Author's note: If you've never seen Covington Cross before, please give this story a chance. I promise I'll ease you into the characters so you know who's who. Covington Cross was a TV show aired in 1992, chronicling the life of a medieval English knight and his grown-up children, and the various adventures they had. There are thirteen episodes in total, all available to watch on youtube, lasting about 45 minutes each.

Gawain of the Greenwood

1. Rumours

Eleanor Grey had exciting news to tell her brothers. There was but one problem; she could not find them anywhere. The eldest two, Armus and Richard, were supposed to be checking over Father's finance ledgers, to make sure everything from the past year tallied up and check that the farms on the Grey's land weren't going to under-produce. Cedric, the youngest of the Grey children, was supposed to be in the scullery checking the stock and writing up an inventory so that Father could budget for the Castle's outgoings for the rest of the year.

But Cedric was not in the kitchen, and neither Richard nor Armus were in Father's study, though the ledgers had been left open on the desk. Exasperated by her brothers' absence, she stuck her head into the last room she could think to check for them; the solarium, at the top of the castle. The glass-roofed room was, however, silent and empty. Eleanor frowned, and tucked a lock of her long red hair behind one ear. She chewed her lower lip as she considered the situation. Just where could her brothers have gone?

"Oh, excuse me Miss Eleanor," said Maryann, stepping into the solarium just as Eleaner was leaving it. The serving woman moved aside, holding her sweeping brush out of the way so that Eleanor could squeeze past.

"Have you seen my brothers anywhere, Maryann?" Eleanor asked her. Servants usually had a better idea of what was going on inside a castle than the nobles who lived there, and Covington Cross was no exception.

"As a matter of fact, I saw them out in the courtyard but ten minutes ago, practising their sword skills." Maryann blushed. She was quite enamoured with Cedric, and could often be seen watching him from afar, a look of longing and affection in her eyes. Unfortunately, Maryann was a young woman who could best be described as 'homely,' with essence of 'rotund' added into the mix. Cedric, who had a fine eye for pretty girls, barely even noticed the serving-woman, unless she was heaping his favourite vegetables onto his plate.

"Thank you," Eleanor smiled. She left the servant to go about her business, and set off down the carpeted hallway. It didn't come as a huge surprise to hear that her brothers were outside instead of working. Father had recently agreed that Cedric could train to become a knight instead of a priest, as was his initial fate, and Eleanor's younger brother barely needed an excuse to pick up a weapon to practice his fighting skills. It was a fine April day, the lingering winter crispness in the air made less harsh by the strength of the shining sun, and Eleanor knew that it wouldn't have taken Cedric long to persuade Richard and Armus to train with him. After a winter mostly cooped up in the castle because of deep snow, all of the Grey children took advantage of the fine spring weather; when it wasn't pouring with rain, of course.

Clack clack clack.

As Eleanor reached the outer door to the courtyard, she could hear the rhythmic sound of wood striking wood echoing down the stone corridors. Then came a voice, heavily laden with a tone of approval.

"I say, good strike, Cedric!"

Eleanor smiled. Armus had spent years away from home, fighting—or rather, cooking—in the Crusades, and had returned only a few short months ago, to the delight of the whole family. Covington Cross was a more cheerful place, now that Armus was back. Her eldest brother had a sort of… presence. Whenever Armus was around, she felt safe, as if no catastrophe, no matter how big, could darken her day. It probably helped that Armus was a giant of a man, tall and strong, and very used to eating well. Father said Armus had been little more than a scrawny youth when he'd set out with the other knights to ride to the East, but now he was anything but scrawny. In fact, he'd even put on a little weight, since returning home. Not that Eleanor would ever point out Armus' expanding girth to him directly.

When she pushed open the door, she was met by the sight of Richard and Cedric circling each other. They had moved on from blades to staves; the wooden practice swords were leaning against the wall, against which Armus was lounging. The fight, it seemed, had been going on for some time. Both of her brothers looked sweaty, their boots all scuffed where they had been stepping in circles through the dust and dried horse manure of the courtyard.

