Author's Notes: Hope you guys are enjoying the story so far! As promised, you'll be getting an additional two chapters to read this week as thanks for your continued support! Here's Chapter Eight! Enjoy!

Chapter VIII

Gilly was holding on tightly to Iliana's wrists as Arion trotted out of town and towards the hills near the graveyard. Iliana felt the anxiety and tension flowing off the young boy, and she leaned forward to place a gentle kiss on the top of his head.

"Hey. You have nothing to worry about, Gilly. Arion has never allowed me to fall, and I know he won't allow you to fall. Do you trust me?"

He looked over his shoulder at her and nodded, gulping as he straightened up and then looked forward. His sudden change in demeanor surprised Iliana, and despite still feeling the anxiety, she also felt his determination.

"Okay. Hang on, sweetheart."

With a gentle kick of her heel into Arion's flank, the stallion took off at a slight gallop. She gripped the reins tightly and kept her arms secure around Gilly as he held on. They felt the cool breeze against their cheeks as Arion made his way towards the hills overlooking the field, listening to the grass crunch beneath his hooves. She felt Gilly tremble slightly in her hold, but he took a deep breath to maintain his composure.

They soon came to the top of the tallest hill, and Arion let out a whinny that Iliana recognized as one of pride as he stood tall with his head held high. When she looked out at the field in the distance and even saw the town beyond the wall, she was almost sure she was on top of the world for this moment in time.

"Wow. The view is so incredible from here, especially atop Arion," Gilly commented as he took in the field and the town.

Iliana smiled as she gave his shoulder a pat.

"How are you feeling?"

"I feel good," he replied.

"So, what did you think of riding Arion bareback?"

The boy turned to look up at her, a smile forming as his face glowed.

"It was one of the best experiences I ever had," he replied. "Would it be possible for me to ride Arion bareback with you again?"

"If I'm not busy and your mother allows it, all you have to do is ask," she said with a smile that lit up his face.

When the two of them looked out towards the town, they saw Vanora coming from the archway, carrying Eleven and with the rest of the children following her. They watched as the redhead led them towards a particular stretch of the field where there were several types of wildflowers growing near the graveyard.

"Well, let's go join your mother and your siblings," Iliana whispered in his ear. "I'm sure you're eager to gather more daffodils for me."

When Gilly nodded, she got Arion going, when something caught her attention in the distance. Arthur and the men were heading out to confront the Woads, and she could only wonder how far south they would go for this mission.

"Pa!" Gilly called, his shout just loud enough to catch Bors's attention, and Iliana couldn't help but smile at the look of pride the rounded knight had on his face at the sight of them. She watched as he drew his sword and raised it up to the sky.

"Gilly! Ili! Rus!"

Gilly looked up at Iliana, and when she nodded at him, the two of them raised their right fists to the sky and yelled their own cry of "Rus!" At that moment, the sun shined down on Iliana, making her glow, and she saw the men staring at her in awe as the horses trotted down the dirt road. When her eyes locked with Tristan's from afar, she felt her heart flutter in the confines of her chest.

Please come back safely. I don't want to imagine the thought of your presence not here to watch over me for too long.

She was a little surprised at the latter of her thoughts; how did she grow so attached to him in the month since her arrival?

"You know Uncle Tristan likes you, Auntie Ili."

Gilly's brief comment snapped the young girl out of the spell Tristan's gaze put her under, and she looked down at him, noting the glee in his smile and eyes.

"Does he?"

Gilly nodded in response, his smile widening slightly.

"I doubt he thinks of me that way. What makes you so sure that he does?"

The little boy chuckled before he spoke up.

"Whenever I see him look at you, I can tell that he adores you. While he hardly ever speaks, I know he cares for you, Auntie Ili."

His words surprised her, and as she looked up, the horses galloped off into the far distance, taking the men with them. She breathed out a small sigh, trying not to think too much about the danger that they were riding into and the fact that they could also ride to their deaths.

Father, please hear my prayers and watch over them for me. It's the least I can ask of you in return for fulfilling your last wish of coming here.

With that prayer, Iliana directed Arion down to the stretch of field where Vanora and the children were. Once they were close, she clicked her tongue, and he lied down, allowing the two of them to dismount him.

"I'll pick some flowers for you after I go play, Auntie Ili," Gilly announced.

"Okay. Enjoy yourself, little man," Iliana said with a smile and a pat of his head before he took off to join his siblings. Iliana sat down in the grass next to Vanora, who was tending to Eleven, and Arion lay down behind them, holding his head up high to watch the children.

