A/N: Hey everyone! I know it's been a while, but I did warn you that my updates would be about once a month. So I don't actually have a lot to say today, so let's get into some reviews and if I think of anything to tell you it'll be at the bottom.
Guest 1: I'm glad you're still enjoying. Please continue to read and review.
Turtle: I'm glad you're enjoying the story line. I apologize that the updates have to be so slow, but I have a lot going on right now. Thank you for your support anyway and I hope you keep reading.
Guest 2: Well then your wait is over. Here is the next chapter.
Now on to the story...
As they saw the gate in front of them Holly raised her chin and set her shoulders back. As they were getting out of the woods Gail dropped from the trees on Holly's right side. They moved quickly towards the gate.
"Halt! Who goes there?" The guard on the ground said. Gail snickered a little bit. "How cliché can this dude get?" She muttered under her breath causing and Hayden had to bite her lip not to laugh along which caused Holly to have to shush them both. "Princess Holly Stewart of Nimrais and my personal guards." She finally said to the guard. He looked them over and said, "I'm going to have to ask you to surrender any weapons you may have brought with you." Gail and Hayden both chuckled. "If you want them you'll have to take them and I promise you, I will make that extremely difficult for you." Gail said dropping one leg back into a defensive position. Hayden followed suit. They each reached out a hand to Holly ready to pull Holly out of the way if the guard chose to attack. He didn't get the chance.
"Princess!" A man yelled from the gate that had just opened. "Arthur!" Holly yelled back. She stepped forward and they exchanged kisses on the cheek. "I meant to be here when you arrived, but I got held up. Do you forgive me?" Holly smiled. "Of course Arthur." The man took in the aggressive positions of the three guards. "What is going on?" He asked. "Your majesty, they refuse to surrender their weapons." He chuckled, "Of course they do! They've just walked for days through dangerous forests and elves are particularly attached to their weapons." He turned to Gail and Hayden before continuing, "Am I correct when I say you craft most of your own weapons?" Hayden answered because Gail wouldn't look away from the other guard. "We are taught to build them ourselves and our first weapons are crafted at our own hands, but after that we have men and women who craft our weapons to our exact specifications. "Fascinating, Jeremy allow them to pass with their weapons." They began to walk, but Gail kept eye contact with Jeremy as long as possible.
"Princess Holly, it is so good to see you again. Welcom to the United Lands. Allow me to show you to your rooms to prepare for lunch. My wife sends her apologies but she will be unable to join us for lunch." Arthur said as he led the way to the castle. "Rooms? Plural sir?" Hayden asked. "Yes I have a room set up for the princess and one for the two of you." The two warriors shook their heads. "We mean no disrespect your highness, but this is a new land to us, and we will be rooming with the princess." Hayden said. Arthur nodded. "Yes of course. I hadn't thought of that. I apologize, the room set up for Princess Holly should be plenty big enough for all three of you."
They were led to a room and left alone after being informed that lunch would be served in an hour. Gail and Hayden put their bags down and began to search the room while Holly stood in the doorway. Once it was clear they allowed Holly in and gave her her bag. "We will leave you to change if you need anything we will be right through here." Gail said leading Hayden through to a small sitting room. There they changed out of their hiking clothes and into their dress uniforms. Slowly and with purpose they strapped on their weapons and gear.
Once that was done they sat talking about strategy and how best to protect Holly from where they were, especially if they were supposed to put on a show for King Arthur at some point. After a while of planning they were confident in their strategy. A knock came from the door between them and the room Holly was in. They stood and rushed to the door throwing it open Gail, who was in front, froze causing Hayden to nearly run her over. Holly stood in a beautiful red dress. It was simple yet sophisticated. Gail felt like she couldn't breath as she stared at the beautiful woman in front of her. "Shall we go?" Holly asked. Hayden agreed and elbowed Gail in the ribs to get her to straighten up and start moving.
Holly walked a step in front of her warriors. They arrived in the garden where a table had been set up in front of a large span of grass. "Ah Princess, I see you found the garden with no problem. Please come join me." Arthur said standing from his seat. As she got to the table he pulled out her chair for her. Hayden followed and stood behind Holly while Gail stood near the door they had just walked through.
"Princess I hate to bring this up, but I was promised a demonstration of the abilities of your warriors. If it is not too much to ask I would like to see that now." Arthur said looking like a kid on Christmas. "What about your wife? Would she not want to see this as well?" Arthur chuckled. "She is not interested in your military power. You sold her months ago when you discussed your politics and medical remedies." Holly nodded at him. She didn't like the idea of forcing Gail and Hayden to prove themselves, but she had promised so she agreed anyway.
