Camelot: Saturday Afternoonish
[Following this, this, this and this.]
Gaius
Gaius was still fuming, but he was also afraid. Merlin had not yet been able to slip away and get his friends out of Camelot; nevermind that it was likely that doing so would arouse suspicion too much. That meant they were all in grave danger. To avoid anything horrid happening again, he was keeping them close.
Well, most of them, at least; the prince seemed to have taken the management of one of the blondes to heart.
Right now, though, that meant he was going through town to treat some of the sick with three girls-- sorry, two girls and a very girly lad-- in his wake. "Just don't say anything if you see Aredian," he said. "Uther has him wandering the kingdom freely by himself."
Merlin
Yes, Merlin. Look guilty at that.
"Perhaps he'll move on quickly?"
Karla
"Who is this male and what can he do?" Karla asked, nearly tripping over Merlin's ankles to get close enough so her voice didn't carry. "How does he go about this whole Witchfindy business?"
Francine
When your freshman year dramatization of The Cauldron involves Freddie Femur taking bets that he can figure out what color underpants the Puritan girls are wearing by checking the reflections in his shoe buckles, a few of the little details might get lost. Still, Francine had enough of the gist to be freaked out by the idea of the guy without even having met him.
"If it's like the witch trials they had in Salem, just accusing somebody was enough to make people believe it," she said quietly from Merlin's other side. "A whole town just went crazy."
Karla
"I highly doubt Camelot needs the help," Karla grumbled quietly. "And the Witchfinder himself?"
Just the word alone made her shiver a bit.
Gaius
"Aredian is very... persistant," Gaius said. Even he sounded spooked, wary, and more than a little terrified. "He will use any tactic he can think of to extract a confession. He finds potential 'witches' and harrangues them until they give in."
A pause.
"He has sent many to the pyre. You cannot underestimate him."
Karla
Well, that sounded very not good. Still, on the other hand... "So he doesn't have any special powers or anything that can lead him to people with magic?" she persisted. "It's all him being scary and forceful and generally awful to people?"
Gaius
"Isn't that bad enough for your tastes?" Gaius asked her, giving her one of his patented raised eyebrows. "He has the King's ear; anyone who he accuses will have a horrible fate ahead of them, actual magic or not."
Aredian
"And what do we have here?"
Well, a very stylish Witchfinder in a jaunty hat, stalking towards them with an almost gleeful swagger. "Gaius. It has been a long time. Still in Uther's service, I see."
Gaius
"Aredian," Gaius said, frostily. "I serve my king, same as I always have."
Aredian
"As a physician now, I hear," said Aredian, and smiled thinly under the brim of his hat. "You always did have a thirst for knowledge..."
Magical knowledge, previously.
Merlin
Merlin was just going to stay where he was, not drawing any attention to himself of anyone else. Really.
That was the smart thing to do.
Okay, so he was mostly just looking from Gaius to Aredian with concern. But it was quiet, at least!
Gaius
"Scientific knowledge," said Gaius, slowly leaning over so Merlin wound up behind him.
Aredian
Aredian's eyes slid ever-so-carefully towards the boy. And then further, to the blonde, until they finally rested on the girl with the strange streak in her hair.
"Of course," he said, with an indulgent smile.
Francine
The girl with the strange streak in her hair whose hand reached out for the nearest one she knew. Ever so subtly. Not that she was freaked the hell out or anything by the fact that he was staring at her.
Not that the man was ugly; he was almost grandfatherly in that 'if Sean Connery was your grandfather and you had to pretend pictures of him when he was young didn't look hot' way.
If your grandfather who looked like Sean Connery also smiled like a serial killer who kept children's severed fingers in his desk drawer with the lollipops.
Aredian
Finally, Aredian cleared his throat. "It was good to see you again, Gaius," he said, false-pleasantly. "I'd like to see all three of your aides for a short interview later this day."
~~~~~~~~
Aredian had asked them all to visit his office, one by one.
He wasn't currently present in his office.
