The Lion and the Rose

He caught the deer and killed it. He took up his deer with a pleased look in his eyes. Hunting was something like a hobby for Tamlin, though, when he killed an animal, he would sell it to a butcher, who could earn money out of it. And when he hunted to sell, he did it with bow and arrow, not as the Lion which lurked beneath his skin, though, he used feline senses while hunting. With his broad hands he lifted his catch and put it over his shoulders. He scanned his surroundings with his blue eyes and went back to his horse, a pale golden mare with white mane and tail. Some animals could sense the lion he was, but his mare wasn't scared of him and he liked the horse. He took his catch from his shoulders and put it on the back of the horse, then he himself climbed on the horse. The elf stayed alert when he was out in the forest, knowing there were dangers in every corner around him. It wouldn't surprise him if he found his horse dead when he would return from a hunt, but in this case it didn't happen, luckily.
The palomino brought him back to the city, D'Auvignon. Most people, elves, other creatures there preferred to stay inside of the save walls, scared of the monsters in the woods. Only the skilled would go outside for a hunt, though they would almost never go alone. Tamlin was another case, he wasn't scared, he believed fighting was the only thing he was good at. The hooves of the horse started clicking as soon as they arrived in the city and the sound of the crowd of the market welcomed him. At first he brought his horse to the stables and then he walked through the crowd toward the butchers place. There he sold the deer. The butcher took the deer inside and Tamlin stayed outside, turning around and surveying his surroundings, wondering what to do next. Maybe he should return to the castle, though the king gave him a day off his duties.

The market was crowded, as usual. People shouting, trying to sell vegetables, meat, bread, fur, leather, even animals like pigs and chickens, and tons of other useful things. Tamlin didn't need any of this, he was rich, he lived in the castle of D'auvignon, he was the Kings Guard and had nothing to complain about. Normally he would wear his armor, but for today it was some fine leather clothing in which he could hunt perfectly. But the hunting was over and he had sold his catch. Tamlin decided that he could better go back to the castle and see if he could be useful there. Maybe the king himself would want to leave for a hunt, but then, Tamlin wasn't the only Kings Guard. The King had a daughter as wel and being a Kings Guard meant to keep the Royal family save, not only the king, so maybe he could be some use to her. But right at that moment a tall, young female approached him. His feline blue eyes drifted to her and he scanned her for a brief moment. She was tall indeed, he'd almost say that she was as tall as a female elf. Most humans where at least two inches smaller. She was slender too, though it seemed more like she was underweight. That she had offered him, a wealthy man, some food, surprised him. But when she explained why he had to keep himself from laughing a bit.  "Why me? Though, I think the man gave you that much on purpose," he said back. Not that he was ungrateful, but the girl seemed too thin. And his remark was typical him. He'd say what was on his mind, though, Tamlin was not the talkative kind of person, but he was not antisocial. His comment, on the other hand could be seen as rude. But it was true and he wouldn't lie about it. Tamlin realized that the girl didn't seem happy, more like sad, or something. As if something was about to happen and that she was preparing for it. The male elf considered asking if she was okay, but it wasn't his business, so he kept quiet for now.

It was not sure if Tamlin was constantly alert because of his feline personality or because he was Kings Guard and trained to pick up every possible danger. But het was alert, always. Even in the crowd he was able to pick up every unusual sound or to see unusual behavior of people. But now it all seemed quiet well. No unusualities. Except for this nice young women who approached him and offered him some meat. That was not usual to him. He also got the idea that she didn't know whit whom she was. He didn't wear his armor, he wore his hunting clothes. Fine leather, some fur and a bow and arrow on his back. The material was expensive, though, and on that sight you could see that he was an wealthy person. Besides the fact that he looked healthy, well fed and, no, he didn't look clean right now, he'd been in the woods and that was notable. There was even a stick in his hair, which he hadn't noticed yet. The girl herself didn't seem to be poor too, though she was skinny. Being skinny wasn't usual for wealthy people. Was she ill? But her skinniness was the reason why he thought that the butcher gave her more meat on purpose. She looked a bit sheepishly at his comment, and now Tamlin did laugh a bit. "He'd do that because you look like that you can be blown away by the wind," he reacted and smiled a again. "I suppose the butcher wasn't that greedy today," he added. Tamlin had sold a fine deer for a small price to him, after all. And then the girl said that he'd might've wanted some company. Tamlin was quite surprised again. Why would he look like someone who wanted some company? Especially since Tamlin wasn't the type of guy to make friends. However, Tamlin was in a good mood today, so he didn't object. And then she asked again if he'd like some. Tamlin shook his head in amusement. "Alright," he answered then. He took the piece of meat she'd reached out to him. "Thank you...?" He said, followed by a question mark. He hadn't asked for her name yet, so he did it this way. Somewhere it felt nice to be in contact with people. Normally people would just nod in respect to him and leave him be. He was the Kings Guard after all, but this girl didn't seem to know. She'd soon find out, after he'd introduced himself.

