Finally I can rest (OPEN)

[amelia]

Amelia walked through the secluded woods, she had been walking all day and it was starting to get dark. She had not spotted a suitable spot for a campsite and she was starting to get fed up.

"There must be some where I can rest" She mumbled to herself, if she was watching where she was going she would have noticed the root she was about to trip over but she didn't and she tripped. "This is not what I need right now"

She picked herself up and wiped herself off. She looked around thankful that there was no-one around to see her fall and she noticed a suitable spot to rest.

"Finally" She said with a sight of relief. She sat on a fallen log and placed her pack on the ground beside her. She stood up and began gathering fire wood, when she had enough she placed them all together and said an incantation to light the fire. She warmed her hands on the fire and started singing a song her father sang to her as a child.

"Lullay, Thou little tiny Child,
By, by, lully, lullay.
Lullay, Thou little tiny Child.
By, by, lully, lullay.

O sisters, too, how may we do,
For to preserve this day;
This poor Youngling for whom we sing,
By, by, lully, lullay.

Herod the King, in his raging,
Charged he hath this day;
His men of might, in his own sight,
All children young, to slay.

Then woe is me, poor Child, for Thee,
And ever mourn and say;
For Thy parting, nor say nor sing,
By, by, lully, lullay"

_{Setting: Woods
Time: Evening}

[Deleted]

After his first visit to Camelot proper in many months, Lancelot had much to think about. He did not really desire to make the long trip to Wessex, but was unsure if it was wise to stay in Camelot. He really did not have a future there, and was only his old emotional ties, he supposed, that kept him bound to the place. At least he was familiar with this part of the edge of the Forest of Balor. He thought, at long last, that it was indeed time to move on, perhaps back to the kingdom of Wessex.

Lancelot thought, though, as he led his trusted horse and companion, Sher-Fore, that this part of the forest would make a fine place to make camp for the evening. As the light began to fade, however, he noticed that the area up ahead seemed to be glowing, somewhat unnaturally. As he approached a fallen log he could hear the popping and the crackling of wood as it snapped from the effects of a burning fire.

As he approached, now only a few feet away, he heard the sound of a female voice ..... singing. The song sounded almost like a lullaby in tine, but its subject matter did not sound like it would put many to sleep, as it spoke of King Herod and his men of might. He found it all to be .... at least curious .... out here in the Balor Forest. Being a fighting knight, Lancelot had great experience in soundlessly coming up behind others, and this time, even with his horse at his side, he had arrived, stationary, just behind a young woman, who was unaware of his presence. "That was indeed an interesting melody ..... be you from around here ..... Camelot perhaps .... or are you a visitor from a far-off land?," he asked.

[amelia]

Amelia finished the song and warmed her hands by the fire. She did not hear anyone approach and she almost jumped out of her skin when they spoke. She took a moment to compose herself before turning around to see a handsome man and his horse.

"You scared me half to death" She said with a smile. "My father taught me it i never really understood it" She gave another smile "I hail from Ealdor but i am traveling"

She turned around again and looked at the fire. "What brings you out here?" She said with her eyes still locked on the fire before she realized she was being rude "Would you like to share my fire? It is getting late"

[Deleted]

Lancelot thought to himself that he had seen more travelers here at the edge of the Forest of Balor than he had ever seen. He wondered whether that fact was significant. Did it portend other changes that were in the offing, he wondered. In any case, he saw as he came up behind the woman, who was singing, that she jumped in great surprise. He expected that she was greatly surprised to have anyone come across her in this part of the forest, just as had been surprised to see her.

He held up one hand, unarmed, to indicate that she should calm herself, and not be afraid. He thought, though, at least she smiled when she saw him. "My apologies, milady, that was not my intention. AT first I could not be sure whether you be a woman or a knight, and I could not take the risk that you might pose a threat. However, when I got close enough to hear you singing your song I could not see a way to announce my presence without putting a shock into you. Again, my apologies. .... If there is any way that this knight might assist you all you would have to do is ask, and I will do my best to fulfill your request."

