Catch Me If You Can [Griff]

[Caitrin de Archer]

As she'd been up since the crack of dawn, Caitrin allowed herself a small, concealed yawn. She'd ridden hard from her home, her Uncle's home, to get to Camelot as trade began. Her Uncle had been irritated by the late deliveries of some fabrics for his wife and Caitrin so Caitrin had come to Camelot to chase the fabrics up. Of course he couldn't go himself, he had business with his farmers and the amount of corn they hoped to bring in during the harvest season. And her Aunt never seemed to do a large amount so the duty had fallen to Caitrin; offsetting her plan for a long ride in the woods by an hour or two.

Dismounting her white and black mare, her heels clapped against the Camelot streets and she tied her horse up in the stable. Her velvet hood fell to her shoulders; her dark blue cloak glimmering in the sunshine. She went straight to the fabric trader who was a small, tired man who informed her that her uncle's delivery would be taken to him tomorrow. Thanking him for his compliance, Caitrin began to make her way back to her horse. The mare had been a gift for her from her Uncle on the first birthday she had spent in his Camelotian lands. She smoothed her hand down the mare's face, then stroked her mane, "Where shall we go to now my friend?" She whispered, looking in her deep, black eyes.

Her Uncle wouldn't be expecting her back until just before dinner if he was lucky. He had tried to reign in her unladylike mannerisms but had been unsuccessful so far. Caitrin was always an asset to him at public functions and when he entertained guests so he allowed her to enjoy her hobbies, regardless of whether they were ladylike or not. She decided that a quick ride to the lake in the woods would be the best way to enjoy what was turning out to be a warm and mild morning.

Setting: Camelot City
Time: Mid-morning
Timeline: Not long after Griff's arrival

[Griff Aubert]

It was a long held opinion, or at least long compared to most of Griff’s otherwise fickle opinions, that Camelot was an arrogantly large city. The young noble had been wandering about for at least two hours and still he was yet to find a suitable tavern. The whole situation was utterly ridiculous. If he was still in Glouchedon he would have only had to snap his fingers before a drink appeared, now, however, he had to suffer through the quite frankly degrading task of finding one for himself. His feet were beginning to hurt, still having blisters from his odorous journey to Camelot. He never walked anywhere but his father had refused to let him take a horse when he left, how utterly ridiculous. The situation was not a joyous one, the sooner he could find his brother the better, at least then he’d have food and drink and a bed without having to pay for it.

He would have given up far before now, but he simply did not have the option to do so. Since leaving Glouchedon the only things in the world he possessed were the clothes he was wearing and a meagre amount of coins that he’d somehow managed to keep hold of. The whole thing was rotten; nothing he had done could possibly justify such humiliation as this.

He was all for going into another mental rant when a young woman caught his eye. She certainly stood out from the crowd, not only by her rich garments but also by her unusual red hair that had immediately attracted Griff’s attention. After running a hand through his hair and stretching his arms he wandered over to the woman casually. “My lady,” he began, taking her hand and kissing it. “I don’t believe we’ve met, I would remember a beauty such as yours.”

[Caitrin de Archer]

Caitrin was mentally mapping her route through the forest. She hoped to make good time and sit by the waters for a while so long as the weather remained nice. She also hoped that no one else was taking that route this morning, she was much in the mindset for an isolated morning with her mare. Riding was one pleasure she'd discovered in more detail since arriving at her Uncle's lands. Her father had not been particularly wealthy so she hadn't had her own horse, and there had only been three horses in the stables. Unfortunately, with having three older brothers, her father, mother and two elder sisters in the house it meant that opportunities to ride were few and far between. Fortunately her Uncle only had one son and he was already wedded and bedded so he was no longer her Uncle's responsibility, meaning Caitrin got most of the attention.

Her soothing, relaxing thoughts were shattered as her hand was grabbed from her side and grasped by an unfamiliar touch. Shocked she spun around, her nerves fluttering but became stable quickly. It was a man; it was always a man. He kissed her hand, stating the obvious fact they had never met and how beautiful. She was suprised he was still spinning his words by the end of his charming. Her look was not one of a young lady being courted, more of a disgusted, disgruntled woman.

