Sir Gabriel

by Erin Griffin

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Rating: Strong R

Pairing: You'll figure it out soon enough

Chapter 7

"What?!" Gabby asked, shocked as Dinah started to leave the room. When she had last seen Carolyn, she looked fine, and definitely not like someone who was about to go into labor. Gabby walked after her out of their quarters and into the corridors. "A baby? Now?" She hurried after the seer as her pace quickened and seemed to get more urgent. They passed many other knights as they headed off to bed, which made Gabby wonder what time it was. It was probably twilight by now, or even early in the morning a couple of hours before dawn. Just when Gabby thought she would fall over from the exhaustion of following the frantic girl across the castle, Dinah walked into a room in a darker and colder part of the castle. There were no candles or torches lit, and Gabby had an eerie feeling that all heat was sucked from the corridor into the room that Dinah had just entered.

"Barbara! I've brought some more linens, but not many-"

"It's enough for now. Why is he here?" a rough but feminine voice asked, making the seer turn to look at Gabby. It was as if the younger girl had forgotten she was there.

"Gabriel, please wait out in the corridor. I will be with you in a minute." Gabby tried to look into the room to see if Carolyn was alright. Gabby had never been present during a birth, and it alarmed her just how warm the room was. The knight couldn't see much over Dinah's shoulder.

"Is she alright? Dinah, please tell me-"

"Wait here. I promise I'll tell you everything I can later." she insisted. Gabby nodded as the door closed slowly in her face. She turned around and stood in front of the door, guarding the women as much as she could. The minutes ticked by and Gabby started to shift from one foot to the other, and she jumped when she heard a wail from within.

"Oh God, please let her be alright." Gabby prayed. Not long after the wails died down, the door opened, and Dinah came out, looking exhausted and saddened. Her face was wet with perspiration, and her hair was down and a little bit messy. If Dinah looked that way after only being in there for a few moments, Gabby's prayers for the pregnant woman grew in magnitude, for surely she must be in a worse state.

"Come. We'll talk." Dinah said. Gabby only nodded and walked slowly with the seer, letting her lean on her as they strolled through the corridors.

"Is... Is she going to be okay? I know that childbirth is very painful, but I heard her. She sounded so much worse than that." Gabby said, looking at the girl, who looked as if she fought to keep her eyes open. The seer remained silent for a while, lost in thought, and Gabby was afraid to repeat herself. Gabby and Dinah walked outside and sat in the seats in the jousting field. They stared at the stars, now brighter because their light wasn't overshadowed by the moonlight.

"Carolyn isn't doing very well." Dinah whispered. "The baby, the labor, the birth... It all wasn't due for another full moon at least. I fear for them. Those born before their time rarely survive." Dinah shook her head solemnly. "I fear even more if the baby does survive." she continued, leaning her head on Gabby's shoulder. The knight wrapped her arm around her waist and let Dinah talk. "There are people out there, Gabby. People like me. They are special, given powers by God only to be shunned for having them. Carolyn has a power... one of fire. I am not sure about the baby's father. He was home for a little while when the baby was conceived... and not long after the father was killed in the war, the baby started to hurt her. Carolyn kept going to Barbara claiming of pains within, but Barbara couldn't help her for long."

"Why would Barbara help her?" Gabby asked.

"She's a healer. Her gift from God. And Kafka, the ability to communicate with horses..." Dinah explained.

"She'd gotten worse over the time the baby grew inside her, didn't she Dinah?" Gabby asked. Dinah's eyebrows turned to a frown, then she opened her eyes.

"She claims the baby is burning her as if it's flesh itself was rising in temperature. Tonight... It got really bad. She is in constant discomfort because of this." Dinah said. "Carolyn feels that she is dying, and that the closer she gets to giving birth, the sooner her death." Dinah's voice became fainter with her exhaustion.

"And... what do you think?"

"I don't know what I think." Gabby knew she was lying, but Dinah obviously didn't want to talk about it, for whatever she'd seen for the baby and the mother, it must be to horrible to talk about. "Hey, you think you will be ready for the swordfights today?" Gabby sighed, glad that the subject was changed to better things.

"That wasn't a very subtle subject change, but I will play along because the subject is started to make me sad." Dinah smiled, looking up at Gabby for a minute and blue eyes connected with blue.

"Can't slip anything past you, Gabriel. After the things you have been through for the last 8 or so years, you must be the master of secrecy." she said.

"Yes, I AM ready for the swordfights." Gabby said, chuckling, getting her topic away from her secrets. "I hope that the men out there are only as strong as they look. With the exception of Rhyse, I reckon Thadius will be the hardest one to beat in this task, since even now I struggle to win swordfights between him and myself."

"I believe in you."

"Thank you." It was apparent that the seer was tired, so Gabby sat there with Dinah in silence as she watched the sky and the stars. Sooner than she thought, she saw the sky go from darkness to light, with dark clouds and a promise of rain within them.... It was beautiful to witness none the less. It didn't last very long, for wind had started to pick up, and Gabby wondered how long it would be before the rain started again. She could smell it in the air. When the winds blew hard enough to make the sleeping girl beside her shiver, Gabby stood up and gently picked her up, careful as to not disturb her slumber. She walked Dinah through the corridors and finally got her to their quarters.

After tucking the younger blonde in, the knight watched the girl in awe, unsure of what she was feeling at this moment. It was as if her insides had awakened with this new day, and Gabby felt scared. "How can you ever not notice the beauty you've grown into?" Gabby whispered. "You will make a young man very happy, Dinah, gifts and all." She added before picking up Diable' Blanc (her name for the rabbit, which is French for 'white devil' ), and walking out to the stables. Kafka was just getting there when Gabby had arrived. His hair was ruffled, and she watched as he groggily moved about the stables, caring for the horses.

"Couldn't sleep, Sir Gabriel?" he asked, taking the cage from her and handing her a carrot to feed to Nix.

"Had some sleep, but I was awakened by an emergency, and I had to see what was going on." Gabby said slowly. Kafka nodded, then fed the rabbit cut up pieces of the carrot while Gabby held out the one in her hand to Nix. As she watched her large friend devour the carrot, she heard the boy yawn. She turned to look at Kafka and watched him for a moment. He was a tall lanky boy with light brown hair and green eyes. He wore regular brown trousers and a white shirt which looked to be his only outfit. Gabby knew that on the outside no one would ever know the special qualities this boy had within him. Why would they, he's just a stable boy? But Gabby knew. No one would see that his heart shone more than that of any knight she'd ever met.

"I couldn't either." Kafka said, snapping Gabby out of the short inspection of him. "Sir Rhyse and a few of his men were singing sea shantees as they drank last night. I wonder why they chose to sing sea shantees when I know most of them have never even seen the ocean. They were talking rather loud by my room, though." The boy rolled his eyes and then looked over to Gabby. "Why weren't you at the celebrations? There was plenty of bards and acrobats and dancers... And there was a man there that ate his sword... He didn't look hurt, but that is like committing suicide each time he dares to do this trick. You should have seen it, though." Kafka seemed to be talking more to himself after a while, and Gabby listened as she pet Nix. "... The stories were all the same. You know, about the war and all that in which everyone's heard by now, but there was one about this ancient princess who could see the future and told stories to the children about what she saw... Flying contraptions that carried people across the seas and such, and that was my favorite."

"That sounds a little far fetched. Flying contraptions... So silly." Gabby said absently, thinking over Dinah's dream for a second and wondering if there ever would be such inventions.

"Aw, it was just a tale, but it was very entertaining. Everyone watched the bard with great interest." The knight nodded. Kafka looked at the castle and saw that people were waking up. "It is time to eat, Sir Gabriel. You might want to go into the great hall before they believe that one of their top knights got lost or something equally horrible happened." Gabby nodded and patted Nix one last time before she walked slowly inside. 'If anything, I could get a little bit to eat to keep up my strength...' the knight thought as she made her way to joined the other knights.

"Gabriel, are you alright?" Irene asked as she watched the boy in front of her. She had just found blood on some of his linens and felt a slight panic. 'I told that man to take it easy on his frail form. He isn't tough enough for all that rough housing.' the woman thought, glaring at Thadius, who was still sleeping. Gabriel Andrew, the newest addition to the Manx house hold, looked down at her sweetened morning bread, blushing lightly.

"Yes. I-I am fine." The squire seemed into her thoughts as she spoke profanities to herself. 'How could I be so stupid and forget about my monthly bleeding?!' she scolded herself.

"The e was blood on your linens, Gabriel. If you were wounded yesterday, you should have come to see me." She said firmly, but not in a scolding manner, just in a way to let the squire know that there needn't be any awkwardness when coming to talk to her. "I don't care about your pride, Gabe. If you are hurt, I will care for you."

"Thank you. I-I guess I thought it wasn't as bad yesterday, and it must have... re.... opened... and bled." Gabby trailed off, knowing she sounded like a fool, but she looked up to see that Irene was watching her with a face filled with concern.

"I will give Thadius a talking to about that rough housing. I will tell him to slow it down."

"NO!" Irene stared at her, shocked at Gabby's almost desperate tone. "I-I mean... Telling him... That will just... He..."

"Gabriel?"

"He gave me one shot at this, and if he thinks he's too rough with me right now as it is... Irene, I have seen him fight those other knights... Even a squire half my age should be able to fight him at the strength of his rough housing. If he thinks I am weak then he will have no use for me as a squire. I just need to toughen up, is all, honest." Gabby felt stupid. She really did, but Irene saw the determination in the squire's eyes as well as something that resembled fear, so she nodded her head in understanding.

"Just... be careful, okay?" Gabby nodded. "Okay, eat up, or you will never have the strength to beat Thadius in a swordfight." She teased, pushing the bread closer to the squire. Gabby smiled, then did as she was told.

Gabby and 15 other men stood in front of the king in a line in the jousting field. They were all wearing a shirt made of chainmail to cover their chests, but there was a painted circle on the chests over the heart. When Gabby was given her chainmail shirt, she was confused by this marking as was everyone else. Things were definitely going to be a little bit different from the other swordfights she'd witnessed. Like all of the men, Gabby was holding onto her sword as a lifeline, and she knew that her knuckles had gone white around it. The blonde knight looked down the row and made eye contact with Sir Rhyse briefly before turning away in disgust. She then looked in the crowd to find that Dinah wasn't there, which had disappointed her somewhat. She knew and understood her reasoning of course, but it would have made this task easier just knowing the seer was there. She hoped in her mind and heart that things were going well for the girl. As she thought of the girl, her insides seemed to liven up some like it had earlier that morning as she saw the girl sleep. 'Is this supposed to happen? Can my heart crumble and leap for joy at the same time?' she asked herself. King Bruce announced the first pair of knights who were supposed to fight first . Gabby sighed a breath of relief when her name wasn't called. "Sir Paul Smith vs. Sir Rhyse Hawk." Gabby and the rest of the men besides the two called walked to the shelter provided that was out of the way, which was just as well, considering it was to rain at any moment. Sir Rhyse was carefree as he stood in front of his opponent, waiting for orders and the permission to start. "The rules to this task are simple, as they all are. See the blue paint over the chest of your shirts?" Both men nodded. "The man who can get past their opponent's sword and can tap or even touch that paint on the armoured shirts wins that fight. Get ready!" The man, Ketterly, watched as the men got into their stances and waited for the signal to go.

