sir-bart

[sir-bart]

[sir-bart]

Different?

He chuckled internally as he heard that Mulan thought that he was different. He wouldn’t have said that. The blacksmith may have been different from the men in China, but he would say that he was just one of the masses here in London. He was thankful when Mulan said that it was a good different, it made him smile. “Thank you.”

Bartholomew laughed, “I’m sure we can come up with some sort of deal.” He was sure, mostly because they seemed to have things in common that they enjoyed. Maybe he could convince her to show him some of her moves with the swords. He was always keen on sparring. He could even show her how the Englishmen used their swords – it could come in handy in her journeys.

“Then I’ll see you when you come to the shop,” He nodded his head. Bartholomew didn’t want to cause Mulan’s soup to get cold when she had paid for it. It would have been a waste. “I’ll see you soon,” Bartholomew replied with a charming smile as he moved up from the bar stool and adjusted his belt and his cloak. The blacksmith took hold of the gloves he had put into his pocket before beginning to place them back onto his hands. “Goodbye.”

He smiled before turning and heading out of the pub. It had certainly been worthwhile going in for a quick drink for the night – he had gotten to get some business, and met a pretty unique woman.

End of Thread.

Introductions ← mytruereflection → Bart/Mulan

"No," she said with another laugh, "no you aren’t. You’re different." He was different than most people she had met, especially men. Either people looked at her oddly because she was foreign or just avoided her. Some of the men she met would treat her with respect but that didn’t happen all the time. Most of the time they viewed her as someone to flirt with and possibly get her into their bed. That was what Mulan hated the most. But Bart was different from all of that. He was treating her with respect but it felt different to her and she was finding that she liked it. She gave him a kind smile as she said, "But it’s a good different."

Mulan’s lips pursed again as she thought about his offer. She guessed that would the best solution to this whole situation. As long as her debt was paid off, that was all that mattered to the warrior. She wouldn’t be able to leave London until that was done. She would even go as far as to offer more gold to Bart for the lessons when he looked at her sword and knives but a voice in her head said that he probably wouldn’t accept that. There was just something about him that told her that he wouldn’t accept more money for the lessons. “As long as I pay my debt to you for the lessons then I think that will be fine,” she soon said after a sigh. Hopefully he wouldn’t resist any sort of payment she tried to offer him.

She stared blankly at Bart, not sure what exactly to say. She guessed she had seen something like that on her map but she didn’t know which word was England and which was Scotland. To her the words were just scribbles on her map and they were blocking any sort of landmark she could use to find her way. But she guessed that Bart probably assumed that so she just nodded her head. Her brow quickly scrunched up a little as she tried to imagine such an accent. Mulan knew that if she tried to mimic Bart’s accent then she would probably fail at it. But if this other accent was so different than his then she wanted to hear it. 

She was about to ask him about it when he decided to take his leave. Her heart sank a little upon hearing that. When she came into the pub she hadn’t planned on speaking to anyone. All Mulan had wanted was to eat something quickly and get upstairs to her room so she could bath. But when he came over and changed that, she couldn’t come up with a reason as to why she didn’t want it to continue. But now it was ending much to her dislike. Regardless she kept smiling at him, hope he didn’t catch onto her disappointment. “It was a pleasure to meet you as well,” she said as she bowed once more to him. “I shall be there soon. I think getting Khan out of the stables for a bit would do him some good, regardless if he likes it there or not. I cannot wait for our lessons either.” That was what she was excited for. Already she was planning on just leaving her meal as it was and rushing up stairs to bathe and then rest. The sooner she slept then the sooner her lessons could start.

[sir-bart]

Bartholomew could tell that Desiree was somewhat embarrassed by her boldness. Yes, it was something that startled him – he wasn’t used to such forwardness, but she just spoke her mind and he could only applaud her for doing such a thing. “No, I don’t think so.” He replied wearily, he didn’t really think there was much to miss out for – he didn’t mind. Since Catherine’s death he hadn’t had any interest in replacing her, and he still didn’t. “It never really appealed to me.”

