-slaps self several times with a wet fish—I am so, so, so, so, so, so, so, so SORRY about the inexcusable lack of update – well, a loss of enthusiasm and laziness would probably explain it but enough's enough! –bangs fist on table—

Have realised that in my long, long fanfic writing career (of four/five years), this fic more than most shows a certain degree of development (well, I should hope so anyway). So, it's kinda important to me in that respect and in a moment of soppiness, I dug out my plan and decided to continue! :D

Big things happening! :D Exams are over, which means that my school career is finally finito and in August I'm taking a gap year to China before University... so I hope to get my started fanfictions definitely finished by then! :D

Also; am thinking of making a couple of videos for this fanfiction. Like maybe a Piper and Hermione or a Piper/Arthur? Would that interest you guys at all?

Chapter 17: Drama, Drama, Drama!

Hermione didn't see Piper the rest of that evening. She didn't really see the knights either; they'd all disappeared into the fort pretty soon after they'd got back to tend to various wounds and wash up – although, judging by their usual grimy state, Hermione wasn't sure what their understanding of "washing up" was. Assuming she'd see them at dinner, Hermione wasn't too bothered and had spent the rest of the day harassing some construction workers for further details about the wall. When dinner time came however, Vanora intercepted her before she could reach the Round Table room.

"Sorry chook, yer in the tavern with me fer t'night. Arthur and the Knights have important things to talk to the Bishop abou'. Ye can have yer supper with us."

Hermione felt disappointed at not being able to talk to the Knights but smiled and nodded anyway; Vanora was by no means a bad cook and it was early evening so the tavern should be a pretty quiet place to spend time until the Knights came out.

No such luck. Although the Knights weren't in the tavern, quite a few Romans were. A recently arrived patrol, Vanora informed her. All hopes of a quiet evening vanished pretty quickly as Hermione found herself dashing from table to table with trays of beer and refills. Not only that; Piper's absence and the fact that many of the soldiers were completely new to the fort meant that Hermione found herself the focal point of all unwanted attention.

"Ye want me to clout one fer ye?" Vanora offered, glaring fiercely at the Romans as Hermione stacked her tray with yet more beer. "Jus' say the word, an' – FIVE! Tha's Six's ball!" she suddenly bawled, rushing off to deal with her little bastards. Hermione blew a strand of hair out of her face and resignedly carried the beer back to the Romans. Truth was, she was entirely unused to this sort of attention; no one had ever treated her like this at Hogwarts. She couldn't imagine any reason people would either – she was no Cho Chang or Ginny Weasley. She was just bookish, bushy-haired Hermione Granger and until Viktor Krum, no boy had even looked at her before.

"Come on, where's our ale?" A Roman yelled at her. Hermione picked up her pace, near stumbling as she set the tray down.

"Sorry, sorry!" she said, feeling more than a little flustered as she handed out the drinks before making a hasty exit.

"Wait a minute, what's the rush?" Another Roman asked, grabbing her arm in a vice like grip.

"Could you let me go please?" Hermione asked, trying to keep calm and looking desperately for Vanora, who was still reprimanding number Six, with her back to the tavern.

"Aw, what's wrong? Do you not want to spend time with us?" the Roman asked, sounding hurt. "We'll look after you – pretty little girl like you shouldn't be out by herself!"

"Thank you, but I can look after myself!" Hermione told him as fiercely as she could. Evidently she'd need to work on her conviction, as the Roman merely raised an eyebrow and pulled her closer.

"That so?" he asked. "Why don't you prove it?" Hermione's usually brilliant mind went completely blank; all spells, sword-fighting tips – even the basic one-two punch which Fred and George had taught her last Christmas after one Eggnog too many – completely vanished from memory. So, gripping the tray tightly, Hermione did the one last thing she could think of. She smacked him around the head with it. It was a good hit too and if Hermione hadn't been completely mortified then she probably would've been quite proud of herself. The Roman released her, recoiling sharply and the whole Tavern descended into silence as everyone's attention turned to them. The Roman said nothing, merely sat there, dazed for a few moments, before slowly standing to an impressive, if very intimidating, height. Hermione's eyes widened and she tightened her grip on the tray, ready for a second swing.