"GO!" He called, watching them both closely. After watching Sir Rhyse in his fight with Sir Paul, Gabby had confirmed her thoughts on the knight, knowing for sure that she almost hated the man. He was a bully, he was too sure of himself, and well, after that first task and what he did, Gabby was sure he wasn't a true knight with such behaviour. He liked to use intimidation as a key tool to his success in these fights, and it worked, and it threw poor Sir Paul off of his game. Gabby was sorry to see the man win, as mean as those thoughts were. She truthfully didn't want to have to go up against him in this tournament. "Sir Thadius Manx Vs. Sir Cashius!" Ketterly yelled to the audience. The two knights looked at each other with a raised eyebrow.

"I wish you the best, brother." Of course they weren't really brothers, but their bond ran through them thicker than blood. Thadius nodded to his friend.

"Nothing but." he replied. Gabby smiled as she watched the men face each other. There were footsteps, and she saw Brian, whom was eliminated from the first task, but was sticking around to watch his father and his twin (both there to win some prize money) in action.

"Hey Charles, I bet you 10 coins that Thadius loses this match." he whispered to his brother, who was standing next to Gabby. The other twin grinned.

"I bet you 20 coins that he goes down in less than 100 strokes."

"And what if he wins?" Gabby asked. She knew she shouldn't be butting into this, but Gabby was a gambling man at heart and couldn't resist a good wager now and then, and she was good at it, knowing her limit and when she should back down.

"You know Thadius can't win against our old man." Charlie boasted, obviously proud to share blood with the man he spoke so fondly of.

"True that is, but it has been almost a year since they had last had a match together. Don't you think Thadius has gotten better since then?" 'Training himself so he can keep me on my toes.' Gabby thought with a smile.

"Fine. What if he wins?" Brian asked.

"I will wager that he wins this match, and if he loses -and you are indeed right- then I will give you 40 gold coins." The boys slapped palms in their excitement. "EACH." She stressed. She had the money locked away from when she'd won 200 coins in a swordfight a month before the war had broke out. The boys looked shocked at first, for that was quite a lot to wager on a simple bet, and they only did so between themselves because they ended up buying each other drinks and betting it back and forth between them all the time. This was different, but they still seemed sure of their father, so they nodded.

"You're on, and 80 coins poorer, my friend." Charles said with a cocky grin.

"We'll see who's satchel gets heavier. Until then, I suggest watching the match before your flapping gums jinxes it for you both." Gabby said. The boys laughed, and Gabby joined in before she turned and watched the field, waiting for the match to begin.

"GO!!" Ketterly yelled suddenly. The strokes were like clasps of thunder as metal hit metal with amazing force. This was how most of the men's swordfights were, but they were both putting everything into this fight as well as keeping in mind that it was just like any other they had between them. Gabby had no fears for a sore loser in this match. People in the audience were heard cheering for the knights, and it seemed just as she had always pictured her and Johnny Boy as a knightly team, playing around in front of a crowd at the same time they put their everything onto it as well. "I know. And the crowd would be screaming our names because they aren't sure which knight would win, but they wouldn't care either way because they'd be promised a good match no matter what." Gabby smiled at the memory of her friend, wondering where he'd gone, and hoped he didn't have to go to war. A loud clunk took Gabby from her thoughts as she saw that Thadius's sword tip was on the blue paint on Cashius' armoured shirt. Gabby heard the boys groan in the roaring of the crowd. Thadius looked up at the sky and so did Cashius. From the darkening specks of dirt on the ground, Gabby guessed that it was starting to rain as she had predicted.

"We'll get you your money to you after the task." Charles whispered to Gabby, who couldn't help but smile in a manner that clearly said 'I told you so'. "Yeah yeah." Charles said, waving her off before she could gloat and rub things in. Thadius and Cashius looked winded but excited at the same time. They were both grinning from ear to ear.

"You have gotten better, Thadius, no sense in denying that." Cashius said to his long time friend. He then went to his sons who helped him out of his shirt and they walked away to go put it away.

"That was the best match I have ever seen, Thadius!" Gabby said in the manliest way possible, punching his shoulder and forgetting about the chainmail. She hissed in pain and Thadius roared in laughter. Gabby tried not to pout at her now throbbing hand. 'Ass.' she called herself.

"No that wasn't, and you know it." He said, watching Gabby closely. He knew after a minute what was wrong with his young friend, and why she was acting a little over excited about the last match. Gabby had this look of great victory on her face (although a guilty one), and the older knight knew exactly what it was that had caused it. "You bet on me again, didn't you?" Gabby knew she was caught.

"Yes," she said sheepishly, "but only because they were betting on how quickly you would lose. I had to put in a wager for if you won, it was too tempting." Gabby said, fully intent on defending herself. Thadius studied the younger knight.

"How much this time?"

"Eighty gold coins." The look on Thadius' face was priceless, and Gabby would have given up half of her life just to see it again. She laughed at the shock seen on his features.

"Good God! Gabriel, that is more than the price of that ruddy horse of yours! You might as well have bet HIM." Gabby snorted, then watched as Thadius set his sword down then sat down next to it. He was a little tired, and he needed to rest his feet.

"That was how I got him, if you remember. That knight didn't want to back down from the bet at such a high stake, so he bet his horse." Gabby said. "Best bet I ever made." She then looked at Thadius. "I would have bet him, but your pride just isn't worth the risk, old man, even if I was almost certain that you would come out the victor of that match." Thadius glared at Gabby, which would have normally intimidated the younger knight if he hadn't grinned almost instantly afterwards.

"I get half." he said as usual.

"I wouldn't have it any other way." Gabby said, making the burly man chuckle. She sat down next to him and he patted her shoulder so hard that she would have probably fallen over had she still been standing.

Chapter 8

"Sir Gabriel Andrew Vs. Sir Patrick Purty!" Gabby felt herself tense as she heard her name. She picked up her sword and stood up. She took a deep breath and started out to the jousting field.

"Good luck, Boy! Should I bet you'll go down in 50 strokes or 25?!" Thadius called after her. She ignored the urge to shout back at him. Gabby watched the man. Patrick had blonde hair shorter as well as lighter than Gabby's, which reminded her that she needed to get it cut again after the tournament. Gabby tried not to look annoyed as the rain hit the back of her neck and slid down her back.

"GO!!" Ketterly yelled. This was the 8th match he'd seen, and he was starting to get bored. And there was still 6 matches left as these 8 slim to 4, then the 4 slim to the remaining 2. Gabby blocked Patrick's hit and was surprised to find that Patrick was about twice a s strong as he looked, and he looked about as strong as Gabby herself, only she was a little shorter than Patrick, and slightly smaller. The sword almost fell from Gabby's hands and she was sure that she was going to drop it, but she held on the best she could with both hands. After 6 strokes, Gabby was sure she'd gotten used to his strength and let her left hand go of the sword. Almost immediately, the sword was hit out of her hands. She heard soft patter of the rain against the metal. Patrick jabbed his sword towards her chest and Gabby jumped back. A little puzzled, Sir Patrick tried again, and again Gabby jumped out of the way just in time. He looked up at King Bruce whom looked amused, then back at Gabby to make sure she hadn't moved towards her sword . The king gestured for Patrick to continue on. 'He hasn't touched the paint, so I still have a chance.' Gabby thought, then snorted to herself. 'Yeah, and I sprout large black wings...' She added, moving away from another jab, slowly moving towards her sword. She was quick at snatching it from the ground and straightening quickly enough to let metal hit metal once more. She saw her opening as Sir Patrick raised his sword to strike again. She hit his sword away hard enough to make his hand swing away from her, then she tapped the painted area of the chainmail shirt. The crowd cheered in excitement. Sir Patrick looked surprised.

"That was a great match." Gabby said, extending her hand for a shake. He smiled and shook it.

"That is was. Good luck with the rest of the match." he said as Ketterly announced Gabby the winner of this match. Gabby walked back to Thadius, where he was talking to some of the other married knights. He turned to Gabby.

"I'm proud of you, Gabe. That had to have been the shortest match I have ever seen. Very clever of you, getting away all those times without him touching you. That's my boy." Gabby smiled, trying not to hide her face in embarrassment. Though she usually worked hard for that moment alone, it still didn't mean that the comments didn't make her ears turn pink. There was talk about family. Gabby listened in as the knights spoke of their wives ("My wife makes the best lemon sweet cake.") and of their children.

"My son Samuel is a great farmer when he works in the gardens with his mother, but I fear that is all he shall become." said one knight. Gabby had long since forgotten his name, only knowing that he came from the Hawk Kingdom, but not on the same day as Rhyse. The men smiled, most of them with sympathy.

"Aye, my daughter Mary Elizabeth is writing in the wee hours of the morning-using up precious oil for the lamp, mind you- and for what? Stories, tales of speaking animals and damsels in distress saved by handsome princes from lands far away that no one has ever heard of. Rubbish, I say."

"Perhaps they will be of use in the future." someone suggested.

"Well, they do help the baby when he's crying." The more they spoke, the more Gabby longed to join in. What sort of tale would she tell them of if she herself had a family of her own? 'My daughter Emily has the most beautiful green eyes... Takes after her mother, she does.' 'My son, Henry already knows how to ride a horse. Makes his sire proud...' Gabby knew that this would never happen and she couldn't have what these other men had, but since she was 24 winters old, she'd pondered what her wife would look like, who their children would look/act like throughout their life, and what they would become when they have to live their own life. Gabby knew she wouldn't care if her daughter became a king's fool or if her son became the best pig farmer in the world, she would just give anything to say 'My wife... My daughters... my sons... Mine...'

"Sir Dick Grayson Vs. Sir Gabriel Andrew." Deep into one of her many futuristic fantasies involving an unknown wife and 3 children, Gabby didn't hear her name being called, and she was nudged rather hard by Thadius, who was sitting next to her once again. She hadn't noticed his presence because of these thoughts, a daydream really, about her grown up son marrying whomever he wanted to because he loved her and she loved him back. She looked up at Thadius and sighed.

"You're next."

"Alright, old man, I am getting up." And she did, stretching her legs with a groan. She wasn't aware just how long she was sitting down thinking. It was then she noticed that she was up against Sir Dick Grayson, probably the only knight that she didn't already know that she respected. She didn't want to, but she walked up to him. She took her stance slowly and waited.

