Citadel of Camelot, Monday Morning
The throne room had been, if possible, more decadently decorated than it had been at the time of Uther's marriage to Catrina. At least a hundred, if not more, courtiers and servants had gathered to watch their king crown the land's new heir.
The atmosphere was decidedly torn.
Arthur
At the front stood Arthur, looking dead-eyed and so very carefully composed, he might as well have been a statue.
Katchoo
It was a little dismaying -- but comforting -- that Katchoo still hadn't lost the knack of looking at home in clothes like these, which didn't mean she was enjoying them. All the layers, and argh.
She was trying not to adjust her skirt -- or swear profusely under her breath about it -- too much, but she was more preoccupied with keeping an eye on Arthur up front; it killed her, a little bit, to see him looking like that.
Francine
Francine, who was the girliest girl who ever girled, actually liked the clothes. She'd have been twirling around to make the skirt swirl if this was, oh, four days ago.
Right now she was trying not to glare daggers at the king, because she'd been told that sort of thing was frowned on here. With frowny dungeons.
She was only half successful, and probably dungeon-bound if anyone was paying attention to her, so thank God they weren't.
Katchoo
Which was why Katchoo was elbowing her. Okay, that and elbowing Francine kept Katchoo from glaring broadswords (screw daggers) herself.
"Wanna take bets on whose face is gonna freeze like this first?" she muttered under her breath.
Francine
"Hopefully not his." Quoth someone who lived in a world of unicorns, puppies, rainbows, and tiny birds, at the moony-eyed look of love on Uther's face. "I think I'm gonna be sick."
Katchoo
Yeah, that from Francine said something. "I feel like if I look any longer, I'm gonna barf rainbows, and then hate myself for it."
Francine
"Well, that would be one way to stop this from happening. At least until they cleaned up the rainbows." If it would get that look out of Arthur's eyes, Francine would barf rainbows herself, just to try to make him laugh, or facepalm, or something.
Katchoo
"And then burned the barfer at the stake." See, this plan might not be such a good idea . . .
Francine
"Oh sure, point out the flaws in the only plan I've got..."
Katchoo
"I'll give you this, Francie," Katchoo muttered. "Barfing rainbows has more finesse than my plan to hit her over the head with a lamp."
Francine
"How about the lamp from the Statue of Liberty? Makes up for in effectiveness what it lacks in finesse."
Katchoo
"And what it also lacks in being available . . ."
Francine
"Always with the nitpicking." This wasn't actually making Francine feel any less nervous, and she strongly suspected from the sweet but exasperated smile that it was about to get her foot stomped on by Gwen for her own good.
Katchoo
"What? I'm short on other things to do right now!"
Yes, now would be a lovely time for foot-stomping, since Katchoo's preferred methods of retaliation were rather firmly off the table for the time being.
(Dammit. She was never giving Arthur so much crap about being repressed again. Okay, yes, she would, but for now she'd tell herself she'd never do it again.)
Arthur
Arthur felt he had quite a right to look repressed right now, yeah.
He watched as Geoffrey turned towards Uther and Catrina, much like he had at the wedding, and began to speak the words that Arthur had repeated himself, some two years ago, when he took on the mantle of heir apparent.
He swallowed a little, and his eyes darted to Katchoo for a moment he would refuse to admit to.
Katchoo
Hey, hey, Katchoo wasn't denying him the right to that right now! Hell, he got a free pass on this one, even if she did wonder how he hadn't blown his top yet.
She'd also play along with the notion that that momentary glance never happened, which meant also playing along with the notion that she hadn't just tried to meet his eyes, and that her jaw hadn't just tensed in response.
That conversation she'd had with Merlin on a beach in Kaeleer just had to come to mind right now, didn't it? Because she knew what this meant, beyond just the effect she was absolutely not acknowledging she could tell it had on Arthur. Might as well be a frikkin' ritual to keep the sun from rising.
Oh, god, look at her getting morose and eloquent.
Catrina & Geoffrey
"Do you solemnly swear to govern the people of Camelot, to uphold the laws and customs of the land?" asked Geoffrey, solemnly.
