The Silver Lining

Sophia felt her heart pound in her chest as Agravaine ran his hands round her lower back. His rough hands were so gentle when he touched her that Sophia couldn't help but relax against him as he said that she would need to distract the raider with the key using whatever means she could think of. Agravaine's grip tightened a little before he released her and stepped away. For a moment Sophia actually felt like pulling him back to her, but she remembered that they needed to get the key and do this before most of the camp sobered and woke up. She wanted to feel those hands on her again despite he was so wild and rough in person, his touch was warm, firm and gentle. Sophia shook her head a little, trying to fight back blushing as she realized she was thinking about Agravaine in a much different way than she thought she should have been at the present time.

Just before Sophia was able to move, Agravaine grabbed her by the neck and kissed her, his hands threading through her hair.

Her eyes widened in shock just before he pulled away from her. It was so quick and yet felt like it had lasted for an eternity to Sophia. He seemed slightly embarrassed by what he'd just done as she blushed heavily, a hand covering her lips.

"Come on," he said to her and tugged a still stunned Sophia outside, pretending to be some overly mean raider. She kept in close to his side as he led her towards who she immediately recognized as Galahad. There was another guard with him off out of sight and Sophia glanced at Agravaine, silent asking if this was who she had to help get the keys from. He nodded and she smiled, breaking away from him. Walking over, she sat in the man's lap without asking for permission to, despite how much it repulsed her at smelling his breath and slid her hands up round his neck, giggling and trying to appear interested in him.

That was a difficult feat in which to accomplish.

He grinned at her, his hands immediately groping her in places that Sophia felt were extremely indecent but played along, letting him do so as she watched Agravaine stepped round the back of him. A second later and he was knocked unconscious. Sophia grabbed the keys from his belt as Agravaine dragged him back behind a tent. He appeared a second later and took the keys from her. The odd twenty or so people who had been captured were all quite calm and she gathered whatever Galahad was just saying to them was what had done it.

Gawain appeared and smiled at Sophia who was glad that he was safe. Turning round, they watched as Galahad unlocked the cage and Agravaine ducked in, asking if there was anyone who needed help to walk.

A few gasps from some and Sophia gathered that the sight of Agravaine was not quite what they had pictured. She knew it was only due to the terrible scar running down his face that made him truly look like he was more a bad than good.

"You can trust him. He is a knight from the wall," she whispered and saw him glance over at her with a small glint of thankfulness in his eyes as a few of those who had shied away from him now relaxed.

There were all able to walk but a pregnant woman with a small child asked for Agravaine's help. He moved to the back corner of the prison and helped her up gently holding onto her elbow with one hand as he took the child from her.

Sophia had to admire him, he was so cold and rough at times but at the moment he seemed gentler than any creature on earth that she'd ever known. As Galahad and Gawain kept a lookout Sophia showed those who were first out of the cage to go round the back of it and head straight and told them that they'd find a group waiting for them not far off.

Agravaine had a little girl on his hip as he came out behind the last person and Sophia looked at the tiny child who had her arms around his neck and her head buried in against his chest.

"Galahad, Gawain, they're all out, come on," he said with a commanding air about him. She smiled a little as he kept hold of the small child while following after the prisoners. It was almost too easy that Sophia thought in any moment one of the raiders who notice the empty cages, she didn't know how long the watches on them lasted.

"And another reason I hate dresses because they are impossible to move in," she muttered, trying to hold up the skirt ends as she moved and heard Agravaine laugh a little back at her while Galahad said that at least the dress was becoming on her.
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Arthur and the others were surprised that it had taken so little time for the four to complete their tasks but now they had to move. The knights walked, allowing those more in need of horses to have them due to the long distance it was back to the wall.

"You're bringing them all back?" Sophia was surprised that Lancelot had asked his own commander such a thing.

"Yes, they can't return to their own home, so they can find new ones among villages at the wall," Arthur told him as they walked. Still in the confines of the dress, Sophia was irritated and annoyed with the thing to. It was revealing and gave off the wrong ideas. She stopped when she thought that realizing her own clothes in this time would not exactly be a nun's selection of finery.

