King Arthur Fanfic - Lullaby for Cara part one
Title: A Lullaby for Cara
Warnings: Rated PG for strong language and implied violence
Characters/Pairings: Cara (OC), Arthur, Lancelot/no pairings
Author's Notes: I don’t own Arthur despite of how much I dream of it. Just a romantic, angsty drabble for my own pleasure. This is another ‘slice of life’ snippet in the tales of Cara who dwells at the Roman outpost at Camboglanna under the command of Arthur Castus. Inspired by the song ‘Courtyard Lullaby’ by Loreena McKennitt. I first introduced this character in A Long Winters Night.
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“Wherein the deep night sky
The stars lie in its embrace
The courtyard still in its sleep
And peace comes over your face.”
There were few true gardens in and around the Roman fortress where Cara now lived. Yet she had arbitrarily found one tonight while walking along a moonlit path that ran parallel to the chapel’s sandstone walls. The rear of the structure had an area sectioned off by a solid wall that concealed whatever the church had horded there. The woman was no follower of Christ, but a gate left open at the back of God’s house seemed to summon her as she approached the corner of the walled square. Cara paused at the opening and cautiously peered inside. The bright stars overhead provided enough illumination for her to see….the space was filled with greenery. A garden? Here? Perhaps this ‘Christian God’ was more like the ancient gods than Cara had previously thought.
A warm smile filled Cara’s expression as she began to recognize some of the plants that lined the little cobblestone path before her. She glanced around and found no occupants in sight…no priest or any of his devout followers that might scorn her presence here. So perhaps it would not offend this ‘God’ if she simply had a look around under the cover of night. What harm could there be?
Throughout her childhood Cara had labored over her mother's small patch of vegetables and herbs that had grown beside their tiny thatched roof cottage. Those cherished memories flooded Cara’s mind as she stepped through the threshold and began to explore the courtyard behind the small chapel. The priest had a well kept secret here! Cara could not wait to share this little discovery with her sister and Vanora at the tavern.
The first row of plants she recognized as bushels of lavender; their rich perfume saturated the air around her. Cara deeply inhaled the sweet scent and allowed the fingertips on her right hand to lazily flitter through the plant’s soft tips.
The Commander had an oil lamp next to his bed filled with this scent. It was a favorite.
Cara continued to venture deeper into the garden courtyard - enchanted and bewitched by the scent and feel of each new specimen as she moved about the glorious plantings. A fruit tree stood guard in the corner, and a night bird sang a soft lullaby from one of the branches.
Cara’s pale blue smock appeared to glow in the moonlight giving it a richer appearance by night than by day. She had been working in the infirmary and the front of her dress was smudged with grime and her shoes were still splattered with dirt. Her dark hair was still woven into a plait hanging down the center of her back, yet several lose strands dangled at her cheeks and around the nape of her neck. In the light of day, Cara would surely look the mess that she felt. But here in the moonlight she must have appeared rather like one of those white marble sculptures that were often found in more ornate Roman manicured gardens - pretty and sweet and pure.
The young woman had never heard his approach; she was far too enthralled in the garden’s charm to notice his footsteps.
Cara had discovered the most beautiful white blooming plant in the far corner of the courtyard and was half bent over to bury her nose in a blossom when she felt a hand on her elbow. Startled, she quickly snapped out of her enchanted state and swiveled around to face….him. Panic quickly filled her crystal blue eyes, her body stiffened with fear and her heart most assuredly stopped beating in her chest. His grip only tightened on her arm. Cara’s first thought was that this was the Christian God offended by her trespass…or perhaps the priest who would no doubt throw her out for her intrusion. But she was not so blessed in her discovery here….
….his breath was rank with ale which besieged Cara’s lungs and burned her eyes as he leaned in close to her face. The sweet smell of the garden had easily been overwhelmed by this man’s stench. Her stomach lurched against the assault on her senses.
The sweet sounding bird had flown away. It was still…..and the air was cold as ice now.
“What have we here? Pretty whore stealing pretty flowers?” The man’s voice was low and thick with indecency.
Cara held in her hand a small bouquet of lavender and the white blossoms that she’d found among the herbs and vegetables. Her fingers tightened around their tender stems.
