Camalot pt 14

Red awoke the memories from hours before still playing in his mind. He turned over and expected to see her there, but she was not, her clothes were gone and so was she. He pushed himself up and got dressed, his clothes now nearly fully dried. The cove they had come across was wide and disappeared around another bend in the underground river. Red checked the fine sand and seen d’Arc’s foot steps and followed.
“I wouldn’t have just left you there by yourself.” Red Muttered to himself as he followed the sand around the bend. A glint of light came form the shore line and he went over to it.
“Well fuck me.” He cursed as he dipped into the freezing waters and pulled out his massive battle axe. “Thought i had lost you.”
“I don’t get lost.” A sarcastic voice said from behind him.
“I was talking to my axe.” Red replied turning around, not wanting to meet d’Arc’s eyes.
“Yes i’m sure you were.” She replied. “I found an opening about half mile from here, i believe it leads out to the surface. I can smell fresher air from inside it.” She told him as she began the way she had come.
Red followed her several feet behind. His thoughts swirling, her demeanour hadn’t change towards him at all. Though he had noticed she too couldn’t look him in the eyes.
The cavern was surprisingly bright for underground. Everything could be seen without too much difficultly. The water seemed to magnify what little light did find its way down there. The rushing of the river echoed loudly off the stone walls, making anything else hard to hear.
They stopped in front of a large opening that was a steep grade up. Stalagmite hung from the ceiling and dripped with moisture.
“Let us get moving.” d’Arc said as she took a step forward.
“Wait.” Red said, their eyes meeting. “What about what happened?”
“What about it?” d”Arc replied coolly. “We were freezing and near death, we did what we had to, to stay alive... nothing more.” Her eyes quickly averting from his.
Red opened his mouth to speak, but shut it, a thousand things he wanted to say, to ask, to yell. But no, he kept it back. “Alright, i was just making sure you understood what happened.” He replied as he moved passed her and began the hard climb up the tunnel.
The King paced back and forwards in his tent, his emotions scattered and frayed. “Your sure their dead?” He asked, his tone shaky.
“We all seen them fall.” Sheepwool answered. He and Grave had already taken a verbal assault from their King only minutes earlier.
The King stared them hard in the eyes again, his rage looked as if it would blow. But then he calmed as he went back to pacing.
“Maybe we should go back and look for them?” Grave said as the medic finished stitching his wounds.
“You are all dismissed.” The King said, his voice low and cold.
Everyone looked from one to another, never had the King dismissed them in such manor. They knew they had made a mistake as they exited the Kings tent.
“My love im...” the queen started to say before she was cut off.
“I don’t want to hear it!” He bellowed at her, barely keeping his rage in check. “Why? Why would you do something so fucking foolish!”
“I was only trying to...” She started again.
“I know well what you were doing! Putting your life in harms way for nothing!” The King fumed. “It doesn’t matter anymore, the future of Camalot is lost now. I have failed.”
“No my love, no, do not say that.” The Queen said taking a step closer to him but he walked away. “If he was to save Camalot he would still be here, he would never have run off with Sheepwool and Grave. The Seer was wrong.”
The King turned tired eyes on his wife. “You don’t understand... you just don’t...” tears broke from his eyes and slid carelessly down his cheeks.
Whitewolf opened her mouth to speak, but stopped.
“The fate of my kingdom, rests on my shoulders, the fate of a state rest in my hands.” Several tears pooled at the end of his chin and fell in a large droplet. “So many lives look to me to know whats right, to know how to save them. I had the answer right there with us... and now...” he paused as he thought. “And through one man, the fate of Kingdoms rests, A stranger to the cause, but the only hope, A man named Red, whose trail will prove the color... in one man rest the fate of Camalot...”
The Queen coaxed Bloodwolfe down onto the bed and listened intently. How she wanted to scream at him, and yet how she wanted to hold him and tell him she was sorry. She had heard the Seer’s vision before, and still did not believe it, one man could not hold so much power over something some much bigger then he.
“Maybe he is not dead?” Whitewolfe said. “Maybe they will return to us, if that is the fate of this man, this Red. If he is truly the key to saving Camalot, then he will return to us.”
“In the morning we march for home.” Was all the King said before he climbed into bed and shut his eyes.

Neither spoke a word as they climbed through the narrowing tunnel upwards. The way had been slick and dangerous, several times vertical climbing had to be done, and in here light was near to nothing. It had been hours they had climbed already, the smell of fresh air growing ever stronger, and even a faint light could be seen.
“I need to stop for a moment.” d’Arc called to him from several feet back.
Red stopped and turned back and could tell from her demeanour that she was exhausted. Her steps were staggered and her breathing ragged. He held out his hand and she took it and he helped her up the last little ledge. Quickly she noticed she had accepted his help and pulled her hand away.
“I can smell fresh mountain air, we can’t be far now.” She told him and an awkward silence followed for several long moments.
“What about the others?” Red asked. He had been thinking about that for the last hour or more. Had they escaped, or had they been caught and killed?
“We will worry about that once we get out of here.” d’Arc told him.
“Then let’s get out of here.” Red said as he continued on his way.
The two exited the small cave and inhaled deep the sweet scent of the mountains, clearing the musky cave smell form their lungs. Jeanne pushed passed him and ran for several bushes where she vomited.
“Are you alright?” Red asked as he followed her, not knowing what was wrong.
“I will be fine!” She snapped at him.
He backed off and went back to the cave clearing, his mood more sour then before. The cave had brought them only two miles from the main entrance to the Bandits camp. At a fast pace they could be there shortly, from their they could find their friends.
“Lets go.” d’Arc said as she walked passed him.
Red snapped his hand out and caught her shoulder and twisted her around holding her firmly with one hand. “What is your problem?”
“Let go of me!” She ordered her eyes cold. When he didn’t comply her hands shot up and twisted his arm around his back. But he kept the momentum going and spun around pulling his arm free from her grasp facing her again. Her hand shot up to slap him but he easily battered it aside. Her knee came up for his groin, but he knew the move was coming, he back stepped and hooked his arm around her lifted leg and pulled back, causing her to lose her balance, her hands shot out and grabbed his shirt and together they fell.
Red landed on top of her, his hand gripping hers and holding them down in case she attacked him again. Their eyes locked hard, a vibrant intensity radiated from both. With a shifting of her hips and a roll, Red was pinned to the bottom Jeanne holding him firmly in place.
“I said let go of me.” She whispered to him, her face so very close to his own. Her hazel eyes danced like fire in the night as their stared into Red’s as if seeing into his very soul. “And i meant it!” She finished her lips barely brushing his own as she pulled herself off of him.
Red was on his feet in seconds and marching off towards the Bandits cave entrance, his double bladed battle axe gripped tightly in his hand.