"Looks like Gilly enjoyed himself riding bareback on Arion," Vanora pointed out with a smile as she fed Eleven.

"He did. He was a little nervous at first, but he calmed down and he had a good time," Iliana said with a nod. "I told him that if he ever wanted to do it again, all he has to do is ask me."

Vanora's smile widened slightly.

"So, how has life been treating you here at the Wall, Ili?"

"I've been enjoying my time here," Iliana replied. "Between the tavern, the children and helping Jols with the horses occasionally, I felt I have found my place in life.

"Yet…"

She paused, gazing up at the sky with a lost expression.

"What is it?" Vanora asked.

"I still don't understand why my father wanted me to come to Britain."

There was a moment of silence, save for Eleven's occasional hiccups, before Vanora spoke up.

"You haven't really talked to me about your parents. Would you like to tell me about them?"

There was gentleness in her voice, which was the invitation Iliana needed to open up to the woman who had become her closest confidant.

"I never knew my mother. According to my father, she passed away a few hours after giving birth to me. She was incredibly frail, and as I continued to grow, she slowly deteriorated.

"At the very least, she got to hold me before she passed on."

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have brought up such a touchy subject," Vanora said with a hint of regret.

Iliana shook her head.

"No. It's okay. I haven't had the chance to really talk about them, especially my mother, since I never got to meet her. I only know her from my father's memories."

"And your father?" Vanora asked.

"He's not the monster the tales have made him out to be," Iliana replied. "His meeting with my mother revealed the man that he should have been if Rome had not taken him to serve as a knight. Based on the way he was with me when he raised me and his memories of my mother, you could tell that there was a man underneath the dangerous, ferocious beast the stories told of him.

"I spent the first eight years of my life on the Greek island of Corfu, and then we moved to my father's old homeland in Sarmatia. We spent the next ten years there with whoever remained of his tribe and one of his brothers-in-arms from his time in servitude, and I learned how to ride a horse and scout from his brother.

"During my sixteenth spring on this earth, my father became ill and ultimately bedridden. I then discovered from both my tutor and the local healer that an illness he got from one of his battle wounds was now taking its full hold on him. I knew he was sick, but I didn't know that he had been fighting death while he was raising me. It upset me terribly that he never told me."

Vanora reached out to stroke her arm.

"Perhaps because he didn't want you to worry so much about him."

"The last thing he said to me, besides pushing me to go to Britain, was that I would be the ray of light for someone else," Iliana explained. "Since the day I was born, I had been his ray of light, and he believed I would help another shine through their darkness."

Vanora had an intrigued look in her eyes as she let Iliana's words sink into the depths of her mind.

"Would you like to know what I think?"

After a moment of silence, Iliana simply nodded.

"You have become a ray of light for several people already," Vanora explained. "Myself, the children, and the men. If I had to take a guess on whose ray of light you're going to be, I would have picked Tristan."

Iliana didn't say a word as she felt her heart skip a few beats in her chest. Anything involving Tristan was enough to make her suffer heart failure.

"Tristan may not be the expressive type, but I can tell that he cares about you. The way he is with you, I have never seen him act that way with any other woman. You brought out feelings in him he has not felt in so long, and he's doing what he can to keep you close within his comfort zone while watching you from a distance."

Iliana was even more confused after listening to Vanora. Why was Tristan so interested in her that he would follow her around, much less go to all this trouble for her?

"It's like I told you on my first night here, Vanora. There really is nothing special about me. I don't know what Tristan would see in me that would have captured his attention, much less his heart."

"And again, you're not seeing what he's seeing, dear. Give it time, and you'll see what I'm talking about."

He just doesn't see how much of a curse I am, she thought.

"Auntie Ili! Come play with us!"

The call of the children brought the conversation to an end, and with a smile, Iliana stood up from the grass and made her way over to where they were playing. Rocking Eleven in her arms, Vanora watched as Gilly presented her a bouquet of wildflowers. While she smiled at him, the redhead didn't miss the sad look reflected in her eyes. When Eleven cried, she cooed him and continued rocking him.

Open your eyes and your heart, Ili. Only then will you stop being so blind and confused.

Iliana was in the comfort of her room after settling Arion back in the stables and performing another belly dancing show for the children. The top she wore tied in the back and the nape, and in combination with the pants, the color was a pretty shade of lilac. With her hair down, she looked like a life-sized doll. The only thing wrong with the picture was her not feeling that way.

She turned to the vast body mirror that was leaning against the wall, staring at her own reflection as she thought back to the conversation she had with Vanora. Having left out of her belief of being a curse (primarily to not shock the older woman to death), she reflected on why she saw herself that way.