His grip tightened around her forearm. He was too close….intimately so; and it brought back another memory…a nightmare.
“No….you…re hurtin’ me…” Cara’s broken voice cried out…her plea fell on deaf ears. Where was this Christian God now?
The man jerked her to his chest and snatched at her waist. And she shoved against his grimy leather jerkin….to no gain. The flowers fell to the cobblestones…crushed. A soft whimper of protest escaped her throat as a rough hand ripped at the bodice of her dress. Grubby coarse fingers clawed at her; seemingly unminding of the hideous lash scars that latticed across her chest and throat. No doubt the darkness concealed them from his prying eyes; not that it would matter to this obviously cruel man anyways.
“Noooo….please…don’t…” Cara once again pleaded with the drunken man; tears welling up in her grief stricken eyes and immediately spilling over to stream down her pale cheeks. She struggled to free herself again, but her assailant was too strong. He ignored her efforts completely- his large hand groped….she tightly closed her eyes, chewed at her bottom lip and prayed to the gods for her death to be swift.
“What is this??!!” A commanding voice rang out seemingly from the stars above. Cara’s attacker halted his assault and jerked enough to presumably turn to discover the source of the voice. Cara thanked the gods that the man had at least halted what he was doing. She twisted her head away from the man who was still clutching her tightly to his chest; both hands balled up into tight fists and still pushed against the bastard’s jerkin.
Apparently Cara’s assailant recognized whomever it was that the voice belonged to as he suddenly released his iron grip on her waist and she stumbled a step to the side. That voice….she knew it as well.
Arthur.
The Commander had been inside the chapel offering his evening prayers….rather late, but God did not mind the hour. Arthur had exited the rear door as was his routine so that he might savor the strong scents of the garden as he took his leave of the chapel. The priest grew his favorite herb - Lavandula angustifolia. But what Arthur stumbled upon in the garden had alarmed him….a dark figure appeared to struggle with another near the corner….and as Arthur approached he’d heard a distinctly feminine voice cry out in protest. Damn.
“Explain yourself, soldier…NOW,” Arthur demanded.
Cara ran.
She could only run away. Yes, Arthur had perhaps saved her life by interrupting the rape….but she was consumed by her fear and had to get away from that bastard of a man who had violated her….run….away…escape….die. She could not face Arthur now. He would not understand. Fear blinded Cara from reason.
Thank the gods that Cara met no one else as she ran out of the walled garden and down the alley and across the main courtyard. She was gasping for breath as she reached the tiny room she shared with her sister. Caitlín did not know what to think when Cara burst into the room clutching her bodice and then collapsed on her tiny bed. She curled her body into a tight ball and cried….and cried. Caitlín attempted to comfort her older sister….but Cara was inconsolable. She would not even speak, let alone explain what had happened.
Lancelot had been in his cups at the tavern and on his way back to the knights quarters when he heard Arthur’s brisk and booming voice….coming from outside the chapel. Just fucking great, Arthur. What has your God done now?
The dark knight easily located his Commanding officer in the chapel’s rear courtyard where Arthur was giving a severe tongue-lashing to some drunken Roman soldier. Lancelot came to stand at Arthur’s side, hands on his hips and eyebrow arched in both curiosity and scorn for the object of the Commander’s wrath. It seemed that Arthur had caught the man taking liberties with an unwilling lass….Lancelot glanced around and found no girl present. Pity. But he had become nearly as angry as Arthur when it became clear just ‘who’ that poor lass turned out to be….Cara. Arthur’s Cara.
And once Arthur was satisfied with the punishment he had just dispensed on the drunken and disgraceful solder before him, he and Lancelot set off in search of Cara. The Commander was extremely concerned for the woman. She had run off before Arthur could assess her injuries - if any. It had appeared that the Commander had interrupted things before the man had gone very far. But what if his brief look at her had been misleading? He had grown quite fond of Cara over the past couple of years since bringing her here to live at Camboglanna. In fact Arthur and the knights had rescued Cara and her sister from their destroyed village, and ever since that day the blue-eyed woman had worked in the fortress most notably in Arthur’s personal service.
.......to be continued.
Read the rest HERE.
Feedback and encouragement would be much appreciated. And special thanks to sasha_b for the beta on this series..