A strange grimace crossed Catrina's features, and she reached down to scratch at her arm as she said, hesitantly, "I... do."
"Will you, in your power, cause law and mercy to be executed in all your judgements?"
"I will," she snapped, and scratched harder. In fact, as Geoffrey began to set into the meaty bits of the oath, she turned slightly and stared up at the rafters for a second, pulling on her sleeve. "Yes, yes," she said, irritably, turning back. "Can you get a move on?"
Geoffrey frowned, as if that had insulted him to the quick. "I'm sorry, but the wording must be exact to be binding..."
"Well, get on with it, then!" Catrina yelled at him. "Honestly," she said, turning to Uther, "Where did you dig up this old crone from?!"
Uther's dreamy smile simply grew bigger. "She's right," he said, "Get on with it."
Somewhere in the audience, Morgana's eyes bulged.
Francine
They weren't the only bulging eyes; Francine had a particular talent for that expression. "I am gonna be sick," she hissed at Katchoo. "With or without rainbows."
Merlin
Merlin peeked out from behind one of the random if helpful for hiding behind pillars in the room. Any moment now, the potion should fail completely and Uther would see the truth and put an end to this madness.
...yeah. Right.
Catrina
Geoffrey looked a little put-off, but he continued. "Will you, to the utmost of your powers--"
"Yes, yes," Catrina snapped, rubbing at her arm.
"Maintain the laws and customs--"
"I will, I will!" she shouted.
"Of the land, and the people of Camelot--"
Finally, she lost it. "Will you just shut up and give me the crown?!" Catrina snarled - to absolutely no reaction from Uther, and deafening silence from the audience. After that quiet that lasted just a few seconds too long, Geoffrey nodded (a little nervously) and gestured for a page to bring the crown, and--
"Just give it," she snapped, and snatched it off the pillow, and...
... made a run for it, dashing through the aisle and through the doors at the back, leaving her audience dumbfounded.
Royal Party
Catrina tore through the citadel at record speed, clinging to her crown with one hand and her skirts with the other. Her face was morphing, twisting into ugly blobs as the spell that had kept her human ripped apart at the seams.
Uther followed her at a sedate pace, smiling as if he had been drugged. Behind him, Arthur was slightly less upbeat. To say the least.
Catrina
She raced through the hallways, but kept finding herself blocked off: by guards, by walls, by--
Catrina finally took a quick right turn through one of the council chambers. There. If she could just get behind those doors--
Merlin
Doors that were now mysteriously closed and locked. Because, damn it, that woman--troll--person wasn't going to ruin Merlin's plans again.
Plus, it always looked cool to reach out his hand at things. Always.
Arthur
Catrina hit the closed doors rather hard. She looked panicked, reaching for the handles and tugging on them, but they wouldn't budge.
She twisted around quickly to look the people chasing her in the eye. "Er-- I was just feeling a bit warm, and it's... it's probably best if I just-- retired to my chambers. For now."
Arthur frowned, and strode up towards her. "...Let me help you?" he offered, staring dubiously at the door.
Francine
Francine was torn between staring and following, so it was lucky she could do both, ducking to the back and pushing her way through the throng of bewildered servants, a certain blonde hopefully behind her, because she started by reaching for Katchoo's arm, eyebrows doing a dance of optimistic WTFery.
Catrina
"No, I'll be fine, I'll be fine," Catrina babbled. Her voice sounded terribly off, lower, and at the same time squeakier.
Arthur
"No, really, I insist--" Arthur began, pulling together the last shambles of his ego, and reached for her arm--
... only to notice the boils on it. "What in the--"
The Lady Is A Troll
...and then Catrina turned around.
"Er."
Uther
"Catrina," Uther said, adoringly. Hearts in his eyes.
Arthur
"You're a troll," Arthur said.
Absolutely no hearts in his eyes.
He owed Merlin something.
Uther
Uther's gaze whipped over immediately. "How dare you speak of her like that!"
