IT'S NOT ENOUGH, IT NEVER IS ; YASSIA

[Ambersariya Menthro]

She hadn't meant to travel this far. Honestly, she didn't even know where the bloody hell she was - but she knew how to get back, at least. She wasn't stupid enough to go off and get herself lost, not while she was pregnant, and in any event she had Faolan with her - Faolan, who she was sure could sniff their way back if he had to (though she didn't really know how she'd go about communicating with him to tell him to). She didn't really know how long she'd been walking, anyway, but not too terribly long, she was sure. There was a dull ache in her feet and her muscles were tired, but as far as she knew there were no blisters and she hadn't collapsed from exhaustion yet, so that was a good thing.

She found herself rather on the outskirts of some small village, and she looked around warily. If she'd been paranoid before she'd become pregnant, she was tenfold now, even with Faolan at her side. Anything could happen, she was living proof of that, and she certainly didn't want that "anything" to occur in a village where no one could find her. She thought about turning around and going back but at the last moment decided against it; she needed just a little more time before she had to worry about going back. Camelot was not a place she wanted to be at the moment, and as if to add to the miserable situation, she felt the bubbling sensation in her torso that warned of impending morning sickness, which was the reason she'd discovered she was carrying in the first place. As lovely as it was to have a constant reminder that she was pregnant, this came in a form that she could live without. Scowling, she headed towards what looked like a woman selling some sort of remedies; hopefully something to settle her stomach.

[Yassia Dyfrène de Ailantha]

Yassia was out of money… again! And she did not trust the direction the last man she had asked had given her when she asked for the way to Camelot. It could very well be she was lost… again! Why did her life go round and round in circles lately? Couldn’t luck shine down on her for at least one day?
The recent events had forced her to stoop to drastic means. She would now sell all that was left of her remedies to make enough money for a little while, as she had neither the time nor the necessary ingredients to refill her stock. Who knew if that ever was enough, though. Judging from her streak of bad luck something would happen to spoil her game. And then what? She could not always count on chivalrous people descending from heaven to help her out in her hours of need, like Gwaine had done just a few days ago. The world just wasn’t like that.

But at least the people around here seemed fairly interested in foreign remedies. The usual caution coming with rural areas where the people did eye everyone they didn’t know with the utmost suspicion must have passed this little village by. By midday Yassia had sold a few things and her prospects started to look better.
But still, who would have ever thought! Sinking so low, from a Princess to a fugitive, a beggar and now a sellers woman! Working for a living, it was a laugh! If anyone of the court of Ailantha could see her now… oh how they would sneer down at her, particularly Uncle Guifré would. The picture was so vivid in her mind, Yassia actually mistook the figure approaching her little makeshift booth – consisting out of her cloak over a boulder that happened to be on the side of the road – for him, until she blinked and that confusing spell was broken.

It was a woman that approached her now, a massive dog at her side. Though…Yassia started and furrowed her brows. That was not a dog, was it? Or if it was it resembled a huge wolf like nothing else. A woman walking around and a wolf following her?! That surely aroused Yassia’s interest, and so she searched eye-contact and forced herself to smile.
“A good day to you, Miss! Anything I can help you with?”

[Ambersariya Menthro]

It was quite sad - no, beyond that, it was utterly pathetic - that she had to mentally prepare herself for human contact. Her dismal mood affected every aspect of her existence at the moment, and she didn't want this poor girl to have to suffer through her morose attitude alongside her. Or at least, she was pretty sure she didn't. Amber wasn't a cruel person, but she was far past caring about anyone or anything - except, perhaps, Faolan, who she just couldn't summon the ability to be cross with. All of her trenchant thoughts revolved wholly around the person she faulted for it all, but unfortunately it was seeping out and into the way she treated others.

"Do you have any-" she began, then paused, scowling slightly. No, that was far from a nice tone, that was a demanding one - which was not what she was going for. she took a deep breath and smiled apologetically, putting forth her very best front. "Would you happen to carry anything to settle the stomach?" she requested as politely as she could manage - which, in and of itself, was a monumental challenge.

