The Meeting
Author: Samantha Worthington
Summary: This is a King Arthur fanfic. Galahad/OC. Galahad and the rest of the knights are on their way home to Sarmatia, after years of service to Rome. On their journey, they meet a group of Egyptian soldiers. Galahad falls in love with the General of this army. This is a three part fic. Thanks to I Fancy Hugh Dancy for the inspiration for this story! P.S, this is the first fic that I have let anyone read, so please take it easy on me!:0)
Rating: E for now. It will change eventually! Feedback is greatly appreciated!
Character list:
Galahad
Arthur
Tristan
Lancelot
Guinevere
Bors
Akil - meaning intelligent in Egyptian
Vanora
Katherine
Badru - meaning born under the full moon
Nailah - meaning successful
Mukamutara - meaning daughter of Mutara
Chapter 10
Nailah and Galahad quickly made their way towards the main tent. As they approached, they could hear the voices of the knights and Arthur discussing the punctuality of the young couple.
"This is highly unlike Galahad!" Arthur replied, "There has to be an explanation!"
"Yes, as it is very unlike the General to miss something so important!" Badru exclaimed.
They shared a sideways glance, then entered the tent, receiving odd looks from the men. Galahads eyes fell on Badru, who had a furious expression on his face. He glared at the two, tempted to chastise the young General, but seeing the look she shot him, thought better of it. His expression quickly changed to a neutral one, thought the contempt swirled in his eyes.
"Arthur, gentlemen, we apologize for our tardiness. But it seems that your young knight here has taken a great liking to our history!" Nailah apologized.
"Yes and the General has been educating me in the ways of her people." Galahad replied, "We lost track of time and we sincerely apologize, it will not happen again!"
"I think he has taken interest in much more then the Egyptian way of life!" Lancelot grinned wickedly, elbowing Bors in the side. The larger man chuckled, holding a hand over his mouth, not wanting to draw attention to their conversation.
Arthur nodded in acceptance, wanting to move on with the intended topic, knowing full well that their excuse was fiction.
"Well, now that we are all here, let us get started, shall we?" Arthur began, "I have called you all here tonight to discuss and prepare for our journey home." Regaining the attention of the room. "As you all know, we have at least two months travel before we reach the Sarmatian border. We will travel with General Nailah and her people until we reach the Dead Sea, where they will board their ships and head home to Egypt. There will be a Roman ship awaiting us on the shores of the Dead Sea as well to take you all home."
"But on our journey together, we must all work together as a team. Arthur and I wish to combine your skills with those of my own soldiers to better protect my people." Nailah replied.
"Yes, as Egypt has decided to make allies with Rome and surrounding countries, this would prove to be a good start, for however short a period it will be!" Badru added.
"The Saxon threat lessens as we move further inland, but there are still groups of rebels that may try to attack us, so we all need to be on guard." Nailah's features turning back to the usual confident leader as she stood before them.
The men gave nods and "Of course milady" as Arthur continued. "We have agreed that the four of us, General Nailah, Badru, Lancelot and I will work together to lead this band of travelers across what is left of the Roman Empire." He replied, "I have appointed Tristan a leader of the scouting party, which will compose of the best of the Egyptian scouts.
"This is going to be fun, Tristan in charge! Arthur knows he does not work well with others!" Lancelot replied quietly.
"The rest of you, along with a few of General Nailah's soldiers, will guard the perimeter." Arthur received more nods, "And please keep in mind that no matter if they are male or female, they are still soldiers and deserve our respect, is that clear?"
The room was filled with murmured "of course" and "certianly's".
"We leave at first light tomorrow, so I suggest you all get a good nights rest!" Nailah replied, "I would like to get my people through these mountains before sunset tomorrow. I hear there maybe a storm and my people and I, and certainly you knights, would not wish to be stranded here another day!"
"Correct milady!" Arthur nodded, "You heard the General, go, get some rest men!"
The knights pushed back their chairs and bid the two leaders good night before taking their leave.
Galahads eyes flicked between the floor and Nailah's face, wondering, wanting to know if their little 'history lesson' as she described it, would continue. But her attention at the moment was on Arthur and Badru, they where discussing the best route to get them to the English Channel.
He turned towards the door, where Bors and Lancelot where waiting.
'Oh great, here we go!' He thought to himself, rolling his eyes. He knew he was going to get the third degree from Lancelot and Bors was probably going to poke fun at him or maybe defend him, sometimes Bors was hard to read.
"So, Galahad, would you care to share your history lesson with us, because I myself have taken a great interest in the Egyptian world!" Lancelot teased, a huge smirk plastered across his face and his eyebrow cocked.
"Yes, I'd like to hear this as well!" Bors chimed in.
