A Knight and Her Squire {for French Polynesia}

[CleverFox]

It was an ordinary day and that translated into it being a boring day as far as ten year old Castiel was concerned. The youth was slight in stature, with stark white hair that he wore pulled back into a ponytail and aquamarine eyes that often held a mischievous expression within.

Currently he was dressed simply in a pair of breeches and a white shirt, over which he was wearing a simple tunic. Normally he wore socks and shoes with this outfit but currently he was missing both of these accessories, the child having opted to run around with his feet bare. The little squire had been in the custody of the knight to whom he was bound for a little over three months now and he was starting to learn the ropes as it were. There were still a great many things that he didn't know, the knowledge that one needed in order to become a knight seemed quite vast as far as the child was concerned, but he was making progress at least.

When he chose to pay attention.

At present his mind was more focused on trying to find something to entertain himself with, the little one making his way across the courtyard. "I could go explore... maybe go to the river," he murmured to himself as he walked, his aquamarine eyes shifting about as this thought occurred to him. The prospect of going to the river and having some fun in the water appealed to him and now he was keen to ascertain whether or not there was anyone paying attention to what he was currently doing.

[French Polynesia]

Eliza Sunbeam walked along the corridors, her emerald eyes scanning through the letter the King's messenger just sent her. She stroked her chin, there was a caravan off to the next town in two days and the King wanted her to escort the party. She wasn't expecting anything dangerous, so she thought it'd be good for Castiel to get used to missions.

She pulled back her golden hair back into a ponytail. Eliza was dressed in a simple grey dress and shorts, which covered her atletic yet curvy physique. She was dressed for practice, she knew the clothes would get filthy soon. "Have you seen Castiel?" She asked her maid, who shrugged. "Find him, tell him to meet me at the training grounds." She hoped he was still at the castle grounds. The boy had an unfortunate habit of wandering off. Eliza had grown to adore the little one as if he was her own but she had very little tolerance for disobedience, something she didn't hesitate on correcting on the spot.

The maid started looking all over the castle for the boy. "Castiel!" The old woman called out. "Oh, where is that boy?"

[CleverFox]

Castiel was in fact nowhere to be found in the castle or around the grounds. Once he had made up his mind to head to the river that was exactly what the child did. As soon as he made sure that there was no one around to witness what he was doing Castiel slipped off. It was a short trip to the river, it wasn't far from the grounds themselves, and as soon as he arrived Castiel rather happily waded out into the water.

The spot where he chose to enter the water was calm and shallow so there was little danger to the child, at least in this present moment.

The waters a bit down stream were faster, rougher, and of course there were deep waters. For the time being Castiel was content to splash around in the shallows though how long such would be the case was anyone's guess given the child's penchant for finding trouble for himself. It seemed that he really knew no fear, a quality that would no doubt serve him well as a knight should he survive long enough to attain that rank.

"Brr, this water's a little cold," Castiel said though he had a smile on his face even as he made this comment, the child quite happy with his distraction.

And quite unaware that his mistress was even now searching for him.

[French Polynesia]

The maid searched for the boy, first with annoyance which slowly turned into frantic panic. "Castiel!" She called out, "Mistress will be quite cross with you if you are gone, child!" The woman was hugging and puffing when she got back to her mistress, who was in the middle of warming up for sparring.

"He's gone?" Her eyes narrowed as the maid trembled in fear. Even though Castiel had been with them for three months, her mistress had been fiercely protective of the boy. Even though the brunt of her fury would be faced by his little backside, the maid Diana would not be spared if he got hurt. Discipline was taken very seriously at the Sunbeam castle and it wasn't uncommon for her mistress to bend her over and take a switch to her bottom.

"I'll go look for him." She said, walking through the gates. Eliza had a good idea where he would be. "Oh, I hope he is safe." She knew his penchant for risk taking, having been the same way as a child as she made her way to the river.

[CleverFox]

After a time, splashing in the ankle deep water was no longer enough to keep Castiel entertained, the little one slowly making his way into deeper water. Thankfully he had remained where the water was calm so the only real danger he currently faced was the prospect of getting his clothes wet. Granted the water was still chilly and so the boy started to shiver slightly as he made his way into the water up to his waist.

Not that Castiel really seemed to mind.

After a few moments he dived into the water, getting the entirety of his body wet and thus acclimating himself to the cold water. Castiel was still blissfully unaware of the fact that people were searching for him. Had he known that even now his mistress was searching for him the little one probably would have made the attempt to hide.

Since he was in the dark he was left to his play.

[French Polynesia]

Diana meekly followed her mistress as Eliza made her way through the grounds outside the castle gates. "Castiel!" She called out, looking through the woods. "Better come out now, young man. You don't want me to take my strap to you."

"He's not here, my lady." Diana told the young knight. "The boy has a liking for the lake, perhaps you should go there?"

Eliza shook her head. "He better not be getting to the rough water." She walked towards the river. She wasn't sure if Castiel was a good enough swimmer, the current was difficult even for adults to navigate. "Castiel!" She called out loudly, holing he'd answer.

[CleverFox]

Even though he was splashing and making a fair deal of noise Castiel still thought that he caught the sound of a voice. The little one paused in his play and looked around, his aquamarine eyes shifting here and there even as he reached a hand up to brush aside the wet strands of white hair that were currently on his face.

Castiel was still and silent for a time, the child simply attempting to figure out from whence the voice had originated.

And what it had said.

He had thought that it was familiar but it seemed too far away for him to actually make out what was being shouted. "I wonder if..." Castiel paused as he thought that perhaps this was someone that was looking for him.

"Who's there?" the child called out after a time, Castiel remaining where he was in the water even as he gazed around, trying to catch sight of anyone who might be approaching the river.

[French Polynesia]

Eliza was walking towards the river when she heard a voice in the distance. She grunted in anger, the voice came further up the river, much further than the shallow water where, well..he technically wasn't allowed even to be there without permission. But she wasn't that worried about there- Eliza even joined him a few times in splashing around, the woman liked swimming as much as her ward.

"Castiel, you better be out of the water when I get there! She grumbled, rushing fast towards the place with long rapid steps, something Diana couldn't manage to keep up with. "Castiel!" Eliza called out again, loud and with a bit of steel in her voice- her 'you are in trouble' tone.

[CleverFox]

The next time that Castiel heard a voice there could be no question of who it was nor what they were saying. Of course this didn't really fill the child with good feelings, mainly because he was familiar with the tone of voice that his name was shouted in. The little white haired youth gazed around, trying to discern from which location his mistress was going to be appearing.

Because he knew that she was coming.

The thought of getting out of the water did occur to him but Castiel was more focused on the fact that staying in the water was probably safer for his backside. Castiel could tell that he was in trouble, he was familiar enough with that tone after having lived with Eliza for three months, and he was not anxious to face her wrath.

Not that he thought she would be cruel to him but he was well aware of the fact that she was strict and that this was likely going to count as endangering himself even though the child himself didn't think that what he was doing was dangerous.

[French Polynesia]

'Ooh, that boy!' Eliza fumed as she got to the part where the river got deeper, her eyes scanning for the boy. "Castiel, you better come here young man!" She cried out. She hoped he wouldn't be sneaking off to the other side of the river. Eliza knew he heard her voice and the boy was likely to do whatever it took to avoid his bottom getting tanned.

The blonde woman turned to her maid who was approaching, fast out of breath. "Go look for him up front, see if he's nearby." Diana nodded. "But what about you mistress?" She askedjust as Eliza dived into the river, swimming like an eel through the water, going to the direction where she first heard his sound.