CHAPTER 5

The knights and the other travellers tended to the wounded and rebuilt their camp. There were only a handful of scouts that attacked them, but the fighting did manage to cause much damage. Arthur stood in the middle of the camp, observing the surrounding area, looking and listening carefully for any sign of impending danger.

"Who were those people?" Lancelot walked to his side, looking up at him in earnest. "They did not look like regular Woads."

Arthur sighed loudly before answering. Turning to Lancelot, he placed his hand on his comrade's shoulder. "I am not certain, but I believe they were Roman soldiers."

"What?" Lancelot's eyes widened in disbelief. "Roman soldiers? Why would they attack us?"

"Either they thought we were the enemy or they knew exactly who we were."

Both turned to the sound of Galahad's voice. He had an inscrutable look on his face as he marched towards them, sword firmly in hand. "And who would mistake us for Saxons or Woads?"

"You cannot possibly think that the Romans..." Lancelot trailed off, looking at Arthur's pensive countenance.

"We shall gather the knights and speak of this together." Arthur commanded as the three made their way to their shelters. "For now, we shall tend to the wounded and continue to rest. We will leave at dawn." Before Arthur stepped inside his tent, he turned, "What of Lourdes? I have not seen her since the beginning of the attack."

"She is shocked, but she is being taken care of." promptly answered Lancelot with a sigh. "It was the first man she has ever killed, and..."

"Where can I find her?" Galahad interrupted, concern and worry evident in his eyes. "I should not have left her on her own, I should have known that..."

Both Arthur and Lancelot were taken aback by his rising concern. Lancelot was first to speak. "She is in the first tent at the south end of the camp. I visited her only a short while ago, and she is still in a bit of a haze. We must be careful with her now. She is too vulnerable."

Galahad eyed the two fiercely, his light eyes blazing with conviction. "Someone must be there to comfort her."

Hesitating for only a moment, Arthur finally nodded. "Do what you can. All of the knights will meet here in an hour."

Before Arthur even finished, Galahad was off to find Lourdes. Lancelot looked after him for a moment, then stalked away to his tent.

Galahad finally caught sight of the tent, seeing a faint glow of a candle and a shadow moving about inside. His concern did not dissipate. He slowly moved the flap of the tent, catching a glimpse of Lourdes' bare back as she washed out her wound, her long, black hair pushed to one side, showing much of her olive skin. Galahad cleared his throat before standing up again, letting go of the fabric.

Inside, Lourdes turned at the sound, half-panicking. She dropped the cloth that she was holding and replaced it with a nearby dagger. "W-who's there?"

"It is I, Galahad." he answered carefully. "Do not worry, Lourdes. The camp is safe now."

Lourdes let out a sigh of relief, though her heart continued to beat quickly. She slowly placed her shirt back on before pushing the flap of her tent aside. Instantly, her eyes met Galahad's, and she did not miss the concern in his expression.

"I am glad to see that you are alright?" Galahad meant for this to be a statement, but it came out more of as a question. "I heard about what happened, and..."

"My wound is not deep." Lourdes breathed out, moving back to let Galahad inside. She took a seat in the corner on a feathered pillow, placing her chin on her knees.

Galahad stood in front of her, eyeing her closely. He noticed how her hands were trembling, even as she fought hard to keep them steady. He sat beside her, though keeping his distance, and slowly reached out for her hands. He heard her sob, but she didn't recoil as he finally took her hands in his. They stayed like this for many moments before Galahad spoke.

"Do not let the guilt kill you." he finally said, almost in a whisper. "You have to fight it. All of us did. All of us are."

Lourdes slowly looked up at him, tightening her grip on his hands. "I can still see his face. I can still feel the blood. All over me..."

Galahad tried his best to quiet her, taking her in an embrace. "The pain will subside, Lourdes. It will subside."

Lourdes rested her head on Galahad's unarmoured chest, feeling safe and comforted. She breathed out shakily as he examined her wound. He was thankful that the bleeding had stopped. Turning his attention back to her countenance, he noticed that she had dozed off, undoubtedly fatigued from the day. Laying her down softly on the floor, he took one last look at her before leaving her tent.

"Galahad!" he immediately heard the sound of Bors' booming voice. "Lad, Arthur requests a meeting with all of us. He's got meh scoutin' all of ye."

Galahad nodded in answer, joining Bors at his side. His gaze was distant, barely noticing the quizzical expression that Bors was giving him.

"So..." Bors began, clearing his throat. He pointed to the rightmost encampment. "...I thought yer tent was over there?"

Galahad finally looked up at his voice, furrowing his brows. "It is."

"Accidentally slipped into the wrong one?"

Giving out a sigh, Galahad turned to the grinning Bors. "I was just...Oh, why am I even bothering explaining myself to you?"

Bors let out a hearty laugh, probably the first laugh that has been heard all night. He patted Galahad lightly on the back. "I think you need to explain it to yerself before explainin' it to meh."

t t t

Lourdes awoke with a start. She noticed that she was alone in the tent. For a few moments, she sat quietly, barely breathing, as she listened for any sounds around her.