"GO!!" As expected, Dick's strokes were strong, yet on their target every time. They weren't just filled with power, but Dick knew where he wanted his sword, and he'd be damned if it ever went elsewhere. There were many times that Gabby just barely hit his sword away before the brunette knight could tap the paint and eliminate her. She wasn't so sure why she was still fighting to stay in the tournament. Perhaps she just wanted to see how far she could go within it before she did get eliminated, or perhaps she just didn't want to live with the thought that she could have let Thadius down, but she was there, and she wasn't about to let herself get eliminated just yet. She took a deep breath and made an almost roar like cry as she hit Dick's targeted strokes, sending him out of his rhythm. Gabby didn't let him find it again, for she was now on the offence, keeping him on his toes. It was a long fight, a good few minutes like that, and Gabby was slowly wearing down. Gabby could tell that Sir Dick was as well. When Gabby hit Dick's sword out of his hands, the dark haired knight wasn't sure if he could get to it in time. He slipped a little in the mud, bring the knight to his knees. Gabby hesitated, then made a quick jab for his chest. When she looked, the tip was on the paint and she was breathing hard. She slowly took the sword away from him as the cheers were heard. "THE WINNER, SIR GABRIEL ANDREW!!" Ketterly was heard as she held out her hand to help the fallen knight. Sir Dick Grayson nodded hi s thanks and then went off to put his things away and perhaps get ready to go back to the Kingdom of Bludhaven.

The blonde knight watched as Thadius beat Charles, and as Sir Rhyse beat another man in his own kingdom. They laughed and had a nice little chat after the fight, and it looked as if he liked the man he had just beaten. This was it. Whomever won this last fight between Gabby and Thadius had to joust a best of 5 with Sir Rhyse the next day. The wind had long since stopped, but there were still large droplets of water falling from the sky. She stood before her mentor and friend and wondered what would come of this fight. She was scared of fighting against Thadius and not for the first time; many times she would fight him, afraid that if she lost she would be seen as an unworthy squire, yet every time (she lost) she would get a pat on the back and a grin from him as he complimented her on her effort or some stance she'd used, and to Gabby that was worth all the fear. "Jus' pretend this is practice. Give me that effort and determination I always see and things will be just fine, you hear me Gabe?" Thadius murmured just barely loud enough for her to hear. Gabby nodded, then smiled. 'Just practice... without the taunting... Damn, that is the best part.' She thought with a slight grin. She held her stance, and Thadius winked at her as if to think the same thing.

"GO!!" Gabby knew Thadius' opening move, a swift swing towards the stomach, but Gabby blocked it, and was surprised that the moves after that were almost like a dance between them; Thadius knew where she would move and she knew where the older knight was going to move, so after a long time, Gabby got a glint in her eyes, a small challenge to her teacher. A look that asked if he was ready to learn. She started moving in another rhythm, one that Thadius wasn't expecting.

"Ah, nice one, lad. You're still..." he panted "not... going to beat me, though."

"We'll see old man, we'll see." Gabby shot back, but she was concerned for the breathlessness of her friend. She felt the rain fall down harder and the wind pick up, slowly freezing her fingers. She was just glad that after this fight the day was over and she can go start a fire in her room. She jumped towards Thadius, intent on jabbing his chest, but he'd fallen in the now muddy ground, and he looked as if he was hurt. He grabbed his knee and looked up at Gabby. He wiped some of the rain that fell on his face away from his eyes.

"Tap the paint, Gabe. I have to stop, I think I broke something."

"No, get up. You've fought with worse. I want a fair fight, man." Gabby said.

"I taught you well, but if you don't tap me out of this tournament, I swear I will skin you alive, Boy. Do as I say!" Thadius barked, wincing as he tried to get up. Gabby looked at him, taken aback by his harsh orders.

"I'll get you the healer when this is over." Gabby said flatly, tapping his paint.

"You've done well. Couldn't be prouder if you were made of my own flesh and blood. Now help an old man up. I tell you I am not cut out of this anymore." Gabby lent him his hand and then together got the older man to his feet. Thadius punched the younger knight affectionately on her shoulder, then started walking away with not even a limp. "Put in a good hit for me, Lad." Thadius said over his shoulder, not even looking back. Gabby was bewildered more than anything, then she figured out that he had fooled her. 'But why?' She asked herself. 'Of course, so I have a better chance to winning Princess Helena's hand. That is what that was about.' Before she could get properly angry at Thadius, King Bruce nodded over to Sir Rhyse, who joined her on the field.

"THE WINNER, GABRIEL ANDREW!!"

"Well done, men. Congratulations to both of you. Tomorrow, you shall do the last task. A joust, best of 5." King Bruce smiled. "Say men... for fun, how about you two have a match right now?" he said. Gabby didn't want this. She was aching all over from her last match with Thadius, and she wanted to sleep so desperately, but seeing Sir Rhyse's face and t h e challenge written there made her nod. She turned to him to face him. "And now, just for fun, a special fight. Sir Gabriel Andrew Vs. Sir Rhyse Hawk." Gabby made sure that her sword was properly gripped in her right hand, the tip pointed towards the ground. Rhyse copied her motion, standing taller than her and staring down at her in a menacing glance that didn't phase her in the least. "GO!" Rhyse made the first move, going for her sides a little more. Though he seemed confident and a little bored with the other men, Gabby could tell that Rhyse saw her as a threat to him, and she understood. He seemed to concentrate all of his energies on the match, which he still seemed to be losing. He let out a loud grunt as he tried to push Gabby back. He'd succeeded. It wasn't against the rules, so as she fell backwards she tried to hold her left hand out to break her fall some, but she landed hard on it and she felt a lot of pain. Faintly, the blonde knight could hear roars of anger from Thadius and the twins about un fairness, but she tuned them out. 'Thadius has fought with a hurt arm before... I can too... But that fall sure did hurt it. I hope he wasn't this hurt when he did.' Gabby thought as she hit Rhyse's sword away, which was trying to touch her chest.

"I'm sorry, I thought you were ready for that one." Gabby growled in her throat, a sound so low that she wasn't even sure if it was her that made it, or if it was some howl of the wind. Rain poured harder, and it only seemed to add to her anger. She blocked all o f his other advances as well, and the older knight saw the anger, and he knew that Gabby wasn't going to let that one go. With her left hand held gently to her stomach, Gabby fought as much as she could. She was exhausted. Rhyse saw this and thought it was time to end it once and for all so that he can continue to the joust and win the princess. He raised his sword high in a dramatic ending, only Gabby quickly saw her chance and touched the paint on his chainmail shirt. Rhyse stopped moving in shock as if he had been pierced through the heart, and Gabby momentarily wished that was really the reason for his expression. She wanted to somehow gloat and rub his face in the dirt with her winning words, but she didn't. Thadius taught her better than that, so she just put her sword to her side and listened to the crowd as they clapped. The way the crowd was still there, clapping and seemingly having a good time despite the wind and rain was amazing to the young knight. She just hoped that no one would catch cold.

"Well done. You two go rest now, I will talk to the two of you in the morning." Gabby nodded and then pushed roughly past Sir Rhyse to make her way towards Thadius.

"I saw what that snake did you ye'. Are you okay?"

"I'm angry with you as well, so don't talk to me. I wouldn't even be over here if I didn't need to get this bloody armor off." Gabby snapped.

"Look Gabe, I was only trying to-"

"What you did was help me cheat!"

"What do you think Sir Rhyse had done when he fought his last match before the one with you?!"

"I don't give a horse's ass what Sir Rhyse did or didn't do. If he wants to increase his chance for winning the princess then so be it. Even if I wanted to win her, I would have wanted to do it on my own."

"I just want what's best for you." Thadius defended himself, feeling himself get angry with the younger knight, making him roughly lift the chainmail shirt. Gabby growled. "Sorry."

"I am not here for that. And this," She gestured with her good hand to the injured one, "isn't worth what I had originally came here for, Thadius." Gabby said. Thadius carefully finished removing the shirt, and Gabby was about to go her own way when Thadius grabbed her shoulder.

"Listen here, Boy-"

"No!" Gabby barked, "You listen to me. Let... Go." Gabby said. Thadius looked a little angry and a little disappointed at his charge's behaviour, but he let go of the smaller knight and watched as she walked away.

"Good job today, Gabriel Andrew. Excellent fighting skills." King Bruce called as she passed him and his family. This made the knight stop walking. She watched for a second as they were helped out of the rain.

"Yes, very impressive." Princess Helena added once they were inside the castle and in the main corridor.

"My daughter has requested that I ask you to join her for a stroll, as you hadn't gotten a chance to before. She is rather shy when it comes to speaking with men." he said. 'Apparently not with flirting with them, I suppose.' Gabby let herself think in her foul mood. She smiled warmly to hide her thoughts.

"Of course. I was about to go see the healer for my arm, but I hope to be with you within an hour's time."

"Yes, that will be acceptable. I have to go make myself a little more... presentable since the rain has me drenched." Gabby nodded again and then left after the proper goodbyes. She walked the corridors looking for both Kafka and Barbara, though she doubted to find either of them at that time. She checked the stables for Kafka, but he wasn't there, and also saw that Diable' Blanc was gone as well, and she only hoped that Kafka was taking care of the little thing. Gabby's wrist was starting to hurt a little more, and her fingers were going numb from the cold, so she ran into the castle, again looking for Barbara. She was on her way to the room Dinah had gone to the night before when she saw Barbara in the corridor looking exhausted.

"Gabriel? Gabriel Andrew?" she asked, looking her in the eye.

"Aye." She grunted, stopping in front of her. She looked down at her wrist, and the healer followed the knight's gaze.

"So it is true. You did get hurt. Let me see your wrist." She said in a no nonsense tone. Gabby extended her wrist to the woman and looked at her as she slowly touched and inspected it. In her exhaustion, Barbara looked to be older than the knight knew she really was. The healer couldn't have been more than 7 or 8 years old when Gabby was born, yet at this moment she looked as if she was at least 50 winters old. "This is all I can do." Barbara said after a minute or two. Gabby moved her wrist around slowly. "My powers... I can't heal you anymore than this. I am sorry."

"It is alright. It is just sore now, it will heal in a few hours."

"If it doesn't, come see me in the morning before the joust. It's just... I must be using more of my power for Carolyn than I thought I was."

"How is she?" Gabby asked, curious. Barbara had a pained look on her face, and the knight knew she didn't want to talk about whatever was going on with the woman.

"Worse. Always getting worse." Barbara responded. They were both quietly standing in the corridor, looking anywhere else but at the other. Gabby saw a tear fall from the healer's eyes and Gabby pleaded for the woman to stop crying. Gabby hated seeing a woman cry.

"Is there anything I can get for you? Any way I can help?"

"It would be a big help if I could get a miracle right about now, Gabriel."

"I wish I could grant you that miracle, Barbara." the young knight whispered.

Chapter 9

Barbara tried again to heal the knight after a few minutes of rest, in which Gabby spoke with the woman about the magic some people received through birth like Dinah and Kafka. "It is not magic," she'd insisted. The healer spoke of her childhood with her gifts and spoke of how the power she had slowly started to grow. Like Dinah, they started when she was young, but she doesn't remember when exactly it started, and the healer believes she's always had her powers, at least in the form of healing herself. It has been just recently that the healer admits to feeling the sick or hurt before she heals them.

"Why are you telling me all this? If people are to be shunned for these gifts, then why are you telling me?" Gabby asked when she moved her wrist again. It was no longer sore and it seemed as if it was fully healed.

