Hurricane Drunk [Gwaine]

[Romily de Braose]

Romily had only been in Camelot for a few days and was already beginning to feel like she actually belonged there. Her mind had been put to rest knowing that she had Arthur's support during her stay, and to have found out that no, he wasn't a knight, but indeed the King, had been a complete shock. However his words of kindness brought her round and with him knowing her current situation as well as the one before it had made her feel more at ease, knowing that she would have at least one friend here.

Currently sitting in the bar of the inn, Romily sipped at her drink at a table in a corner away from everyone else. Somewhere where she would at least be out of the way and would have no one to bother her. The landlord had been kind to her - most likely because she was a lone feamle traveller, that and he had no idea exactly who she was and what she was hiding. To him she was just another ordinary woman passing through. He would be in for the shock of his life, should she have presented herself as Lady Romily, like she had done to Arthur and his court.

She toyed her fingers on the wood of the table top, tracing circles and random patterns round and round. She'd already seen a few familar faces start to leave, so perhaps it would be wise to head to bed herself soon enough. Taking another sip of her drink, she glanced around the bar. It was now she could finally say that she was free of her father, Eldon and his daughter and anyone who had stood in her way before.

Tagged: Gwaine
Timeline: Post S3
Setting: Rising Sun Inn, Camelot City - Evening

[thegwaine]

The fact that Camelot was now Gwaine’s home was still a fairly new concept to him. He wasn’t quite sure what to think of the situation most of the time. Sometimes he felt like running away again, to the life he had once known and loved. But then the greater part of him wanted to stay here, with his friends, and to protect the citizens of Camelot. He didn’t have any particular loyalties to the kingdom, as such, but he was loyal to Arthur, and he would always have that loyalty. Gwaine never tried to make out like he was the same as the other Camelotian knights, he was from a different kingdom and a different background, and he wasn’t ashamed of that. Iwan for one kept turning his nose up at him, but Gwaine didn’t care about any of that; why should he? The only thing which had bothered Gwaine in his immediate move to Camelot had been whether he could find a good ale to drown out the pains and aches of another hard day of training. He had found a rather interesting establishment called The Rising Sun. He had become quite the local there over the past few months, and a favourite with most of the barmaids.

Pushing the door open, the landlord greeted him in his usual friendly manner. That was one thing which always struck Gwaine, the people of Camelot always seemed so happy. Even when they were under attack from this creature and that, or an army, or whatever, they still seemed to just get on with their business. Then again, Gwaine supposed if Camelot stopped everytime it were in a crisis then nothing would ever get done. Pressing his lips together, Gwaine set to work on the closest, prettiest barmaid he could set his sights on. She was blonde, and blushed every time he winked at her. Eventually he did prise a free ale out of her, and the promise of something else should he wish it. Feeling like he had already done quite well out of his evening, Gwaine looked around him for some other amusement.

It was then he spotted a young woman sat at the back of the tavern, she seemed lost in her thoughts poor thing. Gwaine smiled into his ale and strode confidently over to her. He hadn’t seen her at all, and that surprised him if she was of Camelotian birth, as her beauty really was astounding. She looked like she belonged up at the castle, feasting with royalty rather than at the bottom of the food chain, with the men who used ale to solve their problems. “Forgive me for interrupting your thoughts my Lady, but your beauty is so enchanting I am surprised not every man in the room has offered you proposals of affection.” Hmm, maybe that was a bit much, but oh well. He didn’t even know she was a lady, she probably wasn’t but there you go. Gwaine was known for being a charmer after all.

[Romily de Braose]

Romily kept a watch on most of the people as they mainly drank up and left, a couple coming in later than usual. Obviously their work had prevented them from coming in anytime sooner so it seemed. It had been the same at Eldon's, except by now most of the locals were tucked up in bed, readying themselves for the next day - but tere had been the odd few, even travellers who had headed in later than usual. Romily had always treated them no different to any others, even if she was struggling to keep her eyes open. She often found herself to be the last one in bed and the first to rise - then again, that was her all over, and she had certainly worked for her money and keep when she had been at Eldon's.

"Forgive me for interrupting your thoughts my Lady, but your beauty is so enchanting I am surprised not every man in the room has offered you proposals of affection.”

She raised her head to look up at the voice who was clearly above her. Romily had noticed him before, a favourite with the barmaids and the landlord as she had noted during the last few times of seeing him. A small snort escaped her lips, oh the irony of it all! "You flatter me sir, but I am no lady" she lied, "and as for beauty? How many other barmaid have you said the same thing to?", her smirk was twitching at the corner of her lips. Many times she'd heard lines like this from guests at The Ram, and she had allowed them to go over her head. Most were from men who were either to drunk to see clearly, and whether this man was or not was another story. Either way she'd soon find out, as it appeared he wasn't going to leave her be anytime soon.

