|James| Damage I Cannot Undo

[Regina Apple]

It had been a long time since Gina had been to the Nottingham Market. Having never really existed, she felt there was little need to hide. Though, she was part of a ruthless outlaw gang who the Sheriff probably wanted dead - so she played it safe (for once) and tried not to draw attention to herself. Easier said than done. She practically bounced about the market like a child on their birthday. There were so many oppotunities for her to exercise her less honourable skills.

She kept her pickpocketing to males, so if in the rare case someone caught her, she could smile flirtatiously at them and flirt her way out of it. But, it was rare - she'd learned from the best. Even the briefest thoughts of him made her heart flutter, but Gina tried to calm it. She was here on business, not to get away from the group so she could daydream in peace. She was here to get goodies - and preferably some food. They'd been overrun by apples - again.

Her stomach growled as she roamed through the busy crowds, searching for fair game. The meat stall looked like a good place to start, though it was hard to discretely pocket large chunks of meat, even when she could baffle the stall handler to the point he was seeing stars. And it was the stall handler's wife on today. Regina sighed, she was going to have to settle for bread. It was better than nothing.

Who was she kidding? The gang would send her back if she came back with bread. There were easier ways to get meat, like hunting it. But she'd run out of arrows and didn't really want to make any more. It was such a pain and she always got a million and nine splinters. And why make something you can pilfer off someone else? Arrows were also on her shopping list - though bowyers didn't really appear at markets. Peasants shouldn't fight. Maybe a guard would be a good source for arrows. She beared that in mind as she sucessfully snatched a fat purse from a snotty noble's manservant - the guy wreeked of well fed lords.

She was about to give up all hope on finding some meat when Gina spied a young man walking alone with something tasty. She smirked to herself - perfect. He was alone, small, and looked easy to manipulate. She tailed him for a while, keeping to the shadows. When Gina was fairly sure she knew where he was going, she took a back route to the same place. When they were on the same path again she silently battled whether it would be more effective to crash into him, or fall to the floor in front of him. The first would definitely get his attention, but might put up his defenses. The latter may bring out the good samaritan in him, or he could walk on by. If he did, she could always trip him up.

Now that was an idea she liked. Regina quickly made sure that none of her goodies would come flying out during the act before commencing with the show. She pretended to be interested by a notice stuck on a wall while she walked and purposely tripped over an abandonned piece of fence. She fell in a way which made herankle look horrifically twisted, though it wasn't at all. This was a trick only she could pull off - one technique the guys couldn't claim she stole. She 'gasped' in 'pain' as she clutched her ankle. She feined anger at herself as she fought back tears. Gina could cry on demand, a useful skill by her books. "Oh how could I be so stupid?" She sobbed. Ok, she was laying it on a little thick, but she had to catch this young man's attention. If he didn't make it apparent soon, she might have to resort to a hair flick, that one usually worked too.

[James Blythe]

James didn’t have the opportunity to visit the market all that often, and even less recently, considering the bouts of illness that had plagued the castle in recent days. He’d barely even been home to see his family once in the last month, and it annoyed him a little bit to be trying to shoulder the work of a dozen people alone. He wasn’t the only one, of course, and he didn’t complain about it out loud (partly from respect for the ill, and partly from fear of being overheard), but it didn’t take away from the fact that he’d been working his bloody arse off. Sure, he was technically property of the masters of the castle (practically sold into servitude in the castle), but still, he liked to have a moment or two to catch his breath, and as it was he’d barely slept for the last few nights, making him extremely slow and a little dizzy.

All his hard work had paid off, though. Vaysey - who had disappeared to God only knew where, and whom had suddenly burst out from his quarters as James walked past, despite knowing the man had not been in there for at least a week - had gathered the staff who hadn’t been ill and had been working their arses off to inform them that he was pleased with their work (pleased! He was never pleased!) and, as a reward, he had some items for them.

Namely good, proper, high quality meats.

They didn’t get such a thing, ever. They were too lowly, they didn’t earn enough, it was for the upper classes only. Such a present was unheard of, and the servants had been a little dubious to begin with, wondering if it was a joke. But sure enough, Vaysey had given each of them a lump of good, solid beef or a nice, large chicken each, and the first thought on James’ mind had been to take it home to his family, who had been having a lot of trouble as of late. Food had been scarce and his mother had been ill enough that his eldest sister, Edna, had returned home to look after her.

A good bit of iron, that was what she needed. At least Naomi was getting better, too. He’d been frantic in the kitchens – he ought to have listened to her when he went to visit her, but thankfully Lily had turned up…

James smiled as he thought of Lily, the beautiful baker’s daughter who had stumbled into his life. No longer did he think of the pretty maid of one of the castle’s many visitors – she’d been unattainable anyway – but instead turned his thoughts to the fair maiden with the nice laugh and pretty red cheeks. He nearly ran into a man as he started daydreaming of how he could get her attention, maybe find something to offer her father so he could court her, and apologised. Securing the meat in its bundle again, he turned a corner and stumbled across a woman, certainly a fair bit older than him, but nevertheless still apparently in distress.

