Because of health complications, I won't be able to keep up writing as much as I used to, I was actually hospitalised just the other day so I've decided that instead of keeping you guys waiting for days and weeks on end which I unfairly had to make you do before, I am going to simply POST ALL CHAPTERS ALL IN ONE GO! I hope you guys enjoy the rest of this story but I will warn you now it will not be the end, there will be a sequel however I do not think it will be completed any time in the near possible future. Thank you all so much for your encouragement and support, it has meant a lot to me all through this difficult time and I hope I don't let you down. Here we go!
Stepping lightly through the knights barracks Amaya inhaled deeply, hearing her lonesome footsteps echo eerily through the halls as she passed each door, stopping at one and opening it without hesitating. Instantly she felt soothed, closing her eyes as Tristan's scent washed over her, though it was old and faint. Entering the room she closed the door and stood in the centre of the room, allowing the familiar surroundings envelop her and give her comfort.
Amaya, tired beyond belief, collapsed onto the bed and buried her face into his pillow, holding back her tears of stress and worry as she closed her eyes, slowly relaxing until her all tension had disappeared from her body.
The door opened and quiet but firm footfalls tickled her ears. When a familiar touch brushed against her face, Amaya's eyes shot wide open and she sat up, staring into Tristan's eyes as he gazed at her. "You are on my bed." He remarked with an arch of her eyebrow and Amaya let out a small sob, throwing her arms around him and he just sat there, allowing her to embrace him until slowly he rested one hand on her back, slowly rubbing his palm up her back until tiny jolts shot up her spine.
"Tristan! I was so afraid." She whispered, shaking against him as he shrugged.
"I'm here now." Amaya sighed with relief, relaxing against him as her fingers brushed against the messy locks of his hair, finding a plait and running it through her fingers.
"How did you get in? What about the army outside?" Amaya demanded and Tristan chuckled.
"You sleep like a log. Arthur came charging in and laid waste to them all." Amaya blinked, drawing back in surprise.
"I missed the battle?" He rolled his eyes but lifted a hand to her face intimately, gazing into her eyes before kissing her. Amaya whimpered, desire flooding through her and she shifted, sitting up but then pulled Tristan towards her as she lay back onto the bed, kissing him with a fire that had been simmering under her skin for weeks.
When his fingers slid down her chest she gasped, arching her back as Tristan drew his head to her neck and began to graze her skin, making her groan and arc into him again, hands gripping him tightly. Suddenly Tristan pulled back and locked her legs around him, his hands going to her belt as he wrenched it from her painfully. "Tristan!" She hissed at him but he ignored her, fisting his fingers into her shirt and tore it as she yelped. "No! Tristan please, no further."
"Enough Amaya. I have been patient but now I will claim what is mine." His voice was sick and twisted, snarling in her ear as Amaya began to whimper in fear, eyes wide as she tried to kick and push him off but his superior strength held him down. "No! Let go of me!" She slapped at him but the blows glanced off him harmlessly. When his hands gripped her breeches and tore them easily, she yelled aloud, struggling beneath him in terror. "No! Please! I am not ready! Please do not do this, don't hurt me please!"
With a terrified gasp Amaya's eyes flew open and she fell from the bed, yelping as she hit the floor but she quickly scrambled back to huddle in the corner, shivering as she wiped the sweat from her brow, cold and unwelcome. She could not even find peace of mind here. Why was life being so vindictive? Had she angered a deceased soul and earned bad fortune and nightmares to forever haunt her? She hoped not.
Shaking her head Amaya looked out the window and saw that the sky was beginning to lighten so she hurried away, hammering on Dagonet's door as she passed. "Wake up Percival, we are to battle." She heard him leap out of bed and accidentally knock something over but she did not wait for him, strapping her belt more securely around her waist so that her sword, freshly sharpened, hung neatly at her hip.
Striding forwards Amaya walked to the battlements where everyone moved in utter silence, keeping quiet as she nodded to them then climbed up, lifting a hatch to gaze out to the ranks. They were still sound asleep, their fires all put out.
She looked down to Gawain who nodded to her, helping to put up some more beams across the iron gate to make sure that the archers did not manage to shoot arrows through and strike someone. Holding back a yawn Amaya realised she was very hungry so when the cooks came around with a morning soup, she gratefully accepted a bowl.
