Eden watched as the blond, who she usually had to practically threaten to get her to hurry and move along, now flew about the room restlessly from one place to another with a huge smile on her face. It started to make Eden dizzy and she had to ask her four times before Arielle finally sat back down.

"Listen, I can see that you're... full of energy, but if we're going to make this trip, we need to plan it out. The road is much longer than the one here and it's dangerous... We need to be a lot better prepared."

"Yeah, sure, dangerous, mhm, prepared, got it." Arielle repeated, but her face betrayed that she wasn't listening at all and she had to hold on to the chair to keep from bouncing off of it.

"Duchess..." Eden grumbled and gave her a serious look.

The look made Arielle settle down immediately and she gazed back at the dark-haired woman thoughtfully for a few moments. She looks nice with her hair tied back like that.

"Yes, yes, you're right, I know." she said, a mischievous grin forming in the corner of her mouth, "And I think the perfect place to start preparations would be some new clothes for you."

Eden blinked twice with some surprise and Arielle grinned triumphantly.

"Well, you did say yourself that you don't really have anything to wear other than the black tunic and with that gone..." Arielle explained with sarcastic innocence, "Unless, you decided to go romping around the desert like an Amazon."

"Oh, I sense trouble." Eden muttered quietly and with a little anguish.

"Yes, clothes," Arielle continued, ignoring the comment, "And the barber. Though with hair like this I'll probably be a less likely target for new raiders. Some equipment probably. Those herbs. Let's just buy all of them and I can figure out what they do later. Oh, and food, yes lots of food..."

Eden's head slowly sank into her hands and she began to wonder if this wasn't just another cleverly disguised curse. But there was a part of her that took a little delight in the cheerful rambling of the young blond. It's...pleasant.

"Alright, alright." Eden said, raising her head and stopping the blond, "I need you to listen to me."

"Yeah, listening." Arielle answered, blinking.

"I'm serious. This is serious. You may not want to go."

"Oh. Alright, I'm listening." Arielle said and became a little more serious.

"Like I said, the road is dangerous. And traveling with me, well, it doesn't make it any easier."

"I beg to differ. Have you ever seen yourself fight?"

"But I also draw trouble. Pilgrim trains are usually raided and left alone. With me, on the other hand, it may get a little...ugly. I'm rather well known... amongst the wrong kind of people."

"Oh, I see what you mean..." Arielle replied and creased her brows, emersing herself in deep thought.

Eden watched her carefully. She was sure that the blond was finally starting to realize what kind of person Eden in truth was and that traveling with her wasn't the best of ideas. She wanted to give her a chance to back out, for her own safety. Eden shifted slightly in her chair, waiting for Arielle to try to break the change of mind to her.

"Maybe I should get a weapon?... I did say I wanted to learn, didn't I?... What do you think?" Arielle finally said after some time and looked at Eden in all seriousness.

Where Eden saw a chance for her to go back to her life, Arielle saw a chance to finally tear herself away from it. Though a chance to have her "silly adventures and stories" out of her system and have some sense restored in her pretty little head was her parents' intention of her pilgrimage, Arielle had something different in mind. For her it was chance to finally experience all the adventures and wonders that she had only read about her entire life. She wanted to make her literary escape real, she wanted to see, feel, taste, and smell all the things that lived in her mind. Although she thought that eventually she would probably settle down into the life that everyone expected of her and said would bring her happiness and meaning, she knew that there was a part of her that didn't fit in. She had a secret hope that maybe in the Holy Lands she would find something that would finally bring that part some solace. Now, she perhaps saw her chance to become a person she wasn't ever supposed to be.

Eden was surprised by the reply, but saw the sobriety of the blond's expression. Eden wondered a little over the younger woman. There were times where she lived up exactly to her image- young, naive, giddy, and innocent if not a little absentminded. She could image the blond in a rose colored dress, dancing in all merriness with other girls, blushing under the stares of interested boys. Yet, there were other times when the green eyes would shimmer, unveiling a dark, rich forest full of many more secrets than could be seen at first glance. There would be a mature attentiveness of a sage, gentle understanding of an old mother, hard experience of a fighter. The stark difference between the two images perplexed Eden and she wondered which of the two the blond really was or whether she was neither in the end.

