I Don't Care For Your Fairytale (Lottie)

[Arthur]

What was the best way to cheer a man up? Cake.

Not just any kind of cake, not with this man, oh no, this man required muffins, and lots of them. It hadn’t taken him too long to locate the bakery although for the last couple of streets all he had to do was follow the glorious smell that seemed to act as a golden thread to the place of wonders. It didn’t have quite as many different flavours of Muffins as the other one back in Avalon, but what it did have was a multitude of many other kinds of pastries, cakes and things there he wasn’t quite sure about but looked delicious anyway.

He had to stop himself from pressing his nose up against the glass as he looked down at it all. The woman very kindly asked him if he would like to try anything which he nodded vigorously too and she began lining up certain things for him to try on the counter. He of course, tried them all, which only seemed to endear him to the woman behind the counter as after each cake he proclaimed that it was the best cake ever. Even the French fancies and cupcakes had been brilliant. When he reached the end though, he saw something completely bizarre. It was covered in what appeared to be icing sugar. At first he thought it was flour but on tentatively dipping his finger in he discovered that it was indeed icing sugar. The pastry underneath it all looked a bit like it had a donut kind of texture but it was rectangular shaped.

Arthur was about to ask what it was before he went any further when the woman said, “Oh just you wait sugar, I’ll go get you some iced tea for that. They don’t taste half as good without some iced tea.”

The woman bustled off to retrieve the iced tea as Arthur thought it was a good thing Gwen wasn‘t here. She would probably think it was a blasphemy to ice tea or something silly like that. He looked along the counter again, looking for the odd cakes and name card beside them. When he saw the car he frowned and started to mumble, “Ben…benji…benjiays..ben…what?”

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Lottie was a little... out of sorts after the whole fiasco with Caz. When she had first arrived here she had been looking at any well dressed gentleman with a certain air about him as a potential prince, but now she was more cautious, more scrutinizing. Caz certainly hadn’t looked like a prince when she had first met him, but with the story of losing his luggage, along with everything else, she had talked herself into believing it.

She wasn’t about to make that mistake twice.

So when she wandered into the bakery in search of a little comfort food, maybe a pick-me-up, it was with a skeptical eye that she regarded the man who was peering into the display case. He was handsome, that was undeniable, and well dressed. As for how he held himself, it was difficult to tell with him all hunched over at the moment. Apparently he was having a little difficulty with his pronunciation. She hoped it wasn’t because he couldn’t read.

“Beignets, honey,” Lottie offered as she came to stand beside him and took notice of what he was looking at. For a moment she actually frowned as the thought of home, and of Tia. She really missed having that girl around. “I haven’t tried ‘em here, but my best friend back home makes about the best ones you’ll ever taste.”

[Arthur]

Turning around to face the other girl a little confused at what she had just said but absolutely delighted at the accent. The word she was now pronouncing sounded horribly French and may have been enough to stop him trying the funny looking pastries (even if he had tried the French fancies) but the accent… He smiled quite happily at her as he took her in, small blonde and somewhat…cheery looking, and that accent. He had been continuing his vampire obsession and had taken to watching True Blood, which he found was just Buffy for grown ups and they all spoke like this girl here, especially the man character, who was small, blonde and cheery looking.
 
And hot.
 
Desperately fighting the urge to go ‘Sookie’ in his best attempt at a southern accent he said, “Ah…really, thank you…so they’re good then?”
 
Clasping his hands behind his back he smiled and asked, “And where is back home my lady?”

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Oh my, but he was handsome, all tall and blond, and that smile! He certainly had the potential if only he had the pedigree. She just had to be careful, cautious.

Gosh, she hated being cautious. It went completely against her nature. It was almost physically painful.

“Good? Oh sugah, they’re to die for,” Lottie replied, placing a hand to her heart and raising her shoulders as she emphasized the point. Although it was a gesture to go along with her own words, she swore she felt her heart give a little flutter when he called her ‘my lady’. It was just so traditional and charming, and she was sure nobody had ever addressed her like that before.