"Hermione! There you are!" Galahad declared, as he and the rest of the Knights finally entered the tavern.

"We wondered where you'd got to." Gawain added.

"There's not a problem is there?" Lancelot asked the Roman, friendly enough but with a definite warning in his eyes. The Roman didn't reply for a few minutes; apparently weighing his options.

"No, no problem." He agreed, finally.

"Good. In that case," he added, pulling a seat up at the table. "Anyone feeling lucky?" The tension gone; the atmosphere in the tavern resumed one of a more jovial nature as everyone returned to their respective conversations. Galahad put an arm around Hermione and steered her back to the bar.

"Are you alright?" he asked, quietly.

"I'm fine. You know I may not be as tough as Piper or that good with a sword but I can look after myself!" Hermione snapped at him. Galahad looked taken aback.

"Well... yes..."

"And I had that situation completely under control!" she added.

"It definitely looked like it." Galahad agreed. "Hermione, he was going to snap your head off."

"I was handling it!" Hermione insisted; aware that she was being completely unreasonable but not at all willing to back down.

"Well, fine! Next time; don't expect us to help!" he told her; beginning to sound angry, himself.

"Good, you do that!" Hermione agreed, before turning on her heel and stomping out of the tavern.

((Piper Halliwell was here))

Piper had not had a pleasant evening. After that pretty awkward situation with Arthur – and she still wasn't entirely sure what had happened – she'd been hit with a sudden feeling of dizziness and had staggered to her bed, where she'd lain for about thirty minutes being hit with alternating spells of dizziness and nausea, while inwardly cursing the fact she was pregnant, before falling asleep. When she'd woken up, it was dark outside and she was more than a little hungry. Since her head now seemed to be behaving, she'd decided she would chance a trip to the tavern for something to eat. She arrived just in time to see Hermione storm off in the opposite direction.

"Where's Hermione going?" she asked Vanora.

"Oh she and Galahad just had a fight." Vanora said, off-handedly.

"A fight?" Piper repeated. "That's not like Hermione."

"Ah I wouldn't worry 'bout it. He dunnae appear to be tha' heartbroken." She said, indicating the Knights' table, where Galahad was locked in what seemed to be a pretty heated drinking game with Gawain. "Although this is the most I've seen him drink an' still be standing before." She added thoughtfully. "Anyway, must dash – can ye keep an eye on Bors for me? He sometimes fergets he's holding a baby and not a Woad's head?"

"Sure." Piper agreed, heading over to where Bors was rocking his baby. "Hey Bors."

"'Ello Piper." Bors greeted her. "Can I ask you summink?"

"Er... sure." Piper agreed.

"Who does he look like? Me or Lancelot?" he asked, holding up the baby, who burped violently.

"Honestly, that kid is one hundred percent Bors." she told him, patting him on the back. Bors grinned, broadly.

"I knew it! I knew he was one of my little bastards!" he declared. "Hey, Vanora! Be a mother to our son!" he yelled. Vanora rolled her eyes but beckoned him over to take the baby from him. Left alone, Piper sat back on a bar stool, hand on her stomach. She watched as Bors cajoled Vanora into singing and the whole tavern – not just the Knights – turned to watch her. She missed her sisters, she really did. She missed Leo too. And Darryl. They were her family; they meant everything to her. And yet somehow, this Hermione kid had wormed her way into Piper's heart and now she was kind of family too. Across the tavern, Piper just made out Arthur appearing on the outskirts of the tavern. And then Piper thought the unthinkable; what if she stayed? The thought immediately made her shudder. Her sisters would be heartbroken – Leo would be heartbroken. She couldn't do that to him. The song stopped and Arthur made to slink away.

"Arthur!"

"Arthur!" The Knights had seen him now and all of them gathered around him, greeting him happily. Piper wavered; unsure whether she should intrude or not – but as the Knights became more and more sullen and Bors' voice grew louder (and his arm movements more erratic), Piper decided that intrusion was necessary.

"I AM A FREE MAN!" Bors bellowed, so loudly that he woke the baby, who began to wail, pitifully, in Vanora's arms. "I will choose my own fate!"