She snapped her hand back out of his grasp and flew it to her side, her cheeks flaring up to the colour of her hair, "Forgive me my Lord, but you seem to have mistaken me for a young lady who would fall for your charms." She gave him a patronising smile. Even the knights of Camelot had never been so forwards with her. She had exchanged cheeky glances with some, but none had ever snatched her from her isolated bliss and forced their way into her thoughts. She turned back to her horse, stroking her face, then studied the man in front of her. She didn't know him, which was unusual. Caitrin knew everyone in Camelot. Well obviously not, but he wasn't a knight, or at least she didn't think so. She realised she was staring and forced her eyes downwards, then looked back at him, "Perhaps if you asked me in an acceptable manner I might volunteer my name, my Lord." She slightly bobbed her head and continued to watch him carefully.

[Griff Aubert]

The women in Camelot were certainly a feisty bunch, Griff thought, but hopefully that would make his time in the city much more fun. Still, he’d made her blush, that was a small achievement in itself. He regarded her curiously for a moment, deciding how to play it. With some women he could be as obvious as he wanted and it made things so much easier. This woman however was clearly not going to be charmed so easily, and so he was going to have to rely on a more refined approach. Luckily he was well versed in both.

“Forgive me for being so forward. I find I quite forget myself when in the presence of such a woman.” He gave a polite and friendly smile before introducing himself with a small bow. “My name is Griflet Aubert, second son of the Duke of Glouchedon. To whom do I have the pleasure of addressing?”

That should do it, he thought smugly. It would not be long until she was completely charmed, it was a simple fact based on an almost flawless record. He had a gift with women, and this one would certainly not be the exception to the rule.

[Caitrin de Archer]

Caitrin was more irritated that she had blushed more than anything else in this situation. It wasn't his looks, or his charm, it was that he'd caught her off guard. She studied him once more, regarding him, he was defiantly new in town, if he wasn’t he would have know not to treat her in such a way. She felt her blush fading thankfully and she half turned her nose up at him but bobbed her head again in a ladylike manner when he introduced himself. She hadn’t heard of the name before and it puzzled her, then again he could be from anywhere really.

“Well, you should perhaps remember your manners in future.” She reminded him severely, watching him closely, “Forgetting them will do you no good in Camelot.” It was true, most of the women who resided in the castle or close to it were from highly regarded noble families. They had been taught from birth not to fall for the silly courters tricks, “You must be from a long way off?” She asked carefully and then pursed her lips together, “Tell me, are your women a lot easier to get on your arm than you are so far experiencing in Camelot?” Happy with her statement she gave an inward smile, she wasn’t some petty noblewoman to be trifled with; her Uncle was highly regarded at Court and she respected that and she wasn’t going to throw any of it away on some nobody.

“My name is Caitrin de Archer, third daughter of Sir Payton and Lady Ardith” Caitrin closed in on Griflet, putting her face close to his and grinning, “And of course, the pleasure is all yours.” She was becoming irritated with the smug grin he was displaying, the fact of the matter was the longer he stayed here with her the more irritated she was becoming. She should be at least ten minutes into her ride by now. Deciding there and then she had had enough with this man she brushed past him to the side of her mare, “Now I’ve had the,” She went to say misfortune but she stopped herself, this idiot wasn’t dragging her down to the level of a petty child, “Now we’ve exchanged names I must be on my way

[Griff Aubert]

Griff was rather put out by her commenting on his manners. He’d thought he was being charming, but obviously he would have to work harder. “I’m sure there’s a lot that will do me no good in Camelot but I confess that only persuades me further.” He winked at her, that would do it.

He laughed, he liked this woman. “Far enough.” He replied simply, the less said about his home the better. Or rather, the less said about his past home the better. He was in Camelot to start a new life, not dwell on what had already passed. “And I find Camelot women and my women all the same.” He leaned closer towards her, “I daresay you’re the first not to swoon at the sight of me.” With a slight tilt of his head he watched her curiously, having already noticed the finery of her garments he could say with some confidence that she was clearly well off, or at least her father was. Not that he was particularly snobby – women were women, but it was always much more of a challenge with rich girls who had been brought up to protect their virtue with their lives. That particular mindset was rarely an obstacle for more than ten minutes. Lady Red should not be too difficult to persuade to his line of thinking, from the looks for her she was clearly in need of some fun.

