Hello there everybody! So, you may be wondering what happened. Basically, I've been really busy with...well my life, so I had no time to write (sadly) and I completely forgot and well the rest is history. A couple of weeks ago I got a story favourite and I realised how long it had actually been. So I went onto fanfiction and reread 'A Married Woman' and I was appauled. It's awful. But I loved the concept and decided to rewrite it, I've added a lot and slightly changed the story line and because i'm nice, i'm going to publish all the chapter's I've rewritten and the newest one. Let me know what you think.

A Married Woman

Chapter One

"It's secure." Arthur looked up at Tristan who had suddenly appeared back from scouting around the area and was now sitting with his back against a tree, a knife in his hand, seemingly whittling down a piece of wood. Tristan's capability to be neither seen nor heard until he deemed it necessary never stopped astounding Arthur. He was the best scout Arthur had ever known and although people who were not acquainted with him found him intimidating and unnerving, the Knight's knew him well enough to be at ease with Tristan's strange ways and unchanging attitude towards being quiet. They were all fond of him even if deep down they knew Tristan's demeanour made him seemingly indifferent too them. He knew his job which was what he did, no more no less. Of course he didn't want them too die, but if they did, for him it was just another part of battle, men died, brother's died, it was a way of life.

Of course Tristan hadn't been the same since Bedivere fell. Out of all the men Arthur had known, Bedivere was probably the most honourable, he'd been brave and courageous and his demeanour was a cross between Tristan and Gawain's, he was quiet but had a sense of humour and he was gentle yet a master in battle. He was probably the only other person Tristan would have moved Heaven and Earth for. They were like brothers, similar to himself and Lancelot but perhaps even more so. He didn't used to worry about Tristan but after Bedivere's death, Tristan completely shut himself off from the others. Arthur was sure that his brother in arm's death had cut deep and perhaps it was the kind of bond you couldn't repair and that changed you forever.

Arthur nodded at Tristan, who didn't look up, and walked back towards the unlit fire that Gawain was currently setting up. Norah, their newly acquired guest sat beside it silently, her eyes watching carefully. Arthur could tell she was looking for the weakest link, the easiest one to slip past but he was happy with the knowledge that none of his Knight's would fall for any kind of trick. He watched her again for another moment before he realised she was speaking to him.

"If you think they aren't going to come after us you're mad." She said as she sat by the fire,

"Excuse me?"

"You heard," She said simply looking up at him with her bright eyes "They want to kill me. They won't stop until they have achieved their goal."

"Well My Lady our job is to protect you." He said bluntly, crossing his arms over his chest.

"They are Woad's, they will find a way." She shot back rolling her eyes.

"And what do you know of Woad's?" A voice said, she looked towards Galahad, who sat next to the fire which was starting to burn into life, his eyebrow raised. She didn't reply and instead directed her attention to the fire as the wind tugged at her dark hair, drawing it across her face.

"You have nothing to fear," She looked up at Gawain as he spoke "We won't let anything happen to you. We've had more than enough experience with Woad's too know you always have to be on your guard." Her eyebrow twitched,

"I am not frightened. There is no point of being frightened of something you cannot prevent. I am a target…they will not rest until I am dead."

"Then it is good that you know how to fight." Arthur said looking down at her from where he stood "How does a woman of noble Roman blood know how to fight?"

"I am not of Roman blood." She said bluntly looking at him sharply,

"You are Woad then?" Galahad asked, she shook her head,

"What I am is no concern of yours," her tone was softer now, her eyes diverted to the ground. For the second time that night she felt a pair of eyes on her…but not a normal stare, she looked up to see the silent Knight watching her from the far side of the camp, his dark hair shadowing his eyes which glinted a little when they caught the light of the fire. His gaze did not scare her, but it unnerved her…it was as if he knew something.

She swallowed, suddenly looking away from him and back to the fire and slowly he went back to sharpening his knife. But it was not the only pair of eyes on her. He could tell now that she was not Roman, now that he looked at her more closely, she had long dark hair and pale skin and she was extremely beautiful, which was why he guessed the Commander had wanted to marry her so adamantly even though she was not of Roman blood. He wondered for a moment what would make a mistress so loyal to her servants but then looked towards Arthur. He realised then perhaps that was why the two clashed, they were extremely alike. She was not scared of authority, just like him and she wasn't afraid to stand up for what she believed in…just like Arthur.

…

It was almost dawn when she woke; the fire had burnt out leaving nothing but the charred wood and ash which would sometimes be caught by the light wind and carried off into the pale sky. She shut her eyes for another moment, retracing the actions of last night through her mind again and again in a doze, remembering the details when suddenly a child's face flashed across her mind, bloodstained and screaming and she sat up. Shaking the image from her mind and calming her speeding heart. It had been the little girl of one of her servant's, a sweet child who'd brought her much joy and reminded her so much of her little brother. She felt herself shiver, jumping a little, still in shock from her realistic nightmare and looked around. The Knight's were sleeping; many had a hand wrapped around the hilt of a sword, ready to defend themselves at any moment if needed.

Her anger had cooled a little since she'd been sleeping and she felt a twinge of guilt at her behaviour towards them. They were only carrying out orders. She stood quietly, careful to make no sound and with stealth even Tristan would be impressed by, she crept across the camp. Looking over her shoulder to see that they were all still sleeping. Her eyes flittered over to Arthur who was frowning even in his sleep, she shook her head gently, sighing silently and carefully picking up the sword that lay by Galahad. She mentally apologised for taking his sword but he was the nearest and without another thought she began to run back the way they'd come and back towards her home.

