A Beautiful CATastrophe? [Catalina]

[lucan]

Today was a nice day – no rain or anything. Lucan disliked rainy days – it meant that he couldn’t get out and do the things that he wanted to do. The marketplace was already bustling with the townspeople buying and selling. Lucan himself wasn’t here to purchase anything though – no, duty called and he was patrolling.
He didn’t mind early morning patrols – even if it meant rising earlier than he usually would. It was always nice to see Camelot in a peaceful and calmer state than it was usually, although he had to admit that he also enjoyed the amount of busyness of life that it gave. Glouchedon was boring compared to Camelot and Lucan was glad that he’d ventured here when he had the chance.

He wove his way in and around people – some of which moved out of his way, whereas others showed very little respect. He rolled his eyes and carried on walking, scanning around just incase there were any underline problems that he hadn’t yet spotted. So far all was well, so perhaps he would be able to get some training in a little earlier than expected. He knew that it most likely wouldn't happen though, after all - there was ALWAYS something going on in Camelot.

Oh well, no rest for the wicked.

Tagged: Catalina Regalis
Timeline: One-Year Gap
Setting – Marketplace, City of Camelot [/color]

[Catalina Regalis]

Camelot was always a beautiful place as far as Catalina was concerned. She could remember the times when she would wake early just to see the sun rise over the towers of the castle, not that it was hard to remember since she had done just that earlier that morning. It was a lovely day, the rain that had hit the day before made the ground soft and left a clean scent in the air as well. Cat loved it. The young druidess couldn’t help but feel excited because she was chosen by her uncle to go into Camelot to get supplies for her people. Her sister would have gone but her son was not feeling well so Catalina was going instead and she couldn’t help but feel all happy about it. She was not to stay long of course; it wasn’t safe for her to be there because of Uther and his war against magic and all those who wielded it. Cat was to go in and get what was needed and leave again, no scenes, no magic, nothing like that.

Yeah… Right….

Catalina was not the sort to draw attention to herself intentionally but she could not deny her penchant for finding trouble. It wasn’t her fault that trouble followed her wherever she went. Allowing the red hood to slip down over her shoulders, the druidess walked into the city of Camelot with her horse Cobalt in tow. It was exhilarating really, there was no immediate danger since she wasn’t well known within Camelot and she was not known for magic. Even still, the danger loomed and scared Catalina to some degree, making her jumpy around other people. Not exactly the best way to blend in with the others, those who spent their entire lives in the walls of Camelot. Her uncle had asked her to take someone else with her but Catalina was no longer a child, she was an adult and she could handle herself… Hm…maybe she should stop thinking that to herself because it seems that everytime she did believe she could take care of herself, someone came along to disprove her. It was quite annoying really.

Tying her horse up, she took a basket and began her search for the supplies asked for. Different vendors sold different things and the scent of various foods being made was heavy in the air. No one missed a beat in the marketplace. It was nice to see. So different from her life as a druid. Not that she was complaining of course, just a simple observation. She had been versed on how to barter with the merchants and how not to speak to them no matter how mean they may have gotten. Brushing her golden locks behind her ear, the young woman found her way to the fruit vendor to pick out a few pieces for herself. She picked out a few pieces and paid the woman, chewing on an apple as she went about her business.

It was sudden; trouble had found it’s way into the lovely picture. A hand grabbed hold of her wrist and pulled her abruptly towards a very angry looking person. Cat had no idea who he was or what he wanted, only that he looked angry. “I want it back wench.” Wanted what back? “I..I don’t know what you’re talking about sir. Please unhand me.” She was scared, it was obviously mistaken identity but what was he going to do. “Please! Don’t hurt me, I haven’t done anything.” So much for no trouble..

