Castle of Loch Ness

Yes, she was allowed to enter. She always was. Even so, this lad never so much as glanced in hers... or anyone else's direction. So... she'd watched several days in a row as Arthur folded further and further into himself and today that wasn't going to be allowed. He was about to learn a rather stark difference in personality between people and maybe that would help him with whatever problem he was having. His words were always the same... every day, spoken like a robot or some other form of soulless individual. No more. "So with all due respect such an answer is unacceptable today," Guinevere said as easily as she breathed. She'd already entered the room, and though it was well kept his constant state of staring out that one window was more than a bit disturbing. "The thing is... we've been watching you completely withdraw for days. And while the men are content to do boy things and wait for you to recover yourself, while covering their parts to the best of their abilities. Emilia and I aren't quite so patient..." she mentioned. "Now then, I have no intention as to prying for whatever is going on inside of that head of yours..." she stated as dutifully as she always did. "But I've already pegged you for the type who throws himself into work while falling apart. So, looking out of this window all day only gives you one view point and one angle of consideration. I've found a nice spot which can't be seen from here... and Emilia made us a picnic so... we're going out to lunch today, Arthur."

Ah, what an interesting approach. Girls didn't let their friends mope for very long when they lived in groups. Real friends were willing to just be there for you even when you're mopey. Considering it that way, Guinevere was more than content to be in Arthur's company even while he was very obviously trying to shut everyone out. The sweetness that was Emilia meant that within the lunch basket were bento boxes put together with a taste of home in mind. Whatever weighed so heavily on the king, he had to know that everything in the world came in balance. Not just whatever bad things, but the nice sweet things as well.

What was this? His answer was unacceptable, according to Guinevere. What was the point? Perhaps something happened, and his attention was needed sooner. No; that was not the reason at all. He was in a bit of a slump, yes... and though the knights were content to leave him be and work as they always would, it seemed Guinevere and Emilia were against such things. They could have left him alone; that would have been better. The physically younger of the two even thought to create a picnic for his lunch, as if to coerce him into going outside. How pointless. He could see all he needed, and do all he needed, from high in the castle. Alas, Guinevere claimed there was a spot he couldn't see from the window. "What's so bad about working?" he wondered aloud. Arthur himself didn't think he was 'falling apart' as Guinevere put it. Yes, he was withdrawn, and yes, he knew this to be truth. His effectiveness would not waver, as far as he was concerned. "There's not much point to a picnic; I'm not that hungry. Spread most of it around, or let Emilia enjoy it herself. Unless something is going to ruin outside, I don't much see the point of putting myself out there right now."

Resistance. This was expected to some extent. Men were always so difficult. They didn't share feelings, they walked around upset about whatever was on their mind. They threw themselves into work or school or sports and withdrew almost completely. And then sometime later, something a little bit more off-putting happened and they would be completely shattered. Whatever the case, Guinevere was far less inclined to let the lad wallow than most other people. "Nothing is particularly bad about working. It's just a bad coping mechanism." Guinevere stated. He claimed that she should spread the picnic around or let Emilia enjoy it herself and that bar ruin outside there wasn't much reason for him to be outside. She would have scoffed but this was far from the time of such behaviors. She stood there as if considering his words, before coming up with a proper reply. "There are very few things in life worth protecting... I myself find only three of them really worthwhile. One of them is Emilia's innocence," she said while also staring out of the window. "I won't help you hurt her feelings," she stated plainly. Such an idea was beyond her, she imagined he'd felt similarly at the point where Merlyn tried to avoid a meal... the fact he would bother trying to be that way to someone else was partly his problem. "Here and now we see the start of the problem of ruling from above... you'll be out of touch. If you need a work related reason to pull yourself out of the room there is that one. The earnestness of the young king seen his first day, will disappear if he doesn't act..." she said as casually as she'd been speaking this entire time. "I'm sure if I kept it up... I could think of a few more just to push the point, but if you understand that I will stand here and keep listing reasons until I think of one that will have you move... you could simply meet me half way," she said. "Again, you don't have to make eye contact with anyone, talk or even eat very much... but at least change your scenery get some fresh air. Put some space between your head and your thoughts... And accept just a little a small token from those who worry for you." Ah, yes... she might have said too much. But all had noticed the emptiness of the young king's directions. The girl's had noticed that said emptiness came with a certain inability to make eye contact. It was strange to note, but the lad had been so earnest before, even while playing loyal servant to Kolin that the difference was noticeable and out right startling.

