Standard Disclaimer: KA and the legends are soooo not mine. The craziness of the characters is the only thing I own. Bad Language, Violence and Possible Sexual Scenes Warning. Don't like it, don't read.

WHAHAHAHAHAHA Chapter 14! Yes my duckies, I have created another chapter for your reading pleasure (or displeasure) Oh and just so you know that last bit in the stables never happened.

The Year Apart- Part 1

-Flashback- (A/N: Dialogue will be in English for now)

"Morning sunshine," Sasha barged into my dorm where I was passed out in front of my obsolete laptop in the attempts to finish my sixth English paper. Groaning I barely lift my head in greeting before letting my head fall back onto my arms. "You're going to break those glasses of yours if you keep doing that."

I mutter a string of obscenities at him before removing my reading glasses and settling down once again. I felt him mess with my tangled hair as I tried to push him away.

"You know, I really don't understand why you had to cut your hair. It was gorgeous Ria, waist long and sexy… now it's just short and um… cute."

I manage to get up and push him away to head to my private bathroom to clean up and change. "Sasha, we're going to Europe next month, having long hair will just get in the way. Besides I happen to like it short." I retort as I closed the door.

"Yeah, but I read that European guys like hair they can run their fingers through," he said through the door.

"I also read that they don't use deodorant,"(A/N: this is something I really have heard. Whether or not it is true, I don't know. I hope no one is offended) I popped my head out of the bathroom to respond, "Besides it' not like I'm going to Europe to find a guy anyway." Again I closed the door applying toothpaste on my toothbrush.

"Yeah, just a sexy little fuck buddy eh?" He chuckled.

"Your sick, you know that? You've got a lot of problems," I threw my red glow in the dark pajamas at him giving me enough time to cover myself with a towel as I grabbed my clothes.

"Yeah, but you still love me. And one way or another, we're gonna make sure you at least meet some hotties."

-End Flashback-

Marion woke me from my nap saying that I still had to finish packing for my trip. Oi, déja vu. I grumbled at my 16 year-old friend that was until she and Brat decided that pulling the blankets offa me would be a brilliant idea. I do hope some of that pottery is replaceable.

Oi, the packing. I never realized exactly how much stuff I had accumulated over the past two years. Actually it was stuff I had made to sell, as per instructions of Argon. Have I mentioned déja vu?

Not only does it feel like I've dreamed everything already, but I could swear I knew what exactly was going to happen. I must be loosing my mind or somethin', but in attempt to break this stream of dreamlike reoccurrence, I should go and visit my fallen friends before Charity decides it's a good idea to barge in here and be a serious pain in the bloody arse…

I've been really thinking about that kiss that Tristan and I shared to when I needed an alibi. Maybe that's why I probably day-dreamed that whole stables thing because that kiss didn't really feel all too much like it was just for show. I mean, GAWD, I felt something there… not just his erm… sword… well it had a serious passion in it, a burning fire, a need if you will when he held me.

It's strange really; any other man I've kissed has never made me obsess over one kiss like with the scout. No One!

I could be delusional, and we've kinda have been avoiding one another as far as I can tell. But, maybe this trip'll be good for all of us. Me, especially.

Vanora was giving me some last minute instructions regarding her kids. She was working late tonight and even though it was my last day in Britain for at least a year, I really wasn't up for the noise and such of the tavern. I always feel out of place there and it really bites.

Brat was sleeping peacefully in the bed we shared since I saved her and I really did envy her for sleeping so well. The little army of children was sporadically sleeping all over the room as I watched the shadows from the flickering candle dance around on their faces. Yeah, I was just a bit jealous at their peaceful journey to dreamland. Restlessness settled over me like a blanket, I don't really know why I was worried, but I was. Merlin's magician, Yseulet, came last week disguised as a trader and revealed her identity as soon as she saw my necklace.

She seemed like a bit of a loner, but then I was soon proven wrong. Yseulet was one of those faces you could easily forget despite the fact she was remarkably pretty with her doe-like grey-blue eyes, long dirty blond locks, a pretty heart shaped face and very toned body. Just standing next to her made me feel like a plain munchkin. The woman has weapons hidden everywhere on her person, I was really amazed. Although a few of the knives she had looked a lot like the daggers Finn used to make.

I shifted on the window sill and looked down to see a secret meeting of lovers, Dagonet and Claudia. I had known their feelings for a while, my only hope is that Phil doesn't blow a gasket in case he doesn't approve, because then I would have to stab him with a blunt object… like a candle.

