EVENT LOG

[simonsimmon]

Characters: EVERYONE!
Setting/Location: On the caravan, in the dining hall!
Date & Time: Forward-dated to the evening of Day 30!
Warnings: none so far? But maybe with the effects of the event.......
Summary: Simon throws an innocent dinner for the passengers of the caravan. What could happen, right? Tags can be action or prose. Feel free to have

Comments

Prose Person Coming Through [Open]

[cassie_of_troy]

Cassandra never knew what to make of it when there was some kind of event involving the people on the caravan. She had been haunted by ghosts of her past, thrown into a topiary maze, attacked by monsters, and the like each time a large group of people congregated together. And yet, here she was, back for more, it seemed.

Her fourteen year old self was purring like a kitten, basking in the glow of every curiosity. Her older, wiser, more jaded self was pretty sure she was an absolute idiot.

She decided to remain close to the entrance, for ease of exit, not to mention a prime view of the comings and goings of the rest of the passengers. Today, she wore her white chiton, made out of an old bedsheet and held together by some pins she had pilfered from one place or another during the trip so far. Her long, wild curls were half up, half down, held in place by a flower. Cassandra didn't know why she was dressing to impress. There was just something in the air.

[onedayaqueen]

Guinevere walked in slowly, unused to be being invited to feasts without having to prepare it. She fiddled with her dress, feeling kind of under-dressed, but it didn't look like the sort of fancy banquet she was used to. And it wasn't, because she could actually eat the food on the tables. That was kind of nice.

She did a double take, turning back out of the corner of her eye to glance at the woman in white she'd just passed. There was something familiar about her.

"Cassandra...?" she asked hesitantly. They hadn't met in person yet, but she fit the description from what she recalled.

[cassie_of_troy]

She lifted her chin slightly, turning to look in the direction of her name. The girl was unfamiliar, but the voice was something memorable. It would take Cassandra a moment or two to put a name to it. In the meanwhile, she set about her typical task of analyzing everything she saw. It was a bad habit, but not one to break any time soon.

Cassandra took note of some discomfort. She wondered if it was the company. Obviously, something had driven this woman to attend the feast, but there was something off about her presence. The way she was fussing with her dress left Cassandra wondering if, perhaps, she was somehow unsatisfied with it. It was certainly nothing special. Homespun, perhaps? That was to be determined.

"I answer to that name," Cassandra replied.

[onedayaqueen]

She bit her lip, suddenly very unsure. She shouldn't have said anything, just kept on walking in.

"My name is Guinevere, um, or Gwen. We spoke on that... communicator...?" her voice trailed off. What if she'd forgotten? It wouldn't be the first time someone forgot her--it was rather common in her line of work, and she'd sort of grown to expect and ignore it. Her hands moved unconsciously from fiddling to her dress to just wringing together at her waist.

[cassie_of_troy]

Definite nervousness now. But Cassandra, pairing the name to the face, imagined it probably had something to do with her station. As she recalled, Guinevere was a lady's maid to Morgana. They had spoken on the communicator, and Cassandra rarely forgot her conversations over the device. They were always so uninhibited, in a way that face-to-face communications could never really be.

"Yes," she said, offering what passed for a smile. Cassandra was not very good at smiling. "I remember. You're from Camelot, the place that bans magic."

She wondered how much Guinevere knew about her mistress. It certainly wasn't Cassandra's place to bring it up, but her curiosity was decidedly piqued.

"I've met with Lady Morgana. She speaks very fondly of you."

[onedayaqueen]

She felt herself smiling a little in relief, and her hands dropped down to fold before her. "Yes, that's right. I'm glad you remember. It's a pleasure to meet you in person."

It was strange to hear Camelot referred to as the 'place that bans magic,' but she supposed the kingdom was rather odd in that regard. There were certainly other places that did not.

"Have you? I'm flattered to hear that. Morgana has always been a dear friend to me. I hope you got along well!"

[cassie_of_troy]

This side of Guinevere's personality was most appealing. Once the nerves were gone, Cassandra could see why she would be a lady's favorite. There was some sort of innocent, unabashed pleasantness to her. Cassandra's rusty smile got a bit warmer, like a flame that was almost reaching all the way to her eyes. Almost.

"A pleasure to meet you as well," Cassandra said. She had encountered several different ways of greeting people in her travels. An extended hand, forming the shape of a triangle with her index fingers and thumbs, even touching one's forehead. Cassandra found what really worked the best was a simple bow.

She ducked her head politely, two of her curls falling loose on either side of her face. "I wish it were under better circumstances, of course, but we must take whatever circumstances we're given."

[onedayaqueen]

Gwen frowned for a moment, somewhat taken aback by the bow. It was a very strange experience, but she quickly returned it, ducking her head deeper and even giving a light curtsy, all somewhat automatic. There was something almost regal in the way Cassandra carried herself, but not in a bad way. She remained on guard, of course, but it reminded her of being around Morgana in that there was room for less formalities.

"Of course. It could be worse here, too. I mean, I certainly want to get home, but at least there is food and beds to sleep in here."