[[ taken from Merlin episode 2x06, 'The Beauty and the Beast part II'. Continued in the comments. OOC welcome. Preplayed with the amezzin thismaskiwear, thatsamilkshake and bigdamndestiny. ]]
The atmosphere was decidedly torn.
Arthur
At the front stood Arthur, looking dead-eyed and so very carefully composed, he might as well have been a statue.
Katchoo
It was a little dismaying -- but comforting -- that Katchoo still hadn't lost the knack of looking at home in clothes like these, which didn't mean she was enjoying them. All the layers, and argh.
She was trying not to adjust her skirt -- or swear profusely under her breath about it -- too much, but she was more preoccupied with keeping an eye on Arthur up front; it killed her, a little bit, to see him looking like that.
Francine
Francine, who was the girliest girl who ever girled, actually liked the clothes. She'd have been twirling around to make the skirt swirl if this was, oh, four days ago.
Right now she was trying not to glare daggers at the king, because she'd been told that sort of thing was frowned on here. With frowny dungeons.
She was only half successful, and probably dungeon-bound if anyone was paying attention to her, so thank God they weren't.
Katchoo
Which was why Katchoo was elbowing her. Okay, that and elbowing Francine kept Katchoo from glaring broadswords (screw daggers) herself.
"Wanna take bets on whose face is gonna freeze like this first?" she muttered under her breath.
Francine
"Hopefully not his." Quoth someone who lived in a world of unicorns, puppies, rainbows, and tiny birds, at the moony-eyed look of love on Uther's face. "I think I'm gonna be sick."
Katchoo
Yeah, that from Francine said something. "I feel like if I look any longer, I'm gonna barf rainbows, and then hate myself for it."
Francine
"Well, that would be one way to stop this from happening. At least until they cleaned up the rainbows." If it would get that look out of Arthur's eyes, Francine would barf rainbows herself, just to try to make him laugh, or facepalm, or something.
Katchoo
"And then burned the barfer at the stake." See, this plan might not be such a good idea . . .
Francine
"Oh sure, point out the flaws in the only plan I've got..."
Katchoo
"I'll give you this, Francie," Katchoo muttered. "Barfing rainbows has more finesse than my plan to hit her over the head with a lamp."
Francine
"How about the lamp from the Statue of Liberty? Makes up for in effectiveness what it lacks in finesse."
Katchoo
"And what it also lacks in being available . . ."
Francine
"Always with the nitpicking." This wasn't actually making Francine feel any less nervous, and she strongly suspected from the sweet but exasperated smile that it was about to get her foot stomped on by Gwen for her own good.
Katchoo
"What? I'm short on other things to do right now!"
Yes, now would be a lovely time for foot-stomping, since Katchoo's preferred methods of retaliation were rather firmly off the table for the time being.
(Dammit. She was never giving Arthur so much crap about being repressed again. Okay, yes, she would, but for now she'd tell herself she'd never do it again.)
Arthur
Arthur felt he had quite a right to look repressed right now, yeah.
He watched as Geoffrey turned towards Uther and Catrina, much like he had at the wedding, and began to speak the words that Arthur had repeated himself, some two years ago, when he took on the mantle of heir apparent.
He swallowed a little, and his eyes darted to Katchoo for a moment he would refuse to admit to.
Katchoo
Hey, hey, Katchoo wasn't denying him the right to that right now! Hell, he got a free pass on this one, even if she did wonder how he hadn't blown his top yet.
She'd also play along with the notion that that momentary glance never happened, which meant also playing along with the notion that she hadn't just tried to meet his eyes, and that her jaw hadn't just tensed in response.
That conversation she'd had with Merlin on a beach in Kaeleer just had to come to mind right now, didn't it? Because she knew what this meant, beyond just the effect she was absolutely not acknowledging she could tell it had on Arthur. Might as well be a frikkin' ritual to keep the sun from rising.
Oh, god, look at her getting morose and eloquent.
Catrina & Geoffrey
"Do you solemnly swear to govern the people of Camelot, to uphold the laws and customs of the land?" asked Geoffrey, solemnly.
A strange grimace crossed Catrina's features, and she reached down to scratch at her arm as she said, hesitantly, "I... do."