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Tags; Lucan
Word Count; 601
Lyrics; "We Are’’ Ana Johnson
Time-frame; Morning - One Year Gap

[lucan]

It looked as though it wasn’t going to be as peaceful as Lucan liked. He was busy talking with some townspeople when the scene began to unfold.
A girl (oh brilliant!) was being hassled by a man. For what? Well that was what he was going to find out, but from what he’d seen whilst observing everyone around him during the conversation, she’d done nothing to offend.
Lucan knew that it was most likely over something petty – but he needed to ensure safety on both parties.

“If you’ll excuse me” he told the old woman he was talking to, keeping his eyes firmly on the man who now had a hold of the girls wrist. She looked terrified in his eyes. Very pretty too. Lucan wondered what on earth she’d done to make him treat her like this. He didn’t like to see the mistreatment of a woman, it wasn’t right nor was it clever.

He ventured over to where the pair was, a few people now seemed to be stopping and watching what was going on. Lucan stopped just behind the man. “Unhand the girl,” he ordered, “any problem you have with her you can take it through with me – because from what I saw, she didn’t absolutely nothing to insult you”

Lucan despised men like this – the ones who seemed to treat women like objects. “Now – What is the problem?”

[Catalina Regalis]

Why was it that no matter what Catalina did to avoid any sort of controversy, she always found it in some way, shape, or form? It wasn’t fair and it certainly wasn’t fair how the angry merchant was treating her now. He held her tightly; intent on getting back whatever he felt she took from him. “I saw you steal my money when I was tending to others and I want it back.” With his other large hand, he moved to take her small pouch of coins. She shifted her body so he was unable to reach them, he was wrong and she was not going to let him take the remainder of her money simply because he thought she had stolen from him. She hadn’t of course but how could she prove that? It was her word against his. “I stole nothing from you!” She said angrily as she tried to slip out of his hold. Perhaps he simply saw Catalina was nothing more than an easy target. A young girl who seemed to be alone with no one to vouch for her, seemed rather easy really.

“Just hand it over to me and I won’t have to turn you in.” He growled as he tried to turn her again so he could take the purse and this time he was successful in grabbing it. Catalina was fighting a losing battle here, what she had first figured to be mistaken identity was instead a greedy man wishing to take advantage of an innocent young woman. Calling her a thief would make others that may be watching feel that he was justified. Had she been elsewhere, she might have chosen to use her magic to teach the man a lesson but that was not a responsible way to use her magic and her life wasn’t being threatened, not yet anyway. Surely the man would not have the audacity to raise a hand to her in such a public setting though being that he was a man, there was a chance that she was taking a risk in remaining there, not that she had much of a choice now. He still held onto her wrist tightly despite having her money now.

Catalina couldn’t help but be surprised when someone chose to intervene on her behalf. She knew only a few people here in Camelot and most were in the castle. Plus the threat ‘I know the Prince’ would hardly be believed by anyone. Cat wouldn’t have believed it herself if she hadn’t been there with the whole ‘oops your hair is pink’ incident had happened. Despite the incident, Catalina had formed a bit of a friendship with the young Prince and she enjoyed it. It wasn’t as though they saw one another much since she was a druidess and he was Uther’s son but there was still a bit of a bond there. The merchant who held her wrist seemed equally as surprised though his grasp did not weaken at first. There was fight in his dark greedy eyes as he eyed up Lucan carefully but there was also caution. He did not wish to endanger his dealings in Camelot by tangling with a Knight of Camelot. Releasing Catalina from his grasp, he pushed her off to the side with a disdainful sniff. “The wench stole money from me, I merely sought to retrieve it.” He held up the small pouch. “And I did. I wasn’t going to turn her in but since you’re here…”

The nerve he had! Catalina cut the merchant off. “I am many things but I am not a thief!” She said sharply, doing what she could to regain her bearings and not seem like such a weak little mouse. There was some fear as she turned to the handsome looking Knight, fear that he would have her punished without getting her story first. She feared Knights because they served Uther and thus they could easily be the tools that would someday lead to her people’s execution. Still, she couldn’t think of that now, she was innocent and she had to get that point across. “I swear to you that I stole nothing from him. He accosted me and stole my pouch of money with no reason other than petty greed.” It was up to Sir Lucan now to choose whom he believed. He had already said that from what he saw, she had done nothing wrong but there was a chance he would believe the merchant over her. One never knew…

