Arrival in Camelot (Gwen)

[bandach]

She was not entirely sure of what the hilarity of this might be for her father. Of course, she knew why she was here in Camelot; it was no such secret to her sadly. That being said though, being left at the city’s market had not been her plan. But there she was, standing in the middle of the street now and uncertain of what to do with herself. If she had not been stuck in those silly white heels that Grunhilda forced upon her, perhaps Princess Elena might actually find this to be some form of adventure. Or perhaps it was her misery at the idea that Arthur Pendragon was about to be blind sided by this idea of a arraigned marriage much like she had earlier in the week. Letting out a sigh, the young woman took a step forward, and already Elena felt like her feet were crying out in pain from the awkward shoes that had been forced upon her against her will. Her face scrunched slightly as she dared to take another step forward now, once again, feeling the same reaction. She was certain that people were staring at her now, feeling silly that she made faces at the idea of walking in these shoes, “But they are simply not going to do,” she muttered to herself, “They have to go.”

With that mindset, she slipped her shoes off and her bare feet hit the cool ground. Never had something felt so liberating to her before. A smile graced her lips now as she lifted up the hem of her golden dress, exposing her feet on the common ground. Wiggling her toes, Elena found a great a mount of joy in the simple satisfaction that her shoes were not off now. Bending over, she picked up the white heels now and with them hanging from her hand, she started to walk forward. Her feet felt like they were breathing a sigh of relief now, feeling much more comfortable with going barefoot on the city grounds rather than being constructed to heels. Elena herself was thrilled at the thought as well, and it had been no different than when she walked around outside back in Gawant. Moving forward, she walked as if she were independent now of her family and royalty standards, winding herself around the various vendor stands now. She stopped to look at various scarves, and other little trinkets. Although temptation sat over her head the moment she saw a foot vendor with some of the most delicious looking apples that she had ever saw. In a moment of weakness, Elena bought one.

It felt cool in her hand. The skin was a rich red, and there was not a bruise to be found on it. Dropping her shoes to the ground, she rolled the apple around in her both of her hands carefully for a moment, as if inspecting it. Never had she seen such a perfect apple, and she most certainly did eat a lot. Holding it the one hand now, she picked up her shoes in the other and brought the apple to her lips. Opening her mouth, her teeth rested against the skin of the apple of a moment before biting into it. It was rather crisp, certainly better than some of the apples she had in Gawant. Chewing the apple thoughtfully now, something suddenly occurred to her (and it had nothing to do with apples). Elena realized that she honestly had no idea on where she was going. All of this mindless thoughts about how Camelot’s apples were, and she had not been paying attention to where her feet at been carrying her. Clearly, she was still no where near the castle, but she was at all loss of here to go. A loud sigh escaped her as she glanced towards a horse now, who stood paitently outside a building, perhaps waiting for it’s rider, “You wouldn’t happen to know how to get to the castle, would you?”

The horse turned it’s massive head slightly, its ears twitching at the new sound. Its dark liquid eyes glanced back at her before lingering on her apple now. A whinny escaped it as it shook it’s head. Of course it didn’t answer her back, horses didn’t talk. Elena let out a sigh as she walked over and offered the large animal the rest of her apple now and it reached out and snatched it right out of her hand now. She watched it chew on the apple now, chunks of it falling to the ground. Turning slightly, the Princess glanced up the road, wondering if there would be something she would remotely recognize, but of course, she didn’t for she hadn’t been to Camelot for a very long time, “Guess I shall not be meeting any Pendragons any time soon…”

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Tags: Gwen
Setting: Early Afternoon, Begining of Changeling episode
Notes: So excited to roleplay with you =] Sorry I couldn't come up with a more creative title.

[Guinevère]

Guinevère was walking back tot he castle after running home to get her cloak, so tonight when the slight chill set in and she walked home she would not be so cold on her walk home. Normally she would just have stayed in the castle over night, but ever since Morgana had returned from her one year away she felt a bit distant, nor did she have dreams that required her to stay longer. It was nice to have steady nights of sleep but she still wished on some deeper selfish level that Morgana needed her as a friend in some way. She seemed so . . . independent now. Distant, in subtle small ways that no one could quite explain.