Thankfully, her herculean efforts didn't seem to go to waste. She wasn't as pleased as she could've been with her manner of speaking, as she usually tried to be more amicable than just polite, but given the circumstances, she was more than a little proud of herself for only allowing the slightest amount of stress into her voice, so inconspicuous it was nearly undetectable. However, after brooding a few short seconds longer, she quickly decided to amend her statement. "Something - um, something that wouldn't affect a... baby."

She didn't much like the idea of putting the fact out there so willingly, especially since she'd yet to actually show outward signs of it, but she didn't really have a choice. The physician had warned her implicitly to be careful of what she consumed, and the last thing in the world that she wanted right now was to harm the little life she'd already grown so attached to. It was just a little disconcerting to have to make such a request; she still was not entirely used to the fact, it having been only a day or so ago that she'd found out it to begin with, and though she loved it dearly, it - and its infuriatingly compelling father who refused to leave her thoughts even after she'd left him - was, to be sure, the main source of her problems at the moment.

[Yassia Dyfrène de Ailantha]

Up so close this wolf – Yassia was by now sure it HAD to be a wolf – was even more intimidating, even though it made no attempt to even notice her in any way. But Yassia hadn’t lived at a royal household all her previous life for nothing. The main focus was on never showing fear, because fear was considered the easiest weakness to pick on. Therefore Yassia was able to keep her facial expression under perfect control, even if her eyes every now and again darted towards the huge animal, never really wanting to let it out of her sight.

But as soon as she took a closer look on the woman as well, she realised she must be troubled by something. Oh yes, she smiled and tried to be friendly, but there was just something behind that mask, only showing in her eyes. Was it pain, was it anger, or was it just plain annoyance? Well, to each one of those sentiments Yassia could relate to in this very moment, and so instead of being offended by the woman’s not overly nice tone – and normally being addressed in such a way was a red rag for Yassia – but she was rather feeling sympathy towards her. It was always refreshing to see you were not the only one having it tough.

Yassia’s face lit up when the woman explained her situation. That of course did explain a great deal – and at the same time so did not! If she was pregnant and having typical morning sickness symptoms, why was she so troubled then? A woman expecting should be walking around gleaming from the inside, radiating her joy to her surroundings. But she was not… so there had to be something wrong. But it was not her position to barge into other people’s problems. She should focus on the things she COULD help her with!
“Ah, morning sickness it is then!” she replied with a smile, already busying herself with finding the correct ingredients from the booth and some things she still had hidden inside her bag. “You’re lucky, I don’t have a remedy all done, as I never needed it until now, but I know how it’s done and I have all the necessary ingredients.” She looked up. “So, if you can wait a little longer, I will just put some sort of tea together for you. Ginger and raspberry leaves mostly, if you care to know.”

Having always been a curious person, Yassia immediately wondered what was this woman’s story. So many different fates she had come across in her long journey. Had she ever felt inclined to be a word smith, she might have considered writing a book about them all. Life apparently created the most intriguing and dramatic stories, how own just being another example.

[Ambersariya Menthro]

Amber couldn't help but tilt her head slightly as she observed the woman before her. She had expected intolerance, clipped tones, perhaps even linguistic hints that she was imposing on her, but in fact she seemed to get the opposite. There was no way that she hadn't noticed her foul mood, which meant she was ignoring it, or perhaps looking past it - and though Amber didn't really feel like doling out compliments and crediting for good deeds, she appreciated the gesture. A lot. Enough, in fact, to manage a slightly more genuine smile of her own.

"Morning sickness," she affirmed with a nod. It was at least slightly easier to speak the phrase aloud than to think it, or perhaps it was because this was the second time and she was growing used to it; regardless, she was relieved that she hadn't spoken with hesitance, as even the most kindly of people probably would not have been able to resist musing over the peculiarity in such a case. Though she didn't much care what others thought of her, she did try to avoid leaving people with the impression she was insane when she could. And, in all honesty, it was nice to have a more secure feeling about what was going on, because the fact that she was pregnant was the only think she felt secure about.

