Keep It Under Wraps (Open)

[meredith]

Meredith was feeling particularly cautious. After all, the last time she had snuck away to do something even remotely girly, Tristian had somehow honed in on her and managed to embarass her horribly, and the chances of that happening were increased tenfold when she was here, in the mall of all places, it was practically Tristian's mothership!

She hadn't actually planned to do anything all that incriminating, she was just buying a new pair of jeans since she'd torn hers beyond acceptable levels of decency, and even though she'd probably get teased for the fact that she was shopping at all, she had judged it to be not that much of a risk.

Then she'd seen the lingerie shop.

It was a terrible idea, and she wasn't even sure she wanted to do it, and knowing her luck it was going to get back to someone and humiliate her, but... well... sometimes even sword-wielding tomboy princesses liked to feel pretty when there was someone they perhaps wanted to impress, and even though she wasn't at all sure if lingerie was representative of anything she was ready for, it would be nice to have it... just in case...

After a furtive look around to make sure nobody she knew was watching, she ducked into the store, and immediately became completely mystified - where did she even begin?

[Tristian]

The mall, was indeed, Tristian’s mothership and really the little mudball of a Princess should have realised that you couldn’t step onto this particular ship without it’s Captain’s knowing it. Although for from some kind of scientific sensor going of, he just so happened to be in the right place at the right time, or rather…the wrong place at the wrong time. Tristian, was already in the lingerie shop, leaning against the till talking to a rather pretty young brunette at the other side, who was leaning just so that Tristian had a direct view done her rather low neckline of a top. For the sake of appearances, Tristian had been indulging her for the past five minutes as he asked her opinion on the different bras around the place and had made mental reminders to himself that he should be looking down said neckline every few seconds.

“What about a girl with a rather broad back but not much up front?” he asked the brunette, “What would be the best kind of bra for her? Surely that cant be an easy one to find.”

“Oh we get girls like that allll the time,” she said flicking her hair back, “you mean the sort of manish kind?”

“Something like that,” said Tristian smirking, look down top.

“Well the best ones would be over in that corner, or maybe the sports bra. But then if they haven’t got much up front, why they hell are they looking for a bra in the first place?” she said and laughed, before adding with a very shocked expression, “you know sometimes, they come in, these girls” she put air quotes around the ‘girl’, “and…I don’t think they’re girls at all!”

“Really?” said Tristian mimicking her shock and sounding sarcastic to anyone else that clearly wasn’t the airhead in front of him, “well then what would they be?”

“Men. Men dressed as women,” she whispered.

“Noooooo,” almost not smiling.

The girl nodded enthusiastically but seriously, “yes! Can you imagine that?!”

“Yes I think I can,” he said still smirking.

“I mean what would they need Bra’s for? They’re men, they have nothing there.”

Tristian was about to reply when he spotted the little figure darting in to the shop and looking immediately lost. “Speaking of nothing there,” he mumbled, still smirking.

He quickly jumped round to the back of the counter and pulled the girl down beside him who started giggling as he grinned at her. “You have to help me, or rather, that girl out there.”

“Oooh, Ex-girlfriend?” the brunette asked.

Tristian made a disgusted face and said, “Ew, no. Definitely not. No, that is my sister and I need you, my little sweet shop assistant, to ascertain why she is here, what she is looking for and then relay to me whatever that is so I can best sabotage her. Got her?”

The brunette pouted a little and leaned forward, “And what’s in it for me?”

Tristian tried not to wince and keeping the smile still in place said, “a 20% commission on whatever she buys and possibly a dinner for two at a restaurant tonight?”

“Sounds perfect,” said the girl standing up and walking quickly towards Meredith.

Tristian smirked to himself for a bit before he noticed a red bra hanging near by and picked it up looking intently before checking the label and sighing. “They never have anything in my size.”

The girl tapped Meredith in the shoulder and said, “Can I help you with anything Miss?”

[meredith]

Meredith's reaction to most of that conversation might have been very interesting, not because she knew about Tristian, but because of her own parents' past, but of course the majority of it happened before she'd even walked into the shop - which she wouldn't have done if she'd seen Tristian, so either way the conversation was destined to never reach her ears.
Which was sort of a pity, for her, because it would have given her something to think about other than how much she really didn't belong here.

