The Silver Lining

The dagger pressed harder into her skin and she bit her lip to stifle a whimper as it finally pierced her neck, drawing a thin line of blood. "Hurt her anymore and I won't kill you as quickly as you'll wish I had once I'm done with you."

The man smiled cruelly and dragged Sophia to her feet. "So protective of a girl? Must be nice to feel skin like hers under your fingers, hey?"

Agravaine saw the movement and found Lancelot had managed to catch up to them. The curly haired knight nodded at his companion.

Sophia jerked her head away from the man when he ran a finger down her cheek, repulsed. She turned and spat in his face, elbowing him in the chest before landing a solid punch across his jaw, knocking him back. He grabbed hold of her injured wrist and suddenly tensed up before releasing her wrist quickly. Lancelot pushed him to the ground, one of his swords dug into the man's back and Sophia looked up at him in fright.

Agravaine came to her side and she watched as Lancelot crouched down to check the man. Turning to face him, she looked down at his side and noticed how he had a hand over where he'd been scratched. Frowning, she made to touch him only he backed up into a tree.

Lancelot stood up and asked Sophia what was wrong. She didn't answer him and he tilted his head to the side as Agravaine growled at suddenly. Leaning round her, he watched as she pulled away Agravaine's clothing a little to reveal one of the cuts.

Arthur and Tristan came up behind them and Agravaine looked at the pair close to him. Sophia backed away from him, eyes wide in terror. She collided with Lancelot who grabbed hold of her arms, steadying them both.

"What's wrong?" Arthur asked.

"Agravaine, how much pain are you in?" Lancelot inquired, ignoring Arthur's question.

Agravaine just lifted a shoulder slightly. "Why?"

"Your wounds, they're infected," Sophia said, leaning back into Lancelot a little.

"There is always a risk of infection Sophia when we are injured," Arthur stated and Sophia shook her head as did Agravaine.

"No, it isn't the injuries but more so whatever the claws held that went into Agravaine when he was cut," she said, clearly trying to explain something that she could not understand fully herself at the moment.

Agravaine pushed off the tree and took a few steps towards her only to have her move further away from him. "I'm becoming one of those things, aren't I?"

Lancelot looked down at Sophia when she sighed heavily and looked at the ground. "I think... I don't fully understand how it works. The Order, or really Carl does but..." she trailed off. She spun round suddenly, nearly knocking Lancelot over. "Arthur is there a monastery near the wall? They would have people who belong to a thing called the Order living there."

Sophia only prayed they were already around in this time. If they weren't then she knew Agravaine was lost.

Arthur glanced round at Tristan for a moment before nodding. "There is a monastery near the wall. I have heard of people belonging to something called the Order living there, but that was some years ago, I do not know if they are still there," he told her. "Why do you ask?"

She looked at Agravaine and smiled a little. "Think you could fight that until we get to the monastery?" Despite how hazy his head was, Agravaine nodded.

"Sophia, what are you thinking?" Arthur inquired.

"We get him to the monastery-"

"You were bitten," Tristan interjected motioning to her arm. "Why aren't you feeling the way Agravaine is?"

Looking down at her arm, Sophia wondered that herself and shook her head. "I don't know. This is the first time any of them have ever marked me. As for what I am thinking; we get to the monastery and see if they have something that can help Agravaine. We're not far from the fort, the villagers could go the rest of the way themselves now that we've stopped the raiders, Arthur?"

The man looked at his scout and second in command who both just gave him looks that said it was his choice before turning to his third knight who was not fairing well before nodding seeing the sweat on Agravaine's forehead. "If that is what you think will work, we'll go there."
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Agravaine sat close to the fire that night as they camped. He had stripped off his armor almost as soon as he'd been able to and was now in his breeches and a shirt having removed everything else when he couldn't shake how tight and restricting everything felt. He still was uncomfortable but he didn't wish to remove anymore of his clothing. Gawain had made the comment that he didn't look like himself without his armor or weapons on him and he felt that way. Without even just the dagger normally hidden in his boot, he felt vulnerable.

Both he and Tristan slept with a weapon within reach, no matter where they were. Even if in their rooms, a dagger would be hidden out of plain sight but they were there should they need them. Agravaine had needed it once. It'd been about seven or so years ago and Lancelot had mistakenly scorned two sisters by bedding one and then the other. Their brother and the younger of the two had gotten the wrong room and it had been that one moment that had made Agravaine close off from women. He'd killed the girl and the brother had run off. Arthur had never held him accountable for his actions as he'd been defending himself at the time but even now he could see the moment as clear as though it'd happened yesterday. That was another reason why most didn't interact with Agravaine and why his friendship with Lancelot was strained like it was.

He was sitting with his back against a log and one leg curled under the other, arms folded over his chest and his eyes taking in the rest of the group.

The villagers had continued on once they had been told which way to head and reassured that they would be safe from here to the fort.

Arthur had stopped Sophia and spoken with her for a moment or two which had left her keeping distance from the knights afterwards and despite not entirely convinced that a monastery would in fact be able to help him and not wishing to doubt Sophia's idea, Agravaine went on a little faith. He glanced over at where she was sitting away from everyone with her back to them.

"So... what's it feel like?"

Turning his gaze up to his youngest cousin, Agravaine gave him a weary look before lifting a shoulder up. "Both painful and incredible at the same time. My insides feel as though they are trying to reshape themselves, but then there is an incredible rush that I can't explain. I don't like it," he answered, shifting slightly as he leaned back against the log Galahad was sitting on.

As the others talked animatedly, not questioning Agravaine any further, he noticed Lancelot walking towards Sophia and rolled his eyes. This was not going to end well.
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Sophia heard the footsteps and sighed heavily. "I am not in the mood to deal with you Lancelot."

