A Connoisseur of Curiosity?

[Romily de Braose]

Romily trailed the marketplace and its stalls that were already bustling with demand. She was in need of material or something to make a dress, and as she’d be spending longer than she thought she would in Camelot, sewing would pass the time diligently in the inn room that she’d spent far more time in than anywhere else.
She picked up some material from one stall in particular and draped it around her shoulders, the stall owner complimenting how well it would look with a dress of similar colour.

“It is very beautiful fabric”, she told the stall owner “but I’d need a dress and occasion to wear it with”

“Nothing finer than this material miss, especially for a lady of your looks”

Romily chuckled and examined some of the other material that was on offer. “I suppose I could make something from this one” she smiled and held up a light red material. “It looks practical and a nice colour to wear for everyday use”.

“That it is miss” the stall owner nodded in agreement, “and the material you looked at earlier would compliment the colour”. He was right on saying that – the man clearly knew his fabrics and materials like the back of his hand.

“Very well then, I shall take them” she told him and handed him over some money and put the fabric in her basket.
That would take up a few afternoons, and would most likely be the best dress she’d made since leaving home. She’d taken to wearing neutral colours, having no need to dress herself in finer cloth such as gold’s, silvers and pinks. This red was just boarder lining fine and neutral and for Romily, that was just how she liked it. Borderline.

Tagged: Gwaine
Setting: The Marketplace, late morning
Timeline: Just after S3 ending [/color]

[thegwaine]

This was one of those rare days in Gwaine’s calendar when he had woken up without a hangover. The main reason for this had been because he hadn’t been drinking these past days as he had been in training for most of his waking hours. It had been all well and good saving Camelot the once from Morgana, but Camelot was still under threat from one thing or another, so Gwaine had had to ensure that his sword fighting was kept at top form. He had often been told he had a unique way of fighting and he aimed to keep it that way. It had been one of the things he had actually bothered to keep up with when he had taken up his wandering lifestyle.

Now however was one of his days off from training, or at least it was his day off so far. One of the knights had challenged him to some duelling practise later on and he could hardly refuse could he? To kill the time until he took up his sword again, Gwaine was looking around the markets of Camelot. It was eerie how quickly life had resumed to its normal functions after Morgana had fallen, or at least Gwaine presumed this was Camelot on its normal day to day running; he had only ever stayed here for a few days before now. That part of his life seemed like a lifetime away now.

The markets certainly had their selection, not only of different goods that the stall owners were preaching were from different lands, but there was also a good selection of women about. The last time he had been anywhere near these markets he had chosen to work his charms on Gwen. If he hadn’t known it was a mistake at the time, he certainly did now. There was no bad blood between them, and he saw himself as a good friend so there was no harm done really was there?

As Gwaine had been training for the last few days he could see no reason why he should not kick start the charming side of his personality. After all, the knights he trained with were good friends, but they were no substitute for a beautiful woman. He looked over the markets, spotting a few pretty brunettes; that could work. As he walked forwards he was so preoccupied in his thoughts he half walked into a young blonde woman. He stopped straight away and turned on his heels to face the young woman. He was taken aback for a moment by her beauty and cocked a grin straight away, taking her hand from her side and placing a small kiss upon it. “Apologises for my rude entrance my Lady.” He said softly, excusing the fact he had practically walked into her, “But now I can only hope you will grace me with the pleasure of your name.” He was still holding her hand so he rubbed his thumb over where he had placed a kiss on her skin then released her hand. Today he just felt like normal Gwaine, without any of his knightly trimmings; he even had donned his ordinary clothing and had left his knight’s clothing up at the castle to change into before training this afternoon.

[Romily de Braose]

Bang.

Someone collided with her as she left the stall, basket dropping to the ground. Romily quickly gave her apologies to whoever it was (in all honesty, she hadn’t looked) and quickly gathered up the contents of the basket that were now sprawled over the ground.
She rose to her feet again, meeting with the eyes of a man. “Really the fault was all mine”. She told him.