"You want to wield a weapon?" Eden asked after getting over the strange look in Arielle's eyes.

"Yes. This seems like a chance to finally do so. You said it's dangerous. Maybe if I had a sword or something I could teach those raiders a thing or two." the blond responded, the playful innocence returning to her eyes.

"Well, I guess you might need one in the end... For protection..." Eden said slowly because now, innocent or no, to her it seemed like she was trying to tell a hippo that it would have to climb a tree.

"But don't I have you for that?" Arielle shot out, blinked in her stupidity, and prepared herself to hide under the table if need be.

"First of all, I'm not your servant or squire." Eden snorted and crossed her arms over her chest, "Secondly, I can't always be right next to you. Your little rendezvous in Antioch is a good example."

"Yes...you have a point. I guess you're right."

"Thirdly, I'm always right." Eden added in good humor and the blond's grin returned. "That said, you can still back out now-"

"No, thank you." Arielle answered swiftly with a little theatrical sniff.

"Alright then." Eden stated, leaning back in her chair, a tiny grin hovering in the corner of her mouth. "It seems we have a plan...more or less."

"Well then let's go to the market!" Arielle exclaimed, bounding suddenly off of the chair and out of the hovel, almost hitting the door on her way out.

"Going to be a long day..." Eden muttered under her breath.

Arielle squirmed on the ride to Antioch so much that Eden had to tell her to sit still three times.

"What's gotten into you?" Eden asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Oh nothing. I'm just... excited." the blond answered, widening her eyes and grinning widely.

"Oh, dear Lord." Eden exhaled quietly and Arion snorted loudly.

When they arrived in Antioch, Eden suggested they start at the armorer first and they went to the same one where Eden had last been. The armorer seeing Eden greeted her warmly.

"Aye, if it isn't the lady that wouldn't shame a Templar. Say, you wouldn't be here with a complaint now?"

"No, no. Just some additional things I need."

"Ah, good to hear." the armorer said relieved and then turned his gaze to the blond standing right in back of Eden, "And so what would it be that the lady is looking for?"

"The lady doesn't seem to know yet." Eden intervened after Arielle opened her mouth three times, but couldn't get a word out.

"I see. Well, feel free to take a gander, little maiden. See if there ain't something to your liking." he offered and then walked to the back and returned to some work.

"Am I really 'little'?" Arielle asked, peering up with girlish, mossy green eyes at Eden when she turned around.

"Yes." Eden replied flatly, "Now go take a gander."

Arielle frowned, dissatisfied with the answer, spun around on her heel, and began to look at all the weapons while Eden took a few moments to appreciate the blond's young and somewhat sheltered innocence here where it wouldn't do either of them any harm.

Arielle lingered over and picked up a longsword with both hands and a smile only to drop it automatically with a tiny grunt. Eden rolled her eyes and approached her.

"Maybe you'd like to choose something... more for you." she suggested, picking up the longsword with one hand like it was a feather and ignoring Arielle's wide-eyed gaze while she put it back.

The blond put her hands on her hips, pretending to be insulted.

"Fine, maybe I don't have the same strength as you do, but not everyone has to wield a sword, you know." she said.

"Really? Well then what weapon do you want to wield... lady?" she asked with a smirk.

"I'm still thinking about that." Arielle answered, theatrically lifting her head a little to the side.

Eden rolled her eyes and sighed. They looked at different weapons, but Arielle felt ill at ease with them. They looked at armor and shields also, but without knowing what weapon Arielle would have, choosing armor was pointless. And suddenly the blond stopped and turned around to face the slightly taller woman with a glint in her eye.

"I know." she declared with satisfaction.

"You chose something?"

"A bow."

"A bow?"

"A bow." Arielle confirmed with a nod.

"Really?" Eden asked, folding her arms and raising an eyebrow.

"Yes, really. I am not simply an elegantly dressed woman and nothing else. Come with me oh ye of little faith." she said in a light huff and walked out armorer's and to the fletcher across the alley.