"And now if I am thinking correctly, you will now pester me for my name until you have it, and will then continue to flatter me some more" she told him, "believe me, through the eyes of a barmaid myself, I know how this works, and unfortunatly on me - it fails to do so." With a small wink, she drunk the rest of her drink and went to stand up to leave.

[thegwaine]

Gwaine was already realising that women in Camelot were quite stubborn and protective of their virtues. Here was him thinking that he had just been unlucky when Gwen had rejected his advances, but no, since making the kingdom his home he had found that this was the norm rather than the exception. What was it about the woman round here that made them just so adamant to reject all of his advances as much as they possibly could? Gwaine didn’t let it faze him much though, all women put up defences to make it look as if they weren’t too easy, and that they were playing hard to get. It was quite amusing really, but it wasn’t anything that Gwaine hadn’t seen, or dealt with before. Perhaps the woman thought that he was just a young knight who had just been unleashed on society. How wrong that perception was.

It did bore him sometimes when women just repeated things back to him, denying all his words. Again, he didn’t let it show because if he looked bored then it would give the woman more of a reason to leave. Gwaine took a sip from his ale, “Then the world is a cruel place indeed, your beauty outshines the women at court.” It was true, some of the women at court were really not worth his time. A lot of the ones that were, were either too stuck up for their own good or they were already taken. He had been ready to sample the little red headed beauty he’d heard so much about, until he’d realised she was engaged to one of his best friends. Gwaine had limits, surprisingly. His friends women were off limits, and while he would still jest with women like Gwen, he would never dream of laying a finger on them. He had to stay in Camelot now, and he’d rather not make enemies in his first few months here.

Now she was winking, what was it with this woman? She should either deny him or accept him, it was unfair to confuse him by taking the middle ground. As she got up to leave, Gwaine quickly grabbed her hand, but tried as tenderly as he could. Running his fingers over her knuckles he just smiled at her, “You are rather defensive, aren’t you my Lady?” He was going to continue to wind her up in this respect, “Please, do not condemn me to a night of solitude.”

[Romily de Braose]

What was it with men and not taking a hint. Once again the words were that of the ale speaking and not him. “Then the world is a cruel place indeed, your beauty outshines the women at court.” Really?! Romily gave a small sigh, "Well then I thank you for the compliment sir, but as I have seen none of these women then I must disagree."

She felt him grab her hand as she went to walk away, looking down at his fingers tracing across her knuckles before looking back up at him. "And you are very persistant" she replied. Her eyes rolled at the part where he didn't want to be condemed to a night of solitude. Really? Now she hadn't seen that one coming! "Well then im sorry to disappoint" she simply smiled and shrugged, "but really, there are other barmaids who I think wouldn't pass up the chance" her gaze wandered to where the barmaid that the man had been talking to earlier, was staring at them - shooting a look of daggers at Romily in particular.

She turned back to the stranger, "What is it going to take for you to leave me be?" she asked, knowing that it was most likely a question that she would regret.

[thegwaine]

Gwaine wasn’t impressed that hi s words weren’t being received with the effect he wanted them to have. Overall it was incredibly disappointing, and Gwaine was now just struggling to decide what to say next to the woman. Was she really worth the effort? There were many other women in here he could occupy his time with, and they would appreciate it so much more than this woman. Then again, she was posing him a challenge, and Gwaine did love a good challenge. However, there was only so much Gwaine would be able to take before admitting defeat and finding himself another woman to charm. Again she was being very regal and proper about his charms; was she sure she wasn’t a Lady? “Well I have seen enough to assure you that it is the truth.” He grinned at her, he was running out of ideas really.

Persistent was a nice word, Gwaine quite liked that label. It made him sound like he was consistent and took the greatest care in his charms. He did take great care with how he charmed women, but she was probably giving him a little less justice than he would have liked. He was persistent because she was beautiful and she seemed like fun, not just because she had been the first person to catch his eye. He doubted she would believe that though, but he wasn’t going to waste his energy with persuading her. “And what if I don’t want to charm just any barmaid tonight? Would you believe me?” He doubted she would.

Now that was a interesting question and Gwaine released her hand and just sat back in his seat. Did he really want to waste his time on her? Then again, it would be a shame to waste such an opportunity, if she didn’t want to spend time with him then she would leave, he was sure of that much. “Just grace me with your company, and I will drink as a happy man tonight.”