Lourdes.

She turned from side to side wildly, hearing the faint sound of her name being called. Feeling for the dagger near her feet, she gripped it tightly, looking for shadows outside her tent.

Come outside. I will not hurt you.

She continued to hear the faint voice. Although frightened, she felt...trust. What was happening? Who was calling her?

Feeling as though she was out of her mind and completely unable to control her actions, she stepped out of her tent. She could still see villagers and soldiers around fires and coming in and out of their tents, but suddenly she felt as though she was alone. The sounds around her grew more faint as her surroundings became blurry. She tried to steady herself and looked around her.

Lourdes jumped back as she saw a mysterious figure at the edge of the woods. He heart lept as the shadowy figure beckoned to her, but she became even more frightened as her feet began to walk to the figure involuntarily.

Do not scream, Lourdes. I am a friend.

She gripped the dagger in her hand more tightly as she finally stopped walking. She was only on the outskirts of the camp and could still see the others, but fear coursed through her body. Her curiosity also mounted, for not only did she feel...safe...she felt as though she knew the figure that was coming towards her.

"You have truly grown since I last saw you." a voice began, stepping out of the shadows.

Lourdes gasped as she saw an old man, blue marks painted on his face, staff at hand. He wore ragged clothes, his footing shaky as he walked down the rocky hill.

"W-who are you?" Lourdes managed to croak out as she continued to observe the man. He did likewise.

"You would not have rememebered me." he continued, this time even smiling. "I am Merlin."

"Merlin?" Lourdes repeated, wide-eyed. "The leader of the Woads?"

He simply nodded in reply, walking a bit closer to her. He guided himself with the long, wooden staff, his footsteps barely making any noise in the fallen snow.

"W-what do you...what do you want with me?"

"My girl, simply to see you again." he began walking towards her again. Lourdes surprisingly didn't recoil and even walked towards him. "Lolita and Ernesto have raised a fine daughter."

Lourdes caught her breath as she looked at Merlin in bewilderment. "H-how...how do you know..."

"Come." Merlin held out a hand to her. "There is much that you need to know."

t t t

There was very little room to move around Arthur's tent as all of the knights finally gathered. They rested on the ground in a circle, with a lone candle flickering in the middle of them. Their silhouettes move behind them, eerily illustrating the knights' dark emotions.

"Knights, we shall not take this attack lightly." Arthur began, looking at each and every one of them. "If our suspicions are proven true - if the Roman guards were the ones who had attacked us..."

"If they were Roman guards, then they're obviously not liking our taking of the Pope's godson." Gawain concluded, taking a bite of an apple.

"But how could that be if they were the ones that assigned us on this bloody mission?" Dagonet retorted, hand in the air. "I'll kill every single one of those bastards if they try to take my freedom away from me!"

Arthur sighed heavily, placing a silencing hand in the air. "We are not sure of who actually attacked us. They may have been Saxons only dressed as Roman guards, or even Woads in disguise. Even the ones who were killed could not be identified for sure as any of them."

"Whoever they may be, we musn't trust anyone who we are travelling with." said Galahad with conviction. "Guard or not, they could be the enemy."

There was a consensus among the knights as each muttered their agreement.

Bors cleared his throat, placing a hand in the air. "There was another thing I was meaning to speak with all of ye about." All of the knights turned in his direction and nodded for him to continue, "That girl that is travelling with us...Lourdes. The one with the black hair and olive skin..."

Lancelot looked at Galahad, then Arthur. They returned his gaze before Bors claimed their attention once more.

"Well, it's obvious that she's not from this island." Bors continued, waving his hand in a circular fashion. "I've seen nobody that looks like her here."

Lancelot shifted uncomfortably in his seat, squinting his eyes. "What are you getting at, Bors?"

"I'm just sayin'," he shrugged slowly, "don't you wonder where she's really from? She could even have some Saxon blood in her..."

"She does not share blood with those monsters!" Galahad bursted out, taking the knights by surprise. "She may not be from this island, but she could never..."

"She's not of Saxon blood." Tristan interjected, gaining everyone else's attention as the quiet knight spoke. "She is a rare sight for most of you, but I have seen her people during my time in Sarmatia." The overwhelming silence was prodding enough for Tristan to continue. "She comes from a land east of Sarmatia. Well, her parents did, I am guessing. Tis a land a long way from here, and tis quite a mystery as to how she has come to the shores of Briton."

"Lancelot, Galahad." Arthur began eyeing the two knights. "You have spoken much with Lourdes, even more than I have. Has she said anything to you both about her origins?"

The two looked at each other before turning their attention to the others.

"No, she hasn't." Galahad replied first, eyes slowly drifting to Lancelot.

"Not that I can remember." followed Lancelot, meeting Galahad's prying eyes briefly.

"Now I am curious." Gawain shook his head. "Tis not good when I'm curious."

Arthur stood, taking another look at his knights. "We shall not press the matter as of this moment. For now, we need to finish the task at hand and gain our freedom."

t t t

Lourdes followed Merlin to a clearing, sitting upon rocks beside a small river. She remained quiet, looking pensively at the ground, trying to make sense out of what she had heard. Her parents were...Woads?

