Enjoy!

Chapter 26

The cave was warm enough this rainy summer evening. Aurora, Guinevere and Darin were sitting close to each other, all of them staring out into the darkness.

"Well, at least this is comfortable." Darin said in an attempt to light up their moods. Aurora smiled.

"Yes, and most importantly, we are not wet." She added.

"Those reached Romans! Guinevere spat out. "We could have been home, in our own tents, if it wasn't for those cockroaches."

"Thank you." Aurora commented, feeling a little awkward since she was a roman herself.

"Don't be offended Aurora." Darin cut in. "We both know she doesn't mean you."

Aurora laughed. "For one night, let us not talk about Britain and Romans and woads and this war!" she exclaimed and looked at her fellow companions. "Let's just," she sighed,"let's just be friends for one night and speak of things not related to this matter."

Darin nodded. "Seems like a good idea to me."

Guinevere looked at her. "Don't you realise that this is us?" Her hawk eyes made Aurora crinch. "Aurora, this cannot be forgotten because it is a part of us." She took a large breath.

"I know that, but for one night let us talk about things that make us happy."Aurora said defensive.

Guinevere softened. "You are so very naive."

"For once Guinevere" The elder cousin said. "Relax." Darin patted Guinevere's shoulder.

"Why don't you start?" Darin said and pointed at Guinevere. "Let us hear about your dreams and hopes."

Guinevere gave them an annoyed glance. "Tonight i can't speak of my dreams and hopes." She stated making Aurora and Darin look at each other and smirk.

"You must have other dreams as well Gwen." Aurora said and tried to read the woman's face.

"Well," Guinevere stopped and seemed to find the courage to share her inner demons and dreams. "I suppose I have a dream that some day be a mother."

"You?" Darin exclaimed but was silenced by a glance of the two women.

"That is a usual dream for women." Aurora concluded.

"Well, I want my children to live in a free country." Guinevere said and raised her shoulders. "Sorry, can't help it."

"It is alright." Aurora smiled.

"And you Darin?" Guinevere asked and looked at the relaxed man, who at the moment was eating an apple.

"My dream is that Meraine will marry me." He said honestly.

"Ah, your new love." Guinevere laughed and looked at Aurora. "Forgotten about Aurora so soon?"

Darin raised a surprised eyebrow and sat up from his previous position.

"What?"

Aurora rolled her eyes. "Guinevere thought you were in love with me" Aurora gave him an odd look. "Well, wasn't you?"

Darin starred at the two woman and then burst out in a sudden laugh. "I am sorry to disappoint you."

"Oh, come one! It was obvious." Guinevere almost shouted.

"I have no idea of what you are talking about."Darin shouted back and gestured with his hands how he was completely surprised.

"But the looks, how you cared for her, how you followed her?" Guinevere continued.

Darin looked at them both gesturing for them to understand, when they didn't he gave out an annoyed sigh. "I was feeling guilty.

"For what?" Aurora wondered.

"For hitting you, of course." Darin made an odd facial expression. "I don't like to hit women and I was just trying to make you feel comfortable. Make you feel secure."

The two women sat there and tried to realize and understand the signs they had seen.

"I was so sure." The woadgirl said to herself.

"Well, if I am to be honest." Aurora said and took a large breath, "Then I must say that I am relived."She breathed out and laughed.

"Yes." The two woads said and nodded in agreement. It became very silent after that and for a while they were just sitting there and listening to the rain outside.

"This is rather awkward." Darin said after a while.

"A little." Aurora confessed.

"I don't know, I think it is kind of funny." Guinevere laughed.

"Oh, now she laughs." Aurora stated.

"You really thought I was in love with you." Darin asked again.

Aurora nodded and blushed a little. She felt stupid for presuming such a thing now, it was rather embarrassing because she had as well thought Darin was in love with her.

"That is so funny. I mean. What you must have thought of these last months."Darin continued. "Oh, you must have thought of me as a love sick puppy." Darin hid his face in his hands making Guinevere laugh rather mean at him, as siblings would enjoy the others embarrassments.