"Morning." said the fletcher, grabbing his back, "By Christ's nails, I'm getting old. What can I do for you?"

Arielle stood in the middle of the shop, her hands defiantly on her hips, and scanned all the hanging bows inside. Her eyes moved from one to the other until they final rested on a bow, a little hidden in the corner, slightly smaller than the others.

"That one." she stated, pointing to it.

The fletcher scrambled over to it and pulled it down.

"There you are, love." he said handing it to her, "Shortbow of fine quality that one. For horseback even if need be. Designed right here in Antioch. Good range out of that one, tried it myself. And made out of yew, it is, as durable as a Crusader. Holy Mary, I swear I broke something this time."

"Thank you. I'll be right back." the blond said and swiveled on her heel, "If I could have your attention please, Eden."

Arielle walked purposefully out of the workshop, grabbing an arrow on her way and waited for Eden to stand next to her.

"Choose a target." Arielle said and waited.

"There." Eden said, pointing to a tall, yet slender basket on a second story balcony of a building about 250 meters away.

Arielle took an archer's stance, ignoring Eden's cocked eyebrow and a few baffled onlookers, took the arrow, nocked it, drew it, aiming at the target with strained concentration, and let the arrow fly. Eden watched the arrow sail through the air and hit its mark with ease. The blond faced Eden, leaning against the bow and put her other hand on her hip with an 'I told you so' written all over her face. Eden crossed her arms, looked at the arrow, and then back at the blond.

"Not bad." she remarked, "A bow it is then."

The blond's face lit up with triumph and she bounded back to the fletcher's shop with a big smile on her face.

"I'll take it!" Arielle announced to the fletcher. "And a quiver of arrows. Oh, and some wax and an extra string."

"Long or short bodkins, miss?"

"Hmm... make it half and half."

"Right away, young lady." the fletcher responded with a grin and then clutched his back, "Oh, this back is definitely giving me the jib again."

After they left the aching fletcher, they went back to the armorer and the rest of the day seemed to turn into a colorful, yet tiring blur. They moved from merchant to merchant looking, trying on, arguing, debating, arguing some more, complaining, requesting adjustments, and haggling. Eden would provide her knowledgeable eye and Arielle would talk her way into a better deal. They had finally purchased all their armor and weapons, clothes, equipment, and food. Somewhere in the middle of all of that, they passed the barber.

"Oh. A lovely afternoon to the lovely ladies! You come to Samir! Samir welcomes you!" cried out the barber happily, throwing his hands up in the air.

Both of the women stopped and stared at him, Arielle grinning in amusement, Eden scowling with annoyance.

"I did say I needed to go to the barber." Arielle pointed out to Eden quietly.

"Oh, lovely lady come for snip snip from Samir! Good choice, good choice! Samir turn you into a queen... Oh, you find such handsome prince after you leave Samir. Oh yes, you find king, become queen of great kingdom. When you are queen, you remember good Samir, yes?"

Arielle let out a little laugh while Eden rolled her eyes.

"Are you sure?" Eden asked, eyeing the smiling barber roughly and realizing that he kind of looked like a shorn sheep dressed as a court jester.

"Of course. He's harmless, just a little... overenthusiastic. He's funny." Arielle giggled.

"Come, come, royal lady! You travel far, have many hardships I see. Samir make you look like jewel again. You will be emerald of the East..."

Arielle giggled again and Eden thought that she just might throw up if she heard any more.

"Fine. I'm going to the blacksmith for some new shoes for Arion. I'll meet you back here." Eden decided, gave the barber one more hesitant look, and walked off.

"Ah, come noble lady. Samir will make you jewel of Byzantine Empire. Samir is king of snippety snip snip, yes.."

Eden came back to the barber's after a while, silently thanking her luck that some things were to be picked up the next day and she didn't have to carry it all around now. The blacksmith was nearly on the other side of the city and the whole hustle and bustle was tiring and making her irritated. I never did like crowds. As she neared the barber's entrance, Arielle came practically bolting out of it, in her shawl, with a very jovial Samir right behind her.

