I woke the next morning, bolting straight up in bed. My heart was racing, my nightgown was drenched with sweat and clung to me. It was obvious I had had a nightmare, but I couldn't remember what it was about.
Out my window, I could see the sun was just peaking over the horizon. Gwen lie still asleep on a cot on the other side of the room. She wasn't allowed to leave the walls of the castle. No one was. And it comforted me to have her here. To have an ally in all of this. One I didn't have to pretend not to see or notice. I drew strength from her, just as she did from me. Even if she didn't know it, she was courageous by her own right. She stood by her people, took every heartache in stride. I had never once seen her break, no matter what she was feeling on the inside.
Cautiously, I crept out of bed. After stripping off the nightgown, I found a simple dress that I could get on without Gwen's help. With some difficulty, thanks to my bruised rip, I slipped it over my head and tightened and tied the lacing on the back. My stomach and chest were wrapped so tightly with bandages I could hardly breathe, but at least the pain wasn't horrible.
I stared at myself in the mirror. Raul had nearly broken my nose last night. Someone had set it back into place, but my face now seemed to be permanently red.
I couldn't leave the room without being followed. A guard was stationed outside at every moment. Raul couldn't look at my without a glare of loathing. I think having me inside of his head scared him more that he will ever admit. His facade of a loving grandfather was stripped away. I wasn't sure what to think of it. At least I wasn't treated with the false care that had irked me so much over my last captivity. But the open hostility was unpredictable. His emotions were unstable about me. I couldn't tell when he would snap. So I had to be careful what I said.
"My lady?", says Gwen in a tired voice, yawning as she sat up.
"Go back to sleep, Gwen. I'm only going for a walk."
"A walk? Now? Alone?"
"I'm never alone. Now more than ever.", I retaliate. Someone would follow me, keeping watch and reporting everything I did and everywhere I went to Raul or Morgana.
"I meant without someone you trust."
"I'll be fine.", I assure her. "I didn't mean to wake you."
She frowns at me, tossing aside her blankets. "I'm coming with you. If you can't sleep, then neither will I." She notices I am fully clothed, and her frown deepens. "You shouldn't do that on your own. You'll make it worse."
"I can manage.", I mumble as she quickly dresses herself.
Ignoring me, she tugs on her shoes. If I ever had an older sister, I imagine she would be very much like Gwen. Bossy and maternal all at the same time. I find I can't be annoyed with her wanting to come along. "Come on then."
As I suspected, there was a man standing a little ways down from my door. We turn the opposite way, but footsteps follow. Gwen nervously grabs my hand. I knew she didn't want to be out here, though she wouldn't admit it to me. Her nervousness intensified my own, making me a bit jittery.
"It's so quiet. It's never this quiet.", she says as we continued down the dark corridor.
And it was. Eerily so. The sounds of battle had stopped. The noise of battle cries and metal on metal were gone. We stopped at a window, hoping to see what was happening beyond the castle. But it was all quiet and darkness.
"It isn't over.", I said. "It won't end until either Raul or Uther and Arthur are dead. Neither will give up until then." She pales, staring out in horror.
"Arthur isn't dead.", I amended. "We would know if he was. Morgana would gloat of it until the end of time. Especially to us."
That calms her, but she remains incredibly worried. And so do I. The fighting hadn't stopped since it had begun. Something had to be going on for it to have stopped now.
"What was it like? The war in Taharah I mean. And your rescue. Not one person who was there will speak of it.", she says suddenly, her voice hushed so we wouldn't be overheard. This was a question many people had asked me. I never liked talking about it. But with Gwen, I didn't mind. She was easy to talk to, and always knew the right things to say.
"Horrid.", I began, deciding horrid was as accurate a word as any. "So many lives were lost. So many brave men leaving their families behind. They were launching boulders at the walls. Everyone knew the walls would fall eventually. But that didn't squash out the hope. I didn't see much of the battle, except what people told me. I stayed busy attending to wounded men. I thought it would make me feel better, as if I was doing something helpful. But instead, the number of the men coming in was discouraging. And then we ran. And my home fell. I won't watch the same thing happen to Camelot. We'll take her back."
