Forums » Fantasy Roleplay » Magic in Camelot [1x1]

The city of Camelot was busy and bustling. People of all shapes, sizes, and professions flocked to its marketplaces and villages. It was a city of opportunity, a city of commerce, a city of hope. The streets were clean and the crime rate was low, mostly because of the constant presence of Prince Arthur and his knights. The people of the lower town were often heard to say that once you came to Camelot, regardless of where you came from, you never left.

Melina wasn't sure she believed that sentiment. Taking her first steps into the city, she was overwhelmed by the sheer amount of people crowding the streets. There were more people currently in her view than lived in her entire town. She watched the merchants setting up their stalls, the kids playing in the streets, the women fetching water from the well and grain from the stores. She didn't know where to look, so she decided to look up.

The castle loomed before her. Her golden locks fell down her back as she strained her neck. It was even more magnificent than she'd always imagined it would be. But that magnificence, which would have filled her with awe only a few short weeks ago, now filled her with dread.

"This way, Dear," her father said, taking a hold of her arm. She jerked her gaze back towards the ground and let herself be led to a small, run-down-looking house on the edge of the market. Her father pulled a key out of his pocket and unlocked the front door.

Gavin stood at his blacksmith shop staring out at the newcomers. He watched as the beautiful girl followed another man, which he assumed was her father, into a house. Something didn't seem right about her, she didn't belong in a city like Camelot, but Gavin knew that he had no business with her and that he should just forget about it. But as he returned to working on a sword he is forging from iron in his shop Gavin just couldn't shake this feeling that there was something special, something different about this girl. Stop it, you must not get involved. Gavin continued forging the sword trying to get the strangers out of his head.

Melina was silent as she observed her new home. It was shabby and dirty, obviously having been carelessly abandoned by the previous tenants. There was no furniture and a few of the windows were boarded up. It hardly looked like somewhere someone would choose to live, especially not someone who was used to a life in the country. Her heart sank as she stood there, letting her surroundings sink in.

"You'll like it here," her father said roughly, setting down the luggage he'd been carrying and turning to face her. "And we won't be in this place for long - once I turn in a few more bounties, the king will give us plenty to get by."

Melina didn't respond. She missed her horse. She missed stepping outside her front door into a dense forest. But most of all, she missed her mom.

Her father seemed to read some of her thoughts, and he awkwardly reached into his pockets and produced a few coins. "Here, why don't you get us some dinner?" he said. "I'll start unpacking."

She nodded, feeling a little numb, and went back out into the market. The amount of people around her overwhelmed her. She started walking into the crowd, passing the blackmith's shop. Her eyes lingered on the man inside for a moment before she headed up the street.

Gavin finished forging the weapon he was currently working on and wiped the beads of sweat off of his forehead as he placed the sword to cool. He then realized how hungry he was getting and decided it was about time to get dinner. He grabbed a little bag of coins out of his dresser and headed out the door into the market. Gavin always stayed to the side of the market, trying to avoid the people as he hated crowds. He walked at a brisk pace towards the local tavern and reached the building within a few minutes. He stepped through the doors and sat at the bar, when the bartender came by him Gavin asked for a beer and a bowl of porridge. Gavin looked around hoping to maybe see the customer of the sword he was forging but no luck, he wasn't in the tavern at the moment. However, Gavin did see the lady that he had seen earlier that day sitting at the bar a few chairs away. She appeared to be very distraught and slightly intimidated, this confirmed Gavin's earlier suspicions of her not belonging in a city.

((I'm so sorry, I didn't get a notification for your post!!))

Melina was working on her own bowl of porridge, but though she'd been sitting there for a while, it was hardly touched. She pushed it away from her after a few minutes with a small sigh. She'd never had a drink before, but sitting in this tavern she was incredibly tempted to try it, if only to escape from the way she was feeling. But she resisted the urge, and when she flagged down the barkeep when he next passed, she only asked for a loaf of bread that she could purchase and bring back to her father. He went to the back storage room to get it for her, and she sat staring straight ahead, waiting for him to return.

How could she ever feel comfortable here? And not just because she'd grown up in the country - with what was happening to her, with the strange things she had made happen, how could she live just below the king's castle? And in the same house as a magic hunter, no less? She let out another sigh and stared at her hands.