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Ancient Love	By : Darksong Category: G through L > King Arthur Views: 3395 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own King Arthur, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
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If this is truly
to be a service for the Roman god, one would think that he would offer us at
least a little support, but the rain has not stopped in days. It is in such
bitter gloom that we top the hill and make our way into the domestic lands of
the Romans once more. So far from their home, I can not help but wonder as to
what they are doing so far away. They can not tame the lands around them, only
managing to lock themselves away behind brick and stone. Why can�t they just
stay in Rome and leave this land to
us?
Our arrival to the
village brings me to wonder yet again what we are doing here. The horses dance
as we make our way around the bend and towards the wall. Around us villagers
gather, unsure whether they should run in terror, or bow before us in gratitude.
Their expressions warring between utter fear and complete
devotion. They seem unsure whether we have come to answer their many
prayers, or if we are going to finish off what their master had started. It is
a pitiful display. Bleak faces turned towards us in desperate hope of salvation
that we can not bring.
�Tired and hungry, they look as if they are
nothing more than bodies to work the land. They live
in run down shacks and cottages that look ancient. Even at home, there were not
straw roofs. Behind the wall Marius lives in wealth and luxury, and it appears
that he will not share an ounce of it to his people. The doors are closed as we
approach, and the guards on the wall arm themselves. It would seem we are not
expected. Instantly I wonder if this is a trap. A set up by
the Romans. I would not put it past them. Even though
they have sent their own. Arthur however, doesn�t seem worried, and I
try to relax. It doesn�t work.
The man we are
here to save appears before us in all his pompous glory. A bitter
plump of a man who has seen one too many dinners and too few days of hard work.
He is deplorable even by the Roman standards. I would just as easily leave him
behind, but it is not my choice. He emerges with an entourage of guards who
look as bored and dimwitted as their master. Like Rome
really needs any more politicians. He knows nothing of the outside world, but
pretends all the same.
�It is a wonder
you have come. Arthur and his knights! You have fought the Woads,
vile creatures.� He reaches for Arthur�s horse, but the mount dances away;
smart creature. I doubt if he has ever even seen one of the Woad.
Does he even know what they look like?
Unsurprisingly,
Arthur doesn�t seem at all interested in the man�s display of obvious
stupidity. �Our orders are to evacuate you immediately.� The words delivered
apathetically. It is not a tone I have often heard from him, and I am suddenly
reminded of our confrontation back at the stable.
�But, that is
impossible��
He doesn�t even
bother listening. Marius� words are, as far as I can tell, meaningless.
�Which is Alecto?� He asks as his eyes scan the group gathered before
him. The answer surprises even me as the youth calls down from the wall before
quickly appearing before us with his mother. He is barely out of childhood.
Predictably, Marius refuses to let the child speak.
�Alecto is my son, and everything we have is here, in the
land given to us by the Pope of Rome� He sounds so self
aware, I take pleasure in informing him of his approaching demise.
�Well, you�re
about to give it to the Saxons. They�re invading from the North.�
�Then Rome will
send an army�
I try not to laugh
and I can see the others doing the same. Rome wouldn�t waste their men on him,
it is almost surprising to find ourselves here, but then they have never cared
much for us.
�They have. Us. We
leave as soon as you�re packed.� Arthur declares.
�I refuse to
leave.�
There is a glint
of danger in Arthur�s eye. It is enough to send a shiver even down my back.
Marius doesn�t seem to have the intelligence to back down, and we watch in
curious wonder as Arthur stalks towards him. Marius attempts to prove his point
by sending his soldiers out against the gathered masses
�Everyone, back to
work.�
Echoes of �get
back to work� flitter through the spectators as they are carelessly shoved and
forced away from the party. Arthur is unimpressed. But in his lack of
observation, Marius turns back only to find himself face to face with a rather
irritated Roman official.
