Room 512, early Saturday afternoon

[bookyeve]

The girl on the bed in room 512 awoke and stretched, yawning, and looking around with bleary eyes at all the papers and pens and scrolls and ink spread around the room. "Goodness." She tilted her head to study the other girl asleep on the window-seat, and then glanced down at herself, frowning.

"I'm Roman?"

Comments

[irulan_atreides]

She was wandering around the floors and decided to return to her room. She paused. Problem: She could not remember her rooms. So she entered the first room she found.

"Hello. Is this my room?"

[bookyeve]

"Hullo? No! It's the quarters of Dido, Queen of Carthage, and myself, Gabrielle Virgil. Her scribe and bard," Evie said proudly, then gave the girl a puzzled glance. "Are you lost?"

[irulan_atreides]

She nodded, "I think I am and... I don't even know who I am! Do you know who I am?"

[bookyeve]

"I don't, I'm sorry, we just arrived here. From Carthage. It's quite a ways away," Gabrielle said sympathetically. "You poor thing! Would you like to come in? Perhaps have a sweet? There's some little hard cakes here, they're quite tasty, it may help."

[irulan_atreides]

"I would love some, Gabrielle." She answered then pursed her lips, "I talk a bit strangely, perhaps I am not from around here too?" Then she thought of something, "Perhaps I was an adventurer!"

[bookyeve]

"OooooO!" Evie said, holding out the tin of cookies, and stopping in fascination. "Really? Do you think so? Did you go dancing with vikings, perhaps? Or sailing to Byzantium? I used to adventure, before I began work on the Queen's biography, you know."

[irulan_atreides]

She struggled to remember, "I do not actually remember and I am not familiar with your terms but I do remember different places? And an army!" She bounced, "Perhaps I was a mercenary adventurer! A soldier of fortune whose expertise is required by all the great kings and queens!" Then faltered, "Or possibly a scribe."

[bookyeve]

"Oh, how thrilling!" Gabrielle gushed, then said, "And scribes are useful! And, and, perhaps not glamourous, but oh, maybe you were a secret spy?"

[irulan_atreides]

This idea appealed to her, "I must be a spy! Perhaps the reason why I cannot remember my name is because an enemy agent poisoned me! Now I am doomed to travel from place to place in search of my identity!"

She paused, "Meanwhile, I must find myself a name, you're a scribe perhaps you can provide me with a name?"

[bookyeve]

"Wonderful!" Gabrielle paused a moment, frowning, then fumbled through her books and papers, saying, "Hmmm. Alecto? No, no, everyone's heard that one... Mmmmm, someone secret, perhaps... Artemis? She's the goddess of the hunt, maybe not... Daphne? She turned into a tree!"

[irulan_atreides]

"I think I quite like Artemis." She mused, "but I like the sound of Daphne although I would not like to turn into a tree."

[bookyeve]

"She was a nymph first. And the daughter of the river god. That's better than royalty, even," Gabrielle said, thinking of Queen Dido and her demands. She sniffed. "But oh, dear! How are you going to find out who poisoned you?"

[irulan_atreides]

"Then for the moment, I think I would be Daphne." The newly christened 'Daphne' and pondered the problem of her quest. "I think I should look for clues as a start."

[bookyeve]

Gabrielle nodded vigorously, then pointed to the tin. "Well, it wasn't our cookies, or we'd have the same problem." Never mind that she didn't remember yesterday; she was quite sure she was Gabrielle Virgil, and Queen Dido was certainly herself. "So it must have been somewhere else around here. Do you think they put it in your food? Or maybe they stabbed you!" She frowned. "You're not bleeding, are you?"

[irulan_atreides]

Alarmed, Daphne suddenly began patting herself then sighed, "No, I am not bleeding, I feel like I am in perfect condition. Perhaps it was something I drank last night?"

[bookyeve]

"A nightcap?" Gabrielle offered, looking worried. "In your cocoa! Or tea! Oh, that scoundrel!" She frowned. "Who would you least suspect? It's always the person you least suspect, isn't it?"