Here are your two chapters, Winther Rose. Enjoy!
#16 Back
Gawain woke earlier then normal, warm and more rested then he had been in years. His concerns for the next few days melted at his first sight of still, pale skin resting beside him. Gently he ran the back of one finger down Kirra's arm, reveling in the softness of her. She was truly the best thing to happen to him in the whole of his life. She sighed in her sleep and burrowed in closer to him, then stilled and Gawain lay back listening to her steady, even breathing.
The sun would be fully raised soon; he could hear the first of the birds twittering in the trees. How wonderful would it be to just stay there in that moment for forever, warm, safe, his woman at his side? But even as Gawain thought that, he knew he couldn't have that just yet. There were those that needed him, and Kirra. He rolled to his side and pressed his lips to her shoulder.
"Hmm?" she asked in a sleep heavy sigh.
"It's morning, love. We should be up and leaving soon." He whispered against the satin of her skin.
Heavy dark lashes lifted slowly to reveal two sleep darkened eyes. It took a moment before Kirra came fully awake and Gawain knew he could spend an eternity just watching her wake. Her grey eyes lightened and a slow drowsy smile gave her a siren's alluring visage. Gawain's' heart almost stopped.
He lowered his head to kiss her lips, whispering, "Oh, what your brother is going to do to me."
"Why would he want to do anything to you?" she asked quizzically.
Gawain searched her face before replying, "I took your innocence and it has been replaced with something -- I am not sure what, but you look different this morning then you did last night."
Kirra stretched luxuriously and rubbed against him much as a cat might, "I have no idea what you are talking about." She said with an impish smile.
He shook his head, "I am sure you do not." He replied wryly, ignoring the sudden forceful wakening of his body.
Kirra sat up, her hair draping about her shoulders like a dark shawl, "Besides, I saw no taking last night." She looked over her shoulder at him, enjoying the sight of his strong golden body, "Only giving."
Gawain pushed her hair aside giving himself a tempting view of her back and ran one finger down her spine causing her to shiver and giggle, "I am not exactly sure he will see it that way." He said as he thoughtfully traced the marking on her left shoulder blade.
It was the same symbol as the one on her wrist, just a bit larger and it faced out and the night before he had seen two others on the inside of her narrow hips. Crescents also and facing one another as if cradling her womb. He wondered what they meant and where she had gotten them.
A shadow crossed Kirra's face, "Well, he had better. I am sure that he is no spring rose himself."
Gawain laughed out loud in spite of himself, "That will hardly matter, wild one, you are his infant sister. If the roles were reversed, I would seek to make sure that he was incapable of ever pleasing another woman as long as he lived."
"Well," Kirra said as she plaited her hair, "It is a good thing that you are not my brother then, because if that were the case I would have to make the remainder of your existence as miserable as womanly possible." She grew thoughtful, "I think I could be good at that."
"With that evil expression on your face, I would have to agree. Let's try not to ever turn it on me, alright."
Kirra tossed her braid over her shoulder, "And what if you should deserve it?"
"I think there is little I could ever do to deserve that particular look."
"We'll see," She stated a bit too unpromising.
Gawain tugged on her thick braid, "Oh, come here and quit thinking of evil things to punish me with. Are you quite certain you want to leave today?"
"You were the one who woke me, remember?"
"Aye, but I just wanted to make absolutely sure and who's to say I woke you with only that purpose in mind?" He insistently tugged again on the heavy hank of hair.
"Right now, I'm not sure that was in your mind at all."
"Oh, it was," Gawain said, pulling her down to him, "But this is a very pleasant after-thought."
Kirra's laugh was smothered by a several long kisses.
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They left later that afternoon with Kirra reluctantly putting her toothbrush down after a marathon teeth cleaning.
"Oh, come now, you look as if someone killed your dog," Gawain said laughing as he watched her through the mirror.
Kirra scowled, "It is the last time I will ever be able to properly brush my teeth and excuse me if I do not relish the idea of going to whoever it is that you go to, to have a tooth knocked out." She looked in the mirror and bared her straight, white teeth, "Three years of braces, two of retainers, down the drain." She sighed wistfully. "You had better appreciate what I am giving up for you, buddy."
"I do." He replied seriously. "Now that I have been here I understand the difficulty you will have. You are very strong, Kirra."
Her eyes narrowed, "I hope I am half as strong as you think I am."
