Disclaimer: I do not own the characters from Le Morte d' Arthur

A/N: Well, I hope that people still like this. I'm accepting anonymous reviews. I didn't any hits of visitors for an entire week, so I'm wondering if people are getting bored with this story. Anyhow, I hope that you continue reading, because I'll continue writing. Also, the suspense is building in this chapter.

In the morning, Isode prepared some eggs and bread for us to eat.

"I appreciate your hospitality, Isode. These eggs are excellent," I said, being somewhat of a toady.

"You're welcome. I have tried to make you feel comfortable during your stay here," she said.

"And you have succeeded," I said. Isolde laughed, and her mother looked puzzled. I knew that I had just responded in the stupidest way possible.

Isode smiled at us. "Well, I wish you the best of luck in your mission, Tristan. I wish that I could be of more help to you," Isode said.

"Mother, you aren't giving up that easily are you?" Isolde asked.

"What do you mean?" Isode asked.

"I told Tristan about the fountain last night. It may show him the truth of Queen Iseult," Isolde said.

"What fountain? I do not know of what you are speaking," Isode said.

"The fountain enchanted by Merlin, of course. It is said that if someone drinks a potion and sticks his head into the water, he will learn of his true heart's desire," Isolde said.

"Isolde, how do you know if that is true? Tristan is performing the most important mission for his knighthood, and you don't need to ruin it," she said.

"Mother, you told me that all the stories about Merlin are true! I can help him find the location! Please, let me aide him," Isolde begged.

"I do not want you to interfere with his affairs, for he is completing a very serious test in order to become a knight," Isode said.

"Please mother, I won't do him any harm in bringing him to the fountain. It will only help him!" Isolde said.

This is when I decided to intervene. "Isolde will not bother me. And besides, I need all the help that I can find when it comes to learning of my parents. She can come," I said.

Isode sighed. "Alright, you can go with Tristan, but be cautious, Isolde. Only stay with Tristan and do not wander off with any other knight you might meet," she said.

"I promise that I'll be careful, mother," Isolde said.

Then Isode turned to me. "I am placing my trust in you, Tristan, that you will protect my daughter on your journey. And when you sleep you must stay twenty feet away from her," she said.

My eyes widened when she said this and I said, "You have my word, Isode. That would never cross my mind."

"Good, I trust that you are a noble knight, just like my husband was," she said.

My eyes widened. "What?" I said.

"Nothing sir, nothing," she said, blushing.

I wasn't convinced, but I didn't want to embarrass her by continuing the conversation.

"Isolde, pack a small sack of clothes and other things you may need. We shall leave shortly," I said. Isolde ran to her small room to begin packing.

"Tristan, I will give you two flasks of water. Once is for you, and the other is for Isolde. The water will last a long time if you use it sparingly. However, I know that there are several sanitary springs along the way to the fountain, so I've heard," Isode said as she handed me to bloated water flasks.

"Thank you so much, Isode. You have helped me in every possible way, and I thank you for welcoming me into your home, and treated me as if I were your own son," I said.

"Oh, you're welcome, Tristan. It is my pleasure to give back to the few people who have been so kind to us," Isode said.

"And I would also like to thank you for letting your daughter come with me. I know that she will help me greatly. You do not know how much fulfilling this mission means to me, not only to complete my training as a knight, but learning the truth of Queen Iseult could bring peace to Cornwall again. I promise you that I will take care of Isolde and protect her in every possible way," I said.

"Thank you so much, Tristan. You will become a very noble knight someday, and any woman would be lucky to have you as her husband," she said. She turned her head to her daughter who was approaching the doorway.

Did she mean that she wanted me to marry Isolde?

"Yes, I hope that any woman would be happy with me, for I believe that I have already given my heart to a maiden back in Cornwall," I said.

Isode looked shocked. "Oh. Well, that's nice," she said. Isolde looked at her mother with a quizzical look.

"I'm ready to go now. Goodbye mother, I will be safe, and I promise that I will only travel with Tristan," she said.

"Oh, good luck to both of you! I'll miss you, Isolde. Be safe," Isode said as she pulled her daughter in her arms and kissed her forehead.

"I'll be fine, but I'll miss you too," Isolde said as she broke away from her, and ran after me.

In the distance, I heard the sudden wailing of Isode as we ran from the house. It was sad for me to hear, for I had never known what it was like to have a mother, and I didn't know what it was like to leave a mother behind.