She nodded in understanding. "Of course, take your time." She wasn't going to get sick in the immediate future - at least, as far as she could tell; but she'd gotten to be a fairly good judge of how this whole system worked. Really, she was just grateful that the woman had something for it at all. The impending relief was more than enough reason to wait, and she hadn't wanted to turn back to Camelot immediately, anyway. It just gave her another reason to stall, and while in some cases that could be considered a bad thing, for her it was a necessary one. "Ginger and raspberry leaves," she repeated, mostly to herself. She'd never have assumed such a combination could help, but then, she wasn't an herbalist, and if it worked without doing any harm, she didn't really care what went in it.

Faolan, apparently having decided that it was safe enough to satisfy his curiosity, inched forward, his nose extended. Amber cracked a smile at him but put a hand on the fur behind his neck even so, not wanting to scare the woman making the tea. "Stay here," she requested of him, and though he didn't understand what on earth his human was saying, he got the memo and sad down with little more than a slight whine of complaint. Amber scratched behind his ears to make up for it, turning back towards her. "He's harmless - or at least, he won't harm you. May I ask your name?"

[Yassia Dyfrène de Ailantha]

At least the woman seemed to be a little less upset now, Yassia observed as she returned the smile. One should really start to go for the simple things in life. Scratch reclaiming a probably already lost kingdom and make someone happy everyday, that should get you through the hardships of life. Oh yeah, if only things were that simple.
You couldn’t escape your destiny just like that, and even though a future queen should be with her people and not posing as a herbalist some thousand miles away from home, it would all pay off in the long run. That was the only thing Yassia could still cling to. She was maybe not looking nor acting on it, but deep inside Yassia was still the same princess. Well, maybe not the same. This journey had opened her innocent eyes to the world, showed her what life was like on the other side. Even when she returned to become queen, she would most likely never forget the things she had learned, and use them to spare her subjects the pains she had been going through, provided that was in her power.

“May I ask which month?” Yassia said, returning her attention to the woman in front of her, examining her still very flat belly surreptitiously. “Not to be curious, it’s just so I know how much ginger to add. Where I come from, people believe that too much of it will be bad for the baby, but believe me, you wouldn’t want to drink too much of it anyway.” She screwed up her face a little and laughed. “Pure ginger tea tastes like crap and would make you want to throw up even more.”
Cutting a little shard of ginger off the oddly shaped root already, she put it in her treasured stone cut morsar, the only one she could have brought with her from Ailantha. It had belonged to her mother, that’s why Yassia held it even more dear.

Starting to grind, while still occasionally throwing an uneasy glance at the huge wolf, she listened to the woman commanding him and her reassurance that he would not harm her. “Well, if you say so!” she acquiesced with a nervous little laugh. “He seems to follow your command, though it’s still hard to wrap your head around the pure image of it all: Someone walking the street with a wolf at your side, as if it was a dog. Do people often do that around here?”
So far of course she had seen no one doing it, but you never knew. Albion already was so different from Ailantha it sometimes made Yassia’s head hurt. People commanding wolves would just add to that. She herself had grown extremely wary of the cunning hunters during her journey. On more than one occasion she had only reached a dwelling in the nick of time, already hearing the howls of the beasts back in the woods.

“Oh, and I’m Yassia!” she added hastily as she realised she had all but forgotten about the woman’s latest question. For a second she debated on telling her second name as well, but then thought better of it. Now was not the time.

[Ambersariya Menthro]

Amber digested thing information, glancing at the root somewhat nervously. 'Too much' was bad for the baby? How much was too much? She would rather just keep throwing up than end up with malformed or dysfunctional child at the end - but the woman did seem to know what she was doing. It was a struggle, to be sure; by nature, Amber didn't trust people, and putting her faith in the stranger before her was like chewing rocks (which was a lovely pastime for Faolan but she couldn't imagine enjoying it very much). She watched the piece that she sliced off and came to the conclusion that it wasn't so very large, so the woman was most likely not trying to annihilate her baby.