Tristan and Agravaine kept scouting both ahead and behind them. Agravaine told her that the raiders were following and that is why Arthur would not rest; he didn't want them to catch up for fear of having the villagers be caught in the crossfire.

Only once did they stop and that was due to the fact that many of the villagers asked and pleaded for them to. It gave Sophia, who found a small cave a chance to change and once she had, she felt more like herself. However her change in attire also brought the attention of a few of the young villagers who seemed interested in talking to her. Every time that she found a place to sit, someone would come up to her.

In the end she gave up and headed up the track from the rest of the party, finding a small boulder and sitting down on it, despite it being slightly uncomfortable, she found the solitude a welcome from the boys who had been at her heels.

"Too many admirers chasing you round back there?" She looked up. How had he gotten so close without her hearing him?

She sighed heavily and nodded. "Too many boys chasing me round, none understanding that I am not looking for such things," she replied and he chuckled a little before silence fell over them both.

"I do apologize."

"Excuse me?" she asked, frowning as he crouched down in front of her.

He looked slightly embarrassed as though he was not comfortable with something he had done or said to her. She could tell because he wasn't looking at her face. Sophia had taken into notice that once she had told him to look at her face, he did so unless he was unnerved or uncomfortable.

"I apologize for kissing you without permission back in the tent," he said, his eyes on the ground. Sophia blushed a little as she remembered the exact moment in which he was referring to. In the haste of everything, she had nearly forgotten it happening, especially since Agravaine had not been near her since coming back to the others.

However she was glad that he had actually brought it up as she had wanted to ask him a question. "Why did you? Kiss me I mean?" she inquired softly as she put her hands in her lap and regarded him as he looked at anywhere but her.

"I- I dragged you into a tent... To them I had taken you in there to claim you," he began and Sophia thought she could see a slight red tinge cross his face, but if it did it was gone in a heartbeat, "and if I made it look like we had been somewhat occupied with that, then it wouldn't have made them question us."

Sophia nodded and looked at her lap. "Do not apologize Agravaine for you didn't do a thing wrong," she told him.

"But-" Rolling her eyes, Sophia lifted her head and leaned forward, using her finger under his chin to make him look up at her, she pressed her lips against his softly. "I-" After a moment, Sophia retreated and pursed her lips, blushing heavily at how bold she had just been. A chaste and small kiss of gratitude had them both stammering for a few moments.

"I should be thankful for if it were someone like Lancelot, I'd be fearing for my virtue," she remarked, glancing at him from beneath her lashes.

He chuckled a little and straightened up, holding a hand out to her. She took it and allowed him to help her up. "I fear that our plan would not have worked if Lancelot had been the one within the tent."

As she giggled at his words, Agravaine bid her farewell for now, even kissing the back of her hand before he disappeared back into the forest to do his work.
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When she came back to the group, she saw Agravaine's horse and hers tethered to a tree and a few children attempting to pet them. They however wanted nothing of it and were trying to bite and kick at the children. "Hey! You kids, leave them alone," she said as she came over. "They don't want to be petted and will become nasty if you do not heed their warnings."

The children all ran off and Sophia smiled a little at how terrified they were of her and seemingly most of the knights. She opened up her saddle pack to find her little fox tucked away in it and sleeping contently.

Agravaine's horse was being ridden by the little girl he had carried out of the camp and the pregnant woman who while she voiced that she was quite scared of Agravaine, needed the help and was grateful that she was able to ride his horse. Sophia helped her up onto the large gelding who whinnied softly as he saw his master approached, holding out a piece of an apple for him.

"Sophia, Agravaine I need to speak with you," Arthur said walking past them. The two followed him and found the rest of the knights towards the back of the party, standing in a circle.

"What is it?" Lancelot inquired, looking at the two who came up behind Arthur.

"We are not going to make it back to the wall, Tristan said they are still following us and at a faster pace than we can travel." Agravaine grumbled something about sending the people ahead with Dagonet and Sophia.

"I'm not running off," Sophia said looking at him .

