Trying to keep warm [open]

[Lady Morgana le Fey]

Christmas had been wonderful- she always loved the festivities within Camelot during Christmas but following Christmas there was many more months of winter to get through. Winter had set into the lands of Camelot and while she usually liked winter, this year it was particularily cold. Those within the castle were held inside by the snow while those down in the towns were freezing to within inches of their lives or losing their lives completely. Although the sun was shining in through her chamber windows, there was no warmth to go along with it and as such Morgana spent many of her waking hours wrapped in heavy shawls, cloaks and furs.

Morgana entered one of the smaller rooms often frequented by the ladies of the court, especially in the winter, as the room was small enough to be easily heated by the one fireplace in the room. After a quick glance around the room she noted that she was currently alone but at this point her plan was to enjoy the heat and if company came along it would be even more enjoyable. Morgana sat down on a couch by the fireplace and tucked her feet up besider her on the couch.

[Guinevere Thomas]

The cold of the castle had been particularly nippy today and Guinevere surmised this was probably the reason so many servants had been mulling about in the kitchens. The heat from the fireplaces and the warmth was enough to thoroughly heat one through to their bones.

She herself had spent a little time down there, but the cooks had gotten mad and all but chased everyone out. She had still been giggling at the look on the head cook's face. He'd been brandishing a spoon much like a sword and, while everyone had fled, most of them had been laughing as she was when they'd done it.

Gwen tried to keep busy over the christmas festivites, not that she'd had a lack of work to do what with all the guests and feasting and all, but it was her first christmas without her father and she didnt want to get sad. Being sad would bring everyone else down with her, and she didnt want that.

As she passed one of the smaller rooms in the corridor, she paused as she saw Morgana sitting on the couch inside. She entered the room with a small knock and made her way over. "Are you alright my lady?" she asked, wanting to make sure she didnt need anything.

[Lady Morgana le Fey]

Morgana, continued to hold the shawl tightly around her shoulders while she let her gaze stare off into the fireplace. She was sitting as close to the fire as possible without actually sitting right on top of the fireplace. With the heat coming from it she gradually began to warm up. Surely there was a spell out there that could heat a draughty castle permanently? While she was tempted to ask Merlin she did have enough knowledge about magic to know that it was not used to silliness such as that.

At the sound of a knock on the door and then footsteps entering the room she looked away from the fire to see who had come in. A smile crept up onto her face when she saw that it was Gwen. Although the two were officially mistress and serving maid, Morgana would forever see Gwen as a true friend and confidant- the two had been through so much together. "Are you alright my lady?" Morgana patted the spot on the couch next to her.

"Ah Gwen, yes I am alright....I wish Spring would come so that this bone chiling cold would vanish. No matter how many fires are lit it is still freezing. Surely you must be as chilled or even more so? Come sit by the fire for a moment to get yourself warmed up."

[Guinevere Thomas]

Returning her smile, Guinevere gratefully accepted the seat Morgana offered her. The cold her mistress spoke of was indeed bone chilling and had just started to seep back into her when she had chanced upon this room. Sitting down beside the dark haired young woman, she pulled her own shawl a little tighter around her body.

"That is the problem with the cold," she said, a smile on her face. "It lingers and takes hold like a mother would their childs hand. The fires warm us up for the moment, but as soon as we leave them, the cold is there again."

"I pity the poor knights though," she added thoughtfully. "Their training doesnt stop just for the winter. How hard must it be to practice when you're up to your knees in snow? Then again, I suppose the King and Prince think it makes them tougher warriors."

That last part was peppered with perhaps a little bit of condescension, though only ever so slight. Gwen wasnt insubordinate or disrespectful. She just didnt see how freezing men to within an inch of their life toughened them up.

[Lady Morgana le Fey]

Morgana slid over slightly on the couch and tucked her dress out of the way so that Gwen could sit down. The one good thing about being a servant was that because Gwen was always moving she tended to stay a little warmer than Morgana did but it was still nice to pause infront of the fireplace anyway for a few moments.

"That is the problem with the cold, It lingers and takes hold like a mother would their childs hand. The fires warm us up for the moment, but as soon as we leave them, the cold is there again."

Morgana smiled at Gwen's choice of words for they made all the sense in the world. "Gwen you have a poets touch- you describe it perfectly. We get lulled into a sense of warmth when we gather around the fires but then as soon as we are away from their touch we are cold once again..." The two sat side by side on the couch sucking in as much warmth as they could from the fires flames. Although they were technically servant and mistress, Morgana truly felt that Gwen was more of a friend and she would rather have Gwen's honesty rather than the veiled honesty of the other noblewomen.

"I pity the poor knights though, Their training doesnt stop just for the winter. How hard must it be to practice when you're up to your knees in snow? Then again, I suppose the King and Prince think it makes them tougher warriors."