"Dinah trusts you, and I trust Dinah. She's seen inside your mind and your heart, so she knows what you are all about. From what she's told me about you, you are a good friend to her, something that she is not used to having."

"But... she's only known me for a few days." Gabby said, watching the healer. She ran her hand over her shortened hair and felt the dampness that the rain had put there. She sighed in annoyance.

"It doesn't matter. She knows who you are now, and she trusts it, I trust you."

"Come on, Barbara. I will take you to the great hall. Maybe some food will help your powers be restored."

"Perhaps you are right, Sir Gabriel." Barbara let the knight take her to the great hall where she nodded as her goodbyes. "Aren't you coming inside? You need to regain your strength as well." Barbara said, sounding concerned.

"I will be by later. I have to go see Princess Helena. We are going for a stroll, though where we can go when it is raining so hard outside is beyond me, but I will do what I have to." Barbara smiled, somewhat sadly. "Hey, tell Dinah when you see her that I will be back in our room after I eat, so if she needs to talk or something... I will be there." Barbara nodded and entered the hall. Gabby watched the door for a minute more, then she walked slowly towards the hall where Helena and the King's sleeping quarters were. This hall was closed off, but there was a guard at the door. "Excuse me, sir, but can you please inform the princess that I have come for our stroll?" she politely asked the guard. He smiled at Gabby and nodded, opening the door to the hall and closing it slowly in a non-rude way in the knight's face. Gabby waited for a couple of minutes before the guard returned.

"She's been expecting you and will be out an a few moments." Gabby smiled.

"Thank you." Gabby felt obligated to say. The guard nodded once more, then they stood in silence. The door opened a while later revealing the princess, whom had changed from her simpler dress to a more chic dress that clearly showed her status. It was a long purple gown that covered her feet, and she was wearing fine jewellery on her hands and on her neck. Gabby understood the need for a more presentable look, but the gown she now wore simply begged for someone to rob them. The knight smiled at the princess as she made her way towards her.

"You are earlier than I expected."

"I am sorry if I had thrown you off guard by my early arrival, Princess. I hadn't expected to be healed so quickly."

"Our healer is the best in the world. The way she works is almost like magic. If she hadn't saved my mother during my birth, I am sure she would have been tried and killed for witchcraft years ago." Gabby was silent at the moment, trying not to think of the red-haired woman tied to a stake with flames flowing around her.

"Shall we?" Gabby said, extending her elbow. The princess linked arms with the knight and they started to walk the corridor with Guy, Helena's personal guard, walking leisurely behind them at a distance, but not one so great that he wouldn't be there if something went wrong. "This is my first time in the Wayne kingdom, so forgive me Princess, if I do not know my way around the castle. I do not know of a place for us to walk when the rain falls so." Gabby said, slowing her pace when she found that the princess was having a little troubles walking at her pace because of her gown.

"Of course, Sir Gabriel. I suppose I should give you a tour of the castle. After tomorrow, who knows, you might be living here." she said shyly.

"One can only hope, Princess... and a tour of the castle sounds wonderful." Princess Helena seemed pleased to hear this and showed her to the library, which was the closest room to them.

"This is my favorite place to be. My father gets new stories every month, and I love to read through them before anyone else... There are too many of them for me to read. Before I can get through the ones from this month, there is always a large sum coming from around the world the next. It makes my head spin." Princess Helena said, running her finger over one of the opened scrolls on the desk. "This one is my favorite. It is about a man who isn't of royalty, yet still he fights everything he believes in to become a knight and win over the woman he loves. Happy endings are what I enjoy." She said.

"I enjoy a good tale with a happy ending as well." Gabby agreed. They wandered out of the library a few moments later, and they peeked into a room where King Bruce liked to read his favorite scrolls. ('All of them are about fighting for what is right even if people lose their lives along the way. My father always says that their lives were not lost in vein if they win their fight, but it makes me wonder about those whom have died, and then their battle is lost.' Helena had said.) When they walked out of there, Gabby bumped into Brian.

"There you are! I am glad I found you at last. You are a hard man to track down. I tried your quarters, but there was no one there-"

"Mind your manners, Brian." Gabby said, using her head to gesture towards the princess. She frowned in thought as she heard that Dinah wasn't in the corridors and hoped things were alright with her, it starting to get really late in the evening.

"My apologies, my lady." Brian bowed. He then turned towards Gabriel. "I just wanted to give you the money from our bet this afternoon as to let you know I didn't go back on our side of the deal." he said.

"I trust you and your brother, Brian. It could have waited until I entered the great hall." Gabby responded.

"We thought you might not come again like last night." Brian said. He handed Gabby a satchel of coins, and it seemed heavier than Gabby had expected it to be.

"Not all of it is gold, so there is some silver in there as well." Gabby nodded.

"Thank you." she said, tying the sack to her wrist.

"You're welcome. Well, I shall not keep you any longer. Good evening." Brian said to the both of them, and then he was on his way, most likely back to the great hall where there was a large feast of rabbit stew. The thought of eating the beasts she'd slain the day before made the knights stomach churn, and so she was grateful for the question the princess next to her asked.

"Do you bet often?" Helena asked.

"Guilty, Princess. I am known to bet now and then." Gabby admitted.

"At least you are honest about it. Many people would lie, but my father is known to bet on horse races, so I do not see the problem with it." Helena said. They walked for a while in silence and after a while, Helena's arm slipped from the knight's, and her hand slid next to Gabby's and she found herself holding it. This shocked the knight because this contact was a little more intimate, and as far as Gabby knew a couple didn't hold hands until a month or so after a known and announced courtship. This felt almost scandalous, but looking at the princess, Gabby saw that she seemed to feel safer like that, so she put the fear aside. She was just making the princess feel safe as they walked innocently down the corridors. After a while something felt wrong. Gabby stopped and squeezed her hand to signal for her to stop as well.

"Be still, Princess." There was a grunt from behind them and then a thud. Gabby ran to the fallen guard and took Helena with her. She checked for his pulse. She breathed a sigh of relief when she saw that he was still alive, but he was knocked out. The princess was yanked away from the knight quickly, and Gabby straightened to see what was going on. A small man Gabby's age held a dagger to Helena's throat. Gabby recognized this man as one of the men who played the fanfair before the tasks.

"Give me that satchel and no one gets hurt." He said. he had already taken the jewellery that Helena was wearing, and he was pocketing it.

"Alright. Let me have the princess, and I will give you the money." The small man didn't move. "You have my word."

"Your word means nothing, no matter who you are." the small man spat out angrily.

"Fine. Just... Don't hurt her." Gabby untied the strings and handed the money to the man, who snatched it and looked inside. His eyes widened.

"You don't make your bets lightly." He smirked, but he held on tighter to the princess. "I'm sure you have more locked away somewhere, so I am going to hold on to my prize until I get every last bit of it." The short man was bald, even though he wasn't in that stage of his life, and his eyes were slightly sunken in as if he hadn't slept in days.

"You have what you came here for. Give the princess back or I will be forced to fight you." Gabby took out her sword from it's hilt and slowly got herself ready for a fight.

"I will fight you, Sir Gabriel, but by my rules. Let's show the princess how impressive at fighting you are WITHOUT the sword. I will show you that I am more of a man than you will ever be." Gabby glared at him. 'Oh, the irony,' the knight thought.

"If you know my name, sir, then you will know that I am not one to pick for a fighting opponent." Gabby warned.

"I have no worries. You knights are nothing without your swords." The knight frowned, quickly getting tired of this man as it was, but to insult the knights she knew, who were noble and brave, well, that just boiled her skin. Unfortunately, the man was right about what he said.

"Fine. Let go of the princess and your weapon, and we will fight, hand to hand, man to man." Gabby challenged.

"Fine." the man agreed, shoving the princess to the ground. The knight dropped his sword at the same time the man dropped his dagger. She heard them both clatter to the stone floors. She saw the other man vanish, and she became confused. Suddenly, she felt a blow to her stomach as the man reappeared. He vanished again and she felt herself being kicked to the floor. She winced in pain as she saw suddenly the man kneeling above her. He had his dagger again, and it was at her throat now. He swiped at her, but she moved, so the blade only got to the lower part of her neck near the collarbone, and it had started to bleed. The man grinned viciously. The man head jerked a little bit and he turned around to see Princess Helena, now shoeless on her right foot.

"Leave him alone!" She yelled. The man was quick and had her in his arms again. She struggled, hitting him a couple of times. The man raised his arm to strike the princess. Gabby scrambled to get her sword but found it was too far away. Then she saw the man's dagger in his hand and remembered Johnny Boy's dagger which she kept on her thigh. She took it out and had it pointed to the man's back. He froze. The dagger was always sharpened, as Gabby liked to keep it that way so that it would be sharp for Johnny Boy when he got it back.

"A real man, knight or not, would never strike a woman." Gabby said in a low threatening voice. The man's hands raised, showing his surrender and tried to turn around, but Gabby dug the blade a little bit into his back, making him feel its point.

"Please... Please don't kill me." the man pleaded.

"I do not kill unless it is necessary. You won't make it necessary, will you?" Gabby asked, as if she was talking to a tyke.

"No." he said, and the knight almost felt a small amount of a sick pleasure when seeing his fear.

"What is your name?" she asked.

"C-Cameron." he turned around.

"Cameron... I will spare your life... but I don't think King Bruce will be as kind." Cameron froze. He knew he was in for a grand punishment for this robbery. He was so sure that he wouldn't get caught with his powers evolving as they did. Fear was seen all over his features. He was grabbed suddenly, and Gabby looked up. Guy was rubbing his head and wasn't looking very happy.

"I don't think I will be either."

"Are you alright, Guy?" Helena asked, genuinely concerned for her guard and friend. The guard smiled and silently reassured the princess that he was, and then he roughly shook Cameron, who started squirming in the larger man's hold. Gabby picked up the Princess' shoe and Helena lifted her foot as the knight helped her put it back on.

"Thank you for your help. I wouldn't have defeated him without it." Gabby said in a voice so soft that it was hard to imagine it so harsh, so cold as it was only seconds before when talking to Cameron. She saw the princess go a little bit pink.

"You're welcome. You were wonderful without my help you know, trying to get him away without any violence at first." Gabby offered her elbow and Helena took it, and they walked behind Guy and Cameron, who were headed towards the king's quarters. They ended up in front of the hall entrance where the guard stood.

"Do we have a problem, Guy?"

"Sir Gabriel and Princess Helena were attacked just now. I was knocked out, and Gabriel had to fight him alone." Guy looked ashamed. "Gabriel defeated him, but I brought him here."

"I'll get the king."

"Yes," Guy looked at Gabby as he tightened his hold on Cameron. He took the satchel from the man and returned it to Gabby. "I believe this is yours."

"Thank you." There was a rush to the door a minute later.

"Helena, are you alright?"

"I am okay, Daddy. Gabriel saved me, but he was hurt." King Bruce saw the cut on her collarbone before Gabby bowed.

"I hope it isn't deep."

"It isn't, Your Highness." Gabby said. She watched as Queen Selina came out not long after King Bruce and embraced her daughter. Gabby suddenly felt she shouldn't be there. King Bruce studied the cut once more, and then he studied Cameron.

