Chapter 48: Escaping

Lancelot had been in Corbenic a week, and the trouble began. It was not Lancelot's fault. Lot had sent a messenger demanding Elaine to step down from her throne or face disastrous consequences. Elaine sent four messengers out of Corbenic to Arthur, Annis, Vortigern, and Godwyn. All four messengers returned dead with more deadly notes from Lot. "What do I do?" Elaine sobbed in Gwaine's arms one night. It was the night when the fourth messenger returned dead. They were on the floor of their bed chambers. She broken down as soon as Gwaine had closed the door. She could not even make it to a chair, she had fallen to her knees and Gwaine had rushed to her side.

"Shhhh..." He comforted her, rubbing her back and holding her against him. "We will get through this."

"How so?" She sat up and looked up at him, tears were streaking down her cheeks. "We can't beat him. My Kingdom is surrounded. My people are dying or bowing down to Lot to save their lives. My army is being defeated and I am sitting here doing nothing."

"You doing something." He moved closer, placing his hands either side of her face, forcing her to remain looking at him. "You are being strong for your people. That is all you need to do. Be strong for your people, the children and me. For us." He kissed her forehead. "Come on. You need to sleep. Think of the baby."

Elaine nodded slowly and allowed Gwaine to help her to her feet. "I just hope Arthur realises something is wrong." She walked to her wardrobe and pulled out her nightgown. "Has there been any news from the scouts?"

"None yet." Gwaine sat on the trunk, which sat at the bottom of their bed. "If they have not returned by tomorrow morning, I will go out and scout myself. Alone."

She shook her head as she dropped her nightgown on the floor and rushed to him, kneeling in front of him. "No. I can't lose you. You are not leaving my side. You promised."

He looked down at his wife. Fresh tears were building up in her eyes. It broke his heart to see her like this. "What shall we do? It's the only option I can think of."

She shook her head still. "No. We wait." Tears fell down her cheeks as she gripped his hands in her own. "I'm not losing you. Stay with me." Gwaine nodded silently. "You're staying?"

"I'll stay." He urged her onto her feet and made her sit on his lap. "Now, stop worrying. You will receive news soon." He kissed her softly. "Now, my wife. You need to rest." His hand rested on her stomach. Yesterday, their baby had moved for the first time. Gwaine had become obsessed with feeling her stomach. "Come on. Bed."

"Are you ready?" Lot whispered to his commander. They were hidden in the trees, which surrounded the castle of Corbenic. "Get inside. Find the Queen, hold her and the children hostage. Kill that bloody husband of hers. I want him dead."

"Yes sire." His general nodded. "We are all ready." His sword was drawn. He raised his hand and signalled for the men to move forward quietly.

It all changed in the middle of the night. "Your Majesty!" The door to the Queen's bed chambers burst open and Pellinore rushed in. Both Elaine and Gwaine awoke immediately and sat up quickly. "Lot is attacking the castle. You need to leave!"

"Where are the children?" Elaine climbed out of bed and wrapped her dressing gown around her.

"Here." Mary and Lancelot rushed in. Mary carried Anne and Lancelot had Galahad in his arms. "Your Majesty, you should leave."

Elaine looked at Gwaine for a moment. "Pellinore, leave us." The knight bowed deeply and left the room. "Right, Gwaine and I spoke about this a few days ago. My priority at this moment is my children. I want them safe first. So, Gwaine, Mary and Galahad will run together. Lancelot, Anne and I will be together. We will try to get out of the Kingdom and to one of our allies. Preferably try and get to either Joyous Guard or Camelot."

Lancelot nodded slowly. "But why these groups? Why not altogether?"

"If we ran together, it would be too obvious. If I ran with Gwaine or Galahad, it would be obvious as to who I am." She moved to her trunk and pulled out an old brown dress. "Mary, come and help me dress. The quicker we are ready, the quicker we can to leave." She disappeared behind her dressing screen, where Mary helped her to dress. "Wherever we end up, send word to Camelot." She returned from behind the screen. Everyone was ready to leave. Gwaine had a bundle of blankets as did Lancelot. Mary handed Anne to Elaine. "Thank you." Elaine smiled slightly. She went to her dressing table and took out two bags of money. "Use it wisely." She handed it to Mary, and then took off her wedding ring. "Here. You and Gwaine can pretend you are married."

Mary nodded, tears falling down her cheeks as she slid the wedding ring onto her finger. "Thank you." She tied the bag of money in her skirts. "You leave first."

Elaine nodded as she tied her own bag of money in her skirts. She hugged Mary. "You take care, Mary. Look after them."

"I will." Mary nodded and she stepped back to allow Gwaine and Elaine to say their goodbyes.

They kissed each other hard. "Gwaine." She sobbed. "I love you. With all my heart."

"I love you too." He kissed her again. "Say goodbye to Galahad and go. The sooner you leave, the better."

Galahad and Lancelot were saying their farewells. The boy did not want to let go of his father. Lancelot knelt in front of Galahad and was hugging him tightly. Elaine knelt beside them and joined them. "Mama! I don't want to leave you."

"I know." She sobbed. "But we have to." She kissed Galahad's head. "Now, be good for Gwaine and Mary. We will see you soon." She stood up as Gwaine pulled Galahad away from Lancelot. "Be a good boy." She shifted Anne onto her hip and she and Lancelot left quickly.

"Find her!" Lot screamed as he ran through the castle. His men were fighting hard with the knights of Corbenic. "I want that bitch!" He thrust his sword into the abdomen into the guard he was fighting.

Elaine and Lancelot hid in the shadows as they ran through the servants' quarters. She had tied Anne to her chest with a blanket. "Nearly there." Elaine whispered as they reached the door in the kitchens, which led out into the grounds. They could hear the violent fighting above them. They could not hear anybody nearby. Lancelot stepped forward, once they reached the doorway. It was locked but Elaine had the key. "Here." She handed him the key.