As much as I wanted to go and see Taki to make sure everything was set for our ride in the morning I was very hesitant. What if Tristan was there? What if he really doesn't like me and blows me off? There are quite a few what if's in this situation and not enough answers… I should probably just forget about it and try for some rest. I fell asleep against the windowsill greeting the lunar lady in her glory.

The morning was chilly… no scratch that, it was 'below 0° and freeze all appendages off your body' cold and it was early spring-ish… I think; I've never been very good with seasons. But hell, I'm going East to Arabia and warmth. Maybe I can stop by Egypt and get some really nice Egyptian Cotton! Oh that'd be a treat.

Those that cared were there and those that didn't weren't. Even Argon came with Trent and David to see me off. Brat was saying a tearful good-bye to Marion and Vanora, the knights were clasping hands with Phillipus, Dagonet was passionately kissing Claudia behind the wagon out of sight of Phil and the Romans. Charity was doing something… I don't want to elaborate… with Darren and Yseulet was just standing off to the side with a pack horse as she intended to walk most of the time.

My backpack was already in the wagon amongst a whole load of other stuff so I really hadn't anything to carry. Rubbing the sleep from my eyes, I wasn't fully aware of my surroundings until I was about 10 feet from the stables when someone grabbed my collar and pushed me against the wall, not roughly but none too gently either.

Tristan was looking down at me with that intense gaze he'd always had. "Y'know this is getting to be awfully monotonous, not to mention …painful."

"You do not have to leave." His deep voice was low as one of his hands held the back of my neck the other tilting my face to his.

"Yeah…. Yeah I do. I don't want to, but I really need to. It'll be better this way."

"Why?" Tristan's thumb brushed my cheek gently. I felt myself get flustered; no, I won't let him see me like that!

"It just is, okay? Trust me; you wouldn't even begin to understand." I wretched myself away from him as he weakly allowed me to go, his face was that emotionless mask as were his eyes. Turning away from him I continued back to Phil and the others. This is gonna be one long trip, but why did I feel so guilty? Why was I feeling this way? Why in the hell am I questioning myself, when I've always used to be so self-assured?

Arthur and the other knights insisted on escorting our party to the coast and Phil readily agreed. I didn't mind so much except Claudia, Charity, Brat and I had to ride in the carriage on the way there; something about it being safer from the Woads. Hah! If only they knew that they wouldn't attack with Ysuelet around and my pact with Merlin holding them at bay. The trip to the coast was to take at least two days given the weather was decent and there were few stops.

Charity and Brat were sleeping most of the way while Claudia and I talked for a bit. Finally the Dagonet topic rose.

"You sad about leaving?"

"Yes, very much so. I never thought I'd actually come to like this little island and everybody here. I didn't think I would have met anyone like you or come to lo…" She drifted off realizing what she was about to say and begin to focus her attention on a lock of blonde hair that seemed to be more interesting.

"Come to love… a certain healing knight?" I pushed. She looked at me incredulously and tried to hide her blush behind an elegant tessen I made for her with a cherry blossom design and polished spokes. "Hm… thought so."

"Oh please don't tell anyone, Ria." She begged me and of course I promised not to tell anyone what I already knew if she would just tell me how it happened without my help.

As it turned out, Dagonet and Claudia had been very sweet on each other since they had helped heal a child's fever three weeks after her arrival. AND, she was still a maid, even though she wanted him very badly. Good for her, they wanted to marry, but he wanted to marry her as a free man with Phillipus' approval. Have I mentioned that Dagonet is a sweetie? If not then I am now. Dagonet is one of the most honorable men I have ever had the pleasure of knowing.

The first night, I refused to sleep in the carriage with Charity. Although, I soon found the ground to be less appealing; besides the last time I slept outside, I had a Gareth bed… now I don't. Lancelot and Lamorak offered to let me sleep with either of them only to be denied. Honestly, like I'm gonna give up my integrity for the comfortable body of a man-whore. Aw Naw! Hell Naw! (A/N: it's pronounced like gnaw, but I forget where I heard it from, I think an old hip hop song… I know, again with the Americanisms) I do believe that I'll risk anything else than that…well aside from rooming with Charity again.

"You mind if I sleep here? I heard that moss makes for a softer bed." I tucked my skirts behind my knees as I sat on my haunches next to Tristan. He merely grunted. I hadn't seen him all day and the realization that I wouldn't for possibly the next year or ever was a little more than depressing. "I don't really understand Neanderthal, but I'll take that as a yes. Thanks."

