poly_chromatic | Quest 296

[Voice Post]

I, er...yes, hello again, everyone, it's so very nice to see you again! My, it's that time of the year again, isn't it? This must be our visit for the winter season, since the last one we had was, er, in the fall. It's, um, been quite some time since then, hasn't it?

...Yes, well, um. Yes. Er...

...Oh, honestly, this is ridiculous, I've never had such trouble with the visitors before--er, mostly, anyway, since there was that one time when--well, but that's beside the point. Um. It's just that there's someone here and I think he's been following me and I can't for the life of me puzzle out why, since every time I turn around he just up and disappears again! Honestly, I've never seen anything like it; normally the people who come to call are so eager to say hello. They don't usually sneak around in the shadows and turn up in nothing but glimpses wherever I go.

But, er, in any case, I am eager to say hello to people, and so please do stop by if you have a moment, since I'd like very much to visit with you if you have the time. And, er, I suppose if the person following me--or even if you aren't following me, but simply happening to turn up wherever I go on coincidence--can see this, too, then please do come out and say hello, yourself? I can't imagine why you wouldn't...

I'll be looking forward to it, very much so!

[OOC: As per usual, she's canonically from just after the end of Perils of Rosella, and with some very disjointed and vague knowledge of Absence Makes the Heart Go Yonder. ~~Not that that really means anything to anyone, but.~~ If something comes up that I don't want her to know, I'll just have her forget it, so have a party--anything goes! HIT HER WITH EVERYTHING YOU'VE GOT. Troll, threadjack, have a ball!

And of course, I am totally okay with backdating. ♥]

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Oh...

[She's blinking at the screen a bit, brow furrowing slightly in thought as she examines the video with the curiosity of someone trying to dredge up an old memory.]

...Merlin? Is that--it's you, isn't it? Or am I mistaken?

[...huh?]

I'm--

I'm sorry, do I know you?

Oh, I'm terribly sorry--I thought you were, er, someone I knew once, by that name. He looked just like you and was terribly kind to me, and, well, one never knows who might come back to call on a day like this, that's all.

But I think I must be mistaken, I'm afraid, and I'm terribly sorry for the misunderstanding.

No, I... I am Merlin! I just don't.. recognise you.

[And he has no idea what to make of that. But if the person she knew looked like him and shared his name, then...

Uhm.]

Oh! Well, that's quite all right, that does happen sometimes, too. More often than not, it seems, lately. But in any case, I am very glad to see you, since I do remember you. And even if I didn't, I'd know you, I think, since you're quite famous, really.

I'm Rosella--Princess Rosella of Daventry. And you did me a great kindness once, one for which I'm terribly grateful.

[Oh, so it happens? Then he can feel a bit better about it. But what was that she said--]

Famous? Really?

Why, yes! I, er--

[She lowers her voice a little, conspiratorial.]

I know you were always a bit careful about who you told and whatnot, but in my land, everyone knows of you. All the stories say you're the greatest wizard there's ever been.

[lkajsfdsh oh. Wow. He can't even stop the grin at that.]

Really? That's what I've always heard I'm supposed to be but I-- I'm not there yet. You... Stories?

[Sure, there are stories in his time too, but so few know of those. But this. This is exciting!]

Very much so! And I'm sure you'll manage it admirably, too, when the time comes for it. I know things are a bit difficult, what with Arthur and all.

Yeah, they are.

[He eyes her, for a moment. How well...?]

Just how much did you know? About me.

Well, I knew Arthur too, a bit, since he was about for a while--and, well, as I mentioned, I'm a princess, so we rather had occasion to run into each other every so often. And I, er...well, I do remember picking rather a lot of fights with him over magic and so on, since he didn't like it at all for some reason, and I kept trying to tell him he was being awful and ridiculous about it.

But, er, let me see. Goodness, it's been a while. I remember you're very good at magic, but you work it differently than I do. And you were always terribly careful about talking about it, because of Arthur. And you helped me with a spell once, when I was first learning magic myself, even though I made rather a mess of it and put myself to sleep for a while for my troubles.

[He can't really stop the quick laugh at that, but it's not mocking at all. He's had his misadventures with magic too, after all.]

It's not Arthur's fault that he has that attitude to it. He was brought up that way, but... it'll change. You practice magic?

Oh, good, he does finally come around, then? I'm so very glad for that! I always thought it was terribly silly of him, acting that way, when he's meant to turn out to be king of a place like Camelot and...well, you know.

And I do, yes! I'm no magician, of course--that's my brother, he's much better at it than I am--but I can work a few spells, and they do come in handy in a pinch.

Well, he hasn't yet, but he will! He's not the king he should be yet either, but he's getting there. He's got good people around him, it'll be fine.

[He hopes. He likes to think he's sure, but sometimes he finds himself doubting. This gives him hope, though.]

Is your brother here to, or...?

I don't think so, no. Er--that is, he might be today, since sometimes my family does manage to come to call, and I've heard my mother is about somewhere, of all things, but most of the time I'm here on my own. It's been...goodness, next week it'll be three and a half years. And it's been just me the whole time, except for these days when the visitors come by.

[Oh...]

That sounds... lonely.

[As much as he's rather excited about getting time off and being away from all his duties, he knows that being here for long without Arthur or Gaius or anyone else wouldn't be fun at all.]

Well, I do have friends here! Really, it's not so very bad. It's just strange to think I wasn't yet eighteen when I first came here, and in just a month or two I'm going to be twenty-one. It's a long time to stay, but I've changed a great deal since coming here, too, and I think it's mostly been for the better, even if I do miss home. So it's all right.

Oh. That's good then. Uh... [Topic, topic.] You don't like your mother?

Oh, no, I didn't mean that at all! I love her very much, it's just that it comes as a bit of a surprise to have one's friend come up and say that one's mother is here and she's looking for you and all that. I do want to see her, very much so, and I'll be terribly glad for it! I just hope she's not, er, marrying me off somewhere in the time before she finds me.

Oh, sorry.

[Ahem.]

She.. does that a lot?

I'm afraid so. She'd like to see me settled down, I think--that sort of thing is important to her, even if I'm a bit more fond of adventuring.

I never managed to wrap my head around marrying when there's no love to base it on.

Quest 296

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