Lancelot raised an eyebrow, all pretenses of being nice like he had been when he'd saved her were all gone and he smirked. "Our little lady wishes to fight? Here I thought you'd be afraid to break a nail."

Sophia rolled her eyes heaven ward before she brought her foot down on Lancelot's making him cringe and scowled as she pushed his head away from hers. "Overgrown child," she muttered and saw Arthur grin. "I can help, Arthur, eight to forty is not exactly a fair fight."

All of the knights looked at her and she obviously had just wounded their pride a little. "We like it when the odds aren't in our favor," Gawain remarked, grinning like a lion at her. Sophia shook her head at how easily they seemed to accept that they were about to kill people.

"Makes things much more interesting," Bors chuckled before they set things into motion and Arthur told Dagonet to move the people as quickly as he could.

Sophia actually kept by Arthur's side and noticed him grinning slightly as she listened to him barking orders to the knights. When he finally turned to her, Sophia looked at him expectantly. "Go with Lancelot."

So she had not exactly been expecting to get sent with Lancelot. Though not liking the idea, she headed after Lancelot who was strutting off. When he noticed her, he asked her what she was doing. "Arthur told me to follow you. Believe me, I'm not exactly pleased with this," she said, frowning at him as he smirked.

Drawing her sword, Sophia did not fail to notice how Lancelot leered at her but she opted to ignore it and not get into an argument with him when they had a job to do. Crouching down as Lancelot rested up against a tree, she asked him what they were meant to be doing. "Waiting," he replied as if it was as clear as day.

She frowned. "I am not stupid Lancelot, what I mean is what are we meant to be doing when they come?"

"Just do what women do best and keep your lips sealed."

Sophia gaped and scowled before straightening up, turning and stepping toward him. He quirked an eyebrow at her, smirking at the cool smile on her face. She was nearly pressed up against him, earning her a rakish grin from the dark knight, when her knee raised up between his legs. His face drained of all color and Sophia smirked proudly as he whimpered in pain, holding himself upright as best as he could.

"You... damn witch!" he growled out and Sophia just turned and returned to watching the path.

"Sticks and stones Lancelot... just names that hold no sway over me," she replied, not looking round at him.

Under other circumstances, Lancelot would have found her to be a challenge to conquer however it seemed that no amount of bad boy remarks and flashy smirks were going to win Sophia like they did with other women and it frustrated him beyond words that she didn't seem one bit interested him when women usually tried anything to gain his attention.
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Tristan looked at Agravaine who seemed to have a small smile permanently fixed on his face at the moment. "What are you so happy about?" he grumbled in question.

The other man looked at him and just shook his head. "Nothing," he answered.

Tristan just huffed in reply and said he didn't believe him. "Its the woman isn't it?" The scout smirked seeing his friend tense a little. "Are you going to-"

"None of your business," Agravaine interrupted his friend as they fixed arrows into their bows.

The swiftness of his interjection made Tristan laugh and actually laugh out loud. Agravaine's own actions to cover up his feelings were giving them away as plain as day. When he finally settled down, he noticed Agravaine was looking off across the road and down at the ground. The pair were crouched on two thick sprawling branches of a tree, positioning themselves just enough out of the sight that while their intended targets would not see them when they came upon this part of the road, the knights would most definitely be able to see them.

Tristan followed his friends gaze and raised an eyebrow. The picture before them looked as though Sophia were about to kiss Lancelot when suddenly he nearly doubled over in pain and she moved away from him. Agravaine snorted, clearing trying to mask his amusement at what the young woman had just done to the knight who normal garnered all the attention of women.

Something sharp ran through his side suddenly and he half-groaned and half-growled, clutching at his side. Not being blind to his friends movements and sounds, Tristan put a hand on his shoulder. "Are you alright?" he asked.

Agravaine nodded. "I am just a little sore. When we finish this fight, I need to get my armor off," he breathed out.

Tristan's brow creased. "Are you sure? Those cuts could be infected," he stated and Agravaine just shook his head, again assuring his fellow knight that he was fine. For some reason, the sweat on Agravaine's temple did not exactly assure Tristan that his friend was fine, if anything it drew concern from the otherwise stoic knight.