Out of Time

Chapter 35

Arthur lay warm and comfortable in his bed, curling his arm around his wonderful, soft wife. His arm flexed around her, absently running his fingers over her silky skin. Her hair teased at his face, and scent of her drove him wild, sending blood rushing south. He tamped down on the impulse. He wife needed her rest.

All felt right with the world. Camelot was well on the way to his dreams for it, he'd found a wife he cared for and felt would be an asset to his kingdom, and soon he would have a family of his own. A smile curved his lips, and he sighed, wishing only to lay like that forever.

But he also couldn't wait to meet his child. Would it be a boy or a girl? When would Danielle tell him? He couldn't wait for the day they would announce it to the kingdom. His hand settled on her stomach, and he imagined her late in pregnancy, the sweet expectation as the days grew nigh where they would soon be greeting their newest family member.

Then his hand alit on something wet in the darkness. Dread filled his chest, tightening it, and he held tighter to her, as if holding on to the last vestiges of happiness when all hope was lost. But the course of events couldn't be stopped, no matter how hard he wished it otherwise. Eventually, reality had to reassert itself, no matter how hard he wished otherwise.

His hand shaking, he lifted it to his face, and his hand seemed to glow red in the darkness. His heart leapt in his throat, and he jerked awake, gasping into the darkness that still permeated his existence.

After a few moments, the dream faded, and reality reasserted itself, settling heavily on his large shoulders. He sighed, and shook his head. The hard, cold earth soaked into his bones, painful from a night of sleeping on the ground instead of a bed. His hand flexed, missing the feel of his arm around his wife's sleeping form.

His heart still hammering away in his chest, he didn't feel ready to go back to sleep, in spite of the long ride they'd had the day before and the equally long ride they would have once dawn arrive. The sky had started to dim, telling him that he would get very little in the way of sleep for the rest of the night.

His men curled in little clusters on the ground around him, all of them in various states of slumber. Some snored, sounding like the calls of some carnivorous beast bent on their demise. Others flopped back and forth, almost smacking their compatriots as they turned. He laughed. A couple had even come to be nearly cuddling each other in their sleep.

As always in the morning, there would be a few outraged cries as some of them realized the position they'd found themselves in. It was always amusing, lightening the mood of their trek across terrain that might be treacherous.

But he trusted all of his men, would trust each and every one of them with his life. And once they reached their destination, we would do just that.

He lay down, staring up at the stars. The midnight blue sky loomed enormous, making him feel insignificant. He tried counting the stars, but eventually, he fell back to sleep with the thought that the cosmos true was infinite.

#

Guin stood at the fence for the training grounds, her eyes glazing over as she took in the magnificence of Lancelot. For once, he didn't try to impress her. Since Mordred's attack on the queen, Lancelot had become completely focused on training her. Guinevere couldn't understand it. Why would he want to train her? Women didn't fight.

And yet, Dani took to the skill like a fish to water. She went about the rest of her day as if in a fog, hesitant and unsure of her footing. Quiet where she'd once been opinionated. Shy when she'd once been bold. But when she stepped into the training grounds, she transformed.