Neither of her brothers were smiling. Richard, second eldest of the Grey Children, was always sensible and serious, and Eleanor knew that even when he was training, he focused as if it was a life and death situation. His light-brown hair, which curled up at the ends, swung around his face as he moved to and fro trying to break through Cedric's guard. His technique was, of course, perfect. Richard liked things just-so. In fact, he could be a bit of a stick-in-the-mud at times, but Eleanor didn't love him any less for it.

Cedric was the complete opposite. He was easy-going, whimsical, care-free… and his fighting style depended more on instinct and intuition than Richard's rigidly practiced method. The youngest of the Grey children didn't hold his stave as quite as he was supposed to, favouring a grip wider than it should have been, and no amount of prompting from Armus could correct that. Cedric's black hair clung damply to his forehead and neck, and his light blue eyes watched his brother's face intensely. The only thing he shared with Richard was a stubborn-headed determination to succeed; he wouldn't give his brother an easy victory.

She descended the stone steps and joined Armus in watching the fight. As much as she wanted to tell her news, she knew that it wasn't fair to interrupt two fighters when they were in the flow of things. When she stood next to her brother, he gave her a gentle nudge with his elbow, and a warm smile. With his floppy blond hair, friendly grey-blue eyes and easy-going, laid-back manner, she knew that Armus would make some woman a fine husband one day. Father said that war changed a man, but Armus seemed as cheerful as Eleanor remembered him. Not that she could remember much; she had been but a child when he had ridden off to the Crusades, newly knighted and carrying one of his father's finest swords.

Now, the sword had been passed to William, younger brother to Armus and Richard, older brother to Eleanor and Cedric. William had left for the Crusades just before Armus had returned, leaving Eleanor with the feeling that she'd lost one brother and gained another. She missed William terribly, and prayed nightly for his safe return. But they were prayers said with a heaviness in her heart. She knew it would likely be many years before William would be able to return from the East… unless he was terribly injured, of course. It would be better to wait years to see her brother well again, than to see him sooner but wounded, Eleanor thought.

"Keep your left elbow down, Cedric," Armus prompted.

The fight, Eleanor suspected, would not last much longer. Already Richard had knocked Cedric to the ground three times; one more time would mean a disqualification for the youngest of the family's children. Cedric was the brother to whom Eleanor was closest, and understood most of all. They were of a similar age, though Cedric had been just a babe when their mother had died. During the years of their childhood, Eleanor had spent more time with Cedric than her other brothers. She knew how desperately he wanted to be a knight, rather than a cleric, and she was glad that Father had given him permission to stay and train in the arts of war. Covington Cross just wouldn't have been the same, if Cedric had been sent off to study for the cloth.

The fight ended abruptly when Richard knocked Cedric's legs from beneath him, sending his younger brother falling backwards, where he landed on the muddy ground with a groan. Victorious, Richard stood over his opponent for a moment, breathing heavily. Then he leant down and offered Cedric his hand, helping his younger brother to his feet.

"You're improving," Richard offered, by way of compliment. "You lasted much longer this time."

"I don't want to 'last'," Cedric complained, throwing the stave onto the ground, "I want to win. There must be something more that you and Armus aren't telling me."

Armus stepped forward, to speak in Richard's defence. "Nothing can replace practice, Cedric. You know all of the moves, you know how to block and how to attack, and how to sweep. Richard has had much more practice than you… but if it helps, we can switch places, and you can watch me soundly thrash him."

The last was accompanied by a wink, and Cedric grinned. Both he and Armus shared a love of jokes, and they were similar in many other ways. As the youngest son, Cedric could be more care-free than Armus, but both brothers were friendly and laid-back, and rarely stayed angry for long; unlike Richard, who could carry a grudge and brood for weeks.

"What about you, dear sister?" Cedric asked, throwing an arm around Eleanor's shoulders. "Perhaps I could start by thrashing you, and work my way up. In a few weeks, I'll be able to defeat even Armus, and then perhaps I'll move on to felling mountains as well."

Armus laughed, and gave Cedric a playful pat on the shoulder that almost sent both Cedric and Eleanor sprawling. "You should be so lucky! I've seen Eleanor practice with the stave more than once, and she's very good. Easily an even match for you."