Of course, she still wasn't entirely sure how to answer the question. Which month? Well, she didn't really know. She wasn't showing well enough for the physician to have made a good guess, he'd just given her a time frame. It was obviously Wolf's, so that put it at at least two and a half months, give or take. Maybe three? "Second or third," she said. "Just give me the lesser amount." It was better to be safe, and she didn't mind having a little less relief physically in exchange for a lot more mentally.

'Like a dog'? Amber hid a smile; if Wolf had heard that, he'd have strangled the woman. The smile broke out, however, when she asked if it was common. "I hope not," she said, laughing. "I'm the only one I've ever met. He was... given to me to take care of, back when he was just a puppy. His parents were dead." No need to go into the gory details about how the only reason she had him was because her ex-lover communicated with wolves and carted off the homeless one to give to her half an hour before he left her for half a year. Talking about things like that would spoil her mood, or what was left of it to spoil, anyway.

"Yassia," she repeated, trying the name out on her tongue. "That's a lovely name. I'm-" Well, what was she, exactly? Princess or no? She didn't honestly have to think about it very long; out here in the middle of nowhere with no one she knew, she was absolutely not going to introduce herself with her status put in there. No need to be more paranoid. "-Ambersariya." The halt was nearly indiscernible.

[Yassia Dyfrène de Ailantha]

It was only natural for a mother-to-be to be anxious about her child’s health, and so Yassia didn’t take the woman’s unease as any form of personal insult. It was not as if her abilities were questioned here, and even if so Yassia was in no position to argue. Dealing with herbs had been a hobby for nearly all her life, something she had learned by the by, never imagining that one day her life may depend on it. And it wouldn’t for much longer anyway, this was just a period in time, rather unpleasant but surely one wgere she had learned a great deal about life.
“Already doing so”, she reassured the pregnant woman and started to add the dried raspberry leaves, grinding the content of the morsar into a fine powder. Of course she could have left the leaves like they were but it was easier dose the amount needed in the grinded state.

That sounded like a really interesting story. Whoever would care about a lone wolf puppy enough to give it to some sort of foster mother? Usually people would rejoice in the fact of one wolf less roaming the earth and Yassia could quite sympathize with this notion, but even she had to admit that this wolf at the woman’s side didn’t pose any threat whatsoever. He would prove a reasonable guard in any way, far better than the best guard dog she could imagine. Odd, the idea of seeing a wolf any different than a beast of prey hadn’t occurred to Yassia before, but it surely was an intriguing one.
“Well, one never knows!” she returned the laugh, finding the woman very amiable all of a sudden. Her candid nature was quite refreshing. “This is a strange country for me after all. For a moment you even reminded me of a story I heard when I was a kid. About a couple that has been cursed in such way that he is a man at day and a wolf at night, and she is a falcon at day and human at night. The only time they can meet is the short period of dawn and twilight.”

Oh yes, beneath all the hardened layers Yassia was still a hopelessly romantic girl, blue eyed even and in some aspects totally innocent.
She was apt enough though to realise something odd an intriguing about the woman’s name. Ambersariyah… that sounded by no means common! In Ailantha only those of higher birth would dare to name their child in such a regal way.
“A name fit for a queen!” she exclaimed thus and maybe a bit too exuberant. “And, not to be overly curious, but it doesn’t sound familiar for this country either. Or am I profoundly mistaken and you are born here?”

[Ambersariya Menthro]

Pleased by the woman's obvious competence, Amber simply nodded to assert her approval. It was good to know that someone else thought the same way she did, and she wondered for a moment if the woman had any children of her own, then decided against it. She was clearly too young to have any older children, and if they were little they would of course be there with her. Perhaps she had simply dealt with many other pregnant women, which was not so far-fetched, or she had good intuition - or maybe Amber simply looked more worried than she'd thought. Regardless, it was nice to know the situation was taken care of.

Her next comment had the smile freezing on Amber's face, her muscles tensing without her permission. Sure, it wasn't anything like what Wolf actually was, and she certainly wasn't a falcon - but she couldn't help it, it forced the breath from the lungs. "Is that so?" she commented softly, eyes burning though she absolutely was not about to allow actual tears to fall. Had she been in a more humorous situation, she might have (mentally) pointed out that he really was a man by day and a wolf by night - behaviorally speaking - but that was the last thing on her mind at the moment. She forced herself to inhale so that she could speak slightly more normally as she murmured, "Dawn and twilight is certainly better than nothing..."