She was shocked as he took her hand and kissed it. Obviously he was a local charmer who liked nothing more than to literally run into women often so it appeared. “But now I can only hope you will grace me with the pleasure of your name.”
Yup. That seemed to confirm it. Romily frowned slightly and looked down at her hand, to where the man was still gently rubbing the top of it where the kiss had been placed. She'd never had such an introduction as this. In all honesty it was quite forward.

“And why would I consider doing such a thing?” now it was her time to smirk, “after all, you have not yet introduced yourself” she added. “And you are mistaken in thinking that I am a lady – im merely a barmaid sir”. She admitted. Once upon a time she would’ve been formally introduced to new people by her father, (Romily still shuddered at Prince Vortigern’s visit to Wolfhall), but now things had changed.

Romily gently exhaled as he released her hand from his grasp and waited for his reply.

[thegwaine]

Gwaine would of course picked the basket which the woman dropped himself, but the woman had got there before him. He just stood awkwardly watching her and feeling rather useless for a few moments and he brushed himself down with the back of his hand; unfortunately his vanity often got the better of him. His introduction was not as well received as he was hoping, honestly why were the women in Camelot always such hard work? Women he had encountered from other kingdoms often blushed at his mere touch let alone anything else. However Gwaine was not put out, this was a challenge and nothing more.

He donned his best grin, even when she refused him her name. That was of little consequence as he was sure he would have her name by the end of the conversation. Some women liked to show they were independent and stubborn before they came around to his way of thinking, perhaps this one would prove no different. He listened to her fairly, and she did have a point, how rude of him to expect her name when he had not introduced himself yet. Gwaine stepped back from the woman and gave a low and probably over exaggerated bow and looked up at the woman, “My name is Gwaine.” That was all he gave her, he didn’t want titles to come into this, after all it wasn’t really needed was it?

Then of course he had to turn to the next part of her speech, that she was not a lady. That had been the third time in Camelot he had been caught out with that line now; he was starting to build a reputation for himself quite frankly. “Then what a cruel world we live in, when one so beautiful works in a bar.” He gave her a quick wink. He could not remember seeing her in the many taverns he had already been in during his time in Camelot; typical he would miss the one with the pretty barmaid. “Now perhaps you will grace me with your name?” He gave her a small cheeky grin as if to seal his request, hopefully that would be enough to at least gain her name.

[Romily de Braose]

She couldn’t help but smirk a little as he gave a rather enthusiastic bow. Gwaine. So that was his name.
Romily shifted slightly on the spot – wondering why on earth this Gwaine was bothering with her when clearly there were far more interesting women walking right past him. He seemed to acquire some charm in his demeanour, which Romily suggested was why some women were staring as they passed. It was all rather embarrassing for her really. The fact that he was bowing to a barmaid.

“Really, you should not bow to me” she told him – his formal gesture being somewhat foreign to her now that she was of lower rank than a few years previously, “I have already told you of what I do”.
“Then what a cruel world we live in, when one so beautiful works in a bar.” Came his simple reply.
Romily rolled her eyes at this, having heard these statements directed at her before, saying that a pretty girl like her should do something better with her life than waste away behind a bar serving locals. She’d taken this into consideration and was now in Camelot to see her friend Yassia, after upping and leaving Eldon and his daughter, not knowing whether she wanted to return to The Rams Head or not.

“There are far crueller things than me working as a barmaid” she told him.

Gwaine was grinning at her again now, having asked her name for the second time. As much as Romily would have, she decided to keep it under wraps for the time being – not only would it add to Gwaine’s ever growing curiosity, but it showed him that Romily wasn’t about to fall to his feet and give in so easily.

“All good things come to those who wait” she mused, and started to head off in the direction of The Rising Sun.

[thegwaine]

This situation felt familiar, Gwen had had a similar reaction to his charms when he had tried them on her all those months ago. Was this just a trait with the women in Camelot? To not fall for a charmers words? Perhaps he was just unlucky, that was always a possibility and it made him feel better as it meant that he wasn’t losing his touch, he would just have to change his tactics. The woman was even requesting him to stop bowing at her; he knew people would stare, they had stared last time he had used this little trick.