Putting them off ease was, after all, part of the strategy.
Karla
Please. Karla was wise to this trick. Politicians played it a lot, making you wait to impress you with how important and busy they were--Peter--or to make you stew and worry and fret. Rather than be impressed or terrified, she was going to wait patiently and practice playing innocent and meek while she still had time.
She could do this? She was an excellent actress!
...Right?
Aredian
The door opened, then shut again.
"Pardon my tardiness," said Aredian, politely. "I hope you haven't been waiting too long. Karla, was it?" He made swift business of settling down behind his desk.
Karla
"No pardon needed, sir," Karla said. "I understand you're a very busy man." She'd very nearly said 'male;' needed to watch that tendency. "I'm Karla, yes."
Aredian
"No," Aredian mused, picking up his quill. "No, I suppose I don't need to pardon myself. You are... a new servant here, I hear. Hired into the service of... ah, the lady Morgana? You must be pleased."
Karla
"Oh yes, sir," Karla said, trying to sound pleased and flattered and a little enthusiastic, but not overly so. Aredian did not seem the type to take to gushing females well. "She is quite kind. It is an honor to serve her."
Darkness, please let Morgana's maids have similar duties to Kaeleeran ones, or Karla was going to be so lost.
Aredian
"I would assume so," Aredian replied. The smile on his face was kindly, really. "How are you finding employment in Camelot? Not too... frightening, I hope. There have been reports of sorcery and witchcraft being practiced here."
Karla
"Well, hearing that woman say she saw magic was frightening," Karla said with a small nod, not buying his kindly smile for a moment, "but I've never seen anything frightening for myself."
That's right. All the magic she'd seen in Camelot was of the distinctly unscary variety.
"Until she told the king what she had seen, I would have thought the castle was the safest place in Camelot. I was settling in very well."
Aredian
"Mm. Well, that's good to hear," Aredian said, and didn't at all sound like he wanted to spring a trap door under this conversation. "How about your fellows, then? This... other maid, Francine? She's been here a bit longer. Surely she must have told you stories."
Karla
"Well, we've talked some, of course," Karla said, trying not to fidget. Guess how well that was working out for her. "But never about magic. Mostly about..." she dropped her eyes "...the lovely dresses that Lady Morgana wears and how noble Prince Arthur usually looks and which stablelad which chambermaid has her eye on."
Really, Aredian. They were just simple, silly maids. No reason to bother with anyone here.
"Nothing improper, of course!" she added quickly, as if Aredian assuming that she was a nasty gossip was the worst conclusion he could leap to. "Just things that made it easier for me to settle into my position more easily."
Aredian
Aredian held up his hand. "I get the picture," he drawled, dryly. "You say that you only heard of the magic when that girl informed the king. Yet she says she saw you and Prince Arthur's manservant out in the woods shortly after."
Karla
"Oh."
Okay, there were two ways to conclusions someone could jump to with that statement. One, that they were being accused of being involved with the magic, which was true. Or two, that they were being accused of more of that impropriety business, which was absolutely false.
Guess which one Karla was going to pretend to jump to?
"We were doing nothing wrong!" she said, looking injured. "We'd been sent out to collect firewood and if that girl says my skirt was up or my stays undone, she is a liar. I'm a good girl, I am."
Let him leap to the obvious conclusion. Pleeeease let him leap to the obvious conclusion.
Aredian
"She said," Aredian continued, looking as if he did not particularly want to think about that option, though it amused him, "that there is no possible way you could have missed the cloud, regardless of your... activities."
Karla
"Well, I don't know how she can be so certain," Karla said, folding her arms. "We were under the trees and there's considerable cover. And our attention was focused downward. We were looking for firewood and everyone knows better than to use green wood for that. We were searching for fallen twigs and branches and things."
Aredian
"So you are saying that this woman lied, you saw nothing, and you had nothing to do with this show of terrible evil?" he asked.
Conversationally.