Gail stepped forward from the door to the area of grass in front of the table. She put her fist over her heart and bowed. "King Arthur this is Abigail Peck. Specialist In hand-to-hand combat, stealth, and archery." Holly announced. Gail straightened up at the end of her introduction. The hair on the back of her neck stood on end as she heard a step behind her. She closed her eyes to focus on the sounds around her. Her eyes snapped open and she ducked as a man over a foot taller than her threw a punch from behind her. As she ducked he lost his balance causing him to flail, but he managed to stay on his feet. Gail came u from her crouch in a fighting position. Gail stood patiently waiting for him to make the first move. Slowly she was stepping sideways so he would mimic her moves until she was between him and Holly. Finally he stepped forward and tried to kick out, but she caught his leg and pinned it to her side. With his left leg in her control she reached out with her left leg and arm. She swept his standing leg and pushed the middle of his chest so that he fell to the ground. She was on top of him in a second delivering a flurry of punches that knocked the man unconscious. As she stood up she pulled her bow off her back, and as she turned towards the table she notched an arrow and pulled back. When she was fully facing the table there stood another man with a knife at the throat of the king. Holly held her hand out to stop Hayden from attempting to interfere. "Princess I mean no disrespect that was an impressive display, but to call her a specialist when she could only take on one man seems an overstretch." Arthur said. "Sir if this had been anything but a demonstration I would not have hesitated to fire this arrow and that man would no longer be a threat. This would free my focus to deal with the woman in the tree about the princess." Gail, who had yet to relax her bow string, said. "Prove it, we will get you a training arrow, it is the same weight as a real arrow, but it has a rubber tip. If you would go back to your previous position above Alexander." Arthur spoke as a young woman brought out the arrow.
Gail put the arrow into her quiver and but her bow back on her shoulder. She mimed a fake punch before standing up and turning as she had before while setting up her bow and the fake arrow. This time as she was fully turned around she released the arrow. Before the arrow reached its mark she had dropped her bow and was running straight at the table. When the woman who had been in the tree dropped out Gail launched herself at the woman. They collided midair above the royal's table. They landed behind the table and Gail rolled to her feet pulling her dual swords and crossing them in front of the woman's neck.
King Brian moved to his feet and began to clap. "I stand corrected Princess. This warrior is indeed everything I was promised she would be." Gail put her swords away offering a hand to the woman on the ground. She moved to the man kneeling on the ground rubbing his eye. She helped him up and they clasped forearms. Finally she moved in front of the king and Holly and bowed once again. Alexander was being carried away to the infirmary by a couple of the king's guards.
Gail walked over and switched spots with Hayden. "Now would be a great time to bring out the food." King Arthur said. Two plates were brought out with a small salad, chicken breast, and a pile of mashed potatoes. One plate was set in front of Holly and the other in front of Arthur. Holly's plate looked normal, but that did not mean it was. Holly must have sensed her guards' discomfort, "I will be ok. King Arthur stands to gain nothing from my death." She said to the warriors. "Yes I heard about what happened. Would it put your minds at ease if I were to switch plates with the princess?" Hayden and Gail shared a look before nodding. The switch was made and the two started into their lunch.
As they ate Holly introduced Hayden. "This is Hayden Ando. She is a specialist in tracking, close quarters weaponry, and hand-to-hand combat." As she spoke a rack of weapons was brought out to Hayden. She picked up a bow staff and began to twirl it around her. She had always been better at close combat, but the reason she was not very good with swords was because she was afraid of injuring herself. As a substitute she had learned a lot about the bow staff. No blade meant she wasn't as afraid of it. As she was twirling the staff Arthur could not take his eyes off of her his meal all but forgotten. After she put the staff down she picked up two sai swords and began to twirl those around in her hands. That was when she heard a noise to her right. She spun her whole body in a 360 degree circle which allowed her to glimpse at her right without letting on to the person trying to sneak up on her. It worked, she saw a person in all black. Her right arm flew out and she let go of the sword in her hand. It was quickly followed by her left arm as that sword flew through the air as well. She turned to see the person pinned to the tree by the shoulders of their shirt. She ran over pulling out the swords and putting them into her belt as she grabbed the woman by the back of the neck of her shirt. She pulled her back to the lawn and forced her to her knees. Arthur stood once again clapping enthusiastically. "That was absolutely incredible." He cheered.
Hayden went to stand beside Gail who went back to her spot by the door. "How come you didn't have to fight anyone? That's bullshit." The blond muttered as she walked passed Hayden who smirked. "Holly I am truly impressed by what I have seen. If the rest of your army is half as skilled as these two you are a valuable ally for the United Lands. I would be honored to discuss the terms of an alliance between our worlds. We shall have this discussion tonight over dinner when my wife can join us.
