Chapter Text
The chill breeze blows through the thin fabric of the cloak Doddle has managed to acquire- and there’s a brief chill of guilt for the people she had to take it from. The pale sand road stretches out before her, fading into the vast vibrant green of the mountainous land around her- the scenery so different to lands she grew up in, and yet she cannot help but notice the similarities.
She rifles through the small knapsack she was gifted by a villager on the border between Camelot and Neverwinter, pulling out a crumpled map and crouching lower to the ground. “Well, Harold, I reckon we’re getting pretty close. All we have to do is follow this road down here, do a little twisty path here,” she traces a small, stubby finger along the winding map line, making an accompanying noise “and then take the left fork and follow this bigger road and then we’re there! See, easy peasy!”
Harold squawks in reply, causing the young woman to frown.
“Harold, I’m really not appreciating your negativity. It’s certainly not going to get us there any faster. Now come on, let’s keep going. Who knows, maybe we’ll even find a nice farmer to give us a lift to Camelot?”
***
In a way, Doddle is correct. They do manage to catch a ride on the back of a farmer’s cart. However, the farmer is entirely unaware of their presence. On the plus side, the old farmer’s dog is not, and Doddle receives a lot of attention on the journey. Harold, on the other hand, quickly tires of the mangy dog’s attempts at affection, clucking indignantly and hiding in Doddle’s bag for most of the journey.
Bundled up in the slightly too large clothes in the bed of hay and sacks of grain, Doddle watches the scenery passing her by: dark woodland, hills dotted with small wooden houses, farmlands, far distant mountains, and bright winding rivers that snake along beside them. Doddle looks down at herself, taking in the too small body, too dark freckles and skin tinted just a little green, the wild matted hair.
She sniffles, wiping tears to prevent her already too blurry eyesight getting worse. Harold clucks sympathetically from her hiding place and the dog whines, showering the small girl in affection until she giggles.
“Thank you, friend. You sure do know how to cheer someone up, don’t you?”
The dog wags its tail happily, sitting beside her as she wipes away the last remnants of her tears.
“There’s just a lot going on and it’s all just a little bit overwhelming I’m afraid. I’m sure you must be wondering what Harold and I are doing on your very lovely cart.”
The dog wiggles and lies down, resting its head on her lap.
“Well… believe it or not, my friend, I’m actually a princess. Mhmm, a princess of a very very far away land,” she sighed sadly. “And, well, to be quite honest, I’m not quite sure what happened. But now I look this, and I need to find a way back home and a way to change me back to the person I was. It’s proving to be quite a bit more difficult than I expected, but I’ve met some quite lovely people along the way, and I’ve got a plan!”
The dog’s tail wags enthusiastically.
“Um, well,” Doddle stammers, “I have- sort of, a plan. See my home is a place called Taowyn and, well, like I said, it’s very far away. So far away, that a lot of people don’t actually think Taowyn is a real place, which as you can imagine makes finding a way to get back quite difficult. But! What I have managed to discover is that Camelot’s physician has done a lot of research into Taowyn, so if anyone can help me get home- its them! And that’s why I’m headed to Camelot!”
She ends with a grin and a wide arm gesture, which excites the dog into a short burst of barking. The farmer grumbles, shouting back at the dog, but most of his words are lost to the wind and his lack of teeth. Doddle giggles, wrapping her arms around her cheerful new friend as they continue their journey.
***
Doddle awakens to a sharp, yet gentle poking and a series of clucks. She grumbles in a very un-princess like fashion and rubs her eyes- being greeted by one of the grandest sights she has seen in her life: towering walls of white stone spattered with carved creatures and manned by silver mail and red-clothed guards, a steady stream of people entering and leaving, several horse riders and a beautiful looking carriage that passes the small cart. Doddle cannot help the whisper of awe that spills from her lips, before coming back to herself, “thank you very much for waking me up Harold, this is not a sight I would have wanted to miss,” turning to her other companion as she grabs her bag, she smiles, “and thank you for your companionship, friend, you’ve really made my travelling experience very enjoyable. Unfortunately, this is where we will have to part ways, but I wish you well, and I hope you get many tasty treats at the end of your journey.”
The dog wags its tail and gives a parting lick, before Doddle hops off the cart and gives a small wave as it trundles further along the path, eventually becoming lost in the crowd. “You know, Harold, I really hope we get to see that dog again someday. Now, come on, let’s get inside those gates.”