I'm guessing that Tristan had sentry duty when I bothered him, but I really wanted a soft place to lay my head that wasn't a human body by the name of Lancelot or Lamorak. Curling under my thick down blanket I had bribed one of the village women to make, I fell asleep watching Tristan's profile against the light of the moon. Gawd the man was really something…

I awoke the next morning to a horrible crick in my neck, which would never have happened if I had a pillow. However, being that Charity was the greedy slag that she was, all the pillows that could be spared were under her person. The pillow I was supposed to have I gave to Brat who lost hers to Charity and I refused to let Claudia give me hers because that is just not right. I mean Claudia is a real lady; I'm just some girl barely able to make ends meet who got sucked through the time space continuum. Anyways, I'm babbling again.

Like I said, I woke up with a crick in my neck, faceful of morning sun, prickly feelings in my right arm and an immobilized left arm… basically not a very good morning. Although the morning air was rather frigid, a warm breeze seemed to rustle the back of my neck and hair. Slowly and painfully I turn my head to see why there was warm air when the rest of me was freezing. HOLY FLYING SHIATSU WITH A COLD! The fricking scout lay next to me, sleeping like a log, or baby whichever; the fact of the matter was that I wasn't alone on my moss bed. Trying to figure out what to do was hard, do I wake him and chew him out for taking liberties that I hadn't agreed to or do I wait for him to wake up and awkwardly laugh it off as an accident? But what if it wasn't an accident? What if he did it on purpose, because I know for a fact that I hadn't moved much and I wasn't curling into him or anything… ah he's awake, and staring. Gawd what's with the staring?

Blink, blink, blink… say something, idiot! Anything! "My arm is numb." Okay, tha's a start… now ask why he's curled up next to me, "What are you doing?"

He looks at me for a moment before answering, "You were shivering in your sleep."

"And moving me closer to the fire was a bad idea, why?" I tried shifting away, but like I said immobilized and prickly feely arms both of which equal pain that I'm sure showed on my face. Brilliant.

"I tried, you yelled in your sleep, I let you stay there."

"I don't talk or yell in my sleep." I protested."Another cloak or something would've been better if you couldn't move me…" I muttered, this time I tried rolling away… stupid move. We were on a cliff sort of thing and my mossy bed was close to the edge. Basically I nearly rolled off the fucking cliff.

"AAAHHHHHH!" A scream ripped hoarsely from my throat, before I could fall completely Tristan had grabbed me, rolled with me in his arms away from the edge until I was on top of him and whimpering into his chest.

Well that was one helluva wake up. And I lost my blankie…

Riding in the carriage again, Charity was being a lame ass telling Claudia every excruciating detail of her sexploits and made up rumors about me in high school. Lucky Brat was in the nice air soaking up her freedom from perfume clouds and Charity's lies. Poor Claudia was so red I had to do something. Opening the curtain, I signaled wildly to get Arthur's attention.

"Ria?"

"Kill me." He stared at me for a moment. "Get Claudia and me outta here or spare her and kill me, whichever because both ideas sound much too appealing."

"Why? It cannot be that bad." I pulled an elegantly carved dagger of my creation out for his inspection.

"Wanna bet? This dagger says that you can't last more than ten minutes in this fog of talk, perfume and idiocy."

"Your weapons talk to you now?" I sighed exasperatedly.

"You gonna take the bet or not? I win; I keep my dagger, the satisfaction that you just went through hell and back, and a get outta carriage free card for both me and Claudia."

The knight commander turned the deal over in his mind trying to figure out the bad points of the bargain. Finally he smiled that winning smile. "Done."

"Good."

Poor Artie gave up after 9 and 1/2 minutes. He stumbled out of the carriage, pale and trying hard not to shake violently. "Ye gods, Ria! What have you done?" Lancelot demanded as he and Darren helped Arthur away from the carriage.

"Hey! It's not my fault, if he didn't listen to me when I said that staying in that carriage with Charity was worse than anything he's probably ever experienced." I stated with a shrug.

It goes without saying that because I won the bet, Claudia, Brat and I had frequent breaks from the Charity Torture Chamber. That also meant that we were riding with the knights or Phillipus (in Claudia's case only him) on their horses because Taki would be staying at the fort. Sadly the rest of the trip was rather uneventful. I mean I was literally hoping for a Woad attack or something just to break from the doldrums of the trip. No such luck.

The morning of our last day in Britain, Brat decided it would be oodles of fun to shake me awake. "Ria, c'mon g'rl, wake up now."

I cocked a brow at the 14 yr old. "Who ya callin' girl? I'm seven years your senior."

