Chapter 3: Tell Me
"If you weren't my enemy than you wouldn't of brought me here" said a very palatable Gwen
"No, you're wrong …if I were your enemy …I wouldn't of saved your life…"said Aya as he gradually took the cup from her hands and into his, softly setting it on the table
"why didn't you take me home…?"
"I'm not sure of where you live.." He looked at her as if he were starring off in a distance, remembering a time long past
"But…you knew my name…"
"The two are hardly related….Just because I know your name from hearing it once long ago….doesn't mean I know where you reside…." He tilted his head starring deep into her eyes and then noticed a paleness flush across her face. Just as she was about to collapse backward hard onto the bed, He reached his arm underneath to slow her fall.
" I'm ashamed to admit, but it hurts…" He brushed her hair from her eyes with his fingertips, toying with it ever so lightly
"I know and I promise ..no harm will come to you…..I always keep my promises"
"but why me?"
"shhhhhhhh sleep Gwen.. You must regain your strength…" Her eyes then slowly closed and he gradually laid her down and covered her with the blanket, tucking her in as if she were a child and as he gazed upon her face he had a flashback of a young girl peeping through a door with spiraled hair the color of russet autumn leaves. He shook his head as if to shake the image then lightly kissed Gwen on the forehead, and sat once again in the chair next to her reading a book of poetry until dusk came at which point he walked outside and disappeared into the night.
Elsewhere,
Was Lancelot sitting down warming by the flames half a mile away from the dense forest where Gwen was last seen. He was teasing the fire and thinking of the first time they met and how the glow upon her face illuminated his desires, and her smile and passionate way of thinking captured his heart. He was deep in thought when he heard the snap of a twig, only to notice that it was a bird perched high above on a tree branch. He breathed a sigh of relief and then quickly drew his sword.
"I know you're there, come out quietly and I'll consider sparing your life"
"No need to spare my life friend" said a voice back" I came to save yours" The man soon came from behind the brush and opened his arms with a goblet in one hand and mead in the other
"You left so quickly you forgot to get your fill" Lancelot stood up, laughed and then patted the back of his old friend.
"Gawain, what are you doing here? Don't tell me Arthur sent you…"
"Nooo he would never do that…He'd prefer to come himself , but certain things aren't always possible…sooooo tell me ….why'd you leave alone" They both sat down and shared a drink
"long ago I made a promise to her that….I'd let no harm come to her as long as I live…and….I'm still here and I'm told that she's not …. I have to see the truth for myself"
"I see…but you mustn't blame yourself if things don't turn out the way you hope, after all, we knights of Camelot are here with but a single purpose and that is to protect the kingdom and the king …and of course what I mean by that is the king to come…Arthur and not that bastard Uther who often thinks of no one but himself….no….protecting Arthur is protecting the future and everyone in it….and I'm sure if Gwen did die …she did it protecting him….I can say these things to you because I'm your ….friend…"
Gawain looked over and saw Lancelot sleeping, passed out from the mead and despair, but what he didn't expect to see was a single tear fall from his eye and rest upon his cheek….
"Rest well my friend…I'm sure things will look different come morning …..and I'll drink your portion plus mine…no sense in letting a good friends drink go to waste" and with that being said Gawain drank through the night until Nye a drop was left, looking after his dear friend whose heart was still twisted and tied in knots
Back in the cabin built inside the hill near wisdoms tree lay Gwen still resting peacefully in the bed. She dreamt of her lover lips tenderly touching hers as they stood upon a balcony, and as their lips broke apart while each other still embraced she heard an arrow puncture his back and he slowly fell to his knees, She looked at her hands and screamed
"no !" at the sight of his blood… She screamed so long and so loud that he had no choice but to shaken her awake, and when she opened her eyes,….She met with eyes the color of the bluest sea starring back at her, She cried out
"please don't hurt me"
and curled up in a corner of the bed as if she thought her life was going to end.
"Don't worry I'm not going to hurt you..." he said in a succulent but soothing voice
"everyone keeps saying that…but I'm beginning to wonder if anyone really means it….what is it you want with me?"
He sighed… Please take my hand I'll help you sit up ,…there's really no need to be afraid …My name is Kai….." Kai looked just like aya, long hair of raven black tied in a pony tail, muscular but not bulky, he wore a cotton white shirt, black leather pants and boots to match, he had a very charismatic personality and gentle features just like aya and very handsome, but the difference lied in their eyes. She starred in his eyes for the longest time trying reason with her thoughts, but it soon became too much to bare….she passed out on the bed. Kai sighed once again..
Then positioned her body straight for comfort, tucking her in yet again before assuming the same position as aya had before him, sitting in a chair by her side.
"Aya, my eyes and ears..." he said and then his eyes glowed a vibrant blue " you must tell her come morning, or I fear she won't make it through this….".
