A/N: Hey guys, sorry it took me so long. But here is chapter nine! With special thanks to princesspomegranate for BETA-ing for me ^.^ 3
Thank you sooo much to .snow0, M I Buvered, princesspomegranate and xxmadmooxx1995xx for their wonderful reviews!
Hope you enjoy this one!
Chapter 9: Receiving Orders
Lily sighs and lets the paper fall to the desk. Orders. The men have received orders, and they are to leave in the morning. Leave. To fight the blue dudes, as Ash commonly refers to them as.
Pushing the chair back and wandering over to the window, she perches herself on the sill and watches the world below. The world so different from home. Home. She's done her best not to think about it too much, it just confuses her. In all honesty, she feels more at 'home' here, or rather with these people, than she ever had with her own mother since Dean died. She clasps the dog tags around her neck and fingers their engravings.
Ash seems happy enough, she complains about the lack of the things she had grown up with; running water, toilets, suitable men, as she called them…that kind of thing. Tam also appears happy, but Lily knows the brunette misses her family and her schooling. She's just too kind to say so.
Lily sighs again, irritated this time. These damn Romans had better not get her new home killed. There will be hell to pay if there is even so much as a scratch…
Stop it. She curses herself, realising what she has done. You've only known these men for two weeks, soldiers, like your brother, like your dead brother.
Only in these times the medical line of things wasn't as good, the fastest form of transport was horses and they were off to fight in the middle of no-where. Caring for the Knights, getting attached to them like she foolishly had already, was just not a good idea.
She briefly wonders how Vanora has survived this long without dying of worry.
Tossing back an absolutely murderous glare at the parchment on the table, she leaves the room to get Arthur. The Knights would probably be executed if they ignored the order.
They weren't at the tavern and they weren't in the stables, so the next place to look for them was the training arena.
As she gets closer to the secluded area she can hear the tell-tale clang of metal against metal, and the thud of arrows, the occasional exchange of words and a bit of laughter.
Taking a deep breath, Lily rounds the corner and watches them for a moment, as if to etch them into her mind. Bors and Tristan are shooting arrows at the target while the others spar with each other. Gawain is missing, but she'd bet her left leg that she knew where he was.
"Arthur." She calls after watching for some time with them yet to notice her. The fighting stops and they look up in surprise, their bodies sweaty and heaving.
"Lily." Galahad lowers his sword, a smile brightening his handsome features, but it soon fades. "What's wrong?"
She frowns. "I don't look that distressed…do I?"
"You do appear a little troubled." Dagonet offers, and lowers his gigantic axe from where it looks like he is about to lop Lancelot's head off.
"Oh…Arthur, there are orders for you on your desk. I came to fetch you." She replies, twisting her fingers into the too-large, borrowed tunic.
"Ah, thank you. Knight's, if you'll excuse me." He sheaths Excalibur and leaves, squeezing Lily's shoulder reassuringly as he passes her.
"They had to come some time." Dagonet reasons, wiping his forehead with a cloth. "We have been here for two weeks."
The girl shrugs. "I suppose. Doesn't mean I have to like it, or that I want you to go." She sighs. "I'll leave you all to prepare…you have to leave first thing in the morning."
With that said, Lily spins on her heel and departs, and doesn't looking back, afraid that they would see the raw fear in her eyes if she did. Yet she can feel their surprised eyes follow her every step until she disappears.
"Someone get Gawain." Lancelot speaks, finally.
"I shall." The gentle knight offers. "I'll prepare a healing kit with Tam while I'm there and meet you at the table. Arthur will wish to speak with us."
The others nod and disperse.
From then on, the day passes much quicker than it should have in the women's opinions. Watching their friends, and in Vanora's case, lover, pack up and get ready for their mission was difficult. Lily had disappeared completely, she hadn't gone back to 'work', her room was empty, and she wasn't in the following places, tavern, infirmary, stables, training area, weaponry, anywhere in the quarters, or anywhere in the in the great big turn out that the round table room was in.
