A Whisper In The Dark(LANCELOT)

[Lancelot Du Lac]

As a nomadic fighter Lancelot had long ago developed the talent of being a light sleeper, whether bedding down on a mattress of leaves in the forest, or in the relative comfort of a village Inn. This room was no different. Raven got up quietly, but it was not so quiet that Lancelot did not notice. No matter how much he cared for Raven, he was still a creature of duty, and not one who would be willing to stay in this cage of a room like a canary. He knew that their physical activity had only delayed the inevitable from her. She was heading back to where he had intercepted and tried to surprise her before. She was looking to meet the King, and probably take down as many Templars as she could in the process.

He knew that she had given him a certain freedom of movement within the underground complex. Fortunately he had paid some attention to his route when they had brought him into the tunnels. One thing that he knew, though, was that there would be precious few exits for him to take advantage of. His worst case scenario, of course, would be to run across Raven before he had been able to completely exit the complex of tunnels, and be taken prisoner again. In that case they would keep a close eye on him in the future, which would probably make a future escape near impossible. His first several yards went without a hitch, but then he turned the corner, and saw her talking to some people.

He took advantage of the fact that her, and anyone who was with her, would have their attention diverted for just enough moments for him to successfully slip by, and make his way to the entrance that they had brought him in. He waited for a switch of the sentries, and then exited the tunnel complex. The fortunate thing was that he knew that this entrance to the tunnels was quite close to the Great Hall. He knew that she would be her stealthy time getting into position. This delay on her part would allow him to get more security around Uther and have him removed to the central part of the castle. In the meantime he informed and warned a sleeping Arthur of the danger that was afoot, and additional Knights of Camelot were brought to alert. Lancelot thought that to challenge these defenses would be foolish, but he had learned in a short time to expect anything from Raven. He cared not whether the Templars lived or died, but the life of the King was his sworn responsibility.

[Lady Raven Silvester]

Raven was already in the Great Hall. She lounged on Uther's throne sideways with her legs over the left arm of the chair. She threw an apple with with her right hand up in the air. A group of Templars walked in. "ASSASSIN!" they cried. "Oh give it a rest will you? Seriously..." Raven sighed. She got out two throwing knives and threw them say they hit the two men in between the eyes. The fell to the floor dead. Rave casually bit into the apple and swung her legs off the chair and stood up. "Pathetic..." she muttered. She notice the doors open so Raven hid in the shadows and it was like she wasnt evem there.

[Lancelot Du Lac]

Lancelot knew that when he had taken word to the Prince that he was likely to be ahead of whatever plans that Raven had, but that whole process was likely to take enough time so that she would arrive at her target before any Knights, Templar or otherwise, would likely arrive. He was more than willing to take his time, and let the Templars take the brunt of whatever the girl was planning. He had no great love for the Templars, himself.

They had always, especially their leaders, exhibited a self-righteous attitude, while apparently being focused on the acquisition of power and riches. They were, in Lancelot's mind, the very antithesis to what a Knight of Camelot should aspire to. Therefore, he was not at all opposed to the thinning of their ranks, and he took his time to approach the Great Hall. The doors were still open and it sounded as if he had the sound of bodies falling to the floor, then silence. He drew his swords and motioned the Knights that were with him carefully forward into the dimly-lit room.

[Lady Raven Silvester]

Raven sighed and came out of her hiding spot. The two knights were two of her old friends. They lowered their weapons at once. "More will come. I suggest you leave this to those trained in the ways of the Creed. Sure I may die... But I'm willing to die for the peace of Camelot." she said. Raven looked at Lancelot. "If you wanna help, start by scaling the area. Make sure you're not seen." she instructed. She walked past Lancelot and kissed his cheek. Smiling she left for the Head Templar's room.

[Lancelot Du Lac]

The actions that he had taken were done in preparation for what Raven might do. Still, actually seeing her, and having dispatched a couple of Templars already was still a shock. It was clear that she knew the two Knights who he was with, and they knew her, as he saw them lower their weapons. "You two are grown men, as well as trained Knights of Camelot, and know your duties. So, what you choose to do you have your own free will to guide you, as long as you act in defense of King and Camelot. Know that whatever you have planned that Prince Arthur has been roused and several score of Knights are undoubtedly converging here as we speak. In short, I don't think you have the time for what you desire." He saw that she would not be deterred, as she kissed him, nodded to the two Knights and followed after her.

[Lady Raven Silvester]

Raven grabbed Lancelot's wrist and dragged him along. "If you're coming keep up will you?" she hissed. She let him go and put a finger to her lips. Raven entered the Head Templar's room like a ghost. "Carlos!" she whispered.. The Head Templar was in fact a disguised Assassin. "Psst Raven over here." came a charming voice. Raven lit a few candles and Carlos came out of the shadows. "The actual head of the Tempar order is getting pretty pissed off that we foiled their plans once again. I will continue to stay under cover for the sake of the Creed. Now go Raven, before they catch you. Safety and Peace, sister." he said and showed them a secret stairwell that led straight out of the castle walls. "Safety and Peace you you as well brother." Raven smiled and decended down the stairs.

[Lancelot Du Lac]

Lancelot was still in somewhat of a state of shock, even though he told himself that he shouldn't be that surprised. He had pretty much figured out what she was going to be up once she had left the room. Still, they were not the actions one expected out of an average noble, and especially a female one. He had begun to follow her, though a bit carefully, when she had turned around and grabbed him by the wrist. In response he said, "Well, it would be a lot easier to keep up with you if I knew where you were heading in the first place.

He followed closely behind her, as she entered a room that was unfamiliar to him. He recognized him at once at the head Templar and was immediately afraid about what she would do. However, something did not seem to be quite right ..... they seemed to know each other quite well as they seemed to exchange both words and smiles. He seemed to give her instructions, and a kind word of the wish of safety. Lancelot merely nodded back and followed Raven down the offered hidden staircase.

