Forum Thread

Charlie watched the knight's face, smile growing slightly as her customer briefly relaxed before tensing again. "Tell me about it. My bakery went from deserted and pristine to crowded and covered in glitter in just a few minutes!" She shook her head exasperatedly. "Oh well. Admittedly, it's nice to have the chaos. Makes things more interesting," Charlie said warmly, resting her chin on her hand. "I bet your job gets a bit repetitive, too - just patrolling the same area all the time! I wouldn't blame you for wanting a good bit of action now and then," she giggled. "Oh- I've just realized, I didn't introduce myself! My name's Charlotte Tavilla, but just call me Charlie."

Regina nodded, not really sure how to respond without starting a real conversation. So, she responded with, "Regina Ferrothin. And that must be exhausting, going from neat and tidy to chaotic." She took another sip of the coffee and another. This was seriously good coffee. "My compliments to you on your brewing skills."

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Amused by the knight's continued stiffness, Charlie quickly glanced around the bakery. Glitter. All over. It would take a while to clean...but she did kind of love the sight! "Oh, it's no big deal. It's nice to have the company - while I do have regulars, it gets a little lonely to live alone all of the time." At Regina's compliment, she beamed, blushing slightly from pleased embarrassment. "O-oh, thank you very much. It's my mother's recipe, I just follow her instructions," Charlie replied modestly, fiddling with her own cup.

Regina shrugged. "All the same, you did a good job." She decided to take a long gulp so that she wouldn't have to talk anymore. Then, she set the cup down. "So you live by yourself? What about your-" Regina stopped herself at once and immeadiently, her eyes flicked to the counter. "Nice...counter you got here," she said, running a finger along it, head in one hand.

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Charlie smiled a bit more at Regina's praise. She nodded at the first part of the knight's sentence, and tilted her head, understanding why she had suddenly broken off. It was kind of the lady to not want to discuss anything touchy. "It is a lovely stone, isn't it? My parents ordered it specially for the bakery." Charlie smiled softly and briefly put her hand on top of Regina's shoulder. "It's alright to ask about them, you know. I appreciate your kindness, though." She paused. "They disappeared when I was about ten. I'm not sure what happened to them; the king wasn't able to find them, and no one knows where they went. But," she continued, smiling a bit more brightly now, "I'm confident that wherever they are, they're together, and that means that they'll be okay. They would want me to do exactly what I'm doing now, anyways." Charlie sighed, taking a sip of her tea. "I do sometimes wish I had siblings, though. They would keep me company, at least." She smiled at the crowded bakery. "Although, it's lovely to be friends with so many different people, too."

Inside her head, Regina gave a sigh of relief. She had meant to avoid that touchy subject, but not just because it was a touchy subject for the baker lady. She didn't want to talk about her own family. Not to anyone. When Charlie put a hand on Regina's shoulder, she stiffened. "I mean...if you like that sort of thing. Having friends, I mean." She really wished that she was back on the training field, by herself. This was the reason that she had never gone with the other knights after her shift to "hang out," as they called it. She refused to feel any sort of connection at all to anyone.

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The baker sighed internally. She wondered if Regina didn't have some family issues of her own - the poor doll clearly hated being attached in any way to anyone. Well, it was her new mission to change that - but slow and steady wins the race. It was hard not to become at the very least familiar with Charlie. "There is definitely a nice freedom in being alone, I agree," she replied thoughtfully. "No one to worry about, no one to have to check in with or work around." She shifted her glance back to Regina with a smile. "I do have to vouch for friends, though. Not only are they simply fun, but they can also be a great deal of help when you need it. I'd much rather work around shop with a friend or ask a friend for instructions than figure it out the long way by myself. But hey, to each her own," Charlie tacked on with a wink. "Just saying." An idea started to form; while Regina was, admittedly, probably well-acquainted with the royal family, she did look like she could keep a secret. And hey - working on a project with her might make her open up a little. She'd have to mull it over, but it sounded promising in her head.

"But when you're alone, you can't hurt anyone," Regina mumbled under her breath. She looked up. "I had to figure it out, mostly, on my own. I've gotten this far without friends anyway." She was silently debating whether or not to just leave, but even she knew that would be rude. Plus..it wouldn't hurt to just chat for a bit. Then, she could leave Charlie to her bakery and never have to worry again about wether or not she was getting close to someone.

