He's the Devil in Disguise (Dusty)

[Tristian]

The important thing that everyone needed to remember when they looked back on this, was that he hadn’t set out with the intention of looking for this girl. It had been near the top of his ‘to do’ list (the general activities list, not the other ‘to do’ list which included Steven Strait and Taylor Launter) but so had ‘buy sunglasses’ and that was his original intention for setting out to Trenale Mall, since the weather was so nice and summer was on the way. Not to mention he had leant his other pair to his brother, who had sheepishly returned them scratched and minus one lens.

So when he had stepped into the mall and seen the little cowgirl, it was simply a pleasant surprise and not at all by his own design. What he did plan was their encounter from that point on. He just couldn’t pass up the opportunity to speak with her, especially after everything that dear Arkady had told him, no he definitely needed to scope this one out.

Crossing over to where she was he ‘accidentally’ knocked into her.

“Oh I’m terribly sorry,” he said, sounding completely and genuinely apologetic, “I was off in my own world there, do forgive me.”

[Dusty Fae]

Dusty hadn’t wanted ta come to the mall, but she’d some girl wearin’ a really nice kinda shoe. She couldn’t remember what they were called or anythin’, but they didn’t have a heel on ‘em and they were made o’ some real nice lookin’ fabrics. As much as Dusty loved ‘er boots, it might be nice ta have some other shoes. And it wouldn’t hurt ta look anyhow, even if she didn’t buy anythin’.

She were headin’ over to one o’ the places where she knew sold shoes. She hoped they’d have somethin’ that she liked. She were sure she’d find somethin’. There were so many more choices than she’d ever had at home. She were lost in ‘er own thoughts when someone bumped into ‘er, or she bumped into him. She couldn’t tell.

“Oh, I’m sorry. Are you alright?” she asked before she realized that he were apologizin’ to her. And then she didn’t know what to do because they were both apologizin’. “There’s nothin’ to forgive. It were an accident. No one was hurt, so it’s alright.”

[Tristian]

Well wasn’t she just a darling little dumpling.

That little innocent expression that sweet little accented voice, she was sugar and spice and all things nice for sure. It made him want to throw up. He could see now why Arkady had chosen this one, she had ‘Gullible’ tattooed on her forehead and was sure to fall for anything. Especially someone who was as clearly untrustworthy as Arkady was. Didn’t she see that? Of course not, she was blinded by feelings, and quite possibly those dashing good looks, not to mention the outrageously good looking body. And had he spoke French to her, that could probably do it as well…

This wasn’t helping the situation.

“Well it was terribly rude of me, you must let me make it up to you-…I’m sorry,” he said and pretended to look at her a bit more closely, “…have we met before? I’m sure I’ve seen you around…I’m Tristian, Tristian Summer- Pendragon.”

It wasn’t that he expected everyone to know who he was….well…he did…people talked about him enough, everyone should know who he was.

[Dusty Fae]

Dusty were real sure she’d remember if she’d ever met him before. She didn’t know too many people here. She kept to ‘erself most o’ the time and a lotta girls seemed not ta like ‘er anyhow. She woulda remembered runnin’ inta someone like him though. The way he dressed he were prob’ly rich. He wouldn’t talk to her if’n he hadn’t run into her. Folks like him didn’t talk to folks like her.

But she had heard the name afore, or at least she thought so. People talked about a boy named Tristian at school sometimes. “I’ve heard of you. People talk about you at school, but I don’t think we’ve ever met,” she told ‘im. “I’m Dusty.” She held out her hand to him ‘cause her momma’d always taught her to be polite. And Tristian seemed real important, so she wanted to be real polite.

[Tristian]

Tristian smiled pleasantly and took the hand that was offered, however rather than shaking it, he leaned forward and kissed the back of it. He was, after all, a gentleman, even if Dusty wasn’t the kind of class of person he was used to talking too…who was he kidding, he spoke to everyone. That was one of the things a person needed to do if they wished to be considered ‘popular’, they had to be able to speak to everyone…they didn’t necessarily have to be nice to everyone, just speak to everyone.
 
“Well then it is a delight to finally meet you Dusty, I have also heard about you,” he said still holding on to her hand, “I am a friend of Arkady’s. you must be his beautiful girlfriend. I must say I believed him to be exaggerating, but I see now he has told me nothing but the truth.”
 
He didn’t know if ‘friend’ was really the right word, if he had asked Arkady to describe who he was to him he would have probably said ‘tormentor’. In fact Tristian would have described him as his ‘leech and possible future blackmailer.’
 