"Tell me, Sir Gabriel... What hand held the dagger that made that mark?" Gabby thought it was an odd question, but she thought over the events from the last few moments in as much detail as possible...

"He held the dagger in his left hand, sir." Gabby responded when she saw that the king was starting to get impatient.

"NO!" Cameron yelled. "H-He lies!"

"A knight never lies." Gabby tried not to wince at those words from the king. "Then that is the hand he loses." the king continued. "Take him away. You know what to do with him. As for you," he said to Gabby "I would like to talk to you." Gabby nodded and followed after the king and then started to walk at his side. "You don't know how grateful I am that you were there to save my daughter." The king looked at Gabby and she smiled warmly.

"I am glad that I was as well. I believe that everything happens for a reason, and perhaps Helena felt the need for me to walk with her so that I would be there..." she trailed off. She was babbling. She never used to babble, but she's spent some time with the seer, and she liked to babble when there was too much silence when she didn't like it.

"I have in my possession 20 acres of land not far from the borders of the Pennyworth kingdom... Just say the word and it is yours. I know it isn't much after saving my daughter, but it is a start."

"Your Majesty, that is more than enough." Gabby said, and it was true. Gabby had always dreamed of owning her own lands for her to grow old on, to build her home on.

"So you'll take it?"

"Yes, I mean..." Gabby blushed a little, feeling flustered. 'My own land!' she though excitedly. She didn't own any land. She just lived with Thadius on his land, but she can't stay there forever, and they both knew it. That was what Gabby was saving up for. "I didn't have any land before and 20 acres... I mean, that is more than I will ever need."

"It is a nice area. Alright then, it is yours." Gabby wanted to hug the king, but that just wasn't done, so she bowed slightly.

"Thank you sir."

"One! Two! Three! Again! One! Two! Three-" Gabby fell under the weight of Thadius' blows. Thadius shook his head, not sure what he was to do with Gabriel. The older knight said nothing though as he helped him up, brushed him off, and motioned for him to get ready to try again. Irene came outside before they could start again.

"I told you to be careful with him, Thadius. Can't you see he's getting tired?"

"Irene, the boy will be alright. I told you, my father trained me this way, and my grandfather trained my father this way. It's practically tradition." Irene wasn't buying it for a minute.

"It's alright, Irene. I think this way is better. I feel myself getting stronger this way."

"That's right, Boy. My grandfather didn't win all that land by just being scrawny and lean, no offence, Lad."

"None taken, I guess."

"He worked hard and earned that land, and he was tough. Like a bear, he was. I will build you to be just like him, so you will own half the world by the time you die, Gabe."

"I don't think that is possible, but alright. Let's start up again." Gabby said, feeling herself get a little more excited about that day's training.

"Just be- Oh forget it." Irene said, walking back into the house to watch after Alexis.

"I love you, Irene!" Thadius called.

"I love you, too." she called back over her shoulder.

"Gotta remember to always tell your lady that, Gabe. At least twice a day no matter what the other men think about you. Don't want the ones you love to ever think otherwise." Gabby smiled.

"Of course not."

"Now, get in your stance." Thadius said. "One! Two! Three! Again! One! Two! Three! Again! One! Two! Three! Again..."

Gabby walked- no, Gabby skipped- around the corridors, dancing to a tune that only she heard, a happy tune from long ago that she'd never remember the name to even if she sat down and tried to think of it. Not that Gabby was in the mood to do such a thing. She was in the mood to run through the corridors and scream out her happiness, for she was a true knight now. This is what she's always wanted, and she is now everything she wanted in what she saw of herself as a knight. 'Twenty acres... all mine.' Gabby thought, still not truly believing it, yet the deed was there in her hands. So, who to tell first, Thadius? Probably whomever she comes across first. She picked up her pace and went to the great hall. If she was going to tell some good new she might as well be eating while she tells the tale. She entered the hall and stopped dead in her tracks, her bubbly mood popped, and her smile slowly fading. She didn't see her older friend in the hall then, in fact, she didn't many people in there at this time, but there was one form in a darkened part of the hall, hidden mostly from the other people within, who paid this figure no mind, but it made Gabby gasp sadly. She was only able to say one thing in but a murmur. "Oh Dinah..."

Chapter 10

Tears streamed silently down the young woman's face as she filled her glass with wine from the bottle at her side. She would drain the cup, then refill it again as she thought over whatever it was that was bothering the woman. Gabby was sure she already knew, but she will never know for sure until she asked and found out, but her legs wouldn't move. Finally, she forced herself to walk up to the crying woman and Gabby felt Dinah's heart breaking. Feeling that made her own heart start to break. She knelt next to the woman, but still Dinah didn't look up. The seer had just refilled her cup again and was about to bring it to her lips when she thought the better of it and put it back on the table. "Y' wanna hear a secret, Gabriel?" Gabby stood up, then slowly sat down next to her, almost knocking over an empty wine bottle she hadn't seen before she sat down. She hastily moved it, then checked the table for more, but only saw the two, the one she had finished, and the one she was working on draining at the moment. It was obvious that the seer was trying to drink her troubles away, and whatever secret she was prepared to tell her was possibly the key to these troubles. After a while, Gabby got tired of waiting patiently for Dinah to continue talking. Finally, she sighed.

"Tell me a secret, Dinah." she whispered to her.

"Care'lyn's not gonna make it. S he's... not..." The seer started to sob. 'No no no, Don't do that. I am starting to yearn.' Gabby thought to the girl in front of her, surprised at how true the statement was. She wanted nothing more at that moment than to see the girl smiling. Dinah drank back her goblet of wine, slammed it onto the table, and reached for the bottle. She pushed her hair away from her reddened face before she filled her cup again. "She- She..." she rubbed her face to rid it of tears. "She knows this and wants me to care... for the child as my very own if the baby survives. ME! Me, Gabriel." She finished in a whisper. She looked at her cup and took a drink. "I can't-"

"Whatever you were about to say, don't. I know you can." the knight interrupted.

"But a child, Gabriel? I'm not sure I am ready for that."

"There are monks you can take it to. Tell them the situation, and they will care for it."

"I can't do that, Gabby." She whispered so softly. Gabby tucked some of the girl's blond locks behind her left ear. "This baby's going to be special. I can't just walk away from a baby like that knowing what I know of it. Knowing what it can become."

"It can't be too bad, Dinah. I mean, I do not know much about children except for the fact that we all were one once, but I will help you in any way I can." Gabby said softly.

"What about feeding?" Dinah asked, blushing slightly. "I have no milk for the baby." Gabby thought on this for a minute before smiling softly.

"When I was at the Manx household for but a season, a man had come to the house asking for Thadius. 'Said his cow had a calf and that the calf wasn't feeding... It wasn't getting milk from the mother. So the mother was slaughtered, and Thadius made a pouch. The pouch, from then until the calf was old enough, was used to hold goat's milk. Thadius still has it in the house at home. We can put goat's milk inside and use that for the baby. There's always a way. Let's not give up before we have the chance to find one." Gabby said, stilling the hand that was raising the goblet to soft lips. Dinah sighed.

"You're right, Gabriel." She murmured loud enough for the both of them to hear.

"Come on, let's get you to bed. You look like you need sleep, Dinah." Gabby said, standing up and extending her hand to help the seer up. Dinah grabbed onto it and the knight let her lean her body onto her for support. Together they walked to their quarters as the storm outside blew an icy draft throughout the corridors, blowing out torches and darkening their path. Gabby felt a chill on her spine and tried to hurry them a little bit more to get them into a more comfortable place. "Looks like I will have to start a fire in the fire pit when we get into our room. It is quite cold tonight." Gabby said more to herself than to the seer. With a little bit of difficulty, the knight juggled the girl (whom was by now dragging her feet to the point that Gabby decided it would be quicker to just carry her) at the same time she tried to get the door open. The knight saw the familiar cage on the t able next to an unlit candle with Diable' Blanc inside looking frightened, sitting in the far corner of his cage. She set the satchel of her winnings and the deed down on the table, helped Dinah into the bed without dressing into her night gown, took off her shoes and covered her with all of the linens, including the ones on the floor that must have been placed in there by Kafka, whom had obviously put Diable' Blanc in there as well. Gabby was to use them for sleeping, but after the events that had happened , she wasn't sure she would be able to sleep, even though she didn't get much rest the night before. Gabby went out into the corridor and took the torch from the wall and went back into the room and lit the candle and the fire pit before returning it and tend to the fire, which was slowly growing. The knight took the rabbit out of his cage and stood in front of the fire, deep into her thoughts. When the skies roared again, Diable' Blanc jumped and Gabby did her best to calm him. She stroked his fur and watched the fire.

After a minute, Diable' Blanc had yet to calm, so the knight figured that bringing the cage might make him feel better. After replacing the latch, Gabby crouched next to the fire and watched the flames as she listened to Dinah's breathing through the rumbles of the skies. "The light of flames upon your face is proof that you are beautiful." Dinah said, making Gabby look up at her. In the light that reached Dinah's features, Gabby caught sight if a small smirk. The seer got up from the bed an d took a few steps towards the knight. Gabby stood straight up, which was a relief to her aching knees, and faced Dinah.

"You should be resting. There will be no mercy on your head come morning." Gabby told her. The seer stood inches away from the knight, and the closeness made Gabby a little uncomfortable, yet she didn't back away in case the seer stumbled as she had on their way to the room.

"Y'know? You're the only one whom has never called me Seer. I was always Dinah to you, and you always respected my wishes to get away from the Pennyworth kingdom from the very start." she said in almost a babble. "You have always been kind to me even when I needed a good kick in the head on the way over here."

"Just doing what any knight should." Gabby said, hoping that the slight tingle in her body couldn't somehow be heard in her voice. Dinah's lips touched hers, and Gabby immediately backed away and looked at the seer with surprise. "Don't." The knight said, though her heart reached out for the girl.

"Why not ?" Dinah whispered. She strode to Gabby and placed a hand on her chest. "I feel that your heart beats for me, Gabby." she said in the same hushed tone. The knight knew that the words spoken were correct, but she dared not speak, dared not to look into the seer's eyes in fear of telling her all of her heart's secrets.

"You're drunken, Dinah." Gabby felt the younger woman's hand move from her chest to her cheek, slender fingers tracing the knight's jaw and enflaming the skin. The fingers on her neck were replaced by lips. A presence was felt inside the knight's head, not unlike the first night they'd met in the Pennyworth kingdom.

"Such smooth skin..." the seer murmured against Gabby's neck.

"We-" Gabby gasped, and whatever she was going to say was forgotten as she felt Dinah's teeth slowly scrape against her skin. The knight felt she couldn't breathe correctly, it being erratic with the seer's touch. As the lips left her skin, Gabby slowly opened to her eyes to see flames flicker within the Dinah's. All was silent save the crackling of the fire and the downfall of rain that was just barely heard outside. Gabby's heart felt heavy, filled with emotions she wasn't allowed to feel, yet here she was, wanting the woman before her. She leaned in and was surprised when Dinah met her halfway, their kiss somewhat clumsy, but still soft, becoming sensual in the end.

