Hope (Knights of Av'lor - Book 1)

Chapter 36

Kathryn gathered her fruit and bread, looking around the meal room for a place to sit. She usually just followed Hal, but he was in R'kelo again for the week. There were open spots at some of the tables with one table empty, except for one lone knight with black wings.

After the Red River Battle, most of the other knights gave her shy smiles and included her in polite conversation. She wasn't in the mood for polite conversation. The change in the demeanor of some of the knights—those who were bad-mouthing her less than four months before—made her uncomfortable.

Kathryn placed her tray on the table and looked down at Sir Lanclor. "Good morning, Sir Lanclor."

"Good morning, Lady Kathryn. To what do I owe the pleasure of your company?" The open mouth flap of his helmet showed his smirk. With the top three quarters of his face hidden behind the other parts of his helmet, he looked like a talking pot with a single slit for his eyes.

"You're just so charming I couldn't resist." She sat down next to him and noted a smile replaced his smirk before he looked down at his meal.

Kathryn was halfway through her meal before she realized the other knights were staring at them and the usual ruckus of the meal room was now a pool of hushed voices. She shook her head and brought the last of her bread to her mouth.

"They'll be talking about this for months you know," Sir Lanclor said with amusement. "Lady Kathryn, the brave knight who annihilates Daemons and challenges the great Sir Lanclor."

Kathryn snorted. "Don't flatter yourself. I just saw your table as the lesser of the evils."

Sir Lanclor straightened. "I think you'll find you chose wrong."

"Oh please. I prefer your blunt honesty to their honey-coated insults any day. The only reason some of them don't call me an undeserving Earthling anymore is because they now know I can annihilate them with one spell."

"Fear is a powerful thing." Sir Lanclor closed his mouth flap and gathered his tray.

If everyone feared her, she'd never have anyone. Kathryn piled her utensils upon her tray. "It's also lonely as hell." She stood up and left the table without a backwards glance. Depositing her tray on the counter next to the trash can, she exited the meal room.

"Lady Kathryn, wait." She glanced back to see Sir Lanclor hurrying after her. He caught up to her in a few strides and fell in beside her. "That conversation didn't end like I intended."

"Oh, really? What was your intention?" Kathryn regretted the bitterness in her voice.

Sir Lanclor sighed in frustration. "You surprised me. I usually have time to think before I speak."

"You think before you speak?" Kathryn exaggerated her look of surprise as she glanced his way and his eyebrow turned down in disapproval. She heard him growl deep in his throat before responding.

"You are the most frustrating woman I've ever known." He clenched his fists but remained by her side.

"Thank you. I try." She closed her mouth flap and smiled beneath her helmet.

"Our paths separate here." They stopped at an intersection and he gestured toward his workroom. "I'll see you in the library this afternoon." He hesitated, and then started walking down the left corridor.

"Be safe, Sir Lanclor." Kathryn started down the right corridor.

"Be safe, Lady Kathryn. And Lady Kathryn?"

"Yes?" She turned to meet his gaze.

"Breakfast? Same time tomorrow?"

"Sure." She nodded and watched him turn to continue up the hallway, disappearing around a corner. Frowning, she continued on her way trying to figure out why there was now a spring in her step.

"Good morning, Sir Lanclor." Kathryn placed her tray on the table and sat beside him a week later. The other knights around the table smiled at her and continued their various conversations.

"Good morning, Lady Kathryn." Sir Lanclor smiled and tossed his roll to a knight across the table who then tossed her apple to him. "I heard drill didn't go so well yesterday. Something about Artemis bolting towards a stallion?"

The other knights chuckled and then quieted as Kathryn glared at them. In just a week, others had arrived at their table and had grown comfortable enough to engage in conversations with them both.

"Artemis likes him. She just forgot I was on her back is all." Kathryn missed the protection of her helmet as her cheeks blazed. She no longer saw the purpose of wearing it during meals. Others had adopted her opinion, but some knights around their table preferred anonymity, like Sir Lanclor.

"Well, it's a good thing she gave you the opportunity to get off of her back before she entertained him." Sir Lanclor tightened his lips in an attempt to suppress his laughter. He failed after only a few seconds and joined everyone around the table except Kathryn.

"Yeah, laugh it up." Kathryn snatched the fruit from Sir Lanclor's tray. "She's not getting any of these today." Placing the fruit upon her tray, she hid her smile with a piece of bread.

The laughter died down and everyone continued the meal. She could tell Sir Lanclor was trying not to smirk at her between his bites of cheese. Frowning, she remembered her unease and wiped her mouth with her napkin.

"Sir Lanclor, have you seen Hal this morning?"

Sir Lanclor's eyes narrowed and he grunted. "Now that you mention it, no. He's never late for a meal, so I would have expected to see him this morning."

She lowered her voice. "He wasn't at dinner last night and he's not in his room either. I'm getting worried. It's just not like him to miss a meal and I assume he would have paid me a visit after he got back from R'kelo."

"Meet me in my workroom this evening. I'll speak with Hook and Garrent and see if they know where he is." Sir Lanclor's voice was low and the other knights didn't seem to hear him.

Kathryn nodded. "I'll be there."