He waited to hear her reply, but instead of responding to that, she answered his question about her singing. "Well, I must admit milady, that the meaning of many songs does elude me. Was there a reason that e taught it to to you, then, especially since he did not explain its meaning?" She went on to answer his general question about whether she hailed from someplace afar. "Ealdor you say. I once knew a young man named Merlin who claimed to hail from such a place. Off-chance .... would you know of him? Is he still in Camelot or has he returned to his home?"

He smiled at her final comments and questions. "What brings me out here. Well.... in many ways I am a knight without a country, and I wander from place to place. Here, though, I find the forest to be a quiet place and a good place to think through my problems. So .... why do you come here. On many days I simply come her to forget. Why have you come here? Yes it is getting late ... I would be more than happy to share your fire, if you have no objections," he said with another smile on his face."

[amelia]

Amelia looked at the man and smiled.

"I can not think of anything you can help me with at the moment" She was cautious about him but it didn't mean she should be impolite.

He asked if there was a reason why her father taught her that song and she turned to look at the fire trying to think of a reason, but it eluded her. If there was a reason she didn't know it.

"I don't know why he taught me the song" She smiled again at this.

He then asked if she knew someone from Ealdor called Merlin. "We left Ealdor when i was a child and i haven't been back since"

"I'm just passing through" She thought for a second at his next remark, she was still cautious but maybe having him here with her would be safer. "I have no objections"

[Deleted]

Lancelot saw her turn from the fire and belatedly given him a smile. However, it did seem to be genuine. He just wondered why she seemed to be so preoccupied by the flames in the fire.

He wondered what had brought her to this place, alone .... or at least apparently alone .... as he waited on her response to his offer of assistance. As she responded, he wondered if there was any hidden meaning to her words. "Very well, milady, but if something should suddenly occur to you, make sure that you let me know. It is an open offer. As a knight, it is my duty and my honor to offer you whatever assistance you might need or require," he replied with the slightest of nods.

He wondered if her slightly ambiguous answer met anything .... then deciding that he was too suspicious, reading things that simply weren't there. Fortunately their conversation moved on to other things, and he considered what she said about his comments about her song. Once again he noticed that she looked back into the fire, almost as if she expected an answer from there. If she did expect one from there, he thought, it was not immediately received.

Once again, he thought, as she finally replied, the answer seemed to an honest one. "That is not surprising," he responded. "Often things that we remember from our youth are not things that we can recall that had a reason ..... just things that were or that happened." He hoped that his questions or comments were not too intrusive.

He wondered how coincidental that it could be that she came from the same small and rather remote place that Merlin had come from. The odds seemed to be against it. While he considered that he wondered if Merlin would even remember him after all this time, and if he did, what he thought of him. Merlin, he thought, had done and risked much to help him, in the short time he had known him. Lancelot had not had the opportunity to have many friends in life, but Merlin had definitely had a lot of potential. It was a shame that things had not worked out in Camelot, and he wondered if and when he would ever return.

Lancelot listened to her next answers, which he found to be interesting, and they seem to negate the possibility of any knowledge of Merlin. "Hmmmm ...... just passing through then milady. Sounds somewhat similar to me, except that I continually pass through the same areas, this being one of them. Although I render service as a knight for the King of Wessex I am pretty much of a nomadic knight, not tied to one place. That has its advantages and disadvantages, as I expect you can readily see and understand."

He smiled when she said that she had no objections, and he tied his horse to a tree and proceeded to sit down across from her near the fire. "Mademoiselle, I'm glad that you have none, especially since I had grown tired of walking. Even a knight needs to take a rest from time-to-time, although it may not be proper to admit it," he sighed.

[amelia]

Amelia looked at him and smiled "Trust me if anything comes up you will be the first to know" The smile on her face widened into a grin.