Karla
"I'm saying, she's mistaken, no, I didn't, and no, I didn't again," Karla said stubbornly. "I believe that she saw something--" because she had "--and I'm glad that the king is looking for whoever would create such a thing--" well, that was a lie, "--but I didn't see anything terrifying and I most certainly didn't have anything to do with whatever she saw."
That was...mostly true? Merlin had created it, she'd just ooh'd and ahh'd. And it hadn't been at all terrifying.
Aredian
"Interesting," said Aredian.
His quill scratched against the parchment.
"And do you have anyone who can confirm this firm statement of fact?"
Karla
"I was there with Merlin?" Karla said. "He can tell you we didn't see anything."
Aredian
"I suppose I will have to do that, hm," said Aredian. His mouth quirked. "And see if young Merlin has better proof than you are capable of offering."
Francine
The chains and manacles hanging from the ceiling weren't terrifying at all. Really.
Ahslkjdsldhkjh was that thing with the spikes supposed to go around somebody's HEAD?
Perhaps tying and re-tying the kerchief over Francine's hair was not the most intelligent of choices for occupying her hands while she waited, but it was that or chew her fingernails down to the knuckle.
Francine
"Ah, there you are."
Aredian closed the door behind him again.
"I trust you've made yourself comfortable."
Francine
Hopefully making eep sounds that actually sounded like the word "Eep!" wasn't considered a sign of witchcraft, or Francine was screwed.
"I, um. Yes?" Possibly the biggest lie she was going to end up telling today, but only possibly. "I mean, um, sorry. Thank you?" One of those had to be the right answer, right?
Aredian
Well, Aredian's expression certainly wasn't going to lend her any clues.
"You have been in the lady Morgana's service for quite some time," he said, reaching idly for his quill. "But you are not of Camelot originally, are you?"
Francine
"No." And what a lovely and not at all completely freaky inkwell he had. "I met M-- Lady Morgana and Prince Arthur and Merlin when they came to Northumbria."
That story, at least, she'd told enough times not to trip over the placename, even if she was mentally kicking herself for almost forgetting the titles.
Aredian
He made a noise in the back of his throat, writing something down on a piece of parchment. "And from where did you venture to Northumbria?" Aredian asked. "I have been there, and yet I have never heard an accent the likes of yours.
Francine
Why was Katchoo the one who turned into a bunny rabbit in Fandom's more whimsical moments, when it was Francine who did such a dead-on impersonation of Peter Cottontail in moments like this?
"Oh, ah." Why did he have to be a well-traveled crazy creepy person? "I was born in the south." Vaguey McVaguerson of the Clan McVaugerson, at your service. "And then we lived in the west for a while, and then... Northumbria. So I guess my accent's probably a little mixed-up."
Aredian
"They have... unorthodox views on magic in the south, do they not?"
Francine
"I... don't really know, sir." Unlike their views on politeness to adults, even incredibly intimidating ones, with which she was very familiar, and desperately hoping it bought her some points. "I don't know much about magic at all; most places I've lived, they didn't even believe in it."
Aredian
"They don't believe in it?" Aredian's eyebrows took a quick jaunt upwards. "My dear, your former homes must have been either very lucky... or ignorant to the danger that threatens us all."
Francine
"I...guess, yes." Francine nodded slowly, sure there was a trap there somewhere, but not seeing it. "I'm sorry I don't know enough to help you more."
Yeeeah, the lie about being comfortable was so totally not going to be the biggest one in this conversation. Still, if there was one thing she could try to use to her advantage, it was being as dumb as she looked. Or looking like she was as dumb as she looked, or...something. Something with dumb. Francine could do dumb.
Aredian
"One more question," Aredian said, as he slowly wrote something out on the parchment. "If you know nothing of magic, then where did you acquire such curious hair?"
Francine
Stupid slippery kercheif. Or, you know, stupid bothering to wear one when she'd wandered all over Camelot with her hair uncovered most of the times she'd been here. Whatever.