A bad coping mechanism. Funny; Arthur couldn't think of a single thing that would ever classify as a good coping mechanism. The only viable thing he found to get over a slump was time, and he intended to take it. Unfortunately, others had different intentions, and he had to be dealing with the most adamant of them. "Three," he repeated. Yet another thing was almost laughable. He could have said that exact statement once, yet now, he was unsure. Guinevere had a point, though. If he rejected Emilia's cooking, he'd be presenting himself in a way he wouldn't want to see on the other end. There remained little purpose in going outside to consume said meal, but... she did go through the trouble of setting up the whole thing. Would it be just as off-putting to dismiss a picnic and eat indoors? Probably; that would have shattered the idea that innocent girl considered helpful.

Ah, and there was the matter of ruling from above and distancing oneself from one's fiefdom. Arthur's brow rose. A young, earnest king on his first day? That was hardly an image to keep, nor was it one Arthur had in his own head. Guinevere left bare her intentions to continue a list. She was so adamant, he almost had it in him to be disturbed by it. Dedication to a cause seemed to be some sort of curse in this world, but where in that dedication was the line to avoid crossing? Well... whether there was a line, or something else entirely, Arthur himself was adamant about something as well. "Guinevere," he said flatly. "I am not King Arthur. No matter what the rest of you say, I am no one's king." His resolve was very specific. Perhaps he still sought the title of king, whether his purpose would remain the same or not. Nonetheless, he was presently king of nothing─ it was all just a silly moniker applied to him by the other knights, and Loch Ness' citizens who needed something tangible to believe in. Arthur could act as a stand-in so long as it was required, but that was all he thought to do. That wasn't all he had to say in that drab tone of his, though. "If it'll ease your minds, I'll go. Where is the place?"

"Yes, three..." Guinevere mentioned as if this number was the most legitimate in the world. "One is Emilia's Innocence, Elyan... things like that are worth protecting to me," she said with a careful shrug. Everyone was entitled to their secrets. She didn't much feel like sharing the last thing on her list, especially not currently. That was fine though, the gears in Arthur's mind were all at work already. It seemed a bit of emotional blackmail was indeed necessary. Though such things weren't normally to her liking, she was impish enough to abuse such things if it would help do something about the despondent Arthur. "Oh?" Guinevere's head turned gently, she gave Arthur the most intense form of a side eye, she'd ever been seen giving anyone. How strange it was that he suddenly didn't think himself King Arthur when he called himself Arthur Pendragon. There was much to unpack here. On the one hand, he managed to still call her by her name, which was a mark of his 'self' being about as intact as she'd known it to be. For as long as she'd known him, he'd gone out of his way to address her directly so that was a slight positive. At the same time, it seemed he had all but abandoned his ideal of being king. "If that is what you decided," she said and true enough if he didn't intend to rule he had less reason to have the weight of the world on his shoulders.

