The young mage-Guinevere, startled awake from the memory, careful not to jerk too far lest she fall from the horse she had been pretending to meditate upon. It had been...years since she had been called that. She had stopped giving her name out once Merlin had taught her about the power that names could hold, and how dangerous that power would be within the wrong hands.
Shaking her head from the reverie, she spared a glance to check her surroundings spotting the rescue party Sir Bedivere had sent with her, trailing alongside her on top their own horses. Thomas and Damien, the archers, were trailing behind her, while Percival was leading the group at the front at a steady pace. It was combined with the directions Sir Bedivere provided and Percival's rebel experience, that the group managed to make it across the river and closer to the castle.
That left Rubio to follow along side her. At the thought of the easily excited rebel, Guinevere felt a glare cross her face before she could stop it. He was the reason that the past would not let her rest. Him and all of his incessant questions. It seemed the only thing keeping his curious nature at bay was being around Sir Bedivere, and now that he was free from his leash, Rubio's tongue was set free as well. 'Where are you from? What's your name? Can you see into the future? Well, then how exactly do you seem to know so much?' She ended up having to close her eyes and pretend to meditate to finally escape his badgering for a few minutes. Apparently, she had pretended too well and had actually done it.
Luckily, it seemed that her plan had worked. Rubio and the others had left her alone after a while, and by the time night had fallen they had managed to make their way to the castle in peace. When they arrived it was apparent that something had happened, as the streets were congested and bustling with citizens and foreigners alike, all quickly exchanging tales of the Born King's return. As the group tried to flow through the crowded streets inconspicuously, the excited chatter of the townspeople was hard to ignore. Everywhere she turned her head, there seemed to be people huddled together whispering about ''what happened at the castle" and how "King Vortigern had declared for everyone to be in attendance at the castle tomorrow". There were even quieter whispers of ''the brothel'' that at first managed to slide past her ears.
It wasn't until the third time someone had mentioned "the brothel" that it caught Guinevere's attention. Although she was pretty certain of the events that had occurred at the castle, she was still actively attempting to see if she could find out anything new, anything concrete about what was going on with Arthur. At first it seemed that she would be disappointed. Majority of the chatter from the townspeople varied between excited tales of how miraculous it was that The Born King had returned and fearful whispering about how King Vortigern was going to react.
It wasn't until they reached the middle of town that the first whisper of a brothel reached her ears. Assuming the man was about to regale his friend with his experience at said establishment, Guinevere turned her ear away, having no desire to listen. It was only as a young man and woman rushed past her, harshly whispering to each other that she began to consider that this might be something she should be interested in. "Destroyed Lonnie! What part of they destroyed the damn brothel are you not understanding?" The male hissed as they passed by the rescue party. His companion, Lonnie, shot him a furious glare as she worked to match his angry stride, almost having to skip to keep up. "I heard you Adam!" She ground out between clenched teeth. "But, why would the Black Legs care about a damn brothel in the first place?" She questioned loudly, coming to a stop with her hands on her hips. Adam, glancing around as some of the townspeople began to take note at the sudden scene, carefully grabbed Lonnie's wrist and began to pull her away from the crowd. "Are you out of your fucking mind Lon? I'll tell you later, just...come on," he huffed. As the two began to disappear in the crowded streets, Guinevere found her eyes following them, until she could no longer see them. By the time she passed the third person whispering about it, Guinevere knew that she would have to find some answers.
Trying to remain inconspicuous, Guinevere, began to slow her stride, allowing the rescue group to get further away from her. Once she could see their backs, she used the crowded streets as a distraction to turn down a side alley, ready to start her hunt for this "Brothel". Pulling her cloak closer to her body, she made sure to stay close to the shadows so that she did not bring any attention to herself. Her hunt ended up being more of a wild goose chase, at least for the first few streets. It was as she approached the fifth street that frantic whispers piqued her interest. Moving closer down the street, she noticed that although this area looked like it was usually very popular, it was currently almost deserted. The only other occupants of said street were a small group of children, two boys and one girl. The children, while certainly dirty, did not look to be starved, only like they've been playing or working hard.
Guinevere scanned her eyes over the area, quickly finding the reason for the area's abandonment. There were businesses lining both sides of the street, and every single one of them had a CLOSED sign prominently displayed on their doors. Every single one of them...except one. In fact, it had no door at all. No door, no window, and from what little she could see from her hiding spot, it seemed the reason why was because it was all in pieces inside on the floor.
"See...I told you guys! My dad said the Leggers came last night," the little girl said proudly to her friends. One of the boys, younger looking than the others, eyes seemed to buck, and he shot skittish eyes to the other boy in the group. "Caleb…" he whispered , "we're not supposed to be here!"
Caleb, it seemed, was as excited to be there as the little girl was. "Relax John, we'll be home soon. Don't you want to know why Dad was so mad last night?" He said with a smile to reassure his brother. Unfortunately, it only seemed to rile John up even more. "You heard what Dad was telling Mom last night Caleb! He said they were dragging people through the streets, and throwing stuff everywhere," he half shouted. "What if they come back and find us here?" The little girl shook her head and rolled her eyes at John's antics, apparently used to them. "Oh come off it already Johnnie Boy. We'll be long gone before anybody even thinks to come this way besides, all anyone can talk about is going to the castle tomorrow anyway," she declared, taking a step forward to pat John's head. "Besides, my father said they was only dragging the whores out." Caleb turned his head and narrowed his eyes at the girl. "Don't talk like that Nelly," he said motioning to his little brother. "I'm just telling you what my Dad said!" She replied defensively. "Anyways," she added with huff, "he also said something about all of Art's people going into hiding."
At this, Guinevere caught herself moving to step forwards out of the shadows. Art? Who was that? Could that be short for Arthur? Her breath grew shallow as her heart tried to fly from her chest. Before she could stride forward and question the child about what she had overheard, she felt a presence approaching her from the side. Balling her fists up in frustration, she turned to face the approaching figure, a glare etching itself onto her face. Her frustration only grew as she noticed the shorn blond locks peeking out from underneath the green hood covering it.
As Rubio made his way to her side, she forced herself not to lash out at the young rebel. Holding her tongue, she cast her eyes quickly from him, to try to catch the last of the children's conversation. Unfortunately for her, it seemed that the one called Caleb had finally caved into his little brothers pleading and began to usher them farther down the brothel. Letting out a huff, she gave Rubio her undivided attention, trying her best to filter the frustration out of her gaze. Skeptical of what may leave her mouth, Guinevere simply raised her eyebrow, waiting for him to speak first.
Rubio sheepishly tugged at his his hood while fighting a blush. "Um..Percival, sent me to fetch you Miss," he stammered. At the sudden tilt of the young mages head, his stammers increased as he hurried to fix his mistake. "That is to say...he asked me to come find you, not fetch you! He-he wanted me to tell you that they were heading to the castle, and for you to meet them there," he assured her. "Whenever you're ready of course!"
Fighting back at a smirk at the flustered rebel, Guinevere turned to look at the brothel one last time. Seems I'll have to find answers another day. As she turned her body to leave the street, and head toward the castle, she let a small hopeful smile escape her lips. Perhaps when I find Arthur, he'll be able to tell me the tale of what happened here.