'Oh well, there goes my hopes of Bors backing me up!' He thought. But the lie wasn't entirely untrue, she had told him about their Gods, or some of them at least. So playing along with the story, he replied, "Well, if you really must know, she told me about some of her Gods. But, that really wouldn't interest you much, would it?" He knew Lancelot was not interested in any religion only his own Paganism, and he wasn't much for that anymore.
"Oh, no, no, no, on the contrary, I am intrigued by these Egyptians. They have captivated me!" Lancelot replied, hoping he was going to catch Galahad in his lie.
"O.K., well, do you know why their helmets are made to look like animals?" Lancelot shook his head, "They represent their many Gods. Each God has their own animal, for instance, Nailah's is a hawk which represents Ra, the God of the sun.
Both men eyed each other, then nodded for him to continue.
"Badru's is a monkey, a baboon or something, which represent Thoth, God of the art of learning and the one who judges the dead. There are twelve Gods in all, but those are some of the ones we have talked about so far, no thanks to you Bors for interrupting!" Galahad shot him a look.
"Yes, well I am terribly sorry lad, you did seem like you where in deep conversation when I approached!" Bors tried his best not to laugh at this.
"Well, anyways," He continued, "The reason they wear these helmets is…"
"They represent a certain God, each soldier, I mean." Lancelot smirked, "We where all there during that conversation with Arthur, remember? So, tell us something we don't know!"
'Damn it!' Galahad cursed. Frantically searching his brain for something to prove true their little lie. "Ah, oh, yes, Hathor, she is the Goddess of beauty, joy and love. Sekhmet is the protector of kings and the Goddess of war." He quickly replied.
"And what animal represents these, Goddesses?" Lancelot asked.
"Hathor, what was it again?" He had to stop to think about that one for a moment, seeing that at that part of the discussion his mind was on other things! "It was a cow, I believe, and Sekhmet is a lion." He quickly continued, "Nailah told me that she was born under Sekhmet during the middle of proyet, or our winter. She also said that I was born under Hathor, at the beginning of our summer or shomu." He hoped he remembered them right!
"Very well then, you spend hours on end with a beautiful woman, and all you do is talk about religion and such? How utterly boring can you get?" Lancelot almost laughed, "I don't completely believe it myself, how about you Bors?"
"Oh I don't know Lancelot, if that's what the lad says, then I guess tis true!" The older man replied, patting Galahad on the shoulder. "Now stop yer harrassin and get to bed, both of ye! We've got an early morning ahead of us!" He replied as he ducked inside of his tent.
"Boy, don't think me a fool. I see the way you two look at each other. I know there is something there, but I shall warn you again to be careful with your actions. Angering a farmer or even another knight is one thing, but when you anger a king, that is dangerous my friend!"
"I am not having this conversation with you again, Lancelot!" He replied, ducking inside his tent, leaving Lancelot by the fire, shaking his head at his young friend. He admired the way Galahad was not backing down from this challenge of the heart, maybe after all of these years he was finally finding happiness. The young man had spent hours of their journey in silence and off on his own, mourning his fallen brother, plagued by nightmares. But since they entered that tavern in Crows nest Pass, he had changed, becoming somewhat like his former self.
Lancelot sat by the fire lost in his thoughts. He wished that he could find the happiness that Galahad had. To find that one true person that you would put everything on the line to protect and be with. He wished with all of his might that that day would come soon and that Galahads and Nailah's day of reckoning would never come!
"Can't sleep?" Guinevere melted out of the shadows, making the knight jump, almost causing him to fall off his seat.
"Milady, you really shouldn't sneak up on a man like that!" He replied, regaining his composure and balance on the stump.
"Old habits die hard!" She apologized. Cocking an eyebrow and tilting her head at him, she asked, "What troubles you my friend."
"Other then having the life scared out of me? Nothing." He replied. He could tell by her face that she did not believe him, "Alright, fine. I worry about the boy!" He motioned towards Galahads tent.
"And why is that?" She questioned, taking a seat beside him.
"I fear that he does not realize the predicament he is getting himself into with the General." He replied. "And don't mistake me, I have no desire for her, well, not anymore. The way she looks at him, ah, I no it is pointless for me to try. I am truly happy for him, but the conditions of Nailah's life, it almost seems impossible for them to have a life together, is it not?"
Guinevere shrugged, "I believe that when it comes to love, true love, no matter the conditions or consequences, if it is meant to be, it will be!"
"I hope your right, as long as they don't end up in a cell together because of it!" Lancelot replied placing a hand on her shoulder. "Well, milady, we should be getting some rest, we have a long journey tomorrow!"
"I agree, but I am trying to take in as much of this land as I can before we sail across the Channel. Twill be months before we return and I want to savor every last drop!" She smiled sadly.
"I understand completely milady!" He replied, "Sleep well!"
"And you Lancelot!" She replied, gazing up at the stars.