The Return to Sarmatia 8
Sorry that this was such a long time in coming. Unfortunately, I have suffered a very LARGE bout of no desire to write anything after a spit out 3 chapters of my other King Arthur fic. Sorry AGAIN!!
Lancelot couldn't help but snort at his mother's words. It was just like her to blurt things out like that. He had some memorable remembrances of his mother embarrassing his father from his childhood because of it too.
He looked at her and said, "Well, what am I to do about it?"
Ama smacked him lightly on the back of his head and said shortly, "None of that backtalk mister! You will come with me to speak with her of course!"
Lancelot pursed his lips as he thought of Ilona trusting him to keep Calbur away from her and her family. He cast his gaze across the tribe's lands and saw his men getting ready to sup and then to bed.
He smiled lightly as he saw the two of his and the other Knights most trustful Knights, "Sir Bruce, Sir Brice, front and center!"
Ama watched with a prideful gleam in her eyes, as the twins her son and his friends trusted very much came running at his call.
The two men snapped to attention and placed their right hands on top of their hearts.
Ama was impressed.
It was the sign of loyalty and a sign of the utmost trust between two warriors.
"Sir Bruce and Sir Brice I need you to guard Lady Calbur until Princess Ilona comes for her or Lord Tristran does. Understand?"
The twins nodded, bowed, and said, "Sir!"
Lancelot turned to his mother and said as he waved his hand in front of him, "Let's go speak with Ula then."
Tarkan silently left as well. He had a pregnant woman to see.
Mother and son swiftly crossed the lands of the Lion Tribe and found Ula and the other women getting the little ones into their nightclothes and getting their bedding laid out and ready for them after supping.
Emogen smiled at her husband and the twins squealed in delight as they jumped into his arms gleefully, "Daddy!!"
Lancelot laughed merrily as he caught both his girls easily which told of many, many happy times before.
"Ahug, you two are getting to be too big to do this to daddy at the same time!" chuckled Lancelot as the twins pouted cutely and hugged him.
Enid raised her curly head and pouted, "But Daddy!! We love jumping on you!"
Erlina smiled and said with a smile, "Daddy's gettin' old!"
Lancelot smiled at his daughter, tossed them both lightly into the air, and said as he laid them down on either side of him, "Oh, I'm old am I"
And with that he started to tickle them.
The Britons smiled as twin shrieks of happiness rose up above the normal drabble of soldiers doing their normal chores.
Even the Sarmatians, who still mourned their lost, loved ones, smiled lightly at the jovial family of five.
Ama was lost in her love for her only grandchildren.
Lancelot's twins gave her a new outlook in life for her people. Ama knew that her son and his family would not remain in Sarmatia for very long, but just seeing them and knowing that they would survive her gave her hope for her people.
After letting his daughter's catch their breath, Lancelot helped them stand and said as he gently popped their bottoms, "Okay you two, back to your meal."
They hugged him again and skipped to their mother and baby brother, who was currently nursing.
Lancelot rose to his feet and said, "Ula, my mother and I must speak to you about something very important."
Ula looked at her friend and raised an eyebrow. The only time she had ever seen Lancelot so serious, was when he was readying himself for battle; and since there wasn't any reason to go to battle she was slightly concerned.
Why is he acting like this? He acts like he's going into battle. I know I'm a touch character to talk to sometimes, but I'm not THAT bad!
Ula turned to her friends, Emogen and Alma, and asked, "Do you two mind putting Dunham and Amage to bed for me?"
Emogen gently disengaged Cadman from her breast and said as she started to feed him a soft gruel, "We can do that. No worries."
Alma nodded and added for Lancelot's sake since she had seen his look of confusion at only seeing the three of them, "Enys and the kids are with Gawain, Galahad, and Garen. They are meeting Garen's wife and children."
Lancelot nodded in understanding as the three people walked into Ama and Babai's chiefton hut.
As they sat down, Ula looked to Lancelot for answers.
But it was Ama who answered Ula's unasked questions-in her normal manner.
"Lady Ula, I have reason to believe that you are my twin brother's daughter; making you my niece and Lancelot's cousin."
Ula, whatever she had thought the problem was, had not expected this. She blinked a couple of times. She was completely shocked by Ama's words.
In a daze, she pointed out, "That's impossible; my father is a simple Woad farmer. He's not a Sarmatian in anyway shape or form."