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Tags; Lucan
Word Count; 769
Lyrics; "We Are’’ Ana Johnson
Time-frame; Morning - One Year Gap

[lucan]

Lucan listened as the man accused the woman of stealing. He disliked the word ‘wench’ if it was used for offensive purposes. Of course, the woman was now stating her innocence to him. He believed her. He was going by evidence and his own judgement. He just hoped that he was right about this.
Lucan turned to the man and looked unimpressed by his actions. “Any quarrel you have will be with me”.

He knew that the man wasn’t exactly being truthful and that there was something else to this rather than stealing.
Now he was talking about not turning her in, but because Lucan had arrived then he was! How pathetic could anyone get? Lucan really detested these actions. They were neither honest nor honourable. Then again – men like this knew very little of those words.
“She has done nothing wrong, after all – all I saw was a woman walking innocently before being manhandled in the most wretched way. Now – may I suggest that you move on, before im forced to make a decision that I’d rather not?”

The man simply stared at him wide eyed – looking as though he was going to strike or worse. “You must be joking! It’s your job to keep wenches like this in line! In accordance with…”

“With what! Sir?” Lucan replied more angered. “You do not have any right to tell me how to do my job – let alone speak to me about accordance’s of any kind – now, I said move on”

As a response to his stern words, the man muttered something and then walked away from them. Lucan watching him incase he decided to turn back and start something else.
Once he was out of sight, Lucan turned back to the girl – gave her a curt nod and then turned and walked away.

There was nothing more to say about the matter.

[Catalina Regalis]

Needless to say, it was a tense situation for Catalina because of the different ways it could end up. The best way would be for Arthur to be taking a stroll and see what was going on and lend her a hand but she doubted that would happen. That wasn’t her luck. But hey! At least she hadn’t done any magic because that would be stupid. The merchant already seemed to want to get her into trouble; there was no need to give him a viable reason to have her executed. No, she would handle this the best she could…by letting the Knight handle it. It was annoying to feel helpless but aside from her magic, she didn’t really have much of a defense, she came across as the perfect victim because of her small stature and lack of anything imposing. Plus she was a commoner and outsider, aside from the Knight who had taken it upon himself; she really had no one to defend her. She had no wealth to hide behind, especially since the merchant had stolen her money. It wasn’t a lot but it was more than she was willing to lose.

Given how big her assailant was, Catalina did well to keep a safe distance from him without making it appear as though she was trying to make a run for it. She had no reason to run because she had done nothing wrong. She was no thief. Crossing her arms over her chest, she watched and waited, thankful that the Knight was on her side and not that of the merchant’s. That was definitely a relief. Problem was, her money wasn’t being turned back over to her, the Knight was making the man leave but said nothing about the money. It wasn’t a lot but still! Not that she would say anything, Lucan didn’t have to defend her, he could have easily looked the other way so she had to be grateful and she was.

The look on the brawny merchant’s face was nothing short of amusing, he really had thought the Knight would believe him but he didn’t. He tried to argue but that didn’t work either as it simply irritated Lucan further. Was a fight going to break out? Cat hoped not because she really hated violence of any sort. With some grumbling, the man walked off, clearly angry but still with her money. Oh well, no real loss considering she wasn’t hurt or turned in for being a thief. Being executed for a crime she didn’t commit would truly be a horrid thing though hopefully if that had happened, Arthur would have let her out or something. She disliked the fact that she had thought of magical ways to make the man return her money. She wasn’t the sort to delve into thoughts of vengeance, she was too peaceful for that.