The plump woman added an extra spoonful, making Amaya blink in surprise. "For the Wolf Maiden." She murmured, patting Amaya's arm gently then moved on. Amaya only just remembered to call a quiet thank you after her before she guzzled down the food.
"Careful. Don't want you to choke." Daniel whispered to her with a grin. "Not very glorious if we get talked about in tales. Of all the heroic deaths available, Amaya the Wolf Maiden dies by choking on a turnip piece." She shot him a look.
"What is this with the name, Wolf Maiden?"
"It is what the villagers and men are now calling you." Daniel answered with a smirk. "I will admit, I helped spark the inspiration." She scowled at him.
"Well, get them to stop. The moment we win this war, I am going back to being just a maid."
"Just a maid." Daniel echoed then snorted quietly. "Forgive me, Amaya, but I do not think anyone is going to let you go back to being 'just a maid', they are already telling stories about you around the fires, they say that your sword was blessed by the gods of your people and that so long as you carry it, you cannot lose a battle. They also say that you use arrows fletched by a Persian king and that he is desperately in love with you so he can never refuse your request for more arrows." This time Amaya snorted.
"They are in for a rude awakening." She glanced to the sky then looked out to the enemy ranks, seeing them beginning to stir. "Get into position." She ordered him and he darted away, suddenly becoming serious. Percival took his place.
"Are you sure this will work?" He asked her quietly.
"You said yourself that some of these men were bought as slaves, others paid as mercenaries and the rest are trained soldiers bought from overseas. They have no reason to be loyal to him so when placed in front of temptation, why shouldn't they reach out and take what they desire?" Amaya whispered back, watching carefully. "Though my only worry are the trained soldiers. They seem to be our main threat, they know what they are doing." She remembered the shield they had made around the mechanism that Percival had managed to break through. She had not seen how he had managed it but was grateful nonetheless.
"You are very intelligent, Amaya, for being just a maid." Percival said to her. "I think there is more to you than you are telling me."
"Perhaps." She answered. "Maybe if you asked the right questions, I would answer. Not now, however, it shall have to wait." She looked back to the catapults which were laden with gold then back to the ranks. Once they were halfway formed, she nodded her head. "Release!" The gold was flung into the air and it chimed beautifully like morning birds chirping lightly from their nests.
The men looked up in confusion and Amaya watched with the knights as the soldiers below stared at the gold then hastened to try and catch as much as they could. Suddenly it was a mad scramble for money, men shoving each other out of the way as they spooned the new riches into their helms.
"Again!" Amaya called and another wave was sent over the wall and she could hear the shouting and arguments beginning to form. Smirking with satisfaction she turned to Lionel. "Now the wine, load up!" He tossed a handful of wine filled flasks into the cradle as did everyone else until he signalled that they were all set. "Loose!" The wine flew over and suddenly there was a heart cheer from the men as they scrambled for drink, tearing off the caps and draining the beverages before someone else snatched it away. "And again, loose!" Amaya sliced her sword down for the signal, looking out to see the commotion below.
The generals had no command now over the men as they drank and scrambled for gold, only around fifty of them stayed perfectly still in rank, the trained soldiers. At least Amaya could now single them out as they wore a slightly different armour, better kept than the rusty scrap the rest of the army wore.
"More!" Amaya called then slashed her sword for the signal, wine and gold sailing over her head. She continued several times before calling for them to stop, looking out to the army before smiling with pride. Those who were not drinking were fighting each other over the gold, sometimes even killing their fellow man just to claim a few more coins. They were like animals, savages with their fangs bared as the leaders tried to order them back into ranks, threatening to stop their pay but with all the gold on the ground, the men hardly cared. They had a chance to grab more than Lazarus was paying them in a few seconds than they would earn in an entire month.
"What goes on here?" Lazarus demanded in outrage. "Why have we not started our attack?" He stepped out of the lavish tent and his mouth dropped at the carnage before him. "Enough of this! Get them into order! Bring out the whips!" His seconds hurried to obey, drawing whips and lashed out at the men, making them either leap away in fear or turn on the riders themselves, dragging them from the horses then tore them apart limb from limb in their bloodlust.
Suddenly a chilling cry came from the trees and blue demons ran into view, shooting arrows in all directions at the army so Lazarus dived for cover then ordered his loyal men around him for protection.