By the time night fell, Isolde and I were deep into the woods. I started a fire, and we sat beside it.

"How are you doing, Isolde?" I asked.

"Fine," she said as she sighed.

"Are you tired?"

"Yeah. Walking all day is very exhausting," she said.

"I know," I said. Isolde pulled out a piece of bread that she had in her travel sack.

"Do you want some?" she asked.

"No. I'm alright. I'll just have some water," I said.

As we began to eat, night continued to fall, and the forest became unbearably dark. Everything was extremely quiet, and the only audible sounds were the slight crackle of the fire and the howl of a wolf in the distance.

I heard Isolde gasp.

"Do not worry, Isolde. It is merely a wolf, and it is far away from us," I said.

"Tristan, I've never been in this forest at night before. Do you think that we will be safe?" she said, with a strong tone of fear in her voice.

"Even if this forest isn't safe, you are safe with me," I said.

"Oh, thank you Tristan," she said.

When the fire began to settle down, I realized how cold it was. Isolde wrapped her cloak tightly around her in an attempt to keep warm.

"We cannot get through the night without a fire. I need to get some more wood," I said.

"I'll go with you," Isolde said.

"Oh, you can stay here, there's no need for you to come with me," I said.

However, I noticed the look in her eyes in the dim light. They were filled with worry and fear. Seeing her face reminded me of the last time I saw Rosetta before I left.

Without thinking, I sat on the ground and held my head in my hands.

How could I have forgotten about her all this time? She should have been here by now! I felt tears roll down my face.

"Oh Tristan! What is wrong? Did I say something?" Isolde asked as she put her hand on my shoulder.

"Oh no, it's not you. I just remembered someone," I said.

"Who? Someone back in Cornwall?" she asked.

"Yes, there was a maiden back in Cornwall who was supposed to leave for Brittany the day after me. She should have been here by now. I have this painful feeling that King Mark either didn't send her, and she was sent to the Holy City," I said.

"Jerusalem? How would she end up there?" Isolde asked.

"It happens sometimes. King Mark has ships that sail to the Holy City to bring knights to fight in the Crusades. What if he purposely put her on one of those ships? She wouldn't know any better," I said.

"What is her name?" Isolde asked.

"Rosetta," I said under my breath.

"She has a beautiful name. You love, Rosetta, don't you?" she asked.

I nodded. "Yes. I wish to marry her but I will not ask her until I am knighted."

"Oh, you seem very wise and brave, Tristan," Isolde said.

"Thank you," I said.

"Well, I thought we were going to get more wood for the fire," she said as she sat up.

"You're right."

So, we began to walk through the dark, picking up as many sticks as we could find. I heard a wolf howl again, and it sounded closer.

Isolde froze. "Tristan? I think that we should be heading back," she said.

"I agree," I said.

As fast as our legs could carry us, Isolde and I ran back to where the fireplace was. We began to pile the sticks on top of the embers, in order to make a larger flame.

"I knew that someone was here," an oily voice said.

Isolde screamed. I looked up. A middle-aged man and a group of thugs were encircled us.

"What do you want?" I asked as I approached him.

"ATTACK!" the man yelled. Suddenly, the thugs parted, and the man disappeared. I heard a stampede in the distance.

Isolde quickly threw a few things into her travel sack and swung it over her shoulder.

"What is it, Tristan?" she asked urgently. She was holding onto my arm tightly.

"We are being attacked. Run!" I shouted. A pack of viscous wolf-like creatures ran after us.

I grabbed Isolde's hand and ran as fast as I could with her. Yet to no avail, the wolves encircled us.

"Isolde, stand behind me. I'll take care of them," I said as I unsheathed my sword.

"You can't defeat them, there are too many of these creatures," she said as she hid behind me.

I ran towards the creatures and began to fight them off. Although they possessed the appearance of a wolf, they had the teeth of a saber-toothed tiger and the claws of an eagle. At first, I was able to kill about five of these creatures, but many more came, and I received several slight wounds.

"Tristan! We must run! This is too dangerous!" Isolde yelled.

"I'm fine! You go ahead and run! I'll meet up with you!" I yelled.

This battle was becoming intense. I had several cuts, which was causing me to grow weaker and weaker by the moment. Suddenly, I noticed that some of the wolves were being killed. Isolde came running by me with a sword and shield!

"Isolde! Why are you fighting?" I asked.

"I had to help you! I stole my father's sword and shield from the wall before I left," she said.

