CHAPTER 16

Two swords collided, sparks flying in every direction. The two fighters grunted in their efforts, each trying to gain the advantage over the other. They both tried to push the other to the ground, swords still locked, dangerously close to their gritting faces.Finally, they pushed at one another, the force sendingboth men back a few paces.

Catching their breaths for only a moment, their swords met once more, each blow blocked by the other, neither gaining the upper hand. They paced, back and forth, equal in movement, dexterity and strength. They tried their best to conceal the fatigue that they felt, coupled with the sore muscles and discomfort from the perspiration and dirt all over their bodies. Most of the audience noticed their similar fighting techniques, but little did they know, the two men who were fighting now fought with each other, side by side, for 15 years.

"Swing to the left, Lancelot, to the left!"

"Attack from the top, Galahad, now!"

Lourdes looked around her, seeing Arthur, the rest of the knights, Vanora and her many children cheering the two knights on. Which side any of them were truly on was a mystery to Lourdes, for they cheered for both knights, praising when both dealt a good blow to the other and shouting encouraging words when either were losing the competition.

And which side was she on? Well, frankly, she did not wish for either knight to lose!

The sun was nearly setting on the fouth day of the Tournament as the competition continued, the two knights battling with each other for almost two hours. This was definitely the main event for the tournament audience, for they had never seen such endurance within and equal strength and skill between two men in such a competition. Each knight had their supporters, but it was still unclear as to who was actually winning the match! The event had caught everyone's attention, including Lord Theodore himself, who watched intently from his seat on a nearby stage.

"Galahad!" Lancelot called, peeking at his friend through swinging swords. "I'll call it a draw if you do!"

"A draw? Just like that dagger competition?" Galahad snickered at him, shaking his head. "Not a chance, Lancey!"

Galahad bent his knees, attempting to kick Lancelot's legs out from under him. Expertly, Lancelot hopped back, flicking his wrist to swing the sword at Galahad's back. Predicting the move, Galahad held his sword to his back, parallel to his spine, blocking the swift blow. With a quick turn of his arms to the right, he held the blunt blade to Lancelot's neck. Instantly, Lancelot swung his foot, connecting with Galahad's right calf, tripping the knight. Though, Galahad made the same move on Lancelot, and both men fell to the ground with a thud. In one last, desperate move, both men swung their arms, placing their blades on each other's necks at the same moment.

"My word!" Lord Theodore stood, all 6'0'' of him, clapping his hands wildly. "This has got to be the best fight that I have seen in ages!"

The crowd cheered relentlessly at this praise, wholeheartedly agreeing with the Lord. Arthur and his knights hooted, hollered and whistled, proud of their comrades' exhibition of skill and strength. Lord Theodore stood from his place, pushing his jeweled cape behind him as he walked towards the competition field. In the meantime, Lancelot and Galahad stood up, patting each other on the backs as they desperately gasped for air.

With arms held outwards, Lord Theodore smiled. "Since the two of you cannot seem to defeat one another," he began, earning chuckles from the crowd, "I proclaim both of you champions of the swordfighting event!"

As the crowd burst out in cheer, both Lancelot and Galahad groaned, eyeing each other wearily. Lancelot raised an eyebrow as Galahad merely shrugged. It seemed as though they were always proclaimed equal to one another at this tournament's events! Though, after a few moments, the two knights placed their arms around one another and beamed, bowing a few times in thanks to the crowd.

Lourdes shook her head at this and smiled, proud of both Galahad and Lancelot. Her smile disappeared when she saw Isabella run to Galahad gleefully, jumping in his arms and kissing him in congratulations. Her expression continued to turn into a frown when she saw two women approach Lancelot, eyes twinkling with desire, and Lancelot, with his usual cad-like expression, place his arms around their shoulders before walking away.

Negative emotions returned once more to Lourdes after witnessing the scene before her. Even though she willed herself to tolerate both of the knights' presence and behave as though she was fine, she continued to feel her heart constricting whenever she would see both of them with other women. For three days, she had spent most of her time with Vanora, Bors and Arthur, watching various competitions and even practicing some of her skills when the day's competitions were over. She had hoped that this would bring her thoughts away from the two knights. But of course, those thoughts were never even near the back of her mind. Though, she admitted that keeping her mind preoccupied with other things and other people did help her cope, especially during her limited contact with Galahad.

