Amazing Grace

[Arthur Pendragon]

"And will you be taking part in the events, sire?" At least this was something that was . . . slightly more easy to talk about. He could speak of the events, and try to generalize them once again. She seemed so interested in him. While he showed absolutely no sign of it, it was slightly uncomfortable. At a different time, he would have used a woman's flirtations to his advantage, and he was fairly certain that by now he would have already been offering to give Isabel a private tour of the kingdom. However, after what happened with Vivian, the last thing he wanted was more female attention. He couldn't do that to Guinevère. Even though she had said that it could never be, it made him want to fight for them more than before. He would not betray his heart by allowing himself to ever be with another woman. Not even by encouraging what could be innocent flirtations.

And yet, saying that so bluntly was highly rude and disrespectful. He would only hope that someone else at court captured her interest. He was about to open his mouth to speak, when she spoke once again. "Oh, what on earth is that?!" Arthur didn't even think, he only reacted. He quickly rose to his feet and spun around, putting one hand on the hilt of his sword as his eyes darted around. When someone asked him something like that, he never downplayed it. He never took a threat too lightly. Knowing the dangers that could befall a kingdom . . . he always had to make sure he was ready. His body slightly relaxed as his eyes caught nothing of suspicion. "What is it? What did you see?" He asked in a concerned voice, not turning his eyes away from where she had been looking when she spoke of something. It was far too dangerous to look away from potential danger. What he didn't realize, was that the potential danger, was what he had his back turned to.

[Isabel de Massard]

It really was a wonder to Isabel that Arthur had managed to remain alive if he reacted like that everytime someone distracted him. There were many a rumour about various attempts on the young prince's life, obviously none of them had succeeded, but after seeing just how gullible Arthur was, it was hard to imagine how his many enemies had been outsmarted. Still, his naivety was only an advantage as it allowed Isabel to quickly dispense some of the liquid from her vial into his goblet while his back was turned. Well that had been easy. Why, exactly, had she bothered with her flirtations in the first place? This would have been so much quicker to do in the first place.

"Oh, it must have been a shadow or something." Isabel replied casually. Castles were supposed to be full of shadows and secrets after all. He still had her back to her, so she was able to slip the vial back up her sleeve and out of sight. The last thing she wanted to do was to fall at the last hurdle, and especially not in Camelot. She had no doubt that if she was ever found out she would meet a, hopefully not too sticky end. It was therefore in her best interest to remain as innocent and charming as she could. It was in her nature and talk herself out of her problems, and if that didn't work, well, Angharad and given her other talents, but they were only to be used as a last resort. And although at the moment she was lacking in self-confidence - having needed to rely on a potion with Arthur - she would soon be back on form, and then nothing would stop her. It had all been planned thoroughly. "You probably think me awfully silly..." she said, laughing slightly, playing every bit the embarrassed young woman she so clearly wasn't. "A little shadow never harmed anyone, after all." She was rambling slightly, but hopefully that would prevent Arthur from seeing her true motive.

[Arthur Pendragon]

"Oh, it must have been a shadow or something." A shadow?! Had Arthur been trying to impress Lady Isabel, he would have felt a bit embarrassed. But the fact that he wasn't, just made him casually turned back around and return to his initial position: properly seated on the chair. "I don't think you silly at all," he assured her, not wanting her to feel bad for having mistaken the shadow for something else. Something, more threatening. It happened. She would not be the first woman he'd encountered who had been startled by a shadow. "It is better to be cautious than careless." For had it been something, she would have noticed it when his back had been turned to it. With all the dark sorcery that surrounded Camelot, one could never be too careful. The war against magic was getting more and more intense. And was striking them at the very heart. Literally.

The Vivian fiasco was just one of the many examples. Magic showed that there was no level too low for it. It was a good thing he didn't have to worry about it though in Lady Isabel's presence. And he was not about to go into detail about the evils of magic. He didn't want to scare her now. Instead, he just raised her cup and took a sip from it, enjoying the taste of wine. At that moment, the doors opened and the servants began to bring in large trays of food to serve. There was chicken, some pheasant, bread, fruit, vegetables . . . a suitable dinner for a Prince and Lady. "I hope you're hungry," he said with a bit of a smile, knowing that food would be the perfect distraction from, talking about himself. And encouraging her, flirtations. Instead, he would just enjoy his wine and the food before them. He motioned for the servant to start putting some on Isabel's plate first, as another began to do the same for him.

