Tristan's heart beat like a war drum as he watched Guinevere move through the forest clearing, her fingers trailing against rough bark and soft moss with equal reverence. He should not be here, following her like a shadow, but Arthur's growing duties had left her wandering alone too often. The forest was not safe, he told himself; a flimsy excuse that tasted like ash on his tongue. The truth was simpler and far more dangerous: in her presence, the constant weight of battle memories lifted from his shoulders. She moved like the forest itself, wild, unpredictable, alive and something in him responded to that wildness with quiet yearning. He cared for her, too.
"What brings you so far from camp alone?" he asked softly, watching as she turned, unsurprised by his presence. Perhaps she had known he was there all along."I mean no insult," Tristan added quickly, leaning against a nearby tree trunk. "I know well that you can defend yourself better than most men." He allowed himself a small smile, remembering how she had dispatched Saxon warriors with deadly precision. “Arthur worries over you. I think he has no reason to be…you are fiercer than I think he cares to admit.”
"May I join you?"
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