"There are a lot of things from my childhood that the reason eludes me" She said while warming her hands at the fire. "I suppose it happens to everyone"

"It is not a bad thing to admit you are tired" She said with a smile. "I like men who can admit their weaknesses"

[Deleted]

This woman was definitely different, Lancelot thought to himself. He, though, wasn't one who would negatively on a smile from a pretty lady. He did not often have the opportunity for much good conversation very often, that was for sure. "I would hope so, milady, since right now we appear to be the only ones in this part of the Forest," and he noted that her smile just seemed to widen.

Their conversation seemed to drift back to things they could and could not remember from their younger years. "Yes .... I expect it is the same with just about everyone. Are you cold?," he asked as he noted that she seemed to be trying to gain warmth from the fire. "For my part, unfortunately, there is little that I remember from my youngest years. By the time that I was old enough to ask questions about those early years there was nobody left to ask."

Lancelot listened to her comments about the fact that she had no objections to his company. However, it seemed that she had misinterpreted what he had meant. It sounded like she thought that he had meant that he was physically tired, when actually he meant that he had tired of the boring and monotonous activity of traveling from dawn to dusk for several days.

"Well milady,it is more a question of being mentally tired than physically, although I must say that you are correct that it is not a bad thing to admit the truth. That being said, of course, a true knight will never admit to having weaknesses of any sort, unless it is for things of beauty and the desire to do what is right. Those are not weaknesses, are they? So .... what weaknesses do you think I am afflicted with .... by chance?," he asked, not necessarily expecting an insightful answer.

[amelia]

Amelia could not believe it; she had misinterpreted what he had meant. She was so embarrassed that she actually wanted the earth to open up and swallow her. She had no idea how she was going to answer his question, she thought to herself for a moment before speaking.

“I… I’m sorry” She couldn’t help but stutter as she spoke. “I did not mean any offence”

She was so embarrassed she couldn’t even look at him. She was blushing so bad she would not be surprised if someone could spot her from a mile away.

[/color]

[Deleted]

Lancelot saw after his response, and how crestfallen she looked, that she was quite embarrassed. He could see the beginning tints of crimson that were coming to her cheeks. He wondered, given her mistake of what he had been talking about, whether she was going to even make an attempt to answer his question, even though it had been a mainly rhetorical one.

"There is nothing be sorry about, milady. It would be an ordinary assumption to make. If there is no offense taken, there is no offense given. A real offense, I'm afraid is that even though I told you that I had the duties of a knight in Wessex, I did not identify who I was. I am known as Lancelot .... Lancelot Du Lac, and who might you be?"

He noticed that, suddenly, she was not able to look at him, and he wondered if it was because of the recent embarrassment she had suffered, or something else. "I do hope that you do not find my appearance so objectionable that you cannot bear to look upon it," he smiled slightly.

[amelia]

She felt herself give a huge sigh of relief when he told her that he was not offended by her remarks from earlier. She was happy for this but was still slightly embarrassed that she still couldn't look at him.

"Lancelot... That is a strong name" She said merely glancing at him before looking away again. "My name is Amelia... Amelia Heatherfell"

She listened to what he said next and felt even worse but looked at him so not to insult him further.

"Ohhh.... that is n...n...not it at all" She said the stutter returning. What was it about Lancelot that cut past her barriers and rendered her into a blushing stuttering idiot. "You are a very handsome man. I....It's just i am ashamed to be seen like this" The blush in her cheeks was growing stronger with every word.

[Deleted]

Lancelot sensed that she was both quite distant but quite sensitive at the same time. She was both defensive and easy to embarrass, it appeared, so it seemed to make sense. He heard her sigh, and he took that to mean that she was glad that he was in no way offended by what she had said, but he also noticed that she was apparently either too embarrassed or self-conscious to look at him still.

He knew that, as a knight, he should have done the honorable thing and identified himself in the very beginning. He was a bit surprised when she responded so quickly to his late introduction, though. Surprised as well embarrassed, as it was now his turn to turn a light shade of crimson. "That is a quite nice and complimentary thing to say milady .... Amelia. I am not sure how strong it is, but I do no it is old French, from Gaul,and it means servant. Amelia .... that is a beautiful name .... which would be appropriate given its bearer," he said, blushing slightly once more.