[Romily de Braose]

Obviously this man hadn't expected such a reaction fom her, given his facial expression now. “And what if I don’t want to charm just any barmaid tonight? Would you believe me?” At this, Romily shook her head. "It would most certainly be a shame for her, to say the least" she smirked, "I think she was hoping that you would immediatly go running on back to her" Once again her eye caught the barmaid's who now looked as though she would run Romily through!
Had Eldon's daughter have been here then she would've immediatly turned on the 'charm', fluttering her eyelashes and giggling like a child. She loved the attention that all the men at the Inn gave her, and never allowed Romily to forget which one of them was the 'better' of the other. Romily didn't do such things, after all - she had been brought up to act all proper and ladylike. “Just grace me with your company, and I will drink as a happy man tonight.” he was now saying.

Romily thought about it for a few moments, perhaps just one drink wouldn't hurt would it? And if he tried anything funny then he would soon know whether she was impressed or not. "Alright" she finally said, sitting back down on her chair, "but it would be nice to actually know the name of the man who I am drinking with this evening."

[thegwaine]

Gwaine had come across many stubborn women in his lifetime, and this woman was by no means the most stubborn, but she was starting to irritate him slightly. Could she not understand what he was offering her? After all, this was Gwaine they were talking about. He could show this woman a good time if she only let him. That was the problem with some women, they often didn’t know a good thing until it hit them in the face, and most were too stubborn to even let him try to show them. “Well, I’m in Camelot for a long time. If I’m really as bad as you say I am then I will get to her eventually.” He winked at the woman, not sure whether she was going to believe him or not. Gwaine of course was mildly joking, to an extent anyway. He had already had his fair share of women, and no doubt he would have even more as time went on. Camelot was his home now, he was well entitled to keep himself entertained and see what it had to offer.

Well, that had been quite easy, well, easier than Gwaine had been expecting anyway. He looked at the woman almost like he was expecting her to just get up and leave any moment. He had given her every reason to stay, but still, Gwaine was quickly learning that she was probably too stubborn for her own good. Gwaine grinned at her and sat back down again, offering her the seat she had originally been occupying. He took a sip of his ale, because he had been parted from it for far too long. Gwaine then looked at the woman again, well, names would be helpful wouldn’t they? “I go by many names.” Half true, but where would the fun be in just giving her his name? “I could give you a sample of them.” He winked at her, “As for you, you could tell me your name, or I will just give you a nickname, which would you prefer?”

[Romily de Braose]

With a small 'hmm' she eyed him over her cup as she drank the last of her drink. He could do what he wanted with the barmaid, she really didn't care for the details. Back at Eldon's inn, his daughter had spent many evenings flirting her way around the bar with many a passing man. To Romily, this man seemed like the male equivalent to her - geez!

Oookaaaay so she had been expecting an answer like that. “As for you, you could tell me your name, or I will just give you a nickname, which would you prefer?”. She put her cup down calmly and looked at him, "Millie" she told him, not even wanting to know what kind of nicknames he had lined up for her, "My name is Millie".
Her eyes flickered to meet his, "Now...seeing as i've given you my name, I think it only fair for you to give me yours." Her brows raised slightly as she smirked at him again. The landlord brought the pair another couple of drinks and Romily thanked him, waiting for the no named man to answer her question.

[thegwaine]

Gwaine was almost starting to enjoy himself with this woman. Well, he would be enjoying himself even more if this woman would just stop being so bloody stubborn. He wondered when she was going to give up this little act. After all, hardly anyone was truly capable of resisting him in the end anyway. Well, at least he finally had her name, and that was something. It had been far too much effort just to get this far, and Gwaine hoped he would have a little more success in his later flirtations. “Millie is a beautiful name.” He said with a gentle smile, taking a sip of his ale. He hadn’t come across a woman called Millie before, which was surprising as Gwaine really had been all across Albion, “Is it short for something, or is that what your mother named you?” He was taking a bit of a risk by asking about family, mainly because woman in taverns never had the happiest of family upbringings. If they had then they wouldn’t be in a tavern on their own and that was the long and short of it.

An exchange of names might have seemed fair to Millie, but that wasn’t the way Gwaine usually played this game. Most women sought to give him nicknames, or gave him a bit more of a reason to stay. Millie seemed sure of herself in some ways, but it wasn’t incredibly encouraging from Gwaine’s perspective. Oh well, perhaps he could improve matters. “My name is Gwaine, it’s a pleasure to meet you.” He didn’t need to say he was a knight of Camelot, because that was just part of him, it wasn’t what defined him, “I haven’t seen you in this part of the world before, are you new to Camelot?”