Never mind that it was her choice; she didn't feel like she had a choice to begin with. She couldn't be left again, couldn't hurt George that way, couldn't put her baby through it. She was doing the right thing, wasn't she? And the fact that it hurt so much, that didn't make it wrong, just... unpleasant.

Distracted as she was, it took several moments for her to absorb Yassia's next words, and her smile became a smidgen warmer - more with irony than anything. No, not a queen - a princess. "That's astute of you," she observed with a nod. "Yes, I'm not from around here." Her smile turned wry. "I came from very, very far away - I've been here for two years or so. Yassia is not so common a name, either - I take it you hail from elsewhere as well?"

[Yassia Dyfrène de Ailantha]

The instant Yassia had finished her tale, or even before that, she saw the reaction on Amber’s face and knew she somehow had made a huge mistake, dropped a huge brick of some kind, even if she didn’t know exactly what was wrong. In a crazy moment she actually wondered if the fairytale actually was no tale at all, and if it had hit straight home, but then she thought better of it. Yes, there was magic in this world, but this would just be too weird!
Still, the damage had been done and Yassia felt more than sorry.
“Oh no, I poured salt into open wounds, right?” she exclaimed and leaned forward. “I am so sorry, I had no idea. Stupid me… forget what I was just saying.”
Had it maybe something to do with the baby’s father? Had he been killed and now Amber needed to raise the beginning life on her own?
“I hope everything will work out!” she added helplessly.

Astute… astute?! Was Amber really indicating her assumption had been right? Was she noble born? But why then was she away from her homeland, like she just had admitted? She couldn’t be… no, the very thought of her going through the same thing as Yassia was ridiculous! Still… she had to make sure or the curiosity would kill her!
“You mean you…” she lowered her voice, such things were not called all over the place, “you ARE a queen? Or supposed to be? Funny those coincidences”, she murmured but then a sheepish smile spread over her face. “Or am I jumping to the wrongest conclusion ever and am right now making the biggest fool imaginable out of myself?”

Yassia busied herself with pouring the fine powder into a little leather bag, one of the few she still had left, she was really running out of supplies and would have to search for other means to earn a living pretty soon if she didn’t reach Camelot inside a week or such. What those kind of means were she didn’t even want to think of…
“Yes, you’re right, I am not from here as well. Ailantha is the name of my kingdom, it’s on the continent, a few months’ journey from here.”
The stress she had put on the ‘my’ was hardly noticeable but there. First she needed to make sure she had been right with her notion about Amber before she would actually reveal herself. Could this really be true? Her stumbling over another Princess Lacklands?

[Ambersariya Menthro]

Amber dismissed it with a wave of her hand and smile, genuine even if a bit tight. She hadn't meant any harm, so there was no use berating her for it, especially since that simply meant she'd be prolonging her thoughts about it. "Thanks," she murmured in response to her human companion's simple but meaningful hopes. "I hope they work out, too." Truer words had never been spoken - nor more impossible ones. There was no way for this situation to be pleasantly resolved, and she knew that better than anyone. The one thing she could do to change it would be akin to sticking her thumb back under the knife that had cut her. Her survival instincts were too strong for that.

Her eyebrows shot up in surprise at Yassia's deductions. Clearly, she had underestimated just how astute this young woman was, or perhaps she'd been driven to distraction and had failed to pay attention to what she'd been saying. Either way, it posed a large problem with very, very little time to compose a solution. Should she be honest and admit it, given that she'd pretty much said it herself? Laugh it off and lie? Maybe a partial truth? It was hard to choose when she weighed the fact that the woman had all but said herself that she, too, was of royal lineage - and whether or not Amber believed her would be the deciding factor.

