What now?

[iseult]

Ok, so she was here now what? It had all seemed so easy in her mind, go to Camelot she'd thought, it'll be fun she'd thought ... well it certainly wasn't or at least not right now it wasn't. But on the other hand Iseult had to appreciate what a beautiful city Camelot was.

Well first things first, food and board must be sought and established after all there would be plenty of time for exploration later but how to go about it? Iseult had no servants to fetch and carry for her now.

What shock to the system! However, independence still had its perks no arranged marriage for one. Walking with a spring in her step Iseult searched for the nearest inn, but in a large unknown city such a simple task seemed harder than she'd planned.

And then it finally dawned her, an idea that should have been obvious from the start - why didn't she just ask someone? So calling out and hurring over to the nearest person Iseult politely asked, "Excuse me but please could you direct me to the nearest Inn?"

[Xiii]

Another day, another duty to attend to. The only problem was that the day was dragging on so slowly, that Taillefer was slowly clambering further and further into her own mind to entertain herself. While daydreaming was favoured hobby of hers, it often stopped her from getting anything done, as she became tangled in her own fantasies. Knights on white horses, damsels in distress, bloody fights where sword clashed with sword and lands were won...Well, her mind wasn't all love and romance.

Engulfed in her own deluded dreams, she barely noticed that her walking companion - one of the visitors to the inn stables, a white cob mare - had paused to investigate a particularly interesting rock on the ground before her. One step and the young woman bumped straight into the horse's rear end, causing her to squeak slightly in shock, as she fell onto her own backside in the road. The Cob gave a delighted whicker, seemingly giggling at her handler's misfortune. "Thanks girl, very nice." Taillefer grumbled quietly, brushing herself down as she got back to her feet. It was impossible to stay angry at for long, and while she put on her grumpiest face, a smile broke through quite quickly as she patted the dusty mare's coat.

"Home time, I think." She still had plenty of chores to attend to at the Rising Sun, including a night shift she wasn't exactly looking forward to. As she began to move on, a voice stopped the woman in her tracks. "Excuse me but please could you direct me to the nearest Inn?" Taillefer spun about, almost tangling herself in the mare's lead rope. "Nearest inn? Um..." The nearest inn was just around the corner, but her boss would have killed her if she sent new customers elsewhere. Besides, the Sun wasn't that far away. "I'm just on my way to one, I'll show you if you like?"

[iseult]

"Oh yes please! Thank you that would be very kind" Lily was all but beaming as relief washed over her, well at least this chance encounter would successfully put an end to her wandering in circles.

"My name is Lily, and you are?" Looking at the cob Lily couldn't help but admire her, "it's certainly a fine animal you have, she's beautiful" Finally Lily's day was picking up but then a rather glum thought struck her, there was still a certain little matter of price to be decided upon reaching the inn and not for the first time that day did Lily wished she had brought more gold.

"I'm sorry for plaguing you with questions but I don't suppose you happen to know what the rates are for the rooms? Oh and do you know of anywhere advertising work? Sorry as you've probably already guessed I'm quite new here"

[Xiii]

As she free herself from the mare's rope, carefully unwinding it from around her own waist, the other woman responded. A glowing grin was splashed across her face, and while Taillefer could not match it she did offer her own gentle, warm smile. "It's no problem." It really wasn't. It would aid her in a little extra pay actually, since she was bringing new business to the place. A few extra coins in her pocket, that would certainly do her nicely.

"I'm Taillefer." She replied politely, before starting to lead the horse forwards once again. "Nice to meet you." The stranger commented on the beast at her side and Taillefer offered the mare a glance. Many of the horses that came to rest in the inn were beautiful creatures, most of them light weight beasts who could run like the wind when they wished to, but they were all nothing compared to the hefty mare she owned, that lay in wait for her at home. Even this mare wasn't a scratch on her.

"Thank you, but she's not mine." She explained, as they rounded the corner that lead to the Rising Sun. "She's a guest of the inn's horse. I work in the stables, you see." The mare seemed to understand she was being spoken about and stuck her head proudly into the air, tossing her mane with glee. Taillefer chuckled softly at her equine antics. "The rooms don't cost much, a few coins. Mention my name, and it might be less. And work, there might be something at the inn. We always need servers..." The inn went through so many, she was losing track. The drunks always got handsy and it scared so many women off, that's why she also took on the guise of a boy on those few nights she had to work extra. "And don't worry, I understand. I was new here once about a time. It's hard sometimes, but you'll get used to it."

[iseult]

"Taillefer .... thats such a pretty name, does it mean anything? I'd have loved my name to have had a special meaning but I guess I will just have to settle for being named after a pretty flower" she was waffling, a potent of combination of excitement and nerves seemed to have loosened her tongue but Lily was just so keen to make new friends and to be accepted here .. but perhaps she was over doing it a little.

"I'm sorry, sometimes I speak such gibberish but I'm just so excited to be here. I'm from the country you see and although I've been in cities before none have been as grand or as vast as Camelot"

The mention of potential work caught and kept Lily's attention afterall if she wanted to start a new life that didnt revolve around arranged marriages then work was about to become a very important part of her life.

"I could be a server" whilst Lily's tone might have sounded enthusiastic inside she was doubtful she wasn't really sure what it would entail. "And thank you for the advice, a cheaper room would certainly help. Say what are you doing after you've settled the horses? Maybe we could go for a drink?"

Lily wasn't particuarly sure of what that entailed either but she'd overheard plenty of her former waiting maids discussing going out for drinks, apparently it was the perfect activity to meet new people and have fun not to mention getting your leg over, although what they got their legs over she wasn't entirely certain, perhaps she should have asked before she left.