"There cannot be two champions!" Lourdes heard herself say, much annoyance filling her voice. "That defeats the entire purpose of having a competition!"

Bors looked up her her comment, bellowing with laughter. "I agree with ye, lass! These competitions aren't fair anymore, aye?"

Lourdes placed her elbow on his shoulder, bringing her fingers to her mouth as she began to ponder, eyes squinted.

Bors eyed her suspiciously, raising an eyebrow at her. "What mischief is yer brain concocting now, lass?"

"The Tournament's invitation said that anyone could enter, aye?"

"Aye, I believe so..." Bors' eyes squinted, "...Why?"

t t t

"C'mon, c'mon..." Lourdes whispered to herself as she closed an eye, aiming her longbow and arrow at a circular, wooden mark, about 50 yards from where she stood. She tried to remember what Aiden had taught her, focusing her gaze on the red mark through the moonlight. Lourdes opened her eye as she released the arrow, which flew and turned in a relatively straight line, landing just a few inches short of the centre. "Bloody hell!" she hissed to herself, feeling for another arrow in her quiver. As she felt the fletching of the arrow, she felt an arrow shaft being placed in her hand. Alarmed, she turned swiftly, so much so that the bow in her hand hit the intruder, knocking them back a few steps.

"Oh, I am dreadfully sorry..." Lourdes began, seeing only the silhouette of the person. She heard him groan, breathing out as he regained his composure.

"Do not worry, milady," he waved a dismissive hand to her, "I have taken much worse."

Lowering her bow and arrow, Lourdes furrowed her brows, recognizing the voice. "Lancelot?"

"Milady." he bowed gallantly, exaggerating his arms, then looked up at her. "What are you doing here?"

"I should ask you the same question." Lourdes turned her attention back to her practice, loading the arrow on the string.

Lancelot squinted his eyes in question. "Whatsoever do you mean?"

"I would think, Sir Lancelot, that at this hour you would be sharing your company with a woman, possibly two." she replied nonchalantly, her back still facing him. She aimed the arrow at her target, pulling the string back.

Lancelot pouted, eyes downcast. "Is that what you really think of me?"

Lourdes placed her bow down momentarily. She was definitely not in the mood to discuss anything that she thought or felt, especially if it had anything to do with Lancelot and women. Groaning exasperatedly, she swirled around to face him. "Sir Lancelot, please, I am quite preoccupied with..."

He immediately placed his hands in the air, shaking his head from side to side. "Please, milady, do not let my presence distract you from your current activity. I merely wish to observe."

She groaned inwardly once more, feeling Lancelot's burning eyes on her even as she turned around. As she prepared to release the arrow, she took a deep breath. Before she could let go of the string, she felt the bow tilt to the side, sending the arrow flying aimlessly in front of her, smashing into a group of jugs in the distance. Lourdes gritted her teeth irritably, hands clenched, as she turned to the giggling Lancelot.

"I apologize, your aim was off, and..."

"You!" she paced a few steps towards the meddling knight, pointing a finger only inches from his nose, "Oh, how you irritate me so!"

Lancelot smirked, slowly pushing her hand away from his face. "That is why I exist."

Lourdes didn't reply to this but merely turned her back to the knight. Now she remembered how he loved so much to rile her, how his mere words could push her to the edge and how his eyes gleamed with such delight when hers became inflamed with annoyance. She remembered how she would be close to hurting the man, and yet he kept his composure, his countenance only showing amusement and unflinching steadiness. Though, as much as it bothered her so, she could not deny that she missed their bickering and witty banter.

Before she could prepare another arrow, she felt his hands on her hips, guiding her stance. "If you want to hit the middle of that red mark, you have to point your toes towards it."

Lourdes could not disregard the feeling of his touch, but ignoring it momentarily, she questioned, "What do my feet have to do with hitting the middle of a red mark? In all my years of practice, I have never heard of such a thing!"

