Somebody That I Used To Know (Dusty)

[Tristian]

Tristian needed a caffeine fix and he needed it an hour ago. He had not intended to stay up as late as he had, he had certainly not intended for the night to end as it did, but he definitely had intended to leave as quickly as he did at 5am in the morning. However…he had classes in an hour and so had only caught a couple of hours of sleep before his alarm had blared at him.

He still had some time and with the Tea shop still not open he had to go to desperate measures. He popped into the diner that was thankfully quiet at this time and took a seat at the counter, pulling one of the menus towards him. “Mother forgive me,” he said as he looked down the list of coffees, ignoring the teas completely.

Realising someone was standing in front of him he said, “hi there, I’ll have the full breakfast feast and a large, very, very large coffee, with, you know, those extra shots that people have in them to get them through the-” he looked up, “…day…Dusty…hello…”

[Dusty Fae]

Dusty didn't mind an early shift at the diner. She used to be up with the sun back home only because it would give her a few hours of privacy. The Saloons girls worked late so they slept late. Watching the sun rise over the desert had been so nice. It wasn't nearly as nice here to watch the day dawn, but old habits died hard. Besides, it was pretty quiet in the early morning in the diner. She even had a few moments here and there to work on her homework.

Dusty's hair was held back this morning with a black velvet ribbon to match her all black t-shirt and skirt combination with black tights and her black lace up boots. She was glad that the aprons at the diner weren't black so she had a legitimate reason for not wearing black. It was going to be a long year of mourning.

She saw Tristian come into the diner and seat himself at the counter and suddenly her good morning turned dreadful. She remembered their last conversation. It had been about Arkady. Back when she had been such a fool. She had made such a fool of herself back then. She wished that Seamus was here. He would wait on anyone that she didn't feel comfortable waiting on. But he was off this morning and it was just her. She approached the counter with a neutral expression, but the prince didn't even look up at her, which was better. Dusty just wrote the order down quickly.

But oh, he had seen her now. And he remembered her. "Hi," she said awkwardly, glancing up at him now that he had said her name. "Uh, we don't have any espresso if that's what you're talking about. We just have regular coffee."

[Tristian]

“Regular coffee is fine,” he said with a smile, “as long as it has a lot of caffeine in it.”

It had been a while since he had spoken to Arkady’s little plaything. Speaking of which, it had been a while since he had spoken to the smooth talking and handsome Russian. When he thought about it, that was probably for the best, their…whatever it was they had…had been contentious at best. And with him not here that was one less person that knew his secret. However…looking at Dusty, he wondered just how far Arkady had got in his little scheme…

He tried to figure out how it might of gone looking at Dusty right now. There was definitely something less ‘soft’ looking about her, he didn’t know what it was, maybe it was all the black she was wearing but she just seemed to have a little more of an…edge about her. He liked the all black look, she pulled it off well. It was probably just what she was expected to wear to work…but it looked good.

Deciding the best way to find out would be to ask he said, “So…how have you been?”

[Dusty Fae]

Dusty nodded quickly. Regular coffee she could do and as they made it all day long there would be plenty to keep Tristian caffeinated. "It's caffeinated the regular amount but we have unlimited refills for coffee."

There, that would be the way to handle this situation. She could be an impersonal waitress and do her job without people talking to her. Why did people want to talk to her on the job anyway? She was busy.

She turned and put the Prince's order in for the cooks and then she poured a mug of coffee and brought it over to Tristian. She was about to wordlessly excuse herself, getting away without anything awkward when he asked the question.

How has she been? Bad and then worse. Much worse. In her grief she had very nearly married a farmer who needed a wife to look after his children. But she couldn't just blurt that out to Tristian of all people. She couldn't just tell him that things in her life were not good and they hadn't been good since before Arkady publicly humiliated her. And she had now spent too long thinking about a simple question. She smiled. "Fine," she answered finally. "How have you been?"

[Tristian]

“Unlimited refills are fine,” said Tristian and then smiled wearily at her, “however I’m warning you know, you may as well just leave the whole jug.”

The answer she gave him was short and sweet and he did not blame her. No doubt things had been rough for Dusty ever since…well…their mutual ‘friend’. Oh no one could deny that Arkady had been charming, not to mention handsome; he had always reminded him of Mordred, so he couldn’t blame her for being taken in by all that. After all, he had, in some way, although not to the same extent. He had agreed to help this young man with his rise to popularity, show him the proper way to act, introduce him to the right sort of people.

He knew of the boys plan for this lovely young woman…and he had done nothing to stop it…

There was a pang of guilt there. How annoying.

“Also fine,” he lied, “I uh…well…I haven’t seen you in a while, did you go home?”

[Dusty Fae]

Dusty shrugged. "It ain't so busy in here and unfortunately we don't have unlimited coffee pots. Plus, you ain't the only one drinking coffee." She motioned around the dinner. The few people in the place were drinking coffee. He'd have to share. And they could always make more coffee.

