I
Brought Flecha right up next to the cart where Dag was tending to the prisoners who had been found in Marius' dungeon.
"Stop here boy" I said. Flecha bobbed his head and pranced a bit around in place. He stood close enough to the cart that it was possible to grab hold of the wooden bars supporting its roof, I gave Flecha a thank you clap on his neck and pulled my weight from the saddle I hoisted myself onto the cart. "Stay here, I will be back soon" I told him as I moved to the opening of the wagon, where I found the Woad woman that Arthur had rescued from the dungeon. I gave her a quick nod in greeting and made my way past her, into the carriage.
As I stepped into the cart I saw Dag pick up his head in order to see who was coming. He saw me and gave a slight smile in greeting.
"Dag, when you have a moment could you take a look at my arm?"
He looked at me with kind eyes and said "Of course."
I smiled and nodded to say thank you. As I began to move to the back of the cart I realized that there was an invisible pressure on my skin, the kind of pressure as when someone has their eyes locked upon you. As I looked around to try and identify the source of the pressure, I was met with the piercing gaze of Luthien, Lancelot's sister. I gave her a slight smile and made my way over to her. Leaning my back against the back wall of the cart, I slid down to be sitting next to her.
"How did you join my brother and the other knights?" Luthien asked, after a moment of silence.
"When the Romans came to Sarmatia to collect the new generation of Sarmatian sons, I disguised myself as a boy to spare my brother's life. He had been severely burn in a fire some time before. The Romans did not notice that I was a girl, and by the time they did realize they did want to punish me by death – but the bond with the other knights and myself had already formed: they protected me and there was nothing that the Romans could do"
"You are so lucky," Luthien said as she looked out of the cart: "I learned to fight shortly after Lancelot left, a sword master of my tribe named Beriadan taught me, because I begged him to." Luthien looked back at me, "My home got into a conflict with a neighboring tribe. At the time I was capable of fighting but my father forbade me to go with the warriors, and I was forced to flee into the bushes and watch my entire family die." By now tears were falling down her face. "When the fight was finally over I found my horse, Anion, and took off to Britain, however, when I finally got here I stopped at an inn where I was drugged and taken to the estate of Marius, where you found me."
I had stayed silent while she told me her story: Once she was finished I responded, "Well, you are safe now, and in good hands. Besides, I do believe that our gentle knight/healer has taken a liking to you." I added with a hint of teasing in my voice.
To say that I wasn't surprised when I saw the slight blush creep up her face would have been a lie, but I was glad that it did appear. Dag deserved to have an admirer such as Luthien. Just then I saw Dag get up from his position next to the boy and make his way over to us.
"Ok then, let's take a look at your arm" he said as he kneeled down in front of me. I took off my cloak, vest and tunic and was left with a black undershirt. He took my arm as I offered it to him so that he could get a look. "It is not deep, with some ointment and bandages you should be ready to go". Dag got up and moved to his bag of supplies, pulling out a sack and some bandages. He returned to where we were.
As he opened the sack I saw that there was a yellow paste. Dag dipped his hand into it and applied it to my cut.
As the paste touched my arm I winced at the burn which shot up through my arm.
"Stay still, I know it stings but it will keep the cut from getting infected," he said, never once lifting his head up to gauge my reaction. I nodded in response and stayed still as he wound the bandages around my arm.
Once it was done I nodded in gratitude and moved to get up and leave the cart. Just before I was able to leave, I turned around and with steady strides came to crouch down beside Luthien and whispered in her ear I said, "His name is Dagonet" She looked at me sharply and gave a soft smile and a grateful nod of her head. I began making my way out of the cart. Before I left I gave Dag a grateful pat on the shoulder.