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1. He Lost Her
There is no life without her. He had spoken those words on a different battlefield, in a different age, in what was, for all intents and purposes, a different world.
And the words had proven true, however much the continued beating of his heart lent appearance to the contrary. But, much as he wished it, he could not allow himself the comfort of yielding to his enemy's blade. Not this time. Not while the world was under the control of a madman and its people needed defending.
Ancelyn ap Gwalchmai was the Knight General of the Britons.
Even if he was the only one that knew it.
So he breathed. He fought. He endured. But no one who crossed his path in the dark times following Saxon's ascension ever labored under the misconception that he lived.
2. They Never Met
If anyone ever had asked Winifred Bambera why she’d chosen her particular nom de guerre, she had a bit of nonsense prepared about warrior castes ever at the ready to defend king and country (or queen and planet, as the case may be), but the truth that she would never admit to anyone, not even to Jake and Ricky (who certainly never bothered hiding their secrets from her), and most especially not to herself, was that it simply felt...right.
It was the only thing in the world that did anymore.
Which was bollocks, of course. Pure sentimental bollocks. And Winifred had held no course with sentiment even before the world had gone to shit.
But now this...lunatic they'd pulled from the debacle at Tyler's—who'd been all flutter and prattle right up to the moment his "ah, and is there a Mister Knight, then?" had been answered in the negative—was looking at her with a sadness that could swallow the stars.
"I'm sorry," he said. "I'm so, so sorry."
And suddenly nothing felt right anymore.
3. They Were Invited to a Wedding
Winifred scowled at the piece of paper in her hand as if it had done her a personal affront. "Who are any of these people?"
"Do you recall the night watchman with whom I worked at the museum several years ago?" Ancelyn replied. "The one charged with guarding the ancient box called the Pandorica?"
At her blank look, he admitted sheepishly, "In truth, I myself recall neither the man nor the box. But the lady who imparted this missive to me was most insistent that you and I had done the bridegroom a great service and that he would be most distressed should we not share in this happy occasion."
He's mad, she thought. Positively barmy. "Let me see if I have this straight: A complete stranger invites you to the wedding of another complete stranger, a wedding that's taking place..." She glanced at her watch. "...in 5 hours, and this seems logical to you?"
"Oh, to the contrary. Which is why we must go, surely," he entreated. "Does not this mysterious summons bear the irrefutable signs of Merlin about it?"
Ah, there it is. Ancelyn believed every uncanny or untoward occurrence bore "irrefutable signs of Merlin about it.” And to be fair, he was usually right.
Oh, shame. She sighed. "Right, then.”
Fortunately, her dress uniform was freshly pressed.
4. They Bought a Nice House in a Quiet Neighborhood
They'd both had their qualms about the suburbs. Not unreasonably, considering the numerous drawbacks such a move entailed—cultural homogeneity, a longer commute, fewer opportunities to win honor defending the earth against extraterrestrial invaders. But it was, after all, what you did once you had children. At least it was what normal people did once they had children, and Bambera supposed, given all the things that had failed to kill them thus far, that Ealing wouldn’t kill them either.
If pressed, she would also admit—grudgingly—that a place of refuge comfortably situated far from the workaday chaos of UNIT was...not unagreeable. Besides, central London was getting madder by the year—if nothing else, Christmases on Bannerman Road promised to be considerably calmer than years past (which would be nice for the boys, even if Winifred herself would inevitably be called in to work).
For his part, Ancelyn had been swayed by the assurance of a plot of lawn to which he could dedicate the cultivation a small garden (the old Brig having imprinted on him all those years ago as to what constituted acceptable pursuits for a retired soldier).
And they’d been quickly relieved of their apprehensions about living among people of less...cosmopolitan experience than themselves. Really, their new neighbors couldn’t have been any lovelier.
Especially that nice Smith boy who was so brilliant with the kids.
+1 They Lived Happily Ever After
"There's a saying, you know..." They were lying next to each other in bed, Bambera absently brushing loose strands of her husband's hair with her fingers, "'Marry in haste, repent at leisure.'"
"Ah, is there now?" One of Ancelyn's calloused fingertips was tracing a slow, soft path up her inner thigh.
Winifred breathed in deeply, letting out a contented "Mm hmm" on the exhale. She was quite failing to recall why she’d brought up that particular proverb at the moment.
He smiled and pressed a kiss to her temple. "If it is so, my lady, then I look forward to a long, leisurely penance."
She laughed and rolled herself on top of him, placing a quick kiss to his lips as she tangled her hands in his sweaty locks (the hair was clearly going to be a thing for her…who knew?).
"Well then, soldier, shall we get started?"