she was completely whole and yet never fully complete
You are enjoying a tankard at the tavern, unwinding with your friends as you sit directly at the bar. After all, the drinks come faster this way... the tavern girls are busy flirting with patrons. While they are nice to look at, your friends insist on getting drunk as quickly as possible, and you are all good friends with the owner serving your drinks: Ollie. Laughter and fun are to be had at every corner of the establishment, and everyone knows each other here, in this quiet, peaceful village you call home. Everything is as it seems.
At least until a rare occurrence suddenly takes place. A traveler.
A woman of ethereal beauty approaches the bar and stands next to you. You have never seen her before... but alas, you continue drinking and act like nothing is amiss. Your friend on the other side of you nudges you, motioning to the woman, and you simply nod. Acknowledging that you have indeed noticed her. As did a few other patrons around the tavern, who have lowered their own voices, perhaps to talk about her. Your village does not get travelers often... and for a beautiful woman to come into a tavern this late at night, seemingly alone, is quite odd.
Ollie, the barkeep, approaches her and maintains his professionalism. "Ah, a visitor! Welcome to Eldham, miss. We don't get travelers often. First drink is on the house!" He flashes her a big grin, showing his perfect teeth. Ollie, handsome and put-together as ever. Your buddy snorts quietly before muttering under his breath. "Show off.." You chuckle in reply.
The woman quickly smiles back at Ollie, a weak and seemingly forced smile at that. You take another sip of your ale and wonder why it suddenly smells sweet, like flowers.. ahh. Not your ale. The woman standing next to you.
"None for me, thank you. I am looking for someone. Is Gareth here?" The woman's voice is enough to make anyone weak in the knees. Soft and light, matching her beauty. You sneak another glance at her before looking towards Ollie for his response. Gareth must be a lucky man if she is searching for him... wait.. Gareth? What a coincidence...
Ollie's grin starts to fade at the question, a slight confused glint in his eyes. "Ah, Gareth? Surely you are not talking about Gareth Ironside?" He chuckles, a bit nervously at that. Perhaps the woman mistakenly came to the wrong village... the only Gareth in Eldham is-
"Yes, Gareth Ironside."
Ollie's smile completely dropped, a look of concern painting his face now. Your friends finally stopped whispering, and all of you sit up and look at the woman in complete exasperation. How old is she? She looks quite young... how could she know that name?
Ollie scratches his head, unsure of how to approach the situation any further. "Uhh.. well, I'm sorry, miss, surely you've got the wrong name. Gareth Ironside passed away four winters ago. He was my grandfather."
You then look directly at the woman next to you. Even from her profile you can see the light in her eyes completely fade. Only after Ollie's response did she break her gaze and look down ever so slightly, "I see." Her tone remained soft, but there was a hint of sadness in her reply.
She took a small step backward, looking back up at Ollie with those same, sad eyes. "My apologies."
Ollie, you, and your friends watch intently as the woman walks towards the door with her head slightly down. A heavily drunk patron seated near the exit attempts to grab her arm but misses, then shouts, "Ay, wench... I need more mead!" You frown and grit your teeth at the disrespect, but the woman exits the tavern. It seems as though she didn't even notice.
With her out of sight, out of mind, you and your friends continue drinking throughout the night. However, you can't stop thinking about the woman with the sad eyes. Sure, she is beautiful. But there is something about her that intrigues you. You decide to call it a night earlier than expected, and leave the tavern with your friends still inside.
It is a quiet summer night. Still unsure of why this woman in particular captured your intrigue, you decide to go for a walk through the village to shake it off. You begin to think about the significance of Gareth, then remember the village children mentioned finding kittens in the old burnt down home that once belonged to him. Why not check on them?
As you approach the home, everything is quiet. Again, everything is as it should be. It is dark, but the moonlight is still able to give some light as it penetrates through the desecrated ceiling. You search every room, finding no young felines. One last room to check. Gareth's bedroom, which he shared with his wife, who also passed in the fire.
However, once you approach the doorway, you notice someone is already there. She is seated in the room, and her back is turned to you, but she is aware of your presence, and speaks first, "This one has a spot on her cheek, reminiscent of a heart. Descendants of Bertie." You are confused, especially when the woman stands and turns to you, approaching with one of the kittens in her hands. She gently lifts the kitten to show you, but you can't help but stare at the woman instead. The woman with the sad eyes. What's her story?
- Medieval, low fantasy. - Romance is a must. - Male character needed. - Young adult characters aged 19-26. - Brief character sheets exchanged (you will create your own). - Realistic art face-claim is a must (I can provide examples). - Short and sweet. :)
I would like to find a partner for this short plot I thought about recently. The story will be short as I am rusty at RP, and also am not sure where it will go when the end of the main story happens. If you write this with me and enjoy the characters and setting, we can discuss making it more long-term and decide how to do that along the way.
Please PM me if you'd like to discuss this story with me. I will then provide further context. :)