It was to be expected of course. What with-- “You wouldn’t happen to know how to get to the castle, would you?” She turned to look at the voice, expecting that she would need to answer but paused at the sight of the girl in the yellow dress who looked like she'd fallen down a hill! Well, she was too clean to have fallen down a hill but with no shoes on and her hair a bit of a mess, Guinevère wondered what had happened to her! “Guess I shall not be meeting any Pendragons any time soon…”

She was clearly a lady--Oh! Goodness! The princess was due to arrive today! She hurried over to meet her, hoping she could be of help to the girl. "My lady?" She called gently, and smiled softly as she approached, "I can show you the way if you'd like." It was not far but would still talk a few moments walk to arrive, "Are you well?" She could not stop her self from asking, Are you alright?"

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(¸.·´ (¸.·´ .·´ ¸¸.·¨¯`·.♥

[bandach]

Elena had not quite been paying attention to her surroundings. Of course, that was something she hardly ever did it seem. Her mind was always too preoccupied with various thoughts. As she stood outside whatever building this was and stared up the street, she found herself pondering her fate after today. While her father nor Grunhilda had brought it up directly, everybody within Gawant’s castle had been hinting at the very thought: marriage to Prince Arthur Pendragon of Camelot. She almost wanted to make a face; after all, Gawant and Camelot were on good terms, and who’s to say that they would not be ever? Clearly her father, King Godwyn, and Camelot’s King Uther were old friends. Her father always spoke of the man highly, even if his ways were a little old fashion. Unlike Uther, it was clear to Elena that her father saw that change might be on the horizon for the kingdoms, and not just theirs, but all of them. But if change really was in the air, why did that mean she would have to try and get engaged to Arthur? Perhaps it was all but a proper thing to do for the sake of the kingdom’s bonds, to ensure it to all ends, “But who is to say what is proper?” Elena mused to herself.

A whinny escaped the horse, and she glanced over towards it. Its large head pointed towards her, those liquid eyes looking at expectantly. Before the young woman even had the heart to tell it that she had no more apples, a young woman appeared and walked right up to her now, addressing her in the form of ‘My Lady’. Elena, startled at the address, as well as the fact that the other girl was not just passing by now, glanced over towards her now. She was of a darker skin color, exotic almost, both beautiful and yet plain at the same time, with curly hair and rather expressive eyes. As she offered the way now, a small smile cracked across her features now, “Oh yes, I would love that if you could, and there’s not need to call me ‘my lady’, it’s just Elena,” she replied earnestly. Her second question startled Elena quite quickly, although, considering what she must look like at the moment, her shock soon disappeared. Laughter escaped her, it was quite loud now, and she tried hard to not snort in the process, “Why, yes! I’m quite alright, I had to get rid of these shoes,” she replied now, holding out the white heels to show her, “They were simply just not working for me. I look like this all the time, so there’s no need to worry,” Elena added on with a grin. Oh, what this girl must think of her and her wild mane of hair, “What’s your name? Surely you have one.”

[Guinevère]

“Oh yes, I would love that if you could, and there’s no need to call me ‘my lady’, it’s just Elena,” Guinevère had thought as much, that she was the Princess that everyone had been waiting to arrive today. She smiled softly, as the princess told her there was no need to use titles with her. Arthur had often said something similar to her, and she would give the princess the same answer she gave him, only in a more refined phrasing. "There is every need, my lady, it would be improper for me to address you so formally."

While she said the words, she was smiling and there was kind amusement in her tone. She was not shidding, only giving her own thoughts to topic of titles. “Why, yes! I’m quite alright, I had to get rid of these shoes,” The princess held out her shoes, and Guinevère's hand went to take them from her, as she laughed softly. She was very surprised at the unladylikeness of walking around with no shoes, and she would never be so bold as to try it; but she liked that not every lady was so strict and rule abiding. “They were simply just not working for me. I look like this all the time, so there’s no need to worry,”

She looked like this all the time?! Did she not have a lady's maid who could help her? Or a chaperone to make sure she did not get in to trouble. Guinevère had served as both for Morgana for years--and while there was no keeping that one from trouble--she could safely say Morgana's dresses and hair were the envy of many ladies of the court. Guinevère took allot of pride in her word, even if she never bragged about it. “What’s your name? Surely you have one.” Guinevère paused a moment, before she was able to reply, "Yes, my name is Gwen." Because Guinevère was too fancy, "I am the Lady Morgana's handmaiden, and for your stay, I am to be yours as well." It was an honor to know the king would have no other serve the Princess' that came to his kingdom.