Ash knew this because she had checked all these places; twice. It was now well past dark and Lancelot had nearly had kittens when she'd burst into his room, without knocking, to check for her very allusive friend.
Therefore, the situation means that someone is going to get it. And so, as the knights, Jols and the girls, including Vanora and all the children, are sitting in the big dining room, Ash is glaring at the lot of them, tapping a knife against the table.
"We don't know where she is." Galahad stresses again.
Her scrutinising gaze swings to him and she narrows her eyes until they are mere, deadly looking slits. "No shit, Sherlock, if one of you knew you'd have either told me or gone to get her by now."
"Then perhaps you can stop glaring at us then?" Arthur suggests, as he finds it rather unnerving. "I'm sure she's fine."
"She's still here, Bells is still in her stall." Tam reminds her. "When Lily doesn't want to be found, she won't be found. You know this, for heaven's sake, leave the men alone already."
"I'm bored and stressed and worried. Making them nervous is making me feel better." The red head pouts at her friend. "'Sides, she wouldn't have gone A.W.O.L. if it weren't for this lot. Why she loves you damn people so much…I can't understand."
Galahad perks, sitting straighter in his chair. "She loves us?" At the same time Dagonet frowns. "A.W.O.L.?"
Ash sighs. "Right, since I can't reach him…someone hit that idiot pup for me."
Gawain complies, shaking his head at his best friend and his great lack of tact.
"…Thank you, and A.W.O.L means 'absent without leave', like missing in action. They're war terms where we come from. And it's all your fault for upsetting her." Ash finishes with a huff and slumps in her chair, commencing her sulking.
"Actually, it's Rome's fault." Tam corrects her, patting Gawain's hand reassuringly. "Not theirs."
"Fine," Ash mumbles moodily. "I'll kill Rome if something happens to her, happy?"
"And how, dearest sister, do you expect to kill an empire?" A voice from behind them asks, amused.
Ash flies out of her chair, hits her thighs on the table - which shakes and tips over several wine cups - spins around and trips on the chair, swears loudly and then kicks said chair halfway across the room, before she finally pounces on Lily. Who is trying desperately hard not to laugh.
Ash flings her arms around the thinner frame of her best friend and hugs her.
"Ash, Ash, I can't breathe." She gasps.
The grip loosens immediately and Lily finds herself held at arms' length, two firm hands on her shoulders.
"Where in the name of all things good were you?" Ash shakes her somewhat violently. "You scared the hell outta me! Nearly died I did! And my nerves, I'm almost grey! Not to mention I almost killed off the most famous bunch of knights in history!"
"I'm sorry I'm sorry! I just needed some air."
"There's air here, see?" The red then proceeds to breathe in and out deeply, several times to demonstrate that there is, indeed, air.
"Yes, but air on my own." Lily giggles. "Now what's for tea, I'm starving."
"Don't go thinking you're forgiven." Ash snaps. "When I'm through with you, Tam will take a stab, then whatever order the boys want to go in, young lady."
Lily sighs as she seats herself next to Dagonet who gives her a smile. "I'm fine, Ash, I can take care of myself. Just 'cause I don't mind being comforted doesn't make me helpless, and I'm not that much younger you."
"SO?" Her friend shrieks, and then looks around for her chair. Finding it, she retrieves it and sits down. "That doesn't mean you can just go wandering off across the countryside whenever you feel like it. We're not at home anymore, there are psycho blue people that fall from the freaking trees in these woods, and I bet that's where you bloody went to."
"Actually, I walked along the woods, on this side of the wall, I didn't go in them." Lil replies meekly, accepting the plate of food that Dagonet has dished out for her. "Thanks, Dag."
"Like that's much better, that's like…the difference between cavemen and medieval men. NONE!"
"Girls…shut up and eat. The guys are going straight to bed after this." Tammy commands.
"Yeah, don't miss your bed time." Ash chimes, her spat with Lily already forgotten.
They scowl at her and go back to eating, semi-thankful that everything was back to normal.
