Vanora never thought she would miss Lancelot's flirting, but she would give almost anything to have it back, if only because it would mean that the dark knight was not gone. She considers it a good thing that Arthur has Guinevere now, because if he did not, she is not sure if Arthur would last long as king. Lancelot was Arthur's brother, there to point out flaws in plans and to lighten Arthur's ever serious demeanor. He kept him from brooding too much.
The tavern is quieter now, with only Galahad, Gawain, and Bors. Vanora misses the seductive way Lancelot would irritate her tavern girls, if only because it was a laugh. More people than the knights are sad at the man's passing.
She has more apples now. Tristan was always the one who ate them the most, and it is a good thing she has eleven children, or they would go to waste. She always saved one for him, no matter what. He never thanked her, but the brief light in his amber eyes was thanks enough. Even now, when they have been gone for many months, she still has an apple tucked away, as if she were waiting for him.
She has heard rather than seen the keening cry of Isolde, the hawk that seemed about as much a part of him as his sword or his bow. Vanora once caught Four sitting with the creature perched on her arm, feeding her a piece of dried meat. Vanora was so shocked that she dropped the bucket of water she was carrying, startling Isolde away. She later learned that Tristan had let Four feed Isolde and let her perch on her arm.
Vanora had never realized how much Four had been around Tristan. Four was, of all her children, the quietest and most introverted, so it was no surprise that Four should take a liking to the quietest knight. What was surprising was how much Tristan taught her. Four could now track, shoot and befriend wild animals almost as well as the scout. It is no surprise when Four returns home late at night with twigs in her hair, ripped skirts and a big smile on her face.
And then there's Dagonet. A man she herself loved as a brother merely for the fact that she trusted him to look after her lover. A giant, with a gentle heart and hands, who could kill woads and hold her children like they were the most precious of gems. So fierce he looked, with his scarred face and his giant size.
Vanora had not been able to see the way the gentle giant cared for the woad boy, but the way Lucan seems to have adopted Dagonet's silent presence is enough. Bors insists that they pay some mind to the boy, who wears Dagonet's clan ring around his neck, but Vanora would have anyway. He is polite, quiet and causes less trouble than even Four. Every time she gives him something to eat, he smiles just like Dagonet, almost as if he were Dag's son.
But now, when her tavern is quiet and she has yet to go home, she looks around to the old spots that used to be haunted by knights. Not just the three who died in their last few days of service, but the ones who passed on long before.
If the pain is too bad for the knights to handle, they will drink themselves into oblivion at their little table in the back. Because there is no more Dagonet to help her get Bors or the others home, she leaves them where they are now, settling herself next to Bors, trying not to cry. In the morning, when her eyes are slightly red, Bors brushes a hand across her cheek in an attempt to comfort her.
And late at night, when Bors feels the acute pain of the loss of his brothers, she lets him hold her close and she murmurs sweet nothings in his ears. When he finally falls asleep, she holds him close instead, keeping her own sorrow at bay. She heals him as well as herself, waiting for the day when her own sons will grow up and become brave knights like their predecessors. Bors' children are strong, and they are even stronger because of who their mother is. She is not a knight, but she has learned the sorrow through the pain of those she has come to count as brothers and through her lover.
Still, she will be strong. Their deaths will not be in vain, and she will make sure that the rest of the knights and their leader keep living.
A.N. Thanks to my reviewers of last chapter. I love opening my email account and seeing something from fanfiction. This will hopefully be a drabbly-ish fic. Not sure how many chapters there will be, but stay tuned.
-Dryad Queen