Gawain hugged Kirra close. She smelled so good he couldn't resist a little nibble. She shivered and pushed at him.
"You start that again, we'll never leave."
He gave her a pained look, "Kirra, soon we won't have any privacy."
Kirra's smile slipped and she worried her lower lip. She hadn't thought of that, "What exactly will we tell the others?"
Gawain leaned against the door, "It would probably be best if we didn't mention anything about the marriage."
Kirra made a face, "But then they'll all think …" she shifted uncomfortably as she searched for the right words.
"That you're my lover?" Gawain supplied with a small smile.
Kirra sighed, "Yeah."
"Don't look so downhearted about it," Gawain said, laughing at her despondent tone.
She gave a little shiver, "That just sounds so … dirty."
Gawain placed a finger under her chin and forced her to look up at him, "We know the truth."
Kirra nodded as best she could with her face being held hostage, "Where are we going to stay?"
Gawain dropped his hand. He had been thinking about that too. With Kirra being unused to the time and so innocent, it would be dangerous for her to be out of the sight of one of the knights at all times. He would feel better if she could stay with him, but ultimately the decision would up to Arthur.
He shook his head grimly, "I know only for certain that I will be in the barracks."
Kirra's eyes narrowed, "And where will I be?"
"Hopefully there, with me, but," he shook his head, "it will be up to Arthur. I think if I talk to him and explain as much as I can, you will be able to stay with me, but we will have to wait and see. It will be easier if we can set you up as our healer. Then you will have reason to stay close to us. Hopefully, the goddess will be with us or Arthur's god – whoever helps."
Kirra nodded, unhappy with leaving her fate in the hands of a Roman, even if Gawain said he was a good guy.
"Let's not worry about it until we have right to, alright?" Gawain said as he rubbed her cheek.
"'kay. Are you finished loading our, well, my things?" Kirra said, abruptly changing the subject.
"Yes and from the way Jin is glaring at me now, you would think I was trying to ride her. Niara prepared a lot of things for you."
Kirra ducked around him, "Well, I have never known a woman who traveled light and seeing as I won't have anything, I think I'm entitled every last shift and chemise."
"If you say so," Gawain chuckled, following her out of the cottage.
"It looks as if you half packed the poor thing with food, you dork." Kirra said when she caught sight of Jin, fairly groaning under her burdens.
Gawain shrugged unapologetically, "Well, I'll never get some of it again. You have clothes and I have food – we're even."
Kirra rolled her eyes and laughed, "Yeah, yeah. Let me have your key."
Gawain slipped the gold chain from around his neck and handed it to his wife – wife. He paused a moment to let that sink in as Kirra fit the two keys together and pushed them into the keyhole in the narrow door.
She glanced over her shoulder and took a deep breath, "You ready?" Her palms were sweaty and her heart pounded in her ears.
Gawain tightened his hold on the horses and Finn's lead and nodded. Who knew what would happen when Kirra opened that door. He hoped it wouldn't spook the horses, though he was sure Jin at least wouldn't be getting far.
Kirra turned back to the door and turned the key until she heard the lock click open. She pulled the key out and hung it around her neck before pushing the door open. Nothing happened; the only thing that could be heard was the singing of birds and the babble of a nearby stream.
"Well, that has to be a different place, because there is no stream near Niara's house," Kirra said breathlessly. She gathered all of her courage and, closing her eyes, stepped into the past.
-----------------------
From the shadows, Gareth watched with narrowed eyes as his brother rose, pulled on his clothes and began to stir up the banked fire. He was about to leave his place and 'surprise' Gawain -- more likely beat him to a indistinguishable puddle of bloody ooze -- when Gawain tossed a handful of pebbles at his pile of blankets.
Gareth drew back further into the shadows and hissed at Galahad when it moved and a tousled dark head appeared. His friend peered around through the brush he was crouched under as a small woman rose with the blankets gathered around her, bare shoulders exposed and the two spying knights exchanged an expression of angry exasperation.
They had been searching for Gawain's remains since that last battle with no luck. This was the last time they were able to obtain Arthur's permission to come out and that was only because Gareth had been near useless ever since his brother's disappearance. He blamed himself for not watching Gawain's back more carefully, and as time drew on and not even a scrap had been found, the normally jovial knight had become more and more sullen and non-communicative.