He smiled as he looked towards the yellow clad woman. “Yes, it does seem like it would be quite the adventure,” He nodded as he listened to the things that she listed off. “I can’t wait to taste the food, I’ve heard it’s very different.” Although he had to admit he was weary about the frog legs, that couldn’t have been real, right? “Well maybe one day you’ll get to go on an adventure like that?”

Bonjour ← thebimbettes → Bart/The Bimbettes

"Really?"  Startled by her own comment she put her hand in front of her mouth. Did she really say that out loud? "Eh.. Well, I zeenk zey are misseeng out." she replied, giving a friendly wink.

Desiree’s face lighted up when he mentioned the capital. “Wonderful choice!” she marveled. “Paris c’est grande. Ze shops, ze food, ze culture, ze buildeengs…” she sighed. “Oh, zat must be quite ze adventure.” she smiled.

[sir-bart]

[sir-bart]

the girls in paris (esmeralda & sir bart)

It had been quite the travel for the blacksmith knight.

He had travelled all the way from London to Paris for his vacation and after spending a few days at a tavern where he met Desiree, he had decided he better go for some sightseeing before all of his money went on the drink. That was the last thing Bartholomew wanted, he wasn’t much of a drinker, but the company had been good.

His eyes took in the surroundings as he walked, his belongings slung over his shoulder in a large leather pouch. Bartholomew had trailed his way into a large town square filled with bustling busy people. He had never seen such a place before, it was open spaced to the most without the people going by the end of their days. The sky was beginning to get dark, signalling that evening was beginning to take place.

He guessed that that meant that the people would be heading home – and appealed to him that he should find shelter, at least for that night. Bartholomew made his way closer, listening to the people and their accents. He had gotten used to the accent through his conversations with Desiree, but that didn’t mean that he didn’t find them odd compared to his own.

It was a good thing that he spent those days with Desiree in close conversation, because he could easily make out the words that were spoken now. The blacksmith turned and looked around for a sign of anyone who perhaps wasn’t too busy to help him find an inn for the night. All he needed was one night’s shelter, some food and a bed. After that if he couldn’t find somewhere more secure to stay for the next few days then maybe he could move onto the next town. He wasn’t sure though, he liked the view of the people around him.

Something about this was refreshing. London was a busy town filled with men and women going by their everyday lives, like him at his shop and then serving underneath King Arthur. Still, this was new and different and he was sure that everything was going to take him by surprise. Bartholomew walked around the square trying to get someone’s attention, although they were either too busy to help or didn’t understand that he was trying to talk to them.

[sir-bart]

When Mulan replied saying Thank You in Chinese, he smiled and nodded his head. Of course Bartholomew didn’t have a clue about what she said – but thankfully she translated her words for him. “I guess I’m not like other people?” The young Knight questioned as he glanced around. He knew he wasn’t like the men in this pub. They tended to concentrate on the drink and women.

Yes, Bartholomew liked the drink, but after the death of his wife, he wasn’t too interested in the women. It was what drawn the women to talk to him instead of going to the others they believed would proposition them. “I do appreciate that you want to… repay my lessons, but perhaps we can find another way for you to do something in return.” He mused, normally saying something like that as a man to a woman ended up sounding crude. Bartholomew also hadn’t taken the time to realise that Mulan didn’t know his history like the other women in the pub did.

“Up north is indeed Scotland,” He explained. That was perhaps a good name for him to tell her. “That should be easy enough to show you,” Bartholomew chuckled. “The word will be as big as England is on the map.” He couldn’t help but imagine how difficult it would be for Mulan to travel up there, but if she kept to her guards and learned the names of places as he wished to teach her then she wouldn’t have to worry too much. He nodded his head, “Even different from mine. I won’t tell you what it sounds like,” He decided. “I’d probably butcher the accent and it would be something you’ll want to hear for yourself.”

That and there would probably be some kind of pub riot if someone had believed there was a Scot in here.

“Well,” He coughed and cleared his throat before looking towards Mulan. “I’ve stayed here longer than I was supposed to – and I’ve left my dog alone back at the Smithy, so I should head back.” He explained. “But, it’s been nice to meet you – and you should pop by soon to get your swords fixed.” And then he could check on her horse’s shoes. “Besides, wouldn’t want to get your soup cold.” He would hate to imagine her paying for some food and it to go to waste because he kept her talking.