"I tell you, gentle lady, Samir is worthy of praise! Ah, you return, oh dark, mysterious maiden." he said, noticing Eden and bowing slightly and Arielle had to hold back a giggle while Eden had to hold back an urge to cover him in horse manure.

"Let's get out of here, he's already started naming my children... and grandchildren." Arielle whispered hurriedly and the both of them made a dash around the corner.

They were about to finally return to the hovel when they passed the stables and Arielle suddenly froze. Eden noticed after a few steps and turned around.

"What is it?" she asked a little tiredly.

"I... I..." Arielle stuttered.

Eden sighed and walked to the blond to see what the problem was. She glanced around, but saw nothing and was about become annoyed when she saw what had captured Arielle's attention. In the corner, a little farther away than the other horses, stood a beautiful chestnut horse. The horse caught sight of them looking at him and as if on cue, slowly trotted up to them. They had seen brown horses before, but this one was unique. His chestnut coat shone in the sun, letting off metallic reflections and the powerful muscle rippled beneath it. Yet Eden was struck mostly by his blond mane and green eyes. He was powerful, but stood with such calm and looked so gentle that Eden almost thought he wouldn't be able to step on a fly on the ground. He reminded her so much of the blond that it was almost uncanny.

"That's my horse..." Arielle whispered almost breathlessly.

"I know..." Eden replied similarly.

They rode back to the hovel, laden with their goods and Arielle on her new horse. The road back this time was quiet; Eden was tired of all the noise and Arielle was preoccupied with finding a name for her horse and she scoured her memory for mythical and magical beasts to name him after. When they finally arrived at the hovel and dismounted, Eden turned to see a widely grinning Arielle.

"Let me guess, you named him."

"I did. Xanthus."

"Xanthus?"

"Well, if you have a mythological stallion, why can't I? He was an immortal horse belonging to Achilles, blond and endowed with speech."

"Well, if he's endowed with speech then he's definitely your horse." Eden drawled a little tiredly, pulling the heavy saddlebags off of Arion and going back into the hovel while Arielle huffed and put her hands on her hips.

They ate in silence, both a little spent from the hectic day at the market. After eating, Arielle had unintentionally fallen asleep and Eden took her sword and went outside to alleviate her nervous tension with some weapon practice. She felt better with her blade in her hand and out in the wide open. People seemed to drive her crazy quite quickly; they had such a tendency to destroy things and hurt others. No one knew that better than she did. And though she didn't go around picking fights or being consciously aggressive, she also had no intention of being overly friendly. She just approached everyone indifferently and acted the same way others acted towards her. She whipped her blade through the air, slicing and disarming her invisible opponents. The tension poured out of her muscles, replaced by something much more natural and simple. This is the closest I get to feeling alive.

When she had finally drilled herself into a pleasant exhaustion, she returned to the hovel and stood in the entrance, turning her sword around in her hand.

"Is something wrong?" Arielle asked when she saw the dark-haired woman standing and staring down at her sword.

Eden looked up at her for a moment with somewhat of a pained look. No, there is no use in even searching for the words.

"No... nothing." she replied, looking back down and turning to her tasks and leaving the blond a little perplexed.

They spent the rest of their time checking their supplies, setting the herbs out to dry, putting aside some pieces of meat and fish to dry also. Eden repaired some wear she saw in her saddlebags and Arielle tore some of Eden's cloths into bandages. They worked quietly, Arielle making a comment every now and again and never receiving more than a 'mhm' from the older woman.

When night had fallen, Eden rose to go. She silently put on her new, hooded, black cloak and fastened her sword.

"I'll be back soon." she managed to say.

Arielle watched her wordlessly as Eden mounted Arion and rode off into the dark night. The blond wrapped her arms around herself, trying to ward off a slight chill at the thought that Eden wasn't coming back and had just left her there. Would she?...

Not long after, Eden finally arrived at the church of St. Peter and dismounted. She approached the door and knocked on it three times. It creaked open after a few moments and an old, but alert monk stood in front of her. A hooded woman in front of the church in the middle of the night was not an everyday occurrence and he observed her closely. She raised her gaze to meet his and he peered at her with intrigue. He saw her blue eyes flash for a moment in the light of the moon.