When she was tapped on the shoulder, she almost, for a second, thought it was because somebody was about to tell her just that, like she had a flashing sign above her head that read 'tomboy' and they were about to ask her to step outside - not a completely ridiculous worry when you lived in a place like Tintagel, but still.

"Oh, um, I was... just... looking..." She explained lamely, trying to sound breezy and in control but the hesitation completely ruining the image.

[Tristian]

The shop assistant well practiced in the ways of customers who were ‘just looking’, after all she did work on commission and they were always the ones most susceptible to their shop assistant ways. If she hadn’t already been doing this as a favour to the handsome red head currently hiding behind the counter she would definitely have picked this one as a target anyway. Smiling politely she said, “Well allow me to help you look for something appropriate for you.”
 
Tristian snorted quietly when he heard that and mumbled, “two empty tea bags with some string should be appropriate enough for that chest.”
 
“Are you shopping for a special occasion? Everyday? Something to give you a little boost perhaps?” she said giving the impression that if any implications were being made she certainly didn’t mean it to be that way, “or perhaps some of our nightwear collection?”

[meredith]

It really was a very good job for Tristian that he was out of his sister's earshot, because he might be a perfectly trained prince, ready to take up command of the knights and all that, but Meredith could fight like a wildcat when she was really annoyed, and insults thrown at her when she wasn't in her comfort zone would most definitely send her over the edge.

Instead, she just looked even more bewildered, and wondered if it would be entirely princessly behaviour to just turn tail and flee from the shop. Not that she ordinarily worried about princessly behaviour, but that would be the sort of thing that could get back to someone.

"Sure, nightwear." She finally said weakly - that, at least, would be safe, right? None of these frothy lace confections that she couldn't make heads or tails of, or skimpy ensembles of fabric and string that seemed designed to cover absolutely nothing.

[Tristian]

The shop assistant smiled and nodded, motioning to the back of the store where all the nightwear was. Black lacy slips, whit silk night gowns, pink gauze pyjama top and bottoms. None of it covered very much, or if it did, the length and size was ruined by the see through nature of the clothing. None of it was really designed to be worn for too long, or to be in any use during the winter months.

“If you need anything just call,” she said with a smile before hurrying back to the counter and crouching down beside Tristian.

“Well?”

“She’s looking for nightwear,” she whispered, grinning from ear to ear enjoying the espionage.

“Why is she looking for that?” he wondered, mainly to himself.

“Uh, to have something to wear at night, duh?” said the assistant playfully poking his arm.

Tristian attempted not to glare. He smiled and whispered in her hear. The assistant giggled and said, “Oh you’re evil.”

“I know,” he said as she stood up and headed back towards Meredith, picking up a garment on the way.

Smiling politely she held out the nightgown for Meredith to see and said, “Might I suggest this if you are, say, looking for a particular occasion. A night in with the boyfriend…or girlfriend?”

[meredith]

Meredith was hoping, after the shop assistant had disappeared from view (had she just crouched down behind the counter? No, surely not... unless she was doing something behind there, organising stock or tidying up or something... yes, that must be it), that she could make her escape and flee the shop. She particularly wanted to once she had a look at some of the so-called nightwear around her, and wondered just who on earth would wear that nonsense to bed. She hated her stupid long, frilly nightdresses, but they were definitely preferable to this lot.

Unfortunately, she'd spent too long regarding the offending articles with disdain, and the saleswoman returned before she could flee. Honestly, they were so pushy, how did anybody stand it? Wasn't underwear a sort of private purchase, you didn't really need someone helping you along the way, then next time they saw you maybe they'd be wondering if you were wearing the underwear you bought there, or you'd think they were, and... what the hell was that?

It was pink. It was frilly. It was almost entirely see-through. It had little flowers on it, and lace.
Unable to stop herself, she gave the saleswoman a look of utter horror, practically flinching away from the hideous thing. It looked like a skimpier, more erotic version of.... But no, how on earth would he have anything to do with it?

"No, thank you." She said stiffly "That's not really... me... Actually," she added, trying to relax a little bit and not get annoyed with the girl for just doing her job "It looks like something my brother would pick out just to annoy me." She laughed. It was a little forced.

