Daddy told me so... (Gwaine)

[Mia Fallabella]

So here she was….the city of Camelot itself. It was larger than she had expected. With bare feet she moved through the large open doors, glancing at the guards that watched everyone that entered. What were they looking for? She wondered. Her mission today was simple. Her sleep dress had been tattered in her recent endeavor through the woods. Bits of shiny fabric were now tacked to the outside of her family’s caravan like scales on a fish. Glittering with each turn of the sun. But she couldn’t very well sleep in her skimpy outfits that she wore for her performances….Well she could…but it would be rather uncomfortable. Begrudgingly her father had dropped a few old coins into her hand, curling her thin fingers closed over them. They would not come to the city…..Like many nomads her family felt they had no king….thus no protection from the brutality of guards. Her aging father had a large scar across his face to prove the point….he would not accompany her.

Bare feet moved slowly on the rocky earth beneath her. Horse drawn carts and peasants from the surrounding villages moved all around her, here in an effort to sell their hard earned wares. Clad in her jangling, colorful, revealing outfit she did anything but blend in with the utterly poor crowd…and she knew it. Icy eyes searched for a stand with some simple sort of material she might buy….she was so unnerved by now that she could care less if she slept in a potato sack. A nearby drunkard tossed some wine as he was hauled outside the city gates by two large burly guards, gasping as the purplish liquid fell on her costume Mia quickly began trying to brush the liquid away….Knowing it to be a useless gesture. She blinked back tears as the feelings of being overwhelmed bubbled, chewing her lip nervously. Deciding that she would just return to her family and count her losses Mia turned on her heel to exit the city, right into a very large and imposing guard. Malice glittered in his dark eyes as he curled his gloved fingers around her thin wrist, crushing her bracelets into her delicate skin. She gasp, her body going rigid as she forced herself as far away from the guard as she could go in her current position.

“What have we here?…..”

His slurred voice was gruff and smelled pungent when he leaned towards her. Mia shook her head, curly locks danced across her shoulders as she looked for an avenue of escape…a friendly face…anything.

“I-I….”

She stammered, wincing when his grip closed tighter around her flesh, feeling the tiny shiny bits of metal bite as her own jewelry turned against her. What should she say? He didn’t seem to want the truth…no…there were things much more sinister on this hulking mans mind. Her grinned, showing the brown nubs that had once been teeth.

“…We don’t want any trouble in the city you see…I think I should escort you out myself…”

But instead of leading her to the gate he began pulling her towards a small shed like building. It was strange how no one seemed to notice or rather care about the guard dragging a helpless gypsy through the city. She knew better than to make a scene….that would only anger him. But even a meek creature like herself had no desire to be harmed….or deflowered by such an man for that matter. Bare heels dug into the hard earth, a slight whimpering noise slipping from between her pale pink lips. Her father had been right…..the city was nothing but trouble….and she was about to see the worst kind of it.

[shonz]

Gwaine had been making his rounds around the village when he had spied the all too colorful and garish clothes of the gypsy as she paraded around the marketplace. She had to be a gypsy, he told himself. He had seen and met them in his many wanderings before he became a knight of Camelot. They were always a fun and carefree people, and he easily identified himself with them. They were people of uncanny arts and talents, and Gwaine always loved their company when he had the opportunity to spend a night or two with them and their traveling caravans before. He especially loved their clothes, the all too colorful and beautiful costumes that their equally lovely women wear. He will never forget the amazing dances that they would give, and Gwaine always remembered being mesmerized or more like enchanted by their movements.

Of course, he hadn’t seen much of the gypsies since he had become a knight and had lived in Camelot. So it was quite a pleasant surprise to see this woman out and about in the kingdom. She easily stood out from the crowd. He wondered if he had met her and her caravan before, and was already making his way towards her when a guard beat him to it. From where he was standing, Gwaine could see that the guard was anything but polite to her. He was practically manhandling her. And when the guard led her to the side towards a small shed with the look of fear on the woman's face, Gwaine hurried on his feet knowing full well what that loathsome creature was about to do.