“Why ‘back home’ would be N’awlins, though I guess around here that question also includes a ‘back when’ too, huh?” she said, smiling her most charming smile. “1920s. I’m sure I’m never gonna get used ta that bein’ history already.”

She was rambling. Moving on!

“And how about you? Where are you from, Mr...?”

[Arthur]

Could this get any better? Now she was saying she was from New Orleans, and ok, it wasn’t quite Bon Temps but it was close enough, same state. She seemed to be rather excitable judging by the tone of her voice and the gestures but where as normally such things would annoy him, right now it was just amusing. It was the accent, it was just so endearing, and yes, he couldn’t listen to it without thinking of that blonde waitress, but still…

He couldn’t help but laugh when she mentioned about being history all ready, you didn’t get much more historical than him. Still smiling he said, “Trust me, I know just what you mean. Although it gets even more confusing at times when you meet people from different worlds with different timelines and then it all gets a bit wibbly wobbly timey wimey, as the Doctor would say…yes…uh…”

It really was a sign of how much television he watched, but with none of the other pastries around, his avoiding Merlin, Robin getting used to married life and Dimitri MIA at the moment, it was all he had left. He really needed to stop slipping in the references though, not only did the other person not tend to get it, but it made him look like a massive nerd.

Charming grin back in place he held out his hand to her, bowing his head slightly, “Albion, my lady, Camelot specifically. Although I believe in your timeline it is referred to as England. I am Prince Arthur Pendragon, but most people just call me Arthur. Or Muffin…never Artie.”

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Lottie’s smile faltered when he replied. Her brows drawing downward and her eyes squinting slightly, she stared hard at him when he talked, but no matter how much attention she was paying she just simply couldn’t understand what he was saying. Wibbly wobbly timey wimey? What sort of quacks did they have here for doctors if they talked like that? That could not be serious medical speak. She knew less than next to nothing about medicine, but she was certain of that. If I doctor tried to talk to her like that before an examination she would probably whack him good with her handbag and run out of there faster than a rat with its tail on fire.

She wasn’t sure how to reply to that, and was about to just laugh it off and hope to distract him with the melodic sound when he introduced himself.

Timey wimey stopped and Lottie could feel her knees getting a little wibbly wobbly.

Prince Arthur Pendragon. Of Camelot. Prince Arthur of Camelot. Prince Arthur of Camelot!

This was a dream, wasn’t it? She had fallen asleep in class again, hadn’t she? There was no way that this was the Prince Arthur Pendragon of Camelot! Of course she had read the stories, specifically about his tragic romance with Guinevere and her affair with Lancelot. Honestly, that woman had no sense. Why would she give up a King for a Knight? Silly girl, talk about trading down!

But he had said Prince Arthur, not King, and he did appear really young. So if this was him, the Prince Arthur, soon to be King Arthur... did that mean none of those stories had happened yet? Which also begged the question: just how much could this place really muck up history?

Her smile returned full force.

“Why, I do declare!” Lottie exclaimed, excitedly taking his hand. “You’re really not tellin’ me you’re that Prince Arthur, are you? The most handsome and brave King the world will ever see?”

Oh, hell. History could use a little mucking up now and again.

[Arthur]

And there was the confused expression he had been waiting on, which didn’t nearly surpass the look of utter astonishment that appeared to cross her face afterwards. The way she was looking at him was making him feel a little uncomfortable until she broke in the smile and grabbed his hand. The little southern phrase did it’s work as well as it too put him at ease, that combined with the accent, it was just so…adorable. And then of course she was pandering to his worst side…his ego, that thing that Merlin and Gwen had been attempting to deflate ever since they met him, and here she was blowing it back up again.