***
It is surprisingly easy to walk through the wide stone gates of Camelot, and if Doddle had thought the outside was impressive, she is even more awed by what she discovers on the other side. The incline is layered in buildings, beautiful stone and wood creating a sea of civilization before her, unlike anything she has ever seen, and towering above with grey spires- a vast castle of old white rock, shining like a jewel in the crown of the city.
It is a lot bigger than Doddle expected, the streets are flooded with people.
Still, she grips the straps of her bag tightly and gives Harold a smile, “we made it! Camelot is… a lot busier than I had expected it to be,” she giggles nervously, looking around, “how hard can it be to find out where the physician lives?”
***
What Doddle knows of the Physician can be put into a neat, albeit small list:
- They are very knowledgeable about Taowyn.
- They live in the physician’s quarters, which is located somewhere in the castle of Camelot.
- Their name is Mandorian, and Doddle has heard a cycle of he/him, she/her and they/them pronouns used to refer to them.
- Apparently, they are the youngest court physician in many centuries, although she has not been able to get a precise age.
As she approaches the courtyard of the castle, Doddle’s thoughts are interrupted by the sound of drumbeat and horns. “Come on, Harold, it sounds like things are about to get interesting!” And she hurries off, the brown chicken hopping alongside her heels.
When she arrives in the courtyard, she finds herself pushing towards the front of the crowd as a pair of guards guide a man up to a small, raised stage, upon which stands a wooden block, a basket, and a man with an axe. As inexperienced with the world outside Taowyn as she may be, Doddle is struck by a sudden understanding of the events she has stumbled upon, curling into herself and murmuring, “Harold, I don’t think this is the kind of interesting I wanted to see.”
“Let this serve as a lesson to all,” the voice booms from a balcony above. Doddle cranes her neck, taking in the balcony of red-cloaked individuals surrounding a man attired in richer red, with carefully manicured facial hair and, resting atop his head, a heavy-looking golden crown. “This man, Thomas James Collins, is adjudged guilty of conspiring to use enchantments and magic; and pursuant to the laws of Camelot- I, Uther Sternward, have decreed that such practices are banned on penalty of death. I pride myself as a fair and just king, but for the crime of sorcery, there is but one sentence I can pass.”
Doddle curls into herself further, Harold clucking comfortingly at her feet, as the guards push the man to his knees at the wooden block. She turns away, barely catching the rising of the executioner’s axe in her peripheral, and catches sight of a woman watching from one of the windows.
Even with her bad eyesight, Doddle can tell the woman is beautiful. Her golden hair catches the light and seems to glow ethereally, pulled back atop her head in some courtly style Doddle cannot make out. Doddle focuses on the woman in hopes of avoiding looking at the events unfolding before her, can tell that the moment is coming in the way the woman turns away and-
She should have covered her ears.
“When I came to this land,” the king continues, “this kingdom was mired in chaos. But with the people’s help, magic was driven from the realm. So I declare a festival- to celebrate twenty years since the Great Dragon was captured, and Camelot freed from the evil of sorcery.”
The King stands with his arms spread, but there is no emotion on his face, as he announces: “let the celebrations begin!”
People begin to dissipate from the square, but freeze at the high keening wail of the old woman stepping forwards, tear-filled eyes intent on the king upon the balcony.
“There is only one evil in this land, and it is not magic! It is you! With your hatred, and your ignorance…” The woman chokes on her sobs as she points toward the raised stage behind her. “You took my son. And I promise you, before these celebrations are over, you will share my tears. An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth…” Again, she stumbles, tears falling upon her cheeks, “a boy for a boy!”
“Seize her!”
Before any action can be taken, the woman clutches an amulet, incanting to it, before disappearing in a whirlwind.
Doddle hesitates, watching the crowd dispersing around her, before picking up Harold, clutching the chicken close as tears began to trail down her own cheeks. “I’m not so sure I like it here anymore, Harold.”
She briefly flits her gaze towards the stage, but flinches at the stark red.
As Doddle flees the square, her mind reeling, she finds enough clarity to note the list of dangers she faces: she is a princess, far from home, and a mage in a kingdom where that is a death sentence.
***
Doddle has no idea where she is headed.
She has no clue where to find the court physician, wandering throughout the courtyard and peeking up stairways and passages. Eventually, she steels her courage and heads toward a pair of guards stood beside an entryway.
“Excuse me, I’m very sorry to interrupt as you seem, um, very busy, um, doing your jobs. But I’m afraid I’m really, quite terribly lost. See, I’m trying to find the court physician, but I have no idea where I’m going, I don’t suppose you, um know?”
One of the guards shifts out of their stance, “their quarters are higher up the tower here. You’ll want to follow this stairway up to the main corridor then on your left there’ll be a door leading to a spiral staircase. It’ll lead you up to the physician’s quarters.”