"Allow me to escort to the castle, the lowertown markets cane turn into a bit of a maze if one is not familiar with them." And they were no place for a princess. "Then perhaps we can can get you settled into your room, where shoes are not needed."

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.`·.¸.·´ ♥
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(¸.·´ (¸.·´ .·´ ¸¸.·¨¯`·.♥

[bandach]

She seemed very pleasant, that much Elena was certain of. No doubt she worked for the royal house if she was fine with showing her to the castle, as well as her use of the ‘my lady’ and all of that troublesome formality. After a moment had passed, the dark haired girl simply stated one thing, “There is every need, my lady, it would be improper for me to address you so informally.” Elena simply stared at her, that line almost seemed rehearsed and it made her wonder how many times she had to say that to one of the royals of Camelot. She could only imagine it being to Arthur or Morganna though, for rather known reasons, Elena just simply could not imagine King Uther saying such a thing. The thought alone was almost a rather funny one to think about it though, Uther wanting to be improper. That would surely bring out the end of the world.

“What if we lived in a world where improper was proper though, would you then call me Elena?” she asked of the girl. Honestly, this was all for the hopeful sake that maybe the girl wouldn’t completely treat her like a princess. After all, she hardly ever felt like one, so why should she be treated like one? Although, she probably wouldn’t be having these thoughts right now if her father and Grunhilda had not dropped her off just like they had done on the way to the castle. Perhaps they were hoping by some miracle that she would run into Prince Arthur. The thought alone made her want to roll her eyes, but it would be an odd thing to do with nothing to say, and Elena was not too keen on bringing up Arthur Pendragon yet. Perhaps if she didn’t mention him, or think about him, this whole engagement thing would just be forgotten by their fathers and therefore, Elena could return to Gawant as Princess of Gawant, and not future Queen of Camelot.

Elena noticed how the girl went to take her shoes now, and she was quite startled, “Oh, no, please, you don’t have to take my shoes,” that would be foolish. After all, the girl was not her handmaiden; there would be no point to her carrying around those wretched shoes, “Besides, if I carry them, there’s a greater chance that I might drop them and then Grunhilda will just simply have to let me wear my riding boots for the rest of our stay,” Elena said with a grin. Oh, that was such a wonderful thought to the young princess, and probably, a rather idealistic wish. Her thoughts came back to earth though when the girl spoke of her name, “Yes, my name is Gwen. I am the Lady Morgana's handmaiden, and for your stay, I am to be yours as well." Well, that was startling to Elena to think that she would have another hand to help her, and perhaps another once to convince her to wear pointy shoes, “Oh, well, I came with a nurse, surely you don’t have to help me. Besides, I wouldn’t want to keep you from Lady Morganna, I’m sure she has much need for you. And ‘Gwen’ is a very pretty name, is it short for something?”

Of course, it was just a general guess. Elena had never met the Lady Morganna in person. She had only heard tales of beauty of the King’s ward. It was quite surprising that she had not married anybody yet. Dear god, there came that thought again. Marriage. It was almost tempting to shutter at the word, if it were not for her father. Thankfully though, Gwen managed to save her from her thoughts at the moment, “Allow me to escort to the castle, the lowertown markets can turn into a bit of a maze if one is not familiar with them. Then perhaps we can get you settled into your room, where shoes are not needed." Her eyes glanced over at the other woman now, and she smiled, “Sounds wonderful. I’m glad I got distracted by this horse or else I probably would have been even more lost than I already was and not had run into you.”

[Guinevère]

“What if we lived in a world where improper was proper though, would you then call me Elena?” What a charmingly odd thought. Guinevère watched the princess with a soft smile on her lips as she gave it some real thought for a moment; "Perhaps then, my lady, we could all be improperly proper." Until then however, Arthur was my lord and Elena was my lady. Even Morgana was my lady lately. It seemed the days of them all being casual friends were over, and property was taking over were youthful friendships were beginning to seem harder to maintain.