Introductions ← mytruereflection → Bart/Mulan

She exactly sure how to respond to that. No one had exactly said that they liked her mother language. The only time they even seemed to care about it was finding out what language she was speaking. Once she told them that then they just brushed it away and focused on how she could speak English. So his compliment caught her off guard a little. But like with most most things Mulan recovered quickly and gave Bart a gently smile. “Xièxiè,” she said before trailing off into a laugh. “It means thank you. You’re the first person to tell me that they like it. Most people pay attention to how I can speak English.”

The soldier pursed her lips a little when he pointed out that it probably wouldn’t be helpful for him to learn Chinese. She understood what he meant but it still made a little uneasy. It wasn’t fair that she would be having Bart teach her how to read the words that were written on her map and not get anything in return. Finally relaxing her lips she shook her head, not caring once again if her black hair hit her face as she did so. “Yes we’re speaking just fine like this but I cannot accept your offer to teach me without doing the same in return. It wouldn’t be fair if it wasn’t that way.” Mulan didn’t want to be given special treatment either. She might be a woman but she could handle herself just as well as any man. Being treated like a porcelain doll was something that she loathed.

Her fingers once again went to her hair and pushed some of it behind her ear as he spoke. She was not exactly used to men making sure she was comfortable upon first meeting them. Mulan liked it but it was still taking her some getting used to since she had made sure to guard herself against anything on her travels, both mental and physical. But she was slowly taking down her guard around Bart and she wasn’t sure if that was a good or a bad thing. Right then wasn’t the time to think on it. She nodded her head before giving the blacksmith a sheepish smile. “I suppose I am? I’ve never heard the name before. I had just planned on going north is all.”

It didn’t surprise her even when Bart confirmed her assumption. Everything that she had seen since leaving China was different than the last place she had been in. Why should going a tiny bit more north prove to be any different? The accent bit made Mulan raise a brow. “Different from yours even?” She had noticed the moment she entered the town that the people sounded different than what she was used to. Bart was no different. She even began to think that she probably sounded different to him and the townspeople. That made her wonder if others she had met thought her voice sounded odd.

[sir-bart]

He laughed as he thought about it, had the women been that sad to see him go? He rarely associated with them since his wife died. It had been nine years, coming up for ten, but he hadn’t been interested in finding another woman. “They have their hands full with the other men.” He explained, “Business keeps me busy.”

Bartholomew chuckled, “I want to go all around Paris ideally.” He replied as he thought about the places he could go. “I don’t know where exactly, I guess wherever my feet take me.” He did miss his horse, but he knew Midnight was well taken care of by one of the other Knights back in London.

Bonjour ← thebimbettes → Bart/The Bimbettes

"You’re a charmer." she giggled. "I’m sure all ze girls een London were sad to see you go." Well, she would be sad to see him go. He was nice company so far. Smiling to herself she brushed some hairs out of her face and tucked them behind her ear. 

"Ees this your first stop een your travels?" she inquired. "Where do you plan on going after zees?"

[sir-bart]

“Then I’m honoured,” He laughed as he watched her expression and listened to her words. It wasn’t something that he had to deal with back home. There were many Knights in King Arthur’s court – he just seemed to have some sort of authority over them as they tended to listen to what he said and agreed upon his decisions.

Bartholomew nodded his head as he glanced around more. He didn’t want to be deemed rude but the blacksmith Knight simply was curious. This was a completely different atmosphere for a pub or tavern than he had been in before. He turned his head and looked towards Desiree. “Well I plan on travelling a little on my vacation, so maybe I’ll meet another Desiree. I bet she won’t be as enchanting as you,” He laughed as he tried to remain charming. He didn’t want her to think that he desired to meet others with her name.

To him the name was unique and he would have liked to keep it that way and say that he only knew one. It would make telling the other men back in London about her easier.

Bonjour ← thebimbettes → Bart/The Bimbettes

Her mouth opened a little, accompanied by her widening eyes. “We never had a knight in ‘ere.” Desiree grins. “You would be ze first.” She smiled, a bit absent minded. Lots of drinks weren’t the only way how she and her sisters got tips… 

"Oh, zank you." she means it. "Well, eet’s French. I’m sure eef you traveled through all of France you’d meet a lot more Desiree’s.” 