Once the man was gone, Catalina turned to Lucan to thank him but all she received from him was a curt nod and he began to walk away. Wait… Was that it? Sure, he didn’t owe her anything but he wasn’t going to speak? Catalina couldn’t have known about his inability to handle the opposite sex and so she decided to catch up to him to give him her thanks as it was the polite thing to do. Doing just that, she jogged a bit until she was walking at his side. “I wanted to thank you for what you did for me. I know it’s your job to handle such matters but still, I appreciate it.” What more could she say really. “I’m Catalina by the way.. I know you didn’t ask but I thought I’d just mention it, to be polite.”

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Tags; Lucan
Word Count; 623
Lyrics; "We Are’’ Ana Johnson
Time-frame; Morning - One Year Gap

[lucan]

She was catching up to him. Oh gosh he hoped that she wasn’t going to stalk him. He’d had similar experiences like that before and it had almost resulted in doing the un-knightly thing of running through the town screaming. He couldn’t deal with women falling at his feet with thanks – then again he was to blame for just trying to make a run for it. Well, without the running part.
Now she was by his side, he couldn’t exactly ignore her could he? He’d just have to deal with the embarrassment as it came.

“I…err…well…” he began – already this wasn’t going well and he’d hardly said anything of relevance to her yet! “It’s not exactly my…err…job to do that, but I guess sorting out…well sorting out stuff like that is, erm – thrown into the equation at times” he shrugged it off. “If he…err, bothers you again then just…just come and find me”. After all he was mostly patrolling or beating something with a stick on the training ground.
He felt dizzy – at least his throat wasn’t turning dry like it usually did, but on saying that…

Catalina. That was a pretty name. She wasn’t so bad in the looks department herself – then again Lucan always seemed to run into jaw dropper women. It wasn’t that hard to see why he was mostly lost for words half the time.
“Im…Lucan” he managed to stammer out – trying to make it sound as though he was totally relaxed. He was anything but! Chain mail and the heat weren’t helping either. If anything he wouldn’t be surprised if he melted into a puddle on that very spot. If Arthur could have seen him now then he would be doubled over with laughter at the scene.

He wove his way around people, being careful to dodge children running past and around his feet. “I’d watch your back” he told her, suddenly feeling a bit more braver in conversation, “You wouldn’t want to get yourself in a situation like that again”. It was true, especially if it was with the same man. Lucan knew how to deal with men like that, and that counted more if a woman was involved or hurt.

He kept his gaze fixed on where he was walking and heading for. He was sure that if he looked at Catalina then he would end up passing out, or at least be on the verge of collapse. Now his throat was becoming dry! Lucan cleared it – still keeping his gazed fixed on the direction he was headed.

[Catalina Regalis]

Riiight… Yeah, she was going to stalk the man who have helped her out… Um no, not a chance. Catalina didn’t have it in her to stalk someone, so Lucan was safe from that. Silly Knight for thinking such a thing, really. He was handsome but he wasn’t stalker-material. Still, despite the rebuff she had been given in his speedy haste, she had no idea what her presence would do to him but she’d find out. Perhaps it would have been easier for the Knight if he had chosen to ignore her, she would have taken that hint and headed off since she wasn’t exactly a glutton for punishment and she didn’t like to be ignored. His stammering did cause her to raise an eyebrow though since it was unexpected but she didn’t laugh since that probably would have made things worse. Did he have a stammer? He had spoken rather clearly when he had been addressing the merchant so that didn’t seem to be the case at all.

She had thanked him for what he had done, assuming that the only reason he had done it was because it was his job and now he was saying that it wasn’t his job to handle such things? If that was the case than what was his job as a Knight? Was it not to serve the people of Camelot even moreso than serving the King and Prince Arthur? His response confused her to some degree but she could not comment on it because it’d probably scare him off, even moreso than what she had done before. “I shall strive to do but I must admit that may be a rather difficult task seeing as how you do not seem comfortable in my presence.” Perhaps it was best not to mention it or show that she took notice of it but she could not help it. It was not a judgment it was a mere fact and a smile remained on her face and her voice was still gentle. She was not teasing him, merely making an observation.