Gabby found that Dinah couldn't be any closer to her without becoming apart of her, yet the knight felt she wasn't close enough to the younger blonde. She wrapped an arm around Dinah's waist as the kiss deepened, Dinah's tongue tasting of the wine she had consumed. 'With you in my arms, I can't get any closer to heaven.' Gabby thought to the girl. With that thought, Dinah broke away. 'Did she hear that? Have I frightened her away?' the knight asked herself. Dinah studied Gabby for a moment, wondering if what she'd just heard in Gabby's head meant. She'd hoped with everything that it was true, and that thought alone both surprised and frightened her. Dinah then took the knight's hand and led her to the bed. Gabby started to panic. She didn't know much about intercourse except for the talk the men did when they speak of the sometimes many different women they've bedded, except for the married men. They tend to stay quiet, but the unmarried men talk of they sexual satisfactions as if they didn't care of the woman's feelings as long as they got what they'd wanted from her. Gabby had once asked Irene about sex, and she found that the older woman couldn't seem to give the knight a straight answer.

"Irene?" Gabby asked the woman whom was baking bread at the moment for their supper that night. She turned towards her and asked with her eyes why she wasn't training with Thadius.

"Yes, Gabriel?" The squire fidgeted. How was she going to ask her this, and why was it so hard to speak to Thadius about it?

"I have a question to ask you... about sexual intercourse." she said, looking down with embarrassment. She hadn't the courage when she was younger to ask her own mother and father, but the more Thadius was with his knightly friends, the more the topic came up, and Gabby hadn't the slightest as to what they meant when they asked her half of the question thrown her way. Irene stopped kneading the dough, and showed the then squire that her full attention was hers.

"H- How is it done? I mean, I know that because of this act women get pregnant and have children... but I don't know what they do, a man and a woman." Gabby said quickly, trying to get it all out before s he lost her nerve and ran away embarrassed. Irene seemed to think about it, then she gestured for Gabby to come closer to her.

"Come here, Gabe." Gabby did as she was told and walked closer to the taller woman. "I honestly do not know a good way to explain it to you that won't make either of us blush like mad, but let me tell you this. When the time comes, your body and your heart will be ready, and it will know what to do. Your heart will guide you, alright Lad?" she asked. Gabby nodded, feeling a little bit better, but at the same time more confused. 'How will my heart know what to do when my mind doesn't even know how it's done?' she's asked herself.

'Please heart, don't lead me astray.' the knight silently pleaded. She wasn't sure even now what she was to do. All she knew was that she wanted to give this beauty before as much pleasure as she possibly could- if she could without that one necessary organ.

"Are you scared?" Dinah asked softly, her lowered voice breaking into the knight's thoughts.

"Yes." Gabby admitted. "I have never... I have ever done this before."

"Nor have I. Let's learn together... teach each other." the seer whispered into her ear, melting all of the knight's insecurities and objections. Gabby could feel herself blush as Dinah's fingers undid the knot to the in the front of her dress, the corset that shaped her figure. As the corset felt to the floor, the material started to slip, and Gabby was slightly frozen by the sight. Her throat became suddenly dry as Dinah continued on, taking off her undergarments until she stood before the knight completely naked.

Gabby could only think to say "You're so beautiful."

Dinah kissed the knight, then whispered, "So are you." This somewhat surprised Gabby, having not been referred to beautiful in so many years, and it seemed foreign to her, as she had become used to being called handsome instead. The seer's lips claimed the knight's as her hand found the older woman's. "It's okay to touch." she said, bringing Gabby's hand to her right breast. Gabby paused for a second, and her insecurities flooded back. Then she thought, 'My heart says this is okay. She said this is okay, so this is okay, right?' She slowly let her hand move, hearing a sharp intake of air, telling her this was indeed right. Though she wasn't fully sure of what to do with her hands, Gabby knew that she didn't want the seer to stop kissing her. She continued to touch Dinah, caressing her breast.

After what seemed like only seconds (but Gabby knew it had to have been much more than that), Dinah pulled away again and reached down and loosened the knot on the strip of leather that held her pants and her shirt to her. Gabby's shirt was easily removed after that, and Dinah gently touched the fabric that wound tightly to her chest, fastened with a pin. "You've been concealing yourself." Dinah said, somewhat shocked.

"I have to." was all the knight could think to say as a reply. Her mind raced as Dinah unfastened the pin and unwrapped the fabric around her chest, freeing flesh that only the knight had seen in over 20 years. Dinah continued to undress Gabby, and within moments both of them were naked and under the many blankets. Both of them were silent, listening to the storm. Gabby heard the rumbles of thunder, and it seemed to give her just enough courage to touch the seer's hair and position herself so that she hovered over the younger woman. "I heard it hurts the first time. Something that one of the men had once said. I have a little bit of an idea as to what to do. I don't want to hurt you, so promise me that the moment something hurts you let me know and I will stop." Gabby said softly. "Promise me." She repeated when the younger blonde didn't say anything.

"I promise Gabby, but I know you wouldn't hurt me." Dinah replied in an equally quiet voice. Gabby swallowed the lump in her throat. She awkwardly touched the seer's bare skin with both hands, slowly moving downwards. She kissed Dinah's shoulders, her neck, her chest and her stomach at the same time she let her finger explore the younger girl's forbidden curls. When her thumb slipped between her folds, she felt a slickness surround her finger. She looked at Dinah quickly, then her thumb ran over a nub that made the younger blonde twitch. She did it again, and once more, the seer twitched, letting out a small moan. With that, Gabby let her thumb move in a circular motion.

Dinah's breathing sped up. "G-Gabby." she breathed as she squirmed beneath the knight she called for. Gabby let her pace quicken to stay with the rhythm of Dinah's breathing, her whispered name from the seer's lips being encouragement for her. "Oh god." She finally said as Gabby felt the younger blonde's hips leave the bed. She was silent after that, and Gabby stilled her movements

"I- I didn't hurt you , did I?" she asked. Dinah shook her head, and Gabby silently sighed with relief. She ran her hands over the seer's flesh. She felt she just had to touch the girl. Dinah's breathing began to slow down, and the two women just stared at each other as Gabby's hand stroked the seer's waist.

The knight jumped when she heard thunder roll. 'I hope it isn't I that God has become angry with.' she thought. 'Though I wouldn't be here in this bed tonight if He was so vengeful with me.' Gabby pushed those thoughts out of her mind as she leaned down and kissed Dinah's neck, now covered in perspiration. The knight pulled away for a split second and inspected her hands. She took a deep breath, then kissed Dinah at the same time she slipped her two largest fingers in length (her middle and ring fingers) within the seer slowly. When she heard a pain filled gasp, Gabby started to withdraw. "Don't. Please. Just... give me a moment." the seer pleaded.

Gabby was taken aback, but she didn't move. She just lay motionless watching the younger blonde until she nodded a minute or two later. Slowly, Gabby thrust the fingers in and out of the girl. "Faster." the seer demanded after a while. Gabby did as she was told, quickening her pace. Her other hand balanced her body over the seer. As the younger girl's breathing quickened again, the knight licked a slow trail along Dinah's jaw tasting the sweat that rolled over her skin. She tried her best to maintain her rhythm, but her wrist was starting to ache. Still, the knight didn't stop until the seer growled out in unison with the thunder.

Gabby lay next to Dinah and listened to her breathing as she held her as close as she could. "I love you." she whispered so softly that she doubted the seer heard her, which was just as well because Gabby wasn't allowed to love her, yet she did.

Chapter 11

Gabby woke up to movement beside her the next morning. She opened her eyes to see that Dinah was sitting up, rubbing her head. "My head..." she moaned. The seer opened her eyes slowly. When she saw who it was next to her, her eyes widened some. "Gabriel." she said, getting out of the bed with the blanket wrapped around her and staring at the older blonde woman.

"Dinah I-" The knight was cut off from her half-hearted attempt to explain

"Did we-?"

"Yeah," Gabby said, looking down for a moment. When she looked up, Dinah was looking back at the knight in horror, and she'd gone pale, which made Gabby feel queasy inside. Gabby herself sat up and reached towards Dinah as a way to comfort the younger blonde.

"Don't." Dinah said, flinching and walking away from her quickly. The knight's hand dropped immediately. Gabby closed her eyes for a split second as a way to hide her emotions. She wrapped some of the linens around her even though she knew that Dinah had seen everything the night before. She seemed uncomfortable about her nakedness now. Dinah surveyed the scene, her eyes switching between the two women to the very well used bed. "No, we couldn't have-"

"Yet we did," the knight interrupted. 'How can she not remember? Had she drunken that much?' That last thought made Gabby feel almost sick.

"What did you do to me? How did you bewitch me?"

"There was no bewitchery. You were drinking-"

"So you took advantage of me?!" she hissed. Was that what happened? Gabby didn't see it that way. After all, Dinah was the one whom had initiated the first kiss, but what if by not stopping it, she had taken advantage of her? Gabby would never think to hurt the seer. She loved her.

"No, I didn't," the knight said, standing up, which made Dinah back away further. "You came on to me." Gabby said. She absently rummaged around, lighting the candle on the table and looking into Diable' Blanc's cage to see how he survived the night. He was staring at her at the moment and seemed content to be where he was.

"I did no such thing. You had to have done something. If I came on to you, I would remember. Why don't I remember if there has been no craft?!"

"I didn't bewitch you, and I can prove it, Dinah. Your power... You can see into people's mind. I will show you everything that happened last night, and if you took a closer look, you will know for a fact that I am not lying to you. You will see everything. What I said, what I felt..."  'How I still feel.' she finished in her head.

"No... no." the younger girl denied.

"Oh no?" Gabby said, feeling her hurt turn slowly to anger. 'Why can't you remember?! You must remember... something about last night.' "Oh yes, Seer." Dinah flinched again at the knight's last hissed word. "Who would have ever thought the quiet seer in which everyone ignored could sound like a jungle beast in the midst of her passion?" Gabby sneered, picking up her hose, braces, and her shirt. She started to dress with her back to Dinah, looking for a way to tightly wrap the fabric around her chest without the pin to fasten it with, for in the middle of everything that happened then night before, Gabby had forgotten where the seer had placed it. Dinah fell silent as she herself dressed. She pulled her hair up a little, and then after they were both fully dressed, they just stared at each other. "It's the truth," Gabby said as if reading the seer's mind, but in fact had just seen the look on Dinah's face. "You had sexual intercourse with a woman. I don't know how that is possible... Never thought it was, but it is, and that is what we did. A woman made you feel that way. A woman showed you that you had more passion within you than you could have ever thought was possible-"Gabby's sword flew towards her from the floor. Had she not jumped to her right, the blade would have pierced her heart and she would have been dead. Dinah's eyes widened and Gabby felt her heart pound in her chest as she realized how close she was do dying. Dinah looked up at Gabby.

"I don't have to stand here and listen to your insults, SIR GABRIEL." she said, stepping towards Gabby, saying her name in anger and disgust after she'd gotten over the shock of what she had done with her mind. Gabby's anger returned full force as the seer stepped into her breathing space a little more.

