Kassidy moved to Bors and the girl quickly. "Good God, where'd she come from?"
"Found her in the woods close to the same place we found you all." He told her as he slid from the horse. "She hasn't told us anything yet."
The girl stared at everyone with wide, terrified eyes. Everyone was approaching the horses and riders at a run, except for Guinevere who'd run to alert Arthur. Bors gently lifted the shivering girl to the ground where she clung to him. Kassidy looked at the newcomer. She was slender and petite; perhaps 5'2" or 5'3", she had silvery blonde hair that was cut short, but it was cut haphazardly, almost butchered really. The girl had large blue eyes, pale golden-tan skin, and delicate facial features. She was quite lovely.
"Are you okay? Are you hurt at all?" Kass asked the girl softly.
The girl's head tilted at the side. This woman's voice had an accent; a New York accent. Danika placed her hand to her mouth and then shook her head.
"You can't speak?" Kass murmured, and the girl nodded. "But you understand what we're saying?" The girl nodded forcefully. "I'm Kassidy. My brother, sister, and I are from New York. We were in England and our car broke down. We tried to take a short cut through the woods and found ourselves here. You might not believe this, but where we are now…" Kassidy looked around at the people who'd taken them in and been so good to them, "this is the time of King Arthur and his knights of the Round Table."
Danika blinked. What? She stared at Kassidy intently. The woman didn't look mental. Then Danika looked at everyone, and everything around her. Good Lord…could it be true? Impossible! But, then, it would explain so much of what she was seeing…
A tall dark haired man and a beautiful woman were approaching quickly. "What has happened?" The man spoke and then looked at her. Gentleness and kindness surrounded this man and he smiled at her. "Welcome to Camelot. I am King Arthur. What is your name Lady?"
King Arthur. The most chivalrous and true man she'd ever read of. She'd somehow been sent to the time of King Arthur. Danika's eyes rolled up into her head and she slipped to the ground in a dead faint.
Bors lifted the girl and the group took her to the room where Kass first woke up. Kass and Guinevere undressed her carefully to check her for injuries, and both women gasped. Kass ran her fingers over the scars on the girl's back. Someone had whipped her. Faint bruising marred her back and the backs of her arms and legs, but underneath the bruises there were scars; old scars and new scars. Underneath the turtle neck sweater the girl had been wearing there were scars on the front of her neck. Kass wondered if this was why the girl couldn't speak, or if she'd always been mute.
Danika came awake to find herself laying in a strange bed. The beautiful ebony haired girl, Kassidy, sat on the side of the bed looking at her. "Are you okay?" the girl asked in a hushed tone.
Danika nodded slowly. It was all so overwhelming. Some of it frightened her, well honestly, most of it frightened her, but then some of it was exciting as well. Her father was not here. He couldn't hurt her. Her mother couldn't hurt her. Not anymore.
Kass watched the emotions flickering over the girl's face. She knew from experience this was a lot to take in. Kass took the girl's hand in her own. "Have you always been mute?" The blonde denied this with a shake of her head. "Was it the accident to your throat?" This time the petite girl's mouth twisted into a grimace and she nodded curtly. "I'm going to assume you read and write. Perhaps you can write it down? Like your name and what happened?"
Danika liked this idea and nodded enthusiastically. A younger girl entered the room and it was easy to tell this girl was related to Kassidy. Danika smiled tentatively.
"Hi! I'm Brianna. Everyone around here calls me Bri though. Oh, sorry, I guess you can't call me Bri…" The younger girl flushed and Danika gave her a better smile and patted her hand. Bri smiled in relief and started babbling.
Kassidy left the two to find Guinevere.
"Were you able to learn anything?" Guin asked.
"Not too much, but I found out she hasn't always been mute, and she can read and write, so I'm going to have her write down what happened, and her name, and we'll go from there." Kass looked over and saw Bri talking a mile a minute. The blonde was staring at the teen in fascination. Kass left the room and found Lancelot waiting for her. "Hey."
"Hello to you." He murmured and captured her hand in his. "Are you all right?"
Kass sighed and leaned closer to him. "She's been badly abused before. A lot actually. Bri's talking to her now."
"Well, Bri will take good care of the girl." Lancelot assured her. The two had drawn close to the stables and Lancelot ducked inside pulling her with him. "It's been far too long since I've tasted your lips Kassidy." He told her before claiming her mouth.
Kass fell into the kiss quickly. His mouth was both strong and soft, and the whiskers of his goatee tickled her chin. She twined her arms around his neck and smiled against his lips as his arms wrapped around her waist. He lifted her as if she weighed nothing and placed her to where she sat on the waist high railing. Kass hooked her feet behind his legs and drew him closer to her. His mouth left hers and traveled to her neck. One of her hands worked into the curls on his head and the other found its way down the back of his tunic.
"I want you Lancelot. I want you so badly." She whispered in his ear.
"Oh my Lady, you have no idea what those words do to me." He muttered. "You are perfect. So beautiful; desirable. Every word you speak falls from your lips and hold me captive. I shall never be worthy of your attentions."
Kassidy felt her heart swelling with what he was saying. Never had she been treated the way he treated her. She pulled slightly away and held his face in both hands. "Lancelot," she spoke softly, "you are the greatest man I've ever met. Kind, and good, and beyond anything I could hope for. I'm the one who doesn't deserve you."