She didn't know why Tristian wanted to have a conversation with her of all people. She wasn't all that interesting. Especially now that she wasn't having anything to do with Arkady. She wasn't anybody, especially now. She wondered how long she would have to stand here at the counter pretending to be more polite than she felt.

She nodded curtly at the question. She held back the fierce sadness that wanted to surge forward. "Yes. I got an urgent letter." She didn't want everyone to know why she had been at home. Though she thought that more people should have picked up on the mourning clothes. But maybe other people didn't go into mourning for as long. "I had to be at home for a while."

[Tristian]

He was hung over, he was tired and he could feel the sarcasm rising within him. However he pushed it back down, because really, it wasn’t her fault. “It’s, it’s ok, I understand,” he said trying to stay as polite as possible, and even tried smiling at her, “it was just a joke. I’m feeling a little exhausted this morning so…yes, lots of coffee. Don’t normally touch the stuff, but…needs must.”

Tirstian could not blame her for being curt with him, not only was it far too early in the morning but in the end he had been perceived to have been Arkady’s friend. ‘Oh if only you knew the truth,’ he thought.

An urgent letter, that didn’t sound good. On any other day he might have just taken it as an excuse to get out of Tintagel, and away from the hurt of what Arkady did, however Dusty did not seem the type to run away from her problems. Granted he did not know her all that well but it was just the sort of impression he got from her. So whatever this urgent letter was, it must have been important.

“Sorry to hear that,” he said genuinely, “I hope everything was ok…”

He looked down at his coffee for a moment and then placing on the counter said, “Look, Dusty, I’m a little too hungover and a little too lacking in sleep to dress this up in subtlety so I’m just going to come right out and say it if that’s ok? I feel like you’re the kind of girl that might appreciate a bit of honesty and straight talking. Well here it is. Arkady was a complete and utter arse, and what he did to you was…so wrong. And...I’m sorry if anything I did in anyway contributed to it and…well…yes…that…normally I’m a lot more eloquent than that but…it is very early.”

[Dusty Fae]

Dusty wasn't sure how to react. It hadn't sounded like a joke and Tristian weren't exactly someone she wanted to joke with. And knowing herself she'd probably say something foolish, so instead she said nothing. That would be easier.

He was trying to be sincere, but Dusty couldn't. She couldn't handle it right now. Going home had been as far from okay as a body could get. "It weren't," she said tersely, turning away from Tristian with the intention of getting back to her work. She couldn't focus on her work if she had to keep being reminded of things she didn't want to think about.

But Tristian wasn't finished apparently. She turned back silently, tensed for what he was going to say. She blinked at him for a moment, stunned. That wasn't what she had imagined he'd say. Not at all. Someone was actually talking about the incident with Arkady and not making her feel like she was a foolish little thing for falling for all his sweet talk. And she certainly hadn't expected an apology. "Thank you," she said softly, her mind still catching up with this revelation. She blinked again and really looked at Tristian this time, assessing him. "I forgive you."

A bell at the window between and the counter and the kitchen rang and Dusty pulled herself away from the counter to go and fetch the meal. It was Tristian's too. She brought it over to him, feeling a bit softer now as she placed the plate before him. She felt bad now that she'd just been so rude to him and standoffish. "For what it's worth," she said, her voice soft again. "I like you better less eloquent."

[Tristian]

He felt instantly guilty about bringing up her going home, it was obvious that something not good had happened. He started to take in the clothes that she was wearing and started to piece together a few things. He thought she had just liked the colour, it suited her, although he got the impression she would really suit purple, or maybe a lilac colour, but…black…right…no, it wouldn’t have been ok when she went back if she was wearing black.

However he felt even more guilty when she turned to him and told him that she forgave him for his part in the Arkady mess. It felt good to have her forgiveness, it felt bad for once again bringing up something in her past that was probably something she would rather forget, just because he had felt a little guilty. He smiled at her and softly said, “thanks…however…if there is anything I can do to help make up for it…let me know.”

Maybe a shopping trip? He looked at the black clothes she was wearing and whilst they looked good, if she was being forced to wear black she may as well feel good in what she was wearing. The boots were great and he could think of a few dresses that he had seen in Madam Marshons that would definitely suit her figure.

He laughed a little when she said she liked him better less eloquent and said, “I’ll keep that in mind.”

“Thank you,” he said as she put down the food in front of him.

He took a bite and let out a satisfied groan, “mmm, so good, my compliments to your chef.”

Looking up at her decided to broach the subject, “I like your boots by the way. Where did you get them?”

’And do they come in a size 11’ he thought.

[Dusty Fae]

Dusty tilted her head slightly. He wanted to make it up to her. She didn't know why. He'd already apologized. What more did he think he could do? He couldn't change the past. He couldn't go back and make something different. "I don't need you to make up for it," she told him seriously. "You apologized. That was all I could have asked for. Now I'm just trying to put that all behind me. Move on. Live my life again." She to move on or she'd spend too much time thinking of what might have been and there was no point in dwelling on something she couldn't change.

