Girl A t Home (OPEN)

[Guinevere]

For the sixth time that day Guinevere scrunched up the paper in front of her and threw it in the bin.

How was she even supposed to start this sort of thing? She was excellent at letter writing, she did it all the time, back home it was the only way of communicating, this should be easy. Of course, it was not really the writing part that was getting to her, it was the content. What was she supposed to say?

Dear Levain,

I hope this actually manages to find its way to you. I know that some of the people on the island say that these letters can sometimes reach the prisoners so I thought I might as well give it a go. I hope you are well and they are not treating you too badly-

She scrunched it up again and threw it in the bin.

Tapping her pen against the desk with one hand the other rested gently on her swollen belly, gently caressing the bump.

“He's a prisoner of war, I doubt very much they're giving him tea and biscuits,” said Gwen, speaking as she often did to the child that the doctor had told her might be able to hear, “I swear, the minute your born my love we are going over there to sort this whole mess out.”

[Deleted]

Remy was pretty sure that someone else should technically be doing what he was doing now, being that he was carrying food to the various people in the lodges who didn't seem quite as willing, for whatever reason, of going out and getting it themselves. He'd been working mostly in the kitchen, helping to cook and prepare the food for the masses. He'd also learned in quite a hurry how to cook fast. But that's all unnecessary backstory. The important thing was that Remy was standing at the doorway, such as it was, holding a tray and trying to figure out whether you were allowed to interrupt royalty when they talked to themselves. Maybe it had something to do with the royal we?

"Erm," he tried, even adding a polite little cough, "your highness? Your majesty? Your...queenliness?" What term were you supposed to use for royalty again? "I, uh, have some food here for you...all?"

He shifted, lifting up the tray. He'd managed to scrap together some of the better stuff since Gwen was, by very definition, royal. Plus, she was pregnant, apparently, which made her even more important. Remy definitely wanted to make sure that the pregnant woman got good food. If there was anything he could help with, it was that.

He still wasn't moving until he got the okay though. No way, no how.

[Guinevere]

Gwen looked up from where she was sitting to see the young man at the door holding up the tray of food. Smiling kindly she motioned to the table in front of her and said, “Thank you, Remy isn’t it? Just put it down there, thank you very much.”

She had seen him around the island, and Apollo liked to talk about him sometimes, plus Gwen made it her business to make sure she knew everyone on the island. It may be that she had never spoken to them before but she would learn all their names. There was not much else to do on the island anyway.

Before she let the young man leave however she asked, “Remy do you have anyone to write too…back in Trenale…anyone that might be fighting, or helping? I…I seem to be having a bit of bother writing this letter.”

[Deleted]

Wow, she even knew his name. Remy had to stop and stare for a few seconds while his brain processed that little tidbit. Somehow, he just hadn't expected that. Royalty just... they just didn't remember stuff like that. Then again, Remy supposed that it wasn't like they all had a lot of other stuff to think about or do here, what with being stuck with each other and all.

"Sure thing, your majesty," he said, deciding that title would work as well as any. He took a few steps in, setting the tray down and arranging it. He looked up to Gwen, opening his mouth, about to describe what lay on the tray. Something in the way she looked made him pause though. There was worry there, worry about... something? Someone? Remy wasn't that good. He also wasn't sure he should even be prying into a royal's business.

But there was a question, and Remy was horrible about not answering those. He shifted his feet, looking up at the queen and licking his lips while he tried to get the answer out from whatever depth it lay. "Uh, sort of? I mean, I think I've got some people. I had a sort of friend that's fighting with the resistance. At least, he was. There's a girl too, but I--I'm not sure where she ended up...'

It occurred to Remy that he hadn't even seen Dory in some time now, and he'd really expected her to come here. He shifted again, looking to Gwen. "Uh, do you, your high-majesty? Have someone. I mean. Well, I guess you do, right? I mean, there's, uh, lots of people, and you're writing the letter, and--uh, I can just, go, if you'd like..."