[sir-bart]

[sir-bart]

“Blacksmith by trade, but I’m also a Knight of King Arthur’s round table,” He informed Desiree with a smile. He didn’t want to show off, or tell everyone who he was. After all he would get more business if people would believe he was a humble blacksmith – but Desiree sounded surprised, so why not tell her the truth? “It sounds lively, it’s good though – the more punters, the more drink and the more tips you ladies must collect.” He smiled, he knew he would have to leave her one at the end of the night.

He nodded, “It’s nice to meet you too, Desiree. I can’t say I’ve heard anyone with that name before.” Bartholomew admitted, but it was to be expected. He was from London after all and there weren’t many people with such names in England. “I like it.”

Bonjour ← thebimbettes → Bart/The Bimbettes

"Oh, you’re a blacksmith?" she sounded a little surprised. His clothes looked fancy, almost too fancy for a blacksmith to afford. Then again, if he was really good at his job… She shook her head at his question. "Eet depends, reallee. Everee night eet’s full, but not full enough so no one can go een anymore." 

"Nice to meet you, Bart."  she smiled warmly. "I’m Desiree." 

[sir-bart]

When Bartholomew heard that he had picked out the best place to rest, he smiled and nodded. “That sounds good,” The man had to admit that if he was to stay around this part and spend some time drinking this tavern then he would be happy. The company seemed to be good and the atmosphere was immaculate.

“Well I know how you feel,” He chuckled as he moved his hand and took another drink from the beer that he had been given. “Where I am, I’ve worked at the blacksmith since I was a small lad.” Then there was the time he spent as a Knight. Moving a gloved hand to his hair, he pushed it from his face before glancing around the tavern. “Does it get busier than this ��� Miss?”

He then realised that he hadn’t offered his name, or asked her hers. “I’m Bartholomew,” He introduced himself. “But you can call me Bart.”

Bonjour ← thebimbettes → Bart/The Bimbettes

He had a nice smile, she had to give him that.. Desiree glanced at her feet shortly, and hated herself for it. How old was she, fourteen? Nearly fighting the urge to blush… 

"Oh, well, eef it’s rest you seek - you’ve peecked out ze perfect place." Dryly, Desiree added "Nozeeng ever happens ‘ere." A smile cast over her face when she saw the coins, and in a swift movement she grabbed them and send them falling into a small pouch she kept dangling on her hip. "I’ve worked ‘ere since I was seventeen." she answered him. "I’m almost part of ze furniture ‘ere." she added jokingly. 

[sir-bart]

It had appeared to be getting later than he had expected to be out, but Bartholomew wasn’t regretting his choice of heading down the pub for a drink or two. His dark eyes looked over the woman as he listened to her go on about letting out some of her mother tongue by accident. “I may not understand what you’re saying when you do – but I do like it.” He complimented, hoping that it wouldn’t discourage her from feeling embarrassed by slipping up when she was around him.

If they were going to be spending time together with him teaching her how to read the basics when she’s travelling and then with him also going to be tending to her armoury then he hoped that she would be comfortable around him. “I’m a good learner, but I don’t see where it would be handy for me to learn unless to hold a conversation with you…” He admitted before smiling. “And we appear to be doing that rather well with your English.”

“No, of course you’re not.” He smiled trying to make her feel better about asking what he was asking of her. “It would be good to spend more time with you and learning things.” Bartholomew simply wanted to get to know this foreigner because it wasn’t every day that someone from such far afield came to England. He glanced over the map that Mulan was getting out to show him and listened to her. “You’re going to Scotland?” The blacksmith questioned as he moved his hand and laid it flat beside the map on the wooden bar in front of them.

Bartholomew chuckled. “You’re right there, it is different.” Sometimes they were at war too, there was a distinct disagreement between the Scottish and the Englishmen, but he didn’t think that she would need to know that, seeing as she was neither. “Even the way we talk is different, they have such strong accents – and that depends on where in Scotland you intend on heading.”

