Chapter 5: Hadrian's Wall
"You have been with her for longer then that haven't you?" Gawain asks. He likes this woman; he likes them all really. They are a welcome change to the knight's usual routine.
Tammy looks at him with her gentle green eyes. "Yes, much, much longer. I've known those two for seven years. Ash was more innocent then, still a vicious little horror, but less then she is now. And the temptation to strangle her didn't occur as often."
He chuckles, "She even angers her friends."
"You have no idea. I strongly suggest you all run now while you can."
Arthur smiles reassuringly at her. "We shall not be taking leave of you yet, milady; I'm sure she will be no worse than my men. We get along fairly well I think."
"Speak for yourself," Lancelot mutters.
"Well, you insist on pushing her," Tam scolds him. "You have brought her wrath upon yourself."
He gives her a charming grin. "Can't help myself."
She raises an eyebrow at him, clearly unfazed by his flirtatiousness. "Don't come complaining to the rest of us when this backfires on you, Sir Lancelot. Ashley has no mercy."
He snorts. "I'm sure I can handle one woman."
"I doubt you have met many like her."
"Just think it, lads." Bors booms clapping the younger man on the shoulder teasingly. "Lancy has finally met his match in a female: one he cannot bed and cannot beat."
"We'll see about that," he huffs moodily and takes on a brooding expression.
Tam laughs lightly and shakes her head. "We won't be short on entertainment, I see."
Bors laughs. "Just the way it should be."
"Oi! You slow pokes, wanna race?" Ash yells back to them gesturing to the wide open space ahead with a wild gesture of her hand.
"I don't see why you always want to race; Lily wins every time," Tam smirks back urging Bolt into a trot to catch up to her.
She shrugs. "I just like going fast. So, what about it, boys? Reckon you can beat Lil?"
Lancelot rakes his eyes over Bells and smiles. Lily meanwhile is squirming under all the eyes on her.
"I'm sure I can beat her," he grins smugly patting his stallion's neck.
Ash snorts. "Keep dreaming. So is that a yes?"
Arthur looks unsure but Bors, Gawain and Galahad are in it. Dag sits back with Tristan and simply watches. Both remain straight faced as they watch the youngest one squirm under their gazes, both men trying in vain to figure her out.
"C'mon Arthur, don't be such a party pooper," Ash whines at the half roman commander. "It won't kill you, just a bit of fun. Loosen up a little."
He glances around at the others and nods slowly. "Very well, where to?"
"The stream," Tristan replies suddenly. "It's down there, a reasonable distance and it cuts straight across."
"Okay." Ash gathers her reins and stokes her stallion's neck. "First one to cross it wins."
Lancelot smirks at her. "I hope you're not a sore loser."
"I hope you like eating dust," she retorts.
"Knock it off you two, and no cheating," Tam says in her no-bullshit mothering tone.
They line up evenly until each horse is shoulder to shoulder, each smirking to themselves as Lancelot and Ash sulk at Tam's words.
"On your marks." they gripped with their legs and gathered the reins as their mounts waited eagerly to be aloud to run.
"Give us a five second head start will ya, Lil? Gotta give these losers some chance." Ash adds, leaning around Lancelot and Tristan to look at her pointedly.
The blonde nods, not trusting herself to speak since Tristan had aligned himself to her left and Dag to her right.
"Go!" Tam shouts and immediately the horses leap forward, all bar Bells who waits patiently.
"You missed the middle bit!" Ash yells at her friend.
"Teach you to pay attention!" Tam returns.
"Okay girl." As soon as the words left her mouth, the mare shoots forward, evening out into her long graceful strides as Lily leaned along her neck.
The others had some distance on her. Arthur and Tristan are fighting for the lead with Lancelot, Ash and Galahad a neck behind them and the others following behind. There is little difference in their horses, each glides across the green as if they are flying. Lily allows herself a small smirk as she guides Bells to the side and lets the mare have her head. The mare immediately recognised the signal to go and lengthens her strides, putting more effort into her gait.
