[Semi-Closed Post] Sadmas Aftermath

[lanselos_du_lac]

Rather suddenly, after this latest mansion event or incursion of unexpected visitors, Lancelot will not be seen around and about as has come to be usual for him. He is not drilling in the field in the mornings. He is not in the café seeking pastries or companionship. He is not around the kitchens or libraries or, seemingly, anywhere.

Lancelot keeps to his room. If he bathes or shaves or uses the bathroom, he does so carefully and avoiding anyone he might meet. If Laertes leaves food outside his door, folk will find it still there later in the day. If anyone knocks, he will not call them in. He lets the mansion provision him with bread, cheese, water-- sometimes wine or whiskey -- but he doesn't much want any of it.

He cannot bring himself to speak to anyone. He cannot bring himself to do much of anything at all. The best concession he will make, with the understanding that there are those who will worry, is that he does not lock or bolt the door.

[Typist note: Anyone who might be really worried about Lancelot's sudden disappearance or withdrawal is welcome! Post is "semi-closed" really only because a character would have to deliberately decide to enter, and no one will stumble across Lancelot by accident.]

Comments

[lanselos_du_lac]

He flushes but lets her pull him to his feet. "I know some courtly dances, though those are out of fashion here, most like."

[quote_gentle_unquote]

"I'm more recently familiar with dance halls," Susan admits. "They're all the rage in my England. But I knew a courtly dance or two in Narnia." She smiles. "Have you any favorites?"

[lanselos_du_lac]

"Most commonly we danced a farandole, though in truth we did not dance often." His flush deepens into that shy look he occasionally has. "I have since learned another, however."

[quote_gentle_unquote]

"You've learned one... here?" she asks, to confirm. She puts a hand on his forearm. Her hair, she knows, is a mess, tangled down her back where hanks of it stick to lingering, cooling sweat. There's a riot of marks tucked away on her body - some from Lancelot, some from Liu Mingyan. She doesn't care; she knows that she's as beautiful debauched as she is when she's carefully put-together, and she feels loose and bone-deep satisfied. As she tosses her matted hair back, she's focused, tremulous, on the look in his eyes.

[lanselos_du_lac]

That look indicates that she is right to be secure in her understanding of her beauty. Lancelot smiles at her, and moves to place them in the frame of a waltz. "Aye, here. I wanted to be sure I could dance with thee. Queen Gertrude was kind enough to instruct me."

[quote_gentle_unquote]

"Queen Gertrude is an exceptional woman," says Susan, smiling up at him. "I do rather love a waltz."

[lanselos_du_lac]

Lancelot's answering smile is bright -- far brighter than he could have expected of himself when he woke up this morning, still feeling almost as crushed and defeated as the last day or two. "She is quite something, and it was kind of her to show me."

[quote_gentle_unquote]

"She was always my favorite," Susan confesses. "From the play. I was thrilled to meet her." But there are more pressing things than getting to meet Gertrude from Hamlet right now. "Show me what you've learned?"

[lanselos_du_lac]

Lancelot has a moment of confusion -- what play? -- but brushes that off in favor of answering her request. "She showed me both following and leading. Which dost thou prefer?"

[quote_gentle_unquote]

"I've much more practice with following," Susan admits, and then, given how they've spent the past hour: "But clearly I wouldn't mind leading you, either!"

[lanselos_du_lac]

He laughs, "I've equal practice in both. I shall lead."

[quote_gentle_unquote]

So Susan gladly takes the follow position. It has been some time since she waltzed, but she's eager to see what Lancelot knows of it.

[lanselos_du_lac]

In truth, his waltz is a little stilted -- but it is true that he is a quick study in things such as this, and even his short time with Gertrude served him well. He sweeps her around the room a few times, to no music at all, concentrating on the rhythm in his head, and smiling at her the whole while.

[quote_gentle_unquote]

At a certain point, Susan starts humming to give them a tune. Her singing voice is lower than one might expect - almost husky - but largely on-key. She pauses, though, to say, "You've known how to waltz for three days and already you're this good?"

[lanselos_du_lac]

Lancelot laughs a little, "I was not certain I was any good at all."

[quote_gentle_unquote]

"You're much better than many of the boys at the dance halls," Susan says, switching without warning into a leading hold. "But not quite as talented as the King of Archenland. - The country bordering Narnia to the south."

[lanselos_du_lac]

He takes only a few steps to accommodate her switch. "Lady, 'tis not talent but practice that breeds mastery."

[quote_gentle_unquote]

"And yet you've practiced less than the boys at the dance hall," Susan says. The look she gives him is playfully suspicious, and broken up when she glances quickly at their feet - the few times she has led in the past, it's been with someone closer to her in height. "You're quite physically gifted, aren't you? It seems to me this kind of thing comes easily to you."

[lanselos_du_lac]

"Aye, I suppose that's so. At most things physical, I am a quick study. All the rest? Shameful."

[quote_gentle_unquote]

"Oh? Even if you choose to interpret the other things as physical in nature?"

[lanselos_du_lac]

Another little laugh, this one rueful, "I am not very good at understanding people I don't know well. I generally find it easier to keep to myself. Even with those I know well, I often think I make things difficult."

[quote_gentle_unquote]

Rather than dismissing this out of hand, Susan gives it due consideration, pulling him a little closer than a waltz strictly requires. "Difficult in what way?"

[lanselos_du_lac]

He squeezes her hand, where theirs are clasped, and says, "Oh-- I ask a lot of questions. I want to know things for certain, and most things can't be known for certain. And-- sometimes I feel I over-burden people."

[quote_gentle_unquote]

This all sounds remarkably reasonable to Susan, who hates to be a burden and loves to understand things. She leads him quietly through the next few steps, then says, "I can't imagine you over-burdening anyone."

[lanselos_du_lac]

"I pray it remains so," with a warm, wry humor. His hand at her waist squeezes gently; he keeps his gaze on her.