Chapter 9

Tristan hadn't expected to be caught with the girl by his fellow knights so soon. There had been no time to plan a story, or choose a name. Nor did he completely understand why he had managed to sleep for so long while his comrades had made enough noise to wake an entire fort singlehandedly. He should have heard Bors' roar as they galloped through the gate. Clearly he'd had too little sleep recently.

Naming the girl on the spot had been the trickiest thing, since Gawain was one of those knights who could read the meaning in things. In the end, Tristan had chosen a name at random. Something short that sounded at least vaguely similar to 'Natalya'. 'Kation' was as far as his brain got before it tumbled over his lips. Clearly he'd surprised her too, because she was now staring at him in a very fixed way that made him secretly grateful they were in a crowded room. He was protected by her need to play the part of slave.

"Kation…" she murmured to herself, still using that odd deep voice from before. Then she arched an eyebrow at him and sat down on his bed again. "So… how did that go? Will I have to fear for my head?"

Tristan felt his lips twitch slightly in amusement. He quelled them. "Gawain's onto you. He knows something's not right and won't leave you alone until he gets an answer. While Galahad is…" he broke off. How to describe that hot-headed youngster? His opinions superseded logic very frequently. It was almost Roman. "He is afraid of what you represent," he explained. "Despite being a knight, he's got attention from men – probably why he's trying to grow a proper beard,"

"And Bors?"

"He lacks the guile. Plus, you stared at him like he was nothing to be afraid of, and he appreciates bravery." he murmured in a low voice. "By the way, that voice of yours sent a patient over there into spasms. Very sexy," he purred. "Gods know how 'Kation' will survive at the fort,"

Her other eyebrow rose to join its partner on her forehead. "Well then I suppose I'm lucky to hold your life debt – it makes all of this your problem," she whispered in her normal voice. There was nothing but ice there. Then she sighed and pushed her hair out of her eyes, looking weary as she limped back to her own cot. She lay down and appeared to fall asleep instantly, arms wrapped around herself.

Tristan sighed too… what a bloody mess, as Bors would say. Time to think of someway to salvage this.

When he awoke in the afternoon, he heard that smooth voice of 'Kation' and the throaty chuckles of… Gawain? Coming awake fully, Tristan fought to stay still and simply listened as intently as possible to their conversation:

"So," Gawain said. "After you escaped the cult, where did you go?"

"My former master said we ought to run to the nearest tavern and salvage what was left of his and Tranio's shredded dignity with the medicinal application of more wine. But Giton had disappeared after his encounter with the virgin, and since our masters could barely walk after the catamite was through with them…" here Gawain's laughter broke his narrative. "Well it was up to me, half-blind with drink, to find him and bring him back. So I managed to drag the masters to the tavern (which I'll tell you about in a moment) and then I took off into the night to find Giton. Mind you, I was still dressed up as a girl, with my hair perfumed and dressed with flowers – I felt a complete fool, stumbling into people, swearing, clinging to the walls and ground for support as I tried to track the reprobate down…"

Some sort of story – no doubt invented for the purpose of deceiving Gawain. Tristan wondered just how well-educated the girl was, and if this would help them in some way. But the story was intriguing, and since she appeared to be in no immediate danger, Tristan sleepily opened his eyes to look at 'Kation' and Gawain. They were sitting on the girl's cot and she was leaning against the wall, legs tucked under her as her hands darted through the air, illustrating the story. Gawain was watching this hypnotic action attentively. What on earth had they done before he awoke? Did Gawain know the truth? Tristan fought the urge to alert them to his presence by asking. Instead, he continued listening to the story.

"… so after I'd escaped the gladiator I found Giton in a gutter, vomiting up everything in his stomach whilst unknowingly being mugged by a mad drunken beggar," 'Kation' chuckled briefly. "I cannot remember encountering a single soul who wasn't off their face that night. Anyway, in my haste to rescue Giton, I managed to trip over the beggar and land on top of my fellow slave. He recognised me and helped to pull the flowers out of my hair while calling me a 'pretty little dryad'. We kicked the beggar away, even though Giton had nothing to steal, and ran back to the tavern. Giton was a strong young man – far stronger than I – and he could easily fend off any trouble we might have encountered. But when we got to the 'tavern' where we'd left Cleon and Tranio, they ran out to meet us, looking like they'd been to the underworld. Apparently they'd installed themselves in another brothel again!"

Gawain roared with laughter and reached over to tug playfully at her hair. She grinned back – it wasn't the same sort of open, innocently happy smile she'd bestowed on Sarakos. This one had something behind it, but wasn't unpleasant.

"Then what happened?" Gawain asked.

"Well, with no idea of where to go, and it nearly being dawn, we resolved to flee the town altogether and take our chances. It was a terrible idea, but Giton was still drunk and in no fit state to argue. It was only when Tranio and my master tried to sit on their horses' backs that they resolved to try for a tavern again," Gawain winced and shook his head. "Quite. So we re-entered the town and looked about. Eventually we found the sort of place bandits probably frequented and managed to take rooms just as the sun was coming up. We slept until noon – then Giton and I were sent out to find food. The rest of the journey was relatively uneventful – but you can imagine the welcome we received from Tranio's family upon our dishevelled arrival."

Gawain sighed and smiled. "Well, Kation, I'm sure you look better now, despite an equally rough journey with Grumpy over there," he said, jerking a hand over his shoulder in Tristan's direction. That took some nerve considering who Gawain spent the vast majority of his time with… "Though I daresay you will want to have Tristan wash before being forced to ride with him again."

"I would not presume to tell my master what to do," she murmured, averting her eyes. They fell on Tristan and widened. "You're awake!" she exclaimed, crawling off the bed and limping to Tristan's cot, snagging the water jug as she went.

As Tristan was helped to sit up and drink, he noticed the way Gawain watched them. There was calculation and suspicion there.

Tristan trusted the man with his life, but did he trust him with the girl's?

Had to start trusting sometime… he'd have to clear it with the girl first though. He beckoned her closer. She bent obediently, though her eyes were on fire with warning. Clearly she didn't even properly trust him yet – so was this really a good idea? Her hair spilled around them like a curtain of sorts, giving them a degree of privacy.

"Should we tell Gawain the truth?" he whispered in her ear. She leaned away and stared down at him, clearly thinking.

"You trust him," she whispered back. It wasn't a question, but Tristan nodded anyway. She sighed, bit her lip slightly, and then shrugged. "It's your life debt – do what you like," she whispered, getting to her feet. Tristan caught her wrist – it was so narrow his fingers overlapped each other. She pulled slightly, but only enough to realise that Tristan was intent on whatever he'd decided. She fell still, her head hanging.

"Gawain," Tristan called past her.

The long-haired knight, who'd been paying attention to this the whole time, stood and joined the girl at his bedside. "Will I be getting my answer?" he asked evenly.