From Different Worlds {Maelanthes}

[Princess Sophia Lyonesse]

Now that spring had finally come, Sophia was getting out more, enjoying the warmth of the sun while she gave Cedric some much needed exercise. Her friends used to remark that she was cold-blooded like a snake, for she did not tolerate the cold well, and actually enjoyed the heat of full summer, never even breaking a sweat no matter how hot the weather became. The princess did love the season of summer best and felt better when the weather was warm.

It was still cold enough for winter clothing, and she was dressed once again in velvet, light blue in color and accented with cream-colored lace. Her normal attire was a bit sumptuous considering what other nobles wore, but she had always dressed well and saw no reason to change that now.

Cedric bounded ahead of her, sniffing at grass and flowers and occasionally chasing a butterfly. Three months old now, he was nearly too heavy for her to carry. She'd found a jeweler at the market who had made him a golden collar and a matching bracelet for her. Collar and bracelet could be attached by a long gilded chain when she did not want him scampering too far from her, but most of the time she preferred to let him run free. Only very rarely did she use the leash.

Sophia strolled along, greeting some of the nobles she had met as they headed back to the castle. The princess had no clear idea of where she was going herself; she was just out for a stroll. She looked around curiously at all the activity and the different types of people that populated the city of Camelot. This was the first time she had been beyond the castle walls alone, and she could explore this strange place at her leisure. It was quite different from Gore, but it did have a certain appeal. She was pleased now that she had been sent here. Now that she was accustomed to her situation and was no longer so homesick, she had begun the appreciate the opportunity to live in a new and intriguing environment.

As she was watching a cart laden with fruit being pulled through the street, she heard Cedric yelping behind her. Whirling around, Sophia saw her cub running circles around a pretty dark-haired girl around her own age.

“Cedric! Stop!”

Rushing over to them while reaching in her pouch for the chain, she grabbed the wolf by the collar and snapped the leash onto it, fastening the other end to her golden bracelet. She pet Cedric softly to calm him down, and then stood up to face the woman he had bothered.

“I'm so sorry,” she said, a pale rose blush suffusing her cheeks. “I don't know what got into him. I hope he did not frighten you.”

[Maelanthes 'Veredus' Tyrell]

Veredus had been standing in the middle of the City Square, lost in her thoughts about where she should go to find some supplies and what she needed, when a sudden whirlwind of energy had appeared. Snapped out of her thoughts, Veredus immediately cast her eyes to the 'whirlwind' and realised it was fluffy. A second later and she realised it was what looked like a young wolf, probably no older than five months judging from his size. Remaining still as he ran circles around her, Veredus took the time to look around for his human companion. She knew there had to be one, seeing as he was in fine condition and his coat was glossy as if it had been brushed. Although, his running seemed to be undoing any attempts of making his fur less fluffy, and Veredus couldn't resist chuckling at his antics.

She noticed that a circle had grown around his circular path and diverted her attention to the other people in the Square. Everyone had quickly noticed his presence and demonstrated their fear by keeping as far away as possible. All except one.

“Cedric! Stop!”

A woman had rushed forward and called the young pup away. 'Ah, so there's his human companion,' Veredus thought. She was amused when the other girl leashed the runaway pup and apologised to her. She thought it would be clear that she wasn't frightened but she could see how her remaining still could be perceived as such. "There is no need to apologise, miss. No harm has come of your little wolf's playfulness."

Taking a closer look at the little one's owner, Veredus noticed that she appeared around the same age as herself, but her soft rosy cheeks made her appear younger and more innocent. Glancing at the fancy leash, she couldn't help but raise an eyebrow at the obvious sign of wealth, and when she followed its length to spy the matching collar and bracelet her other eyebrow joined it. She wondered if she had made a mistake addressing the other girl as 'miss'. If she was a noble then her friendly tone might be taken as a slight against the lady's title. This young lady obviously came from a wealthy family, but whether it was a well-off merchant family or one with higher status, Veredus couldn't even begin to guess at. Evaluating the price of luxury items had never been a forte of hers, beyond the labelling of an item being 'expensive', 'very expensive' or 'nobility only'.

Whatever the social status of this girl, Veredus was more surprised by the fact that this girl was the owner of the wolf that had encircled her and wanted to play. It was unusual to find anyone who kept a wolf as a companion, let alone a city girl - most 'civilised' people would be too afraid of them to even approach them, let alone care for one.

Shrugging to herself, Veredus shook off her surprise and let her lips curl into a pleasant smile, showing that she didn't have any bad feelings towards the other girl. "He's a cute fellow. Cedric, was it?" Crouching down beside the wolf pup, Veredus extended her hand slowly with her fist clenched so the little canine could smell her and see she meant no harm. Looking into his eyes, she instinctively called upon her magic to gently nudge his mind with her own, sending him a greeting that was unworded but she knew he would understand.

[Princess Sophia Lyonesse]

Sophia was pleased that the girl was not frightened of Cedric, although she did wonder why. Most people were at least wary of him, and she had figured that the young woman would have run off as soon as she had the little wolf under control. Instead, she was smiling and actually reached out toward him. Cedric trotted closer and sniffed at her hand.

And then he did something strange that he had never done before. He sat down and stared up into the other girl's eyes, his head cocked to the side, almost as if he was listening to her. Then he yelped once and licked her hand. It was positively odd, but then most things Cedric did seemed odd to her. What she did probably seemed odd to him. Dismissing his behavior as yet one more little quirk of his, she returned the girl's smile.

