Sorry, this is a shorter chapter. Thanks for the reviews! (Keep it up!)
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#18 The Welcome
The final ride to the fort was short and uneventful, though the men were fully on their guard. Kirra had never seen Gawain so serious or so alert. She wondered how different he would be here then he had been at her home. She hoped this new side of him wouldn't be too hard to get used to. But as the day wore on and he teased her, she felt her worries fade. Soon she saw something in the distance and suddenly it seemed as if mere seconds had passed since she had greeted Gareth that morning until Gawain was pointing out the wall to her.
The first sight of the great wall and its equally magnificent gate was overwhelming. Kirra had seen the wall in books and online, but those had been only ruins whereas this was the real thing in its heyday. The wall seemed to stretch on to the eternities in either direction and the gate looked too massive to ever be breeched. Her heart began to pound when Gareth spoke to a soldier on the wall and one huge door was slowly wrenched open.
Gawain felt her tense and rubbed her arm soothingly, "Relax, all will be well. We will go and talk to Arthur first. He will want to see me and then we will see if we can't find Tristan."
His words did little to calm her and she was suddenly glad that she had not the appetite for breakfast as she was sure it would have made a horribly embarrassing second showing right there in the gateway of what was to be her new home. And Kirra was quite sure that neither Gareth nor Galahad would ever let her forget it if she did throw up. She found she was trembling and forced herself to breathe normally and calm down.
Galahad rode around them, anxious to be home and raised his eyebrows at Kirra's pale, almost gray, face. She waved him on when he would have stopped and inquired after her and so he left with hardly a second glance, confident that Gawain would see her to where she needed to go. Gareth followed close behind Galahad; their horses excited at the smell of home and the promise of a good feed.
Gawain followed the knights more slowly so Kirra could take in the village, but all too soon they were at the stables and he was lifting her from Fate's back. Finn sat, tongue lolling and grinning at the new place, while Jin stood patiently under her burdens while she waited for someone to remove them. The grooms eyed the strange little mare as though she were some type of demon.
"Make sure they treat Jin well, Gawain. I don't like the way they are looking at her." Kirra said in a tight voice.
"They will, don't fear." And he gave the young men a hard look, one that translated into trouble for them should the mare come to harm.
A man with a pock marked face hurried up to the returning knights, a grin of delight on his face.
"Gawain! They found you, then." He gripped Gawain's arm in greeting.
"Good to see you too, Jols."
"And who's …" The man faltered as he caught sight of Kirra's face and his eyes flicked to Gawain's face.
Gawain was grinning easily, "Jols, this is Kirra, Kirra this is Jols. He is Arthur's squire and the master of the stables. His word is law here."
Kirra extended her hand and smiled sweetly. It was going to be a long day if everyone had that same reaction to her. "It's a pleasure, sir." Jols pressed her hand in a distracted manner and Kirra continued, "Since you are the master here, would you please make sure that my horses are taken care of, especially the little black and white mare. It would seem that your men have never seen one such as her and I would hate for them to treat her badly because of her odd coloring. Oh, and never mind the dog. He is huge, but harmless."
"Yes, lady," He breathed, still gawking.
Kirra flushed, "I'm hardly that, but thank you."
Jols tore his eyes away from the familiarity in the young woman's face long enough to inform Gawain that Arthur wanted to see him as soon as he was settled. It would seem that Gareth and Galahad had wasted little time in announcing that they had found Gawain alive and well.
Gawain nodded soberly, "Would you please find someone to take Kirra's things to my quarters?" He asked Jols, who hid his surprise well.
"It will be done." He promised and watched as Gawain placed a possessive hand on the small of Kirra's back and guided her from the stable. The massive grey dog got up and padded softly after the couple, pausing now and then to snuff at some new scent.
"Will he be angry?" Kirra asked when they were out of ear shot from Jols.
"Why should he be angry, he is just finding someone to move your things? But then again, the Fate did not exactly pack you lightly now did she." He grinned knowing she hadn't meant Jols.