Apparently beyond this, in that same drab tone... he mentioned going along with this whole picnic idea of Emilia's. Strange, that he'd bother. But she supposed that meant he wasn't completely lost, just... a bit broken. This world did have a habit of breaking good people... as long as he didn't remain broken for too long all would be fine. "Come along then..." she mentioned. She had no intention of telling him where they were going. Such wouldn't do good for anyone. No. Here and now, she'd take him along a small path out of the castle, managing somehow to avoid various people on the way. A garden path that snaked around this end was well outside of the window view of Arthur from his chambers and lead, to a rather large tree in the middle of a rather peaceful grove. Right in the middle there was a large opening where the sun beamed downward, but it was broken up by a dotting of tree leaves and the like. The temperature of this area was moderate, the gentle fog which came off the lake seemed to cool it to perfection. Here the world was peaceful, it smelled nice and was quiet except for nature alone. "Here. I found this place pretty early on. I like it out here... Spring time in Zuria was kind of rare, but it always feels just like this here," she said as if it meant nothing. She'd move about, setting up this picnic. Blanket on the ground basket with Arthur's bento facing him. Within that box was an assortment of rice balls with various kinds of fillings. A comfort food of childhood which Emilia herself enjoyed and a small note, written strangely in japanese. It said simply... 'Enjoy the food. I hope you feel better.' Yes, definitely the cuteness of Emilia, signed strangely Lia-obaa. At the same time Guinevere take a seat, at the other end not facing him instead looking out at the trees. Yep. She had no intention of leaving, such was about what she wanted. If he didn't want to talk? Fine. He didn't want to be King anymore? Also fine. He wanted time to think? Fine. But none of that should come at the cost of himself. Perhaps he'd realize that eventually.

"Makes sense," he said. Guinevere said there were three things, yet listed only two. That was fine. He didn't want anyone questioning him at present, so he wouldn't be questioning anyone else either. Upon claiming he was no one's king, it seemed Guinevere took his meaning just a bit wrong. It wasn't as if he'd abandoned his idea of being king; it was simply that he wasn't king of anything. No matter; it wasn't worth specifying. He rose with a sigh, accepting the fact that he would have to follow Guinevere before discovering where she intended to lead. Trailing behind just slightly, his eyes wandered the halls. Down as he may have been, nothing was going to stop him doing the job he'd taken on. They made their way outside eventually, and all seemed well. Guinevere took it upon herself to set up the picnic area, while Arthur mulled over the fact that he'd yet to see this section of Loch Ness at all.

Soon enough, the picnic area was set. Arthur seated himself without a word. It was quite strange that Guinevere chose to face away from him while eating, despite the fact that she clearly didn't intend to part ways just yet. Oh well; he could be more content if he could eat without being watched at present. Oh, and what was this? There was a note attached to his bento. A bento alone was already surprising, but he supposed he and Emilia had an exchange about both being Japanese on their first day in Loch Ness. She even wrote in their language, and signed the note in keeping with the joke he always told at her expense. It was such a ridiculously innocent gesture, even the most downtrodden of people had to laugh at it─ so of course, Arthur would as well. 'Really?' he thought. Whenever his mind finally settled, whenever the questions stopped repeating in his subconscious, he'd have to bring this up to the girl.

"Mm-hm" True enough the things that Guinevere wished to protect were sensible. Likely due to her own experiences she was without dreams for herself. She wished to protect those that belonged to others as well. The last thing she protected, strangely applied to Arthur, but she doubted he'd even remember her first real reference for him... as such she'd keep that to herself unless it came up again. Ah, a picnic sat up, the lad seemed to be observant enough to be looking around. A quick glance in his direction and she knew for a fact that he hadn't seen this particular part of Loch Ness. That wasn't surprising. It wasn't in the line of sight of his window it was easy to overlook from the castle. She sat and began eating looking over her own small box of food with a raised brow. Balls of rice? These native Japanese people ate some strange things... she supposed she had no problem eating such a thing... it was just strange to witness. Stranger still, but immediately more comforting was that laughter which belonged to Arthur. Ah, Emilia had mentioned that she put a note in his box. It was just for him and Guinevere wasn't supposed to peek. She'd respected the lass' wishes but now she wished to know what was so funny. Ah, she'd have to ask her later. Oh, and she wasn't going to pry, she'd eat her lunch in silence here like she did most days. Right here within this small space she felt at ease... she didn't know how magically inclined Arthur was, he didn't know much about magic. He probably wouldn't realize what this place actually was, but maybe it'd provide a bit of comfort to him. Beyond all this Guinevere was willing to eat in silence with the magic of a Sacred Grove dancing freely over her skin and calming her heart. Druids were interesting people. She'd never actually met one... history says they abandoned this continent long ago... she wondered how this place remained in tact.

