The First Meeting of Lady Marian & Darcy Lewis

[queenofmay]

It's a large ship. Larger than she has any idea how to consider. Especially given that they are still packed away into small amounts of space on it. Seeing people come and go from Ten Forward. More new faces all the time. Their officers, and their families. Even in the Sickbay. Enough that it always feels like a surprise, but, also, only like the steady early drip of rain starting. Holding back an endless cloud. The unknown. Outside of these spaces.

Today, at the least, they've been given room assignments outside of the place they'd all be keeping together as one mass of dislocated persons. Handed out a list. Perhaps, Marian could admit, to herself, if no one else, she was a touch envious her two friends had found themselves together. All she knew of the person whose room she had newly been granted to was a name: Darcy Lewis.






Which was how she founds herself, following a blinking line of lights on a black wall, computer, that talked and was leading her toward that room, which was all still quite strange thank you, with Caspian at her side.

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[tased_lightning]

Darcy shakes Marian's hand, warmly, before tucking her hands into her back jean pockets.

The 'Lord Caspian' gets a slightly raised eyebrow, and the minimal bow just makes it stick. Right. Either he's a super rude lord (Darcy is full and aware she deserves a real bow from nobility; Fandral's made an impression), or 'Lord' is euphemism for 'totally royalty'.

Look, she knows people.

She relaxes, on the explanation, and her expression warms slightly into an almost smile -- but Caspian speaks before she can.

"Yeah, you too" she says to him, politely enough, with a half-wave.

"Uh, so," Darcy says to Marian. "This is the room. It's kind of terrible, let's be real, but I figure we can do something about that. Do you have anything you want me to grab?"

[queenofmay]

"Thank you, again." Caspian's retreat, reluctant or not, had to come eventually. It gets just enough of a nod, with curve of a smile, and very few words. She knows, because of Amy and Ambergeldar, never to be beat out by Caspian simply being Caspian, that she'll be seeing him soon enough again.

It's easier than she expects, turning back to Darcy and the odd room. With no windows. She almost minds that part more than anything else about the boxes in spaces. "Alas, I have nothing more than what you see before you now." And a very small handful of weapons she couldn't. But the point held true. Nothing else had come with her.

"Did you bring all of this with you?" This being all the the colorful things in the room already.

[tased_lightning]

"Well," Darcy says. "From my room in Quarantine, yeah. I've been here a couple weeks. When'd you get in?"

She perches on the sofa, crossing her arms on her knees. "And where from? I'm from Earth, circa the 2000s. London, I guess, but I'm a New Mexican girl by heart and general background."

[queenofmay]

"Only a few days now," Marian answered, stepping inside and looking back at the door swishing closed. That was still new. Even if magic and suddenly far flung parts of space and time weren't. Doors didn't open and close themselves in any of the places she'd ended up. At least not in that way.

"Currently," Marian started without any oddly hesitant way to putting it. "I live in Ambergeldar."

Personal guest to the Royal Family of Ambergeldar. Most notably, the Queen and her brother, who'd just walked away.

"But." She rested a hand on the back of the chair, and chose her words unflinching. Aware of where they went every time, and choosing rather to start flat, fully truthful, than wait for it find its way out later. "Originally, I was from Earth. England. I was born and raised in Nottinghamshire, in specific, during the time of our Lord God and The Lionheart's 12th Century."

[tased_lightning]

"Huh," Darcy says, after a moment. "You seem to be taking this pretty calmly."

She doesn't know where Ambergeldar is, but if she was from pre-sci fi times, she thinks she'd handle this...

Not so great.

[queenofmay]

"It's not the first time something like this has happened to me. Well--" Marian equivocated with slightly graceful move of her hand gesturing to the room around them. "This. This is brand new. I've been on one other space ship, for a very short time, but it was much, much smaller than this one."

"But this kind of situation. I've been in other situations of its like. While putting my father's new horse through his paces on the edge of Sherwood five years ago, I leapt a hedge into a place called Milliways. It--" How was she even supposed to put into words what it did to her. How she perceived the world. Or herself. Life, and Death. "--makes all of this a little easier to put into a greater context than I once had."

[tased_lightning]

"Huh," Darcy says. "We have -- portals to other places. At home. But it's not the sort of thing humans pass through, not usually. We don't have the technology."

Pause.

"So, Sherwood. Richard the Lionheart. Know any guys named Robin?"

[queenofmay]

Marian had almost thought when she named her home and nothing came next, maybe she'd found another person from another world where the legend didn't exist. It's harder to say if that's a relief or not ever. Especially nod. It's a singular way that she nods this time, gentile and singular.

"Aye." It's not a name spoken near her often now. It's not one Caspian would have born very easily hear or for her to hear if he'd stayed. "Robert, Lord of Locksley and Earl of Huntingdon. Exiled from peerage and the realm. The outlaw and thief, the man who would become a lasting fairytale, Robin Hood."

It's not really the imagination either that her fingers might be whiter from pressing into the top of the chair, though the rest of her posture hasn't changed. She remembers him, their whole childhood, betrothal, being abandoned for the war and The Lionheart, his return, their fight for their England, all the last words. Say the words then, handsome and Robin of Locksley, Master of the Bow, Champion of the Poor, and Lord of my Heart.

"He was my husband." Even if they were vows said while Guy of Gisborne's sword was run through her and death was coming for her. One that was stave off by Milliways, again. Giving her the rest of her life, and taking from her all she held dear.

[tased_lightning]

"Hey," Darcy says, instantly sympathetic. "I'm sorry, dude. Do you want to see if the replicator'll make us cocktails, or make a checklist of things we'll need to make this place livable, or something?"

[queenofmay]

"It's alright," Marian says. Soft. But there's a steel in it, too. It already happened. It can't be undone. She's had a handful of months to come to terms with that. With being okay with not being okay, but being alive regardless. With. Well. The sword. The words. The fact she died to that world. That Robin swore, but he moved on. Twice. They all did. And they died shortly after, too. All of them.

"Yes," comes a second later, with some obvious relief though. "All of the above. But could I, perhaps, have a cup of tea with mine?"
She wouldn't mind the additive of something in it, but she'd rather tea. Also, that it not be tequila, but she isn't too picky.