And he was such a sucker for doing the right thing when it came to women. All the girls in the castle knew that if they wanted to get out of something, then all they had to do was ask James, flutter their eyelids a few times and he’d do it. Immediately he rushed to her side, not noticing that she’d overplayed her reaction to it, and put his bundle down beside him, wondering if he should put his hands on her shoulder and settling on speaking to her before trying to physically help.

”Are you okay? What’s wrong?” he asked, aware that the first question was fairly stupid but still, what else did people say in these situations?

Regina wouldn’t have to flick her hair. He’d been suckered in already.

[Regina Apple]

This boy had fallen for her plan, hook line and sinker. Regina, you are marvellous, she told herself silently. On the outside she still wore a mournful look, this was her ankle she'd apparently hurt; so no smug looks allowed. She pretended to investigate her ankle - eyes leaking a little - and hissed in apparent pain. "It's my ankle."

Gina was going for simple village girl; all for stating the obvious, being image aware, very stupid and hero-worshiping her saviour. She whimpered, trying to make out like her ankle was broken or something equally nasty. She shifted, trying to put it in a more comfortable position but cried out in pain after moving it slightly. In reality, the way she sat was just making her leg go dead but moving it dramactically would give her away. The things she did for a little bit of food.

"I think it's broken or twisted." She was really getting into character now, a whol history was building up in her head now. She was the oldest of four, the one they all depended on - despite her stupidity - and her father would go mad if he found out how she'd hurt herself. How could the family function if she was off falling over and flirting with the boys? "Why do people just leave things littering the floor? It's just mean!"

Gina sobbed dramatically, using the boy as a human tissue. She burried her head in his thin shoulder. She had to tone down the wailing though - shrieking in this lad's ear wasn't going to win her any favours. "Daddy's going to kill me! I was supposed to get bread, not a broken ankle." She pulled her head off the boy's shoulder, looking him dead in the eye, trying to look all innocent. Had her eyes not been clogged with tears she would have fluttered them. "Will you help me pease, kind sir?" She put on a sweet tone, only used when really teasing Gavin - she liked how it freaked him out.

(ooc - I can change that Gavin bit, but I can imagine him getting all jumpy if she uses this tone on him XD)

[James Blythe]

James was really a bit worried, he wasn’t good with girls at the best of times, and definitely not older, sobbing women. Especially not reasonably pretty ones. Well, not even not pretty ones, but he was worse around the pretty ones because then a) he couldn’t just pretend they were like his sisters, and b) he felt guilty talking to them and not to Lily. Which was just plain silly, but then he was fairly daft at times anyway. And now he was mentally rambling and running in circles, which was never a good thing and getting flustered in this circumstance was just wrong and probably dangerous.

Her cry of pain made him instantly move from her side over to her ankle, to look at it. So he wasn’t the world’s greatest medic, but he knew how to bind things so she could at least walk and he could help her find someone who could do something about it… If it was broken, they’d definitely need to find a doctor and sharpish. He thought briefly about running to the castle to get the medic from there, but the man wouldn’t think it was worth his time and so James dismissed the idea. He looked back at her as she declared people were mean, and his eyes shifted to the bundle he’d left beside her. Great example he was setting, then.

”Of course I’ll help,” he replied. The only problem was, he didn’t know how to start. Probably ought to start with binding her ankle, so she could at least sit reasonably comfortably. He ripped part of his shirt up, from the bottom (it was tattered anyway, he reasoned, so it didn’t really matter, and he’d grown out of it a year ago, at least). ”Er, I’m gonna be as gentle as I can, okay? But, tell me if it hurts?” he asked rather than said, nervous as hell. Then he added, ”Er, so what’s your name?” He didn’t want to treat her like she was nothing – knowing a person’s name was a much better way of helping, he knew it made them feel a little bit better, anyway. Plus she looked really nice, he thought he might like her, in the end. She seemed sweet enough, right?

[Regina Apple]

Ordinarily, Gina would have laughed at this young lad's lacking in girl skills (something she picked up on from his nervousness). The laughter was purely to be cruel - it was fun to do it to men in bars (before alcohol made them pervy) as they would never have a chance, even without Gavin. But Gina couldn't laugh, she was Alanna the pleasant peasant girl who was afraid of her pa. Sher certainly wasn't Regina, the cut-throat outlaw who pined over Gavin. Not at the moment anyway.

Her screech had distracted this young man, bringing hi to her ankle - the meat was forgotten. Gina tried to concentrate on being Alanna, but that bundle looked good. She could stab him and do away with it now, but part of her wanted to torment this poor lad, see how far she could push it. Holding onto this notion, she took her hand away from her knife - concealed in her boot which was also her 'broken' ankle. Gina whimpered, and thought of a sad moment in he life - she needed tears. "Owie."

