Knight's and Ladies (atepem & silence)

(My laptop is fixed now and I'm trying to get replies up. However, I'm still out of town and so they may be somewhat unpredictable for several more weeks.)


Donovan rolled himself out of the bed. His hair stood out on each side and his dirty face had smudged the pillow. It wasn't anything that he would normally notice. Having spent several nights on the ground he had forgotten how filthy a person could get from that small act. Though he had noted how much better he felt the wound still smarted some as he hit the floor. "Milady?" With a grunt the knight pulled himself to his feet and looked about the hut wildly. The last of the embers caught his figure in their light and cast a large ominous shadow of him across the walls.

The figure of the man seemed to hulk its way toward the back of the room while Donovan started for the door. He faintly remembered the princess going outside. Shoving the door open he saw the several little gnomes scatter and there standing in the garden alone was the princess with a little shovel in her hand and fingers soiled. "Milady are you ready for your dinner?"

Taking on the role of a cook and maid wasn't quite in his list of enjoyable tasks, but it seemed that was what he was about to turn into today. When the woman finally stepped into the house he shut the door again and began to shuffle toward the fire. A little more soup would do her and himself a world of good. "I moved off the bed. Thank you milady for the use of it. The injury feels much better." While it was doubtful that she cared much about the pain itself he figured she would at least want to know that he wasn't going to die. Donovan grabbed a bowl and served a large scoop of of the soup into it and grabbed the next bowl. "Guessing by that little shovel your majesty is holding that you found the gnomes."

Though he didn't want to push the princess Donovan knew that they could only stay here so long. "We need to leave after a few days rest your majesty. Once I'm in better health I would be honored to escort you to wherever it is that you desire to start with the instructions from your father."
 
(Haha, that's alright. Actually, my laptop's broken as well - it won't charge - so things'll be a little unsteady for me too.)

The little gnome always seemed to be rather disappointed and exasperated with her efforts. Lillian tried to keep up with the other gnomes' pace but they were actually wearing appropriate gardening attire so of course they weren't struggling as much as she.
And what was even more upsetting was
that every instance that she would accidentally drop the tiny shovel (it wasnt much her fault at all that the handle was so hard to grasp), the bossy thing expected her to grab it from the muddy ground again. No cloth to clean it with or anything - just continuous digging.

On the other hand, however, being this close to them provided for brilliant research material; how these creatures functioned and behaved. Lillian had encountered and interacted with creatures so shrouded in mystery and often only believed to be myths.

So when the knight slammed the door open with the unneeded force of a brute, she was torn between being somewhat grateful (this type of strenuous work didn't at all befit a lady of her stature) and frustration at how all the gnomes fled and she was left looking like a dunce out in the emptied garden.
Ultimately, she felt a mix of both as she dusted herself off and reentered the cottage, placing the tiny shovel by the door frame and glad to be rid of it.

She nodded when the knight briefly mentioned his injury - the unclean bed catching in the corner of her eyes and she had to physically restrain herself from commenting on its dirtied state and his dirtied state dear goodness if her hands needed a clean cloth, his hair and face needed barrels of water.
Somehow she was able to continue and instead latched onto the topic of the dwarves. "Bossy little things. But very efficient."

When Donovan continued on to their eventual plans as Lillian sat and waited for dinner to be prepared, she almost rolled her eyes. Honoured, he said. What a bald-faced lie.

"The forest kingdom, then."
 
(So I'm still on the road for a little over a week, but I'm trying very hard to get responses up for everyone and then I'll be back home next week sometime and hopefully be able to be more consistent.)

The lady was far more cooperative and Donovan was pleased for that. He considered that her cooperation could have seemed to be less when he was not feeling quite so well. His shoulder smarted some as he began to serve out the last of the food into the dishes for himself and the girl. "Mmm." It was almost an involuntary response when he lifted his own dish to his face and he started to eat out of it. Any food tasted good and he felt starved even though he had not done much. For the most part he took that as a good sign and determined that he was indeed healing quite nicely.

A little bit of the soup splashed up and hit his fingers when he dipped the spoon in more quickly than he should have. The knight had to remind himself to eat like a human rather than a ravenous beast. At least she had made up her mind and the man would have almost preferred that she chose to go out into the town first, however, he was going to be glad to have the forest portion of their journey done with. "We'll head out in the morning. Good to see that you were able to make friendship with the Gnomes." In a way he wondered how well it would go if she were to meet the forest king. If she had honestly thought that the Gnomes were bossy she would not likely get along with the king. Finding one that could stand toe to toe with her absolute pride and vanity would be difficult, but it had to be done.

For the rest of the evening Donovan remained silent and he let the girl do as she pleased. Donovan woke early the next morning and rubbed his face. There was a distinct sensation of grit against his face. Grumbling a little he decided that before they left for the first leg of their journey that he would do well to wash his face. It appeared that the lady was ready to leave and so he started out the door with her. Stopping at the well he filled the water bladders and then balanced the bucket with a little more water on the edge of the well.