Gwaine didn’t even wait for anything. As soon as he reached them, he grabbed the guard by the shoulder, and just when the man turned his head, Gwaine’s hard fist connected with his jaw, sending the man staggering backwards. He was angry now, and he clenched his jaw as he grabbed the guard by the collar and sent another hard punch his way. This time, the guard fell to the ground and looked up to see Gwaine in all his regal knight uniform glaring down angrily at him. Gwaine grabbed his sword from his hilt, and pointed it at the man on the ground. The tip of his sword touching the right side of the other man’s chest, one move and it would surely pierce his heart. “You are a disgrace to Camelot and to your King, you pig!” Gwaine was much too angry, and the guard on the ground was lucky that other guards had seen the raucous and had come to hold Gwaine back from killing the man. “Take him to the dungeons, or I’ll kill him right now if I could!” Gwaine ordered the other guards as they took the man away.

The crowd that had gathered around them started to disperse, and Gwaine placed his sword back onto its scabbard before turning towards the gypsy. “Are you all right?” he asked without moving towards her. He didn’t want to frighten her so he kept his distance. “Don’t be afraid, everything’s fine now. I am Sir Gwaine, I am a knight of Camelot. And that guard will never see the light of day if I were to have it my way.” She looked terribly shaken by the incident, and Gwaine couldn’t help the anger that rose inside him again at the unforgivable behavior from the guard.

[Mia Fallabella]

She was still stumbling/being dragged by the guard when suddenly a flash of silver caught her eye. All at once the painful grip around her wrist was gone. She stumbled back but was able to regain her balance before she fell. The not so friendly guard was laying on the ground, chubby first curled around his obviously broken nose. Mia’s eyes followed the tip of the sword up to its wielder, surprised to see a well clad night had been her rescuer. And then the activity around them seemed to explode. Guards she had not noticed before came from all directions, seemingly at the bidding of the knight they grasp the deviant beneath his arms and began dragging him away.

The handsome knights deep voice followed him, but what he said was shocking to the young Mia….She had never heard of any servant of the king being held for his crimes against a nomad like herself….It went against everything her father had always said….But still it was welcome to see…Thinking that the incident was over she looked down at her injured wrist, feeling the sting as rivulets of blood began to work their way through the tiny cuts in her skin. It wasn’t a bad injury…just a flesh wound…but it still hurt. She pressed her lips together and used her other hand to slip the bracelet from her wrist. Curling her long fingers around the tiny wounds to stop the bleeding. She had not expected the knight to acknowledge her….she considered herself lucky that he had even noticed her plight. She was staring at the blood beginning to seep between her fingers when a deep voice brought her back to reality….The man had not moved any closer which was why she thought he had left her be.

‘Don’t be afraid, everything’s fine now. I am Sir Gwaine, I am a knight of Camelot. And that guard will never see the light of day if I were to have it my way.’

Mia took a step back, the only man that had ever taken up for her had been her father….And here this stranger…this Knight had saved her from unthinkable horrors. As if remembering what nearly happened Mia’s gaze swept to the small shed, the knot in her throat growing until it was almost painful to breath.

“T-Thank you.”

She managed, at last letting her eyes fall on her saviors face…and what a face it was. He looked a bit ruff around the edges, with brown hair that kissed his shoulders, and the apparel of a knight…The first she had ever seen up close. A spasm of pain made her shoulders jerk, looking down she could see that the blood was now seeping through her fingers with relative ease….Damn bracelet….

“I-You…”

She was so out of place here…she didn’t even know how she should address a knight….or if she was allowed to speak with him at all….All she had wanted was a swatch of material for a new gown…and all this mess had happened.

“I’m sorry….I shouldn’t be here.”