A Sacred Grove... Arthur hadn't the slightest clue about such a thing, but there was something more satisfying about this place than his room. This, he attributed to Emilia's letter; if only he knew the truth. Well, it could be said that both the letter and current scenery were to blame, but Arthur could acknowledge only one. Not planning on consuming much at all, he would still at least respect a dish prepared for him by another─ especially a decent taste of home after some months away. He reached into his box to claim a rice ball. With only a single bite, he was rather surprised. This one's filling was salted salmon, which happened to be a good childhood memory of once-frequent meals for Arthur. He couldn't remember if he'd spoken as much with Emilia while relaxing that first day. Had his random musings during merrymaking resulted in him spewing that information? He did recall sharing small stories from their homeland, considering Emilia was the only other person he knew to be Japanese.

The blonde sighed, half exasperated, half content. Emilia had proven herself to be an excellent chef in her own right, even while he wasn't there barking orders. The seasonings of just this singular rice ball were... interesting, to say the least. Ah, but at present, it was probably best if he at least tried to speak with Guinevere, wasn't it? There wouldn't be much point in coming along in accordance with her wishes, otherwise. What to talk about though? Well... "Sha-ke onigiri. I'm not sure if I even mentioned this to Emilia. Loch Ness has salmon?"

A Sacred Grove and home cooked meal. Such a interesting day the young Arthur was having. It seemed that within the space he was at least more at ease, regardless of why he thought this was, he was at least tasting is food. The first one that Guinevere picked up, contained eel. It was such a strange texture within the rice, but it didn't taste bad at all. And what was this.... Arthur was speaking? She didn't expect this... ah, he'd chosen a very neutral topic of conversation, the type of fish within Loch Ness. Well, she supposed as far as safe topics were concerned that one was exceedingly safe. "Yes. Loch Ness has salmon. And several other interesting varieties. Apparently they were willing to come back down stream while not being predated by the giant monster within the lake. But apparently it is being kept in hibernation and fed as if it is a house pet now. So, there are quite a few fish to choose from. Emilia was scarily excited by that idea... I am not entirely sure why..." a nice and easy conversation topic and it would be left at that. Ah, but there was an opening here, if he was willing to talk about mundane topics they could at least have an interesting conversation or two at lunch. "Early in history, before this continent had kingdoms... this area was settled by Druids. In keeping with the balance of nature... they set up a Sacred Falls at the source of Loch Ness where all the fish spawn., A stone circle at that place they call Stonehenge. Oh and here... they set up this... Sacred Grove." She worked in her current explanation of the place while they ate, she was content to have this soft non-specific conversation for a while yet. She was quite serious about not prying but she still wished to check on him.

Salmon were in Loch Ness, and people were obviously fishing for Emilia to have acquired some for this meal. So much of that bison was probably going to waste, but he much preferred that to the idea of repeating a protein too many times consecutively. Ah, he was able to think about something else at last; this was good. For the moment, Arthur could at least keep distracted enough to avoid sulking about in public. Guinevere kept up the conversation as well, speaking of the sleeping Loch Ness, and how the Druid race once inhabited the area. "Druids, huh? I've only ever seen Druids in a show. It was..." He paused. The show he referenced was, as one could expect of Hoshimi Kei, one based on Arthurian legend. In that telling, the killer of King Arthur, Mordred, was just some Druid child. Halting the progression of food entering his mouth, he somewhat wished that version of legend could be the way things played out in this world. Maybe these thoughts would have left him alone if he weren't currently living out a source of his obsession.

What to do? He couldn't keep avoiding matters, as they would only continue finding their way to him. Guinevere knew quite a bit about lore herself, so perhaps she was the one worth talking to about it. He didn't want to. Of course, he also didn't want to be living this version of the story... so what would another thing hurt? "Mordred could have been a Druid. He isn't going to be one here."