Other Woads rose up from the ground, adorned with helms of grass and cloaks of similar style for camouflage, rushing into battle. With an enraged bellow Lazarus drew his great sword and swung it wildly as a Woad ran at him, cutting the warrior in half before continuing his destructive path.
From the battlements the soldiers cheered, watching as the Woads rushed into the fight. A small falcon flew to Amaya and she lifted a hand, allowing it to perch on her arm as it looked to her with bright, intelligent eyes. The peregrine falcon gave a soft cry of greeting and she smiled. "Well done little one." She murmured softly, looking into the distant trees where she believed she saw the shape of the Woad leaders watching the battle.
Some of the men too drunk to even realise what was happening were cut down instantly, those too focussed on escaping with their gold also being finished by either a Woad axe or arrow. Those who did stand and fight were terrified beyond belief, seeing these ghostly blue painted demons leap out at them through the morning mist, their unearthly wails sending shivers down your spine until the last you saw was the flash of a weapon before you faced the bright whiteness of oblivion.
Lazarus snarled hideously, drawing a knife to stab a Woad repeatedly in the chest and gut until he was splattered with his blood. He had not planned on fighting. He had expected the walls to be weak with Arthur gone but no. He was pushed aside by this, by this woman. It made him loathe the entire race.
Another Woad was cut down, this time by lifting his large weapon and slamming it into his skull, letting the body fall before stamping his foot down to wrench the weapon free. "Get these heathens drowning in their own blood! I want them dead! I want them all dead!" Lazarus roared then pointed to the wall. "I'll get you! I'll have your bodies hung up on that wall for the entire world to see!"
Amaya heard the threat over the screaming. He certainly had a pair of lungs. She watched on in silence, lifting her head proudly to meet the threat head on then brushed it aside. She could not allow herself to picture such a thing. It would destroy Arthur to see his wife, knights and some of the courtiers on the wall, strung up by their necks. No doubt just for spite Lazarus will kill Vanora and all her children also.
Perhaps Lucan will evade notice. No one really knows him that well as he keeps himself to himself, however she doubted he would have the sense to run away and hide. He would most likely stand in front of Vanora and try to defend her.
Another screech in the sky made Amaya look up and her jaw dropped in a gasp as she saw Tristan's hawk. She stepped back and whistled, letting the bird swoop down to her offered hand, the peregrine already having left to fly back to its master. "Here, come here." Amaya murmured then took the scrap of rolled up parchment crudely tied to the hawk's leg, passing it to Percival who read it aloud.
"They are coming." He suddenly laughed for joy then lifting the message high into the air. "Arthur is returning!" A booming cheer thundered through Amaya as she focussed on the bird, stroking its feathers as it regarded her carefully then gently nipped her fingers but not hard enough to draw blood. "Do we write back?"
"No, no time." Amaya drew a knife, passed the hawk over to Percival then strode over to one of the banners, slicing a strip off before returning. "This will have to do. Hold her for me." Amaya tightened the red cloth around the bird's leg and she clicked her beak at her. "I have no meat for you, my friend. Please, just hurry back to your master." Amaya murmured softly, taking the magnificent bird back then lifted her arm. "Fly with care and hurry, we need them soon."
She watched the bird soar up into the air, keeping an arrow trained in case someone saw the hawk and tried to shoot her down but when none tried and the hawk was out of the danger range, she lowered her arrow again. The battle was going ill for the Woads now, whose skill was now outmatched by the sheer numbers and strength of the soldiers and Amaya called for the white banner to be lifted, signalling to the Woads that she could retreat with honour should they wish.
The ghostly horn sounded and Amaya shivered but looked down over the edge to the battlefield, Woads racing back for the cover of the trees. "Archers! Cover fire! Loose!" Amaya bellowed and she too loosed an arrow, letting her volleys sail through the air and to protect themselves, the soldiers gave up the chase and lifted shields to protect themselves.
Then there was silence as Amaya called for a halt. "We have them!" Ector whispered to them. "Shouldn't we keep firing?"
"We must conserve our arrows. Hitting their shields is no use. We only have around three hundred left and their numbers still outmatch ours." Amaya explained to him. "Our hopes now rest entirely on Arthur. Whatever god is listening, please give him speed and his men strength. Let them come soon." Because Amaya did not know how much longer they could survive.