[[ Figured it would just take a bit for the potion to do its work! It'll probably start having an effect in my next post! If that works for you? ]]

[Isabel de Massard]

Isabel still had a look of embarrassment about her, although it did soften slightly as Arthur spoke. He did seem genuinely concerned about her. Not many princes seemed to care about their own people, let alone those of other kingdoms. She almost felt bad about what she was doing. But she had a plan, and she wasn't about to throw everything away just because some blonde prince turned out to be a nice man. If anything, it just made him easier. Vortigern had always been far too suspicious, whereas Arthur didn't appear to think anything was amiss. It was all rather sweet really.

"It is better to be cautious than careless."

Now there was something Isabel had to agree with. In her opinion, carelessness was never acceptable. Carelessness led to being found out, and that would result in death. If anything, she was overcautious, and there were many occassions when she had tempted to just risk it, to go with the easier option, but she never had. She hadn't got to where she was by just throwing herself into situations. No, she was here because everything was planned, everything had a reason, everything had been thought about in great detail. Whenever Isabel made a move, she did so with complete certainty of what would happen next. She had to.

"Here here." She took a sip from her wine. As she did so the door opened and they were finally brought their food. Her journey had given her quite the appetite. Back in Cantia she never really dined like a noblewoman should. Her meals were usually brought to her room by a servant - modest meals, a small reminder of her more humble origins. Even when she first came into money she never ate and drank to excess, there never seemed any point when she was usually dining alone. But dining with company was different, and while she didn't know exactly what everything in front of her was, she was determined to try all of it. "I am, sire. This all looks delicious." She replied and waited patiently for the servant to finish with Arthur's plate before she ate. "But I must warn you, I have high expectations."

[Arthur Pendragon]

Arthur wasn't sure what it was. Had he drank too much wine? Surely not. As a prince and general he could never afford to drink too much. It was far too dangerous, for should an unexpected attack befall the city -- or anywhere in the kingdom -- he needed to be prepared at all costs. Plus, he had not even drank too much. He'd had but a few sips. Yet, he wasn't sure how else to explain the suddenly odd feeling that washed over him. He didn't even know how to describe it. Not fatigue, not even a drunken state. Just . . . something oddly unfamiliar. He tried to instead, distract himself by the food being brought in, just looking at it and blinking rapidly a couple of times as if to clear his vision. Even though it wasn't compromised. He should be paying attention to her words, not wanting to appear rude or disrespectful in the slightest. She was after all his guest. His . . . rather beautiful guest.

Truly ravishing. Why had he not noticed this earlier? Looking at her again now though, she seemed like an angel fallen from the graces of heaven. "But I must warn you, I have high expectations." A smile formed on his lips, one that was far more charming than it should be. Because . . . no. Well, why shouldn't it be? He was in the presence of a gorgeous woman. He would do what any sane man would do. Return flirtations. If that was even what she was doing right now. Regardless, Arthur would not miss the opportunity. "Well then, I must ensure you are not disappointed. And that your ever so high expectations, are adequately met." His words held clear flirtation, and he gave a small wink. Wink? Since when did Arthur Pendragon wink?! Apparently, since now.

[Isabel de Massard]

While Isabel's expression remained exactly the same - she had learnt how to hide her emotions from an early age - she couldn't help but feel both excited and proud of herself after Arthur's next speech. Unless she was misreading the signs, something that she doubted, the potion was taking an effect and her plan was working. It had all been terribly easy, but then she'd heard that Arthur wasn't the most intelligent of beings. There was a rather good chance that he had no idea what she had done. Men were just so simple, and Arthur was no exception.

There was a definite tone of flirtation in his voice and it was even accompanied by a wink! Gosh, that potion really did work quickly. She didn't know why she hadn't used it sooner. Before she replied, she allowed herself a brief moment to reflect on the situation and to congratulate herself. It might only be the beginning, but she'd managed to use magic on Arthur - in the middle of Camelot castle of all places - and that was certainly something she should be proud of. All she had to do now was to make sure no one suspected any foul play, and that couldn't be that hard. If she could manage to fool the world she was Isabel de Massard she could fool one kingdom into thinking Arthur's behaviour was genuine. "And will you be seeing to this personally?" She asked, leaning towards him slightly. "My expectations, such as they are, would not be met by anything else." She was hardly being subtle, but then why should she? Everything was turning out just as she wanted.