[Lady Raven Silvester]

Raven reached the bottom of the staircase. It was then it happened. She clutched her head and yelped in pain. She was having a vision. It was about Lancelot. It brought tears to her eyes and shattered her heart. Her body slunk down to the floor.

A few minutes had passed. The pain was gone, but Raven was still in tears. She hugged her knees and wept silently. Was the knight she loved, truly going to die to seal up a torn veil in the future? She hoped not. The future changes everyday. Lancelot truly had the heart of a lion and he proved it everyday, every week and every month that flew by. She looked at him, her face tear sticken, and her eyes bloodshot. "Lancelot... I love you, please... Please promise me you won't leave me." Raven said, her voice cracking. She was on the verge of tears once again.

[Lancelot Du Lac]

Lancelot was some distance behind Raven as she moved down the staircase. In fact, she moved so quickly, and Lancelot moved so carefully, since it was unfamiliar to him, he completely lost sight and contact with her as they moved down the steps. However, he found the sound traveled quite well, and he heard what sounded like a sudden gasp of pain, which was followed by a soft thump.

Lancelot knew that much could explain the sounds that he heard. The thump had sounded like a weighty sack of potatoes, but he knew it was not. He knew that it had to be Raven, or a would-be assailant that she had dispatched. Whichever was the case Lancelot knew that it was a proper time to draw one of swords and move to the source of the disturbance. He quickly came to the pace where she was laying, and seeing no dangerous characters about, wondered if she had simply fainted.

If she had, she had clearly come to, as she looked up into Lancelot's face, and he could see the tears on her cheeks, as she had been softly crying he saw. She loved him? Yes they had made love, but he had not realized that her feelings ran very deep. ["Leave you .... why would I leave a pretty little thing like you," he asked with broad smile on his face. He, of course knew, that his greater duty lay with Arthur, and if it was ever required that he sacrifice himself for the future King, he would do so. In the meantime, he hoped that she would not break into tears again.

[Lady Raven Silvester]

Raven collapsed into his arms and held him close. "I had a vision. It was about you." she said, trying to fight back more tears. She wouldn't lose him. She'd sacrifice herself if it meant keeping Lancelot alive. She looked up at him and brushed a stray lock of hair from his face the placed her hand on his cheek and caressed it gently with her thumb. "You don't understand how much I love you." she whispered.

[Lancelot Du Lac]

As he reached her, after hearing her cry, she got up from the floor and fell into his arms. He could not think of anything more unexpected, or more unlike her, at least in the time he had known her. And it was not merely a friendly hug, as she seemed to hold him close fiercely. It was as if she was afraid that he was getting to lost to her if she didn't a hold on to him so tightly.

"A vision? ..... about me?," he questioned. For her to react and behave in such a manner it could not be a positive thing. Either something bad was going to happen to him, or her vision had him doing something that was against her interests, he perceived. "What was the nature of this vision?," he asked softly as he continued to hold her. "Hmmm, perhaps, then, you could educate me so that I more clearly understand, eh," he said with a sly smile. "'However, it might be a good idea for us to keep moving as well."

[Lady Raven Silvester]

Raven kept a hold on him as they walked. "You will die soon." she whispered. More tears fell. She stopped and sat down on a chisled out bench. She felt sick. It had been at least a few days since their... Well intimate moment. She held her stomach, determined not to throw up. She would have to see a dear friend of hers to see if it was pregnancy or just a false alarm. She nuzzled into Lancelot and held his hands with her own to take her mind off her sickness. Her hearted pulsed so fast when she was with him it was like time had stopped. She never wanted to leave him. She felt safe with him. Dreamer had gone insane so she had kept her distance from him. She squeezed Lancelot's hands with every drop of love and compassion in her being and sighed heavily.

[Lancelot Du Lac]

Apparently Raven had decided to follow his advice, for them to keep moving. He never liked to make himself too easy a target, even when it might not seem there was a reason for someone to target hi. It was just natural to his instinct of self-preservation. She also, as they walked, elected to answer his question. He was shocked enough to bring himself to a stop. He saw that she obviously did not feel well, and needed to stop, as she suddenly clutched her stomach, and sat down on the stone bench.

"Really? .... that poses several questions. How long is soon and how am I likely to die. Will an assassin eliminate me as I sleep or will I have an honorable death in battle? And just how accurate are these visions of yours?" He felt how closely she snuggled in with his body and how tightly she held his hands. He took the opportunity to lean down, while her minds attention was focused on her own thoughts and kissed her long and deeply on her lips, wondering if it would break her concentration. "Is there anyplace I could convince you to go with me," he said with the slightest of smiles.

[Lady Raven Silvester]

Raven was surprised when Lancelot kissed her, but she kissed him back. He was so sweet. So gentle. Unlike Dreamer. Nowadays, Dreamer was forceful and arrogant. She smiled at Lancelot. She was then shocked at his proposal. "You mean, you want me to run away with you?" she asked. There was shock, surprise and happiness flooded through her face and ice blue eyes. She waited for her lover's reply.

[Lancelot Du Lac]

Lancelot noticed that Raven seemed to have a look of surprise in her eyes as he kissed her, but it seemed to be a pleasant one. At least there was no attempt by her to push him away. Be3sides, she did respond with a pretty wise smile. However, she seemed to have misunderstood what the meaning of his words had been. He shook his head his head in the negative, "Of course I would want you to run way with me. However, I was actually just referring to somewhere else in the castle or the town. I'm afraid my duties and responsibilities and duties with respect to Arthur, would never allow me to be far away. Just as I could not abandon you easily, I would never abandon him, no matter how much risk it might myself in."