He noticed that at his questioning comment about his own appearance that she now made a definite attempt to look at him instead of looking away. As she stuttered her denial of his assumption of why she did not look at him, it was apparent that she was embarrassed once more. "Why, thank you milady .....Amelia..... you have nothing to be ashamed in your appearance in the least," and Lancelot now looked away himself as he was not at all sure that an honourable knight would say such things. Perhaps it would be best to remain silent. Only Gwen's beauty rivaled hers he thought. However, it was likely that she had her own suitors, much as Gwen was now occupied by Arthur's attentions, he assumed.

[amelia]

Amelia looked at Lancelot and smiled. She had not expected anything like this when she had entered these woods. She had expected to be completely alone and she was happy things turned out this way. She found herself giggling a little at his comments.

“Why thank you kind sir” She said with a slight giggle.

A low grumbling in her stomach signaled that she was getting hungry. She rummaged around in her bag and pulled out some bread.

“Are you hungry?” She asked. “You can have some of my bread” She held it out as to offer some.

[Deleted]

She did have an open and welcoming smile, Lancelot thought to himself. She probably was not expecting to run across anyone, he thought. Her surprise at his finding her when she had been singing to herself was proof enough of that. He was no different, though. He had planned on walking he horse slowly through the wood, thinking had and long on what his future path should be.

He was brought out of his thoughts, quite suddenly by her giggling. "Well, I'm glad that you find my speech entertaining and amusing. However, I am afraid that the reason why escapes me at the moment. As a knight, I am not very familiar with the social side of things. So don't be surprised if some things are occasionally over my head, milady."

"You are quite welcome, milady, but I only what I know and observe to be true. The knight's code allows me to do nothing less," as he listened to both her thanks and her giggles, with a slightly puzzled look on his face.

Lancelot watched her suddenly change her focus, as her giggling stopped and she stopped looking at him and started searching through one of the bags that she carried with her. In a few moments he saw her pull out part of a loaf of bread. "Yes milady. I had thought about visiting an Inn down the road, or even doing some hunting in the forest. Are you sure you would not want to get some more substantial food at an Inn, either out here in the country or in Camelot. Why thank you milady. I can take you to the city walls of Camelot. Lancelot just desires to serve." Lancelot proceeded to take just a small piece from Amelia. He did not want to be greedy. Besides, he had learned to get by on very little.

[amelia]

Amelia looked at Lancelot and smiled, she had not meet show a man before, he was polite, kind and courteous. She could still feel herself blushing as he spoke.

"I do not have much money" She said looking a little ashamed "I need to make what i have left last until i decide on a place to settle"

He only took a little of the food which she thought was a little odd but did not say anything about it.

[Deleted]

Lancelot found her smile to be quite genuine and one, which made it all the more pleasing to observe. He imagined that she was already involved with, or promised to another, undoubtedly a noble of some sort, at least a British one. He, for his part had found and then lost his own love, and did not seek anything beyond service as a knight now. Still, he could not understand, then, why she was blushing so, and he uneasily smiled back at her in return.

"Money is of no concern of mine. That is not to say that I am a rich knight, or anything of the kind. However, whether a person has money or not is not something that I judge a person on. Your needs, and the reason that you seek to husband you funds is understandable. As long as I am with you I will not ask compensation from you, and will do what I can to make sure that you do not have to use those funds unless you find it absolutely necessary. As a knight, I would never accept compensation for my services. I do what I do because it is right, and it is my duty. Besides, looking on your fair countenance is payment enough."

He saw that when he took the piece of bread that she seemed to have a strange and questioning look on her face. Lancelot wondered if he had made a misstep or some serious error. Knowing that she was trying to conserve her resources as much as possible, he wondered if he had taken too much of what she had to offer. "My apologies, milady, if I took too much of what you offered me out of courtesy," as he bowed his head slightly, as if asking for forgiveness, and awaited her reply.