The pair fly past the leaders, leaving them far behind as they gallop to the stream which is now in plain sight. When they reach the edge the mare doesn't slow and instead pushes off and jumps across the clear water, landing perfectly on the other side and slows to a trot. Lily coos praises as she turns her in circles and strokes the mare's damp neck.
They watch the others come, Tristan making it second with Arthur a head behind him.
They slow and bring their mounts to a stop in front of the water and Ash turns to grin at Lancelot in triumph. "You were saying?" He glares at her and she laughs. "Told you Lil would win, and we even got a head start. Even then you didn't come in second anyway."
"Alright Ash, he gets it." Lily smiles, reaching along Bells neck to rub her ears.
They crossed the water and wait for their horses to recover a bit before moving on, resuming their earlier positions. Finally, Lily and Tam got sick of Ash shouting various insults up the line to the dark knight next to Arthur and they left her side, Tam goes to Gawain and Galahad ahead and Lily falls behind.
"Too much, girly?" Bors asks amusedly.
She smiles shyly at him. "Yes…I started to worry about my hearing."
He laughs, "He finally met his match."
She chuckles lightly, "Mm, though Ash always wins and never fights fair."
"Does she now? This'll be good, Dag," the older man grins at his friend and rubs his hands together in anticipation.
The giant shakes his head slightly and looks at Lily. She is watching the people in front of her, a light knowing smile on her delicate features. She looks so small to him. Then again, most people are small compared to him. She is of average height; Tam is a little shorter then she; and Ash is a little taller. The difference in height between the younger two is barely noticeable.
She tilts her head to the side as another nasty set of comments passes between the womanizer and her friend.
"Are you alright?" he asks her softly and her head whips around, her wide-eyed gaze finding his, her intriguing light blue eyes showing her surprise. Slowly she nods, her eyes searching his face. What she looks for he does not know.
"I am sorry, if I have cause you distress, milady," he says again, hoping to have her speak, to find out what so obviously torments her so. Bors takes his attention off the others to look at them.
"No," she whispers finally just when both men had thought she wasn't going to reply. "It is not your fault; I am sorry if I made you feel guilty."
He smiles and she smiles back ever so slightly. "What is it that troubles you?"
She hesitates, sucking in a deep breath.
"It helps to talk about it, Miss Liliana," Bors adds quietly, so the others will not hear. Not that anyone can hear much over Ash and Lancelot but he thought it would give her a better sense of comfort. The poor girl looks jumpy enough.
"You don't have to call me that, Bors, its Lily or Lil," she tells him kindly. "And definitely don't worry about the 'miss' or the 'milady'."
He chuckles. "Alright Lily, what's on your chest lass. You're avoidin' ol' Dag and Tristan like they got some deadly disease."
She tries to fight the smile coming onto her face, but both see it. "I know Tam told you all why. I heard her last night."
"We resemble someone you know," Dag says gently.
"Knew, yeah. You and Tristan look so much like him it's not funny," she looks at him, properly taking in the similarities and finally not feeling afraid.
"Who was he?" Bors asks.
"My brother," she replies softly. "He…died two years ago."
"I'm sorry for your loss," Dag says and she smiles sadly at him.
"Thanks. I've never been able to really get over it. Mostly because it was an accident; it shouldn't have happened. Someone made a mistake and he paid for it," she continues, a single tear slipping down her cheek. "He was in the army, and they were training, with fake weapons….but somehow... somehow some real ones got mixed into the fakes and he was hit…he bled to death before he reached a doctor."
"Is that what ye nightmares are?" Bors muses. He knows this will help her at least to be less wary of Dag and Tristan. Or he hopes so. If they are going to be around for a while she'd have to overcome this fear.
She shrugs. "I don't know, I never remember them. Sometimes they wake me up, but I can never remember what they were about."
The men nod, deciding that she had said enough for now. Too much at once and she might have a breakdown and then they'd be running from Ash. Somehow, the young red headed girl just oozes danger, a threat. And not like the Woad threat either. Woad threats are met by hatred from the knights and, for some, a desire to kill. No, Ash's threat comes with a desire to run and hide, the wrath of a woman is not something to be taken lightly, even in this time where women are second to men.