"Awight, awight, ma'm. I's time teh wake up ma'm." She teased good-naturedly poking me again.

"Ah naw ya li'l runt, come back here!" I moved to pull her down and sat on her, Brat's shrill and laughing screams drew everyone's attention. It was just the same ol' games my 'sister' and I play… jeez what's everyone's problem?

Phillipus called our attention from our games and Brat and I stood before him muddy and stifling giggles. Claudia looked like she always woke up perfect, and Charity… moving on.

Claudia suggested a bath before we set sail, the tide wouldn't be in until later that evening and personally the idea of a bath was more than welcome.

That evening the last of the cargo, horses and supplies were being secured on the boat… erm I mean ship. And soon it was once again time for good-byes. My knights had cleaned their armor and stood proudly at the docks. I made sure to hug them all tightly with kisses on their cheeks (although Gawain, Lamorak and Lancelot tried really hard to capture my lips… cheeky bastards) and my affections were returned in kind.

I watched Dagonet place a chaste kiss on Claudia's knuckles and the inside of her palm while Phillipus was directing some of the Roman soldiers to do something or another. Poor Claudia and Dagonet, they looked so happy together now they were gonna be worlds apart again.

"Bors, don't give Van a hard time okay? I don' wanna come back to hear that you were an ass hole to her. Or that I'm gonna hafta babysit a Ten and Elevn. (I poked him in the stomach) Dag, don't miss 'er too much okay? I'll make sure she comes back, promise. You two, (Galahad and Gawain) had besta come up with some better jokes and pranks, alright? Lancelot, quit it." The Pretty Boy tried to look innocent, "Yeah, I'm talking to you. Lay off the wenches, both you and Lamorak are causing a helluva lotta trouble. Give those girls a break. Geez." Arthur tapped my shoulder and hugged me tightly. "I promise I will be good. I won't light anybody on fire, especially not a priest; even if they piss me off overly much. I won't scare Charity too much. I won't play too many tricks on Charity, I won't let Charity have her way and I won't leave Charity to die a horrible and rotten death. And I'll listen to my elders… geez Arthur, what else you want me to say, I won't pick my nose?" He laughed loudly as the other knights gave me instructions and last minute survival advice… the captain of the boat… I mean ship, called for us to get on. And I realized that Tristan was not there. THAT PUNK! I felt myself slightly get more depressed because I didn't see Tristan anywhere.

"Ria," I heard him call me just as I started walking up the gangplank. There he stood; clean and shiny… well as clean and shiny as a scout could be.

"Yeah?" Please say something I'll never forget, please say that you'll miss me… please.

He walked up about a hair's breath away from me and I bit my lip. Brushing the strands from my face that blew wayward, he tilted my head up as Tristan closed the gap between us and kissed me gently.

It was a gentle sort of kiss, soft and warm… and over way before I realized it. Blinking I stared at him a moment, I could feel his eyes on me, but damn those braids. I can not believe it, this man, one who never does anything without precision, who scares the shit outta practically everyone with a single glare, who loves to dole out death like art; just gave me the gentlest kiss of an inexperienced love-struck pre-teen boy!

Tristan started to turn away and my brain finally connected with the rest of my body. "Waitwaitwaitwaitwait. Wait a minute there scout." I followed him behind a few tall stacks of crates and supply none to far away. Grasping his arm I roughly pulled him to face me; inwardly I was pleased to see a brief moment of bewilderment in his eyes. "How can you kiss me with such a passion before and then kiss me like that now? Do you really think I'm gonna let you off that easy? Sir, you are sadly mistaken." I climbed onto a sturdy crate so that I was level with him. I then threw my arms around his neck and kissed him hard, much like that kiss we share a month or so ago. At first he did not respond, so pulling him tighter I nibbled his lips and caressed them with my tongue.

Woo Hoo that did it! I opened my mouth inviting him in as his hand slid around my waist holding me tightly. A small moan erupted, either from him or me I wasn't sure. But SHITE, like I said before this man can KISS! It was hot and passionate and over too soon for lack of air, well that and Claudia was calling me.

Tristan gripped the back of my neck and gently nibbled and licked a spot right above my collarbone before pressing his forehead to mine. "Come back to me."

I smiled and returned the favor to his neck. "Wait for me."

That's the first part of the journey. I had orignally planned to make it longer, but I'm going through a block and a helluva lot else in life which does include school. ACK! Finals next week and papers all this week. As always please review. I'll try to work suggestions if you have any.

Also... I love my reviewers! They rock I hope that you all got my replies.