Spellbound

Disclaimer: Dick Wolf you lucky . He owns them not me.

A/N: Thank you to all of those who reviewed and reassured me that even though I had lost my mind, it was still a great story. So I have decided to continue.

Elliot lay awake that night. He thought about what was to come. A tournament, and all because the King was selfish enough to think that all knights should be trained under his watchful eye, but that only lead to the further suffering of the people who lived outside the walls of the great city. Elliot had grown up in the great city, his parents had been wealthy and their lives had been comfortable. He hadn't known of anything outside of those city walls until he was sixteen. His adventuress spirit and his desire to get away from his father had compelled him to leave home and travel the countryside.

He had seen so much suffering in the faces of the villagers that he met. People whose homes had been burned to the ground, women who had been raped or who had watched their children being murdered. He had been shocked that the King, whom he was raised to believe was benevolent and good, could let such suffering exist. He swore that he would never return to the great city.

Elliot devoted his life to helping the unfortunate people who the King had forgotten.

One day he met up with the wizard Cragen and John. Cragen was teaching John to be a knight. Elliot began to train with the master wizard as well. Not long after that Olivia had shown up at the house requesting lodging and an apprenticeship. Soon after that Odafin joined up with them and Elliot's new family was complete.

Now they were to go fight in a tournament that could very well separate their family forever. He had tested the weapons himself and knew that they were strong and that the armor would hold up to almost anything but still there was always that chance that something could happen to one or all of them.

Elliot heard a noise outside. He sat up and looked out the window, was it possible that someone from one of the nearby villages had come seeking help at such a late hour? He saw a light through the window. He got out of bed and taking his sword with him he went to investigate.

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Olivia stood by the lantern, just staring at the flame. 'Such a simple thing' she thought 'Being able to stand here in this spot and stare at a flame in a lantern. After tonight things will be different.'

She had come in search of Cragen when she was sixteen, she had wanted an apprenticeship to show her mother that she would serve a purpose in the world. She had begun as an assistant to the wizard, he had taught her to make healing herbal remedies which she found herself applying to more then one cut or broken bone of the three knights in training. It had become frustrating to her to watch the men train everyday and be nursemaid to them when they became injured. Cragen had noticed this and one day he had come to her. She still remembered that day with absolute clarity.

"How are you today Olivia?" he had asked, coming up beside her as she watched Elliot swing his sword, demolishing a target perfectly.

"Fine," she had answered although she felt like she wanted to crawl out of her skin.

"You like watching your comrades training," Cragen said. It wasn't a question, just a statement. Cragen was well aware of the wishful look that Olivia got on her face when ever she saw any of the men train, or when ever they rode off to fight and he noticed the pride in her eyes when ever they would report of their good deeds. He knew that she wished that she could ride with them and protect the good people of the neighboring villages.

Olivia nodded, embarrassment clearly showing on her face "I'm sorry sir. I will get back to my lessons right away."

"These lands are full of healers Olivia," Cragen told her "What we do need more of are knights. People with pure hearts whose only interest is justice, people like you Olivia." He took her hand and lead her to the barn. There behind a bale of hay was a suit of armor that looked as if it was made especially for her.

Olivia stared at it for a moment, her mouth slightly agape "For me," she finally spoke quietly.

Cragen nodded.

"Thank you," she said as she hugged him.

"You'll need this as well," he told her, handing her a sheathed sword.

She smiled broadly, the biggest smile that Cragen had ever seen on her face.

A sound shook Olivia from her memories "Who goes there?" she asked, her hand on the hilt of her sword.

"Its Elliot," the new comer responded. He released his grip on his own sword.

"You couldn't sleep either?" she asked, already knowing the answer.

"Something about this just doesn't feel right," he said, coming to stand beside her

"Who will watch out for them while we're away?" she asked.

Elliot knew that she was referring to the people. To the villagers they were the last hope and without them the local villages would be vulnerable "I don't know," he answered honestly.

"We can't leave them Elliot, they need us," she felt horrible, if they left, the villages became vulnerable to attacks but if they stayed then the King's army would come and the villages would be ransacked anyway.

"We have to leave them Olivia. If we stay we only put them in more danger." He knew that she was hurting, he was hurting too.

"The King is unfair," she said slamming her hand down next to the lantern, causing it to jump slightly.

Elliot put a hand on her shoulder "If more people in the great city only knew of the suffering that goes on beyond those walls. Maybe they would stand against the King."

"So you think that we should take it upon ourselves to show them?" she asked her voice holding just an edge of sarcasm "Elliot they'll never listen to us. Cragen is talked about in the great city as an outcast we will be viewed the same."