We continued to fight off the wolves together, until one clawed me in the abdomen, and I fell to the ground.

"AHHHH!" I yelled as I covered my wound.

"Tristan!" Isolde yelled. She turned her head to see where I had fallen.

I wish that I hadn't screamed. After Isolde turned to look at me, a wolf violently struck her head with its paw, knocking her unconscious.

"No!" I yelled.

Despite my pain, I stood up and fought as many wolves as I could. I didn't last long; there were too many beasts, and blood was gushing from my abdomen, staining the grass below me.

My legs collapsed beneath me, in the middle of all the wolves. This was it; I would die here, with the burden of not fulfilling my promise to a maiden's mother. If I died, Isolde would die as well. I couldn't imagine thinking of Isode when she received the news that Isolde had died in my care.

Suddenly, I saw a white light in the distance. It grew bigger and brighter, spreading across the entire forest. The wolves screeched and ran away. As the white light faded, I saw a beautiful maiden in the distance, controlling the light. She smiled at me, then turned away.

"Tristan! Tristan!" Isolde came running to my side.

"You're alright! Isolde, did you bring any remedies?" I asked.

"Yes. Oh no, I didn't think you were wounded this bad," she said in a concerned voice. Isolde slowly poured water over my wound, which seemed to pierce deeper than my wound. I involuntarily let out a sickening scream, one that scared Isolde half to death.

"Damn you, wench!" I yelled without thinking. She backed away from me. I soon regained consciousness.

"I'm sorry, Isolde. I didn't me to frighten you," I said.

"I didn't mean to hurt you, either. I was just trying to clean your wound," she said calmly.

She tore her long sleeve and wrapped it tightly around my abdomen. This increased my pain as well, but I knew that it would help me heal.

"Do you feel any better?" she asked.

"Not yet. This is the worst wound I've ever received. Tell me, are you advanced in the field of medicine?" I asked.

"I am not, but my mother is. She has educated me throughout the years. You will be safe in my hands," Isolde said.

I groaned as I lowered my head to the ground.

"Relax, Tristan. If you rest, you will heal quickly," Isolde said.

"I know. But it's hard to try to fall asleep when I'm feeling pain in every part of my body," I said.

"Every part of your body? Well, you should only be feeling pain in your abdomen, since that is where you were wounded. However, there could be more to the wound," Isolde said.

"No, it's just a wound. I'm only in pain because I was fighting those beasts with too much vigor. I've never worked that hard in my life," I said.

"Yes, maybe you're just exhausted. I know that I'm supposed to sleep twenty feet away from you, but I'm only going to be ten feet away from you tonight. I want to keep and eye on you, just to make sure you're alright," Isolde said.

"Thank you for your kindness, Isolde. And besides, I'm too injured to harm you in any way," I said.

Isolde lightly laughed.


That night, I woke up with a stabbing pain throughout my body. I let out a scream, and Isolde came running to my side.

"Tristan! Tristan! What is it?" Isolde asked.

I was in so much pain that I couldn't speak. Isolde removed my bandage, which added more pain. She let out a scream as well.

"Oh Tristan, I'm so sorry!" she said.

"What is it? What's wrong?" I forced myself to ask.

Isolde bent down and stroked my forehead. Tear were in her eyes.

"Oh Tristan, it is as I feared. You've been poisoned," she said.

"NO! I can't be! I must finish my mission! I have a duty to Cornwall!" I yelled.

"I know! I don't know how to cure you! My mother would know! I wish she were here with us, but we are so far away," she said.

"I need to get help," I said.

"I could try to run home as fast as I could, and get my mother," she said.

I grabbed her arm. "No! It is inappropriate for a young maiden to travel alone! I will be fine!" I said.

"No! NO! You won't! I've seen this poison kill the strongest men before. In fact, my mother cured my father from this exact poison!" Isolde said.

I looked at her with a puzzled face.

"I wish I could help you, Tristan. I'll try to remember what my mother told me," Isolde said.

She pulled a few different remedies from her sack, and mixed them together. In another excruciating session, Isolde gently rubbed a burning potion onto my wound. I involuntarily screamed, but Isolde ignored me and finished the process.

"How do you feel now?" she asked.

"Awful," I said underneath my breath. Then, I went unconscious.

A/N: So, how did I do? Who was the lady in the white light? And will Tristan be able to recover from his wound and complete his mission? It will all be revealed soon. And don't forget to review! Reviews keep me motivated to write!