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Charlie nodded. "You seem pretty capable, I'll give you that," she said with a grin. "I'd trust you to handle yourself any day of the week. But have you considered that you could probably help a lot of other people? Not everyone is as tough as you and I," she added, voice softening a little. "I might be optimistic, but there aren't a lot of people who could lose their whole family and just...keep on keeping on like I do. I've got weaknesses, sure, but a weak heart isn't one of them." She thought for a moment about her next words, then seemed to decide something. "You know...it's not hurting anyone to try. And if you ever feel like maybe attempting a friendship - well, all I'm saying is that you wouldn't be able to hurt me and I wouldn't judge you at all if you ever wanted to stop as well." Charlie smiled at Regina, once more letting silence fall. Not only did she want to help the knight, but from what she'd seen, she truly liked her. The baker had seen Regina around before, and she was impressed with her wisdom and ability to command her forces so well - plus, Regina clearly had good taste in cuisine and talking to her had been wonderful.

There definitely wasn't a lot of people that could do that, but Regina was one of them. She curled her hands into fists on reflex, nearly breaking the cup. "They'll just keep coming back for help, and they'll just keep getting hurt. You seem like a nice person, Charlie, you've got so much ahead of you. I don't want to take that away." Regina was trying hard, really hard, not to cry.

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"Regina," Charlie began gently, still smiling. "Do you really think I'd let you take anything from me? Even if my own parents tried to do so, I'd never back down. I can hold my own, I promise you. People have tried, in the past - think about it, I'm a young girl living alone with not one person to defend me. Trust me, I've already fought my fair share of battles. Whether it's robbers or people trying to gain my trust and destroy it - I can handle both." She giggled slightly. "Don't worry, Regina, I promise you wouldn't be too much for me. And besides," the baker added warmly, "I enjoy a good challenge." She absently swiped more glitter from her apron before continuing. "Also, I wouldn't be leaning on you for sustenance or anything. While I probably would ask for help, friendship isn't having someone hang all over you and dying without them there. It's a mutual thing. Equal responsibility, y'know?" Charlie took another sip of her tea. She hadn't done this much talking in a while, so the tea was a welcome relief for her throat - not that she wasn't thoroughly enjoying the conversation.

Regina sighed, relaxing her grip. "That's how it's been for me, at least. I give and I give, and it all goes to nothing. I just wi-nevermind. I guess I'm not giving enough information for you to understand, but I don't really think I should talk about it. I don't doubt your ability to hold your own, but-you know what, I think it's best that I don't share anymore."

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"Well," Charlie started, slowly, "It sounds like, from what you're saying, you've given too much to people who don't deserve it in the past. While it's important to be open and generous with people, it's just as important that they're giving back. Friendship is give and take, not give and give and give until you're all dried up." She smiled in acceptance of Regina's hesitance to speak. "It's okay if you don't want to talk about it. You don't have to tell me anything you don't want to. Besides," she added more lightly, "I'm decent at figuring general things out without people having to spill." Charlie smiled, clinking her glass to Regina's. "But anyways, no exceptional giving required here. Just a willingness to at least consider what I might ask of you - which, I promise, wouldn't be much. Like I said, I'm pretty used to handling things by myself - actually, I could probably use a little practice with asking for help when I need it," Charlie said sheepishly.

Regina nodded. "It's nothing against you..it's just that I've come to learn that I survive on my own so that no one gets hurt." She paused, hands shaking a little. It was like a huge knot in her stomach was starting to unravel. She wanted to tell Charlie about what she had gone through, but, why let her get hurt? Which one would she choose? Letting out emotions she had suppressed for years, or saving someone else pain? She decided on the latter. She had gone this long, she could go further. "But I suppose it is good to know when to ask for help, I mean if you think you need it."

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Charlie shrugged. "Everyone needs help sometimes. I mean, it's not like I can just magically become tall enough to reach the top shelves without a helping hand - or at least a stool," she added with a laugh. "I find that even just ranting or gushing to someone helps, too, even if they're not actually doing anything but listening. Sometimes it's not easy - it can be embarrassing, or traumatic, or angry - but in the end, I always feel better. I like listening to my friends talk about stuff, too; it might be a lot to take in sometimes, but it always just makes me happy to be able to help them feel better, and I always process it just fine. Besides," Charlie said, softly, "It is kind of nice to know I'm not alone when it comes to the really tough stuff. And it's nice to feel trusted with something so important." She fiddled with her drink for a moment before adding a bit more evenly, "And I'd be glad to listen to you anytime. Or, also, if you ever felt like listening to me rant or spill a bit, I'd like that, too."