She stayed quiet for a long moment, mulling over the story. It was strange to say it out loud. Like all of this couldn't possibly have happened to me. It was insane. Me- small town American girl getting caught up in all of this. "Then you and the red head split up from the men."
I nodded slowly, remembering Kayla and her snarky attitude. I missed her. "We ran for a few days. Raul's men caught up to us. I got injured. It was me or both of us. So I made Kayla go ahead. At least Camelot would get some warning. They could prepare for this. Not that it seems to matter so far."
"You're stronger than you think, you know. Everyone else can see it. You've endured so much, and yet you keep going. You give others the strength to persevere. Much like Arthur, I suppose. I think that's why you argue so much. Your too much alike. Sacrificing yourself for your friend and your kingdom, that's something he would do."
I shrug. "It hasn't done much good. They've seized the castle. They have Taharah. He has my father locked away somewhere...", I trailed off. My father. He was probably going mental. I was used to all of this, but him... I didn't know how long he had been here. I could just imagine him freaking out over this whole medieval thing. And the last time he saw me, I was writhing in pain and screaming. I could only guess how badly he was reacting. And I hadn't even thought much about him, pushing saving him as a secondary task to everything else.
As if from nowhere, a pair of arms encircled me. For a moment I thought it might be Gwaine, but there was nothing gentle about it. Screaming was no use, no one here would actually help me.
"Sarah!", Gwen screamed, trying to claw her way past another man holding her back, dragging her away from me.
"Gwen!", I shout back, thrashing as hard as I could against my captor. I threw blind strikes and kicks, none of which connected. "Let go of me!"
He chuckled, dragging me easily away from her until she disappeared from my sight, still screaming for me. I couldn't see his face, which made me even angrier. What kind of coward attacked unarmed women with their backs turned?
It didn't take long for me to lose energy. Slowly, but surely it came. Crippling, horrible aching in my ribs. I doubled over, only kept upright by my captor.
"No more fight left in you?", he taunts, whispering in my ear. His breath is horrible, smelling of ale and meat. Though I can't see his face, I know he is tall. And not just taller than me, but a few inches taller than the average man. His muscles were relaxed, thinking he had me under total submission. "I must say, I'm a bit disappointed. You've become something of a legend among the kingdoms. They call you fierce lady-warrior. I was expecting more of a challenge."
His words only frustrate me even more. I let my feet drag until they're positioned behind his. He thinks it is another sign of my defeat, and I let him, for a moment. Ignoring the pain, I stand up and through my shoulders back. Surprised, he's thrown off balance. He trips over my legs and topples to the ground. I don't waste any time waiting for his reaction, running down the corridor while clutching my side.
It isn't long until I hear his pounding footsteps following me. I quicken my pace, trying to get some distance from him.
I skid around a corner, grabbing a torch from the wall to use as a weapon. I pressed myself into a groove in the wall, blocking me from his immediate view. When he rounded the corner, I stepped out from my hiding place and swung with as much force as I could. It hit him squarely in the gut, knocking the breath out of him as he doubled over.
He lifted up a finger, wagging it at me as if he was scolding a child. "That... was... not... very nice.", he wheezed, trying to stand upright again. His hair fell in his face in a dark mob. He wore armor, but it wasn't like any I had ever seen. It was mostly leather, and tight fitting. Surprisingly, he hadn't tried to unsheath either of the two swords strapped across his back. He didn't seem to have any other weapons on him.
He tried to come closer, but I lifted the torch as a warning. The next blow would be to his head.
"I must say, I admire your spirit.", he says, lifting his hands up in slight surrender. "I wouldn't expect it from someone in your... situation."
"Where is Gwen?", I demand, ignoring him.
"Who? Oh, the other girl. She was taken back to your room. Unharmed, I assure you."
