W

hen I woke up it was already dawn and as I looked around I saw that Dagonet and Luthien were still asleep. I also noticed that Gawain was no longer by my side: Lancelot had taken his place, watching over his sister.

As I quietly got up, pleased to see that I had regained my strength, I moved to stand behind Lancelot, and placed my hand on his shoulder.

Lancelot immediately jumped at my touch and turned around to see who it was. When his eyes met mine he gave me a weak smile.

"Do not worry, Lancelot; she will be alright," I said in an attempt to reassure him.

"How can they be fine? Look at her! She is so pale, and she has not woken up," he said as he returned to watching over her, and tenderly brushed a long curl out of her face.

"Well, how about we throw you into a frozen lake and see how you come out?" Although the attempt to lighten the mood was weak, it worked, and he gave a small chuckle. "Lancelot, do not worry yourself, she is strong and she will pull through." He gave a nod and I continued, "Now, if you do not mind, I am starving, so I will leave you to go and find some food." Again he nodded, and I left him.

As I walked through the camp I could not help but think about how the ordeal with the ice and Luthien had shaken up Lancelot. However I did not get a lot of time to think about the subject before I heard a distinctive neigh and grunt. Turning in the direction of the sound I saw that Flecha was tied to a tree next to Adrian who was grazing peacefully away.

I wasted no time in going over to him, and the closer I got the wilder Flecha got, to the point where Adrian looked up in annoyance.



"Whoa! Easy: I am here," I greeted as I took hold of his head and caressed his forehead. "Have you behaved for Gawain?" I asked him, and his reply was to place his ears back in annoyance, and yet he bobbed his head, in affirmation.

I laughed at his stubborn streak and the fact that he was still ever so slightly jealous of Gawain. "Alright!" I said scratching him behind his jaw. Flecha in return sunk his head and with one firm nudge placed his head against my chest and stomach. I smiled at him, embraced his head and placed a gentle kiss on his muzzle.

"Well, I see that you two have found each other once again," came a voice.

I looked to see who it was and saw Galahad, who had come to tend to Flammen. "Galahad!" I cried as I threw myself onto him and gave him a hug. He returned the hug gladly.

"Hey! What was that for?" he asked as I let go of him.

"Oh, nothing really. I am just happy," I told him.

"Alright! Come, you must be hungry. We have some bread and Tristan found some apples," he said as he began to walk in the opposite direction.

I laughed at the comment about Tristan and the apples and thought that the man would never change. With one last pat to Flecha's shoulder I turned and followed Galahad.

-0 -

"Well, look who it is," Bors commented as we stepped into the clearing where he, Tristan, Arthur and Gawain sat and ate their breakfast. I smiled and dropped a mock courtesy, which earned me a small laugh from around the group. I sat down next to Gawain who handed me a piece of bread. I took it with a thank you.

"Now, where are these lovely apples I have heard so much about?"



Tristan just looked at me and with a smile reached beside him and handed me an apple. "Thank you, Tristan."

"How are Dag and Luthien?" Bors asked.

"They both sleep, although I do believe that they are through the worst," I told him as I took a bite of the apple.

The others nodded in understanding. We continued to talk with each other and eat our breakfast, until Arthur got up to give the caravan the order to begin to pack and carry on with the journey.

I got up and together with Gawain and Galahad and made myway back to where Flecha and the other horses stood grazing quietly. I reached Flecha and, with a pat to his shoulder, reached for his saddle which lay against the tree. "Well, boy, are you ready?" Flecha bobbed his head and snorted in reply as I buckled the girth securing the saddle. "I hope that you have not grown too bored without me." He shook his head.

"No I don't think that he has. He has been keeping me busy, pulling off different pranks," Gawain said as he placed the bridle over Adrian's head.

I laughed at the thought of Flecha giving Gawain a hard time, as I offered the bit to Flecha, who took it gladly, and fastened the bridle around his head.

With one quick kiss to Gawain I swung up into the saddle and began to follow Bors who had just walked by us and was headed for the front of the caravan.