[Tristian]

The saleswoman had trouble keeping a straight face which was fine because she had already been manically grinning so laughing out loud at the other girls comments didn’t look too out of place. “Oh that’s so funny,” she said and poked Meredith’s shoulder, “imagine that, your brother picking something like this for you,” She laughed some more, “not that I know your brother, at all, but I know brothers, they don’t want to think of their little sisters in a shop like this…well unless it’s my brother, he’s always trying to tell me what to wear.”
 
Tristian until that point had been one step away from hitting his head off the cupboards under the till, honestly, this was the last time he ever tried to get a shop assistant to help him in sabotage. If Meredith only suspected he was here she would know now, dumb stupid lingerie assisstaaaaaaan-brother?...hmm
 
“Anyway, I uh, I’ll just have a look on our returns rack see if there’s anything that might be more suitable there,” she said already walking back to the till quickly.
 
She dived down beside Tristian and said, “sorry, I didn’t know what to do! I mean come on! Coincidence!”
 
“Or she’s smarter than she looks, do you really have a brother?” he asked smirking.
 
“Yes,” she said a little confused, “he works at the GAP on the other side of the mall.”
 
“Tall, dark, quite muscular, dragon tattoo on his back?” continued Tristian.
 
“OMG yes!! How did you know that?! I’m the only one he told!” she said smiling at the sheer coincidence of it all.
 
“I’m psychic and now no longer interested,” he said sighing, “look, just go back and tell her….”whisper, whisper, whisper…giggle, giggle, giggle.
 
The shop assistant made her way towards Meredith, polite smile in place and said, “I had a look but there’s nothing there. Maybe you could try one of the shops over there.”
 
She pointed to one of the little stores that sold baby clothing.

[meredith]

Meredith just stared at her, politely blank. Luckily, perhaps, for Tristian, Meredith was simply taking the bizarre rambling as a sign that the shop assistant was perhaps lacking somewhat in mental faculties, or trying some ill-advised sales technique designed to build a rapport with customers, or something.
Luckily she didn't have to put up with it for long, and the woman was already going back to find something else - which of course meant that now Meredith couldn't escape, again, because the woman had acknowledged that she was coming back.

While she regarded the frilly garments surrounding her, wondering if there was anything in this shop that she'd find remotely suitable, she thought she heard whispering and giggling, and wondered if maybe the shop assistant had some little friend and they were laughing about her. The thought made her angry.

Then the woman came back.

The polite smile on Meredith's face froze and became increasingly frosty as she looked where the sales assistant was pointing, scanning the shops either side of the indicated store, looking for a way in which she could be mistaken. She didn't seem to be.

Meredith was kind, and sweet, and friendly, and a perfect sort of princess despite the stubborn streak of tomboyness and nerdery, but she was also a Pendragon, and took after that side of her family more than a lot of people realised. Has she taken after Merlin, she might have ignored the situation, or resolved it amicably.
Instead, she straightened up with her most regal bearing and turned to the woman with an icy glare.

"I don't think I appreciate you making such a joke at my expense. May I speak to your manager." It wasn't so much a request as an order, and she stared the assistant down expectantly.

[Tristian]

Tristian rolled his eyes as the shop assistant began to panic, “My manager isn’t here right now, he’s on his lunch and I’m like really sorry, It was just a joke and I uh, I-”
 
Sighing, he got to his feet, brushing down the shirt he was wearing and walking out from behind the cash register, heading towards them. Fixing the cuffs of his suit he smirked at Meredith and said, “aww how cute. Mini-Pendragon throwing her weight around, you almost sounded regal there, almost. Now why don’t you let this lovely shop assistant off the hook, she was doing nothing more than what was asked of her. She was…under superior orders.”
 
He winked at the shop assistant before motioning that she could leave, which she did, quickly. Tristian turned his full attention on Meredith and said, “Now what are you doing in a shop like this little sister? This place is for grown ups.”

[meredith]

It took absolutely all of Meredith's self control not to fly completely off the handle when Tristian revealed himself, and in fact the only way she managed it was to keep telling herself - loudly and repeatedly - that he would only be more amused if she got mad at him, and that the way to beat him at his game was to remain calm.

Still, her teeth were clenched together with the effort of it and her glare would have many a young man at court edging for the nearest exit and removing all the forks from the room.