Morgana did not have to know Gwen all that well to pick up on the sarcasm in her statement. It was pretty blunt...but very honest. Although it was important for the men to be in top physical condition at all times, surely there were other ways it could be done in the winter. Far be it for her to say anything to either the King and Arthur, but she has watched the men, from the safety/warmth of her chambers training down in the courtyard up to their knees in the snow as Gwen put it.

"I agree that it doesn't make a lot of sense to train when you are up to your knees in the snow, but who are we to convince the King and Arthur to change the routines...other than logically thinking women....Now as for yourself, I hope you are finding chances in between your work to warm up again and that you aren't tiring yourself out because of it. I don't want you straining yourself and risking making yourself sick...Promise me?"

[Guinevere Thomas]

A faint blush danced across Guinevere's cheeks at her lady's compliment but she nodded nonetheless, hoping to disguise it somewhat. Yes, she still blushed like a maid who was for the first time having her hand kissed by a handsome knight, and Gwen knew it would take years of careful schooling to unlearn that. Not that she wanted to, mind, but having ones embarrassment displayed for all to see on her face was disconcerting to say the least.

Gwen felt her smile widen a fraction as she tried to hold back a laugh. Whether or not Morgana intended it as a barb directed at the Pendragon males, it made Gwen wish to chuckle, knowing of course that, had Arthur been present, a sparring match of epic proportions would be sparked by it. She had often been witness to such matches between Morgana and Arthur, and they were a good source of entertainment if one could duck the barbs that flew. "You know them too well my lady," she commented lightly.

"Oh not at all. I am being careful," Guinevere hurriedly assured her friend with a smile and a wave of her hand. She knew sickness in these months was hellish and took far longer to get rid of than to catch in the first place, and Gwen had no desire to be bedridden as Gaius would no doubt declare her if she did happen to catch something. "I promise I will take care of myself, so long as you do the same," she added assuringly. "I wouldnt dream of leaving you at the mercy of one of Prince Arthur's servants." That was accompanied by a small chuckle, clearly referring to Merlin. Magic, warlock, whatever he may be, Merlin had still been dubbed the worst servant in Camelot's history, thanks to Arthur.

[Lady Morgana le Fey]

Morgana noted Gwen's blushing but refrained from commenting on this time as she did not want to embarass her maid anymore than she had. Whether she drew attention to it often depended on what they were talking about- if they were talking about boys and Gwen blushed she would be more likely to try and make her blush even more just for the fun of it. "You know them too well my lady,"

"Knowing them well is the joy of being the King's ward...I get to see the inner workings- both commands that make sense and also commands that don't necessarily make sense."

Morgana was glad to hear that Gwen was taking care of herself. Winter was not the best time to get sick- herbs for medicines were in short supply, it was bitterly cold and Gaius confined you to bed. The thought of being confined to bed again did not inspire Morgana at all. She thought back to the last time she had become ill and remembered being confined to bed to ride it out- sure she had been quite ill but still it got to the mind where she was going insane from simply staring at the chambers of her walls for such a long time. She did not want that to happen again. "I promise I will take care of myself, so long as you do the same, I wouldnt dream of leaving you at the mercy of one of Prince Arthur's servants."

"We will hold each other to the promise to stay healthy- I'm sure neither of us wish to be confined to bed. As for leaving me at the mercy of one of Arthur's servants- I think it would be a break for that servant."

[Guinevere Thomas]

Guinevere nodded and, although she wanted to speak to the truthfullness of Morgana's words, she refrained, knowing it wasnt her place. And despite the loss of her father, Gwen knew she had to be better than Uther. She had to be a better person about it all. That didnt mean she didnt still feel the loss, but it wasnt her place to berate the King over what he had done. She simply had to live with it. "Knowing them well is the joy of being the King's ward...I get to see the inner workings- both commands that make sense and also commands that don't necessarily make sense."

"And you get to spend your time putting Prince Arthur in his place," she commented instead, grinning like a mischevious child. Their arguments were quite the source of entertainment for Guinevere, and really any other servants (mostly Merlin) who happened to be around when they took place.

"We will hold each other to the promise to stay healthy- I'm sure neither of us wish to be confined to bed. As for leaving me at the mercy of one of Arthur's servants- I think it would be a break for that servant."

Guinevere couldnt help her chuckle at Morgana's insinuation. Merlin probably would see it as a vacation from Arthur's tyrannical duties for him, even though he was apparently the worst manservant in history according to the Prince. "Ah but then you would have to deal with the Prince too my lady," she replied. "For he would make it his business to ensure Merlin finally did his job right.... and then no doubt complain about why he couldnt do that when he was his servant."