Kirra shook her head causing dark tendrils to bounce and toss, "I meant Arthur," She replied dryly.
Gawain sighed and thought for a moment before answering, "Truthfully, I am not sure. I don't think he will be as angry as if I had just deserted. The fact that I was injured and you found me and cared for me should soften any anger. And he is an unusually fair man."
Kirra said nothing but her eyes narrowed. An unusually fair man would never allow people to be taken from their homes as children and forced to kill people for a living, but she kept that her thoughts to herself and prayed that Gawain was right. He led her along a silent, dim corridor and stopped in front of a set of doors.
"I will go in first and fetch you in a bit." He said somewhat distractedly. It would seem he was more apprehensive then he let on.
Kirra nodded and sat down on a small bench that seemed to be there expressly for the purpose of waiting. She grasped Gawain's hand and pressed is reassuringly, "It will be fine. Go in, have your talk and then hurry back. Remember that I will be waiting here all by myself and I have no idea what is going on and if he does decide to kill you, I will really be screwed, and not in the nice sense of the word either."
Gawain had no idea what the word, nice or not, meant, so he just smiled and leaned down to brush a kiss over the top of her head and taking a deep breath, he knocked on one of the doors and pushed it open without waiting for a reply. For a moment Kirra caught the fascinating sight of a great hall with a huge curving table in the center before the door closed and she was left in the dim, with Finn as her only companion.
Kirra took a deep breath and let it out slowly. Her heart was pounding loudly and her stomach was knotted. She felt as though she were sitting outside the principal's office at school waiting for a punishment. It was hard to keep from tapping her foot in nervous anticipation.
Finn sensed her unease and whined as he pressed himself closer to her. Kirra patted his head as a tall, handsome man came striding confidently -- swaggering really, up the hall towards her. He smiled engagingly as he neared her.
"I see they found a lovely one for Arthur's birthday," He commented when he reached her, then gave her a quick look up and down.
Kirra gaped, "Excuse me?" Could he have actually meant what he said? And that look, she felt dirty.
The man smiled roguishly and sat down next to her, ignoring Finn when he growled menacingly, "Oh, no need to play coy with me, lady. Why don't you come with me for a bit, and I will show you a real man." He had lowered his voice seductively and leaned toward her.
"I think not!" Kirra said in outrage and she jumped to her feet eager to escape, but having no idea as to where to go.
The man stood with her and Kirra found to her utter dismay that he was quite a bit taller then she. Finn fairly snarled at him and for the first time he seemed to notice the great brute of a dog. His dark eyes widened slightly, "You are not for Arthur are you?" he questioned, the truth finally hitting him.
Kirra's back was ramrod strait and she was sure she was blushing furiously and thankful for the obscure light of the corridor that hid it. She was also pretty sure that the dim also kept her features hidden and that if the man knew Arthur on such a first name basis then he couldn't help but at least have the same reaction to her as others had had given different circumstances. Under normal circumstances and in full light she was sure that he would have seen her, recognized her somewhat uncomfortably, and left her alone. It did little to calm her fury.
"I am not for anyone," She hissed venomously and the hair along Finn's spine stood up at the sound.
The tall man knew he had made a mistake, "I can see that now." He took a step towards her, "Just why are you here, lady?"
"I am waiting to speak to Arthur," She retorted, playing it safe and vague.
"Well, what could be so important that such a pretty young wench would be waiting here to speak to a Roman?" He took a step closer to peer into her stormy eyes. His own narrowed, "What -- ?" he asked in suspicion, but too late as Finn had decided that he had had enough of this man threatening his mistress. He snarled again and positioned his lanky frame between Kirra and the stranger.
"Some dog," The man commented.
"Yes, and I don't think he likes you." Kirra said in agreement as Finn stiffly approached the man backing him towards the opposite wall, which just so happened to hold the doors that led to the great hall.
The stranger, not wanting to come in contact with the angry teeth of the advancing animal allowed himself to be cornered until his back pressed against the doors. "Could you call him off?" he asked in concerned tones.