Donovan dipped his hands into the water and began to splash his face. Grayish water ran from his chin and streaked his face. After a few more splashes he was ready to leave the little garden house they had stayed in. "Now milady we'll be making our way to the river and then into the forest." From what he had understood that was the way to reach the forest king.
 
Finding the kingdom hidden in the centre of the forest was easier said than done. Following behind the knight over fallen oaks and hooking branches, Lillian was curious as to how the knight even knew where they were going. It wasn't as if there were many distinct landmarks about that they could track their positions from. How would they know when they'd reached the very centre? How would they know when to stop?

She'd tried at one time to covertly speed up to observe his expression and gauge exactly how sure he was of where they were going, but without a clear well-travelled path, there were too many bumps and bushes and obstacles determined to block her way. In the end, she'd had to focus more on the path to prevent tripping and dirtying herself any further than necessary.

It was a minute's walk until the river bank when Lillian recognised swathes of brown hair in the distance and she immediately tried to gesture for the knight to stop, waving her hand frantically and hoping that he'd seen it as well. The only outlier in the otherwise continuous trend of hostile creatures were the garden gnomes working outside the small cottage they'd stayed in and even then they didn't present themselves as all that welcoming. Who was to say this one wouldn't attack on first sight?

Cautiously, with steps as light as uneven terrain could allow, Lillian tried to peer between the curtain of leaves to view it from a better angle. There wasn't much to go on - mostly the same dull shade of hazel on short, wet locks - and she bobbed her head from side to side trying to figure out just what this thing was.

Then she caught its eyes. Lillian flew backwards with a shriek and it whinnied high on the other side of the dense foliage with grand stomps and the sound of dull thudding.

"Horrid mare." She remarked quietly with a sniff and yanked herself up and made her way closer to the riverbank so that she could see the entire thing. Keeping her eyes trained on it, she addressed the knight. "I don't hear much music but it is entirely possible that that thing is a kelpie. We should keep our distance."
She also didn't like how it was glaring at her.
 
At least this time Donovan was pretty sure that he knew where they were going. There was an old story about this forest. Mostly it was shared among the common folk, but there were merits to keeping their company. What the rich didn't know often got them in trouble. That was one thing that Donovan didn't relish. This princess was well educated in everything, but how she treated those that she considered to be beneath her. Unfortunately that was everyone right now and he wouldn't be able to educate the princess. The best option with that in consideration was the fact that he was feeling better and he could keep a reasonable pace. There was no need for the princess to be wandering around and telling how to find the center of the forest when she probably had even less of an idea than he did.

As tales went the traveler would follow the little river till the forest grew black and then follow the diamond in the sky. There was a single star that would show through the forest even during the day. Considering the number of strange things that he had seen the knight wasn't about to put it past the happening of this place. Forcing his way through the underbrush he started for whatever appeared to be darkest and possibly most frightening part of the journey ahead of them.

Donovan had seen the mare and he wasn't too worried about it till he heard the princess shriek. Glancing back at her he saw that she was already pulling herself off the forest floor. Since there was nothing for him to do he stood near the water's edge and he observed the horse. It was becoming increasingly frustrating to have the princess consistently assume he knew nothing. Looking at her with a plain expression he responded. "I think if it is a Kelpie you would have been well not speak so disapprovingly of it. This is the Kelpie's kingdom and realm."

Perhaps she considered this water spirit to be lesser because it wasn't the king of the forest? Maybe it was and maybe it wasn't, but she had to earn their favor. Having grown up in a poorer area as a boy he was quite familiar with the stories of enchanted places. It was always better to show respect to the creatures of these realms. "Milady if I permission to speak freely I would share with you what the poor know of the enchanted." Perhaps the only way to keep from getting himself killed or her on this journey into the center of the forest was to inform her of a few things.
 
Well, maybe she wouldn't be so disproving if the deplorable thing hadn't tried jumping at her. She eyed it back with just as much suspicion as it did her, standing her full height even as she considered the knight's suggestion; he would be right that it wouldn't do to make an unpleasant impression on any of the creatures in the forest, not if she were to enlist their help.

But then her books had consisted of two main descriptions of Kelpies, and if they were the evil things of nightmares that coerced others into drowning, asking for help either way would be a waste of breath.
And there was also the matter if the creature wasn't a Kelpie... then she'd be apologising to a horse. And there was no way to tell unless it revealed itself.

"Alright." She said, still undecided on how to act around it. She'd resorted to just keeping a wide gap between them and keeping a neutral face. There was a distinct doubt that peasant tales would help them out at all in this situation that lingered intrusively in her mind but she fought to keep it out of her tone, "Go on."

The creature itself warily cuffed its hooves on the dirt as if torn between staying or fleeing and Lillian took it as a cue to take another step back. Kelpie or not, it was common knowledge that one should always keep their distance from wild animals.
 
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