[cassie_of_troy]

Oh dear. A little high-strung, perhaps. Unless that was merely the result of being thrust into an unfamiliar world with peculiar creatures and ideas all around. Cassandra would reserve judgment on that one. For now, anyway. Prying was in her nature.

"Yes," she agreed softly, trying to counter Guinevere's high notes with some mellow, soft tones. "It could be far worse. I and others have certainly seen worse." She paused. "This is the second time I've been swept off, you see." Cassandra was getting into such a habit of explaining it that she sometimes lost track of who knew and who didn't know. Better safe than sorry, she supposed.

She frowned thoughtfully. "At least, you seem to be in good company. There are many others here from Camelot. That's lucky." Or was it? Cassandra thought of Morgana, put into such a precarious and uncomfortable position in Camelot, forced to hide who and what she was. Vaguely, Cassandra wondered what Guinevere had to hide. "Assuming you like Camelot and people from Camelot, that is."

[onedayaqueen]

She relaxed a little. Cassandra seemed relatively open, or at least certainly not the sort who looked down on people. It was something nice about this world--being treated as a person first, rather than just a servant.

"The second time?" she started, and then shook her head. "I'm sorry, I don't mean to pry." There were far worse experiences out there, and it wasn't her place to ask, especially in the company of a relative stranger.

"Yes. It would be so much worse without the good company. I wouldn't wish Morgana or Arthur here, of course, but... at least I'm not alone," she allowed herself to say. The King was here, too, of course, but it made little difference to her. "I like most people from Camelot," she added, feeling it was safe enough. "It's not a perfect place by any means, but things will change eventually."

[cassie_of_troy]

Cassandra couldn't help but smirk a little bit at the mention of Arthur. She still had yet to confront him about his fib, but in the meanwhile, she was thoroughly enjoying the fact that she knew the truth and could bring it out at any time, if she wanted. "Arthur?" she mused, deciding to share this particularly morsel with Guinevere. "Otherwise known as Lancelot? I do hope you'll make introductions between us at some point. I'm most eager to meet this mysterious boy with two names."

Perhaps he'd get on well with Apollo. One man had two names. The other had two faces.

"For now, tell me more about yourself," Cassandra said, still eager to collect information. "I know precious little, other than the fact that you're from Camelot and you are a lady's maid to Morgana." She knew more, of course, gleaned from every little detail she could read in Guinevere's posture and speech, but it was impolite to point out such things and Cassandra was re-learning her manners.

[onedayaqueen]

She smiled in spite of herself. "That's him. Arthur is his real name," she said, assuming it was okay to share that. He had told her he wasn't trying to keep himself hidden like that anymore. "I'm sure he'd be happy to meet you."

They seemed like they might get along, at any rate, and Cassandra didn't seem the type to stand down in his presence. Which was a good thing, for sure.

"Um, about myself?" Gwen bit her lip again, very unused to be that sort of question directed at her. What was there to share? Not much, really. "There... really isn't much I can think of to say that you don't already know." She felt nervous for some reason, a little sick perhaps at the pit of her stomach, but she hadn't eaten anything yet. So strange. "Is there... anything in particular you'd like to know?"

[cassie_of_troy]

"We all must come from somewhere," Cassandra said, making an absent gesture with her fingers. She tried to think of a question that would be safe, one that she could stomach if it were deflected back at her. That meant avoiding the subject of love and marriage, but there were plenty of other places to go. "Do you have a family?" she asked.

Of course, the second she asked it, Cassandra regretted it. She had to keep reminding herself that some of these people legitimately wanted to go home, some of these people had left loved ones behind, some of these people actually had someone to go back to. Sighing inwardly, she opened she hadn't opened up some wound.

But there were always wounds when it came to family.

[onedayaqueen]

"I have a brother. But I haven't seen him in a few years," she said, feeling her chest squeeze at the mention of family. "My father... passed away about a year ago."

She offered Cassandra a tiny smile. "But it's fine, you know? I have other people around and... that's life." Gwen missed her father something terrible, but she knew he would hate for her to dwell on it, so she tried her best to push forward; she liked to imagine he would be proud of her.

"What about you? You don't have to answer, of course. I don't mind."

[cassie_of_troy]

All things considered, Cassandra preferred not to answer. Still, she had anticipated the question coming back to her and knew it was proper to answer and answer honestly. She was thankful that she had reconciled herself to her family's fate. Sometimes, it was still difficult to think about, but Cassandra only had to remind herself that they had, for the most part, severed their ties with her long before the war even began. "My father and mother are dead," she answered. There was only the slightest pang in saying it out loud. Priam's actual death had never hurt her as much as the way he abandoned her, but she wouldn't think of that now

[onedayaqueen]

Gwen frowned, sympathetic. "I'm so sorry. My mother died, too, but I was very small. It was mostly my father who raised me."

Her eyes widened a little bit. She knew families could get large, and there were probably peasant families with ten children or more out there. "F-fifty? By the same mother...?" She couldn't imagine a woman going through childbirth so often; wasn't it dangerous? She wondered how close such a huge family was; so much death surrounded her, Gwen couldn't even imagine it, but she dared not to pry.