"Yeah, yeah. We're all going to die someday. If it's a death from a Saxon hand that frightens you – stay home." Tristan put in.

"If you're so eager to die, you can die right now!" Galahad yelled, reaching for Tristan and nearly hitting Piper in the process.

"Enough, enough!" Lancelot stepped in, trying to grab Galahad's arm, but he only wrenched it back.

"I'VE GOT SOMETHING TO LIVE FOR!" he roared at Arthur.

"ENOUGH ALREADY!" Piper was a witch. A powerful witch. A powerful witch who'd defeated the Source of All Evil and was currently carrying one of the most powerful witches in existence. And just because Arthur and the Knights didn't know that, did not mean by any accounts that they wouldn't damn well listen to her. "For god's sake, will you all CALM down for one frigging second? That's not a question!" she added to Galahad, who'd opened his mouth again. "What's happened?"

"The Bishop has decided that before we can be given our freedom, we have to go on one final mission." Lancelot said, calmly – albeit sullenly.

"We have to go north of the Wall to rescue a Roman family from the Saxons." Gawain added.

"Even though, the Romans promised us our freedom today and the fact that the north of the Wall is Woad territory and the fact that the Romans are leaving this country to the Saxons anyway." Galahad spat, glaring at Arthur.

"Galahad, I don't know what's gone down between you and Hermione this evening but just because you've been spurned by your crush or whatever, does not mean you get to be so whiny, act like a man for God's sake!" Piper reprimanded him, fiercely. "This sucks, it really does – but it's the Bishop's fault, not Arthur's."

"And why should you care?" Galahad demanded. "Do you have any idea what we've been through? Of how much we've sacrificed for the Romans? You've never had to live like that. You're a Roman yourself." Piper raised her eyebrows and looked around the Knights. While none of them met their gaze, she could tell that at the moment, they kind of agreed with what Galahad was saying.

"Okay," Piper said, deciding on a less aggressive approach. "I understand you're upset. Really, I do. And you're right. I have no idea what it's like to be you. But don't you dare tell me that I haven't made sacrifices, I've made sacrifices you couldn't dream of having to make when it would've been so much easier just to throw it all in. But I do it because it's the right thing to do. It's hard but in the end, it's the only thing you can do – it's why it's called a sacrifice. So are you going to whine about it or are you going to get on with it? Besides, the sooner you get back, the sooner you have your freedom, right?" she tailed off, her emotional speech tailing off, looking between the Knights, hopefully.

"The Romans have broken their word." Dagonet boomed eventually. "We have the word of Arthur. That's good enough." Piper breathed out a sigh of relief. "I'll prepare. Bors, you coming?" he asked, heading back towards the Fort.

"Course I'm coming! Can't let you go on your own, you'll all get killed! I'm just saying what you're all thinking!" he yelled, heading after Dagonet. "Vanora's gonna kill me." he muttered to Piper as he passed. Piper patted him on the back, consolingly; he wasn't wrong. The rest of the Knights all slowly dispersed, some more quietly than others - namely Galahad, who took the time to pour out his drink before throwing the tankard on the floor and storming off. Eventually it was just Piper, Lancelot and Arthur who were left. Arthur looked at the two at them, first at Lancelot and then his eyes locking with Piper's. Piper felt her cheeks grow hot and, cursing her school girl reaction, she turned away quickly, following the rest of the Knights towards the fort. She may have the gall to face down six angry Knights, but the whole Arthur thing was something Piper was not willing to confront any time soon.

Then something made her stop. There was something unnatural; a shadow, which wasn't moving with the rest of them cast by the flickering light of the wall torches. The more that she focussed on it, the more the shadow stood out, till it was completely defined separately from the rest. Piper flexed her hands, instinctively as the shadow came forward to reveal itself to be a man in long, dark robes. A man who – although dressed appropriately for the time period – looked oddly familiar.

"Hello Piper." Piper's eyes widened. "You're far from home aren't you?"

Death.

Dun Dun DUUUUN. Cliff hanger! Well, really – the amount of time I made you wait, you deserved a good one ;) Apologies if there are too many mistakes – I was trying to get it up as soon as possible after writing. Hope you enjoyed it! xxx