"Oh," she said crossing her arms in a way to protect her heart and show intimidation at the same time, "Perhaps you'd like to lie down and hear them. You seem to do that well-" It was a slip of the tongue, and Gabby knew it the moment it tumbled from her lips. The seer's hand connected with Gabby's cheek, causing her head to whip to the side and stay there, looking at the stone floors, disgusted with herself for what she'd said.

"Those people out there think you are a man." Dinah hissed. She scoffed, then said, "I, of course, know differently. You walk out there with those men knowing what we had done, you'd get a slap on the back and 'Job well done'. I walk out there with them knowing what happened last night, and I will be forever known as a whore. GABRIEL'S. WHORE!" She screamed, separating the two words. There was a long silence in which Gabby remained still, thinking over her words. If she was so worried about what people thought, then why did she want to share their quarters to begin with? Gabby thought about this for a moment. The world was harsh towards women. Gabby knew this first hand, it being the main reason she had become a knight, and she knew Dinah's point. There was a pounding at their door.

"Dinah! The Baby! I think it's coming!" The voice on the other side of the door was that of Kafka's. Dinah walked towards the door, but Gabby was quick and took her shoulder quickly.

"Everything I said to you last night- and I mean EVERYTHING... It will always be true." Gabby stared into those blue eyes once more before Dinah shrugged away, opened the door and closed it with a slam, making the knight flinch. Then she slumped to the floor. She looked around the room and fought the tears that threatened to spill.

Sitting in a room filled with memories from the night before would certainly drive her mad, so Gabby decided to leave. She picked up her sword and started walking out of the castle. She went to see Kafka and got a carrot from him. She ran back to the room and used the sword to slice the carrot for Diable' Blanc, then walked leisurely back to the stables. She decided she needed a bath. Maybe bathing will wash away the night before... Maybe it will wash away the memories. She knew of a stream in which the knight and the seer had passed on the horse back ride they'd been on a couple of days prior. She prepared Nix. "Don't groan, Nix." Kafka said. "This will be a quick joust today, just a best of five."

"Really quick, I promise, but that isn't why I am preparing him. We are going for a ride. Need more exercise." Nix was cooperative this time, and the woman and horse were at the stream within a half hour's time. "You were right, Nix old friend." Gabby said as she got off of the horse's back and undressed. She waded in the stream and squatted so that only her shoulders could be seen above the water, knowing it was too early for anyone to want to got riding on this trail at that time, yet still being cautious. She let the cold water run over her body, still speaking to Nix as she did so. "She did hurt me, Nix, and you warned me. You warned me through Kafka that she would. Why didn't I listen to you? Because I honestly thought that boy was mad. Missing a bit of his brain. Nutters, completely insane. You were right. I am being punished for this... being a knight. It is the price I am now paying for this." Gabby looked up at the grey morning sky and wondered if it was a mistake to take a bath then. She'd get a chill and those are hard to get over, if she ever does. "I don't care." She decided, letting Him know she meant it. "You couldn't just hit me with lightning, or- or run me down with Sir Rhyse's horse to punish me though, could you? Oh no, that would be just too damned EASY!" She splashed in her anger. Nix shifted feet. "No," she said just barely calmer, "You give me a moment of happiness where I think maybe, JUST MAYBE I had a chance at love. And then the morning comes, which shows how stupid I really am. There is no hell. We LIVE in it, and maybe if we're good when we die we go to Heaven... Otherwise we just go somewhere else where Earth is duplicated." Gabby fell silent, thinking about her rant. "No, this is my fault," she said after many minutes of bathing and getting dressed again. "I was never supposed to fall in love with her. I should just... move on... Forget about her and think of the last task." She moaned, thinking about the last task as she dried her tears and let her hiccups die. "The bloody joust."

"GABRIEL!" A familiar voice called for her as she got on her horse and started to ride. Gabby turned every which way in confusion. 'Why is Irene calling for me? She is at home... You're going mad, Gabriel Andrew. Mad, I tell ya.' But there it was again. "GABRIEL!" Gabby pulled on the reigns to her horse and made him turn around. Sure enough, Irene was there, on Thadius' horse coming towards her. When she got near enough, she saw the state Gabby was in and sighed. "Oh Gabriel."  she said softly. "Come with me. We shall ride." Gabby watched Irene in awe. She was wearing a pair of trousers that Thadius wore when he worked in the gardens with his wife. Woman never wore trousers, yet there she was. Gabby did as she was told (because she was good at that), and they walked side by side (er- at least, the HORSES walked side by side) on the man-made horse trail.

Gabby watched Irene carefully, silently wondering why she was there, and more importantly, why she was there on the trail alone. There were bandits and thieves everywhere and if she wasn't with Thadius or someone equally strong, she would have easily gotten killed. Irene aged gracefully, only looking the same age as Barbara the Healer, though Gabby knew she'd seen at least 40 winters. Her dark brown hair was put into its usual braid. Irene was bit taller than Gabby, which made it look odd when the two walked side by side. "Irene?" Gabby asked after a minute or two of an uncertain silence, in which Gabby tried not to sweat in her nervousness. She wasn't sure why the older woman had seeked her out, and hoped nothing bad had happened to Alexis or Elizabeth, whom were like her sisters.

"I heard from Issac that Thadius was planning to enter you into the tournament to win Princess Helena Wayne's hand. I tried to get here before him, but the roads were difficult, and weather was horrid." She said. "But you absolutely can't win this joust today."

"I know this. I do not want to win the joust. I do not wish to settle down." Gabby lied.

"That isn't the only reason you cannot win." Irene stressed.

"It's the only reason that I can think of." The knight said with a shrug.

"I can think of a few others." Irene said almost curtly. Gabby looked up at her, pretending to be amused by this.

"Enlighten me."

"You are not in love with Princess Helena, and could probably never learn to love her if you're in love with the Seer. And the most important reason... You're a woman."

"Whoa!" She tugged on Nix's reigns and he stopped walking, and Irene called out for Thadius' horse to stop as well. "How-"

"Women bleed every full moon, Gabriel, or is it Gabrielle?"

"I preferred Gabby." the knight admitted with her head down.

"Right. I know you tried your best to hide it. I would catch you waking up at early hours of the morning and go wash your linens and clothing, and when you'd forget about the bleeding, you'd blame some wound that didn't exist. I found you cleaning your braics a couple of times, and that was when it occurred to me."

"Does Thadius know?" Gabby asked. She doubted it, because he would have acted so differently around her if he found out, and he wouldn't have even entered her into this tournament, but she had to know. Irene shook her head.

"No, I haven't told him. I figured in time you would tell him." Irene looked around as if she'd heard something not too far from them

"Irene? What is it?"

"Let's move. I fear we might be overheard." They continued down the trail. "Tell me what happened with the Seer. I saw her this morning walking quickly down the corridors with the stable boy, but when I asked her where you were, she said she didn't care and that you could have killed yourself for all she cared."

"She hates me." Gabby said, stunned.

"What happened?"

"Dinah got some... overwhelming news last night. She started to drink... and drink, and drink. I found her in the banquet hall in the middle of this. She told me her troubles and then I helped her back to the quarters and into bed. We... made love, or that is how I see what happened. She woke up this morning and now she believes she'd been bewitched because she couldn't remember any of it, and I that I bewitched her when it was her whom had initiated it. Gabby explained, swallowing the lump in her throat.

"You fell in love with her last night. I can tell. You look like a broken man, Gabriel."

"If what I feel right now, this... pain within my chest..." Gabby shook her head. "I pray my heart never falls again."

"If things were that simple, your heart would have never fallen in the beginning." Irene said softly. I'm sorry your heart is in pain, child, but you must learn from this and continue on." Gabby looked up at Irene with a look of sadness and some shock.

"How can one go back to living on earth after experiencing what Heaven must be like?" Gabby asked the older woman, her voice going soft.

"Find your own heaven on earth." Irene whispered, digging her heels into Thadius' horse and making him gallop away, with Gabby watching after her. The knight sighed, swallowing hard, then she herself took her time getting back to the castle.

Chapter 12

Gabby wandered aimlessly around the castle after grooming Nix and helping Kafka with a couple of other horses. She watched as the servants' children chanted rhymes and played their made up games of knights, dragons, maidens, and fighting. Some of them made shapes in the mud, and others just watched as the rest played. They were the type to live alone and never marry, some would say.

"Thadius, why do you have to leave?"

"I am going to help King Alfred in this war, Gabe. You know this. Now, I need you to watch after Irene and the girls, okay? Watch out for them until I get back."

"What if you never come home?"

"I will, I promise."

"Don't make a promise, you aren't sure you can keep. Anything can happen at any moment that would end your life, and we both know it." Gabby said, feeling tears well in her eyes.

"Okay, alright, no cryin'. I won't promise ya nothin' but you gotta know that I will fight with everything, and I PROMISE, Gabe, that I will do all within my power to bring myself safely home." The younger of the two nodded, and Thadius waved his flag proudly as he went to join the other men, whom were also going into battle. Gabby watched carefully for a few minutes as they went out of sight, then broke into a sprint as she ran after the walking horses, all lined up.

"GABRIEL! COME BACK!!" she heard Irene yell. 'What in Hell are you doing?! You haven't even your sword with you!!' something within her screamed, yet still she kept running.

"What is wrong with you?!!" Thadius shouted at her when he saw her.

"I'm coming with you." she decided. She was known for making these types of decisions, the types that once thought up, she wasn't going back.

"No, you will turn around, and go home, you hear me!"

"I can't let you do this alone!" Gabby protested. You don't know anyone else, if you die, you'll die alone!" Gabby shouted back, her voice ending in a growl. What she was saying was true. Of all the people he knew, Thadius was the only one who volunteered to fight this battle of the war. Cashius was sent elsewhere to fight with his two brave sons. Everyone else was seen now as a coward, though many of the farmers were eager to fight, for it was their chance to become something better, perhaps be rewarded in the end if they survived with more land, or perhaps gold. "I will die by your side, old man, whether you like it or not!"

"Boy, if you don't turn around and get home, I will beat you good, I swear to God!" he shouted, but Gabby stood her ground.

"Why beat me, and waste your time, when you could be beating them and helping King Alfred win the war?" Thadius thought this over. Logic always seemed to win fights, as it did this time.

"Pigheaded ass. Stay by me at all times, and here, that dagger won't keep you alive for a full minute." Thadius gave her one of the two long swords he had. "Your last chance to get out of this. They are right over there." the burly man said, pointing in the general direction of where the battle was, a good couple of hours away, but Gabby just stood her ground and stared him down as they walked with the rest of the troop. "Fine. Try not to get killed."

"I'll try my best not to get slaughtered, Thadius."

"That was not funny, Gabe."

"I'm not laughing."