Francine touched the bit of white at her temple self-consciously. "I got, um. Hit on the head." By a Mack truck of a death-vision from another universe, but details, details. "Pretty hard."
Aredian
"You were hit on the head," Aredian repeated. Slowly. Very slowly. Just so she could fully get the importance of how slowly he was saying it. "And so part of your hair turned white."
Francine
Francine nodded, just as slowly. Well, maybe a fraction of a second slower; she had been hit on the head hard enough to turn her hair white, after all. "Where I got hit. I don't know why; it just grew that way."
Aredian
"And there isn't a single other explanation you can come up with to explain it."
Francine
"No? I never really tried to think of any. It doesn't hurt or anything." Because he was clearly concerned for her welfare.
Aredian
He made a few more notes. "I see," said Aredian. He put his quill down. "You may go."
It didn't sound very final.
Francine
Which didn't stop Francine's desire to flee from slightly overriding the slow act, at least when it came to the speed at which she stood up. "Okay. I, I mean thank you, sir." She gave him her best formal curtsy, which was vaguely passable by now.
Aredian
He gestured vaguely at the door, and offered her a smile that wasn't as much a smile as it was a very sharklike grimace.
He was done with her. For now.
Merlin
Well, this room didn't just scream creepy mccreeper.
Merlin glanced around at the more, ah, interesting tools that were littered about the room. Was that a rack over there?
Aredian
After a moment or two, Aredian came in. He offered no greetings, but instead simply sank down in his chair.
And then looked at Merlin.
Unnerving people was always fun.
Merlin
It was not! Not at all!
Merlin fidgeted after a moment, glancing away. "You asked to speak with me?"
Aredian
"Ah, yes. Merlin," Aredian said, flashing him a mild, aloof smile. "The reason I wanted to see you is that the maid who bravely brought her concerns to our attention yesterday mentioned seeing you depart the woods shortly afterwards. She says you might have been a witness."
Merlin
"Witness?" Yes, Merlin. That's what he said. "I was working. I don't really recall seeing anything out of the ordinary."
Aredian
Aredian wrote a few lines down on the parchment.
"No, she was quite clear on that," he said, "She saw you near the source of the magic."
Merlin
"...I thought she saw me near the woods."
Aredian
"Which was near the source of the magic."
Merlin
None of your logic here. "So, she saw the source then?"
Aredian
"She saw the magic, and where it was being cast," Aredian said, quirking an eyebrow. "Do you deny that you were in the woods at the time?"
Merlin
"I was gathering wood for Prince Arthur," Merlin replied slowly. How would she know where it was being cast from? IT MADE NO SENSE.
Aredian
Because it was cast above the woods?
"So did you see it?" Aredian asked. "The horse, conjured from the smoke."
Merlin
"No." That was a nice, concise answer.
Aredian
"Are you saying that she lied?" Aredian asked. Idly.
Merlin
"No," Merlin replied slowly. "Just that I didn't see it."
Aredian
"Hm," said Aredian. "How can that be, I wonder. How can one person see something, and the other not, while they are observing in the same area?"
Merlin
"We were looking at different things?" Merlin suggested, avoiding looking at the skull on the desk. Seriously, who kept a skull on the desk?
Aredian
Aredian did? He felt it gave off the right atmosphere.
"There was a giant horse in the smoke above the woods, and you didn't see it," Aredian tested, one last time.
Merlin
"I wasn't really looking up," Merlin offered.
Aredian
"Interesting," said Aredian.
And gave Merlin another one of those long stares.
Merlin
Which meant Merlin was just going to fidget some more. This was the worst interview ever.
Aredian
"Of course, it could also have been you who performed the magic," he said, casually.
Merlin
Hey, if he could do magic, would he be working as a servant? Would he? "But I didn't."
Aredian
"And can you prove that you didn't?" Aredian asked, then let it all lapse back into another one of those horrible silences.
When it became obvious that Merlin would not respond beyond staring at his hands, Aredian said, "That will be all," and dipped his pen back into the ink.