However, he released this woman of her embarrassment prematurely, he wanted to get her name by using a different way, plus if she proved to be more headstrong than Gwen then his back would start to hurt. “My apologies, I just thought I should treat you with the respect you deserve.” Now surely she couldn’t take offense at that as well? All women should be treated with respect by men, no matter what their rank was.

The woman’s words were true, Gwaine knew of how cruel life could be and he faltered slightly. Perhaps this woman knew something of life’s troubles, but he could not comment on that just yet, after all he didn’t even know her name yet. Gwaine himself had known of many of life’s more crueller aspects, for example he had had no home to call his own for many years now, and had therefore not been attached to anyone for just as long. The first people he had been able to call true friends in quite a number of years had been Merlin and Arthur. He gave a small grin at her and shrugged, “There are much crueller things in the world, but it would not do to concern ourselves with them all day now. Not when there is such a beautiful woman standing before my anyway.” He winked at her and rolled his tongue about in his mouth, falling back on his confidence as always.

He began to half run after her, managing to get in front of her and held his hands up, as though protesting some innocence in this situation. “My apologies if I have offended you.” He resisted the urge to say ‘my lady’ at the end of his little speech as it was on the tip of his tongue, but it was an urge which was put to rest. “Perhaps we can start over? My name is Gwaine, and what may I call you?” He was sorry in some way, he had of course not meant to offend her. Everything about her stature said that he had perhaps acted in a way she was unfamiliar with, but whether she disliked this totally or not was yet to be seen.

[Romily de Braose]

Respect that she deserved? Her father would say that she deserved none. When Gwaine called her beautiful she bit her lip. She had never received any compliments like that before, not even from Frederick. In all honesty she was anything but that – being brought up to believe that she was a plain and simple lady who no man would turn a head for (her fathers words, Bonnie her maid had disagreed with this).
Romily shook her head at Gwaine. “I deserve none of this treatment, I am not a lady – just a barmaid” she told him bitterly and then turned, “if you’ll excuse me – I need to head back to the inn. It was a pleasure to meet you” she smiled lightly at him and turned away again.

She continued to walk along the street but then heard footsteps from behind her. It appeared as though Gwaine wasn’t going to back down so easily, as he was now following after her. What would it take to make this man see that she wasn’t that kind of woman!
She stopped and turned to him with a quizzical look. He was apologising and now asking for them to start a fresh – obviously still wanting to know her name. "Perhaps we can start over? My name is Gwaine, and what may I call you?”

Romily looked at the floor for a few moments – just giving him her name wouldn’t hurt, she most likely wouldn’t see him again after today. Besides he’d apologised when really she had been the one who should be for giving him a bit of a cold shoulder.
Her eyes met his contentedly. “Romily” she finally came out with it, “My name is Romily”.

[thegwaine]

Gwaine was rather taken aback by her tone and her words to him. Most women revelled in little compliments, no matter who they were from. This woman clearly was not like most women, and was out to prove it to him indefinitely. He studied her for a moment, wondering why she did not want to be complimented, because in Gwaine’s experience there was always a reason. However, perhaps it was wise not to get too bogged down in the details whilst he was trying to win the young woman’s affections. He instead furrowed her brows at her and pressed his lips together. “That is where you are wrong, all women deserve respect, no matter of their status.” She probably wouldn’t like the fact he was contradicting her, but Gwaine was on form, and he was speaking the truth. As she turned away, of course he wasn’t about to let her go that quickly. Instead he turned to face her, and asked for her name once more.

Gwaine felt rather smug in a way that he had finally gained the woman’s- Romily’s- name. He of course didn’t show this because that would hardly do his apology any good now would it? Instead he grinned at her for a few moments, she would warm to him eventually surely? How could she not? Even if it was their fate to just become friends, it was absurd for her to just keep giving him the cold shoulder for no reason; even Gwen had warmed to him.

“Well it is a pleasure to meet you Romily.” He grinned at her, in all his travels he could not have boasted knowing anyone named Romily before this day. He then looked quickly about the market, he did not want to return to training so quickly, but neither did he want to leave Romily just yet, she was a most amusing young woman after all. “Perhaps Romily you could show me around the marketplace, for I am quite new here in Camelot.” He flashed her a quick grin to seal the request and waited for her answer.

