In need of repair (Lady Sophia)

[Sir Tristan de Braose]

Tristan strutted into the Blacksmiths with an air of upmost confidence and enthuasism in his step. The smell of burning metal and sweat hung heavy in the air; the buring fire of the furnace lay centre in the simply structure of the building. Sights and sounds of the clattering of metal, hammer's knocking against anvils and a wide array of tools being put to work rattled in his ears. He had almost forgot what it was like to visit the Blacksmiths as back in his hometown of Cornwall he would have deposited his broken armour in the arms of a willing serving girl who then took it to the Blacksmiths for him. But now in Camelot things were different, and he was determined to go about his life living it for himself and looking out for number one. He did not need to be waited on hand and foot, plus what would he ever learn from life if he was not living it by himself?

"Excuse me?" Tristan battled over the overpowering sound of men at work and had to shout in order to get his voice heard. He singled out someone who looked like they could help him and gently tapped him on the shoulder. "My armour is in need of repair, I was wondering if you could carry out such a job for me?" His tone was heavy yet polite and was greeted by the blacksmith who took the armour from his hands and nodded in response. The grubby looking man then disappeared from view with armour in tow and began to resume his work before proceeding to move onto his next task in which he had been assigned to.

Tristan couldn't help but feel sorry for these 'peasants'. He had never known real, hard labour work like this and had only ever been accustomed to the constant challenges of training to become a knight. Life had been fairly easy for him so far so his mind boggled over having to do this everyday for the rest of your life with hardly a fitting break and money which faired the job he was forced to do.

He navigated himself over to a solitary bench outside the Blacksmith's workshop and gracefully took a seat. He had decided to wait for his armour to be repaired as he had nothing else planned. It was either this or skulking around the Soldier quarters for the rest of the day hoping something interesting would happen. Now that he had finished his training and was now a qualifed knight, he didn't really have anything to work towards. He wasn't required to train as much anymore and was simply there until he would be called upon to aid in battles or disagreements. And sometimes day after day could go by without so much of an argument. His eyes scanned acrossed the atmosphere, watching people scurry past him with armfuls of cotton, bread, meat and all sorts they had purchased from the market. He rested his head on his hand as he began to 'people watch' trying to overcome the feeling of boredom hoping that someone would come up and talk to him to help the time pass more quickly.

[Princess Sophia Lyonesse]

Even though neither king was probably aware of it, a good amount of Gore's wealth was flowing into Camelot … simply because Sophia loved to shop. Now that she had discovered the market, the princess spent quite a bit of time there, generally around the fabric sellers … where she had beautiful new gowns made … and the jewelers, who crafted custom jewelry especially for her. She also bought little things to decorate her chambers, and accessories for her hair.

She was wearing one of those new outfits today … her gown was a pale shade of turquoise, and cream-colored lace peeked out from the top of her bodice, the ends of her flowing sleeves, and the hem of her dress. Her belt and jewelry were made of gold and studded with pastel-colored gemstones, while turquoise ribbons and golden beads were woven into her long dark-blonde hair.

The young princess had just sent Kerensa back to her chambers with her purchases of the day when she spied the most beautiful work of art that she had ever seen. It was a sculpture of a dragon, painted with a sparkling iridescent gold that shone with many different colors in the sun. Its wings were leather of the same unusual shade. Poised for flight, it held a crystal orb, also iridescent, in its talons. It was gorgeous, and she knew that she had to have it.

As she suspected, it cost a small fortune, but Sophia was skilled at bargaining and was able to get it for a lot less than the first price she was given. The problem was how to get it back to the castle without someone to carry it for her. The stall owner had told her he would do it, but he was unable to find someone to mind his stall and so could not leave. Asking a complete stranger was out of the question. Most of the market goers were peasants and would probably run off with the sculpture as soon as they had it in their grasp.