This theory was reinforced when her face became rather close to his – gosh, that was fast, even for Griff. It was a rather lovely face so he was more than happy with its current proximity to his. “I’m sure it is.” He replied with a look of such ‘sincerity’ even he was impressed by his own acting skills and wondered briefly whether there was anything he wasn’t awfully good at – hang on, why was she moving? Was she about to leave? That’s not what was going to happen. He was confused; women didn’t walk away from him. What was wrong with her?

Griff certainly wasn’t going to allow her to disappear that easily, and so, ignoring all gentlemanly protocol physically blocked her path with his body. “It would be the height of bad manners were I to leave you by yourself. No,” he declared, stepping away from her and gesturing with his hands, “I will accompany you.” She was bound to protest so in an attempt to stop her but a finger on her lips. “I will hear no arguments; I simply cannot allow you to embark on such a perilous journey by yourself. So,” he put his hands on his hips, “where are we going?”

[Caitrin de Archer]

Caitrin had already had enough of this conversation. No, she’d had enough of it even before it had began. She was the ward of Sir Rouland which certainly meant she deserved more respect than this fool was giving her. She had raised her eye brows as he regarded the women from wherever he came from as ‘his’. Deciding not to rise to it she merely continued to barge past him to mount her mare and disappear as quickly as she could.

To her disappointment Grifflet didn’t seem to be giving in that easily. He blocked her path, and as he was a lot taller and better built than she was it was an obvious conclusion. She put her hands on her hips and calmly said, “Let me past.” He had taken it upon himself to show chivalry at last and decide she couldn’t go out on her own. Her hands were still on her hips and her nails dug into her sides as he said he would accompany her. She was about to tell him exactly what she thought of him but he put a finger on her mouth, stating he would hear no objections. As soon as Grifflet had raised his finger from her lips she cocked her head to one side and laughed lightly, “If thats the only way you can get me to be quiet then you need some better charms.” She then went to turn away and turned back quickly, looking as if she was about to slap him across the face but held her hand just above his cheek; holding it there for a few moments. She then moved her hand and pointed at him, “Don’t do that again!”

He was still blocking her path and was amazed he still wanted to accompany her. What possible reason could he have for his pursuit? Most men had already cut their losses and gone by this point in the conversation. She mimicked him and put her hands on her hips, “There is no we,” She quickly put in, “There is an I, and I am leaving, let me past.”

[Griff Aubert]

“On the contrary, I have no intentions whatsoever of keeping you quiet.” Griff raised his eyes suggestively, and was quite surprised that he had gotten away with a comment like that, until-

She was going to slap him! He probably deserved it, he probably deserved at lot more but that was not the point. She could hardly look down on him because his lack of manners and then try to physically assault him. It was not the done thing. He was shocked and offended, and slightly turned on, but mainly shocked and offended. His hand automatically went to his cheek, despite the fact he hadn't been touched at all. “I was just being chivalrous...” It was a weak argument but it was the best he could come up with at present, besides, it was true. He had been being chivalrous.

He was in no mood to let her just completely disappear from his life, but clearly she was blind and despite his being utterly charming it wasn’t working. “Look,” he had one hand still on his hips and the other out towards Caitrin, using it to emphasis what he was saying. “This has hardly been the best of introductions, mainly on my part, but I simply cannot let you go because, well, for one it would not be gentlemanly at all and secondly,” he sighed and ran a hand through his hair, “I want to stay in your company. I like you.” There. If she wasn’t going to budge after that then she definitely wasn’t worth his effort, although he was quite sure that he was going to keep trying no matter what. He wasn’t lying when he said he wanted to stay her company, and he was far from above turning into a stalker. “So, what do you say?”

[Caitrin de Archer]

Caitrin looked back at her mare, stroking the side of her face as Griflet was trying to palm off his behaviour saying he was trying to be chivalrous. She was about to leave, she didn’t know who this man thought he was, but he was acting like he was Prince Arthur himself. Then again, Arthur knew how to introduce himself properly to women, and how to treat them. She relaxed her figure for the first time as he kept one hand on his side and extended the other towards her. It wasn’t an aggressive gesture and he seemed genuinely apologetic.

