Tristan's Choice
Summary: Tristan, the most enigmatic and disturbing of Arthur's knights, helps a damaged young woman begin a new life and loses the heart he never knew he had in the process. It won't be easy, and it won't be pretty. A Tristan/OC romance, hopefully not a Mary-Sue. I've had some doubts about the rating, but have decided on M for sexual situations and violence.
AUTHOR'S NOTE: My story follows the basic premise of the 2004 movie KING ARTHUR. However, I have added the character of Morgan as Tristan's love interest. For those of you familiar with the legendary King Arthur, you may recall Morgan le Fey as Arthur's half-sister, a wicked sorceress who bore him a son, Mordred. Mordred later killed Arthur in battle. However, the characterization of Morgan as an evil sorceress and temptress did not appear in the earlier Arthurian legends but rather evolved gradually over the centuries. Instead, the original Morgan bore a striking resemblance to the more benevolent Lady of the Lake. This Morgan was raised on the mystical island of Avalon and was renown, among other things, for her magical powers of healing. My story's Morgan draws a little from both versions, but she is for the most part an entirely new character, more suited to the setting and premise of the movie. I hope you will enjoy it! The story will switch to Tristan's POV beginning in Chapter 1. Reviews are most welcome!
DISCLAIMER: Much as I would like to, I own none of the characters of King Arthur.
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Prologue:
463 A.D. (four years before the movie), near the Roman fort of Avallana
She awoke to the sound of wind-driven rain exploding against the treetops, and her body recoiled in terror. She did not recognize the loud staccato of water for what it was; through the fog of pain and fatigue that enveloped her she instead heard the thundering hoof beats of her enemies' horses. The Romans' horses. Fierce and merciless like their masters. Implacable—plowing through everything and everyone, pounding them into submission. Or oblivion, if their masters willed it.
The Romans had willed it for her mother, even though her mother had once loved a Roman, and had borne him a child.
The Romans would will it for her too.
As panic set in, her heart was caught in a cruel vise and she found that she could no longer breathe. She lifted a feeble hand to her tattered throat, still oozing her life's blood where a Roman blade had pierced it. She wanted to scream her outrage, her horror, at what they had done, at what they would do. But she could not even utter a croak.
The small ravine where she lay hidden sheltered her from the worst of the storm that raged above the trees, but it could not save her from the fury of the storm raging within her. She screamed one silent scream after another until her mind shattered and she knew no more...
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HISTORICAL NOTE: Avallana was an actual Roman fort along Hadrian's Wall in Britain. It was located about 20 miles from the Roman fort of Camboglanna (Birdoswald), where the historical Arthur and his Sarmatian knights were believed to have been stationed.