So it looked as if she would have to carry it herself. At first it was manageable, but the longer she walked, the heavier it became. Looking around for somewhere to rest, she saw a bench settiing outside of a blacksmith's shop. It was occupied by a handsome man, a knight by the look of him, but there was plenty of room for two. And, if he didn't mind a bit of conversation, perhaps she could interest him in carrying the dragon the rest of the way to the castle.

It was certainly worth a try.

Lugging the sculpture over to the bench, Sophia smiled charmingly at the man sitting there. “Do you mind if I join you?” she asked, setting the glittering dragon on the ground. “I'm afraid I am quite tired from carrying this heavy thing so far.”

In truth, the she had carried it less than a hundred yards, but for someone who was not used to carrying anything at all, it seemed like she had been hauling it around forever.

[Sir Tristan de Braose]

Oh, the sorrows of boredom. The very thing that could reduce many a man to insanity and spur him on to do the most crazy of accomplishments. Boredom was a constant companion to a knight, for not all of his job entailed adreniline-pumping fights and exciting chases on horse back. Most of it was waiting around for somthing to happen, protecting chambers or standing outside of a door all day, walking around on patrols until the calf muscles in the back of your legs rawred with complaint. Not the glamorous job it was often painted to be, yet nevertheless he wasn't exactly complaining. He loved his job and wouldn't change it for the world, as it brought him all of the satisfaction he would ever come to need in life. For the feeling of actively taking a role in protecting and laying your life down for your country was the most fulfilling thing you could ever do.

Boredom was such a thing he had grown acccustomed to. It had taught him to relinquish excitement for it was a thing that never came on in leaps and bounds, instead came and went with no guarantee it was ever going to come about again. Daily sparring and training wasn't the same as a full-blown war yet it was enough to settle the adreniline levels for the time being before something more serious came along. Tristan was fairly odd in the way he enjoyed fighting and welcomed it, rather than most who was greatful to feel boredom as long as they stayed out of the way of trouble. Trouble was fun, waiting for trouble was boring.

With an impatient sigh, Tristan continued to fap his fingers against the wood he was sitting on in an attempt to amuse himself. Hopefully his armour would not make him wait too long or he invisiged himself creating a drama or a form of excitement to occupy him until it was ready. Yawn, boring. He wanted nothing more than to immerse himself into a long-winded hunting trip yet he was under strict instructions not to leave Camelot or stray too far away from the castle in case of emergency. That left very little room for fun, for there was not much to challenge the mind here in the centre of Camelot.

“Do you mind if I join you?”

Tristan was almost certain he was imagining someone saying that. He was longing for interaction so it had crossed his mind he was just summoning a conversation to himself in admist of all this boredom. Yet there was a girl standing straight in front of him, carrying a rather heavy peice of art looking rather frail in her arms. He nodded and drew a quick smile, shuffling himself up on the bench in order to make room for her. "Of course, be my guest". Tristan tucked his red cloak under his leg in order to free up some space, his knight of arms emblazed proudly on his back.

“I'm afraid I am quite tired from carrying this heavy thing so far.”

Tristan scanned his eyes over her petite figure. Judging by her clothes, the way she carried herself and that rather expensive looking statue in her hands he immediately came to the conclusion that she was of noble standing. Looking at things in more depth, he swore he had passed her in the castle on more than one occasion even seeing her pass the training grounds once or twice. He was sure it was the same person although he could have easily been mistaken. "I would not be a gentlemen if I did not offer to carry it for you? I wouldn't mind taking it to wherever you want to go. These muscles aren't just for show you know" He beamed a charming smile and proceeded to introduce himself.

"The names Tristan. Tristan de Braose, prince of Cornwall, I'm a knight of Camelot" It was only polite to make it known who he was and on every level he was proud. Having the right to call himself a Knight was of endless amusement to him and as of yet he wasn't quite used to the entitlement. The chance of company was something he was keen not to let slip so he was embracing it with open arms. "Nice to meet you"