She regarded her with newfound care. Was it possible that the woman was lying? Of course. Probable, even. But what were her motives to lie? A trap, perhaps - but then again, Amber had approached her. There was no way she could have anticipated it or played any role in her decision. She'd already decided to trust her with the tea she was making, and if she wanted something bad to happen, it would be simple enough to slip something into it. If she was going to trust her on that count, might as well do so on the other as well... to a point. Partial truth it was. Confirm without giving details; the safest method in a situation such as this. "Supposed to be," she said with a rueful smile. Not that it would ever happen, but it should've - or at least, she should've remained a princess under her sister.

"Ailantha?" Amber tested the name on her tongue, then shook her head. "I don't think I've heard of it. Is it overseas or simply far overland?"

[Yassia Dyfrène de Ailantha]

Yassia still felt bad for her unintended slip, but she chose not to dwell on it any longer, if only to not prolong Amber’s obvious discomfort about the subject. If she said she hoped for the best, then there might even be something to hope for, but Yassia would not ask any further. Everyone had their own trouble to deal with and it most of the time went best to deal with when no one poked a prying nose into it. It was easier to focus on the good things in life then, that Yassia had learned ever since she tried to deal with journeying on her own.

Amber confirmed her bold thesis and it was enough to make Yassia shake her head slowly, her eyes wide in surprise. So she truly was a princess as well? The twisted ways of fate! Bringing two girls with totally different lives together and yet they shared this of all similarities, the oddest and rarest!
“Excuse my astonishment”, she said after a while with a sheepish expression. “It’s just… of all the people I could meet here, it’s to be a princess…” she lowered her voice, casting and uneasy glance around the place, “…like myself. I might need to work on a pokerface I guess.”
Now she had said it, admitted it openly. Did she really trust this young woman with her wolf companion that much? But what had tipped the scales in the end was the thought that if Amber was a foreign princess as well, she would not sell a fellow soul out. Right?!

“Hmm… yes, Ailantha is overseas from here… on the continent far, far south.” Yassia smiled as if she was sharing a secret joke. “And it’s so tiny I can imagine you never heard of it in your lifetime. We’re not taking part in any wars or great political decisions. Aside from the trouble we create ourselves…” A quick shadow crossed Yassia’s face but she squared her shoulders and shook it off. Amber probably would count two and two together anyway. Princesses from a land without troubles didn’t pose as herb women.
“What is the name of your kingdom? Maybe I have heard of it?” she asked, while handing the bag containing the tea over her makeshift booth. She hoped Amber would not take that as a hint to leave. She was enjoying this conversation.

[Ambersariya Menthro]

Amber observed her response to the discovery of her royal bloodline with a detached interest - she'd heard it all already, from the people who were simply surprised to those who felt the need to "honor" her to those who regarded her status with a thinly veiled distaste. Yassia seemed to fit in the first category, so she simply smiled and refrained from really commenting - until she finished the end of her sentence. 'like myself.' Amber's brows arched in vehement shock. A princess? Selling herbs on the outskirts of a small town? Granted, she was more open-minded than most, being that she was a dancer in the middle of Camelot... but her situation was unique, and she had never once imagined meeting someone in a vaguely similar situation, at least in terms of peculiarity.

"You are... a princess as well?" she responded slowly, just to be sure. Did she dare believe her? She wasn't entirely sure - but then, the woman didn't seem to bear her any ill-intentions and thus far, so far as she could tell, hadn't lied. So why would she lie about this, unless she thought they were both joking...? A quick interpretation of her facial expression ruled that option out; the woman was clearly serious.

"My kingdom is on the continent as well," she said, something between uneasiness and excitement fluttering in her stomach. This woman was from the south, and Amber didn't even know which part of the continent she was from... so it was possible that she was from the south as well, was it not? Possible that this woman knew of her homeland? Despite the consequences that could ensue, she had to reach out on the small possibility. "Kathra," she said clearly, watching in anticipation for any sign of recollection on the woman's face, though she was making an effort not to get her hopes up.