Calliope, who was already ill, was having more of her fragile life drained from her while she was conceiving her. She was sure that she looked as frail as ever after giving birth to her, and she could only imagine whatever expression she had on her face holding her in her arms as she succumbed to her illness. Even if she was content in the end, Iliana couldn't help but feel like a monster for draining the life of the mother that she would never meet.

As for Leoric, Iliana was sure that he was already hurting from both his servitude to Rome and the blow he suffered from Calliope's passing. Yet, he was always good at masking his emotions, and as a result, she never saw how much the pain of both blows was slowly killing him. A part of her wondered if her appearance reminded him of Calliope, and how much it hurt him if that was truly the case.

While she was a blessing to Leoric from being the last link he had to the woman that accepted him for who he was, was she also a burden because of that connection? She wondered how hard it must have been to keep up with her for all these years as his own illness worsened, and yet he refused to let it slow him down. She also had a feeling that something was off, but she never questioned it. Even if she had listened to her instincts, would it have changed the overall outcome?

No. Even if he had lived for a little while longer, it would have only been a matter of time before it ultimately claimed his life.

Father, I know you didn't leave this earth wanting me to be unhappy. However, I feel I don't deserve to be happy, knowing Mother died giving me life, and you fought death for so long to take care of me. I don't even deserve to be loved with everything I've learned.

She breathed out a sigh as she mulled things over.

Everyone here has been good to me, especially Arthur and his knights. I just think that I don't deserve what they have given me up to this point.

Her thoughts immediately turned to Tristan, causing her heart to race within the confines of her chest. She imagined him atop Siria as they scouted ahead for the wild, native Woads that were lying in wait amongst the cover of the brush. A shiver tore through her spine at the thought of them ambushing the men, and she hoped that wasn't the case, wherever they were.

Now that she thought about it, Iliana realized how her thoughts had been on Tristan a lot for the past month since he caught her half-clothed in the spring. At that moment, she could hear both Gilly's and Vanora's words from earlier echoing in her mind.

"Uncle Tristan likes you, Auntie Ili."

"You've brought out feelings in him that he hasn't felt in so long, and he's doing what it takes to keep you close. If I had to guess why your father wanted you to come here, it was to be his ray of light."

She broke down and cried; the tears pouring from behind her eyes.

Father, what was your meaning behind your last words? I still don't understand, and I don't want to wonder anymore!

She snapped out of her thoughts when she heard chaos break from outside.

"The knights have returned! They have been injured! Clear the way to the infirmary!"

She was sure her heart fell into the deepest pits of her stomach with a loud splat that rang throughout her ears in the quiet of her chamber. Who had gotten injured, and were they okay? Quick to regain her composure, Iliana wiped her eyes, wrapped a shawl around her shoulders, and left, heading for the infirmary.

When she entered the building, she saw Arthur holding the spot above his eyebrow and Dagonet gathering up the supplies he needed. She covered her mouth with both hands as the healer turned in her direction.

"Ili, am I grateful to see you. I need an extra set of hands," he announced.

She nodded as she walked towards Arthur.

"What happened?"

"We found the Woads responsible for the attacks I informed you of and took care of them," the commander replied. "Another group of them ambushed us lying in wait on our way back."

"Who is all injured?" Iliana asked.

"The men have sustained some minor, non-threatening injuries, but Tristan got the worst of it when a Woad slashed him," Arthur replied.

Iliana felt the world around her crumble into dust as she fought the urge to cry.

"I wouldn't worry too much, lass," Dagonet said in assurance from behind her. "Tristan has sustained worse in the fifteen years we've been fighting, and I know he'll pull through."

She nodded, and when she got a closer look at Arthur's face, she saw a hint of blood coursing from his fingertips.

"Arthur, can I see that wound?"

He nodded, and when he pulled his fingers away, she saw it was a minor cut.

"It doesn't need stitches, but it's definitely going to need a salve applied to help stop the bleeding."

"Here," Dagonet said, handing her a small container in which the lid was off.

"Thanks," Iliana said with a nod as she took the container. Dipping the tip of her index finger into it, she gently and carefully applied the ointment to the cut. Arthur winced slightly, but he stayed still as she rubbed the ointment. As she expected, the wound finally stopped bleeding.

"It's stopped bleeding now, but I would suggest applying some of this salve to a cloth and holding it there in case it bleeds through," she said, setting the container down by him.

"I will. Thank you, Ili," he said with a nod and a smile.

When Dagonet cleared his throat, Iliana turned to look at him.