…

The forest was quiet, the only sounds being made by the animals who were beginning to stir in the morning light, she was running, now and again snapping her head around to check over her shoulder that the Knight's weren't following her and to also make sure no other surprises lurked behind the trees. Woad's terrified her but not as much as the idea of living with herself knowing she'd left that little girl behind. She just had to make sure they were safe, she promised herself she'd make it too the Wall by herself after she'd found them. With the way she was currently dressed no Woad would recognise her anyway, she was just another peasant trying to find her way home.

Norah felt guilty towards the Knight's, when she thought about it she'd been completely rude and ungrateful towards the men who'd ultimately saved her life but her priorities were her people's lives, certainly not theirs and certainly not her own. So she pushed the guilt from her mind and set herself on the task of thinking where they may have hidden themselves. But her thoughts were cut tragically short when she found herself suddenly crashing into the ground, the weight of another person crushing down on her. Her eyes snapped open from automatically closing when she'd fallen and she was about to lash out at her attacker when she realised who it was.

"What are you doing?" she exclaimed looking up at the Knight Lancelot who had her pinned to the ground,

"What am I doing?" he exclaimed with just as much outrage as her "What are you doing?" his eyes were flashing with anger and his chest was heaving from running, his fingers were crushing her wrists into the ground and it was beginning to hurt.

"Get off of me!" She exclaimed and he shook his head,

"Not until you tell me what you were planning on doing!"

"Going to find the people you made me leave behind!"

"That's preposterous! Do you want to get yourself killed?"

"GET OFF OF ME." He glared at her once more before standing up and watching as she pushed herself up off of the ground. He scanned her before suddenly his eyes stopped, he frowned a little before his expression darkened and he looked at her slowly, his eyes showing nothing but anger.

"Is that Galahad's sword?" he said suddenly, rage suddenly creeping onto his face, she looked away from him, unsure of what to say and he realised that this was indeed Galahad's weapon. She swallowed, taking a step backwards from him when for a moment, he looked like he was about to strike her, "You took a Knight's sword? You left a sleeping man, unarmed in a territory where an awful lot of the people in it want him dead?" He shouted and she blinked, suddenly frightened of the man in front of her. She felt like a scolded child. And oddly she felt ashamed.

"You don't understand," she said simply, her tone quiet as if she were trying to make him realise "There was a child! A little girl, I have to make sure she'd safe-"

"You ignorant girl!" He shouted suddenly, "This isn't about a child! Yes, alright it's possible that little girl is dead but its unlikely seeing as she's an innocent bystander, Woad's are not like Saxon's! They don't kill everything in sight! Only what gets in their way!" he was consumed with rage and she was watching him as if he might come at her at any moment. He shook his head, glaring at her "We are going back," he said darkly, taking a step forward to seize her arm but she stepped away from him.

"You need to listen to me-"

"No I don't! We are going back-!"

"NO!" She shouted and he realised she had tears welling in her eyes "They are my responsibility! And if I can help them I will!"

"Then I'm sorry but I have to put this bluntly. There are two options, one, they are safe and making their way to some other village at which point you probably won't find them to make sure of their safety anyway, or two, they are dead." He paused looking at her pointedly and he witnessed the shock registering over her face "In which case you are too late." He spat the last two words at her, venom in his voice and she slowly looked at him.

"…You heartless bastard…" she said her voice almost breaking but she refused to let this get the better of her; she clenched her fists, her jaw locking and glared at him "If you think I'm going to just go back with you after you have insulted everything about me then you are wrong. And let me tell you something, it is never too late. Trying is the best thing you can accomplish and I will find her and make sure she and her family are safe because although innocent people's lives may mean nothing to you, they do to me and I will uphold that belief until the moment I die."

"I am telling you-!"

"I WILL NOT LET THEM DIE BECAUSE OF ME!" She suddenly shouted, her face was contorted in rage and guilt "IT'S MY FAULT!" she was breathing hysterically now, trying to stop herself from crying and he was rendered silent, staring at her "I won't leave people to die when it is my fault! It had nothing to do with them!"

"It is not your fault." she looked at him then to see that his expression had changed.

"But it is-"

"No." he said shaking his head "You cannot think like that. Do you think they would be happy with you going back to face certain death?" He paused taking a step towards her "I understand that you are upset and that you feel as if you have placed them in a dangerous situation but I promise you, Woad's do not kill innocent bystanders."

"I…"

"Stop being frightened of worrying about yourself." She looked at him, wide eyed for a second as if he'd read her thoughts "You are allowed to be frightened-"

"I am not!" she said shaking her head "I am not," she closed her eyes exhaling a shaking breath. He watched a tear slip from underneath her eye lid and splatter to the floor. She took in a great breath of air, composing herself and wiping the tear away from her cheek roughly, as if it disgusted her. She looked at him for a long moment before saying quietly "It is not just boys that have to grow up Lancelot. Whilst you were out learning to kill men and defend this land, I was learning to be a mother at ten years of age. Worrying about myself is not a strong point of mine." He looked at her for another moment,

"Then let us get you home." He said extending his hand out to her; she swallowed, blinking nervously, unsure of what to do. She looked from his hand and then out to where her house lay far beyond the woods and then back to him "You need to come back to the wall, it isn't safe out here any longer." Slowly she took a step towards him, tentatively placing her hand in his own; he gave her a thankful look before leading her back through the woods towards the camp.