[Yassia Dyfrène de Ailantha]

Amber’s voice had a slightly incredulous undertone, and Yassia couldn’t really blame her. Truly, what were the odds of two princesses in disguise meeting in a foreign land purely by chance, because one needed a herbal remedy the other sold. Two princesses behaving so very unseemly – and that was what had brought them together. How peculiar life could be!
“In the flesh”, Yassia sighed with a little shrug and fumbled around with her remaining ingredients and finished remedies. “Yassia Dyfrène de Ailantha is the full name, though I hardly look it these days. But that’s fortunate in my eyes.” A wary expression flickered over her face for a second. “Until I reach Camelot safely, I better keep undercover. No need to leave a trail a blind man could follow.”

She had all but said it now; that she was on the run, that nobody could know her true identity until she had reached the safe haven of Camelot’s court. Of course, the chances that someone might still snatch her off the road to take her back to Ailantha tended towards zero, but what did they say: better safe than sorry. Yassia had a feeling she could trust Amber though, that she would keep this secret if asked to. But so close to her goal after months and months of self-denial, Yassia was finally sick of it. One could actually unlearn to be a princess, and she feared to be on that one way street. Once she forgot who she really was, there was no use in turning back.

Kathra…. Kathra… yes the name sounded familiar… but not so familiar Yassia would have been able to put a direction behind it. Amber’s facial expression beared a subtle hint of surpressed hope, as if she was yearning for someone to recognize the name. Could this be true? Was Amber maybe lost, couldn’t find her way back? But if she knew her country to be on the continent, what was she still doing here? Things apparently weren’t that easy… and it wasn’t Yassia’s business anyway… though, if she could help…?
The Princess racked her brain to remember something – anything! – that might have caused the bells to ring inside her mind. A blurry image suddenly formed before her inner eye, from years and years back… she had been sitting under the big desk of the map chamber, where her father the king held his secret council. The men had been talking, and they had traced and pointed at something on the huge tapestry on the wall, showing the kingdoms around Ailantha… yes, the name Kathra had been mentioned, but from her hiding place Yassia had only seen the lower part of the map. So, wherever Kathra was, it would not be on the most southern part of the continent.

“I’m sorry, I think I heard of it, but can’t tell for my life where exactly it is”, she apologized. “When I return to my kingdom, I might look it up though!” She would need to, as queen she was supposed to look beyond her own nose.

[Ambersariya Menthro]

Fortunate? Amber watched the woman curiously, trying to surmise what she could possibly mean by that. How could it be unfortunate? She couldn't imagine - but that was most likely to do her own position. She'd been removed from her kingdom by force, her memories stripped and with no way to get home; and she was lucky to be alive, at that. For her, not having that connection was awful, and every time she introduced herself to someone, it was made all the more clear. It was almost as though the deprivation of her title had also deprived her of the ability to fully function; she wandered around as half of a person (if that), constantly wondering when and if she'd ever truly know who she was.

But there had to be a good reason for others to not feel the same way, she supposed. "Trouble back home?" she hazarded a guess. It would make sense for someone to attempt to escape their status if it was inflicting some sort of restriction on them, wouldn't it? She wouldn't honestly know, but it seemed a fair assumption. It was odd, ironic even, that they were in the same situation for reasons that were completely opposite each other. But then, it was odd and ironic that two princesses had happened to come across each other so far from home to begin with.

"You're heading to Camelot?" she echoed once she'd processed the words. "I'm from Camelot - or at least, I live there now." In fact, it was Camelot itself that she was fleeing by having ventured here. Things were becoming more interesting by the minute, and it was much appreciated; having something to distract her mind with was the most wonderful gift she could be given.

She could tell before Yassia even spoke that she didn't know where Kathra was. Nine times out of ten, when a person had to think about something for so long, it was because they didn't know. Therefore, her disappointment was left to a minimum and she simply smiled her appreciation. At least the woman had heard of it - reassurance that it existed, though she didn't really need it. And if she hadn't heard of it, it probably wasn't in the southern area of the continent, right? So if she did end up making the journey to search for it - which was looking more and more likely - at least she knew to start in the north. "You should," she encouraged with a small smile, "and let me know what you find."