"AGAIN?"

Ava should be more used to running around and being chased by now, but they haven't eaten anything yet- not even the tarts. Wait, the tarts! They actually managed to get something from the bakery after all that mess, and this to them meant they won. Again. Today is very weirdly, in a convoluted sense, going exactly their way.

"I never really thought about it that way-Thanks for giving me a new outlook on things." She stood up. "Well, I'd better get going then. I'll try and drop in again, but I'm sure you want to get back to what you were doing. How much do I owe you for the drink?" She really did like coming here. Maybe..no, she wouldn't. It sounded appealing to have a friend, but even so, Regina was devoted to protecting. And that included protecting others from herself. "I'll just give you what I have." She pulled some coins from her pocket and put them on the table, then walked out of the bakery with a slight wave.

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“Anytime,” Charlie smiled. “Oh, and not a cent. Actually talking to someone for more than thirty seconds is payment enough,” she laughed. “Plus, you complimented it, so that makes it even more on the house,” she added with a wink. “I hope to see you back soon. And don’t think I won’t go looking for you if you’re not, because I will!” With a final laugh and a warm wave goodbye, she stepped around the counter to check on her other customers.



Dragging the buck behind her was much harder work than Dawn intended it to be. Pausing for a break by a fountain, she was tempted to just go sit in it; the water just looked so refreshing. She was seriously considering this course of action when she heard a faint jingling from behind her. Confused, Dawn turned only to find two very strange fellows running nearly right at her. The archer realized that the jingling was coming from the...jester? She’d never actually seen a jester before, so she could only assume from the outfit. Intrigued, Dawn called out to them. “Uh, hey! Where are you two off to in such a hurry?”

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He should be surprised that his brother still had enough stamina left to book it across town. He really should be.

But he wasn't

Elliot himself was starting to lose breath as he weaved through throngs of people, apologizing as he went. What he was more surprised about was the Ava was keeping up with Noah fine enough. They were a simple court jester so Elliot had presumed that they weren't as physically adept as him who regularly trained with a sword. But apparently, the world was hellbent on giving Elliot surprise after surprise. Grumbling to himself as he cut Noah off from yet another detour, Elliot could see the front gates of the castle approaching and he found solace in the fact that their little chase would soon be done with. While he had more than enough breath left in his lungs to chew out his older brother for all the irresponsible things that he had done today, perhaps today he'd give his brother a rare break and simply dump in his arms extra paperwork. That should teach him

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Regina decided it would be best if she headed back to the castle, to check on the knights on patrol. More than once, she recalled, she had turned her back for 10 minutes, only to find them conversing among themselves and not on watch. Obviously, they didn't realize that even though she had turned her back, she was still there, and still ready to give a good scolding to anyone who thought that they were on break when they weren't.

She found a village boy petting Brazen's mane, and when she approached him and tapped his shoulder, Regina swore that he jumped a good 3 feet into the air. "M-miss! I wasn't goin' to steal your 'orse, I swear! I was just-I mean, he looks so well taken care of," Regina shook her head. "Boy, it's fine if you want to pet my horse. It's a horse, not a sack of gold. But, don't get any ideas about stealing Brazen. The boy stared at her for a moment before nearly nodding his head off, tripping in the mud, and running off to a small group of other children gathered nearby.

Regina sighed and shook her head. Children these days. She mounted her horse, contemplating the small child's reaction. Was she really that scary? Regina didn't think of herself as scary. Maybe assertive, but scary? Is that why the ridiculous jester called her scary? This was something that Regina wanted to think about..But now while riding. Regina hadn't been paying attention to where she was going and had nearly run into a stall. Thankfully, Brazen was smart when Regina was not, and had quickly avoided the danger. Sigh. Regina didn't like admitting that she had been distracted. She prided herself on being focused all the time. She sat up straighter in the saddle, promising herself that she would be focused all the way back to the castle. But..then there was the problem of figuring out what to do there. Perhaps she would find something. Today was random enough that anything could happen.

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