"You would not have, because it is my little secret." Lancelot whispered as he placed his head mere inches beside Lourdes' face. She could feel his warm breath tickling her neck, which sent shivers down her spine. The two gazed out at the distant target as Lancelot pointed. "Now, fire."

Lourdes released the arrow.

And sure enough, it hit the red mark, dead in its centre.

She looked at Lancelot incredulously, the knight only smirking at her bewildered reaction. First, dagger throwing, now archery? She pushed him in both gratitude and annoyance for being correct, at the same time reminding herself of the years of experience that he had with weapons and the art of war.

"Now then," he began, crossing his arms, "would you mind telling me why you are doing this at such an hour? I sure hope there are no invading armies on our tails?"

"I've entered tomorrow's archery contest." Lourdes answered simply.

"You...what?"

"I was perfectly clear the first time, milord."

Lancelot walked to her front, facing her. He scrunched his face in question. "...What!"

"Lancelot, please," Lourdes rolled her eyes at the knight as she placed her bow and quiver of arrows on the ground, "I already know that you do not think I am able to do it..."

"No, no," Lancelot quickly shook his head, "that is not it. Why have you entered?"

At this question, Lourdes finally grinned. "To prove that not all of Arthur's knights can be the champions of this tournament." she poked a finger at his chest, pursing her lips. "Today, for example, was horrid."

"You mean the match between Galahad and me?"

"Yes!" she exclaimed, arms in the air. "Neither of you are champions if you have not defeated the other!"

"So what do you insinuate, milady?" twisting his lips, Lancelot walked slyly towards her. "Perhaps that you could best the both of us?"

Lourdes opened her mouth to respond, then thought for a moment. "Well, no, that was not my original insinuation," she then smirked, tilting her head to the side, "but I do believe that I can best both of you."

Lancelot could not help but rise to the challenge. Though fatigued from the day's competitions, he held up an index finger to Lourdes, motioning for her to wait. Lourdes only looked at him quizzically as she watched him jog to the side of his black steed. There, he unsheathed his twin blades, eyeing them momentarily, before jogging back to where Lourdes was standing.

"Time to prove what your mouth has so easily stated." he simply said, tossing the sword to Lourdes. She caught it by its hilt, looking at Lancelot in bewilderment. Before she could even question his actions, he swung, catching the upright sword in Lourdes' hand. She gripped it with all her might, pushing his sword back. Lourdes saw another flash of metal in the moonlight as, this time, Lancelot swung to her right. She fumbled backwards at the force, twisting her hand so that her sword would block Lancelot's low blow. Pushing her forward, Lancelot moved around her, playfully tapping her behind with the side of his sword.

"You can do better than that." he taunted, keeping his sword ready in front of him. Lourdes merely squinted her eyes at the knight's conceit, clenching her jaw as she turned to face him.

With lightning dexterity, Lancelot tried a blow towards her shoulder with a diagonal swing, their swords locking into a cross as he pushed her downwards.

"You know, you did not have to throw out a challenge in order to be close to me." the knight grinned tauntingly, moving his face closer to hers. "All you need to do is ask."

Instead of gritting her teeth in annoyance, Lourdes smiled sweetly. Lancelot's expression turned into confusion as she did this, his offence becoming weaker. Taking the opportunity to use Lancelot's moment of distraction, Lourdes pushed his sword away with all her might, knocking her elbow to his chest. With a groan, Lancelot paced back a few steps, eyes wide in surprise.

"Do not let a smile of a woman distract you, great sir." Lourdes grinned again mockingly as she pointed the blade to Lancelot's chest. "Especially one that has the ability to kill you."

Lancelot's cheeky smirk returned to his face. Without warning, he dropped his sword, opening his arms wide. "Then deal the final blow and win the match, milady."

Lourdes rolled her eyes, sticking her blade into the ground and resting her elbow on the hilt. "I would not want to hurt you, dear sir, for the guilt would be too much to bear. Whatsoever will the maidens of Sarmatia do without their beloved Lancelot?"

Lancelot raised an eyebrow quizzically, walking towards her. "If I am not mistaken, milady, I would think that you were jealous?"

"Me? Jealous?" Lourdes scoffed, looking at the knight from top to bottom. "Pray tell, dear sir, of what?"