[Aaaand then on to this and this.]
Gaius
Gaius was still fuming, but he was also afraid. Merlin had not yet been able to slip away and get his friends out of Camelot; nevermind that it was likely that doing so would arouse suspicion too much. That meant they were all in grave danger. To avoid anything horrid happening again, he was keeping them close.
Well, most of them, at least; the prince seemed to have taken the management of one of the blondes to heart.
Right now, though, that meant he was going through town to treat some of the sick with three girls-- sorry, two girls and a very girly lad-- in his wake. "Just don't say anything if you see Aredian," he said. "Uther has him wandering the kingdom freely by himself."
Merlin
Yes, Merlin. Look guilty at that.
"Perhaps he'll move on quickly?"
Karla
"Who is this male and what can he do?" Karla asked, nearly tripping over Merlin's ankles to get close enough so her voice didn't carry. "How does he go about this whole Witchfindy business?"
Francine
When your freshman year dramatization of The Cauldron involves Freddie Femur taking bets that he can figure out what color underpants the Puritan girls are wearing by checking the reflections in his shoe buckles, a few of the little details might get lost. Still, Francine had enough of the gist to be freaked out by the idea of the guy without even having met him.
"If it's like the witch trials they had in Salem, just accusing somebody was enough to make people believe it," she said quietly from Merlin's other side. "A whole town just went crazy."
Karla
"I highly doubt Camelot needs the help," Karla grumbled quietly. "And the Witchfinder himself?"
Just the word alone made her shiver a bit.
Gaius
"Aredian is very... persistant," Gaius said. Even he sounded spooked, wary, and more than a little terrified. "He will use any tactic he can think of to extract a confession. He finds potential 'witches' and harrangues them until they give in."
A pause.
"He has sent many to the pyre. You cannot underestimate him."
Karla
Well, that sounded very not good. Still, on the other hand... "So he doesn't have any special powers or anything that can lead him to people with magic?" she persisted. "It's all him being scary and forceful and generally awful to people?"
Gaius
"Isn't that bad enough for your tastes?" Gaius asked her, giving her one of his patented raised eyebrows. "He has the King's ear; anyone who he accuses will have a horrible fate ahead of them, actual magic or not."
Aredian
"And what do we have here?"
Well, a very stylish Witchfinder in a jaunty hat, stalking towards them with an almost gleeful swagger. "Gaius. It has been a long time. Still in Uther's service, I see."
Gaius
"Aredian," Gaius said, frostily. "I serve my king, same as I always have."
Aredian
"As a physician now, I hear," said Aredian, and smiled thinly under the brim of his hat. "You always did have a thirst for knowledge..."
Magical knowledge, previously.
Merlin
Merlin was just going to stay where he was, not drawing any attention to himself of anyone else. Really.
That was the smart thing to do.
Okay, so he was mostly just looking from Gaius to Aredian with concern. But it was quiet, at least!
Gaius
"Scientific knowledge," said Gaius, slowly leaning over so Merlin wound up behind him.
Aredian
Aredian's eyes slid ever-so-carefully towards the boy. And then further, to the blonde, until they finally rested on the girl with the strange streak in her hair.
"Of course," he said, with an indulgent smile.
Francine
The girl with the strange streak in her hair whose hand reached out for the nearest one she knew. Ever so subtly. Not that she was freaked the hell out or anything by the fact that he was staring at her.
Not that the man was ugly; he was almost grandfatherly in that 'if Sean Connery was your grandfather and you had to pretend pictures of him when he was young didn't look hot' way.
If your grandfather who looked like Sean Connery also smiled like a serial killer who kept children's severed fingers in his desk drawer with the lollipops.
Aredian
Finally, Aredian cleared his throat. "It was good to see you again, Gaius," he said, false-pleasantly. "I'd like to see all three of your aides for a short interview later this day."
~~~~~~~~
Aredian had asked them all to visit his office, one by one.
He wasn't currently present in his office.
Putting them off ease was, after all, part of the strategy.