*"Quis es?" he asked, his gray eyes peering at her in curious scrutiny.

"Miles et bellator Dei sum." Eden answered in a low, clear and nearly inaudible voice.

The monk knotted his brows and gazed at Eden in perplexed suspicion. He regarded her entire stance with his perceptive, experienced eyes.

"Num miles gloriosus es?"

"Curator Dei sum." Eden replied and reached around her neck and pulled out a chain with pendant to which the monk responded with a startled look that then gave way to a slow nod, "Missit me Dominus."

The monk shuffled out of the way and outstretched his arm, ushering her inside.

Arielle leaned her forehead on the window, staring out into the night until her eyes slowly slid closed. She felt the coolness of the window against her skin, hearing the crackle of the fire that was throwing dancing shadows against the walls. Her mind's eye peered out into the darkness that had swallowed Eden earlier. She melted into the near silence of Eden's absence and the velvet night, feeling it's subtle energy, almost being able to sense its presence in the air and hear its movement through the passing of time. She felt at ease with a faint sense of belonging.

'Arielle... Protector...'

Her eyes flew open upon hearing the distinct whisper and she scanned the interior, but found no one there. What is going on? Am I going mad? Am I making a spectacle of insignificant things?

Eden was cradling her sword almost like a baby, the blade glistening with beads of water rolling down it, the monk with his hand every so gently placed on the tip of her shoulder. The monk led her to the door and then faced her.

"God speed to you, sister. May He watch over you, Eden."

The woman responded with a small smile.

"Gloria Patri, et Filio, et Spiritui Sancto." the monk began, making the sign of the cross over her.

"Sicut erat in principio, et nunc, et semper, et in saecula seculorum. Amen." Eden finished.

She left the church quietly and heard the door behind her close as she mounted her horse and rode off, cradling her sword in her lap.

Eden returned as quietly as she had left and found Arielle sitting at the table, watching the door. They both noticed peculiar looks on each other's faces. Arielle had one of concerned deliberation and Eden had one of a strange, humble surrender. Neither said anything.

Finally, Eden took out a clean cloth, kneeled down in front of the fireplace and began to wipe down the blade gently and thoroughly. Arielle observed her for a short while, her head tilted slightly to the side. It was a brilliant sword that despite all of the battles it had seen, seemed to gleam defiantly like it did from the day it was forged. It beamed almost as if holy itself, the hilt wrapped in black leather, the hand guard slightly down turned, the pommel with an engraved cross in the middle that was stained black in contrast to the pommel's shining silver. To Arielle, the blade seemed so massive and brilliant that nothing would be able to even scratch it, not to mention destroy the blade entirely. It was an elegantly regal sword, but deceptivelyy deadly and the blond noticed how much it really reflected the woman holding it.

"Where did you go?" she asked inquisitively.

"My sword..." Eden answered quietly, her eyes still resting upon it, "I had it... cleansed."

Her tone told the blond that something special indeed had taken place. There was some ceremony or ritual that the down-to-earth, realistic woman fighter was convinced had made her blade new.

"And you?" she asked very quietly.

Eden sighed and stopped working for a few moments. She then restarted.

"No. I've done too much." she admitted.

"You will be cleansed too, Eden. One day." she offered and met her gaze as Eden looked up at her from underneath her burden of sadness.

"Perhaps."

They returned to their chores, finishing them neatly before going to sleep in silence.

Eden woke up the next morning just as the sun was peeking through the window. She looked out of it and was grateful for what seemed like what was going to be good weather. She casually turned her head to the sleeping Arielle. She finally had the chance to see her in her new hair. She wondered why she had kept her shawl on the whole time and then wondered why she hadn't seemed to notice that earlier. Her hair was shorter, down to her neck. Eden looked at how the sunlight caught the blond hair and turned it into a fine gold and Eden found it very...beautiful. As soon as the word appeared in her mind, she angrily chased it away. But it's true. And in the light of a pure morning, she is just as beautiful as her golden hair.

*-Who are you?
-I am a soldier and warrior of God.
-You are a glorious/boastful warrior, aren't you?
-I am a guardian of God. The Lord has sent me.

-Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit:
-as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen.