People, people. I would really like to know what you think of this story. This is my first story and right now I am writing in the dark. I would appreciate if just one of you who reads this story could just write what you think so far. :D
Love!
Chapter 20
"I don't care!" Lancelot yelled and slammed his fist in the table. The other knights looked at each other awaiting Arthur's response.
"Calm down Lancelot." Arthur exclaimed. "We are going to search for her, but you are not coming with us, you are completely wasted!"
Lancelot gave Arthur an annoyed gaze, " I want to search for my wife!"
The other knight's shifted uncomfortably, they hated when Arthur and Lancelot were arguing, especially when it only was a waste of time.
"Look, if you are going to behave like this all night, then we won't begin to look for her until morning. Who knows what cold happen until then." Tristan cut in.
"Yeah, he is right Lancelot" Dagonet said and the other knights agreed.
Arthur sighed gave the knights a small nod in appreciation.
Lancelot only snorted and turned his back at them..
"Lancelot." Tristan began again walking to Lancelot's side. "We know what we are doing, and right now, in you state, you are only going to slow us down."
Seeing Tristan's honourable and truthful features, Lancelot gave in.
"Fine" he sighed. "I will stay behind."
"Good" Arthur said pleased and ordered everyone to gather in the courtyard in 15 minutes.
"Arthur!" Lancelot said after Arthur with a raised voice. Arthur turned and looked at his friend.
"Promise me you will find her." Seeing Lancelot's terrified look, Arthur gave him a sympathetic smile.
"I promise, I will do my best." Earning a nod from Lancelot in response, Arthur walked out to begin the search after the missing Aurora.
It was soon dawn, she thought. Aurora had after the encounter with Lancelot panicked, and all she had been able to think about was to run. So she had outrun Galahad and headed for the stables. After a whole night on horseback, exhaustion was creeping up on her. She didn't know where she was, or where she was headed. Perhaps she even where closer to Camelot then she thought.
She were riding on a road now and a part of her hoped she would met someone soon, someone who cold tell her where she was. Her wish was surprisingly granted when she spotted a party of four coming straight at her.
She could see that at least two of them were soldiers, roman soldiers. The other two were unknown to her. She tried to look as powerful she could with her red dress on and this should be enough to show her status.
Now they had spotted her as well, and they slowed down to greet her.
She saw now that there were a man and a woman beside the two roman guards. A merchant perhaps and his wife accompanied by purchasable soldiers.
"Hello." Aurora said and nodded at the group. They gave her a surprised look, it was very uncommon that women were spotted alone without supervision, especially someone like her.
"Greetings" the man said. "What brings you here?"He asked with a curious face.
"Actually, I am little lost." she answered truthfully.
"Really?" the woman said with a nice smile. Aurora immediately liked her.
"Yes, do you now where I am?"
"Yes, of course. You are on the road leading to Camelot." The man said, pointing to the direction she was coming from.
"The north or the south road?" Aurora wondered.
"The north." The woman said with a surprised tone. "You really are lost?" she continued with a laugh.
Aurora laughed as well. "Indeed."
The couple offered Aurora breakfast, claiming they were just about to eat. They were very nice. The man was a merchant and they were coming back from a buisnesstrip.
"We hired the soldiers for protection." The woman told Aurora. "These roads are dangerous but even more so just before the winter."
Surprised Aurora asked why.
"Well, don't you know?" The merchant asked.
Aurora shook her head.
"Well, during the winter or just before, all the woads travel north."
"Why?" Aurora asked curious, noticing that that was the second time she had used that word in matters of seconds. She must sound rather stupid.
The woman nodded her shoulders. "No one know for sure, perhaps it it some kind of tradition or maybe their home is in the north and they return there every year during the winter."
Aurora nodded in understanding. "So, now the roads are even more dangerous because we are more likely to run in to the woads?"
"Exactly" the man said. "And you know what would happen if we did" the he continued and raised his eyebrows earning a confused look from Aurora.
"We would all lose our heads." He said and gestured with a knife how they would cut off their heads.
"Marcus!" The woman said. "You are scaring the poor woman." She said and hit her husband gently.
Aurora gave them a small smile but on the inside she was ill at ease.
Suddenly the soldiers came running. Oh, you got to be kidding with me, Aurora thought for herself.
"What is it?" The woman asked, while the soldiers put the fire out.
"The fire, it has made it possible to trace us."
"What!" Aurora exclaimed not knowing what she feared the most, the knights finding her or the woads.
"Have you seen something?" The merchant asked and stood up.
The two soldiers were catching their breath but managed to mumble that they might have seen something.
"Might?" Aurora questioned.
"We are not sure, we saw a shadow and then the forest was completely quite." One soldier said and looked at her.
"The silence before the chaos" Aurora said to herself.
"Oh no." The woman said and walked to her husband, fear evident in her eyes. "They are coming, aren't they?"
Right then an arrow went by them and hit the tree behind them. A stunned Aurora turned to look at the arrow and then back at the forest.
"They are already here."
The knights had ridden all night and dawn had already come.
"We don't even know what direction she went to." Gawain complained.
"We know what Galahad has told us, we can trust his judgement." Bors said.
