful tonight!"

Galahad smiled and said as they all dismounted, "Well, it'll be beautiful until the mists roll in and the day gives way to the night."

Arthur glanced around at the Sarmatians and commanded, "Come, Lancelot, we have wood to gather for a fire. After all, we don't want the Inish to get to close to our circle, right?"

He watched as Lancelot winked at him and said, "Yeah, I'll be right there in a minute."

The King smiled at his friend and nodded. After he had politely excused himself from the small group, he heard Lancelot say lackadaisically, "The Inish aren't the only dangers of this land. Just remember, Briton is a land of magic and mystic. You need to watch everything, because anything and everything can become a creature of Britannia."

He smiled in goodbye and quickly joined Arthur. Arthur was seated on a rolling knoll and was sharpening Excalibur with his sharpening stone.

"So, what did you and Habren talk about?"

He watched as he friend sighed and replied in a depressed tone, "I should have gone back like you asked me too five years ago Arthur. Habren has been thorough some bad things because I wasn't there for her, and I feel bad about it. But I do not regret staying, either. What does that make me?"

Arthur sighed and said softly as he placed a warm loving hand on his best friend's shoulder, "That makes you a wonderful man who didn't want to disappoint the ones he loves. You are a warm hearted man Lance, you just have to make your sister see that it wasn't that you didn't want to return home, but that circumstances at the time didn't allow you to return to Sarmatia. I'm sure she'll understand. She's a very intelligent woman."

He smiled as Lancelot nodded and smiled back at him. He always felt good when he could help his First Knight come to terms over what was bothering him. Now, if only he could get Gawain and Galahad to stop making fools of themselves every time some new challenge presented itself to them. He shook his head as he remembered their last foolish undertaking it was three days before the Sarmatians arrived and Gawain and Galahad were training by themselves in the courtyard while the newest set of trainees watched on. As they lunged again and again at one another with their swords flying through the air and in between them, an older trainee, one who was due to undertake the last challenge, stood up and challenged, "I bet that the two of you, my Lords, cannot get through the Pit!"

Arthur shook his head as the two brother Knights broke apart from their fight and exclaimed cheerfully, "We accept!"

Arthur sighed as he ended that thought they DID win against the Pit, but they had bumps, bruises, and scrapes ALL over their bodies and Enys and Alma had to wrap each and every one of them. They were also unable to sit properly for the next three days!

"Arthur! We've set up, but we need the wood." Piped in Bors as he pounded his king on the back to get his attention.

Arthur squawked as he fell from the knoll and into the flat grounds under the knoll. He blushed slightly and eyed Bors with a sinister eye. He saw Bors chuckled slightly in nervousness and tug at his collar uncomfortably. H nodded in satisfaction and said, "Right, of course, come one Lance."

His friend snorted and said with crossed arms and a teasing smile, "What do you mean, 'lets go Lance', I've been waiting for you all this time, my love!"

Arthur sneered at his friend without the sharpness that usually goes along with the sneering look, and said, "Oh shut it my love, and lets just get the firewood!"

Arthur felt his face burning slightly from his embarrassment, but he held his head high and followed his friend as they searched for the wood.

A few minutes later, they found enough wood for their fire circle and returned. They found the other Knights grouped together with the other Sarmatians fighting over a killed stag.

"What's going on here!" he demanded as the two dropped their wood near the circle that had been prepared by Tristran.

Tristran sneered at the Sarmatians and replied, "We are having a dispute over staying here. They seem to think that we should continue on. But what they don't seem to understand is that this is the last place to water the horses for the next day until we reach the wall."

He smiled darkly at them and added as he turned towards his leaders, "Plus, I don't think they want to stay here in case the Inish come for them all to kill them."

Lancelot snorted and said as he crossed his arms, "Ah, they are afraid of the Inish, I'd be more frightened of the Lady of the Lake. She can be a bit ugly to those who hurt her feelings."

He watched as Tarkan asked haltingly, "Who is…the…Lady…of…the Lake?"

He smiled as Galahad explained with a large smile, "She's the magical yet physical manifestation of Britannia's human form! She placed this lake here because it's the only one here from the forest to the Wall. So, she gets a lot of visitors. She's a very social person, you know. But, if you get on her bad side, well…."

The Sarmatians gulped as they edged away from the lake and eyed the path from which they had just come from warily.