Karla
Please. Karla was wise to this trick. Politicians played it a lot, making you wait to impress you with how important and busy they were--Peter--or to make you stew and worry and fret. Rather than be impressed or terrified, she was going to wait patiently and practice playing innocent and meek while she still had time.
She could do this? She was an excellent actress!
...Right?
Aredian
The door opened, then shut again.
"Pardon my tardiness," said Aredian, politely. "I hope you haven't been waiting too long. Karla, was it?" He made swift business of settling down behind his desk.
Karla
"No pardon needed, sir," Karla said. "I understand you're a very busy man." She'd very nearly said 'male;' needed to watch that tendency. "I'm Karla, yes."
Aredian
"No," Aredian mused, picking up his quill. "No, I suppose I don't need to pardon myself. You are... a new servant here, I hear. Hired into the service of... ah, the lady Morgana? You must be pleased."
Karla
"Oh yes, sir," Karla said, trying to sound pleased and flattered and a little enthusiastic, but not overly so. Aredian did not seem the type to take to gushing females well. "She is quite kind. It is an honor to serve her."
Darkness, please let Morgana's maids have similar duties to Kaeleeran ones, or Karla was going to be so lost.
Aredian
"I would assume so," Aredian replied. The smile on his face was kindly, really. "How are you finding employment in Camelot? Not too... frightening, I hope. There have been reports of sorcery and witchcraft being practiced here."
Karla
"Well, hearing that woman say she saw magic was frightening," Karla said with a small nod, not buying his kindly smile for a moment, "but I've never seen anything frightening for myself."
That's right. All the magic she'd seen in Camelot was of the distinctly unscary variety.
"Until she told the king what she had seen, I would have thought the castle was the safest place in Camelot. I was settling in very well."
Aredian
"Mm. Well, that's good to hear," Aredian said, and didn't at all sound like he wanted to spring a trap door under this conversation. "How about your fellows, then? This... other maid, Francine? She's been here a bit longer. Surely she must have told you stories."
Karla
"Well, we've talked some, of course," Karla said, trying not to fidget. Guess how well that was working out for her. "But never about magic. Mostly about..." she dropped her eyes "...the lovely dresses that Lady Morgana wears and how noble Prince Arthur usually looks and which stablelad which chambermaid has her eye on."
Really, Aredian. They were just simple, silly maids. No reason to bother with anyone here.
"Nothing improper, of course!" she added quickly, as if Aredian assuming that she was a nasty gossip was the worst conclusion he could leap to. "Just things that made it easier for me to settle into my position more easily."
Aredian
Aredian held up his hand. "I get the picture," he drawled, dryly. "You say that you only heard of the magic when that girl informed the king. Yet she says she saw you and Prince Arthur's manservant out in the woods shortly after."
Karla
"Oh."
Okay, there were two ways to conclusions someone could jump to with that statement. One, that they were being accused of being involved with the magic, which was true. Or two, that they were being accused of more of that impropriety business, which was absolutely false.
Guess which one Karla was going to pretend to jump to?
"We were doing nothing wrong!" she said, looking injured. "We'd been sent out to collect firewood and if that girl says my skirt was up or my stays undone, she is a liar. I'm a good girl, I am."
Let him leap to the obvious conclusion. Pleeeease let him leap to the obvious conclusion.
Aredian
"She said," Aredian continued, looking as if he did not particularly want to think about that option, though it amused him, "that there is no possible way you could have missed the cloud, regardless of your... activities."
Karla
"Well, I don't know how she can be so certain," Karla said, folding her arms. "We were under the trees and there's considerable cover. And our attention was focused downward. We were looking for firewood and everyone knows better than to use green wood for that. We were searching for fallen twigs and branches and things."
Aredian
"So you are saying that this woman lied, you saw nothing, and you had nothing to do with this show of terrible evil?" he asked.
Conversationally.