OOC: Wow, ik wissel echt veel af met he'd, he did, she would, she'd... etc xD

The young women was kind, maybe too kind. She seemed so trusting, that she could easily be misused. Tamlin was not the type of guy to do something like that. And maybe he was completely wrong and was the young women powerful and all. He hadn't sensed anything like that, though. The young women was beautiful, skinny, tall and kind, if he was the wrong person, he definitely would've done something wrong to her. Luckily for her, he wasn't someone like that. Tamlin hated people who would be able to do something like that, misuse the kind, wound the innocent and steal from the poor. Just like when he was out hunting, Tamlin wouldn't kill a mother deer, or her baby, he'd go for a healthy deer who was older. Killing for food was good, as long as it remained fair. Tamlin liked to believe that he was a fair guy. Loyal and righteous in his way.

Tamlin liked the young women. She hadn't noted that the butcher had given the too much meat because of het rather skinny body. Lots of people would think that she was starving. And the young women had something around her that made you do something kind for her. She was kind, that should be it. Again, the reaction was rather amusing. The 'oh' and her expression. The young women chuckled at his remark and Tamlin smiled. The male elf decided to accept the piece of dried meat and in the proces he asked for her name. Ophelia was her name. "Beautiful name," he complimented her. "And nice to meet you." Then she asked for his, followed by the guess that he was a hunter. Tamlin shook his head and smiled softer. "No, I'm Tamlin Spring, Kings Guard," he introduced himself, smiling a but uneasy now. He scratched the back of his head with his left hand. He'd liked the informal, kind conversation and he kinda expected her to react confused followed bij formal respect and such.

It was to be expected. He introduced himself as the King's Guard and people would respond so exaggerated. Tamlin was used to being a King's Guard. Even before he was one himself, before he was even a knight, it was nothing more but normal and yes, respectable. But he wasn't the King himself, he was not that special as others might think. But maybe he was and just didn't see it. It was true, when he was wearing his King's Guard gear, people would go out of the way for him. He'd never really noticed, but now that he thought about it... Maybe he was special. But the young lady wasn't the first to react this way. And he was kind of disappointed that it happened, because he enjoyed the kindness, the spontaneity. No 'Lord' and no formalities. Tamlin liked receiving the respect, though. When he'd told his name, the young woman had reacted exact the same as when she'd told hers. But when he'd told her that he was one of the King's Guard, she seemed shocked. While she was overreacting, he took a bite of his piece of dried meat. She'd started rambling and Tamlin gave her a long look while he was chewing. "This piece of meat tastes good," he responded, ignoring all the rambling. He didn't even say that she'd not disturbed him, that she wasn't bothering him. He'd probably let her know with his respond. He took another bite. The meat tasted good indeed. He hadn't asked what kind of meat it was, yet. "What kind of meat is this actually?" He decided to ask. The elf would probably surprise by responding this way. And he liked to do that as well, to puzzle others a bit.