Ama, not wanting to hold it off any longer, pulled up her tunic top above her belly-button and lowered her skirt a tiny bit to reveal a birthmark in the shape of a lightly curved sword.
Ula gapped at it.
To her shock, it was a very familiar birthmark.
Absentmindedly, she placed her finger on the mark over Ama's hipbone and traced the handle of the sword that was pointed towards the hip and the tip of the sword pointed towards the crotch.
A discreet cough brought her back.
Ula blushed in mortification.
As she stumbled over an apology, Ama waved it aside and asked knowingly, "Did you see something familiar?"
Ula exclaimed, "My father, my children, and I have the exact same birthmarks!"
Ama turned to her son and said with a smug smile as she saw his wide eyes, "Lancelot!"
Ula watched wide-eyed as Lancelot lifted his jerkin up to reveal his toned lower body and hip bone. But what caught her attention the most was the identical birthmark to her own emblazed across his skin.
Ama broke the silence as she explained the reason for the elaborate birthmarks, "You must understand, our people are believed to be descended from the God of War and a nymph named Harmonia. While Babai and the Lion Tribe are the only remaining survivors from the union between the two. My family line, the Cheetah Tribe, has the blessings of Ares, himself. My ancestors were the Priests and Priestesses of Aries, and as such, we bore his mark with pride in the ancient days. Unfortunately, with the Roman's expansion, the old beliefs waned. To keep a tie to our old traditions, Aries turned the mark from a religious mark, into a birthmark as a reminder of the past."
Ula and Lancelot, who had known some of the history of his families' mark, listened in rapture as she explained her theory to them both, "My brother, Vilmos, was under the command of Uther Castus. After his fifteen years were over, Babai said he simply left the wall and went into the forests and never came back. My family thought that I was insane when I told them that he still lived. It is my belief that your mother and my brother met and fell in love and had you, Ula. Could you perhaps tell us how they met?"
Ula closed her eyes and replied softly, "My mother was a healer and had no battle training whatsoever. She only a few Woad tattoos, so my father never knew until their marriage night. My father was enraged when he found out, but their love was strong enough to over come both their pasts and they are happy to this day."
Ama held Ula's hands beseechingly and asked in a hoarse tone, "What's his name?"
Ula smiled lovingly at her new Aunt and replied, "Conner-Liam, but everyone calls him Liam."
Ama smiled and closed her eyes in relief. Her brother, her beloved twin brother, was alive. She had been right!
Lancelot couldn't believe it. He couldn't believe that the man he and Arthur had conversed with on regular intervals, about the countries food stocks, was his uncle! And the old man never said a word! Not one!
Before the silence could grow even more, Emogen arrived with Cadman and Amage in her arms. The twins and Dunham were dancing happily around her.
With a smile she said, "Okay you three, meeting's over. It's time to sup with the rest of us."
Happily, Ula took Amage from her friend and asked curiously, "Where is Tristran?"
Emmy smiled in apology and said, "He is taking care of Calbur with his parents and siblings."
Tristran, Ilona, and their family marched up to Sir Bruce and Sir Brice, who were still on guard duty, and Tristran said, "You are relieved of duty. Go and sup, you both deserve it."
The twins placed their hands upon their hearts once more and left.
Tristran looked at the woman his parents, had at one time, wanted as their daughter-n-law, and said commandingly, "Arise Lady Calbur of the Panther Tribe and be judged."
Calbur raised herself to her feet, looked them all straight in the eye, and awaited their decisions.
Queen Tyze stepped forward and said seriously, "We should have done this a long time ago. I hope you know that the only reason you remained in the position you had was because of your father's influence."
King Aorgi finished, "But, when he died a year ago, you lost his protection."
"So," began Tristran as he stepped back to stand next to his parents, "Lady Calbur Bloodclaw of the Panther Tribe, daughter of Lord Calduran of the Panther Tribe, you are hereby banished from our tribe and all your possessions and hereditary power are striped from you. You are now just a lowly female of Sarmatia. If you step foot in the lands of the Panther Tribe, you will be killed on sight. Do you understand?"
Calbur spat at Tristran and marched away.
As she crested the hilltop, she spun around and swore, I WILL have my revenge!"
Tristran couldn't help but think that letting her go was a mistake; and deep within his heart he knew she's be back.
This is short, but I FINALLY have a destination in mind to finish this story. I have at least five to seven chapters left...I think!
Leave a review and tell me what you think!!