Karla
"I'm saying, she's mistaken, no, I didn't, and no, I didn't again," Karla said stubbornly. "I believe that she saw something--" because she had "--and I'm glad that the king is looking for whoever would create such a thing--" well, that was a lie, "--but I didn't see anything terrifying and I most certainly didn't have anything to do with whatever she saw."
That was...mostly true? Merlin had created it, she'd just ooh'd and ahh'd. And it hadn't been at all terrifying.
Aredian
"Interesting," said Aredian.
His quill scratched against the parchment.
"And do you have anyone who can confirm this firm statement of fact?"
Karla
"I was there with Merlin?" Karla said. "He can tell you we didn't see anything."
Aredian
"I suppose I will have to do that, hm," said Aredian. His mouth quirked. "And see if young Merlin has better proof than you are capable of offering."
Francine
The chains and manacles hanging from the ceiling weren't terrifying at all. Really.
Ahslkjdsldhkjh was that thing with the spikes supposed to go around somebody's HEAD?
Perhaps tying and re-tying the kerchief over Francine's hair was not the most intelligent of choices for occupying her hands while she waited, but it was that or chew her fingernails down to the knuckle.
Francine
"Ah, there you are."
Aredian closed the door behind him again.
"I trust you've made yourself comfortable."
Francine
Hopefully making eep sounds that actually sounded like the word "Eep!" wasn't considered a sign of witchcraft, or Francine was screwed.
"I, um. Yes?" Possibly the biggest lie she was going to end up telling today, but only possibly. "I mean, um, sorry. Thank you?" One of those had to be the right answer, right?
Aredian
Well, Aredian's expression certainly wasn't going to lend her any clues.
"You have been in the lady Morgana's service for quite some time," he said, reaching idly for his quill. "But you are not of Camelot originally, are you?"
Francine
"No." And what a lovely and not at all completely freaky inkwell he had. "I met M-- Lady Morgana and Prince Arthur and Merlin when they came to Northumbria."
That story, at least, she'd told enough times not to trip over the placename, even if she was mentally kicking herself for almost forgetting the titles.
Aredian
He made a noise in the back of his throat, writing something down on a piece of parchment. "And from where did you venture to Northumbria?" Aredian asked. "I have been there, and yet I have never heard an accent the likes of yours.
Francine
Why was Katchoo the one who turned into a bunny rabbit in Fandom's more whimsical moments, when it was Francine who did such a dead-on impersonation of Peter Cottontail in moments like this?
"Oh, ah." Why did he have to be a well-traveled crazy creepy person? "I was born in the south." Vaguey McVaguerson of the Clan McVaugerson, at your service. "And then we lived in the west for a while, and then... Northumbria. So I guess my accent's probably a little mixed-up."
Aredian
"They have... unorthodox views on magic in the south, do they not?"
Francine
"I... don't really know, sir." Unlike their views on politeness to adults, even incredibly intimidating ones, with which she was very familiar, and desperately hoping it bought her some points. "I don't know much about magic at all; most places I've lived, they didn't even believe in it."
Aredian
"They don't believe in it?" Aredian's eyebrows took a quick jaunt upwards. "My dear, your former homes must have been either very lucky... or ignorant to the danger that threatens us all."
Francine
"I...guess, yes." Francine nodded slowly, sure there was a trap there somewhere, but not seeing it. "I'm sorry I don't know enough to help you more."
Yeeeah, the lie about being comfortable was so totally not going to be the biggest one in this conversation. Still, if there was one thing she could try to use to her advantage, it was being as dumb as she looked. Or looking like she was as dumb as she looked, or...something. Something with dumb. Francine could do dumb.
Aredian
"One more question," Aredian said, as he slowly wrote something out on the parchment. "If you know nothing of magic, then where did you acquire such curious hair?"
Francine
Stupid slippery kercheif. Or, you know, stupid bothering to wear one when she'd wandered all over Camelot with her hair uncovered most of the times she'd been here. Whatever.
Francine touched the bit of white at her temple self-consciously. "I got, um. Hit on the head." By a Mack truck of a death-vision from another universe, but details, details. "Pretty hard."