Their friendship…no…relationship…no…their ‘ship’ was complicated.

[Dusty Fae]

Dusty shoulda expected that Tristian weren’t just gonna shake ‘er hand. He looked like a right proper gentleman, so o’ course he’d act like one. But Dusty were surprised anyway. She didn’t come across right proper gentlemen too often. And she were even more surprised when Tristian said that he and Arkady were friends. Arkady’d never mentioned it to her. It seemed like there were a lotta things he hadn’t told her.

But she didn’t have much time to think ‘bout what Arkady weren’t tellin’ ‘er, cuz Tristian were still talkin’ and he were tellin’ ‘er that she were beautiful. She blushed and looked down, scuffin’ ‘er boot. “I’m sure that ain’t true. I ain’t as pretty as all that.” She managed a glance up at Tristian. “I ain’t sure what Arkady’s been tellin’ yah, but I’m sure he’s bein’ a bit gen’rous with the truth if’n that’s what he’s tellin’ yah.” Whatever the two o’ them were talkin’ ‘bout the two of ‘em were bein’ much nicer’n the truth.

[Tristian]

Tristian, still smiling pleasantly (really it was most taxing being this pleasant to someone who was clearly so easy to mock, the way she blushed the scuffing of the boot…the only satisfaction he could take in that was that it would have been far too easy) he shook his head and said, “Madam I can assure you I am a connoisseur of all things beautiful and regarding yourself I can assure you that Arkady has had no need to be, as you say, generous. If anything I believe he has sold you short, for in person you are far more enchanting than any description.”
 
In all honesty, she wasn’t a bad look looking little thing. Not quite as wonderful as he was making her out to be, but there was definitely a natural beauty there that had a little bit of potential. If he had a little more time and wasn’t so completely swamped with making Arkady into something he wasn’t he might have made the little cowgirl is next one…
 
Motioning to the nearby outdoor café he said, “Would you allow me to buy you a beverage? I would very much like to know you better, to see if Arakdy is worthy of such lovely young girl.”

[Dusty Fae]

Dusty were real sure that Tristian weren’t talkin’ ‘bout her. Arkady’d called ‘er beautiful, but would he really describe her as that to his friends? She didn’t even know that he’d talk about ‘er to his friends, never mind describin’ ‘er. Dusty’d never thought of ‘erself as beautiful. Nothin’ close to that usually. She didn’t mind the way she looked, but she didn’t think she were real pretty or anythin’ like that. She weren’t one ta bellyache or anythin’, but it seemed a little strange that he were goin’ on and on about how pretty she was. She figured she oughta not say anythin’ atall. She didn’t wanna offend anyone.

She supposed she could let Tristain buy her somethin’ to drink, though she prob’ly wouldn’t know half the things, but most places usually had coffee and she could just get that. “I s’pose that’d be alright,” she agreed, though she really weren’t sure. She hoped he didn’t ask too many questions ‘bout ‘er home. She didn’t really want anyone else findin’ out about ‘er secret. She didn’t wanna be judged for it anymore.

[Tristian]

“Wonderful,” said Tristian sounding utterly delighted, which in a strange way he was, and held out his arm, waiting for her to take it.
 
As fate would have it, the odds weren’t in Dusty’s favour as about her home and family was exactly what Tristian wanted to know. He wanted to figure out who this girl was and why Arkady had specifically singled her out for humiliation. Her naive nature was obvious, she would fall for anything it appeared, even at this moment she didn’t notice the snake in the grass. Not that he really thought of himself as a snake, no, something much more classy, he couldn’t think of what right now, but something like a snake…but with style.
 
“So where are you from My lady,” he said turning to look at her with an interested expression, “I have a friend who has an accent like yours, are you from the south? From the Americas?”

[Dusty Fae]

Dusty took the arm that were offered. Tristain seemed real nice and he really were a gentleman and all, but she were real nervous talkin’ to ‘im. Especially when he called her ‘My lady’. She weren’t really a lady. Not at all. She tried ‘er bets to be a lady, but sometimes it didn’t always work in her favor. She preferred to be called just Dusty, but she didn’t want Tristain ta think that she were awful rude by correctin’ ‘im. But it did make her nervous.

“Well, I ain’t from the South exactly. I live in the territory of Arizona. It’s West. Close to California, but not quite. My town is called Los Avalos though. It sprung up next to the railroad, or maybe the railroad was built next to the town. I cain’t remember now. But it’s real small. The closest town is a lot bigger’n Los Avalos. We’re tryin’ ta get statehood, but we ain’t got enough people yet.” She bit ‘er lip ta keep from ramblin’ on even more ‘bout things that Tristain prob’ly didn’t care nothin’ about.

