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Tweak says, "It really is you."

Caspian X (caspianseafarer) wrote in labyrinth_rpg,
@ 2009-04-07 20:50:00

Entry tags:

caspian, complete, day five, gabrielle

WHO: Caspian and Gabrielle
WHEN: Day 5, breakfast time
WHAT: Fooooood
WHERE: One of the supper tents
RATING: PG
STATUS: Complete

After meeting up with and setting straight Miss Bella Swan, Caspian decided that it was time for some food. He felt bad leaving her alone, but after all, if he hadn't been expecting to be transported somewhere, he probably would have needed a moment as well. But as it was, Caspian was perfectly at home in the City. It reminded him of the street fairs in Calormen, but without the slave trade, which was a blessing. He'd had enough fun breaking that up once, thank you very much. He still hadn't figured out his purpose in this land, and was starting to think that, with the many varied and well-suited people in the land, he didn't have much of one. They were all in the same boat, as it were. Maybe the purpose was to simply live his life.

And living included eating.

Part of Caspian wondered at the necessity, given that he was technically dead, but his stomach ruled out that option for him very quickly, sitting up and demanding to be noticed. So, he headed down to one of the supper tents to find something to eat. Not long later, he was sitting at one end of a long bench table, with a plate of bread, cheese and fruit in front of him, and a goblet of water next to that, chewing happily. He was beginning to discover that, with the transformation of his body to its younger years, his mind was heading in that direction as well. Which explained the fact that he seemed to eat like a teenager with a hollow leg.

Noticing someone looking for a seat, Caspian smiled, swallowed, and stood, giving a half bow in greeting. "You're more than welcome at this table," he offered.

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caspianseafarer
2009-04-09 05:22 pm UTC (link)

Caspian nodded. The lords he'd gone in search of hadn't been his friends at the time, but one or two of them did become so after finding them and proving who he was, in word and deed. But still..."You're right, Lady Gabrielle. Without my friends, I truly would be nothing." As a matter of fact, he'd be dead, a lot earlier than his rather natural death as an old man.

"A princess?" he asked, wondering why she hadn't said something sooner. Caspian felt remiss in his duties, but to try and make up for it now would be too little too late. He'd just have to remember in the future. "Tell me about your land, and of the Amazons?" he asked with a polite smile, interested in anything that could have created such a lovely woman as Gabrielle.

"My friends from the other world said the same. Animals don't speak there. But in Narnia, they have spoken since the moment of creation. There are beasts that have gone native now, that have reverted back to their natural ways and are completely wild, but most..." he smiled. "Most speak. And far more intelligently than most humans."

"You would love it," Caspian assured her with a nod. "And were it possible, I would no doubt take you there, m'lady. But I cannot return, even if we find our freedom from this land. In Narnia, I would be nothing but a ghost."

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bardictraveller
2009-04-10 12:56 am UTC (link)

Gabrielle nodded, agreeing completely with his words. Friendship was one of the things she valued most in the world. "Oh, I'm just Gabrielle, you don't have to call me Lady." She colored slightly, but grinned, far from displeased by the courtesy. "It's true, though. Friends are important. They teach us so much about ourselves, too, don't you find?"

She laughed and shook her head. "No, I mean, it's complicated. I was just a normal girl, not an Amazon at all, but I tried to save the life of an Amazon princess. She died, but gave me her Right of Caste. I turned it down, though, so my friend could do it. She's a much better leader than I am." She thought for a moment. "I don't know much, though, because I wasn't born on Amazon, but... they're fighting women, sick of being oppressed. They used to be at war with the Centaurs."

She nodded and finished up her food, a smile on her face. "I would like to see a talking animal. It would be fascinating." She looked at him intently. "What do they have to say? They must have such an interesting viewpoint on the world, right?"

She sighed softly in disappointment as he mentioned the fact that they couldn't go there. The ghost thing, however, caught her attention. She frowned slightly, and reached out to touch his hand. It felt solid enough. Confused now, she looked at him. "Ghost?"

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caspianseafarer
2009-04-10 06:21 pm UTC (link)

Caspian listened to her story, leaning his forearms on the edge of the table and shifting toward her slightly, his posture indicating extreme attentiveness. "I believe the Narnians and the Amazonians would have quite a good deal in common, were they to meet," he said with a decided nod. After all, his people had been oppressed and all but wiped out at one point.

"I don't know of any here," Caspian laughed lightly, "But if I run into one, I'll be certain to let you know." He thought about her question and smiled. "Some are just as you would expect, I'd imagine, and some would take you greatly by surprise. They are - well now - accepted citizens of the land, and they maintain homes and trades just like the Telemarines do," he shrugged. "I'm not sure that their viewpoints are much different from our own, though there are always a few that view themselves a great deal higher in class than the rest. In truth, I'm so accustomed to them that I don't even notice anymore. Though it was a great shock the first time an animal spoke to me," he laughed at the memory. "They were all in hiding for a very long time prior to that."

