The Gift Of A Friend (Sasha)

[Yassia Dyfrène de Ailantha]

No... it couldn’t be... but apparently it could… Yassia turned to her left and furrowed her brows, then turned to her right, examining the empty corridor in front of her. Not even a single guard around. The princess’ graceful and determined stride had long since faded into an uneasy shuffling as she slowly turned on her heels, trying to guess where she might be right now. Sweet stars, could it really be she had gone lost – again?!
Where was that supposed noble gene that everyone born of higher blood should have to not get lost in grand palaces? Getting lost was for servants! At least that’s what Yassia had thought until now. Then again, she had never been in another castle apart from the one she had grown up in, and of course there she would never lose her way.
She HAD been in Cenred’s fortress once… but she rather did not go there now when her mind started to numb with panic as it was!

Yassia tried to find the next window, but not only did windows seem rare in this part of the castle, the one she found also lead to a very unfamiliar outside vista of the Camelotian countryside, not into the inner courtyard.
What should she do? Walk on just like that,hoping to cross someone’s path? Or trying to trace her way back to the place she had last been entirely sure of her way? No… that was too risky. Any step more could make her lose her way even more, she might just turn the wrong corner and maybe be lost forever. Alright, maybe not forever, but the citadel was certainly big enough to make any misstep an uncomfortable affair of several minutes if not even hours to find your way back. It might seem quadrangular on the outside, but you could not enter every single one of the four corners from every floor and direction. That had been the first of many breaches in Yassia’s logic and probably the very moment when she had begun to get lost.

Wasn’t there anyone who could help her? This might be a remote part of the citadel, but there just had to be someone around even here! It was not like a king like Uther Pendragon would let any part of his dominion go to waste – that much she had found out in the few weeks she had been here.
Sighing, Yassia turned another corner hestitantly. If help wasn’t going to come her way, she might have to push her luck a little and just standing there wouldn’t do.

[Sasha]

It was strange for Sasha to even be back here. Or back here as a figure of speach, because it was rather quiet where she was in the castle. No guards. Her kind of place, somewhere to spend some time alone. She was feeling quite happy today, but she could not understand the source of it. She hadn't really felt this way before, over someone else. Surely it was just general everyday affection between two friends, right? Well, whatever it was she was certainly blissful. This all explained somewhat why she was here; trying new things, because she strangely so happy. She had never been to this part of the castle and so it intriqued her. She had been born here in Camelot, and so she knew her way around from her younger years. But still, it didn't mean that because she had returned nearly a year ago Sasha should know where everything was.

While searching through the desserted halls, Sasha saw a woman up ahead of her. She was heading in her direction. Sasha recognized her as the young lady who had come to Camelot not long ago. She couldn't really place her name though. . . Sasha knew she was a noble though, and that really helped. Looking closely she could see that the mystery noblewoman seemed a bit confused. . . no, it was more of a lost look. Hmmm. . . nothing would hurt in possibly helping her, right? If she needed help, of course. "I'm surprised to see someone in these halls," she said. "It's rather desserted back here." There she went, not knowing what to say to "strangers". So not the way to go, but she kept it friendly. "Do you need any help?"

[ didn't know what time of day it was so I just said afternoon. That okay with you? ]

[Yassia Dyfrène de Ailantha]

This last corner seemed to be her salvation. Yassia’s searching eyes fell onto the figure of a young woman, about her age or a little younger, who just came her way. Letting go a relieved sigh, she made to approach the woman, all the while taking in her features and demeanour. No servant in any way. Another noble, perhaps one of the knight’s wives? Or daughter? She seemed to be a little young to be a wife yet, but then again, many of noble birth were married young – even younger than the age Yassia would have been married at.
There was a distinctive look about her the princess seemed to recall, but no name came forth. That was unfortunate. Of course, Yassia could not be expected to know the whole court of Camelot inside out just inside a few weeks, but it still made her uncomfortable not to know who she was dealing with. The game of ranks and status was delicate enough in known surroundings, but offside terra firma, any misstep could turn into a disaster. Then again, friendliness and courtesy was never mislaid.