He knew there were stories, legends about another Arthur who would be king, none of them seemed to be right though, they didn’t seem to match his story, but they all had the same result. King Arthur and his Knights of the round table. He was supposed to bring peace and prosperity to the land and becoming a great King, just like she was saying…only that wasn’t him…that soooooo wasn’t him…

Smiling, still keeping the charm up patted her hand and said, “Well you’re right about everything except the King part. I’m still a Prince for the moment, but Brave and Handsome? I have that in abundance. Tell me my lady, what brings you all the way to a strange land when you come from such a beautiful city?”

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Brave and handsome in abundance? Well, Lottie couldn’t speak for his bravery, but handsome? Boy, was he ever! And with his blond hair and blue eyes, so similar to her own, wouldn’t they make such a striking couple? Guinevere who?

Now she just had to come up with a good reason why she was here. She couldn’t rightly tell him that she was here to find and marry a prince, now could she?

“Why, for adventure, of course!” she exclaimed, her whole face lighting up. “And for romance...” she practically purred those words, her eyes emphasizing more than her tone ever could. “And magic. I grew up readin’ fairytales and dreamin’ about them, and comin’ here is like livin’ one.”

Turns out she didn’t have to come up with a reason at all, this was all true. She just didn’t have to mention the prince part.

[Arthur]

He was suddenly reminded of the ladies of the court back home in Camelot, the ones that sat and droned on and on about romance, and magic and some Knight whisking them away and marrying them. It was oddly comforting. In Tintagel you just didn’t get that, or rather, even if that’s what they were thinking, the girls were all too stubborn or too much in denial to admit it. Sure back home he had to listen to it all the time; the knights were always tall, blonde and blue eyed and were actually princes who were renouncing their titles for the ladies of the court. Back then he had thought, ‘what kind of stupid prince would do that? Give up a title, land, the power to do something good, for a whiney little slip of girl who would probably be off ‘favouring’ some other Knight one year into the marriage.’ However after Megara he had thought, ‘well I can see their point but still…that chance to do good…’ and now, now when he was completely alone and had to think about things he didn’t want to think about he would think, ‘…maybe love is more important…’
 
Things were getting far too deep in his head for a guy who had just come in for a decent cake. He should be more like the girl in front of him, happy and carefree, dreaming of magic and romance…no, bad combination. No he should not be dreaming about magic and romance, really, no. That was bad that was too close to the actual truth. He will not think about that. Magic and Romance. Magic. And. Romance.
 
ADVENTURE! Stick with adventure. That was a nice safe thought and a nice safe topic of conversation. Not to mention the amounts he had to say on the matter, oh the many adventures he had been on. Like that one Merlin and him took to kill the-….Curses! Other adventures, pre-meeting of the large eared idiot adventures.
 
With his most winning smile he said, “Well there’s plenty of all that around, that’s for sure. Magic, Adventure…Romance. There isn’t a day goes by here in Tintagel when you wont encounter one of them at least.”
 
Motioning back to the cakes he said, “Sorry, I do apologise, you must just have come in for a cake and instead you are being waylaid by an annoying English Prince. I shall let you continue with your purchasing.”
 
Continue with your purchasing? He seriously needed to get back into the flirting game. Seriously. Where in the name of the underworld was Gaston.

[Deleted]

Oh my, what a smile! It was sort of crooked in the most endearing, boyish way, and Lottie felt her heart flutter. This time it was even allowed to flutter because he was a bona fide prince! And the way he paused before saying ‘romance’... was he thinking what she was thinking? What she wouldn’t give for the ability to read his mind right about now...

“Well I guess I got a lot ta look forward to!” she replied, though she really hoped she encountered one more often than the others. Maybe even today. Maybe even right now, right here.

Looking over at the display case when Arthur drew attention to it, Lottie had almost forgotten where she was and had completely forgotten why she’d come in here. Like she really cared about cakes anymore! They were the last thing on her mind!

“Oh believe me, sugah, you’re anything but annoyin’,” she said with a bit of a coy smile and a quick fluttering of her eyelashes. “It’s just such a beautiful day, and a Saturday, so I thought I’d just come on in ta town and wander about. I’m still pretty new here, so I still got a lot’a explorin’ to do.”