“Besides, if I carry them, there’s a greater chance that I might drop them and then Grunhilda will just simply have to let me wear my riding boots for the rest of our stay,” Guinevère however, did not let the princess keep the shoes, for she gently took them from her; "I will make you a deal, my lady, if you let me carry carry your shoes--" because a princess could not be seen caring her own things! The king would not be pleased if he saw, and Guinevère was not quite up to facing the king's wrath. "--I will promises not to harm them, but to perhaps misplace them for a while." Letting her get what she wanted for a while.

“Oh, well, I came with a nurse, surely you don’t have to help me. Besides, I wouldn’t want to keep you from Lady Morgana, I’m sure she has much need for you. And ‘Gwen’ is a very pretty name, is it short for something?” It was, but Guinevère was too . . . formal. No one called her Guinevère, besides Arthur. Arthur always said it with that special tone too. It gave her butterflies when he did, and she liked that he would not call her Gwen. It was his special thing that only he did and it made her feel special. "You should not worry about any extra work. Besides, you will need a guide to help you get around the castle and the city for your nurse would know the way." She told her, before answering with her name; 'It's short for Guinevère, but Gwen is what everyone calls me. It fits me better." Since it was less . . . . it fit a servant . . . .

“Sounds wonderful. I’m glad I got distracted by this horse or else I probably would have been even more lost than I already was and not had run into you.” She smiled at her words, before turning to gesture behind them, "Just follow me, my lady. I will make sure you do not become lost again." And she started leading them toward the castle; making sure to avoid streets that might have things other the dirt on the ground.

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(¸.·´ (¸.·´ .·´ ¸¸.·¨¯`·.♥

[bandach]

Elena stared at the other woman for a moment as she gave thought to what she said, and quite frankly, the young princess hoped that it would do the trick, that Gwen would just call her Elena, not Princess Elena, or My Lady, or anything else of that formal nonsense. Unfortunately thought, her plan did not seem to work out, “Perhaps then, my lady, we could all be improperly proper,” she replied now. She had to use everything in her power to not let out a sigh of disappointment at the servant girl’s words, and she tried very hard to not let anything discourage her. After all, she could not blame Gwen, she had probably had all of those rules grilled into her mind since the day she started working at Camelot Castle…oh, the castle, how she was honestly dreading going there where she’d have to attempt to act all prim and proper even though she knew that there was no way that it was going to happen. Elena was just different.

During the time that her thoughts at wandered, she almost didn’t pay attention to the fact that the other girl was going for her shoes now. It was not until the gentle pull of the high heeled shoes that Elena, wide eyed and startled glanced at Gwen now. Before she could even ask her as to what she thought she was doing by taking her shoes and ruining her plan of destruction of said shoes, Gwen answered her, “I will make you a deal, my lady, if you let me carry your shoes, I will promise not to harm them but to perhaps misplace them for a while.” Elena simply stared at her for a moment, rolling over the promise in her mind for a moment, but surely she could still carry her own shoes. Although, something told her that Gwen was a lot different than Grunhilda when it came to doing what you’re told, and somehow, the princess found herself quite certain that she would surely lose to the servant girl, “I suppose,” she replied half heartily, “Although, you could just get rid of them completely, I honestly wouldn’t mind.”

She waited to be told on the girl’s real name now as well as to whether Elena had freed the girl from her duties with her, and it seemed that she was giving a lot of thought to it now. It was quite the curious matter indeed, “You should not worry about any extra work. Besides, you will need a guide to help you get around the castle and the city for your nurse would know the way.” As much as Elena wanted to argue about that, she knew that Gwen was right. After all, Elena had already gotten lost and was asking animals rather than humans for directions even though they clearly could not talk. Although, perhaps it was the idea that she could have gotten so lost and just simply had to go back home to Gawant which is why she had been so keen on the idea, “It’s short for Guinevère, but Gwen is what everybody calls me. It fits me better.” Elena titled her head in a manner as she stared at the other girl for a moment before asking in a cheeky manner with a grin, “Is that because of your job or simply because there somebody special to your heart that can only call you Guinevère?”