Still stammering, he was able to get his name out with some difficulty and he forgot to add the ‘sir’ in front of his name. Unless of course she was mistaken and he wasn’t a Knight at all, maybe a Knight in training or merely a guard. It was easy to be mistaken since she didn’t go into the city very often. A Knight being scared of a girl, she feared for any damsel in distress he may encounter, herself not included. She wanted to tease him. A Knight could handle dragons and griffins and ruffians but felt faint at the sight of a pretty girl, that was definitely not the normal sort of Knight. Was he sweating? Perhaps it was due to the weather as it was a hot day and he was wearing armor or maybe she really made him that nervous. Really? She wasn’t all that frightening the last time she checked. She kept stride with him as he walked around the marketplace, she did mostly because she was curious about the Knight and she didn’t just want to turn around and leave. That would be rude.

He spoke again and the stammer was gone, he still seemed on edge but at least the stammer was gone. She couldn’t help but laugh at the warning, not because she didn’t appreciate it but rather because he’d be surprised at how many times she found herself in situations like that. “I thank you for your warning Lucan but trouble seems to have a way of following me no matter how I watch my back.” It was true enough; life was just out to get her. Peering at the Knight a bit worriedly, she slowed her pace a bit. “Are you alright? You seem a bit faint.” She couldn’t help it, she was the sort that mothered just about everyone, she was a healer sort. Still, there was the fact that he hadn’t looked at her since she had joined him on his walk. “Is there a reason you don’t wish to look at me?” Yay for being blunt! “If you wish me to leave you be, you only need ask and I will do so.”

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Tags; Lucan
Word Count; 733
Lyrics; "We Are’’ Ana Johnson
Time-frame; Morning - One Year Gap

[lucan]

“I shall strive to do but I must admit that may be a rather difficult task seeing as how you do not seem comfortable in my presence.”

These words had caught him off guard. He was being waaaaaaaaaaaaay too obvious so it seemed. He hesitated for a second, wondering how to put it in a way that wouldn’t offend. “I…er…well, im not exactly a ladies man” he said as bluntly as possible.

He knew that she was watching his every movement like a hawk. What was it with women and staring? He was only allowed to do that at feasts and such! They would be out of reach but at least he could still admire the view. He wished that he were more relaxed. He had no idea why he was like this – personally he blamed his childhood in that aspect, had his mother still been around then perhaps she could have given him guidance.

“I thank you for your warning Lucan but trouble seems to have a way of following me no matter how I watch my back.”
He frowned at this, “What kind of trouble?” he asked slowly, “because if that man has been following you then tell me and I’ll make sure he knows whom he is dealing with”

Her next question was yet another thing that she’d noticed. Faint! Of course he was faint! He was talking! To a girl! He’d never got this far before without fainting so this was an achievement in his book! “Im fine, it’s a hot day” he stated, chain mail wasn’t the most comfortable garment in this heat. It was a human oven. Now she was asking why he wasn’t looking at her! Oh dear, here came the foot in mouth disease again. “I, well – erm…not really” he mumbled, “Not that I think you’re ugly because you’re not!” he quickly added, hoping that she wasn’t offended by his words, “you’re quite pretty to be honest”.

He gave himself a mental kick. Well-done Luc, a nice way to kick off an awkward conversation. “It’s fine – really…im just an ass”, he told her as they walked a little way some more – turning down a side street. He had to patrol these too, just incase there was any magic going on out of the sight of others. Thankfully there was no one down this street, all except for Lucan himself…AND A GIRL!

Ok, breathe – this wasn’t torture, but for Lucan it was a little awkward, given the fact that this was the most he’d actually spoken to a girl in his whole life.