Now he was drinking more then he should and taking far too many risks. He was becoming a danger to himself and the others and frankly, Arthur and the rest of the knights -- including his closest friend, were sick of it. He had to find some evidence of Gawain, no matter how small, just something to be able to move on with his life. He felt he would have known if Gawain were truly dead and yet he felt as he always had, that his brother was fine and playing some joke on him. And now it seemed that Gawain had been.
Never had Gareth intended to find a whole living body, but it would seem that while the he and the others had been worrying and mourning his loss, Gawain had been taking a vacation and sporting with a woman. Arthur and the other knights were going to immensely enjoy learning of his whereabouts – and the beatings that would come after. With vindictive viciousness, Gareth hoped he would be allowed to participate, or at the least, watch.
He and Galahad watched with narrowed eyes as the young woman approached Gawain and kicked dirt at him in retaliation of the pebbles. Tripping on the blankets that wound about her legs, she fell as she attempted to escape Gawain's lunge at her. He pinned her arms to her sides and rubbed his bearded face into her soft bare neck until she was laughing and yelling for him to stop. He did so with a resounding kiss on her lips. She sat up and smacked him on the shoulder.
The knights looked at each other and thought about averting their eyes as the young woman, having found her clothes, dropped the blanket and dressed, but a marking on her bare shoulder caught their attention. They were too far away to make out what the symbol was, but it seemed to shimmer in her skin, rather like iridescent metal in the sun. But as she moved and the mark was shadowed it appeared to be nothing more then just a simple tribal marking.
Galahad pointed out in hushed tones that she had another on the inside of her left wrist and then two more on the inside of her hips that seemed to have the same properties. They were very interesting markings and the two men were curious as to what they meant.
Gareth groaned and swore softly when the girl called Gawain over to help with the lacings in the back of her dress and he whispered something in her ear to which she thought about for a moment. Gawain nudged her after a time and she laughed and turned back into his arms.
The disgusted knights exchanged an angry look and skulked further back into the trees as the couple in the clearing began to kiss and pull at the other's clothing in the wild abandonment of all lovers. Their retreat continued until they could no longer hear the desperate sounds of need and desire floating on the air, which, to their annoyance, turned out to be quite a ways off. Only when the scent of something cooking wafted to them on the breeze did they decide it was safe to return to their vigil.
Back at the camp, Gawain was stirring something in a pot that hung over the fire and the young woman was grooming a strange little horse. Another, a beautiful black creature, stood grazing on the sweet meadow grass nearby.
To Gareth and Galahad's intense delight, both Gawain and his woman were clothed, but the woman paused in her grooming when she felt their unfamiliar gaze and looked around uneasily. Her concentration was broken only when Gawain called to her.
"Kirra, did you add something to these oats?"
She didn't turn but continued in her grooming, "Yes. I was trying to help them taste better."
"They tasted fine. What did you add?" Gawain frowned at the contents of the pot.
She grinned at him showing her teeth, it was wolfish and humorless, and somehow strikingly familiar, "You know, a little of this and a lot of that."
But Gawain was irritated, "Stop it!" he ordered sharply. "Fool with your own breakfast if you like, but leave mine be."
"How do you know you won't like it?" Kirra asked him in a sing-song voice, "You weren't about to try brown sugar and cinnamon," -- the watching men frowned at each other at the unfamiliar words-- "on them either, but then found out they were perfect that way."
"Well, when you find your brown sugar and cinnamon let me know, in the mean time hands off my food, woman."
She came around the horse to glare at him, her hands on her slender hips, eyes glinting dangerously, "I'll remember that tonight when you are making dinner."
Gawain gave her a little devious smile, "Come on Kirra, you know you will not allow me to prepare dinner. Remember the first night?"
Apparently she did, because she grimaced, the knights did also. Gawain was the worst cook out of them all. They would rather go hungry then eat anything prepared by him. It was a mystery to everyone just what the man did to ruin everything so completely, but he did it. Secretly, it was thought Gawain did it with the intention of getting out of cooking duty.
Kirra surprised the men when she voiced that same thought, "I think that you did it on purpose, just so you wouldn't have to do any more cooking."
Gawain chuckled, "Maybe." And he held a bowl of the cooked oats out to her, which she accepted.
Gareth and Galahad spent the rest of the day watching and waiting for the right opportunity to make their presence known, preferably sometime when the woman was not around, but she didn't seem too interested in being out of sight of the camp. Gareth grew angrier and angrier as the day progressed. It was only Galahad who kept him from throwing some sharply pointed object at his brother's back.