"I thought you were stupid because you knew that Aurora was unavailable." Guinevere said and glanced at Aurora.

"You mean her abusive husband?" Darin asked and a drastic change in his mood was evident.

Aurora shoot Guinevere a glance, and the woad herself gave Aurora a curious look.

"You have not told him the whole story has you?" She asked and Aurora shook her head.

"What story?" Darin gave them a questioning glance.

Aurora shifted uncomfortably.

"Nothing." She murmured.

Guinevere rolled her eyes and decided to tell Darin in Aurora's place.

"Aurora's husband was unfaithful."

"Guinevere!" Aurora exclaimed.

"It is Darin." The other woman defended herself with.

Darin was quiet for a moment and her seemed to contemplate on what to say. Finally when he opened his mouth, he surprised Aurora completely.

"Don't take this the wrong way." He began and studied her. "But, what was your real problem?"

Aurora, taken aback, could only murmur a what.

"Well often when men are unfaithful there is something else which makes them seek comfort."

"So you mean it is Aurora's fault." Guinevere cut in, in defense of her friend.

"No, i don't mean it is Aurora's fault."Darin said. "But, as Aurora's has defended her husband many times these months we can conclude that she has feelings for him, and if she has or have had feelings for him then i believe he is a good man. Or descent anyway." He added. "And since i am such a good spy I know that her husband is one of the sarmation knights." Darin continued.

"Do you know who he is?" Aurora exclaimed and felt her heart pounding faster.

"No." He answered annoyed. "Anyway, this means he is not a roman." Darin said and looked at Guinevere who nodded in silence.

"What is that suppose to mean?"

"If he was roman we could understand how he could be unfaithful. Because they are mean." Guinevere answered.

"Oh," Aurora said and rolled her eyes at that ridiculous answer.

"So, this leads to my question." Darin continued." What did you have for problems?"

"We had a few problems."

"What kind of problems?"

"Difficult ones"

"You are though to break"

"And you are a though interviewer."

They starred at each other for a while before Aurora looked away.

"Look, I don't want to talk about it." She sighed. "It is to painful."

Darin's gaze softened. "I could help you."

Aurora smiled appreciatively. "I don't know."

"It might help." Guinevere cut in.

Aurora thought about it for a while and decided to try and tell Darin her story.

"Well, something happened, which made me very sad. We lost someone."

Darin nodded.

"I was very sad and depressed. I blamed myself." Aurora wet her lips which suddenly felt very dry.

"I suppose i grieved for a very long time, while my husband.."

"Seemed distant?" Darin finished.

Aurora nodded. "It seemed like he didn't care. He just, continued with his life and i couldn't understand it."

Darin sighed and looked at Guinevere. "I think he probably grieved in his own way. You must understand Aurora that people who has seen death, felt it, they have developed a button. When things get hard, when the emotions are overwhelming they, we" he added and pointed at himself and Guinevere. "..can push the button and distance us from those feelings. It is survival mechanism, a consequence of a life of war."

Aurora nodded, her thoughts somewhere else. Had she not known him? Had she not understood him? How could she not have realized this sooner? She shook her head. She had loved a man she didn't even know. It hadn't been faire, not on any of them.

"He asked me to continue to live, I just couldn't. I could not do what he asked me to."

"We all grieve in different ways." Guinevere said quietly.

"He probably just wanted you back. He was perhaps frightened to lose you as well." Darin said.

"And my answer was that i hated him." Aurora murmured to herself.

"What?" Darin asked and Aurora turned to look at him.

"Nothing." Was her only reply.

Thunder was heard outside, a flash of lightning was seen.

It was as if Aurora was awakened. She felt life return to her body, a strength return to her body and mind which she had never felt before. If it was love for Lancelot or the situation itself she didn't know. But somewhere deep inside her she could feel herself evolve. As if she had aged many years on these months.

"Do you love him?" She heard Guinevere in the distance.

"Huh?" Aurora asked.