Introductions ← mytruereflection → Bart/Mulan

She was confused for a moment on who Midnight was but she soon realized that he must have been talking about his own horse. When he confirmed it she gave him a quick nod to show that she understood. “I’ll do the same with Khan.” Mulan was certain that her horse would find some way to misbehave. Back at home Khan didn’t like the blacksmiths fixing his shoes, even when he knew the blacksmith well. Normally he wouldn’t act up too much if he knew the person touching him but he would grunt and whip his tail a lot which tended to frighten the men a little. She hoped that with her being there would stop him from behaving like that with Bart.

"It’s not really out of comfort," the warrior said with a light laugh. "It is more of me letting them slip by accident." When she was learning English she had been discouraged in using Chinese. But once she learned more words and started to speak the new language better did the sailors and merchants stop discouraging her from using her mother language. Mulan had yet to kill the habit but she did find it had its uses. She could easily swear or say something sarcastic in Chinese without anyone being the wiser. Her brow rose a little when Bart mentioned how he didn’t believe he could learn Chinese. Her mother language was very different from English but she was able to learn English so she didn’t see why couldn’t learn Chinese. "Chinese is hard to learn but I think you could learn to speak it if you work hard at it."

Mulan began to open her mouth to retort back but she closed it shortly afterwards. She remembered that he had mentioned how his business had been slow lately and that give him some free time. Unfortunately it just made her feel a bit demanding. But if that was how Bart wanted to go about their lessons then she would do as he wanted. “Just as long as I’m not stopping you from any other work you have.

His laugh at her getting lost made her purse his lips again. It wasn’t his laugh that was embarrassing her but the reminder that she had in fact gotten lost. If her lessons went as well as she expected, though, that shouldn’t be a problem for her anymore. “North,” Mulan answered as she reached down into her bag and withdrew her map. “I haven’t up there yet and I heard that it was different up there.”

[sir-bart]

“It is a pleasure to meet you, Taran.” He nodded his head, “Yes.” He smiled. “If you will be working with me then I’d rather you call me Bart and not something like Sir or Master.” He may have been like that with his own master but he would feel very uncomfortable otherwise. After all he only became the master and owner of the blacksmith after the retirement and then death of his master.

“Then it would be good for both of us,” He explained to Taran as he nudged his head toward the blacksmith shop. “We’re going to go through a busy time,” When the younger boy explained that horseshoes were something that he knew how to make, he couldn’t help but smile again. “Many of the horses will be in need of new shoes, especially the Knights when it comes to their horses and their own armour.” He could really do with the assistance.

Tending to the Stables ← taran-wanderer → Bart/Taran

"I’m Taran of Caer Dallben. Are you sure? About being just called Bart?" Taran asked, nothing in his face or tone showing he was going to give up that wide eyed look of his. "I … Do you mean that? I know something of the art, well Dallben taught me how to make horseshoes." Nevermind the fact those horse-shoes had come out so misshapen they were unusable. Sir Bart didn’t need to know that. 

[sir-bart]

Bartholomew watched the woman dressed in yellow and nodded his head. “Thank you,” He smiled charmingly as he heard that she would get the drink that he had ordered. He looked at the coins he had taken and placed upon the table so that she could take that as purchase.

When he heard her question, he gave a smile – it didn’t bother him to hear it. He was rather thankful, Bartholomew was hoping that he would get some decent conversation – he just hadn’t expected it to be by the barmaid. “Pleasure,” He replied. “Well, if I can get some business out of this then I won’t refuse – but generally it is a vacation.” Bartholomew replied to her as he moved his hand to the beer before nodding towards her and taking a drink. “Have you worked here long?”

Bonjour ← thebimbettes → Bart/The Bimbettes

"Good choice." she winked, Upon hearing he was from England she rose her brow a bit. "Aha, I see. One moment, I’ll get you your dreenk!" 

When she returned with his beer, she placed it in front of him, pursing her lips. “Are you here for business..?” Most men who came here did, so why not he as well? And, if she annoyed him with her questions, all he needed to do was tell her and she’d be back cleaning tankards. 

[sir-bart]

The Knight chuckled as he heard the way that Taran bluffed and fumbled over his words to speak to him. “You can call me Bart, I really don’t mind.” Bartholomew informed him. “What’s your name?” He questioned genuinely as he listened to his words about work.

