Arthur's attention was claimed by his Companions during their brief break-- they were all concerned about their security, suggesting to change their planned route and avoid roads entirely, even though it might mean arriving to Warwick a day later.

Ginny knew that her Lord Arthur wanted to talk to her about what had happened, to reprove her for her reckless behaviour most likely, but surrounded as he was by the excited knights, he didn't have a chance. She stole away from the noisy group the moment she finished the wine he obliged her to drink, desperate to organise her thoughts. With all those men talking loudly over each other, she could not focus.

"Don't go too far. Please." Arthur's voice made her stop in her tracks before she took two steps away.

"I won't," she promised, smiling. She walked back to him, where he sat on a fallen tree trunk facing a semi-circle of his Companions, and bestowed a quick kiss on his cheek, making some of them chuckle, others turn away politely.

Then she strolled through the meadow interspersed with a few trees into which the plain they travelled across the day before morphed, letting her thoughts ramble while she picked flowers and herbs for the healing salve.

Even without looking at him, Ginny could feel Arthur's eyes following her, warming her like the spring sunshine. She could also see the looks of his Companions when she turned towards the group of men occasionally, looks laced with... respect and admiration she had not noticed before... What had she done, exactly, to deserve them? she mused, lying down in the long grass, closing her eyes against the bright sunshine, shivering as the cool drops of dew soaked through the back of her shirt, reaching her skin.

She should have listened to Arthur and kept the gambeson on, it wasn't summer yet, this weather would not last long... Ginny could smell the rain in the air when she inhaled the breeze caressing the grass. But she would worry about the rain when it came, now she needed to think about the Excalibur. It was as if there was a tie between them, a magical link. The Sword seemed to understand and respect her thoughts and moods, bringing her glimpses of the future when she needed them most. And she felt bound to obey the magical blade in return. It hadn't been... from her own will entirely that she had drawn it against those Saxons, she... hadn't been quite herself... It felt to her now that she had followed an unspoken order...

She shivered again as a shadow fell on her face, blocking out the sunshine, then, sighing, opened her eyes when it did not move away.

"Come, my warrior, we should move on so we set camp for the night before it starts raining," Arthur said, smiling down at her, and she accepted his hand and let him pull her to her feet. "I have no idea how can Garreth be so sure it will rain tonight with all this sunshine, but he's always right."

"It will rain, and without his magic. I can feel it in the air," she said, leaning on her tiptoes, pressing her lips to his.

Without a moment's hesitation, surprising her, he pulled her closer, crushing her against him, deepening the kiss, making her long for more... She laced her fingers through his silky hair, never breaking the kiss, ready to follow him down into the soft grass trembling in the breeze, redolent of thousands of flowers and the approaching rain...

"Well, I'm sorry to interrupt you two, again, Your Majesties, but we're ready to leave." Lancelot's bemused voice made them pull apart.

Ginny hid her blushing face into Arthur's chest and did not look up until she heard Lancelot's retreating steps and Arthur's soft chuckle.

"I should apologise, my lady, I keep making us behave unsuitably."

Ginny simply rolled her eyes at him as he kissed her on her forehead, then she let him lead her across the meadow, her arm laced through his, her head leaning against his shoulder, wishing they were all alone in the world.

"You scared me so much before. What if they challenged us, and something happened to you?" Arthur told her finally what laid heavy on his mind as they were about to join the group waiting for them. "I..."

Ginny looked in his eyes as she replied, "You must get used to the idea of me fighting at your side. The Sword and Avalon want it that way."

He only sighed, then lifted her into Dragon's saddle the instant they reached the horses; the first knights already riding across the meadow, towards a bank of fluffy, silvery clouds gathering on the northern horizon.

Garreth passed Ginny her gambeson, Lancelot helped Athur into another one as he refused to waste time with the armour, and the four of them followed the group and rode until dusk.

When they finally found a suitable place to set the camp that night, a clearing in a small grove close to a river, it was nearly dark, the setting sun was hidden beyond a thick layer churning, waterlogged clouds.

"Right. We should hurry to pitch the tents and lay the fire for cooking before it starts raining," Lancelot muttered unhappily. He dismounted quickly, waited for Ginny and Arthur to follow his example, then led their horses to a thick clump of young trees, giving instructions to the other knights along the way.

Ginny knew that each pair of hands was needed right now and she should do her part to help them, but she could hear the river, so close, so tempting... She felt Arthur's eyes on her even before she looked at him, ready to plead.

"Of course you can," he said before she could open her mouth. "Let us just get some clean clothes, Garreth and Lancelot can prepare our tent. We must hurry though, so we are back before it starts raining."

She wasn't sure if anyone saw them pulling towels and clean clothes from their saddlebags furtively before vanishing into the thickening darkness, following the sound of the river, but she didn't care.

Soon, she was in the water up to her neck, her hair fanning out around her, her heart beating too fast because of its coldness... because of Arthur's hands roaming over her body, using a scrap of soap he produced from somewhere as an excuse to touch, caress, tease, explore... and then, without properly realising how she got there, she was out on the grassy bank again, under the trees, dry, dressed and wrapped in one of their blankets even as the first raindrops made their way through the canopy of leaves above their heads.

She watched him as he dressed quickly, picked up their belongings scattered in the grass, then scooped her in his arms, making her giggle, and carried her to their ready tent.

They got to eat their dinner, cold tonight, in the privacy of the candle-lit semi-darkness of their tent, the thickening rain not permitting them to gather around the fire, dying before it could start burning properly.

"Are we close to Saintsbury?" Ginny asked suddenly after she applied the salve to Arthur's wound, and he pulled her down on the blankets next to him. She didn't know what kind of magic Morgaine had worked into it, but the wound looked much better.

"We are not too far, why?" he asked, playing with her still damp hair.

"I was just thinking about your sister. And Morag. I think we should visit Iseabail and Andrew and tell them that their daughter is safe and well..."

"That's a wonderful idea. We won't go into the village, though." He kissed her, then clambered towards the tent's flap, asking one of the patrolling knights to send Gawaine to him.

"Enter," Arthur told the knight the moment he appeared, motioning for him to come inside, to hide from the rain. "We are not far from your village, and I don't think you'll have a better opportunity than this to visit your family anytime soon. We can't all go with you," Arthur mused aloud, reaching for a map that lay on top of their bags in the corner, and unrolled it between them even as Gawaine, still silent, held one of the candles above it.

"We would attract too much attention should we all go. But I'm sure no one will notice you if you and any of my Companions you choose will leave the camp before sunrise tomorrow morning, dressed in simple clothes. You could spend the morning with your parents, put their minds at ease, and meet us here," he said, pointing to a spot on the map Ginny could not see, "tomorrow night. Of course, you can stay longer if you wish, Gawaine, and reach us in Warwick later..."

Gawaine shook his head as he looked at Arthur thankfully, reverently even. "Thank you, my lord. I accept your offer to visit my parents but I'll join you again tomorrow night. You need each one of us to keep you and your lady safe."

Ginny smiled at Gawaine as his eyes found her in the semi-darkness of the tent, and he inclined his head to her with great courtesy before he walked into the rainy night again.

Arthur folded his map and blew out the candles, then she felt his arms wrap around her, pulling her close, making her feel happy, safe, and loved.

They all love and respect him just like I do, she mused, closing her eyes, resting her head on his chest, letting his heartbeat and the soft patter of rain lull her to sleep.