She turned on her heel, fingers still firmly curled around her wrist as she began to shuffle towards the exit. Bits of metal and jewelry on her costume jingled with her unusual walk, unable to swing her shoulders she was moving rather stiffly….but she feared releasing her wrist before she had something to tie around it would be a mistake. She wanted to thank the handsome knight…but not only was she unaccustomed to associating with men of his status but men at all for that matter. For a gypsy her life had been very sheltered….and she was not the normal flirtatious vivacious dancer….no….she was much more meek.

Long brown curls billowed behind her as she moved through the large gates, nervously glancing at the guards who didn’t so much as give her a second glance….Apparently not all of them were perverts…. She didn’t look over her shoulder to see if the knight who called himself Sir Gwaine was following her…he had no need to so the thought had never crossed her innocent mind.

[shonz]

Gwaine frowned as he surveyed the gypsy girl looking all weak standing there. He inwardly cursed that guard for stepping out of his bounds and taking advantage of his duties. Now, he was wondering if that was really even a guard of Camelot at all. Once he was sure that the gypsy was safe, he was going to give that man a piece of his mind…or of his fist, and then report it to Arthur. They needed to be strict in screening Camelot’s guards. They can’t have complaints about the guards abusing their authority now, would they?

When she apologized, Gwaine’s eyes furrowed but was not surprised at her reaction. Gypsies were not exactly the kind of people who can easily mingle with village people. With their garish clothing and the carefree way they carry themselves about, they were always looked at differently, sometimes with contempt and discrimination. Gwaine knew how that felt and understood what this gypsy was going through right now. Before he became a knight of Camelot, he had been a nomad himself.

She was hurt, Gwaine could tell that much, but it seemed she was much too frightened or maybe even ashamed to ask for any more help from him. When she turned and started walking away from him towards the large gates, Gwaine was immediately on his feet. He ran after her, and was able to catch up and block the way she was going. There was no way he was letting her go just like that. She could still be in shock after that incident with the guard, and he couldn’t allow her to go out there in the forest back to her caravan alone looking all disoriented and distraught.

“Please let me help you. I am a friend,” Gwaine offered gently, keeping his distance so as not to frighten her any more than she already was. “You’re hurt. I know the court physician, he can help nurse your wounds” Looking down, Gwaine could see she was holding her wrist quite tightly, and knew his fears to be right. He grabbed tore a piece of cloth from his shirt, and then reached a hand out offering to take her own. “We need to stop the blood, and we need to get you to the physician soon.”



[[ooc: sooo sorry for the super late reply. crazy month. ]]

[Mia Fallabella]

((No problem ^_^ I haven’t been very active myself lately, life happens))


Tiny pebbles bit at the bottoms of her bare feet, more than once she had to sidestep a pile that an equine had left behind. With her eyes navigating the earth she wasn’t aware that her path had been cut off and had she not seen the glint of his boots she would have surely crashed into him. Stumbling within inches of the Knights chest she held her breath. His words seemed kindly enough…but the last man that had escorted her anywhere had sinister thoughts on his mind. She bit her bottom lip, letting her eyes fall to her bloodied arm. It was just a gash…nothing horrible….But the blood was yet to staunch and was still flowing from between her curled fingers.

A physician? Why she had never been to such a person. There were elderly women among her people that went by many names, but none of them were physician. She wondered how she would explain the injury to her father so that he could send for one of the medicine women……A lie was already springing to her tongue but around her small fingers dark purple bruises were already rising….She wondered what his reaction would be if he saw the clear indications that a man had had his hands on her…..a supposed ‘guard’ none the less….maybe accepting help from this stranger would help keep her and her father from further trouble. Or maybe it would get her into worse….

The sound of material being ripped made her shoulders jerk, Mia looked up to see the knight holding out his hand…waiting for hers. She hesitated, her eyes fluttering from the cloth to his hand to her wrist. Seconds passed, minutes, before finally the nervous girl began to uncurl her fingers. Exposing her raw would to hero timidly, feeling almost guilty for the fact that she was causing him additional problems….Surely it was not in his job description to watch out for troublesome girls.