The three elves went back to their room. "I'd like to take a quick shower" Hayden said. Did she need a shower? Yes. Was that the sole reason that she was going into the bathroom? No. She had told Holly that she would help her get Gail to open up about her feelings and that would only happen if the two were alone together.
Holly and Gail sat in awkward silence for a minute before Holly spoke, "I'm sorry that you keep having to prove yourself to people." Gail turned to focus on her. "It's part of my job, I understand the concerns of these people so I can deal with the demonstrations." Holly shook her head. "Do you think I don't hear you complaining about being tested? You can't stand it. What I can't figure out is why you still do it." Gail tried to shrug it off and say, "it's a job." Holly stood up. "That's crap Gail and you know it. You could qualify for any of the jobs available yet you keep this one. Why?" Holly knew she was pushing, but she needed to know. Gail shot to her feet so she was at the same level as Holly. She would never be able to tell why she said what she said next. Maybe it was stress, or the fact that she hadn't slept well in a long time, or annoyance with the demonstrations, maybe she was just so tired of denying it, and maybe it was a combination of all of that. Whatever it was she found herself yelling, "Because I love you!" Her hands flew up to cover her mouth, but it was too late. She dropped her head to look at the floor and her hands moved to grab at the hair on the back of her head. "I love you, and you being you and me being me this is the only way for me to be allowed in your presence. You wouldn't even know who I am if it wasn't for this job. I would put up with any test or demonstration for just the few minutes I get alone with you. I've tried to fight it, taking the late shifts, pushing you away, guarding you from the trees where there's no chance for conversation, all of it. But I just can't fight it anymore, and I understand if you want me off this detail when we get back."
Holly had stayed quiet through Gail's whole confession, but the resignation in her voice at the end prompted her to act. She stepped forward and reached for Gail's hands. She untangled the other woman's fingers from her blond hair, and then lowered Gail's arms to her sides. Then she reached forward and put her hand under Gail's chin. Gently she forced Gail's head up until brown eyes met ice blue. Finally she leant forward and connected their lips. Unlike their first kiss before the ball Gail did not push Holly away when her hands began to wander a little. In fact Gail put her hands on Holly's hips and pulled the brunette closer.
They were forced back to reality by the clearing of a throat. They turned and saw Hayden in her uniform with wet hair smirking at them. "It's about time." She said as she walked by them to the other room.
Gail turned back to Holly, "I want to continue this Holly, I just need you to wait a little bit longer. Once this assignment is over and you're safe again I can get new orders. An order where we don't have to worry about this being unethical or unsafe for you." Holly nodded smiling at her. "I can wait Gail, I promise you're worth it." Gail smiled too and leaned forward to give Holly a light peck on the lips. "OK I should get a shower and prepare for dinner." With one more kiss she walked away.
Once she was gone Hayden came back into the room. "I'm glad that worked I really thought it would take more than that. I guess a small push from a beautiful woman was all she needed." The short haired brunette said amusement clear in her voice. "I think she's tired of being afraid to let people in, you've probably seen it with the way she acts around your family especially your son. She's tired of denying her feelings and being alone. I think I'm the first person to actually push her to admit how she feels instead of just letting it go, and that makes her feel like she's worth it for probably the first time in her life." Holly said looking at the bathroom door. They sat down engaging in a conversation about possibly continuing Holly's defensive martial arts lessons.
When Gail was done in the shower it was Holly's turn. Hayden walked over to the blond and pinched her cheek. "You're growing up!" Gail slapped her hand away. "Shut up, I don't want to hear it from you when I have to listen to you go on and on about your wife." Gail snapped embarrassed. Hayden caught her eyes, "Gail, I really am happy for you. Now that this alliance is pretty solidified this assignment will be over before you know it. You're going to finally get your happily ever after." Gail chuckled at her friend. "That was so cliché and cheesy you dork. You're still going to help me find my mother after this right?" She asked. "Of course my friend." Gail gave her a small smile. "Thank you, I can't describe it, but I feel like I'm so close to her right now." Hayden put a hand on Gail's shoulder "we will find her."
Gail had no idea just how close to meeting her mother she was.
A/N: Hey y'all! so since I don't have much to say I'll keep this brief. I'm working on the next chapter, but it still might be a little while. I'm procrastinating an assignment to type up this chapter. Anyway please read and review! If you have any ideas for the story feel free to leave it in a review or send me a message.
Until next time,Hold the Line and Don't Look Back