Doddle relaxes, giving a wide toothy grin and her thanks, before hurrying up the stairs.
***
The door to the quarters of the Court Physician Mandorian is made of old dark wood planks secured by dark metal. The door is also, wide open.
Doddle looks down at Harold, before giving the door a small knock. Any intentions she had of waiting outside the room fall away as Harold nudges the door wider with her head and hops inside, to Doddle’s exasperated cry of “Harold!”
The physician’s quarters are a wide room littered with windows and alcoves, with stacked bookshelves across various walls, and tables cluttered with herbs and bowls and unusual instruments and odd tinctures and poultices.
“Um , hello?” She calls out, tiptoeing into the room after her errant chicken companion. “Hello? Physician Mandorian?”
Harold clucks from her perch upon one of the equipment-laden tables, and Doddle follows her gaze up to a balcony level where someone stands perusing some shelves filled with ancient-looking tomes. The person, seemingly unaware of Doddle and Harold’s presences, wears a starched white shirt with sleeves rolled up at the elbows and green trousers with what appears to be a yellow bandana around their neck. Doddle’s eyes, however, find more focus on the twisting sleeve of burns scars crawling up their left arm and into their sleeve.
“Um. AHEM!” She coughs loudly.
The person caught by surprise falls back, crashing through the wooden railing and Doddle can feel the warm thrum of magic as time slows around them. Frantically looking around, she spots a spare cot and rather than command it to move, she simply feels the need that it should.
The person wheezes as they make contact with the cot, and the several pieces of railing that shower over them, before rolling to their feet exclaiming in a thick accent: “What did you just do? Tell me!”
“Uh, I- I- Well, um. I have no idea.” She stammers, the fear rising as she realises what she’s just done. Her mind flashes back to the events she witnessed outside and she feels the tears beginning to well up in her eyes.
It appears her victim/rescuee is also aware of her tears, “If anyone had seen that…”
“No, no. Uh, that wasn’t- that wasn’t me.”
“What wasn’t who?” A second, slightly higher-pitched accented voice asks from behind Doddle.
The person who has entered the room has russet hair, much like the person Doddle has been talking with, although the new speaker’s is much longer and held back with a pair of goggles. They wear a darker, more grey-toned shirt with short sleeves and shorter, tighter fit trousers with a soot and substance stained apron.
“This one here,” the first stranger points to Doddle as the second closes the door, “just moved the cot to stop me from falling to my- well, not death, but very painful spinal injury.”
The goggle-wearing individual steps further into the room, taking in the scene and then looking across to where the cot had been, turning to Doddle. “You know that’s illegal here, right? You could- you could get, well, killed if anyone else saw.”
“I don’t know what-” Doddle gasps, chest heaving as she tries to hold back panicked tears. “You’re not- you’re not mad?! You’re not- I mean, you… you know what I just did?”
“Aye, you did magic. In Camelot. It was pretty obvious.” The first person replies softly.
“And you’re not going to… tell anyone? Or, or get me arrested?”
The two share a look and a bark of laughter. “No, gods no. We’re not- no.”
“For one thing, it seems like you saved his life. Or, his back, anyway.” The second grins, a little ferally.
“Although, we are pretty curious as to where you learned that. I- well, it was a pretty tense moment, I might have missed it. But, I didn’t hear any enchantments.”
“I, um, well…”
“Hey, Mags? Maybe let’s lay off the questions for now. You seem a little- stressed. Why don’t you take a seat.”
Doddle nods, allowing herself to be shepherded to the long bench at one of the less cluttered – but not by much – tables by the person with goggles. She accepts a glass of water, which she is assured is clean (and the glass, too), and takes several moments to calm down, Harold clucking from her place in Doddle’s lap.
“So…” Doddle hesitates, unsure of what to say. “Um. I’m very sorry for the intrusion, and very very sorry to have surprised you, and thank you very very very much for promising not to tell anyone- it was an accident I swear and-”
“You’re not going to hurt anyone with your… talents, are you?”
Doddle gasps. “Of- of course not! I don’t want to hurt anyone!”
“No problem here then.”
“And don’t worry about the fall. Honestly, it was bound to happen at some point. Although, I’m realising, that you probably came in here for a purpose… is there something you were needing?”
Doddle perks up at the reminder of her quest. “Yes! I, yes, I had a reason. Um, see, I’m looking for Physician Mandorian.”
There is a beat of silence, and the two soot-stained strangers across from her look to each other, before turning back to her: “yes?”