[Tristian]

Tristian had no idea where any of the places she was talking about was. America was America and that was that. There was a south a north and a west, perhaps an east as well but that didn’t seem to be talked about as much as all the other parts. The south was the only part he had any real interest in and even then he was only interested in it because of Henry. Interest was perhaps a strong word, because it wasn’t really that either, he supposed it was just a knowledge of it, a basic knowledge of it. In all honesty he didn’t know much or want to know much about the Americas. As far as he was concerned, he simply couldn’t forgive them for the dreadful tea he had to endure drinking when he went to visit Henry for a time. It was truly awful.

He didn’t let any of that show when he was speaking to Dusty thought, pretending to be interested every single syllable, never mind word. “How fascinating,” he said as genuinely as he could, “well I do hope your population increases so that you may receive this statehood.”

Whatever in the name of Gucci that was.

“So what made you decide to come to Tintagel?”

[Dusty Fae]

It didn’t really cross her mind that other people didn’t really know about the United States. To her, it was just home. She’d never been anywhere else and she sometimes forgot that people didn’t know ‘bout where she came from or even the history of the West. It just didn’t occur to ‘er. If it had she woulda explained better.

But she smiled at Tristain. “Thanks.” She was glad that she hadn’t bored him half ta death. He seemed ta be in’erested in what she had ta say, even if it weren’t all that in’erestin’.

But oh, he asked about why why she’d come here. Well, that could get a bit tricky. She weren’t gonna lie, she just weren’t gonna tell the whole truth. The whole truth was somethin’ Dusty didn’t really wanna share with too many people. “Well, back home, most girls my age are done with schoolin’, but I heard ‘bout this school and thought it might be in’erestin’. I like school. And I’ve never been away from home before, so I asked my momma about it.” She shrugged. “She said yes.”

[Tristian]

“You must have been very lucky then to have had schooling when you were younger then,” said Tristian very seriously, “a lot of the girls back where I’m from don’t even get a chance of having any schooling, to be fair, neither do the boys. Only a select few of the nobles and royalty can read in my land, never mind write. Even then, the only reason myself and my brothers and sisters are so good is because we had Merlin. He is a very…determined tutor.”

Tristian didn’t like to talk too much about the way things were back in Camelot, not when he was in Trenale and so accustomed to the modern way of life there. From a young age he had been brought up in the two worlds, experiencing both, learning from both, not talking about the other in either. The girl in front of him didn’t seem too comfortable talking about her world so…perhaps he felt it would have put her more at ease talking about his own. He doubted it though…that was only a reason he had come up with after he said it. In truth, the words had just come out…perhaps there was more to this girl than he initially thought…almost like you wanted to tell her things…hmm…

As they reached the small outdoor café he pulled out a chair for her, “My lady, Dusty, if you would permit me?”

[Dusty Fae]

Dusty listened seriously as Tristain spoke. It didn’t seem like a real nice place if’n yah couldn’t go to school. Dusty wouldn’t know what she woulda done if’n she didn’t know how ta read. She read every book she could get her hands on, sometimes more’n once. Tristain were lucky ta be well educated, she s’posed. “Well that don’t sound fair to ever’one else,” she commented. “Schoolin’s real important.”

Ever’body went to school in Los Avalos and she knew that if’n yah couldn’t go to school then usually mommas taught you back at home. Her own momma had taught Dusty her letters so that when she went to school she know somethin’. Dusty knew how to read and write now and even do some arithmetic and for that she were real grateful. Bein’ educated was real important.

She smiled at Tristain when he pulled her chair out for her. That were real kind and it made ‘er feel like an actual lady, instead o’ what she really was. “Thank you,” she said takin’ the seat. Tristain were bein’ awful nice to ‘er.

[Tristian]

“Yes, that’s what Merlin told us but we generally just ignored him,” said Tristian with a fond smile.

Apparently as a child he had been very easy to teach, was always attentive and hung on the mans every word. As he got older however he became…difficult, Merlin, Bedivere, it didn’t matter who it was Tristian had attitude and he wasn’t afraid to use it. If they had been paying attention then his parents probably would have noticed this change came with the arrival of Meredith. It didn’t mean he didn’t learn, he was just a difficult student, pretending not to know the answer, to not have studied when really he had.

“But we aren’t talking about me, for once,” he said with a smile, “we’re talking about you. How on earth did Arkady meet such a sweet young girl. Tell me all about it.”