It was curious to Galahad that the couple in the camp was so relaxed. Gawain had only his dagger with him; after the battle where Gawain had vanished, the knights had found his discarded axe and sword. The woman had a small silver dagger and a bow, but that was all. What was it that made them so relaxed?
When he stopped to think about it, Galahad noticed the whole camp seemed to be covered in a bubble of peace and safety; it drew him in with it and he found himself growing lax, even his anger seemed to ebb. Only Gareth seemed impervious to it -- his fury growing by the moment.
The only incident happened after the midday meal when Gawain dozed off with his head in the young woman's lap and she took advantage of his sleep to comb out his hair and plait it into small braids which she then wound about his head, securing and twisting the ends under so that they were hidden.
As if that were not embarrassment enough, she then began to weave leaves and grasses into the braids. When her work was done she grinned down at his sleeping form, evidently pleased with herself, gently eased his head from her lap and called her dog.
She and the great brute of a dog -- which had yet to alert her to the watching knight's presence, some watch dog, Gareth thought wryly, began to play. She would throw a small leather ball stuffed with feathers as far as she could and he would bring it back.
Once she even threw the ball close to where the men were hidden behind in the trees. They held their breath, but the dog just wagged his tail once and ignored them, anxious only to return the ball for another throw.
Their game continued until an indignant yell was heard from the camp. The young woman startled and the dog looked back his great tail wagging.
"Kirra, what did you do to me?" Gawain said stomping over to her. The leaves and grasses that Kirra had woven into his hair had formed a crown of sorts and Gawain was pulling here and there, trying to find the end to unravel the mess.
"Hello Lady Liberty," Kirra trumpeted as she doubled over in hysterics. Great tears rolled down her face, "Y-y-y-you lo-o-ok rid-d-d-diculous."
She was laughing so hard that she couldn't even begin to try and help or get away from the frustrated man. She fell to her knees in a fit of helpless mirth. Holding her stomach and turning purple from lack of oxygen. Even Gareth found himself chuckling at the sight of Gawain's new hair-do. The girl would definitely keep his brother on his toes.
Gawain's eyes glittered, "Oh, you think this is funny?"
She could only nod helplessly as she rocked back and forth in laughter. He picked her up and carried her towards the stream. She stopped laughing the moment she realized where he was going and clung to him like a little cat.
"Gawain," She shrieked. "Don't you dare --"
But her warning came too late and he dropped her on her rear in the stream.
Spluttering she lunged at him, but tripped on her heavy wet skirt and fell, soaking herself completely. Gawain guffawed and slapped his knee. That had turned out even better then he had expected. Kirra sat for a moment, thinking, before slapping the water and hitting him with a small wave. Gawain, water dripping from his face, just continued laughing and reached down to help her up.
Kirra was piqued, "I cannot believe that you just did that." She flipped wet hair out of her eyes and Galahad noticed that for all her furious tone, her eyes were sparkling, "Do you know how long it will take for this dress to dry? If it ever does in this damp weather."
"I just thought that you needed a little cooling off. I will make you an agreement," Gawain eyed her slyly. "You help me unravel this mess and I help you out of that dress."
Gareth shook his head as Kirra snorted, "Unlikely. I think that you should have to wear that until we get back to the Wall and," -- she put her hands on her hips -- "I don't need any help with my dress, thank you."
And gathering her last vestiges of dignity, Kirra climbed out of the stream and sashayed back to camp, leaving a trail of river water through the dirt of the forest floor. Gawain just laughed and followed her with a hungry look in his eye.
Kirra finally took Gawain's hair out when he refused to go and find dinner with it up. She laughed as she easily unraveled it and said something about how it might be a benefit to his hunting as none of the animals could possibly be afraid of a lovely little wood nymph dancing through their forest, to which Gawain gave an easy-going shrug.
He left soon after, taking the bow and warning her not to leave the camp. He hadn't forgotten her sudden wariness of the morning and had noticed all of her furtive glances into the surrounding trees.
It would seem that the time to confront Gawain had come, but as Gareth was about to turn to follow his brother, Galahad gestured to the woman in the camp. Even if Gawain felt that he could safely leave her, he did not. Gareth reluctantly agreed to stay hidden, but only after he had made it known that upon Gawain's arrival, they were to make their presence known.
Homeric, now you know why Europe has always had piebalds and skewbalds -- Jin started it. ;o)