"Wh-"
"Cenred!", Roars an angry voice. That was a name I recognized. But where I knew it from escaped me.
Raul comes storming down the hall, his expression pure murder, and for once it wasn't directed at me. He wrenched the torch from my hands and tosses it aside, shoving me behind him to create a barrier between Cenred and I. He keeps a firm hold on my arm to keep me there. Cenred winks at me, entirely unphased by his anger. "Hello Raul. This is how you welcome your guests? I must say, I'm offended."
"You always were a coward.", Raul growls. "Not showing up until the castle has been taken. You promised me your army."
"No. I promised you my army if you could prove to me you could take Camelot, which you have not yet. Not entirely"
Raul attempts to compose himself, but his grip on me tightens to the point of bruising. "This isn't the place for this conversation. Let us continue in the hall."
"A fine idea.", he agrees. Cenred smile gloatingly in my direction, following Raul's guard in the direction of the hall. Raul keeps me back until Cenred is out of earshot.
"Stay away from him.", Raul growls in my ear. "I don't want you near him outside of my presence. And you are not to speak to him. At all. Am I clear?"
"Crystal." There was something completely creepy about him. Just the sight of him made my skin crawl, and that wasn't just because he attacked me. It was the way he looked at me, as if he was a starving hunter and I was the first prey he had come across in weeks. I wanted nothing to do with him.
Without another word, he pushes me ahead of him. When we stepped inside the hall, Cenred was already reclined at the head of the table, pigging out on some sort of meat. Morgana sat on the throne, not speaking to him. disgruntled, Raul sat at the other end and forced me take the seat next to him.
"Why have you come here if you do not intend to share your forces?", Raul demands.
"Oh, I didn't say that. I simply don't want to join a losing team. I won't submit my men to defeat. To a war in vain."
"A losing team? Do you not see where you are sitting? At the table of the King of Camelot! They have been run from the palace! If you intend to mock us, Cenred, I suggest you leave.", he says, growing increasingly frustrated.
"No, not mock. But perhaps we could renegotiate.", he says, watching me with hungry eyes. I dropped my gaze, fiddling with the hem of my sleeves.
Raul straightens, intrigued. "Tell me then, what is it you will ask for?"
"Time. With this lovely young woman. Alone.", he says, gesturing to me. "Just an hour or so should suffice."
Raul stands, slamming his fists on the table. I flinch. The water in the goblets tremble from the force. "Absolutely not! She is to be left out of this!"
Cenred shrugs, his eyes still on me. I squirm under his gaze, wishing I could run from the room to get away from him. "That is my price. I will not settle for anything else."
I silently pleaded for Raul to refuse him. And for more than one reason. I sure as hell didn't want to be left alone with this creep. Secondly, more forces would mean even less of a chance for the armies of Camelot to come out victorious. I didn't know how much longer they could hold up against them. Add in Cenred's army, and it was almost certain defeat. And Arthur would refuse to retreat or flee. His men were much to loyal to do otherwise. They would all die.
"Just an hour?", Raul asks, considering. I stared up at him in horror. Just a few minutes ago he didn't want me to ever be in Cenred's sight, now he was contemplating leaving me alone with him?
"That is all I ask. Then my army is at your complete disposal."
Raul sinks back down in his chair, mulling over the offer. For once, I wished I could actually read his mind. But all I could tell was he was a lot less aggressive now.
"What harm could an hour do?", Morgana interjects, walking over to tug on my hair with fake affection. "I'm sure Sarah would be please to entertain him for that short time."
"An hour.", Raul says with finality, looking at my coldly. "That is all."
I think I literally rewrote this probably five time, which is why it took so long :P Anyways, Hello and thank you to all my new followers and reviewers! And of course, I love all you people who have stuck with me even when it took a whole month for me to post a new chapter. And I don't think I've expressed how stinking shocked I am to have one hundred reviews on 'When Camelot Calls'. Whoa. When I started these stories, I never thought I would get that kind of feedback. You guys are awesome!