Mandy was napping so Bri sought out Dani to go and look for apples. She found the blonde girl tending the garden she'd been planting little by little since arriving. Bri was surprised to find that the garden was starting to become quite large. "Dani, I was thinking we could go check out those wild apple trees to the North┘interested?"
Dani grinned at the other girl. That sounded really good actually. Perhaps she could make a cobbler or a few pies. Dani nodded vigorously and the two girls headed out. Bri babbled happily along the way and her conversation dealt with everything from Mandy and her unborn baby, to Galahad and his sweet kisses. Dani giggled and blushed when the topic turned to the kisses.
"Have you ever been kissed Dani?" Bri asked curiously.
Dani shook her head in the negative. No, she'd never been kissed. She'd heard her sister speak of it, but it all seemed rather silly. At least when Mira had spoken of it everything had seemed silly. When she saw Kass and Lancelot kiss, or when Bri spoke of it, well, it all seemed different. She'd witnessed plenty of kisses between Bors and Vanora, and those certainly didn't seem silly either. Perhaps some people just weren't meant to kiss.
"One day you will. Especially now that you're here. One day a handsome knight will sweep you off of your feet and he'll kiss you and then...magic." Bri sighed romantically.
As soon as the dark-haired girl spoke the words images flew into Danika's head of a certain blonde knight leaning down to kiss her. She felt her face flush deeply and looked down hoping Brianna wouldn't notice. Ever since the day he and Brandon had brought her flowers she'd been thinking of him. Thinking of the look in his eyes when she'd kissed his cheek. Had he been embarrassed, or was that look something else? She didn't know. She just didn't have the experience to know.
"You're blushing." Bri said with some surprise. "Dani do you already have a crush on someone?"
Dani's blush deepened. She thought for several moments before nodding slowly to the other girl.
Bri squealed and stopped walking. "Oh, who is it? Who is it? You have to tell me who it is?" Bri grabbed Danika's hands in her own. "I promise I won't tell. We can keep it our secret, and then we can work on making him yours."
Dani was nervous. If she admitted she had a crush did that make it realer than it was? She sighed and then motioned Bri into silence. First she motioned that he was tall, and Bri nodded. Then she brought her hands to her face and scratched her cheeks and chin lightly hoping that Bri would know she was signaling that the man was scruffy.
"Okay, so he's tall and scruffy...Is it Dagonet?"
Dani shook her head sharply. She tugged at her hair, and then brought her hands down to signify long.
"Blonde...Oh my...Gawain...you like Gawain?" Bri murmured.
Dani nodded slowly and looked at Brianna with uncertainty apparent in her blue eyes.
A smile began to spread across Bri's face. Wouldn't that be so perfect? Galahad and Gawain were like the best of friends, if Dani and Gawain paired up it would be awesome. "That is so doable." she told the shy girl. Thinking about it Bri didn't think she'd even seen Gawain hanging around any of the tavern girls that the men used to spend time with. She wondered if perhaps ...
Her thoughts were interrupted as a male scream echoed and both she and Dani turned to the sound. Bri shrieked as an extremely dirty man raced at the two girls. The man was large with matted dark blonde hair. He wore strange clothing that looked as if some of it was made from animal furs. The only thing Bri could think was that this was one of the rogue Saxons Arthur spoke of on occasion. The man looked unhealthy, but carried a club and was drawing closer. Bri grabbed Dani's hand and began to run in the opposite direction.
She felt something hit her in the middle of her back and lost her breath as she fell to the ground and rolled across the hard, uneven surface. Dani fell also, and tried to scramble away, but the large man had grabbed the petite girl by the ankle and was pulling her backwards. A horrible noise was making its way from Dani's throat as fear overtook her. The man's hands were bruising and he slammed his fist into her stomach causing all sound to stop and her breath to become barely a wheeze. The club had fallen from his hands but still he overpowered her and he continued to beat at her. He slapped her across the face with great force and Dani felt the blood flow into her mouth. She lay stunned as her vision blurred.
Bri looked over to see the man on top of DanI. She lurched to her feet and felt a horrible pain in her ankle. She ignored the pain and grabbed at anything in her area she could use as a weapon. Finally her hands landed on a large rock and she rushed to where the man attacked her friend and brought the rock down on the back of the man's head with a scream. Unfortunately, there wasn't enough force behind her hit and the man turned his attention to her. He smiled at her brutishly and stalked to where she tried to crawl away. The man laughed evilly and kicked out catching her in the right hip and sending her to her side. Still she tried to crawl. The man kicked her again, hitting her shoulder and then her thigh. Then he dropped to his knees and began to unfasten his breeches.
Bri looked at the man and spit on him. She knew he was going to rape her, and then he would rape Dani, and there was nothing she could do to save them. He backhanded her and ripped at the skirt of her dress, pushing it upward.
Suddenly, a horrible cry sounded. Bri had never heard anything like it before. The man made a grunting noise and fell over to the side. Dani stood hunched over, panting heavily, wielding the man's club. She'd brought it down on the back of his head. Her hair was muddy and wild, and dirt and blood smudged across her young face along with fresh tear stains. Her eyes were wide and wild. With a savage cry she brought the club down on the man again as he lay moaning. Bri began to sob in relief. She also began to hear horses drawing nearer. Dani still screamed and still struck the man. Bri was sure after the fifth hit the man was dead, but she wasn't sure how to get Dani to stop hitting him. She wasn't sure if Dani would even hear her if she spoke. The guttural screams were still coming from Dani, along with one word...No.
Lancelot slid from his mount and raced to Brianna. "Bri!" He shouted. "Dani!" As much as he loved Kassidy, he'd come to care for her sister and brother as his own siblings. His eyes took in the sight of the dead Saxon, and couldn't help but feel pride for the young girl still clubbing the large corpse. Gawain and Galahad quickly joined them, and it was they who approached Danika. Her arms had grown weary of hitting the man and now the club lay limply.
"Lady..." Galahad soothed. "Give me the club Lady...he can no longer hurt you." All he wanted to do was go to Brianna, but he knew that Lancelot would care for her, and currently he knew that Danika needed help more.
Gawain met Dani's blue gaze with his own. "You're a brave warrior lass." he murmured. "You killed him."
She let Galahad take the club, and dropped to her knees. Gawain moved ever so carefully and enfolded her into his arms. "Come...we'll take you home now."
With care and patience the three knights got the two injured women onto the horses with them and headed back for Camelot.
The group traveled quietly. The three men knew not what to say, and the woman seemed lost within her own thoughts. Though it had taken several hours they'd traveled back to where Terri and Mandy had come through. They'd traveled past the little bit left of the two henchmen who'd shot at the knights, and they'd made it to where the road and the car should have been. It should have been there but it wasn't. There was no car. No road. No modern day civilization. Terri had quickly figured out that obviously the way in was a one way ticket...no return trip to be had.
"I am sorry Lady Theresa." Arthur told her soberly.
She looked at the man she'd heard stories of for all of her life. She'd grown up on Arthurian Legend. "It's not your fault King Arthur. I suppose I should just feel fortunate that we were sent to a place where we found help. It could have gone much worse for us."
"Someone approaches." Tristan said abruptly.
They sped their horses and encountered Bors rushing towards them. He looked past serious. "Brianna and Danika encountered a rogue demon Saxon while out, he hurt them badly, we need Dagonet."
Terri looked at the grim men. "Well, maybe there's more than one reason I was sent back to your time."