"Of this."

It was then that Lancelot took her arms, pulling her body to his with crushing strength. As her sword dropped to the ground with a soft thud, he buried his lips in her neck, wildly kissing and tasting every bared inch of her. Lourdes gasped both in surprise and pleasure, placing her arms on the knight's chest to keep herself steady as her knees became weak. Lancelot gripped her arms tightly, holding her in place. Closing her eyes, she tilted her head back, and Lancelot took advantage of the unrestricted access that she had given him, nipping, biting, enjoying the sensation that her skin brought to his lips. He had wanted to taste her again for so long, too long.

Lancelot's hands moved from her arms to her waist, moving down, ever so slowly, to rest at her hips. Lourdes unconsciously ran her hands beneath Lancelot's tunic, feeling his smooth skin and the heat that radiated from his being. Lancelot smiled as he continued to kiss her neck, feeling a bit ticklish at the feel of such an innocent touch.

And by the Roman God, he wanted her to continue.

Feeling his hard abdomen, Lourdes' fingers crept upwards, brushing past his strong chest, then resting on his shoulders for support. Then, without warning, Lancelot pushed her to the trunk of a nearby tree, pressing his lips upon hers hungrily. His tongue begged for entrance until she finally complied, their kiss deepening as each moment passed by. They continued to kiss, roughly and willingly, freely exploring each other's mouths. Instinctively, Lancelot pressed his body closer to hers, with the two only breaking their kiss to gasp for breath.

Lourdes' mind swirled with a thousand thoughts, none of them making any sense to her at the moment. With all resolve dissipating, she pushed doubt from her mind and concentrated only on the feelings that Lancelot was giving her. The warmth that flooded her mouth, the taste of him, the uncontrollable emotion that he had unlocked within her. It was almost too much.

Unconsciously, she lifted her leg to rest on Lancelot's thigh, bringing them even closer together. She then moaned at the feeling of his strong fingers sliding beneath her dress, pushing it further down, until they eventually rested on her thigh. She shivered at his warm touch, placing her hand on his, guiding it even higher.

It was Lancelot who broke the kiss, his lips resting on Lourdes' forehead. The two breathed heavily, somewhat regaining their former composure. Lourdes' body screamed for Lancelot to continue, but her mind finally took some control over her actions as she lowered her arms to her side. She looked up at the knight and saw that his dark eyes, still inflamed with passion, was observing her.

"Not like this." Lancelot sounded huskily, obviously still fighting with himself. As Lourdes lowered her leg from his body, he helped to pull down her dress.

"Is that you, Lancelot?"

Galahad's voice made both their hearts jump. Lourdes was the first to realize that she was concealed behind the tree trunk, away from his view. Lancelot kept his hands on the sides of Lourdes' arms, still slightly pinning her to the tree trunk. At first, he looked at her in what seemed like panic, but as quickly as that emotion flashed on his face, a smile appeared. He touched the side of her face gently before moving away from her.

"Yes, it is." Lancelot greeted Galahad, walking away from the shadows to meet him. The moon shone down on the knights, the light more than enough for them to see the other's form. "What are you doing awake at this hour?"

Lourdes used this small diversion to fix her disheveled hair, attempting to look at least presentable. She debated whether to show herself or not, intently listening to the two knights' conversation.

"I could not sleep." Galahad replied truthfully, sighing. "And you?"

"I..." Lancelot drifted off, desperately thinking of a reason, "...was just helping Lady Lourdes find a lone arrow!"

Lourdes cursed to herself, palms still glued to the tree trunk. Lancelot, you oaf!

"Lady Lourdes?" Galahad repeated, eyes unconsciously searching for her. "She is here?"

Still gritting her teeth in annoyance at Lancelot's miserable alibi, Lourdes finally managed to say, "I cannot find it, Sir Lancelot! Let us just hope it did not kill anything!" She stepped out behind the tree in the other direction, clumsily pushing away some bushes before finally making it out into the clearing. Instantly, she noticed Galahad's squinted eyes observing her, but she quickly turned away from him. "I bid you sirs good night."

With that and a nod, Lourdes briskly left the scene without looking back.