Had she have been Gina, she probably would have laughed at the lad again. But Alanna was thankful. "Oh thank you! You're my hero!" She grabbed the boy in a hug, which ended up more like a headlock. She let him go - Gina wasn't supposed to strangle him - so he could investigate the phoney break. Gina watched as he dithered and ripped up his frayed shirt. Thinking about it, she'd taken a real gamble. Regina just hoped this lad was as dumb as he looked and wouldn't notice her ankle wasn't even swollen. Failing that - copious amounts of screaming and saying, "Thief! He's trying to rob me! He's got my meat!" should suffice. Maybe even screaming, "Outlaw!"; that might bring some guards into the mix.

"Please do. Canna promise I'll be in the position to talk though, dearie. It might be a scream." The 'Alanna' in her tried to be brave, but Gina was resisting the temptation to laugh again. This boy was priceless! It may be worth her to remember his face for future entertainment. She hissed in pain as the boy worked on her ankle. "I'm Alanna Drapper, sweetie. And you are?" Why they Hell not? She was in character now. Small talk was a given when meeting someone new - for 'alive' peasants anyway.

[James Blythe]

James really wouldn't have known what to do if the lady had laughed at him – he was a nervous wreck as it was, and that would have just served to confuse him even more! He was focused on her ankle now, and not being a good medic (it wasn't exactly in his job description, was it?), he likely wouldn't notice a false alarm. He was, however, distracted by the woman flinging her arms around his neck and suffocating him momentarily. What the heck? He turned bright red and started attending to the work on her ankle.

He felt even more confused – her ankle was at a funny angle, yes, but it didn't really look that bad... He'd sprained his own once, though, running errands in the castle and knew that it hurt like Hell. Maybe she only thought she'd broken her ankle because it hurt so bad? Either way, fastening it would probably help her walk a bit better and would keep any odd bones straight until she could find someone with better experience with this sort of thing to help her out. He hoped he wasn't hurting her, as he pulled the bandage a little tighter. ”How's that?” he asked, feeling utterly ridiculous, and finding all he could think about was what Lily would have to say if she saw him right now.

”Er, James. James Blythe,” he replied absently, trying to tie a knot and finding he'd ripped off too short a bit, or wrapped it round too many times. He got another bit of fabric, mentally praying that his superiors wouldn't notice, or would requisition him a new shirt, and used it to fasten the other piece in place. He looked up and smiled at Alanna. She seemed nice enough. ”How does that feel? Should I go and try to find the doctor?”

[Regina Apple]

A wicked grin itched at the corners of Gina's mouth, but Alanna wouldn't have found the shade this boy'd gone at all funny. It was terrible! Alanna was no fun. Next person she became would have to be fun, more like her. Pain would be funny, as would suffering and maybe she should have a patronising slant to her personality. This woman sounded like fun, and like a Saffron... Yes, Gina liked this character. She would have to use her at some point. But, sadly not this point. Alanna Drapper was the complete opposite, which was good for the situation, but not for Gina's entertainment.

Maybe going for the break was a little too out there. But hey, she wasn't medically inclinded, for someone in her position - i.e. a lot of pain - they wouldn't know the difference. She whimpered a little as he worked on the ankle, remembering that she was in fact supposed to be in pain. Actually, this boy's performance was quite painful - his dithering was giving her a headache. She squeaked when he pulled it tighter. "It stings a little now, but it might feel better in a minute. How'd you know how to do all this, sweetie?" That 'sweetie' was starting to annoy her too. Why had she gone for the cutesy nicknames? If Gina had been this kid, she would have killed Alanna by now and been on her merry way.

Regina watched James rip more of his shirt, the way he was going he was going to end up naked. He was a pants doctor. She was thinking if now would be the oppotunity when she could do away with his meat. All it would take was one shove and he'd be on his bum watching her zoom away into the sunset, or the shadows. Shadows more likely. One could slip away easier in the shadows. Should go and find a doctor? That would give her ample time to snatch his meat, but Gina kind of wanted to do it in his face. It would show she was a good theif, if she could steal it right from under his nose. "No please don't go! I just need you to help me walk home. I live here in Nottingham. Once I'm home I should be alright, providing Pa doesn't kill me." She added sadly, she was supposed to be pathetic.

She knew exactly where she was going to lead him though. Once of the Greensleeves' adopted abandonned homes for storing goodies during the day. There she would knock him out or whatever and do away with his meat. But she had to ensure he remembered it. Regina picked up the discarded food and handed it to him. "Don't forget this though. You look like you could do with this. Fatten you up a little." It's just such a shame it won't fatten you up. Most of this will probably be consumed by Gavin, the greedy pig. She added silently, she couldn't have James knowing her plan now could she? That way she'd be rumbled.