“Yes, his name is Cedric,” she said. “And I am Lady Sophia Lyonesse. As I was traveling here a few months ago, my guards rescued him when a bear killed his mother. He was only a few weeks old so I had to raise him myself. He is a good companion, but at times is a bit difficult to control. I am trying to train him, but I really have no idea how to train a wolf … or even a dog, for that matter. I always had pets at home, but they were mostly cats. Everyone knows you can't train a cat. There is no sense in trying.”

Realizing she was rambling, the princess blushed. “That is probably more about me than you wanted to know,” she said, a bit embarrassed. “I noticed that you are not afraid of Cedric. In fact, he seems to like you. You must have a way with animals.”

Would this girl know anything about training a wolf? If so, Sophia definitely wanted to get to know her better.

“What is your name?” she asked. “And do you live around here?”

[Maelanthes 'Veredus' Tyrell]

When the wolf pup yelped and licked her hand, Veredus was just as surprised as Sophia. The smile remained in place however, although Veredus was puzzling over why he had greeted her so warmly. She had never tried this greeting with a wolf before, only dogs and they had reacted as Cedric had but they had been domesticated for many decades, perhaps even more than a century. Whenever she had used her magic to communicate with a wolf, it was usually to ask to share their den and, although they had acquiesced and even let her join their sleeping pile, they had been distant until she had spent more time with them. Perhaps it was because Cedric was still young and was being raised away from adult wolves, influenced by this young woman. Considering her conclusion reasonable, Veredus returned her attention to the girl near her, and stood up after petting Cedric's head gently. She was glad she could multitask well or she would have missed most of the noble girl's speech.

"I enjoyed your story and I feel I now know you. You're very kind to take in a creature that many would kill out of fear even as a baby." Veredus ignored the comment about Cedric liking her, not wanting to be rude but unable to explain how she felt a connection between all animals and herself. It was magic and, while it was now legalised by King Uther Pendragon himself, Veredus had no idea how accepted it was by the residents of Camelot. If this Lady didn't like, or even feared, magic then exposing herself as a magic user would be dangerous. Veredus didn't like to be suspicious of such a kind-hearted girl but she had been betrayed before when she had trusted too quickly. Lady Sophia didn't seem like a spiteful person but she could be so scared of magic that she deluded herself into thinking that Veredus was using magic on her and have her thrown into the dungeons.

Now that Veredus knew this girl was a Lady, a noble, she was a little more wary than before. Although her increased anxiety didn't manifest in her physical appearance, Veredus knew that Cedric might be able to detect it so she willed herself to relax. She wasn't sure if it was working since her emotional control had been a little lacking since she had arrived in Camelot. If Cedric reacted by trying to comfort her or mistaking the anxiety for something else and reacting badly then she'd know her control over her emotions was slipping.

"If by that you mean the city, then I guess you could say I do live 'around here'. Although I just arrived here a mere seven days ago. My name is Maelanthes Tyrell." Veredus offered the other girl her hand in greeting and, when it was accepted, curtsied and placed a gentle kiss on the noble girl's hand. It probably wasn't the proper way, since she was greeting a Lady and not a Lord, but Veredus had little experience in courtly matters. Most of her memories of court were when her mother or father went to present the Lord of their region with their best horses. Rising again to standing position, Veredus gave Sophia a smile, which was a little tentative as she was secretly hoping she hadn't just done something offensive. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Lady Sophia Lyonesse."

((Sorry for a little PPing, just didn't want to have Maelanthes grab Sophia's hand xD Also I left it open as to how Cedric can act so he can become aggressive/more friendly or anything :D))

[Princess Sophia Lyonesse]

Sophia smiled as the other girl praised her for taking in the little cub. As for Cedric, his behavior was a bit strange to the princess. He took a few steps towards Maelanthes and then whimpered a bit before moving back to stand at her side. It was almost as if he was torn between the two of them. What had actually happened when the two of them had stared at each other? Was there some sort of connection between them?

Was it magic?

Except for that one disturbing incident when she had strolled through the market with Arthur, she had seen no magic whatsoever. The young princess now believed she was just being paranoid by blaming anything that seemed even a bit strange on magic. Most likely, Maelanthes just had a way with animals and Cedric was simply reacting to it.

Even so, she would keep an eye on the little fellow from now on and watch him for any more odd behavior. What if this girl did have magic and had put a curse on him?

Just because you were paranoid, that didn't mean they weren't out to get you. It was better to be safe than sorry.

When Maelanthes took her hand and gently kissed it, her suspicions melted away. Sophia was accustomed to many forms of greeting, so she did not think that it was odd. She did blush, though, but there were not many situations in which Sophia did not blush.

“I'm pleased to meet you, as well,” she replied. The princess could act haughty when needed, but she was not a snob. She had been taught by her father to be kind to everyone, from the highest-ranking noble to the lowest-ranking peasant. In Gore, they were all her people and her duty was to care for them, not treat them disdainfully.

Here, they were not under her father's rule, but as the woman who might one day become queen of Camelot (even though she would have to be dragged kicking and screaming to the altar, and probably Arthur would have to be dragged as well), she had to behave with dignity and decorum … not that she would have done it any other way. Good manners had been bred into her while she was still in the cradle.

“I've only been here myself for three months,” she said. “I found it quite difficult at first to adjust, because I had never been away from my father's kingdom before. Now I am becoming accustomed to it, although I frequently get lost. I hope you have a better sense of direction than I do.”

Curious to a fault, Sophia smiled again. “If you don't mind my asking, why did you come to Camelot and what do you plan to do here? There seems to be a lot of options in this city to attract people to it.”