"Do you love him?"

Aurora looked at her for a moment and then turned to look at the dark forest outside. "I thought I did. But now I don't know." She said honestly. "It is not that I don't love him, its just that I am not sure that I even knew what love was. Was it the thought of love, or the person I loved I wonder."

"What do mean?" Darin asked.

"I just, I mean how can I claim that i loved him if I don't even know what love is. Perhaps it was all an illusion, because." She stopped and thought about what she was going to say. "I mean, I just realized that I didn't even know him that well. So maybe I thought I loved him but in fact I didn't. Not in the way you are suppose to love someone anyway."

Guinevere laughed. "You don't make any sense."

Aurora laughed a little too, "I know."

"Perhaps a better question would be, if you want to return to him?" Darin asked.

"Yes, Would you Aurora?" Guinevere wondered.

"Yes, I would." She answered after some hesitation. "If he'll have me." Aurora added.

"Then perhaps it is time for you to return home." Darin said.

Aurora nodded.

"Well, I am going to look around and see if we are safe for the moment." Guinevere said and stood up.

"Now?" Darin asked worried.

Guinevere smiled. "Yes, better late then never."

She responded and disappeared into the darkness.

"I think i should get some sleep." Aurora said and Darin agreed.

After a few moments both were heavily asleep.

"Aurora! Aurora!"

"What?" She asked and sat up.

Darin was standing in front of her, his whole demeanour extremely tense.

"It is still dark outside." Aurora noticed.

"Guinevere is gone." He said bluntly making Aurora snap her attention to him.

"What do you mean gone?"

"I mean, she has not returned from her round and that was hours ago."

Aurora stood up and took up her weapon. She may not be good with a sword but it is much better than being without one.

"Well we must find her."

"I will find her, you are going to stay her."

"We are much safer together then if we are separated."

Darin looked at her and then nodded. "Fine but hurry!"

The rain had stopped but the ground was still wet which made it hard to track..

"This is hopeless!" Darin exclaimed.

"We will find her." Aurora said.

Darin gave her and odd look. "Do you know the Romans outposts?"

"You most be joking!" Aurora said annoyed, knowing what he implied.

"No I am not, we saw Romans in this area yesterday."

"But they rode past us."

"We don't know that."

Aurora sighed. "Fine!" She said clenched her jaws. "There is an estate here in the north." She knew deep down that it was highly possible that Romans may have caught Guinevere. But still, it was hard to always be blamed for all the bad things in the world. Aurora may not be personaly blamed but she was a roman, there was no denying that.

"Yes I know." Darin said more to himself than Aurora. "The roman who lives there is evil himself."

"Well, I have only heard rumors."Aurora answered.

"The rumors are true." Darin responded. "But we don't know if she is even abducted or where she has been brought."

"Well, maybe.." Aurora began but stopped when an arrow swished between her and Darin.

A moment of silence before Darin screamed "Run!" and started to head in one direction and Aurora followed.

The ground was wet and slippery and the Romans, if they were Romans, had horses. The arrows seemed to come closed and closer but to Aurora's surprise no one hit her or Darin. She was not as fit as Darin and it didn't take long before she was behind.

"Come on!" He screamed to her.

Her heart was bounding and she was certain that this was the moment when she would die.

Suddenly she felt a hand pull her away and she screamed only to be silenced.

"Sch"She heard Darin say. The were hidden behind a stone, which itself stood in front of a large rock. If they got away with this they would be extremely lucky. The thought struck her that she was actually hiding from her own people, if they were Romans. However, in her state no one would belive her of she claimed to be a Roman.

Darin pointed at her and then he pointed at the sight before her. The didn't have to look for Guinevere anymore because she was right in front of them, with ten other Romans.

"Where did they go?" A roman spat out.

"I don't know." Another replied.

"Hey you!" A roman asked Guinevere who responded with spiting at him. She shouldn't have done that. Aurora felt Darin's whole body tense when the strike to Guinevere's cheek was heard.

"Retched Romans."She murmured.

