Chapter Five

The morning- aside from being caught watching the knight's practice their sword fighting- had been uneventful for Juliana. She had worked steadily in the kitchen with the other nuns and had helped Mother Superior with her correspondences with the main church back in Rome. Her work was finished by the noon meal and Juliana had the rest of the day to do whatever it was that she wished.

After much thought- she didn't want a repeat of her first night in Camelot- Juliana decided to explore the town and its surrounding land.

She moved through the town, taking in its quaint homes and gardens. The people she passed nodded politely at her. A few glared, but most were cordial. Juliana felt light and free outside of the church's walls and she smiled happily at the people, no matter how they felt about her.

Her wanderings soon found her in a mass of open land that rested inside Camelot's walls. There were mounds of raised earth, white wispy plumes of smoke wafting up from a few. Curious, Juliana approached, wondering where she was. Swords were thrust into some of the mounds. It donned on her. This- while different from the ones in Rome- was a cemetery. The swords marked their graves as those of warriors and those without swords held villagers within their earthen prisons.

A shadow crept over Juliana's heart as she knelt beside a grave that held a large sword. Who was buried here? How had he died?

Her fingers gently traced the unornamented hilt. The metal felt cool beneath her fingertips. Power seemed to radiate off the portion of blade that glinted in the sunlight. Her fingers moved down the blade, feeling the power and rage that resided inside. Despite its deadliness the sword was beautiful. Juliana felt a surge within her. She wanted to hold the sword, to feel the weight of it in her hands, to swing it and feel the same power that the knight who had wielded it had felt when he struck down his enemy.

Startled by her thoughts, Julian withdrew her hand with a gasp. Where had these thoughts, these urges, come from? She crossed herself swiftly and muttered a prayer of forgiveness.

"What are you doing here?" The harsh voice startled her. Juliana stood and twirled around quickly, too quickly. She lost her balance and fell to the ground with an Oof.

With wide, frightened eyes, she looked up at the man who had startled her. It was the knight from the garden! Her eyes, if possible, grew larger. She hadn't been so close to him since that night. Seeing him there, in the open, sunlit plane only made her see just how handsome he truly was. The beating of her heart increased and her breath came in short bursts.

It was from fear and fear alone. At least that was what she kept telling herself. Juliana did not wish her reaction to him to be from anything but the trepidation that she would repeat her sins from that night.

His eyes bored into hers, impatiently awaiting her answer.

"I…" Juliana's tongue would not form the words that tumbled through her mind. "My lord, I…I was just-"

"Shouldn't you be saying prayers or something." His gruff tone surprised her. It was so out of character from the man that he had been in the garden, barely more than a week ago. His words, and the tone in which he spoke them, riled Juliana's defiant spirit.

She pushed herself to her feet and, being only a few inches shorter than the knight, stared him straight in the eye.

"Last time I checked with the king, my lord, I was put under the impression that I was free to roam this village as I pleased." Juliana could not hold back the biting sarcasm within her voice any more than she could have kept the sun from rising. The outrage that she felt towards this knight for questioning her- her, a woman of God- emboldened her. She took a step towards the man, then another, and another, until she was nearly pressed up against him. Her finger poked his chest. God was he muscled.

"So do not proceed to tell me what I may or may not do. I do not answer to you and I never shall." She tilted her head back so that her eyes were still staring into his. Oh those eyes. Juliana couldn't have forgotten how beautiful they were even if she tried.

Tense moments passed as the two continued to stare at each other. Juliana felt her heart beating rapidly against her rib cage and she was fairly certain that the young knight could hear the loud thumping. Suddenly, the knight's lips parted in a smile and a hearty laugh bubbled up from his throat. Juliana stared at him. Surely this man was insane. What man in his right mind would laugh after a woman- and a nun no less- dared to stand up to him in such a way? She took a step back, just in case he decided- in his deranged state- to grab her and do…something to her.