A liquid falling on her head made the knight snap out of her reverie and look around. She found she was walking slowly around the jousting field where Sir Rhyse was showing off for Princess Helena. He was a good jouster, Gabby had to give him that credit. She watched him as he rode with skill she'd so far only dream she'd possessed. There was another fall of liquid that made Gabby wipe it away and look up. Though the clouds were grey, it looked to be at least another hour before anymore rainfall. In a cage above her was sure the sight to see, though. Cameron was glaring down at her through the bars of a cage which hung about 15- 20 feet in the thickest branch of that tree. He had only his under garment that covered his manly organ. Gabby tried not to look at the place where his hand was no more, and returned the glare. "Shouldn't you be good and dead by now?" she asked, taking a step back to get a better look at the scrawny man. He was shivering madly. No doubt he'd been up there all night in the wind and the rain. Despite this, Cameron smiled viciously.

"You'd like that, wouldn't you?" he asked with chattering teeth.

"Actually, I could care less if you lived or if you rotted to death, but you see, the sight of you is sure to scare the children. The longer you live the more they have to look at you, and aren't you an eye sore...." Gabby murmured. "You were the one stupid enough to rob a knight, and I don't care what gift from God you'd been given, you put yourself where you are, so I suggest that you save all the saliva you've got, because spitting on me will only make you dehydrate faster... not that I care." With that Gabby walked on, pleased with herself. True, they weren't the wittiest of things to be said, but she sure showed him. Gabby continued on her quest to nowhere, and let her mind wander once again. This was interrupted a few minutes later as she walked into the banquet hall when she heard a name that made her heart pound. 'Johnny boy' she thought. She walked over to the table where the 3 men whom were in the tournament but were eliminated sat. They spoke as if they were to leave the next day and go back to their Kingdom. Her old kingdom. One or two of them seemed familiar, but there was one, the man whom had said the name of her friend, didn't. "Excuse me, gentlemen." They all looked up at her with a small smile, wondering what it was she wanted from them. "I just heard a familiar name amongst you, and I was wondering what kingdom you 3 came from." she said as pleasantly as she could. One of the men answered and Gabby's heart sped up. She took out the dagger that Gabby was given many years ago, and a couple of the men took out their swords, ready for a fight. "Whoa! Whoa!" She said, putting her hands up in surrender. "I mean not to cause trouble. I just had a favor to ask of you."

"What favor would that be?" the man whom had said Johnny boy's name asked, motioning for his friends to put their swords away.

"There was a woman in a market place far away from here several years ago. She was tattered and she was obviously without a home. She said she would have given it to him herself, but she'd run from her home and she knew she could never go back after what she'd done, so I bought the dagger from her with the promise to return it to its rightful owner if we were to run into each other. She said this man was known to her as Johnny Boy, and she said that was the kingdom where he grew up, but she didn't know if he was still alive, or if he'd still be known as Johnny Boy when I met up with him."

"Aye, he's still alive."

"How do you know this man?" Gabby asked, curious to know what her childhood friend was doing now that he was a knight, for he had to have been knighted by now.

"He got married to my sister a few years back. She had his son, and now they live where his father used to before bandits took over the house and murdered his parents. He's mentioned the woman you speak of. Her name is Gabrielle Andrews."

"She's probably died of starvation by now. Even with the high price I paid for the dagger, she couldn't live off of it for too long." Gabby said, pity in her eyes.

"That is too bad. By the way he talks about her, they could have gotten married by now, but she'd run away, and he grieved along with her parents, and then he met Sarah and moved on."

"I'm glad, for Gabrielle's sake, that Johnny Boy is alright and living the life I'm sure she's always wished for him. Well, there is a family over there that I must eat with, but I would be in your dept if you could give this back to him and relay my sincerest apologies for the death of his childhood friend." The other knight nodded, and took the dagger. "Thank you very much." She walked away from the table with a lighter heart, and smiled as she thought of what Sarah must look like, figuring she must be a female version of the knight she'd talked to. Dark hair, light eyes, strong facial structures... and it made her wonder what Johnny Boy's son would look like. She prayed for the family, then went to join her own for a nice lunch.

What seemed like hours later to the knight, Gabby was sitting on top of Nix in her full armor. Correction: in Thadius' full armor. He'd insisted she used his, since his would protect her better. The truth is, it was way too big for her, so as well as worrying about the lance, she also had to worry about not losing pieces of armor as well. 'This is just perfect.' Gabby thought to herself, as the pitter pater of rain fell on her armor and seemed to soothe her a little with the sound. She waited for the signal telling her to begin. 'Best of five.' she thought as she watched Sir Rhyse's squire help him put his head piece on. Gabby already had hers on. "Ready?" Someone, mostly likely that Ketterly man (though Gabby couldn't see... she actually couldn't see much of anything in Thadius' head piece), said far to her right.

"Aye." she heard Sir Rhyse say quite loudly, but not quite in a yell.

"Ready?" he asked again. There was a pause.

"Sir Gabriel?" Sir Rhyse asked as a way to get Gabby's attention.

"Aye." she called when she realized that the second time Ketterly was talking to her.

"GO!" Gabby was sure that somewhere a flag was being raised and waved, but she couldn't really see it. She could only see in front of her.

"H'yah!!!" both knights called to their horses. She saw Sir Rhyse coming towards her at an alarming pace, and she aimed her lance at his chest the best she could, but she hadn't practiced all day, so it was wobbly, being a little bit heavier and a little bit longer than the ones she was used to practicing with, and she swore she missed. Suddenly, she felt the impact to her own chest as the lance had gotten past her shield, and she felt her whole body hit the ground, a shower of splinters raining on her. She just lie on the ground for a moment, wondering why she was doing all of this. She wondered why she can't just pack up and go home, where she can make a house on her new lands, then live there for the rest of her life alone without disturbance, for that is where she belonged... But then she saw Thadius above her, looking down at her with a lot of concern.

"Gabe, are you alright?" he asked.

"Yeah." she said in monotone.

"Come on then, get up."

"Let him win." she said. 'How easily these words came from my lips...' she thought. "You know I never wanted to win the princess, and he obviously wants to-"

"Are you a quitter now?" Thadius asked.

"I-"

"NO!" Thadius barked, banging on the headgear. It made Gabby's ears start to ring a little bit." That's not the knight I trained! I'll be damned if anyone in my family quits." Gabby said nothing, surprised that Thadius used family as a reference to her. Sure, she thought of Thadius as a father figure, but it was never as if it was said that Gabby was a part of that family. She kind of assumed it, but over the last couple of days she's been doubting everything. "Look, do you remember the first time you ever beat me in a joust... how you felt? Do you remember what I told you?"

"You ready?" Irene called to the two bodies, one armoured, and one not, on the two horses in front of her. Gabby's heart thudded in her chest. 'Please...' but she didn't get a chance to finish her thought, for Thadius nodded his head, and Gabby did the same. Irene, too nodded, showing that she was ready to wave the 'flag', which was her handkerchief. "Go!" she called waving the handkerchief.

Gabby closed her eyes and concentrated on holding the lance in her hand and the shield in the other. She yelled to Nix. "H'YAH!" Nix shot off like a boulder on a large catapult. Gabby opened her eyes then. "Come on, boy!" she shouted, almost forgetting to deepen her voice at her excitement. Nix seemed to run faster with this encouragement. The lance was still quite wobbly in her hands after a couple of weeks of training, but she held on as tightly as she could, and she felt she was getting a little better at holding it in just the right position. She suddenly felt a force in her arm and dropped the lance. She shook her hand, looking up at Thadius just in time to see him fight to keep his balance on his horse, then slide off, hitting the ground harder than any of them thought he could.

Gabby and Irene shared a look. Thadius was down, and he seemed to be having troubles getting his breath. "Uhhhhnnng..." he groaned.

"Are you alright?" Gabby asked.

"Good God, Gabriel. What have you done to me?" Gabby was on the defence immediately.

"YOU'RE the one who decided you could handle training me without any armor on."

"Biggest mistake of my life, let me tell you. That was quite a hit, Lad." Gabby had by then gotten off of Nix's back and watched Thadius closely, not moving towards him in case Thadius was angry and felt the need to hit her. Of course, other than in rough housing and wrestling, he never did hit another in anger, which was a surprise to Gabby when she first started to train with him.

"You just fell off of your horse." Gabby said, putting her hands on her hips as she used to do when she was about to stand her ground in an argument. She realized she used to do this when she was younger... when she was a girl. She quickly removed her hands from her hips and helped Thadius the best she could to his feet. Thadius' head still felt bad from the fall.

"Come here. Don't look at me like I'm about to beat ya' to death. Truth is, I have no reason to." Thadius reached for Gabriel, who inched closer. Thadius put his arm around Gabby's shoulders. "That really was a great hit. Don't let my stupidity bring you down, alright? You do need a little more work for that, but I have never had a squire before, so this is a learning experience for the both of us. You are already becoming the knight I want you to be. You already have that heart of gold, and by having that you are already halfway there. Being a knight isn't just about jousting or sword fighting, or even strength itself. It's about showing and earning respect, be kind to those around you, fight for what's right and for what you believe in... Believe in yourself, Gabe, that is the most important thing. Right now your mind is telling you that you aren't worth much, but I know you are worth a whole lot. Believe in your efforts, Boy." He said. "Understand?" When Gabby nodded, Thadius patted her roughly on the back. "Good, now we'll start again tomorrow. If we try again today, you will surely send me to an early grave." He grinned as a way to make Gabby feel better, and it worked.

"I felt as if nothing could hold me back after that." Gabby said quietly. "But that was a long time ago. Things have changed."

"What's changed, Gabriel? Tell me." But she couldn't tell him. No matter how many times she tried, she couldn't say the words, she couldn't tell him that she had fallen in love with someone else. What good would it do her? None. It wouldn't get Dinah to love her back, and Thadius would tell her not to worry about it, that she wasn't the one for her... but that wasn't what Gabby wanted to hear at the moment.

"Nothing. Nothing has changed. I am just being silly. The fall did that to me, but I am better now. Help me back onto my horse, will you, old man?" Thadius watched her for a moment, then helped the younger knight onto her horse. She grunted as she tried to get comfortable.

"Good luck, Boy." Thadius said, banging once more on her armor, this time as an encouragement. Gabby nodded.

"Thanks." she said as Thadius handed her her lance.

"Ready?"

"Aye." Sir Rhyse called after he was given another lance.

"Ready?"

"Aye." Gabby yelled, taking a deep breath.

"GO!"

"H'yah

"HA!" Gabby called to Nix. "Come on, Nix." she said to him in a softer voice. He picked up speed, not unlike that first win against Thadius, and Gabby focused on aiming her lance, this time aiming right above the chest, a little more towards the right shoulder. Sir Rhyse's right hand was the hand holding the lance, so it would be hard for him to block her blow with his shield. She felt the impact in her arm, but it she didn't feel herself get hit. She saw that Rhyse was falling to the ground and it looked as if he fell face first to the ground. His squire helped him up, and from where Gabby was, she saw that Rhyse might have a head injury. He was bleeding in his nose and mouth as if he'd bitten his lip when he fell. Sir Rhyse slowly got back on his horse and rubbed some spots on his face before putting on his head piece.

"Ready?" Ketterly asked, meeting Gabby's eye with a concerned face. Sir Rhyse didn't respond