[Arthur]

“Well then my Lady, if it is as you say and you are new to this place, then it is my duty to act as your guide,” he said smiling, feeling like he was getting more in to the swing of things, yes this was definitely going a lot better, “at least for today. You can sample my tour guide abilities and then decide if you would wish to partake in another day of my company.”

He turned back to the woman behind the counter who had been watching the two them with avid interest and said, “Perhaps we could bring some of these wonderful beignets with us.”

The woman nodded and rushed off to get them. Arthur turned back to Lottie and said, “Now my Lady, what say you? Would you like a tour of this town?”

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Lottie had always had the ability to manipulate men into doing exactly what she wanted. Of course it always worked with her father, but it wasn’t like he ever really had a choice and he was so used to her that subtle and sneaky just didn’t work. Other men, though... she was very proud of her skill to wrap men around her little finger, and somehow get them to do what she wanted while thinking it was their idea in the first place.

Case in point. Prince Arthur Pendragon, future king of Camelot, was offering to be her own personal tour guide, not only for today, but longer is she so wished, and all it had taken was a few carefully selected words. Beaming brilliantly, Lottie clapped her hands.

“Really?” she asked with genuine excitement and gratitude, and just the right amount of manufactured surprise. “My if you’re not as chivalrous as ya are handsome. Of course I would love my own personal tour guide! That is if it ain’t too much trouble ta you. I’m sure you’re a very busy man, and I would just hate ta put ya out.”

It never hurt to be extra courteous and make him believe she didn’t want to be a burden, even when she really just wanted to fling herself at him and never let him go.

[Arthur]

This was so easy, had it always been this easy or had he just gotten a whole lot better at it? Sure back home it was easy enough, he just had to say his name and they were all flocking to his side, flirting and complimenting him within seconds. However here the girls were a little more difficult to impress, apparently titles didn’t mean much here and a lot of them didn’t appear to be overwhelmed by his handsomeness. If Merlin hadn’t been seeing to his rather oversized ego then the girls of Avalon and Tintagel had been doing a pretty good job of knocking it down as well.

Lottie, on the other hand, was refreshing…although strangely reminiscent of another ‘overwhelmed’ young lady.

He shivered at the memory of Kayley.

He turned back to the southern belle and grinned, “Well I cannot leave my duties unattended for too long, but I also cannot allow you to take one more step around this place unaccompanied. You never know what evil is lurking in a place such as this and it would be my pleasure to accompany such a beautiful young lady.”

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Lottie grinned almost impossibly wide. “Well, any time ya have that you’d be willin’ ta offer, then I gladly accept!” she replied, barely keeping herself from bouncing right there on the spot. The blush in her cheeks was real, brought on by his compliment because, really, what girl didn’t still enjoy hearing something like that, no matter how often?

“Golly, I read about tha dragons around these parts, and if there’s dragons then who knows what else is around! I thought I’d be safe here in town, but I just feel so much better with an escort,” she continued to titter on. When the woman returned with their sweets, Lottie made a show of rooting through her purse for money to pay for them, though she had absolutely no intention of doing anything of the sort. A true gentleman, as every prince was, certainly wouldn’t let her either.

[Arthur]

As the young woman began to look in her purse Arthur reached in to his back pocket to pull out his wallet and took out the appropriate money needed for the goods. He was going to be paying for his own anyway so to him it wasn’t even an act of chivalry, he had ordered the things so he would be the one to purchase it. Besides girls always liked that sort of thing didn’t they? Meg certainly did, when he paid for everything, her food, her wardrobe, her diamonds…wow…he really had spent a lot of money on her…not that it really mattered he had plenty of it.

“There you go, keep the change,” he said to the woman behind the counter, mainly because ever since he had discovered paper money he had hated carrying around coins.

Turning round to look at Lottie he held out his arm and said, “My Lady are you ready for the tour of your life?”