“ I..I’m sorry….”

She said softly, her rough accent curling her words until they didn’t sound as formal as the normal citizens. No…her words were like a wild horse that had been broken, it was obvious what they were…..but they would never belong in a place so tame. Pressing her lips together Mia tried to steady her breathing.

“M-Mia….My names Mia…..”

She was trying to be polite…..she truly was.

[shonz]

Gwaine could clearly see that she was shy and quite reserved, so unlike other women of her kind who he had met before in his earlier wanderings all over Albion. And she was hesitant too to accept his offer for help. This did not surprise Gwaine. After what she had suffered in the hands of that rotten excuse of a guard, he couldn’t blame her if she had withdrawn herself from any stranger she meets even if they mean her no harm. And Gwaine wasn’t one to force himself against anybody if they didn’t want his help. He knew it was part of his duties and responsibilities as knight of Camelot to protect and treat the people and their well-meaning guests properly.

But when she uncurled her wounded hand to him, Gwaine didn’t think twice and quickly wrapped the thin piece of cloth around it, hoping to stopper the bleeding until she was given proper care. “Mia. That’s a nice name. Call me Gwaine,” Gwaine remarked as he gently covered her wound. “Don’t apologize. It is I who should ask for forgiveness for the behavior of one of ours. I will do my best to make sure it will never happen again.” He hoped she wouldn’t generalize one immoral guard’s behavior to reflect those of every other guard or knight in Camelot, for most of the men in Arthur's employ were noble and goodhearted. She just had the misfortune of meeting a rotten apple.

When her hand was finally swathed in the cloth, he proceeded to get her permission again to take her to Gaius. “Please let me take you to Gaius, our court physician. He’s a good man, and he’d make sure your hand is well and good before you return to your caravan,” Gwaine offered kindly. He knew the gypsies have their own medicine folks who take care of their own when they are wounded or sick. But since he didn’t know how far her caravan was from the castle, Gwaine didn’t want to risk her infecting her wound. But of course, he wouldn’t force her to see Gaius if she didn’t want to. “But ummm…if you prefer to be treated by your own people, at least allow me to escort you back to your caravan on my horse. It would be safer and faster that way,” he offered yet again.

[Mia Fallabella]

Mia watched closely as he bound her wrist, pursing her lips together to smother the yelp that tried to writhe its way out. When he finished she curled her arm against her chest, looking at the makeshift bandage as if it were some sort of medal of honor. Icy eyes lifted to the man’s handsome face when he said to call him Gwaine…… just Gwaine……surely knights were awarded more respect than this. But Mia wasn’t one to argue so she quickly nodded her head causing chocolate hued waves to spill over her shoulders. His apology came next and nervously Mia glanced at her bare feet, wanting to avert her gaze from his own. It wasn’t uncommon for her people to come back from vendors stalls with a sour taste in their mouth, words about the kings men spilling from them like venom. But Mia wasn’t one to gossip….she usually didn’t speak that much period. However his kind words couldn’t change the impression in her mind, the fear that had already seeded itself. Fueled by the stories of her family and how they had suffered their own injustices. But again Mia nodded though it was not so obvious this time, keeping her gaze plastered to the ground lest he see the lie written in her eyes.

Gaius. Startled she chanced a look at his face, trying her best not to fidget though her nerves were horribly on end. So he still thought she should see someone….even after the binding. Mia nibbled on her bottom lip, icy eyes darting around the surrounding citizens…stall vendors…..goats….anything to keep her from looking at his face as she refused his offer with a slight shake of her head. No….her resolve had melted quickly and now all she wanted to do was go home. The flow of blood was ebbing, his little bandage had worked surprisingly well. At least this was something she could later some bracelets atop and wouldn’t show too horribly….a proper bandage however might be a bit harder to hide from her father. Torn with indecision the dancer risked a look at Gwaine’s handsome face, hoping he was not upset with her.