She should have known he was behind this, he always managed to get one over on her like that, it drove her mad. It was part of the reason she didn't normally really try the whole regal princess thing all that often, Tristian already had it down eight million times better than she ever would, so what was the point? As soon as he was king he'd probably ship her off somewhere out of sight anyway.... well, ok, he probably wasn't that bad, not so much that he'd marry her off or send her to finishing school or some other nonsense, but she definitely wanted her own options before he became in charge of the whole country.

"I've just as much right to be in here as you." She shot back grouchily, annoyed at herself for rising to the bait even as the words left her lips, it wasn't like she even wanted to be here. "More, probably, last time I checked you-" she paused for a second, stopping herself from mentioning his lack of feminine endowment, she had learned something after all, and it was inevitable that he'd point out she wasn't exactly spilling out of her bodice. "Weren't a girl, and I doubt you'd spend long enough with one to want to buy her underwear." she said instead.

[Tristian]

The shop assistant turned to look at him with a shocked and slightly hurt expression. Tristian rolled his eyes before giving her a ‘really?’ look that he had inherited from his mother. “Oh please,” he said folding his arms, “did you really think this was going to be some kind of lasting relationship? I mean come on, I’m a Prince, you’re shop assistant. And whilst I admire your sense of style and you’re willingness to engage in sabotage, it’s not really the kind of person you engage with for more than one night.”

The assistant looked like she didn’t know whether to be happy or insulted by his comments. She decided on the former and smiled. “Well one night is better than none,” she said cheerily.

Tristian smiled at her before turning to smirk at Meredith, “There, now you know why I’m here, you can tell me exactly why you have decided to take an interest in your evening garments when you have as much knowledge about fashion as a howler monkey. In fact, the monkey may even have more.”

[meredith]

Eugh. How did he even do that? What the hell did these girls have wrong with them that they'd fall for it? Maybe it could be worse, admittedly he at least actually let them know that it wasn't going to be more than one night, but who would actually say yes under those conditions?
Apparently plenty, and Meredith just didn't understand it.

"It's none of your business." She snapped at him, all her regal composure shattered into incandescent rage - he always managed to make her do that, she could never just stay calm. "Don't start ordering me about like you have any right to, people aren't in the world just to pander to your every little whim you know."
It was the way he said 'you can tell me', it wasn't even a question, just a stupid order from her stupid big brother. Well, he might be in charge of a lot of things, and in line to be in charge of a whole lot more, but he wasn't in charge of her.

[Tristian]

Tristian pretended to think about it for a moment and then smirking said, “Um, I think they are.”

Picking up a black lacy nightgown and inspecting it he said, “you see that’s one of the advantages of being a Prince, Meredith. People are usually climbing over themselves to do whatever I tell them to do. I understand that failing at your princess lessons, you may not have the same effect on the servants and people as I did. You really need to work on your presence.”

Holding the nightgown up against he and said, “Now come on now, stop being a silly little girl and tell me why you’re in here and enlisting the help of this lovely shop assistant before your own brother.”

[meredith]

"You're right, I don't have the same effect on people as you do, and I'm glad!" She snapped back, almost yelling and causing a few curious stares from other shoppers and passers-by "You're nothing but a spoiled, arrogant idiot who thinks the world revolves around him. I might not have learnt much from those lessons but I do know this; being a Prince doesn't mean you get to make the whole world serve you, it means you have to serve, you're not important Tristian, Camelot is important and being a prince is about doing your best for your country, not yourself."

It wasn't difficult to see Merlin's influence on her, although a big part of it was from watching Arthur as well, seeing how he was a great king because he cared so much about his people. When it came to Tristian, from Meredith's perspective it just seemed like he used his status for his own gain and didn't care about anybody else.

"Why would I ask you to help me with anything?" She tried a disdainful sneer but it was more like a scowl "All you'd do is mock and patronise and make me feel stupid for not caring about this rubbish," she pushed the nightgown away. "Not that I need any help for anything anyway, I wasn't even 'enlisting'! She wouldn't leave me alone!"

Why was it she could make perfect, reasoned debates, bring up organised, intellectual points, and generally argue like a pro.... except when she was around her infuriating brother.