[Yassia Dyfrène de Ailantha]

Trouble? Well that was one way to put it, a very apt way to be sure, but it still didn’t half way cover it. She hadn’t exactly run away to escape the trouble, but to put it right if she could. Yassia would have rather travelled in everyone’s full awareness of her being a princess who not had to sell her medicin to earn a living or be reliant on other people’s goodwill and open hands and houses. Alas, she had needed the secrecy in the first part of her journey and misfortune had ripped her of everything that would still make it believable if she told someone who she was. It was a wonder Amber even did!
Again she wondered how much she could actually tell her, how much she could confide in her without taking risks. Did Amber even want to hear the complaints of another unfortunate princess?

“You could say that…”, she finally answered and tilted her head from side to side in a pondering motion.
“I hope my walking away and returning will resolve it. It’s a matter of state affairs combined with my personal future… but I don’t want to bore you, Amber. I’m sure you’ve got enough on your own plate as it is.”
That surely was the case, with her being pregnant and some other difficulties Yassia didn’t even dare to fathom in fear of digging too deep where she was not wanted. Perhaps Amber had as much if not even more ‘if only’s to deal with than the princess and future queen of Ailantha. If only her father hadn’t died… if only Ramon was still alive… if only her uncle was not such a power-hungry devil…
“Admit it, the cause of all of our problems are men”, she said with a little laugh, following her thoughts and trying to lighten the mood.

Amber was from Camelot? Well that was good news indeed! So she would be able to tell her exactly how long she still needed to travel – and it couldn’t be that long, right? Amber didn’t look like she had been marching for days and days!
“Oh, really?!” Her voice gave away much of her excitement, born out of being dead tired of wandering around. She yearned for nothing more than to finally reach the castle.
“Is it far from here? How much longer will I need to get there? And do you live in the castle there?” It was unlikely given Amber’s whole demeanour and also her clothing style, but it was not unheard of so she dared a guess.

Yassia was determined to do this for Amber and put it away as a very important mental note. As soon as she had reestablished her position, or maybe even before, as soon as she had reached her castle, she would go into the map room and search for Kathra. It couldn’t be that difficult!
“I promise I will look into it!” she said warmly, nodding to underline her statement. “Just give me the address of a place where I can send a note to, and I will do so!”

[Ambersariya Menthro]

"It wouldn't bore me," she promised, if only so the young woman wouldn't think her totally uninterested in her life - and it would be nice to know someone was willing to listen, she was sure. But even so, she didn't press the matter any further. If Yassia herself wanted to discuss it, she would no doubt do so in her own time, and just in case her excuse of not wanting to bore her was actually her trying to avoid talking about it, Amber didn't want to force her into it. She was correct, Amber had quite a bit on her own plate, but there was nothing begging an audience right at the moment, so that was irrelevant in her mind.

The next statement brought forth a burst of melodic laughter, her face pulled into a grin. Oh, how true that was. The source of all her problems? The man who had so belligerently stolen her from her home, attempted to kill her with the rest of his little conspirators, and then dumped her in Camelot without any memory. The twin she could remember nothing of and only knew she missed dearly. George, whose kind nature made every decision she had to make absolute hell. And Wolf in general. Men were more trouble than they were worth. "I agree wholeheartedly," she said dryly.

Her smile had begun to fade but it returned in earnest at her next question; clearly, the woman was a little foggy in her route. She'd be glad to be of assistance, especially after the much-treasured information she'd received from her. "Not too far," she responded. "I think I've been walking for a day or so, perhaps? So if you take the same route - which goes through the forests, I must warn you - it will likely take you a full day, as well. But that's also if you don't stop at all. No, I don't live in the castle, I only visit it when I'm summoned or need an audience with the king - I actually live in an inn in the city."

Her surprise, gratefulness, relief, and something of hormonal imbalance all banded together and nearly made her teary. "You will? That would be absolutely wonderful," she sighed. "As for an address - Matilda's Tavern & Inn, City of Camelot. If you just add that it's for me, she'll make sure I get it." She rocked back and forth twice on the balls of her feet, trying to stay her excitement; that would likely be a long while away, and there was a chance she wouldn't even find anything. But it was more than she'd had before.