"How long have you been a knight?" she asks after a moment or two of comfortable silence.
"Nearly fifteen years," Bors replies sullenly then grins. "We get our discharge in a couple of months."
"Congratulations. I don't know much about the Roman Empire. That's more Tam's area," she pauses. "History wasn't one of my strongest points in school."
"You have been educated?" Dag says.
At the same time Bors mutters. "You're not missing out."
She nods and giggles a little. "Yea, we're all educated. Been in school most of my life. Its law where we come from that children start schooling at the age of five and usually end at age seventeen unless you're made repeat a year. Then we can either stop or do specialist training for a job or whatever."
"Incredible, even the girls?" the large bald man continued.
"Well, yes," she chuckled. As if she wasn't proof of that.
"What were you taught?" he seems so enthralled in the idea that Bors wondered briefly if he'd been spending too much time around Arthur.
"Bors, you're bleeding!" she yelps.
It takes Dag a second to realise she hadn't been answering his question and his head whips to look at a very confused looking Bors as Lily halts Bells and dismounts. She ducks under Dag's horse's neck and rushes up to the burly knight next to him. She grabs the bottom of his armour and the layers under it and yanks it up the best she can. This reveals a small gash on his right hip that is bleeding lightly. It isn't life threatening in the least, but the young girl was acting like it.
"Would ya look at that?" Bors mutters, cocking his head so he could get a better look at his wound.
"Why didn't you tell someone?" she scolds him as she looks around his saddle for some cloth or something.
He shrugs and takes her hands in his large ones. "Steady lass, it's just a scratch."
"A scratch!" she splutters, again trying to get to it.
Bors holds her firm and continues, "I didn't even know it was there. I'll be fine, get Dag to stitch it up when we get to the wall."
She looks supremely unsure and very worried. "A-are you sure?"
"Yes, come now, back up on your horse so we can get there," he chuckles and releases her. Half dazed and muttering about men, wounds, their pain tolerance, and their stupidity, she goes back to Bells and mounts.
"What's the problem?" Arthur asks as he canters back to them, having noticed they'd stopped.
Bors waves his commander off. "I've got a scratch…"
"It's not a scratch," Lily adds and Arthur looks at her, then back to Bors and finally rests his gaze on Dag.
"He'll be fine," the gentle giant says. "I'll stitch it up when we get to the wall."
The commander nods. "Very well, we're not far, about an hour now Tristan thinks."
The three nod as Arthur rides back to the lead and they catch up.
"Are you alright?" Ash asks immediately as Lil comes even with her and Arrow.
"I'm fine," was her reply as she waves off her concern and flashes her a smile.
The red head raises an eyebrow and looks between Bors, Dag and Lily trying to figure it out. She gives up and settles on glaring at the large pair of knights like no tomorrow, which unnerves them immensely.
"Leave them alone, Ash, they didn't upset me," Lily reassures her. She receives another raised eyebrow and an unconvinced scowl. "You're going to make grown men cry again if you don't stop."
She instantly tears her gaze off the men and focuses instead on the road ahead. "Not a pretty thing to see, a very useful skill, but not pretty," she mutters to herself and Lily laughs.
Tam grins at her. "Glad to see you're livelier, what's funny?"
"Ash."
"Ah, what have you done now?" the older woman asks dryly, wondering what damage control she would have to see to this time.
"Nothin'. Jesus bloody Christ, why is it that every time she says me, you think I've done something?"
"Because it's you." Tammy scoffs.
"Well, I haven't done nothin' just reminiscing." Ash defends.
Tam sighs. "I don't want to know in case I don't already know; it will probably give me nightmares."
"You're so easily damaged Tim Tam. One day I'm really going to have to toughen you up, make a woman out of you yet we will," Ash teases.
"Not if it's your idea of a woman," scowls Tam.
"Well, we're in medieval times now, honey, and there's plenty of cave-boys getting' round. My kinda woman is the one that's going to survive," she grins.