Caspian nodded. "A ghost. Perhaps in the other world as well, though I'm not certain. I died there, of a blissfully old age, and so to return...I wouldn't exist. But here..." He reached out and brushed his fingers against her own. "I'm very much alive."

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bardictraveller
2009-04-11 09:12 pm UTC (link)

Gabrielle thought about that, and then smiled widely. "You know, I bet you're right. If the Amazons could actually decide to trust the Narnian's, that is." She thought about all her friends within the tribe of warlike women, and smiled slightly to herself. Though she hadn't really wanted to lead them, she was very fond of many of them.

"Okay, great, it's a deal. And if any of my Amazon friends show up, I'll be sure to let you know, too. Then, we can introduce them." She giggled softly, somewhat amused by the idea of introducing a talking animal to an Amazon. Still, strange things had happened before to her, and she wasn't exactly ruling the possibility out. But she stopped giggling to listen to the explanation, and by the end, was nodding. "Some people would think that because a talking animal looks like an animal, that it's stupid. I think that makes whoever thinks such a thing stupid, you know? You can't tell how smart someone is just by looking at them."

Gabrielle smiled at him, and her cheeks colored up a bit as he touched her hand. But... "Old age? Wait, hold on..." She took his hand in hers, looked at it very closely, and then turned green eyes to his. "I think I'm confused."

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caspianseafarer
2009-04-12 12:04 am UTC (link)

Caspian sighed. This was going to apparently take some explaining, and even he didn't really know how it worked, only that it did. With his free hand, he popped another piece of fruit in his mouth in order to give himself a moment to think, and then sighed.

"I was born sixty-six years ago," he told her softly, as if lowering his voice would somehow lessen the blow that that information carried. "I grew up, I became King, I travelled, I married, and I had a son. I lost, I gained, and I lived. A full life. Then I died. Right after my death, I was brought to a bridge between worlds, and Aslan brought me back to life, restoring me to the form that my friend Eustace - who was there at that time - knew best, as he'd known me as a young man," he said, gesturing to himself. We had one last battle together," Caspian said with a little smirk and a shake of his head. Some battle. "And then I was meant - I believe - to go to Aslan's Country, your Heaven, I suppose," he said, remembering a term used by the Pevensies once. "But I ended up here instead. But in my land, I died, and I assume there was a funeral and the like. So there, I would be a ghost," he shrugged.

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bardictraveller
2009-04-12 05:06 am UTC (link)

Gabrielle was done with her food, but not even remotely close to finished with the conversation. Her eyes were rapt, refusing to move from him, as he tried to explain. She'd never heard anything like it, a sixty-six year old man who looked like a young man, and who was apparently a ghost, only felt solid. So, she was listening most carefully.

And, in the end, she had no idea what to think. His explanation didn't make a lot of sense. Especially... "I've never heard of this 'Heaven' thing. Is it a sort of afterlife?" She frowned thoughtfully, trying to puzzle it out, and then eventually gave up with a smile. "You should have song or poem written about you... it would be right up there with The Odyssey. You've been through so much."

"It's sad, though. Even if you break out, you're dead." She smiled sympathetically at him, though he had explained that he'd had a full life. She still found it a little sad. "Are you going to try and run the Labyrinth? Jareth... Mr Sparkly King... sort of implied we could leave if we finished it. But... are you going to want to go, Caspian? I don't know what choice I'd make if I were you." And she really, really didn't.

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caspianseafarer
2009-04-12 08:27 am UTC (link)

"I think so," Caspian nodded in response to her question, nudging his plate just a half an inch to the side, indicating that he was done, knowing that a goblin would be around before long. "At least, that's the way it was made to sound when explained to me."

"Actually," he chuckled. "Lucy, the little girl from the stories? Apparently she wrote down some of the adventures we had," he shrugged. "At least that is what I was told at the ball. A young lady there knew my land because of it and, I believe, who I am, though she was attempting to be discrete."

Caspian frowned and picked at a rough spot on the table with his free hand. He hadn't thought about that, and he didn't like the idea much. Sure, he was adjusting quite well to this new place, but eventually, wouldn't he want to move on? And where would he go if Aslan couldn't even stop having Caspian ripped from His side? "I suppose it matters what sort of life I am able to build here," he said after a moment. "But I've been given a chance to restart mine. I'm not about to squander it."