�If I fail to
bring you and your son back, my men can never leave this land. So you are
coming with me if I have to tie you to my horse and drag you all the way to
Hadron�s wall myself, milord.�
The words send an
unexplainable shiver down my spine, and I feel my stomach do slight flip at the
thought. I try to hide the slight twitch of the corner of my mouth, and am glad
to hear both Galahad and Bors suppressing snickers.
Now that, is the Arthur we know and love. Marius is stunned at the supposed
audacity, but backs down and disappears back inside. We are hoping that this is
the end of it, but as Arthur turns and looks around the land, I know it is not.
I know that look
in his eye, it is one that always leads to no good. This world is not meant for
people like him, who care too much and fight with every ounce of strength for a
belief that no one else can understand.
Still, we are his
knights, and so as he draws Excalibur, and heads into the village, we dismount
and follow suit. Before we can catch up with him however, he has already found
his target. A man, looking thrice Arthur�s age, skinny enough to show every
bone in his body, dirty enough to prove he�s been there for far too long is
shackled in the square. Blood dried in the welts on his back prove that he has
been left there for some time now.
�Who is this man?�
He asks of the villager standing beside him. Gannis
he had said his name was as he stumbled after Arthur like a lost puppy looking
for a home.
�He�s our village
elder�
�What is his
punishment for?� the barely restrained rage in Arthur�s voice had all the
villagers backing away.
�He defied our
master Marius. You�re from Rome, is it true that Marius is a spokesman from
God, and it�s a sin to defy him?�
I have never seen
Arthur so enraged as he is in the moment that his sword cuts through the chains
holding the poor beggar up. The villagers hesitate to help the fallen man, but
at Arthur�s urging he is unshackled and helped up. They lead him off to clean
him, or so I assume.
�Now hear me. A
vast and terrible army is coming this way.�
They will show no mercy, spare no one. Those of you who are able should
gather their things and begin to head south to Hadron�s wall. Those unable
shall come with us.� Gannis moves to mobilize the
villagers. Thankfully, the fear of the Saxons overrides fear of Marius, and
they move to gather their things without further question.
Dread pools in the
pit of my stomach. The Saxons will be here by nightfall. With all of these
people, we�ll never make it. We can already hear the drums of the approaching
army. They will be upon us before we can even leave this god-forsaken village,
but Arthur it seems is more concerned with the immediate disparagement of the
villagers. The motion of two soldiers has caught his eye and we slowly move to
back him up as he ushers them aside with his sword. It looks like a tomb of
stone, and the entrance is already half-sealed. The soldiers seem slow to
respond, so we help them along. Daggonet comes up on
one side, Gawayn on the other, their horses
shouldering the men aside.
We don�t have time
for this. The drums are getting closer, but Arthur doesn�t seem to care. As the
stone is broken away, Dagonnet breaks open the wooden
door that was, thus far, hidden, and I follow Arthur down into what appears to
be a dungeon. Gawayn follows behind us, taking the
guards with him, while Tristan and Bors stay outside
to keep anyone else from following us.
Down below, the
stone walls give way to caged off holes cut into the side of the stone. Chains
hang down from over head; some empty others, further into the darkness, holding
up long-dead bodies. In the center of the room, a mouse of a man sits with a
book in hand, muttering prayers in Latin.
�Who are these
defilers of the Lord�s Temple?� He exclaims, but we ignore him and continue on
down the rows of death and torment.
�The work of your
god? Is this how he answers your prayers?�
Arthur doesn�t
meet my eye �See if there are any alive.�
I don�t see a
point, but I do as he says. By the smell of it, they are all dead. One of
Marius� priests has followed me, and it brings me great pleasure to end his
life when he attempts to question my presence is such a �holy place.�
I hear Daggonet call from across the room and turn to look in
wonder as he helps a child out of a hole. My attention is quickly pulled away however,
as I crouch down only to come face to face with a very much alive young woman.
She stares back at us in silence, and Arthur doesn�t hesitate to cut her free
and carry her aside. She is a Woad, as I am sure the
boy is. As Arthur brings her water, I remount my horse, disgusted at the depths
to which the Romans have sunken. She is a Pagan, but so are we.
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Ancient Love