"I'll tend to the rest of the men. You're going to put what I've taught you in the past month to the test and tend to Tristan, Ili. Can you do that for me?"

She felt her breath hitch and her heart skip a few beats, but considering he needed the help, she nodded.

"Aye. I've got you covered, Dagonet."

He nodded and smiled before leading her towards a separate room. When she walked in, she tried her hardest not to cringe.

Tristan was sitting on the edge of the bed, wincing occasionally as he held his left side. He looked up as the two of them walked in, and when he locked eyes with her, Iliana felt her heart flutter in her chest. She didn't maintain eye contact for too long, for she caught the blood that was staining his tunic from the corner of her eye, even as his hand covered it.

"Everything you need is already out. The rest is on you. Take good care of him, Ili," Dagonet announced, giving her a pat on the shoulder before taking his leave, leaving her alone with Tristan. When they locked eyes once again, Iliana took a deep breath as she approached him.

"Can you lie down for me?" she asked, to which he nodded.

As he got comfortable, she stole a glance to her right and saw that all the tools and supplies were out and within reach. When she turned back to him, she removed her shawl and set it down.

"May I lift your tunic so I can get better access to the wound?"

He nodded again, and when he moved his hand away, she pushed the hem up just enough to reveal his torso. The slash was shallow, and no stitches were necessary. She just needed to cleanse it with the antibacterial liquid, stop the bleeding with a salve, and then bandage it with extra salve to help with the healing. She gulped when she glimpsed his physique and the battle scars adorning his olive-toned complexion, and she felt her cheeks grow warm.

Iliana, you need to focus. He's wounded, and you're here to treat him, not ogle at him.

With another deep breath, she got to work.

She began with the antibacterial liquid, drizzling it and using a cloth to catch the excess as it dripped down. He winced as she used the cloth to dab at the wound, and she took extra care, pausing whenever he winced or flinched and only resuming when she felt him relax. She felt his eyes on her, but she didn't look up out of fear that she would falter.

Now that she had cleansed the wound, it was on to the salve and then bandaging it up.

She took her time with the salve, repeating the process of pausing when he winced and resuming when he relaxed. She made sure that she didn't miss a single spot of the wound as she applied the ointment, and she even applied a second coat to ensure that the wound would stop bleeding.

"Okay. I just need for you to sit up so I can bandage this wound."

She held him as he complied with her request, and he held the hem of his tunic up. Her breath hitched at the sight of his torso in full, but she willed herself to keep it together as she took the bandage and wrapped it around his torso. Whenever she had to lean forward, her cheek would brush against his arm.

Once she finished, Iliana tied the bandage in a secure knot.

"Okay. I'm done. Lie down and get some rest," she told him. "That wound should heal in the next few days."

Just as she was about to pull herself away, Iliana suddenly paused when Tristan took a hold of her wrist. She lowered her head, her gaze on the floor as she fought the urge to cry. If she looked up, she knew her expression would give away her moment of vulnerability that she refused to show. When she didn't move, Tristan released her wrist and brought his hand to her chin, tilting her head upwards so that he could see her face. His thumb wiped the trail her previous tears left on her cheek, and he wiped a fresh tear that tried to escape from the corner of her eye. Her hand moved as if it had a mind of its own, brushing his bangs aside so that she could get a better look at his eyes, and her hand soon moved downward to touch his longest braid that was hanging down the left side of his face.

"Why have you been crying?"

She leaned into his touch, her eyes never leaving his as she answered him.

"I had my father on my mind. That's all."

There was something about his smoky, accented voice and the concern behind it that seemed to soothe her, but she also wondered what he was seeing as he gazed into her eyes. She had never been this vulnerable around a man before, and she could feel the barrier she put up around her heart cracking slightly.

"Ili-"

The door swinging open cut him off, and the two of them were quick to pull away from each other.

"How is he?" Dagonet asked.

"He'll be fine," Iliana replied. "The wound didn't need stitches, thankfully, but he will need a few days of bed rest for the salve to settle in so that the wound can heal properly. I've bandaged it, and it's going to stay on for at least a couple of days, and then it needs to be checked on and changed."

"You've done well, Ili. Thank you," Dagonet said with a nod. "I've got it from here. Gawain and Galahad are looking for you."

"Then I'll go see them," she said with a smile before turning back to Tristan. "I'll see you later, Tristan, and before I forget. Thank you for watching me last night. Vanora told me what happened."

She gave him her sweetest smile before she turned and left the room, leaving the two knights to their business.

End Notes: Ooh. A little interaction between Tristan and Ili! Perhaps a sign of what's to come down the line. The next chapter will be out tomorrow! Check back!