"Thank you, Armus," she smiled, grateful for her brother's praise. Though Armus was kind, he was also honest, and would not have said she had skill unless she truly had it. And more than that, the stave was Armus' favoured weapon, because it didn't have to be lethal. That he thought she was good with the weapon was high praise. "But I didn't come down here for practice."

"Are you feeling ill?" Richard asked, the closest he would probably ever come to telling a joke.

"Not at all. But I overheard the cook telling the serving staff that father wants the castle in good condition for when Sir Redford arrives tomorrow," she said.

"I remember Sir Redford, if a little vaguely," said Armus, a thoughtful expression on his face as he searched his memory. "Sometimes I think he was a close to mother as he was to father. He used to adore listening to her play the lute."

"He comes to visit once every couple of years," Richard said, his posture stiffening up. He did the same thing every time somebody mentioned mother; her death had been hard on him, and he had carried that experience with him ever since. Unlike Eleanor and Cedric, Richard was old enough to remember their mother well, and sometimes Eleanor thought that was a greater burden on Richard than not remembering mother was on Eleanor herself. "He and father like to stay up late talking and drinking, and sometimes they go hunting with the hounds, for deer."

"I wonder why he's keeping it quiet," said Cedric. "It's not like father to keep secrets."

"Maybe because this is the first time Armus has seen Sir Redford in a long time," Richard replied. "He's probably trying to make it a surprise. We should all play along."

"I don't care why father's keeping it secret," Eleanor said, "I'm just glad that Sir Redford is visiting. He'll help cheer father up, I'm sure. You know that he's been pining ever since Lady Elizabeth left to visit her children in France."

"He's not the only one who's been a little down lately," Cedric said. "I think you're starting to miss her a little too."

"Oh please, she's a ghastly woman," Eleanor scoffed. But there wasn't as much venom in her words as there would once have been. Eleanor had hated Lady Elizabeth at first – how dare the woman try to usurp the place of Ann Grey? Eleanor had been the only one to hate Elizabeth; her brothers all liked her, and didn't seem to care that she was trying to worm her way into Sir Thomas Grey's heart. It was only now that Eleanor realised exactly why she hated Elizabeth; it wasn't because the Lady loved Sir Thomas, or because she felt threatened by the other woman's presence. It was because Elizabeth was everything that Eleanor both did and did not to be. Lady Elizabeth was a strong, independent woman, who ran her own castle and lands since her third husband had died in the crusades. She had an incredible head for business and finance, and she needed no man to help run her affairs. She was respected throughout England, and a favourite at court.

But at the same time, Lady Elizabeth was beautiful and dignified. The dresses she wore were of the highest quality materials, and fit her like a glove. She enjoyed the attention of men, but had eyes only for Sir Thomas. And though she was strong and independent, there was a sense of delicacy about her that immediately made men want to help and protect her. It was a contrast that Eleanor had struggled for a long time to understand, and even now was only beginning to grasp. Her own way was to demand respect from men by being like them, by being able to ride like a man, run like a man and fight like a man. Unfortunately, most men didn't seem to respect her abilities – in fact, they felt threatened by her, or laughed at her. Only from her brothers and the servants did she receive the respect she felt she deserved, but they hardly counted, because her brothers were family, and the servants were paid for their work and usually agreed with whatever she said.

Lately, Eleanor had been spending a little more time with Lady Elizabeth, learning about how to be a 'proper' woman. She'd started wearing dressed more often, allowed pins to be put into her hair for decoration, and had even started learning about music. But now that Elizabeth was gone, Eleanor had quickly slipped back into her old ways. Yes, dresses looked nice on a woman, but they were terrible to ride in, and even worse for fighting in. And yes, her hair looked nice when it had decorative pins in place, but mostly it just fell about her face and irritated her, so now she wore it braided behind her head, so that it was less of an inconvenience.

When she realised that her brothers were watching her, and looking very amused, she desperately searched for a new subject, and fell back on a favourite; teasing her younger brother.

"I'm nowhere near as unhappy about Lady Elizabeth leaving, as you are about Alexandra Mullens being sent back to the convent school."