He grinned a little and moved to sit down beside her. "Well too bad, you are stuck with me," he said and saw her give him an annoyed scowl for a moment before turning away from him. "Why are you sitting over here by yourself?"

She lifted a shoulder up. "I felt like it."

"You're lying," he accused and Sophia rolled her eyes.

"Maybe I am, but I do not wish to discuss with you as to why I am sitting on my own," she retorted. Her tone clearly said to go away but Lancelot wasn't about to be hindered that easily.

"You know-" he started, glancing over his shoulder and noticing Agravaine looking in their direction, "whatever Arthur said that has clearly upset you, ignore it." A little taken back, she gave a look that clearly said he had guessed the right reason and she didn't want to talk about it. "Arthur is a good man but he puts his faith in this too much." Lancelot reached round and lifted up the cross necklace she wore. "In a god that has never answered his prayers."

"His faith keeps him strong though," she whispered, covering his hand with her own and surprising him at the gentleness of her touch. "Everyone has their weaknesses Lancelot."

"Not me," he replied.

He saw the corner of her mouth lift up a little before she glanced at him. "It takes a strong man to admit they do. Not accepting it can only make it stronger in its fight to bring him down."

Lancelot frowned. "You sound like him. And a man is only as strong as he believes himself to be, Sophia. However, a woman-" he stopped for a moment, his hand tightening round the pendant and pulling her a little closer to him, "now she, she is a man's true weakness. She can bend his will with a flutter of pretty eyelashes, pouting lips a man only wishes he could kiss so badly, tease him with her curves until he is so hungry for her..."

She blushed a little. "A man's true weakness is a woman?" He nodded. "Only if they let them be Lancelot."

He smirked roguishly at her. "What if I told you the woman I was just describing does that to more than one man, even if she doesn't quite yet know it or accept it?" he inquired, his eyes dropping to those pouting lips he had only a moment ago described to their owner.

"I would say she is very lucky to be so apparently beautiful that she is able to do that," she answered.

Lancelot chuckled, leaning forward and kissing her lightly. Sophia pulled back and stared at him with wide eyes before looking away, her cheeks on fire. "She is very beautiful and I am strong enough to admit that even though she and I disagree quite a lot," he remarked.

"Lancelot-" He stood up before she could continue and said goodnight to her. He walked back to the others with a large grin on his face despite that he knew Agravaine's scowl was aimed directly at him.
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Sophia had managed to climb into the bedroll despite still a little confused by Lancelot's actions and words earlier on. Why had he said and done those things when he acted like he hated her most of the time? Without an answer, Sophia was wary of Lancelot's intentions, knowing that if he was like she thought then he wouldn't give up easily.

She had set her bedroll close to where Agravaine was still sitting against the log, unmoving and looked at him as she lay there. "Staring can be considered very rude," he drawled out and she grinned, blushing a little.

"How are you feeling?" she asked.

"Well my head feels like it wishes to split in two currently, I am uncomfortable in my own clothing and skin, my mouth is dry... Wish me to continue?" he answered, glancing down at her.

Sophia shook her head slowly, careful that she didn't wake up her little sleeping companion which was buried in against her chest. "I promise that I won't stop until I find a cure for you," she said after a few moments and crawled from her bedroll moving to sit down beside him. He shut his eyes and reached out between them to take hold of her hand and bring it up to his lips. Seeing her small smile, he grinned. Something about the woman calmed him greatly. Whether it was just how she so easily accepted his appearance or something else, he didn't care. Of course when he'd kissed her in the tent it hadn't been for the excuse he'd said but merely because he'd had an urge to. An urge he wished to repeat only after seeing what had transpired between her and Lancelot, Agravaine wasn't so sure.

"He kissed you," he mumbled after a moment, his thumb tracing an invisible circle over her skin.

She nodded. "I don't know why, we don't get along."

Agravaine pulled her a little closer to him, keeping his voice low. "Be careful Sophia, he will hurt you."

"I don't see how he will, when I don't see him in that regard," she whispered, reaching up to touch his cheek gently. "I would've slapped him but I didn't need to do verbal combat with him tonight."

"Sophia..." She moved a little faster than Agravaine anticipated. Her mouth covered his gently and he hesitated for a moment before wrapping a hand round her neck and returning the kiss. After a moment or so, a noise caused Sophia to pull back sharply and Agravaine breathed in deeply for a few seconds. "Better kisser than him?" He only meant it in a teasing manner. Her look of embarrassment made him smile a little.

She leaned in closer to him as he pulled his hand from hers. "For a man without much practice?"

"I've had two lovers." Her nod made Agravaine's smile grew wider before he laughed slightly.

"You are."

"Who would've thought it?"

"Will you teach me?" He glanced at her.

"Teach you to- kiss?"

She blushed furiously. "No. Fight, the way you do."

Agravaine shook his head. "No."

"No?"

"I prefer you the way you are, Sophia. You want me to teach you to kill easily and I can not do that," he told her. Sophia frowned a little as she watched him fiddling with one of his daggers. After a moment or so he sighed heavily and looked up at her. "You had better get some sleep little one."

Sophia lowered her gaze and nodded moving back to her bedroll. Lancelot was seducing her. Agravaine clearly had an interest in her. In her mind, all she wanted to do was kiss Agravaine again. Realizing her train of thought, she smiled a little. Lancelot could try all he wanted, she didn't like him and found his opinion of women deplorable enough that she could not stand him even at the best of times.

"Goodnight Sophia."

Looking over at Agravaine she smiled seeing him watching her. "Goodnight."