Aredian
"You were hit on the head," Aredian repeated. Slowly. Very slowly. Just so she could fully get the importance of how slowly he was saying it. "And so part of your hair turned white."
Francine
Francine nodded, just as slowly. Well, maybe a fraction of a second slower; she had been hit on the head hard enough to turn her hair white, after all. "Where I got hit. I don't know why; it just grew that way."
Aredian
"And there isn't a single other explanation you can come up with to explain it."
Francine
"No? I never really tried to think of any. It doesn't hurt or anything." Because he was clearly concerned for her welfare.
Aredian
He made a few more notes. "I see," said Aredian. He put his quill down. "You may go."
It didn't sound very final.
Francine
Which didn't stop Francine's desire to flee from slightly overriding the slow act, at least when it came to the speed at which she stood up. "Okay. I, I mean thank you, sir." She gave him her best formal curtsy, which was vaguely passable by now.
Aredian
He gestured vaguely at the door, and offered her a smile that wasn't as much a smile as it was a very sharklike grimace.
He was done with her. For now.
Merlin
Well, this room didn't just scream creepy mccreeper.
Merlin glanced around at the more, ah, interesting tools that were littered about the room. Was that a rack over there?
Aredian
After a moment or two, Aredian came in. He offered no greetings, but instead simply sank down in his chair.
And then looked at Merlin.
Unnerving people was always fun.
Merlin
It was not! Not at all!
Merlin fidgeted after a moment, glancing away. "You asked to speak with me?"
Aredian
"Ah, yes. Merlin," Aredian said, flashing him a mild, aloof smile. "The reason I wanted to see you is that the maid who bravely brought her concerns to our attention yesterday mentioned seeing you depart the woods shortly afterwards. She says you might have been a witness."
Merlin
"Witness?" Yes, Merlin. That's what he said. "I was working. I don't really recall seeing anything out of the ordinary."
Aredian
Aredian wrote a few lines down on the parchment.
"No, she was quite clear on that," he said, "She saw you near the source of the magic."
Merlin
"...I thought she saw me near the woods."
Aredian
"Which was near the source of the magic."
Merlin
None of your logic here. "So, she saw the source then?"
Aredian
"She saw the magic, and where it was being cast," Aredian said, quirking an eyebrow. "Do you deny that you were in the woods at the time?"
Merlin
"I was gathering wood for Prince Arthur," Merlin replied slowly. How would she know where it was being cast from? IT MADE NO SENSE.
Aredian
Because it was cast above the woods?
"So did you see it?" Aredian asked. "The horse, conjured from the smoke."
Merlin
"No." That was a nice, concise answer.
Aredian
"Are you saying that she lied?" Aredian asked. Idly.
Merlin
"No," Merlin replied slowly. "Just that I didn't see it."
Aredian
"Hm," said Aredian. "How can that be, I wonder. How can one person see something, and the other not, while they are observing in the same area?"
Merlin
"We were looking at different things?" Merlin suggested, avoiding looking at the skull on the desk. Seriously, who kept a skull on the desk?
Aredian
Aredian did? He felt it gave off the right atmosphere.
"There was a giant horse in the smoke above the woods, and you didn't see it," Aredian tested, one last time.
Merlin
"I wasn't really looking up," Merlin offered.
Aredian
"Interesting," said Aredian.
And gave Merlin another one of those long stares.
Merlin
Which meant Merlin was just going to fidget some more. This was the worst interview ever.
Aredian
"Of course, it could also have been you who performed the magic," he said, casually.
Merlin
Hey, if he could do magic, would he be working as a servant? Would he? "But I didn't."
Aredian
"And can you prove that you didn't?" Aredian asked, then let it all lapse back into another one of those horrible silences.
When it became obvious that Merlin would not respond beyond staring at his hands, Aredian said, "That will be all," and dipped his pen back into the ink.
[Aaaand then on to this and this.]