Aurora felt ashamed that her fellow countrymen treated her friend this way. But she had to stay cool.

"She won't say anything" A roman soldier said.

"No." Another responded.

"Well, let's take her to Marius." The roman in charge said and started to walk.

"What about the other two?"

The roman in charge turned around and smiled.

"We don't need to catch those to when we have her."He said and gestured to Guinevere. "Soon she will tell us where to woads main-camp is!" He said and smiled. "With a little persuasion." He added making the group laugh.

When the Romans with Guinevere disappeared from sight, Darin and Aurora just laid there for what felt like hours.

"I think it is safe now." Darin said and started to slowly walk away from their hiding place.

Aurora was very taken by what had just happened. This cannot be happening she had thought to herself a hundred times.

"What are we going to do?"She whispered and looked around her, still afraid of what might lurk outhere.

"Nothing." Darin murmured.

"What!" She asked and walked up to him.

"There is nothing we can do Aurora. We are just two people and you can't even fight!" he added making Aurora clench her jaws at this.

"So we head back to the camp and get more people?"

Darin shook his head. "Merlin will never allow anyone to attack the Roman's estate. He can not afford to lose that many men."

"Not even for his kin?" Aurora asked silently.

"I am afraid not." Darin said and Aurora saw the pain in his eyes.

Aurora watched as Darin paced around.

"I wish there was something but.." He stopped and sighed.

"We must get back with the animal." He said and started to walk back to the cave.

"Wait! I can get her." Aurora said and ran to Darin's side.

"What?"

"I am a roman. I can perhaps negotiate with them."

"Yes, because you look so much like a roman at the moment."

Aurora looked at her dirty cloths, her tangled hair.

"Perhaps I cant tell them who I am."

"You mean Aurora Lestos?" Darin asked her and Aurora nodded.

"You mean the Aurora Lestos who is presumed dead?" He added and Aurora's hope faded away.

"Even if you have not met this Marius, I am most certain that he has heard about your disappearance."

"We cannot give up."

"Aurora, we have to!"

Knowing that there was no point in continue this conversation Aurora stopped. She knew Darin was in pain and didn't want to make it any worse.

They reached the cave and gathered their belongings. When Darin took Guinevere's things Aurora rushed to relish him from them. He should not have to bear that burden.

"I can't." Darin said suddenly and sat down. "I can't leave her behind."

Aurora put a hand on his shoulders in comfort. "What do you want to do?"

"I don't know." He exclaimed and flew his hand in the air. "I know that there is nothing I can do, but.."

"I know." Aurora said understandingly.

Darin turned his face towards her. "I must get her back."

"How?" Aurora said, suddenly their roles were reversed.

"I must at least follow them and see where they go. It is not certain they will bring her to Marys estate."

"Marius." Aurora said without thinking.

"Whatever! I don't care about the reached Roman's name. They are like cockroaches. I wish I could.." He raised his voice and walked up to her.

Afraid of his demeanour she backed away making Darin wake up from his rage.

When Darin realized what he had said he relaxed and searched for her gaze.

"I am sorry Aurora."

She nodded her head. "It's alright."

Darin seemed to lose all of his energy and picked up his things again.

"We must go back now."

Knowing that there was nothing they could do, Aurora followed him.

They walked silently through the forest and after a days march, they could see the familiar scene of their campside.

"I don't know if I am ready to do this." Darin said and stopped on the hill they were standing on.

"I know. But I am here for you." She said and stopped beside him.

"The people have lost an important warrior and I can't help but feel that it is my fault." Darin confessed.

"It is not." Aurora said with certainty. "The people will know that. Anyway she is not dead."She added with hope.

Darin turned to look at her, tears prickling in his eyes. "Aurora, she might as well be."

Aurora felt the pain in her chest. She would not accept that Guinevere was gone, she could not lose yet another person in her life.

"Will you help me tell them?" Darin asked.

Aurora took his hand in hers and nodded. "I will be there all the steps of the way."

Hope you liked it! :)