"You're welcome." She smiled when he took a bite and groaned. "I'll tell him you say so."

She looked down at her boots at the compliment. She could remember which pair she was wearing. Her shoes were all black right now. "Oh, these are from the shop down the way." She pointed vaguely in the direction. "They remind me of the boots I wore back home."

She turned away from the counter at the sound of her name, grabbing the coffee pot and moving down the counter to refill coffee cups for anyone who wanted more. When that was done she popped up over the window between the counter and the kitchen. "Jose," she called over the clattering. "El príncipe envía sus cumplidos." She grinned at the shouted gracias she received in turn.

She brought the coffee pot over to Tristian, refilling his cup. "Jose, the chef, says thank you."

[Tristian]

He was glad she was moving on, he wasn’t sure how much he believed her but he was glad that in some small way the whole thing had not dragged her down completely. He looked at the black she was wearing and thought about the comments she had said…no…something else had done that. “Well…thank you,” he said genuinely.

He ate a little more of his breakfast a she headed towards the kitchen, speaking to the chef in Spanish. It really was incredibly good food, he could already feel his mood brightening the more he ate. And the coffee…for someone who normally swore by tea this coffee was a lifesaving liquid to him right now and nothing else had ever tasted better. When she returned with Jose’s thanks he said, “Well, credit where credit is due, no doubt Jose has to fight the girls off with his spatula if every meal is like this one.”

Looking down at her boots again he said, “They really are great, did you say you got them from a shop around here? I have a friend who would love a pair like that. Do you remember the name of the shop? Also, what sizes do they go up too? She has rather large feet.”

[Dusty Fae]

Dusty giggled at the image of Jose swatting at a swarm of girls. He wouldn't like that much. In fact, she didn't recall ever seeing an girls look his way. But plenty of boys did. "You know, I think he prefers gentleman callers. There are plenty that come to try and sweet talk him anyway." She shrugged. She didn't know much about those kind of things and didn't make it a point to ask Jose. Although she wasn't sure her Spanish was good enough for than anyway.

Dusty did try to remember where she'd gotten her boots, but the first couple of days after she'd come back had been a bit of a blur. She'd been off purchasing more clothes and shoes in black and getting things set with a job and figuring out how much school work she had to do. "I really don't remember. I'm sorry. I was in kind of a hurry to get a few things that weren't my clothes from back home." She would have really stuck out in those clothes.

[Tristian]

“Oh I see,” said Tristian trying not to be too intrigued whilst also trying to subtly look into the kitchens to see if he could get a look at this Jose who didn’t so much like the girls and made a glorious breakfast, “well then, it’s no wonder he has all these gentleman callers if he makes eggs like this.”

He listened to her and smiled kindly, “not to worry, I know that feeling. Walking around in full plate armour in this place is just a big no, but back home, it’s all the rage.”

Cutting up the bacon on his plate he added, “well…if you are not so busy later on, perhaps you and I could take a wander around the shops and see if we can find it? That’s, if you’re not too busy, I don’t want to put you out or anything.”

[Dusty Fae]

Dusty nodded, feeling a bit mischievous. She wasn't sure if she was supposed to tell, but it wasn't a secret either. Jose's gentleman callers were many and frequent. "Oh, they're regulars round here. Coming in sometimes three meals a day. They like to sit up here at the counter so they can make eyes at Jose."

Walking around in armor? Dusty was quite sure that wouldn't be comfortable for too long. And it would probably get real hot real quick. "I didn't know you were a knight. Just a prince."

Dusty grabbed the coffee pot and topped off the coffee cup. She thought about the offer. She had some homework to get to and she should probably do some laundry. But she had some time. "I suppose I could do that. Might good to get a bit of fresh air too."

[Tristian]

Well that settled that, he was simply going to have to try and get into the kitchens to see this Jose before he left. Especially if he was worth coming in for ‘three meals a day’. The food was good and it was exactly what he needed right now, he wasn’t sure it was three meals a day good. Leaning a little to the left to look over Dusty’s shoulder he tried to spot this sought after cook and get a look at him for himself, failing that he was just going to have to find some excuse to go into the kitchen.

“Hmm, wha?” said Tristian, his attention snapping back to Dusty as she spoke about him being a knight, “oh, right, yes, well, not officially. I don’t have a seat at the round table or anything; I suppose you would say I was a knight-errant. Just because I’m a Prince doesn’t mean that I don’t have to earn my place at that table, father has been pretty strict about that sort of thing. Which…is good, it means he only has worthwhile knights that have earned their nobility at his table. When I get back from here I might, you know, get on that, get to Questing and everything.”

Smiling he reached in to his pocket and pulled out his phone and said, “excellent, I’ve got to go to class after I finish this, but how about I give you a call later and we can meet up and hit the shops?”

He tapped the screen a few times and handed the phone over to her with the ‘New Contact’ screen showing.