He understood that the young woman would feel a bit uneasy with the fact that she'd been talking to a King's Guard all along. The fact that she hadn't addressed him with 'ser', because that was how people would speak to him. He was used to it and he kind of liked that. It was a way to show off some respect, and that was okay. But all that exaggeration wasn't necessary for him. Sometimes he'd wonder how people like the king would feel when there was constant formality and exaggeration, like when people wouldn't consider you as a human being anymore. Yes, Tamlin was an elf, a full blood elf. But that didn't mean that he didn't have humane feelings. Though, he did feel different from the humans, sometimes even a sort of out of place. Though, it didn't really bother him. Yes, he was an elf, yes he looked kind of different, but that was it. He might be a little stronger, because of his elf build, which made him perfect for his rank. And yes, he had pointed ears and a flawless skin, but nothing wrong with that, right?
It felt good to ignore the whole lot of words. It also felt good to give a deviated reaction. The meat. It tasted good and he wondered what kind of meat it was, so he asked. It was amusing to see the young women smiling again, upon which his eyes started gleaming again. He took another bite and approvingly nodded while he chewed. So it was dried goat meat. When he swallowed his bite, the girl asked him a question on which he shook his head. "I wish I was," he replied truthfully. The king hadn't taken him anywhere else than places inside the borders of Navarre yet. "Are you planning to travel?" He asked. It seemed logic since she bought dried meat. Dried meat was a perfect supply of food to take with you when you were going to travel.

And then, when the formal conversations were over and the people left the room and the door was closed behind them, the talking behind your back would begin. Tamlin knew that kind of things happened. Especially when something was denied. Tamlin knew that people talked bad about the King, he never caught someone, but he knew it happened. And there were lots of other things that was discussed about, thins you would really lose your head for. He knew it, because when Tamlin walked through the hallways, people would be quiet abruptly when he passed them. He'd give them a long look, walk further and stop behind the corner. He'll wait, until they start talking again. But they never did, maybe because they knew his senses were quite good. Clever people. It did occur to him that most humans were really hypocritical and without respect. For them, it was never good enough. And that was the point where Tamlin started wondering. Why was he like he was? And why, if it came to human behavior did he feel out of place? Ever since Tamlin grew older he started wondering about the differences between humans and elves. Besides his parents and brothers, he never really met others. Did they live apart from them? Tamlin wasn't too curious though, because he was way too loyal to the king.

Tamlin did want to see more of the world. That was another thought he pushed away often enough. It felt bad to think about such things, he was the King's Guard and proud to be one. Thereby, he liked the king, though he did not know what it actually was. Ophelia had asked him about travelling, if he was well traveled, on which he answered that he wasn't, though he wished he was. Then she told him that she was going to travel, for the first time in her life, because of her father, who was sending her to Archeon. She wasn't telling him that her father sold her, was she? "And you're okay with that?" Tamlin decided to ask, though it wasn't his business. "And why there?" Maybe a bit too much curiosity, but he wanted to know.

Being a Kings Guard was boring and thrilling at the same time. You had a big responsibility. Sometimes you'd do nothing for hours and hours, even days after days. But the king could also decide to take you on a trip to whatever place he liked. As a Kings Guard you belonged to the finest knights existing, you had to be a good fighter, strong and special. Expected was that Tamlin would obey his king at all costs and keep his secrets save, no matter what. Tamlin was a sworn knight and loyal, for what he knew, he'd never stray from that path. If he did, he'd have a death sentence on his head. Another task of his was to defend the king's name and honor. Tamlin liked his position and was proud of what he was. Other people wondered why an elf would have such position on a human king's side. Tamlin only wondered why other people had thoughts like that.

When the conversation moved toward the subject about traveling, the expression of Ophelia saddened. Tamlin narrowed his eyes a bit. He'd asked if she was okay with the idea of leaving on her fathers behalf. She answered that she wasn't, but that she had no choice on that matter. Tamlin frowned and stayed silent. Of course he wanted to help her, but he couldn't. It wasn't his responsibility and he had no right to do so. So he only shook his head a little with a small sigh. He then asked why she had to go there. She told him that she was going to be handmaiden to the Queen Dacosta. Now it was getting interesting. "That doesn't sound that bad, does it?" He reacted. "You'll have quite a luxurious life and you'll get to know a lot about her," he followed and grinned a bit. Then the girl asked him about his experience with royalty. Tamlin stepped somewhat backward to lean against a wall. "They are just as human as you are, only with more responsibility, lots of responsibility," Tamlin spoke. "Royalty isn't about being rich, having a luxurious life, but about ruling and keeping everything at bay," he told her. "It's quite an honor to be the handmaiden of the Queen, or in my case, being the Kings Guard," he spoke furthermore. "But I hardly know Queen Dacosta, but I believe that she's a good woman," he said, though, he really didn't know. The only thing he could do to make her comfortable with her faith, was talking some confidence into her. And he hoped it helped a bit. "Do you know anything about Queen Dacosta?" He then asked. Maybe she did, he was curious.