After all, Camelot had always been a kingdom of love. She had heard quite strange things happening here before such as Uther’s marriage to a Lady Katrina, and Lady Vivian of Lyonesse falling head over heels for Prince Arthur. Elena had no such heart to tell the Princess of Lyonesse as to where she had been heading for the next two days, surely that would cause a spark of envy that Elena did not wish to deal with. Gwen offered a smile now though, “Just follow me, my lady. I will make sure you do not become lost again,” and with that, she started walking off again. Again with the my lady, but she barely gave Elena any time to argue as she started walking. Saying a quick good bye to the horse, the princess quickly ran off after Gwen, “So how far is it to the Castle anyways? And feel free to take the longest route as possible…”

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Notes: I am so sorry that took forever! I've been really busy lately cause I have a ten week job and it certainly drains me of life it seems.

[Guinevère]

May 26, 2011 21:54:47 GMT -5 Guinevère said:

“Although, you could just get rid of them completely, I honestly wouldn’t mind.” Guinevère found her self smiling at the words, and she gave a nod of her head in agreement the to plan. She knew she would not get rid of them but she could have them sent down to be cleaned before letting someone take them back up. Giving the princess a few hours with out her shoes. It would also mean that unless she wanted to shock all the nobles she'd have to stay in her room.

“Is that because of your job or simply because there somebody special to your heart that can only call you Guinevère?” She gave a soft and short startled expression before it was replaced with a soft smile as well, though this smile was false and did not read her eyes, "Gwen fits me better, and I've been called it since I was a child." She never admitted to anyone about Arthur. Not Merlin. Not Morgana. Not Gaius. No one. Ever. He was her secret. The beat of her heart that one could hear, yet was what gave her life and hope and love.

“So how far is it to the Castle anyways? And feel free to take the longest route as possible…” She looked back the way to the castle before walking on so they could get the at some point today. "Oh, not too far. Perhaps you would like a tour of the market before going to the castle?" She offered so the princess would not drag her feet but would be excited for most the walk.

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.`·.¸.·´ No worries!!
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(¸.·´ (¸.·´ .·´ ¸¸.·¨¯`·.♥

[bandach]

This poor girl must think her crazy, just like Grunhilda, but of course, Gwen did not seem to voice it out loud as Elena scrambled after her to keep up. After all, the lower levels of Camelot City were probably not places in which one would want to be being lost in, especially at night. Granted, the girl may also be smiling because of this shoe business. Elena could not stand them, literally. They hurt her feet, and quite frankly, she didn’t understand how any of the nobles could. But of course, all what they did was wear these fancy shoes meaning that leaving her room might prove to be impossible, unless, she snuck her riding boots under her dress, which, was quite a possibility. After all, her dress was quite long, Elena would have to be running before they would be able to catch onto the idea that she was wearing boots instead of heels. It was a plan that she would file away in her brain.

Perhaps her question had been out of term, about her name at least for Gwen let out a soft but startled expression at first before a smile crossed her lips, “Gwen fits me better, and I’ve been called it since I was a child.” She replied now. Elena thought about it, putting quite a process into it before finally nodding, “Yes, I suppose I could see it. At least you can shorten your name. I certainly cannot do that at all,” actually, it might prove impossible. There was nothing that anybody could get out of Elena, and her father’s nicknames were completely out of context, or at least, they most certainly had nothing to do with her name. Gwen was just one of those lucky people she supposed. Of course, Gwen could be keeping a secret, perhaps there was somebody, like another servant or something along the lines of that. Elena was smart though, she would never dare ask a question such as that, for anybody, regardless of rank, was in charge of their secrets.

After a moment, Elena decided to ask a different thing, such has how far the castle was. Gwen glanced over her shoulder as she walked, something that Elena was quite certain that she would fall flat on her face if she did such a thing, “Oh not too far. Perhaps you would like a tour of the market before going into the castle?” she offered now. The young girl nodded her head excitedly, “Oh yes please, anything that would keep me from getting there too quickly,” she explained as she trotted forward to keep in stride with Gwen now, “Sorry, you must think me a terrible girl to not want to step foot in Camelot castle when a lot of people always dream of it.”

[[That took forever! I'm so sorry about this!]]