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bardictraveller
2009-04-12 06:16 pm UTC (link)

The bard frowned slightly. "I hope it's a good sort of afterlife, more like the Elysian Fields than Tartarus." She didn't like the thought of this charming, very handsome young man being relegated to eternal suffering. Heaven sounded like a nice word, anyway, going to the sky couldn't be that bad, could it? She would just have to hope.

She smiled, though, when he mentioned that. "Oh, I bet I'd like Lucy! I write down all my travels and adventures, too. I wonder if I could find the books that she wrote? I hear there's a library here, maybe I'll go see what I can find!" Although she doubted she'd be able to, it at least sounded like a fun thing to try.

The bard looked sympathetic as the Prince began thinking, though. It was all-too-obvious that she'd hit on a bit of a strange subject for him. And, really, who could blame him? She'd probably be a little freaked out, too, if someone just started casually talking about what to do after they died. "I'm sure you'll build an amazing life. Who knows, maybe this is some sort of reward?" She certainly felt that way herself, though she knew Xena didn't. But she'd been taken from a world where she didn't have her best friend, and she'd been brought into a place where she didn't even seem to need to fight. It was a good thing, in her mind. "Maybe, just a chance to start over... it could be the best thing to happen to us, to any of us."

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caspianseafarer
2009-04-19 11:26 pm UTC (link)

"The Elysian Fields? Tartarus?" Caspian repeated, clearly never having heard of either of those places, if the confused look on his face was any indication. "What are those places like?" he asked, interested.

He smiled a bit at her enthusiasm over the possibility of the books, and shrugged slightly. "It would be worth a shot," he admitted. "Lucy Pevensie is her name, though I don't know, she may have married before writing them," he shrugged. "Miss Hermione said something about The Chronicles of Narnia, so that may help you in your search." For himself, he didn't particularly want to read them, even through the eyes of a child. Living the events once had been enough.

Caspian nodded and reached out to squeeze her fingers a bit in thanks for the comforting thought. "Well, if this is a chance to start over, perhaps a walk is the best way to begin?" he offered, noting that neither of them were eating any more. Standing up, Caspian offered his hand and a smile. "Would you like to take one, m'lady?"

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bardictraveller
2009-04-20 08:41 pm UTC (link)

Far from being dismayed by the fact that he didn't know these things, the bard was actually quite delighted. After all, it meant that she got to explain it to him, and there was little in life that Gabrielle loved more than telling stories. So she smiled brightly at him, and spoke very cheerfully.

"I'm glad you asked! They're both places you go after you pass on. If you've been very good, you are rewarded by going to the Elysian Fields. It's beautiful there, a true paradise. There's no fighting or hunger or anything bad, just pure bliss." She smiled happily, but then turned more serious. "But, on the other hand, Tartarus is where you go if you've been bad. It's not a nice place at all."

She nodded and accepted his hand, practically glowing at him as she rose to her feet. "Thanks, I'll look into it later. But you're right, though, now is far too nice a day to waste inside, even in a library." Gabrielle glanced around, then turned back to him with a shrug. "Want to just pick a direction and start walking? There's still so much I haven't seen."

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caspianseafarer
2009-04-21 12:20 pm UTC (link)

Caspian listened to her, his eyes widening a bit, but otherwise, he took it all in stride as best as he could. "I hope that you end up in the Elysian Fields then," he offered with a smile.

When she took his hand, he lifted her to her feet and then turned his hand under hers so that her fingers were laying along his own, escorting her properly. He was finding that the longer they talked, and the more she graced him with her sunny smile and cheerful disposition, that he liked her all the more.

Which, lead him to ask a rather embarrassing question that made Caspian feel as if he were really the age he represented physically. "Are you spoken for, Gabrielle?" he asked in a quiet, serious voice, watching her face for any sign of offense.

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bardictraveller
2009-04-21 06:12 pm UTC (link)

A slight shadow passed behind Gabrielle's previously-clear green eyes, though she still smiled. "I... I hope so, too. But I'm not sure I will." She didn't clarify more than that, but deep in her own mind, thought over the things that had brought her to where she was, the things she had done. Could someone who had poisoned their own daughter be considered to be good enough to go to a paradise?

But the shadow cleared, at least mostly, as she allowed her fingers to rest over his properly. She glanced at him and smiled, and quite frankly, wasn't used to being treated anywhere near this courteously. Robin had kissed her hand, which had endlessly delighted her, but this was even better.

His question had her look at him, tilt her head to the side, and then glance at the ground, slightly embarassed. "No, I mean, I was married but... he was killed." She bit her lower lip, and then raised her gaze to his once more. "I'm only 'spoken for' by my best friend Xena. We do everything together." She tried to explain, but it was really an understatement. She and Xena had been practically inseparable for years.

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