"One voice can make a difference," he told her matter-of-factly "We are four."

She let out a short laugh "One voice can be easily silenced by the clamoring of hundreds. Four voices can disagree."

"But we don't," Elliot said, he would argue with her all night if he had to just to get his point across.

"What are we doing right now Elliot?" she asked in a bitter tone.

He took her hands into his and turned her to face him in the pale light of the lantern "We don't disagree that someone should pay attention to the people out here, the people who are suffering. You know as well as I do the things that go on in these villages."

She turned her head away from him in an attempt to hide the tear that started to fall "I know better," she said in a small voice that was being strangled by her emotions.

Elliot drew her into his arms. The very same violence that they fought against was the reason that she came to exist "Someone will rise to protect them. Even if we fall, someone will rise."

She pulled away and looked at him "You don't expect us to come back from this," she said in realization.

"I will do everything to make sure that you, John and Odafin survive," he told her.

"You plan to die," she whispered, the tears falling again.

"If it becomes necessary," he pulled her close again and buried his face in her hair.

"Elliot," she whispered through her tears.

"Olivia," he choked out as his own tears began falling "I don't want to leave you."

She looked him in the eye. The fire from the lantern danced in both their eyes as she spoke "Then don't." He made as if he was going to say something but she placed a finger on his lips "If a man believes that he is going to die, he will do everything in his power to make it happen. Tell me that you will survive this tournament. Tell me that we will return to this place. Tell me that you will be victorious. Tell me that before you tell me anything else that you are planning to at this moment."

"I will return with you to this place," he told her "We will be victorious and we will return to this place." He put his head on her shoulder and just held her.

"We should get some sleep," she said, pulling away from him "We have a long journey in the morning." She picked up the lantern and walked into the house. At the door to her room she felt his hand on her shoulder again.

"Share my bed tonight?" he asked.

She turned to him "That is the request of a man who thinks he won't survive through the next day," she blew out the lantern "Good night," she said and then she went into her room closing the door behind her. Elliot returned to his own room, feeling his way cautiously in the dark for Olivia had left him without a light and settled in to his own bed, alone and went to sleep.

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Sunlight streamed into the house early the next morning. Olivia awoke to the sounds of Cragen moving about in the house. She got out of bed, pulling on her clothes and went out to find him cooking eggs that he had gathered from the chickens.

"Would you like some help?" she asked kindly, smiling at the gentle old man who had taken her in and cared for her as he would have if she had been his child.

"I haven't fed the horses yet," he said, looking up from his cooking to smile back at her "If you could prepare them for the journey today."

Olivia nodded and headed out to the stable. Stepping inside she went to each of the horses in turn and greeted them with a pat on the nose. First was John's horse Iris, a strong fast brown stallion, of all the horses he had the best endurance for running long distances. Next she went to Odafin's horse Helios, he was also a brown stallion but his shoulders were slightly broader then those of Iris and Helios had a white stripe down the center of his face. Helios was good at dodging, he was fast like all the horses and he was a powerful force to contend with. Next she greeted Elliot's horse Eros, a pure white stallion. Eros was pure strength and heart, he would plunge directly into the heart of battle, toppling the opposition and leaving them in his wake.

Olivia smiled at each of them before turning to the last horse in the line. Olivia's horse Athena was a lean muscular mare all black except for her hoofs and a white star on her forehead "Good morning girl," Olivia said gently "You ready for a long day?" Athena whinnied and through her head back happily. Olivia smiled and turned to her work.

She pitched fresh hay into each stall and gave each horse a decent serving of grain. Cragen had said that grain was always hard to come by and that they should be sparing with it but Olivia felt that today merited an extra treat. She picked up the pale and headed to the well to draw fresh water.

On her way to the well she spotted John and Odafin. The two seemed to be deep in conversation as she approached "Good morning," she said, not cheerfully but not sorrowfully either.

The two men looked up at her "Good morning Olivia," they both answered. The two of them seemed preoccupied but Olivia felt it better not to press the issue, after all they all were feeling some apprehension at the task that awaited them.

She got the water and returned to the stable and gave the horses their water. Then feeling an overwhelming hunger in her own stomach she rushed back to the house to see if breakfast was done.

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"Be sharp," Cragen gave his last warning to the four knights in full armor that stood before him. Each knight stood at the head of their horse, each horse was also in full armor. Cragen had made sure to give the horses' armor the same protection that he had given to their masters.

The scribe stood in the middle of this scene feeling completely out of place. He stared first at the knights with the sun glinting brilliantly off their armor, then at their proud steeds, who possessed equally splendorous armor.