“I’m not so sure about the pub needing any assistance,” He pondered over it, moving his hand to his chin as he brushed his beard a little. “But you could help me,” He nudged his head to the blacksmith. “I could always do with an extra pair of hands in the blacksmith; it’s only me there now since my master passed away.” Then the apprentice became the master.

Tending to the Stables ← taran-wanderer → Bart/Taran

Taran’s eyes widened at the ‘Sir’, at a loss as how to address him. He’d read about knights and other such heroes, well he assumed all knights were heroes, but he had never met one. “M’lord … I mean sir. Its alright to cal you ‘sir’ isn’t it?” He asked, and had to force himself to focus on the more practical matter at hand namely finding a place to sleep. “Are they looking for work? I’m afraid I don’t have any money with me you see.” His face reddening a bit in embarrassment.

[sir-bart]

“I’ll make sure that Midnight is on his best behaviour.” He smiled as he looked towards the soldier. It was only then that he had a feeling that he hadn’t told her just what his Stallion was called before then. “That’s my horse’s name, if I didn’t mention.” Bartholomew didn’t want to confuse Mulan, he was sure she was confused enough whilst sieving through everything and making heads and tails of it as it was.

He shook his head as if she had apologised, “I don’t mind it,” The last thing he wanted was for Mulan to feel she couldn’t speak in her own language – he maybe didn’t understand, but he did think that if he was somewhere and couldn’t use English freely then he wouldn’t feel like he was welcome or very comfortable. It was a part of him, just like Chinese was a part of Mulan. “I don’t think I would be able to learn your language.”

“Then when you come to the shop I’ll make sure to teach you after we’ve sorted out Khan’s shoes and your swords.” The last thing he wanted was to force her into his lessons right away. He was still a blacksmith by trade and he wouldn’t earn any money without doing his blacksmith jobs. He smiled though as he heard how she had gotten lost and gave a small laugh. “Really, that must have been embarrassing.”

It was something that he expected would have happened though. If you had trouble reading maps or the road signs, then of course you would get lost. If he couldn’t help her read the map then he could at least help her know what the words of the places she had to go to looked like. That way she could look at them and look at the similarities on the map and on the road signs. “Where do you think you’re going to head to next? I can even help you plan out the road.”

Introductions ← mytruereflection → Bart/Mulan

Another appreciative smile came onto her face as she nodded again. That did sound like something that Khan would like. Mulan did think that he would have some issues being in the main pasture with the other horses. There was no telling what Khan would do and she didn’t want him to cause trouble for the locals. For the stallion to have some place to graze without bothering any horses would be probably be for the best. And by the sounds of it Bart planned on giving that Khan even if it meant keeping his own inside. She wasn’t about to pass that up. “I shall make sure he comes with me when I visit your shop then.” Not that Khan would allow her to go without him. If he found out she went somewhere and he was left behind then he would put up a fuss.

"It was a little hard to come back books while at sea. Most of the people on board were busy taking care of the ship as well." The only chance she got to learn was while they were working and they could talk to her. The men were willing to help her when they had breaks but they didn’t exactly have the tools to teach her. Mulan didn’t mind that though. As much as she wanted to learn how to write and read English, she could settle for just speaking it right then. When Bart pointed out that she had spoken in Chinese a few times and he had heard her, she felt her blush increase a little. "It’s a habit…But they are. They are very different."

For once she allowed her hair to fall against her cheek, hoping it would hide her slightly darker blush from the man. Thankfully she could still see past it. She was still a bit unsure on if she was going to distract him from his work or not but if Bart said she wouldn’t then she’ll hold him to that. Or at last she’ll hold it to him long enough to be proven otherwise. Mulan agreed with him though. It would benefit her greatly to at least read that much. If it was just to read the names on the map she had or the signs of the stores, at least then she wouldn’t have to ask the townspeople to help her and make her feel like a foreign fool. 

"Oh no, I won’t be doing too much of that," she said quickly, shaking her head and causing her black hair to move away from her cheeks and neck a little. Of course she would go around the town and see whatever she could but she was also here on business and that came first in her mind. Besides Mulan usually lumped her job searching with sightseeing. "I would actually like the lessons. I’ve gotten lost a few times on my journey because I had trouble reading the names of places on my map…"

[sir-bart]