He took the key and unlocked the door, slowly he opened it a crack. "No one there." He opened the door a little more and got a better look.

"Hand me the key." She whispered to him. He reached back and handed her the key, which she put in her pocket. "Can we go?"

"Yes." He nodded. He looked back and held his hand out. "We'll have to run. Fast." He whispered.

Elaine nodded and took his hand. "Right." She nodded and held her arm around her daughter, who was whimpering from the sling. "Shhh darling. We'll be safe soon." Lancelot led her out of the door, quickly closing it behind her. Soon, they were running fast across the grass. No one had spotted them. There was no shouts behind them. They had gotten out of the castle secretly. Now, it was the problem of getting out of the Kingdom.

For Gwaine and Mary, it was a different story. They had reached the kitchens without any trouble. But as they ran out of the door, they were spotted from the battlements. Gwaine lifted Galahad into his arms, held Mary's hand and they ran as fast as they could through the forest. "Don't stop!" Gwaine shouted at Mary as they ran through the forest, letting go of each other's hand, making it easier for them to run quicker. They couldn't hear anybody behind them but they still ran for their lives.

"Sir Gwaine!" Mary called. "I think we are far enough away." She stopped running, and caught her breath.

Gwaine stepped beside her and placed Galahad on the ground. "Now, we've got to try and get out of the Kingdom. Find somewhere to go and then find the Queen." He held Galahad's hand and his other hand rested on the hilt of his sword. "Let's go." The three of them began walking through the forest. They kept their ears open for every little sound.

"Where the hell is she?!" Lot screamed in frustration. He stood in the great hall. In front of him, 12 of Corbenic's knights knelt in front of him. Including Sir Pellinore. "You are her knights! Where has she gone?!"

"She's escaped. Your plan is useless. You have the Kingdom. But you don't have the Queen." Pellinore scoffed as he looked up at Lot. His face was bloodied and would soon be bruised in a few days. "Your attack was pointless."

Lot groaned in frustration. "Take them to the dungeons. I will deal with them later." Each of the knights were dragged away by Lot's men. "Find her!" He shouted at his men.

Elaine and Lancelot had began making their way to the coast. They had gotten out of the Kingdom and she knew Joyous Guard would be her safest option. "We should stop." Lancelot spoke softly on their second day of travelling. They purposely avoided staying in any towns or villages. "You need to rest. We're half a day's journey from Joyous Guard."

She nodded and made her way to a tree, and sat at the base. "Come on darling." She hugged Anne tightly. "We'll be with Papa soon." She kissed Anne's hair and rocked her in her arms. Throughout their journey, her daughter had been very quiet.

"Here." Lancelot handed her a sword. "Have this. I'm going to get firewood."

"Thank you." Taking the sword from him, laying it on the ground next to her. She looked down at Anne, who slept peacefully. Ever since they left Corbenic and Gwaine, Anne had been extremely quiet. She was a Papa's girl. She was obviously missing him. Lancelot returned twenty minutes later with an armful of firewood. "Everything all right?"

"It is safe for now. Is she asleep?" He looked down at the sleeping child as he lay a blanket beside her.

She nodded. "Yes." She gently lay her daughter on the blanket and wrapped it around her daughter, making sure she was warm. She turned to see Lancelot building and lighting a fire. Her heart thumped as he finished and moved to sit across from her. The fire between them. "Thank you."

He smiled slightly. "You're welcome." Smiling still. "Are you warm enough?"

"I'm fine." She lied.

Lancelot shook his head, stood up, walked over to her and sat next to her. "You're a terrible liar." Wrapping an arm around her shoulder. She moved into his side reluctantly and smiled at the warmth of his body. She felt safe with him. She was wrong to feel this but right now, she did not care. She glanced down at her daughter, who was sleeping against her side in between the both of them. "Get some sleep." He whispered in her ear.

"I can't." She whispered back. "I'm too scared to." Turning her head to look up at him. "I don't want to sleep. Just in case, something happens."

"I will stay awake." He smiled down at her. "I will sleep tomorrow when we reach Joyous Guard." He held her close, keeping her warm. Temptation overcame him suddenly. He bent down and kissed her lips softly. He waited for her to pull away but she did not. She kissed him back. She was kissing him back. Her hand slid up his arm and cupped his cheek when the kiss grew.

"No." She whispered when she pulled away. "I'm sorry. I should not have done that."

"I kissed you first." He sighed heavily. "It's my fault." Inside he was annoyed with himself and her stupid morals. He should not have kissed her but he wanted to. He wished she had not pulled away but she had to. "Get some rest. You need it." Elaine settled in his arms and slowly drifted off to sleep.

Gwaine and Mary went in a completely different direction. "Camelot is our best chance." He said as he walked alongside Mary, who was carrying Galahad. "If we get to Arthur, he can help the Kingdom."

"What of the Queen? What if she isn't there?" Mary asked as she placed Galahad on his feet. "There we are Galahad. You can walk for a little longer."

"Yes Mary." He smiled a little and held her hand as they walked. "Where's mother?"

Mary and Gwaine looked at each other and she spoke, "Your Mama is with Papa and Anne. They are most likely finding their way to Camelot right this moment." It was hard to explain to a young boy, that he may never see his parents and sister ever again.

"Cousin Arthur will help us." Gwaine smiled down at Galahad as they continued through the wilderness.

A/N: I can see this story coming to an end in about 20-odd chapters. What do you guys think? Oh yes. There is a sequel.

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ForeverTeamEdward13: Hope you enjoyed this chapter. :)