"After your village was evacuated, your parents came to find me." Merlin began, walking to her side. "They told me everything that had happened to you, and your decision to follow Sir Arthur and his knights."

"But...how..."

"Dear girl, what I'm about to tell you will change the circumstances of your life." the Woad continued cryptically. "For good or bad, I am not sure. It is up to you what you make of it."

Lourdes merely nodded, unable to speak. She kept her eyes on the old Woad, keeping her cloak close to her body. Her heart pounded insanely, for she both feared and welcomed what Merlin had to tell her.

"You are old enough to know that Lolita and Ernesto are not your real mother and father. Your hair, your skin colour, your features...they are neither Briton nor Woad." Merlin paused, using his index finger to tilt Lourdes' face upwards. "I know you have been searching for your origin ever since you could remember, but you have to understand that it was best that information be kept a secret from you until you were ready."

"Merlin, please..."

"You are a maiden of the East, Lourdes, from a land far more eastern than Sarmatia. You were given to me as an infant."

Lourdes could barely breathe. Dropping to the snowy ground, she used her arms to keep her steady. "What does this all mean?"

"Your real father and mother gave you to me so that you could escape the turmoil in your lands. A bitter civil war plagued Shino, one that lasted for almost 15 years. It was a war that began as a feud within your family."

"And...m-my real parents?"

"I have not heard from the King or Queen of Shino ever since they gave you to me."

Lourdes' eyes grew even wider. "W-what? Does that mean..."

"You are royalty, Lourdes." finished Merlin, placing a hand on Lourdes' shoulder. "You are the heir to the Shinodian throne."

She continued to look at Merlin in disbelief, trying her hardest to convince herself that these were all lies. Her? A princess of Shino?

Merlin gave her a few moments, then continued, "I assigned you to Lolita's and Ernesto's charge when the Saxons began their incursions into our lands. I had to lead our people, and I did not want to put you in anymore danger. Lolita and Ernesto lived peacefully and quietly, not revealing that they were Woads to anyone. But I have been looking after you as well."

"But you and Arthur and his knights...you are enemies! How can I ever believe this to be true?" she cried eratically, moving away from him. "This could be some sort of trap!"

Merlin looked at her, his face as cold as stone. "If there is no birthmark on your left arm, right above that cut of yours, I believe, then I am speaking lies."

Tears began streaking down Lourdes' eyes. A part of her did not want to believe any of this. Merlin's tale seemed so farfetched, yet she could not deny that she believed it.

"If...if this is all so," Lourdes began slowly, taking deep breaths. "What am I supposed to do?"

"Hide." Merlin said quickly. "The Saxons know that the daughter of the King and Queen of Shino was sent to Briton. If they see you, they will kill you and everyone with you. They are coming closer and closer to your group, and more will come from across the sea to invade if this war is not won. They have set their sights on your lands as well, Lourdes. They began to attack while the civil war was in full force, taking advantage of the weaknesses of both sides. They will not stop until they reign over all the lands there is to reign!"

"I...I cannot just simply hide, Merlin!" she cried helplessly. "I must do something to...to help...my land, my...people."

Merlin looked up at the sound of crunching snow behind them. He began quickly, "For now, you must stay with Arthur and his knights. Arthur and I have come to an understanding. The Woads will now be his ally."

"But...the Saxons..."

Merlin shook his head. "They will show you no mercy. They know that once the royal bloodline has been annihilated, the people have no choice but to subdue to a new ruler - foreign or not."

"Lourdes? Lourdes?" a voice called out in the distance, interrupting the conversation.

Both Merlin and Lourdes looked toward the sound, the footsteps coming closer.

"I must go." Merlin took Lourdes' face in his hands. "I will be watching over you, Lourdes."

"Lourdes!"

Swirling around, she caught the sight of Galahad's silhouette.

"What are you doing here?" he began, walking to her and placing his hands on her shoulders. "I was worried when I did not find you in your tent..."

Lourdes turned from him and looked around for any sign of Merlin.

But the Woad was gone.

"What is the matter?" Galahad questioned, placing a hand on her cheek as he turned her face to his. "Lourdes, are you alright?"

Lourdes was breathing heavily with tears streaming down her face. "Galahad, I have...I don't know how, but..."

"You need to rest, milady." Galahad said softly, eyes observing her. "It has been a hard day for you."

Lourdes looked up at his countenance, searching his eyes in the moonlight. His gaze was soft and questioning, but it also had a tint of...what was it? Confusion?

Steadying her shaking hand, Lourdes brought it up to Galahad's cheek, feeling the roughness of his beard but the softness of his skin. She gave him a small smile and tilted her head to his, but it slowly disappeared when he frowned, pulled away, and placed her hand down from his face. Lourdes was stung by this, but her confusion did not show on her countenance.

Galahad finally broke the awkward silence. "I shall walk you back to your tent."

He turned away from her and waited until she walked in front of him. Lourdes stared at the back of his head for a few moments, but when he would not turn to look at her, she walked quickly back to her tent, not bothering to look back.