Cedric frowned, and the light of mischief disappeared from his eyes. Cedric was known for his antics with young women, and they rarely failed to respond to his attempts to charm them. Alexandra was one of the few who had kept his attention for any length of time, and the two had had several clandestine meetings with each other, whenever they could escape from their fathers' eyes. It was just a shame that Alexandra, who was nice and sweet and innocent and beautiful, and everything else that a lady should be and therefore was mostly despised by Eleanor, was also the daughter of John Mullens, the most evil man in England who had hated the Greys for as long as Eleanor could remember.

"It's not fair," Cedric complained. "He only sent her back there to keep her from me. He doesn't care about her education."

"Cedric, every mother in the country would send their daughters to convent schools if they thought it would keep them safe from you," Richard pointed out. "Honestly, what do you expect? It's just lucky that Mullens doesn't know the full extent of your relationship with Alexandra. If he suspected that you truly love her, and had met with her in secret more than once, he'd probably challenge you to armed combat."

"Or more likely poison you," Armus interjected. "Since he has no more sons to fight dirty for him anymore."

"You'll find somebody else, Cedric," said Richard, "there's plenty other women to choose from."

Eleanor looked at Cedric, and read the unspoken words in his eyes. They were the same words that she knew were in her own eyes, too; this was a dangerous subject. By mutual unspoken agreement, they had decided to never speak of such matters—women, and love—whenever Richard and Armus were around. Recently, Richard had begun courting Charlotte Wyatt, the daughter of a business acquaintance of their father. Unfortunately, Armus had loved her first, and had asked Richard for help in wooing her. His plan had backfired; Charlotte had fallen for Richard, not Armus, and though the eldest brother had given them his blessing, everybody in the family knew that the matter still cut Armus deeply. It was a wound that would take much longer to heal. So, just as the moment was starting to become uncomfortable, Eleanor looked desperately at Cedric, pleading silently with him to change the subject.

Thankfully, he answered her plea, and found something else to comment on. "I'm surprised Father didn't go to France with Lady Elizabeth."

"I'm not," Armus scoffed. "You weren't here when we had to meet her children, Cedric. You're lucky."

"I hear that Lenore is quite beautiful," Cedric probed, with all the subtlety of a hound with a toothache.

"She's pretty enough, I suppose," Richard said, sounding entirely uninterested. Of course, he would sound uninterested; as far as he was concerned, every other woman alive paled in comparison to his dear Charlotte. "Rather... dull, though."

"And the only other thing duller than Lenore is her brother, Adam," Eleanor added quickly. "When father chivvied me into speaking with him, I thought that perhaps talk of riding and hunting would excite him. Honestly, I've had better conversations with Damascus!" Her beloved horse, Damascus, was her pride and joy. Her father had bought him for her, a spirited four year old stallion, and she'd broken him herself. He still required a lot of training, but he never seemed to tire no matter how fast she pushed him.

"You know, Cedric," Armus said, with a wicked gleam in his eyes, "if Father and Lady Elizabeth were to marry, that would make Lenore your sister."

"Though I'm fairly certain that spending more than five minutes alone with her would cool your ardour," Eleanor added sweetly.

"Ahh... so I hear Sir Redford is visiting tomorrow," Cedric said, changing the subject once more.

"It will be good to see him again," Armus smiled. "It's been too long."

"He has a few more grey hairs these days," said Richard. "But I'm sure he'll be as thrilled to see you as we all were." He offered his elder brother a friendly smile.

"Perhaps if we're to spend all day tomorrow visiting with Sir Redford, we should spend the rest of the today hunting for something to put on the dinner table," Armus suggested.

Eleanor laughed, along with Richard and Cedric. Food was always on Armus' mind, and he ate enough each meal to sate three men. She suspected that if her brother didn't spend so much of his time being active, he'd be the size of his own sturdy horse by now.

"I'll tell Randolph to saddle the horses," Richard said, handing his stave to Armus and walking off in the direction of the stables.

"I'll put these weapons away and fetch our bows," Armus said, and disappeared into the armoury.

Cedric gestured at his muddy shirt. "And I'll go and change into something a little cleaner, just in case we chance upon a fair maiden out in the woods."

Eleanor smiled and shook her head as Cedric climbed the steps and entered the castle. Life at Covington Cross was never dull, and she suspected that with Sir Redford visiting, it was going to become even more exciting.