"Why?" Kirra asked darkly. "He's here to protect me from the likes of you. And since when do you think that you can just go around talking that way to women you have never met?"
The man shook his head but his full attention was on Finn who had not backed down, but was still stalking him. He felt behind his back and grasped the door's ornate handle just as the dog launched itself at him. Kirra yelled a warning, but was too late as man and snarling dog fell over backwards into the room beyond.
"Finn, no!"
Kirra moved to pull the dog off the tall man before he could be seriously hurt. For once, Finn's obedience was instantaneous and he immediately sat by her side, but low warning growls could still be heard rumbling from deep in the his throat.
The startled occupants of the room leaped to their feet, hands dropping automatically to the weapons neither wore and one went to help his slightly worse-for-wear companion as the tall man pushed himself to his feet and brushed dog hair from his dark clothing, while Gawain went to stand beside Kirra.
"Animals like that should be locked up," The tall man growled, sounding a bit like the animal he was protesting.
Kirra opened her free hand in a gesture of remorse, but in the direction of the man she had interrupted, "Oh, I'm so sorry. This man accosted me in the hall and Finn was trying to protect me."
Gawain and the other man laughed as the stranger ran a hand through his dark hair, "Accosted?" He snorted.
Kirra glared at him and opened her mouth, but was stopped by the man Gawain had been speaking with.
"That sounds about right. Lancelot, are you sure that is not the way of it?"
Kirra's eyes rolled shut and she hung her head for a moment before lifting it again and smiling cynically at her predicament. It would figure the first man Finn ever attacked would be one of the most well known in history. Lancelot merely shrugged his shoulders and draped himself in a nearby chair.
"Accosted is such a strong word, propositioned is much closer to the truth."
Kirra cocked her head at him is astonishment, anger firing her eyes again, "And that is so much better, eh?" She had half a mind to let go of Finn and let him finish the work he started. Gawain noticed the malicious glint in her eyes and gently took hold of Finn's collar and nudged Kirra forward.
"Before you decide to let Finn lunch on Lancelot, this is Arthur. Arthur, this is Kirra."
It was hard to miss the note of pride and affection in Gawain's voice as he introduced his woman to his commander.
"She was the one to find me and save my life."
Kirra blushed but was unable to take her eyes from Arthur's. Yes, she should have guessed he was the man who would be one of Briton's greatest legends. He looked the part, all tall and imposing, but his hazel eyes were steady and fair, if not shrewd. She knew he would not be angry with Gawain, but glad that he had come home. And if he was surprised by her appearance he hid it well.
Arthur bowed slightly, "My thanks for returning one of my knights to me."
"It was nothing, really." She said feeling a bit like she should curtsy or something.
He nodded and gestured for her to take a seat at the great table. Kirra froze and looked up at Gawain with wonder in her eyes. At the table? She thought and he seemed to know what she was thinking.
He grinned and nudged her towards it, "It's fine."
Kirra sat gingerly on the edge of the nearest chair. Gawain settled himself nearby never letting go of Finn, whose growls had receded into silence, but whose fur had yet to smooth. He scratched the dog's ears in attempt to get him to calm.
"Gawain tells me that you are a healer," Arthur said drawing Kirra's attention back to him. He gestured for a nearby servant to bring her a cup of wine.
She looked at the cup as it was placed before her and wondered if it would be considered rude not to drink it. "Yes, I am, of sorts."
"Of sorts?" The Roman asked with a raised eyebrow and a look at Gawain.
An annoyed frown creased Kirra's brow. She was here; there was no need to check with Gawain over her qualifications. She tossed her dark braid over her shoulder in an act of defiance, "Alright then. I am a healer and a good one at that."
"Might I have a bit of a demonstration," he asked. "Before I decide whether or not to agree to Gawain's proposal? We have many healers here, in addition to my own physicians."
Kirra stared at the Roman commander coolly; this she had been unprepared for, but should have known it would be required. Her eyes had hardened to ice and she shrugged unconcernedly, "If you would like."