"You are by far the most fascinating woman I have ever had the displeasure of meeting." He said. When he wasn't speaking so harshly, Juliana had to admit that he had a nice voice. Very smooth and commanding. She blushed and looked down at her feet.

"My lord, I must confess that I do not know what you mean."

His hand cupped her chin and forced her to look at him once more. The hand that held her chin captive was just as strong as Juliana had imagined it to be. Her blush deepened as her thoughts quickly turned to ones of an unholy nature. She gulped. This man made her more nervous than she had been when first taking her vows.

"Please," he said, "call me Galahad. I am not gentlemanly enough to be called a lord." The roguish grin that he gave her sent a shiver down Juliana's spine.

"And what can I call you?" He asked, an eyebrow quirking in question.

Juliana dared not give him her name lest he use the information for a gain that would not please God. But, despite the protests within her mind, she wanted desperately to give him her name.

"Juliana." She whispered, lowering her eyes. Giving him her name was an act so intimate that she was certain she was committing a sin. Men need not know the names of the Sisters who work in the church. They should not have contact with them or speak to them. To do so is to set temptation in the Sister's way. A temptation that no nun should give in to.

"There," he dropped his hand and Juliana instantly felt the loss of contact, "that was not so hard, was it?"

Juliana's eyes flew back up to his. He was laughing at her. There was a mirth within those eyes and laughter in that voice. Juliana did not like to be laughed at. Especially not by a man who had no respect for her or her faith. Incensed, she harrumphed and stormed past him.

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Galahad watched her storm away, chin held high and her jaw set defiantly, with a grin on his face. That little nun had more fire and spirit in her little finger than most women had in their whole bodies. As the black dot of her clothing disappeared into the village, Galahad could no longer hold back the laughter that had threatened to spill over as she had acted like an inexperienced child. But then again, she was inexperienced, wasn't she. Wasn't it frowned upon for nuns to fraternize with men. Especially men like him who did not have a single good intention in their body.

With a shake of his head, Galahad ceased his laughter. He hadn't come here to flirt with a nun. He had come here to pay visit his fallen friends and to pay them his respects.

Galahad knelt by the grave that the young woman, Juliana- her name sounded so sweet coming from her finely shaped mouth- had been kneeling by when he had first approached. He'd been so shocked to see her at Tristan's grave, reverently touching the hilt of his sword, that he had been brusque with her. It wasn't his fault that he had acted that way. She just had that effect on him. Of course he hadn't known that it was her when he'd first seen her. All he had known was that some nun was at his friend's grave. He had thought that some nun had come to pray over the dead bodies of those who rested here. And if Galahad knew anything about his friends, it was that they would not appreciate their souls being prayed for to a God they did not believe in.

After nearly an hour spent at the cemetery, Galahad returned to Arthur's court. Dusk was settling and soon the evening meal would be served. Galahad was looking forward to drowning his thoughts in ale or mead.

The whole time that he had been visiting his fallen comrades, Galahad been thinking of Juliana and Juliana only. He needed to clear her from his mind. It was not good for him to think of her. He knew that. She was a nun for heaven's sake. There was no reason he should pursue her. She would never go to his bed, so why chase her when there were many woman who were willing to give him the pleasure of their company during the long, lonely nights? But Juliana would not be so easily wiped from his thoughts. He wanted her. He wanted her badly. The desire was like a fire that burned at his very soul.

Galahad groaned as he trudged back to the village. He was in desperate need of a dip in the cold river.

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It was slow going at first, but I got this chapter finished sooner than I thought I would. I hoped you all liked it and will review.

Wander of the Roads: I'm glad that my explination made sense. I look forward to your "nit-picking" on this chapter.

KnightMaiden: I'm fairly certain that Juliana is going to be paired up with Galahad in the end. But who knows what Gawain has up his sleeve.

grullo-cowgirl, homeric, chickenliver, Alexis in Wonderland, the sarahnater, and greenDayzIdiot: Thank you all so much for reviewing. I really love reading what you all have to say about this fic and about the characters and everything. Please keep it up.