"Will you, in your power, cause law and mercy to be executed in all your judgements?"
"I will," she snapped, and scratched harder. In fact, as Geoffrey began to set into the meaty bits of the oath, she turned slightly and stared up at the rafters for a second, pulling on her sleeve. "Yes, yes," she said, irritably, turning back. "Can you get a move on?"
Geoffrey frowned, as if that had insulted him to the quick. "I'm sorry, but the wording must be exact to be binding..."
"Well, get on with it, then!" Catrina yelled at him. "Honestly," she said, turning to Uther, "Where did you dig up this old crone from?!"
Uther's dreamy smile simply grew bigger. "She's right," he said, "Get on with it."
Somewhere in the audience, Morgana's eyes bulged.
Francine
They weren't the only bulging eyes; Francine had a particular talent for that expression. "I am gonna be sick," she hissed at Katchoo. "With or without rainbows."
Merlin
Merlin peeked out from behind one of the random if helpful for hiding behind pillars in the room. Any moment now, the potion should fail completely and Uther would see the truth and put an end to this madness.
...yeah. Right.
Catrina
Geoffrey looked a little put-off, but he continued. "Will you, to the utmost of your powers--"
"Yes, yes," Catrina snapped, rubbing at her arm.
"Maintain the laws and customs--"
"I will, I will!" she shouted.
"Of the land, and the people of Camelot--"
Finally, she lost it. "Will you just shut up and give me the crown?!" Catrina snarled - to absolutely no reaction from Uther, and deafening silence from the audience. After that quiet that lasted just a few seconds too long, Geoffrey nodded (a little nervously) and gestured for a page to bring the crown, and--
"Just give it," she snapped, and snatched it off the pillow, and...
... made a run for it, dashing through the aisle and through the doors at the back, leaving her audience dumbfounded.
Royal Party
Catrina tore through the citadel at record speed, clinging to her crown with one hand and her skirts with the other. Her face was morphing, twisting into ugly blobs as the spell that had kept her human ripped apart at the seams.
Uther followed her at a sedate pace, smiling as if he had been drugged. Behind him, Arthur was slightly less upbeat. To say the least.
Catrina
She raced through the hallways, but kept finding herself blocked off: by guards, by walls, by--
Catrina finally took a quick right turn through one of the council chambers. There. If she could just get behind those doors--
Merlin
Doors that were now mysteriously closed and locked. Because, damn it, that woman--troll--person wasn't going to ruin Merlin's plans again.
Plus, it always looked cool to reach out his hand at things. Always.
Arthur
Catrina hit the closed doors rather hard. She looked panicked, reaching for the handles and tugging on them, but they wouldn't budge.
She twisted around quickly to look the people chasing her in the eye. "Er-- I was just feeling a bit warm, and it's... it's probably best if I just-- retired to my chambers. For now."
Arthur frowned, and strode up towards her. "...Let me help you?" he offered, staring dubiously at the door.
Francine
Francine was torn between staring and following, so it was lucky she could do both, ducking to the back and pushing her way through the throng of bewildered servants, a certain blonde hopefully behind her, because she started by reaching for Katchoo's arm, eyebrows doing a dance of optimistic WTFery.
Catrina
"No, I'll be fine, I'll be fine," Catrina babbled. Her voice sounded terribly off, lower, and at the same time squeakier.
Arthur
"No, really, I insist--" Arthur began, pulling together the last shambles of his ego, and reached for her arm--
... only to notice the boils on it. "What in the--"
The Lady Is A Troll
...and then Catrina turned around.
"Er."
Uther
"Catrina," Uther said, adoringly. Hearts in his eyes.
Arthur
"You're a troll," Arthur said.
Absolutely no hearts in his eyes.
He owed Merlin something.
Uther
Uther's gaze whipped over immediately. "How dare you speak of her like that!"
[[ taken from Merlin episode 2x06, 'The Beauty and the Beast part II'. Continued in the comments. OOC welcome. Preplayed with the amezzin thismaskiwear, thatsamilkshake and bigdamndestiny. ]]