Each knight in turn hugged their mentor good bye. Cragen whispered in each of their ears, a message of love and a warning that the King could not be trusted.

Olivia was the last one to hug the aging wizard "Good bye," she whispered.

"Take care," he whispered back "Promise that you will watch out for yourself," he said trying to hold back tears.

"I will," she told him, pulling away and smiling slightly at him "We'll be back before you can miss us."

"Its too late for that," Cragen said with a slight chuckle "I already do."

Elliot was the first to mount his horse, followed by Odafin, John and lastly Olivia swung herself astride Athena's back. They were just about to leave when Olivia noticed the scribe "Come," she said patting the place behind her on the saddle.

Elliot looked displeased that Olivia would offer to let a stranger ride behind her "You can ride with me young scribe," he spoke up "Eros is more than capable of supporting the extra weight."

"Athena is perfectly capable of-" Olivia stopped mid protest when she caught the small spark of jealousy that flared in Elliot's eyes. Olivia watched in amusement as the scribe mounted Eros and sat behind Elliot. Elliot would not even let John or Odafin go near Eros and here he was letting a complete stranger sit astride him.

"Yah," Elliot said, gently digging his heals into Eros's sides and he took off at full gallop.

"Farewell!" Olivia called over her shoulder to Cragen as she and Athena took off after Elliot,

John took his reins into his hand "Iris," he spoke to his horse "We're off."

Odafin brought his horse neck and neck with John's as they followed Olivia and Elliot "Should we be worried?" he asked.

"Well," John began "We will be facing the strongest knights in the great city, a King who could care less about his subjects and wants to have us erased from the face of the earth and we may never see home again. I'm not worried, are you?"

Odafin laughed nervously "Not about that," he admitted "About Olivia."

"What about her?" John asked "She can handle herself."

"I know but," Odafin reached into one of his saddle bags and felt around as if he was looking for something but he was only trying to avoid answering the question.

John noticed this attempt and decided to nip it in the bud. He knew his friend far too well to let him get away with that "Stop avoiding the question," he told Odafin straightforwardly "What is bothering you?"

"I just don't trust the King," Odafin answered simply.

"None of us do," John told him.

"Yeah but…" Odafin paused for a second "A female knight will be in all the more danger in the great city."

John nodded in understanding "She'll be fine," he reassured his friend "She's got us to look after her. If it comes to that," They rode on in silence.

Olivia and Athena kept perfect stride with Elliot and Eros. The two dared not speak of anything much to do with the King within earshot of the scribe so they were relatively quiet.

"How long did it take you to make the journey on foot?" Olivia asked of the scribe.

"Five days," he answered "On horse back we should make it in three." And those were the only words spoken between any of the three for quite some time.

Silence prevailed until as they were passing a village, the sounds of horrified screaming reached their ears.

"Something's wrong," Olivia said, turning with Athena to face the direction the sound had come from.

"Wait here," Elliot said, fairly pushing the scribe off of Eros "We'll pick you up on our way back." He turned and signaled to John and Odafin "This way," and he lead the charge into the village.

The scribe's natural curiosity got the better of him. He had seen knights performing their training exercises at the palace but he had never seen actual battle. So he followed the knights as they followed the sounds of the screaming.

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Katherine stood at the gates to the great city. It was likely that someone here would know of the existence of the one. How many women who carried swords could there be?

"Good day fair lady," a vender called to her from the marketplace. His stand was piled high with fresh fruits and vegetables and Katherine felt her stomach growl. She felt in her pocket for her coin purse and headed towards the vender.

"Good day," she answered when she had reached him. She purchased an apple, turning to find a shady place to sit and eat it she spotted a group of men deep in conversation.

She moved closer in an effort to overhear what they were saying but not so close that she would be noticed.

"I say they won't come," one man was saying "they are cowards."

"They might come," a second protested "If they don't it will certainly be a dull tournament."

A third nodded "I hear tell one of them is a woman."

The other two men laughed "A woman knight," they both said in disbelief and absolute amusement.

Katherine leaned in closer. A female knight, there was a good chance that if true, this female knight was the one.

"It serves that such a band of outcasts would possess a woman," the second one said, still laughing.

"We won't know until the scribe returns," the third one said, obviously trying to bring his companions back to seriousness again.

"If he comes back," the first one continued laughing "Did you see the scrawny lad that the King sent on this journey? Just a boy, why the only one who compares in scrawniness is the King's son."

Katherine wondered at this. If the King didn't trust these knights, who better to spy on them and reliably report on their traitorous activities then his own son.

TBC

A/N: Please review and tell me if I should just go jump in a lake or something. I'll also take suggestions on what I should beat myself over the head with but be kind. Thank you in advance.