"This is all Lancelot's fault anyway," Galahad said. "If he hadn't.."
"Don't" Dagonet said to Galahad, who stopped what he was about to say.
"No, what were you going to say?" Gawain wondered.
Galahad looked at Dagonet and nodded. "Nothing" he answered Gawain and rode forward, trying to escape Gawain curious questions.
"How is it going?" Arthur asked Tristan.
"Well, she rode faster then I thought." Was his only answer.
"I don't like this." Bors said looking around. "These roads are dangerous this time of year."
"What? Frightened?" Gawain wondered laughing.
Bors only snorted.
Tristan stopped his horse and gestured for the others to be quiet.
"What?" Arthur whispered.
"Don't you smell that?" he asked and tilted his head up to the sky.
"Smell what?" Dagonet asked.
"Smoke." Tristan said and began to gallop in full speed.
They soon saw what was burning. A carriage and around it were bodies.
"Seems like an ambush." Galahad concluded.
The knights sat of their horses and walked slowly through the battleground.
"Soldiers." Tristan said and poked at a dead body.
"Arthur!" Gawain screamed from a distance and everyone ran to see.
"A woman" Gawain said when Arthur arrived. "She is still alive." He continued and backed away so Arthur could come forward.
"Dagonet?" Arthur looked at Dagonet to find out the woman's injuries. Dagonet shook his head.
The knights bowed their heads in respect and Arthur motioned to the woman.
"My name is Arthur Castus, what happened here?".
The woman looked around, blood coming from her mouth. She had two arrows in her belly.
"Woads," she managed to say.
"We already knew that." Tristan said earning stern looks from the other knights. "What?" he said and raised his shoulders. "We did."
Arthur shook his head and retuned his attention to the woman.
"Who else was here?" He asked with a small twitch of desperation in his voice. The thought of Aurora lying here somewhere dead, was unbearable.
The woman took two large breaths. "She do not have much time left." Dagonet said an Arthur nodded in response.
"It was me", the woman took a large breath,"and husband." She continued.
"What happened to you husband?"
"Dead." The woman told them. "They killed the soldiers as well, they killed everyone." Her statement made the knights give up, if Aurora had been here she would be dead and this was not what they wanted.
"Sorry we could not help you." Arthur said and took the woman's hand. She smiled at him.
"It is alright." Her words calmed Arthur, who always felt the burden of responsibility on his shoulders.
"There is no one else here, only four bodies." Bors said after a search and made everyone relax.
"Thank god!" Arthur said and looked up in the sky.
"Four?" The woman asked making everyone turn their attention back at the woman.
"Should there be more?" Arthur wondered.
"Yes," the woman managed to say with a hoarse voice. "We met a woman,"
"A woman?" Dagonet said and walked forward. She nodded.
"She was here, but yes, yes I remember." The woman continued.
"Remember what?" Arthur urged on.
"They took her, they took her to the forest."
The knights looked at each other. Everyone knew what the other one was thinking.
"You have helped us tremendously." Arthur said and held the woman's hand in his. There were a moment of silence, they all awaited the sound of the woman's last breaths.
She suddenly smiled at Arthur and then she died.
"She is gone." Dagonet said after he had checked her pulse.
"And so is Aurora." Tristan concluded.
"We don't know that for certain, it could be anyone." Galahad exclaimed earning an annoyed glance from Tristan who bent down and held up a red dress.
"Is this not hers?" He stated.
"Damn you eyes." Galahad muttered and took the dress from him.
"But why did they leave her dress?" Bors wondered.
Tristan looked at the ground where the dress were found and followed the tracks.
"They didn't, she did." He said and continued to follow the tracks into the forest.
"She probably tried to escape and thought she would have a bigger chance if she didn't wear that unpractical dress." Tristan said.
"Tried to?" Arthur wondered.
"Yes," Tristan stopped just in the beginning of the forest. "Her tracks ends here and several others start to form. I guess they attacked her from the forest, she didn't even know there were a back up patrol."
"Is that blood?" Dagonet asked and touched the bloodstained leafs.
"Yes." Tristan answered.
They stood there for a while, contemplating what they knew.
"What should we do now?" Galahad asked.
"Go back, and tell Lancelot." Arthur said and headed back to the horses.
"We shouldn't pursue the woads?" Bors asked.
"No!" Arthur stated and sat up on his horse. "we are completely outnumbered and even though Aurora is dear to us I can let you go on a suicide mission." He continued and looked at each and everyone of the knights.
"The bodies?" Dagonet wondered.
Arthur looked around and thought about what to do.
"It would be easier to burn them." Tristan said and raised his arm to the sky so his pet bird could seat herself. The action made him look very demonic.
"In normal cases I would not agree with you Tristan." Arthur began and looked at the bodies. "But this is an unusual situation and I can not let the bodies delay us."
"So burn them?" Bors said and looked at Arthur.
Arthur gave the knights a stern look and nodded. Arthur watched as the knights collected the bodies to burn them. As the fire began to spread Arthur looked up in the sky.
"God, please give these people a nice welcome and forgive them for any sin the might have done in life. I also beg of you to protect my dear friend Aurora from any evil she might met, even death."
Thanks!