Morning came…
Lancelot Had left Gawain sleeping and traveled onward alone . as he arrived at the lost lake ofAlbion he noticed an arrow hole in the tree, as he searched the area he came upon a woman's shoe thrown about in the brush. He was certain that it was Gwen's as there weren't any other women at that battle and morgana returned with both her shoes, he wept with silent tears of happiness as all may not be lost his only hope was that she was to be alive and he was notgoing to rest until he found her
A short Time later
Guinevere awoke yet again , only this time the person sitting in the chair was still sleeping and this time she decided it was time to escape. She moved to the edge of the bed and stood up using the wall as a crutch. She was in excruciating pain, but did not let a sound flee from her lips. She made her way to the wardrobe and in her fain attempt to open the door her knees buckled. She could control her tears no more as she sat on the floor. She look up she saw him starring down at her watching her weep
"Have you come to kill me?"
He sighed deeply,"This again for the last time I'm not going to kill you…"
"Then who are you …First you tell me your name is Aya and than Kai and both your eyes and your name keep changing …Is this sorcery? Are you a doppelganger? Who are you? You say you mean me no harm, but If that's true…..than tell me what you intend to do with me or kill me and let me die and stop playing with my head..."
He knelt down, put his finger under her eye to catch a tear before it hit the floor…
"My dear girl, look at my eyes…..I am Aya ….And I promise I will not hurt you….I have but a question will you listen to my story? And I promise you will understand…"
Gwen uttered not a word and nodded her head and Aya sat on the floor in front of her
"Let's see where to start..."
"The beginning" quietly she said
"The beginning right" he whispered as he looked openly about the room trying to collect his thoughts
"Twenty-two years ago there was a fire in the village of Eden here in Albion. It was caused by uther and his men. He was hungry for power and was desperate to conquer the kingdom. My mother Josephine lived in that village with my father… because war was becoming widespread and many people were being slaughtered my mother ….begged my father to take my brother and I away to the land of his birth ….we were but a baby then, so we had no say in the matter. You see Gwen although my mother was from Albion, my father was from a kingdom far away in the south east. He traveled many miles and crossed many seas until we finally reached our destination… He named me Aya a name which means colour or design because my eyes have always been a vibrant green and he named my brother Kai which means sea or ocean, because his eyes are so deeply blue….You see… Kai is my twin brother… He is identical to me in every way except the eyes and from what I remember they are indeed blue like the sea.."
Gwen listened in awe, "what do you mean from what you remember?"
"you see once my brother and I reached 17 years of age, we set out on a journey to find our mother. Partway on that journey we became lost and rested at the house of a noblewoman who had lost her husband. She insisted that we stay on a bit to rest for the journey ahead and in exchange for a place to sleep and food, we would accompany her to gatherings upon request, but then …after a month we decided that it was time to leave….She threw herself at my feet and begged me not to go, I refused I needed to continue my quest to find my mother, alive or dead we had to find her, but I was too naïve to see that she had fallen in love. I told her that no matter what she said or did I could not stay with her and that's when she revealed her true self she used magic and cast a curse upon me and my brother and told me that we will never see each other again. I didn't want to believe it, but then it happened…I ran out of the house and Kai wasn't with me, but it didn't take us long to realize what the curse was…"
Gwen sat there drawn into his every word, "What was the curse…?"She whispered
Aya starred into her eyes and smiled, " …You see by day I appear as you see me now, and at night I take on the form of a black hawk"
"~and Kai?"
Tears streamed from his eyes as he thought of his brother"….by day he is a black eagle and at night…..he is himself, neither one of us has seen the other in more than 4 years"
"and your mother?"
"we abandoned our search for her in order to keep her safe, after all, a mother knows her children…..we built this cottage within this hill to keep our secret safe, for if anyone were to ever find out ….Uther would summon his men and surely have us killed without a second thought even though we have no magical powers, so please promise that you'll keep our secret because we can't depart until we break the curse and find our mother"
"will you promise that you won't kill me?"
Aya chuckled " don't be silly we'll never harm you because…..shhhhh" aya's eyes suddenly illuminated
"What is it?" grinned Gwen
"Someone's coming… through the forest"
"How do you know that?"
"Kai told me…"Aya stood up
"I thought you said you two don't talk…?"
"We don't but I can see through his eyes and hear his thoughts when he's in that form…..please Gwen wait here….." aya walked out the door and looked around
Gwen struggled to her feet and noticed a peep hole within the wall she could see aya in his brown leather pants, but she also noticed Lancelot
"Tell me my good man what do you know of gwenivere?", said a very tired and worn out Lancelot who appeared as if he'd had a hangover
"I'm sorry I don't know what you mean, nor not of whom you speak" Aya turned his back to walk away
" Then awnser me with your sword!" Lancelot drew his sword and ran to strike Aya and at that precise moment Aya didn't turn around. He stomped the ground with the heel of his boot and out popped a sword upwards into the air. He caught it with his right hand and unsheathed it with his left, he quickly spun around blocked Lancelot's sword with his sheath and held the blade to his neck with his right hand stopping him dead in his tracks, and looking on in surprise was Gwen … She recognized the blade of that sword and knew all to well it's name, although she had never seen it….she heard her father often speak of its specific's time and time again, as if it's very make-up was etched into her mind… That sword was called a KATANA and she had finally seen it in it's true form along with its master, amazed by its beauty she hadn't the strength to stand any longer and soon collapsed upon the floor…
She didn't worry about Lancelot's life because she knew that if aya had meant to kill him….he would have been dead long ago...before the fight begun