If these females could ever possibly be considered as normal.
oOo
"Be careful." Lily whispers as Dagonet crushes her in a giant bear hug. Some of them are already mounted, their steeds packed, saddled and ready to go.
Bors' eldest children stand around their parents, saying their last goodbyes.
"Of course." He smiles down at her. He was a good two-to-three heads and possibly some shoulders taller than herself…okay, maybe not that much taller...
"You'd better all come home." She says again, squeezing his hand, but says it loud enough for the others to hear. "If you don't I'll have to figure out how to raise the dead and kill you myself."
They grin at her. Gawain whispers low words to Tam before he hugs her and the others exchange knowing smirks. Ash was handling Dagonet's axe, the thing was nearly bigger than she was as she eyed it with interest and then smirks evilly in Lancelot's direction.
"Don't get yourself killed, you great brute." She grins at Dagonet as she hands over his weapon, hugging him around the middle briefly.
Lily proceeds to hug and kiss each one until she only has Galahad and Tristan to go. The curly haired knight wraps and arm around her waist and tucks a strand of her hair behind her ear. She smiles softly and kisses his cheek as she hugs him around his waist.
"Arthur, you're in charge of everyone's safety." Lily says seriously, still in Galahad's hold, but she releases hers and takes to holding his hand instead.
The commander smirks. "Lancelot, you're in charge of our safety."
Ash snorts. "Your all dead then."
Lancelot spares a moment to glare at her before picking up on Arthur's game. "Dagonet, you're in charge of our safety."
"Bors, you're in charge of our safety."
"Horse shit, Galahad, boy, you're in charge of our safety."
They laugh as Galahad scowls at him. "Gawain, you're in charge of our safety."
"Tristan; you're job."
The scout shrugs uncaringly as the burden falls upon him, but Lily smiles as she moves out of Galahad's arm and goes to the silent man.
"Then you're in the best of hands." She stands up on tip toes and places a light kiss on either of his cheeks, over his tattoos, while swallowing the nervous feeling in her stomach.
He stares at her in well-masked shock, as did everyone else, but she just blinks and smiles at him again, before backing away and joining Jols and the girls.
She isn't scared of him, he knows, but she is always nervous around him, and had never interacted with him the way she did with the other knights. He'd never received her feather light kisses and hugs, or the playful hits and slaps around the head that she gave to the others in her affectionate way. This was the first time, and he found that not only did he like it, but he wasn't ready for it.
His face is a mask, as always, as his brothers-in-arms look between himself and Lily. Galahad looks positively jealous and resorts to sulking whilst the others are shocked.
Tristan rolls his eyes at them and mounts. He isn't attracted to her, or not in the way Gawain is attracted to Tam, but he did find himself drawn to her. She seemed so innocent to him, not perhaps in a childish way like Bors' youngsters- not that anyone in their right minds would call those little monsters 'innocent'. No, Lily was innocent in a way that he couldn't explain; and it intrigued him. Maybe it is her lack of fear of him, but yet she remains nervous and cautious, though she cares about him.
Whatever it was, it had him wanting to protect her…and gut Galahad for looking at her the way he did, and the other men he had caught looking at her with lustful eyes.
True, the pup wasn't as bad as them, but he was still wandering around on thin ice.
"Knights." Arthur calls, signalling it was time to go.
Bors pries his children from him and hands the teary eyed little demons back to their mother. He kisses Vanora once more, then Lily's forehead and brushes his thumb across her cheek. He ruffles Ash's hair on the way past, then, with surprising speed and agility for someone his size, leaps to the safety of his horse and uses his laughing brothers as a shield.
They quickly ride out of the court yard, trying to stay in their saddles as Ash, who now looks as if a crow has built a nest on her head, is screaming all manner of threats and profanities at their retreating backs. She is quickly tackled to the ground by Lily, as Jols pries the pitchfork she was sure to shove up Bors' arse from her grasp.
A/N: And tad arr! Lol. Not as long as I originally thought it'd be, but it is done and posted none-the-less :) Hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I did writing it. Pretty please review and let me know what you thought!
~Meg xx