“Believe me, I wouldn’t be here did I know where exactly I was”, she confessed with a smile. “You might have guessed already, I lost my way. It’s not been long since I came here, and sometimes I take a wrong turn still.”
Sighing, she shrugged her shoulders. “If you might be so kind as to tell me the fastest way back into the rough region of the Grand Hall, I will be fine though.”
Something still striked a little familiar about this girl and Yassia racked her brain to find out where she might have seen her. In the Hall at an audience perhaps… or on the training ground, watching the knights fight? Ah, there was no use pondering over it now. She would find out eventually, or she would not. In her little time here, Yassia had to admit, she had not cared much to socialize. How naïve she had been, to think both uncle Leon and the king himself would literally jump at this opportunity to help her out, dropping all other subjects immediately. But Camelot had their own grievances. Right now, every man to spare was still searching for this Lady Morgana, apparently the king’s ward. Yassia could understand this to be the number one concern. Her own affairs would have to wait.

And while she waited, she could very well make some aquaintances.
“Forgive me, Mylady”, she started again, giving a respectful bow of her head. “How very inconsiderate of me to not introduce myself first. I am Yassia Dyfrène de Ailantha, Sir Leon’s niece.”

---

(OOC: Afternoon is fine for me )

[Sasha]

"Of course!" Sasha replied. "Its a bit of a distance from here, but not too far." At least, from the way she'd entered this part of the castle. When she introduced herself, Sasha dipped her head in respect. "Lady Yassia," she smiled. Yes! That was her name. She remembered now. She had never talked to her, but she had seen her at ceremonies and other occasions. It was about time Sasha introduced herself, also. "I am Lady Sasha Tiberius, the daughter of Sir Peter," she gave a sort of bow. Sasha waited a few seconds before pointing the way to the region of the Grand Hall.

"Well, you said you wanted to find the rough region of the Grand Hall, right?" She asked and then added as she walked past the Lady Yassia, "I believe it's this way." Sasha had a feeling she was doing it all wrong, but she would see. On the brightside, she supposed she would have an aqaintance at the end of this.

[Yassia Dyfrène de Ailantha]

Yassia thanked the stars for her good fortune today. Not only did this lady seem willing to help, she also turned out to be extremely friendly, even though she had to hear the rolling accent in Yassia’s voice. More than one lady already had secretly wrinkled their noses at it, even if they had been all polite on the outside. Anyone not schooled in courtly ways might not even have noticed this little undertone of dismay and aloofness. But Yassia had. She might not be from here but courts seemed to be the same everywhere in the world.
Not too far? Well that was another good news!
“Thank goodness”, she chuckled, raising one eyebrow. “It felt like I might as well have reached Gwent already as long as I was walking. This castle truly is a labyrinth. Tell me, do sometimes people vanish and are never found again?”

Now that she had been found by someone who apparently knew her way around these halls and hallways, the mental image she got was more funny than scary. Whoever would vanish without a trace and might be found years later, all bones, it would not be her now. That was consoling to know.
Lady Sasha…. Yes that rang some bells deep inside Yassia, but she still could not connect the threads and snippets, even though she felt they were somehow connected with Arthur. Oh well… she would simply be more observant in the future, now she had both, name and face. The mentioning of this certain Sir Peter did nothing to her memory though. She didn’t have much to do with any other male members of the court anyway, and she also couldn’t recall her uncle mentioning such a name.

“I’m sorry the name of your father doesn’t mean anything to me”, she apologized with a smile and a shrug. “Apparently I haven’t been here long enough to know more than a few names. I just settled down here anyway, and of course I am not living in the castle directly. But maybe there will be any social gathering soon where I can make a few more acquaintances.”
Camelot didn’t seem so very fond of celebrations lately, though. The kingdom seemed to go through some tough times.
With a smile she followed Lady Sasha’s lead down the corridor, trying to keep pace with her. “That is truly so very kind of you, Mylady!” she thanked her. “Consider yourself my saviour.”