"Don't you dare start corrupting Lily…"
"I'd say it's probably too late for that," Ash commented airily, interrupting the warning with a teasing gleam in her eyes.
Tam's jaw just about hit the ground.
"And pray tell, what kind of woman is this?" Lancelot smirks, his eyes mischievous.
"The type boys like you aren't capable of handling," Ash shoots back, smirking triumphantly.
The other knights paying attention to the banter laugh and thump Lancelot on the back.
"No," Tam stares at Ash then at Lily. "Not you, surely not you."
The men, having caught on for the most part to what the girls were on about cast disbelieving looks at Lily.
They get even more surprised when she doesn't squirm under their intense gazes but huffs. "Don't be ridiculous, it's impossible to be as bad as her."
Ash chuckles evilly and Lily shoots her a warning glare as Tam sighs in relief. "Thank God for that, I don't think I could possibly handle two of you when one is too much."
"I don't know how you have not killed her yet," Gawain asks, clearly amused as he tries to hide his grin.
"Can't catch her," Tam replies seriously.
Ash grins smugly and then proceeds to ignore them.
As the group separates Galahad comes up to Lily and falls in line with her. "You are feeling better?" he asks, smiling at her.
She returns it whole-heartedly. "Yes, thank you."
"Are you not cold my lady?"
"No, I'm fine thanks. I don't feel the cold much. And it's just Lily," she flashes him another bright happy smile that makes his insides melt.
He nods. Lily…
"Wow…" she whispers suddenly and Galahad finally removes his gaze from her to where she is looking and immediately notices the wall.
"Well holy fruitcake," Ash says and earned herself more looks. "That's a lot of rock. Hey, Arthur, you got enough wall there man?"
He looks at her and raises his eyebrow. "Hadrian's Wall..."
"Yeah yeah yeah, I'm teasing."
"…Very well, here ladies put these cloaks on," he looks pointedly at his men who easily oblige.
"Why?" Tam asks as she confusedly takes the fabric from Gawain and nods in thanks.
"So as not to draw to much attention, your attire is… different," Arthur explains.
Lily made an 'o' shape with her lips and gratefully went to take the one Galahad was offering her. Instead of handing it to her, he drapes it over her shoulders with another of his adorable smiles and she feels heat on her cheeks. "Thanks."
He nods happily and grins some more.
Tristan once again surprises himself with the protective feeling in his gut and the sudden desire to get the whelp as far away as possible from the girl, who he has barely exchanged ten words with. She seems at ease with Dagonet now, after she has ridden with him for a while and she keeps looking at Bors worriedly.
Ash, meanwhile, is being difficult. Eyeing the cloak Dag is trying to give her. "What's wrong with my attire?"
Arthur clears his throat uncomfortably and looks to Tam and Lily for help.
"He means it's too showy and doesn't want to be swarmed by all the men in the fort," Lily supplies shortly and Arthur nods his thanks to her.
Ash snorts, "This is not showy and I can handle any male or males, as the case may be."
"In this time it is, just take the damn cloak," Tam says firmly, and reluctantly Ash grumbles and takes the thing, throws it around her shoulders and fastens it at the front.
"There, happy?" she snaps.
Arthur nods and goes on down the well-worn road that leads to a large set of doors.
Lily keeps her mouth shut, one hand keeping her cloak as closed as possible and the other on the reins and eyes glued on the approaching wall. Ash continues her menacing mutterings, pointedly ignoring everyone and Tam is marvelling over the whole thing with awe.
Yet all three are nervously awaiting their introduction to the world that was not their own.
Ash personally plans on killing the next person who ticks her off, so long as it wasn't the future king or one of his knights. In the high chance that it was one of the afore mentioned, they would just get a good bashing. She is certain Tam would blow a gasket if she interfered with history.
And if the young puppy-dog eyed, curly headed, whinny one doesn't stop casting those puppy eyes on Lily, she is going to kill him anyway. Knight or not. She sends another down right deadly scowl at him as they enter the fort and trot up the….street, ally, whatever it was to a little court yard thing and halt their horses and begin dismounting.