[Romily de Braose]

He wanted her to shop him around the market place? This was going to be hard considering she was only just finding her way around herself. He was still grinning at her when she turned to him with her answer. “I’m not really a tour guide” she shrugged, “im only just managing to navigate myself around Camelot as I am here visiting a friend – but if you did ever want to get lost then im always free” she smiled warmly.

Gwaine was really trying hard here and she didn’t understand why, but chose to allow him to carry on. She had warmed to him slightly – of course if he stuck around for a bit longer – which he obviously wanted to do – then she was sure that she would gain a new friend by the end of the day.

Romily walked away from him again, taking a few steps before looking back over her shoulder at him. He was still stood there watching her – most likely not knowing what to do next. “Well? Are you coming?” she asked, “if we’re going to get lost then we may as well do so together.”

[thegwaine]

So he had lied a little about being new to Camelot, but in his defence he was fairly new to the City. They had been so busy in the past few weeks, helping out where they could and what not that had left little time for Gwaine to explore the city. The last time he had been here he had only had a short stroll out to the markets before having to head back to the castle. Anyway, this one lie would mean nothing, he was sure that Romily too was lying that she was going to get lost. “We can find our way together.” He suggested, giving her a quick wink, showing her that cheeky side to him was still very much alive and well.

Gwaine wasn’t quite sure how to progress the conversation further than that. After all, he had left it in her hands. If she still wanted nothing to do with him then he would let her go, after all it would hardly be gentlemanly to practically harass Romily would it? Gwaine was therefore glad at her suggestion of them getting lost together, and strode to her side with a grin on his face, “That, Romily, sounds like a fantastic suggestion.” He then looked about the market place, he hadn’t really been down this part of Camelot before so he really was in the dark. He pressed his lips together thoughtfully, “Now, if getting lost is the aim, lets try this way.” He gestured right, and walked in that direction rather spontaneously.

[Romily de Braose]

She gave a small chuck at the suggestion of getting lost together. “I take it that you do this a lot then” she told him, “judging by the way that people are staring, I’d say that you must have helped out a few lost barmaids in your time”. He was fibbing and Romily could tell. What was it with men and directions?

Romily followed Gwaine in the direction that he had suggested. “So…what’s your job? You know im a barmaid so you must be in Camelot for some purpose? I doubt that you’re ‘just passing’.” No. he looked too comfortable to be a visitor. Romily kept to his side, if he miraculously knew where he was going then at least she’d remember for next time. She was sure that The Rising Sun was in the other direction, but she didn’t mind a little detour.

“Hmmm, I’m guessing that you are a…servant? Or a trade seller?” she took a few guesses, musing at the fact that he would most likely dismiss each of her suggestions. There was no harm in guessing though. “Or perhaps…someone who lifts very heavy objects all day?” she studied his build. Whatever he was she was bound to find out.

[thegwaine]

Gwaine hadn't even noticed people staring at him. Perhaps they recognised him from his duties with Arthur, or maybe it was women who he had been chatting up in the taverns. In truth he could not remember quite a few of the women he had tried his charm with in the taverns, because he had very little self control where ale was concerned. He shrugged, "I've never got lost with such a beautiful woman before if that is what you are implying." He winked at her, no, just for this morning his attentions would be completely focused on Romily, and her alone.

Gwaine was amused as Romily began to guess what his profession was. He supposed he did not look incredibly knightly today, especially seeing as he was not donning his scarlet cloak. He supposed he might as well start wearing it, it would not be long until he would become a familiar face to the people of Camelot so it would be pointless swapping into his normal clothes to try and blend in. Accepting knighthood had brought with it many priviladges, but he supposed there were also down sides, and the fact he was used to being in the background was something he would have to learn to give up. For the time being however, he wanted to keep Romily guessing. It wouldn't be as fun to just tell her straight away what he was.

Shaking his head, Gwaine grinned softly at her, "Not even close." He supposed he was a sort of servant, as he was now bound to serve the people of Camelot by protecting them. "Would you like another guess Romily?" He asked cheekily and just grinned at her; just because he was Gwaine, and he could.