“I…..I don’t know….I think its ok…”

She said softly, rubbing her fingers over the sliver of cloth with what could have been called reverence. A kind act did not go unnoticed with her.

“…..I cant let my father know…..he already-”

She broke her words off quickly as she realized what she about let slip. He doesn’t trust the guard. He thinks the only good knight is one heavily laden with coin… Fear flooded her pale blue eyes and blood her cheeks. As a curly lock fell before her eyes she pressed it behind her ear with shaking fingers, noticing at once the dried blood on her hand. She stared at it as if were not her own….that was definitely something she would have to take care of before she returned.

His next offer however made her cheeks redden even darker, making her look back at her bare feet. Yeah….arriving with a man…a Knight of all things to her caravan was just asking for trouble. As protective as her father was it was impossible to say if he would be thankful for Gwaine’s kindness or angry to see his daughter pressed against some man he did not know on horseback.

“Y-You have been a great help Gwaine…….”

She said softly, trying to find her voice.

“ …But I think its best I return alone….my father is….protective….and if I return with a bandage I will have to explain it…and I am a horrible liar…but if I were to return with a man…..I have no idea what he would do…”

She hesitated, pursing her lips together as she willed the words to come. How were other women so witty?

“….I did not know that Knights were so kind….”

Wait….that sounded almost like an insult…like she thought they were all jerks. Icy eyes grew wide, hoping he would not misunderstand.

“I didn’t mean…..”

She should just go back to being silent….she made less of a fool of herself that way.

[shonz]

Mia was confused, and still terribly afraid. And Gwaine had to think on his feet to make sure he wouldn’t do anything that would sever whatever little connection he had established with her. She had allowed him to wrap her wounded hand with his makeshift bandage. At least, she had trusted him that much to let him take care of that wound. But it turns out, she didn’t trust him enough.

She had initially shook her head at his offer to take her to Gaius, although she did look grateful at the little help he had given her. Then she said something about not wanting her father to know. Ahh…so there it was. It wasn’t just her, after all. There was a protective and probably strict father that was behind all this timid and untrusting behavior. Good father, Gwaine thought. He perfectly understood now.

So it came as no surprise then when she refused his offer to take her back to her caravan himself. It would surely arouse more than just questions not just from her father, but from the other gypsies. But Gwaine couldn’t just easily let her go like that all wounded and traumatized from what happened at the market.

“As much as I understand your predicament, Mia, my conscience and my duty as a knight of Camelot will not allow me to just let you go unprotected like that. What if there are more unscrupulous men out there,” he explained hoping she would try and understand where he was coming from, and his own dilemma in this same situation. It was true. He doubt he’d be able to sleep soundly tonight if she just let her go back into the woods by herself.

As he listened to her speak, an idea started forming inside his head. There was a way they could both get their way in this situation. And it all lies in him being able to put up a convincing act. She need not know anything about it.

“Don’t worry about it. You win. I don’t want you to get in trouble with your father. Just be careful out there, okay? And make sure you take care of that hand and put some salve on it or something,” Gwaine finally said with a defeated sigh, seemingly surrendering.

Then he gave her a small bow. Although he cannot deny the excitement that was coursing through him right now. He wondered if Mia could see through his charade. There was no way he was letting her off that easily. Right, he was going to let her leave and walk away, but he will make sure to follow her as furtively as he possibly could to wherever it was she was going, whether back to her caravan or somewhere else. Either way, at least he'd be there to watch her back until she's safe again with her people.

“It was nice meeting you, Mia, despite the unfortunate circumstances. I am again sorry for what had befallen you here in Camelot. If you ever need anything around here, please feel free to seek me out. I’m mostly at the castle,” he told her.