[Guinevere]

Her heart went out to the young man when he told her that he too knew people that were fighting. Mostly because she knew how he must be feeling now, because he did not seem sure where they were, he did not know what happened to them, what was happening to them right this very second. Yes, she understood that. If she had been able to make the journey every day, she would be down at the docks waiting for the ships coming in with news of the war. As it was, the hill down to the docks was proving to be more than a little taxing these days, she was sorry to say.

“No please, stay,” she said, motioning to the chair in front of her, “yes, I do have someone. A few in fact, like you. Two of my dearest and closest friends are fighting in the resistance and…someone I…care about a great deal…you could say…love…well he has been taking captive by the army.”

She loved him, she loved him a lot, so why was it so hard to say it out loud to this young man. Because she shouldn’t, because it had been in the Trenale Guardian not so long ago that her and Arthur were pretty much as official as it gets. With any luck Remy would not be an avid reader of the guardian and she would get away with it.

Rubbing her eyes, refusing to let the tears that were building there fall she said, “Anyway, I’m trying to write to him and well…I just don’t know what sort of thing to say to someone who-…what is that wonderful smell?”

[Deleted]

Stay, and a motion to a chair. Remy paused, staring at it as if he expected it to leap up and attack him at any moment. Still, he took it, moving slowly and a little jerkily. Once in position, he shifted, listening to the chair adjust, and then looked up at the beautiful princess.

Or was it queen? Remy wasn't exactly up to date on such things. He wasn't the type of person to follow the lives of various celebrities and royalty; he just knew what he heard. There had been something about her, something about a recent marriage or something. Remy knew she was a VIP; that fact wouldn't let him rest easy, actually.

The rubbing eyes didn't go unnoticed either. Remy shifted, glancing to the food. "The smell?" he took a sniff himself. 'Well, there's, uh, some sort of floral scent. Lavender, maybe? I'm not great with flowers. There's the crappy soap they use on all our clothing and stuff. Um, I think there's, uh, well, technically your smell. And I smell like a kitchen..."

Suddenly, it occurred to Remy that there was something which was a much, much more likely candidate.

"Oh, the food," he turned slightly red, turning to point, "I, uh, it's just soup, since, you know, that's pretty much all they let me cook. But I tried to get spices and stuff," he paused, turned to look, and then looked back to Gwen. "Why don't you just write what you feel? I mean, it's not easy, I guess, and I'm hardly one to talk, but... i don't know," Remy shrugged, "that's kind of what I wished I'd done..."

[Guinevere]

She looked at the young man with a fond smile as he began to rhyme off all the other scents that it could possibly be, stifling a laugh when he finally got to what she was meaning. She looked down at the soup in front of her and indeed it did look a lot more appetising than usual. Normally there was stuff floating in it that she did not even want to think about it, now she could not wait to tuck him. Propriety and decorum, especially of what was expected of a princess, stopped her from launching in to it face first.

Write what you feel.

“It is not as easy as it sounds…especially when you are so unsure about how you feel. How can you possibly put into words the amount of emotions you are feeling at one moment? Are there even enough words in this language that can convey it? I-…”

Her brain caught up with her and she looked at the young man with renewed interest, in the only way Guinevere could when she stumbled across an interesting little bit of information. “You wished you could have…and, I’m sorry to pry but, who were you corresponding with?”

[Deleted]

Wow, there were a lot of words there. Remy worked his mouth slowly while his brain tried desperately to keep up with all of them. There were... a lot of words there. He ended up chewing his lip slightly, his stance shifting. How did you talk to royalty again? Well, she kept acting like it was all civil and stuff, so Remy figured he should just... do the same? Probably?

"Well, uh, I figure that you just, you know, say the stuff. Like what you just said. Maybe say that you don't know what to say and eventually everything works out, or something," Remy shrugged. This was definitely one part of the whole being human thin that he really didn't understand. He shifted again. There was more, a more direct question. Wow, and Remy thought things had been rough before.

"Ah, a girl," he offered, blushing slightly. "Not that--well, we were friends, mostly. I don't think she even remembers me though. She's got a problem with that," Remy paused, considering. "You know, I probably should have written something for her anyway. That probably would have helped," he took another deep breath, then nodded to Gwen. "But you should definitely write something to, uh, whoever it is you're writing too. I bet he or, uh, she, I guess, is thinking about you too. Probably."