People cluster around the iron-fenced area, children with wooden swords laugh excitedly at the return of the knights and the girls are given surprised looks from the squires that await them in the yard.
"Welcome home, Arthur." A man steps forward and takes the reins from the commander.
"Jols." he replies warmly.
"Lancelot."
The man, Jols, nods at other knight as one of the boys takes his horses reins.
Lancelot smiles and nods at him in greeting.
"And who is it that you have brought back?" he asks, having noticed the three strangers.
Ash glares at him with her arms folded firmly across her chest, Lily stands behind her and nervously regards her surroundings while Tam takes in ever little detail.
"This is Lady Tamara, Lady Liliana and Lady Ashley, whom we came across on our way back. Jols, if you could find them stalls for their horses and rooms?" Arthur asks, gesturing for the girls to follow him.
"Of course," Jols smiles welcomingly at them.
"Thank you."
Lily jumps when one of the young stable hands holds out his hand for Bells reins and she regards him with caution.
"Come Lily." Dag says gently, placing a hand on her shoulder. "It's alright, she is in good hands." Nodding slowly she gives up the reins and smiles slightly at the boy.
"This way." He leads her to Arthur.
Bors had gone off to the side, passionately kissing a red headed woman, and is surrounded by a pack of little kids.
"Are they his?" she exclaims, mouth open.
Gawain laughs, "Aye."
"No, no." Lancelot adds. "Some of them are mine."
Bors growls and spins around to glare at the dark knight. Apparently, they are in hearing range. Ash takes one look at Lancelot's smug face and slaps him up the side of the head. Hard. "Asshole," she hisses at him as he yelps.
Gawain goes to say something but she whips around to set her death glare on him. "Do you want me to hit you to?" she snaps. "Because that can be arranged, buddy."
He wisely shuts his mouth.
"Should I wait?" Lily asks quietly. "He needs to be stitched."
Dag looks to Bors and his extensive brood for a moment then nods. "He has said hello, we can borrow him now."
The girl sighs in relief then says to Tam, "You guys go with the others. Dagonet and I are just gonna put Bors back together."
They nod and Arthur leads the way out of the courtyard.
"Bors, c'mon you said when we got back you'd let us stitch you up," Lily calls to him anxiously. Dag takes her arm and leads her over to the family.
"It's just a scratch," he mumbles to his woman who turns her questioning gaze on him.
"It's not a scratch," Lily corrects him firmly.
"Oh, hush, girl."
"Bors," she pouts, "let me put my mind to rest at least."
He sighs. "Can't you see I'm spending time with my little barsteds?"
She folds her arms and looks to the red head he has his arm around. "Do you mind if we borrow him from you for a moment? We won't be long I promise."
"Bors," the woman says firmly, rocking the baby she holds. "Who is this? And what's this scratch?"
"Nothing to worry about, my little flower, and this is Lily, sweet girl, easily worried."
"I'm Vanora," she smiles kindly at the fair-headed girl who smiles shyly back. "Nice to meet you."
"And you... Could you tell him please?"
"Go on, off with you and ease the poor girl's mind and my own," she tells him, authority dripping from her voice.
He opens his mouth to protest but shuts it with the glare she gives him.
Sighing he allows Lily to tug him away towards the infirmary, Dag leading the way quite amused.
AN: Hellooo all, I'm sorry it's taken so long to update. My BETA has been really, really busy. But she's done a wonderful job and I couldn't be more thankful. Thank you so much :).
My holidays have officially started today (WOOHOO!) lol, and I might be going away for maybe a month or there abouts. So, I won't have any internet for then. Just warning you, it's not decided yet, but it's a possibility. So I won't have died, lol, just no internet. I will update again as soon as I can though.
Thank you all so much for reading and super thank you's to everyone who reviewed. It's really a wonderful feeling to know that people like what I write, so please, please, please review and let me know what you think!
Have a wonderful day, till next time,
~Angel xoxo