One of the faults Caitrin had identified in herself was her inability to combat her stubbornness. Her family had always said she was the most stubborn and head strong of all the women in the family. As a child she’d revelled in that title, that was until Helgund had taught her different ways to portray her feelings. Caitrin could feel the anger from her early childhood seeping through to her adult life now and again, and this was one of those times.

At first she’d thought that this man didn’t deserve her time but he did seem like he’d accepted it was his fault that this conversation had begun badly. She was still hot-headed from the whole experience and she raised her eyes at his comments, “How can you like me?” She asked, her tone softening, “You don’t even know me.” She looked at her horse and then back at Griflet who was helplessly awaiting her answer. Running her hand through her hair she put her hand on her hips and looked back at him, “I’m heading out into the forest for a quick ride.” She pushed him back from the side of her mare and managed to get to the side of the horse, “If you can keep up, feel free.”

[Griff Aubert]

And he was back to being his charming self, order had been restored to the universe and the situation appeared to be unfolding in his favour. This is what he had been aiming for since the beginning of their meeting. “Of course I know you.” Griff said confidently and crossing his arms across his chest. “You are Lady Caitrin de Archer – beautiful, feisty, painfully stubborn and wondering how good I look without my shirt on.” He grinned at her, hopefully she wasn’t about to slap him again. “Maybe not the last part, but the first three are true.”

He looked at her, and then at the horse, and then back at her with a rather unreadable expression. For his part he seemed to have a distinct lack of horse – this could be a problem. “Well, as you can see I don’t have a horse, but don’t worry I’m more than happy to share yours.” He was probably being a little optimistic but he was certain that he wouldn’t refuse. He was finally getting somewhere with Caitrin and was more than aware that it was completely on her terms, but surely she wouldn’t make him run after her. That would just be absurd.

[Caitrin de Archer]

At this rate Caitrin would only have time to ride part way into the woods before midday. The day was warming up, she probably wouldn’t even need her cloak by the time they, no she, got into the woods. She stroked her horse again, resting her head against the mares as Griflet began to look a lot more comfortable in the situation as he began to rhyme off all the things which he believed she was. He’d got the stubbornness element right, but she raised her eyebrows quickly when he said she wanted to know what he looked like without a shirt on. She half laughed and shook her head as an obvious answer.

Now he wanted to use her horse? Her shock must have visibly shown because her breath choked in the back of her mouth momentarily before she remembered to breathe. Sure, she hadn’t known the pleasures of owning her own horse until she came to her uncle’s lodgings, but all her brothers had always had their own horses. It seemed odd that he didn’t, unless he wasn’t from a particularly well off family. She put her hand up seriously, “You are not sharing my horse.” It was a simple sentence but got the message across perfectly. It was obscene that he should suggest such a thing anyway.

She looked back at Griflet, studying him, “Are you honestly telling me that as a nobleman you do not own your own horse?” She half laughed then looked about her; they were in the castle stables after all. She spotted the young stable boy who normally was present when she was about. She approached him and he swept into a bow,

“My Lady,” She smiled and nodded to him,

“Do you possibly have a spare horse for Sir Griflet?” She asked gently, the boy nodded,

“So long’as you have him back by evening my Lady.” Caitrin nodded,

“You have my word.” The stable boy went off to get the other horse and Caitrin swept straight past Griflet and mounted her mare quickly without him questioning it. She stared down at him, taking the reigns of her horse and raising her eye brows at him, “I thought you wanted to come? Why are you still there?”

[Griff Aubert]

Hmm. No slap. This really was going well, so Griff allowed himself a moment of contemplation in which he felt rather pleased with himself. See, he knew all of his charm would work. He was amazing.

“You are not sharing my horse.”

That was an unexpected reaction. A very unexpected reaction. What was wrong with her? His confusion was written across his face but at present he didn’t really care because the universe wasn’t doing what he wanted it to do and it was both confusing and frustrating. As well as this, he was also rather offended that she would object to such a suggestion. He could think of plenty of women who would be more than happy to share a horse with him but he had to find the only one in a thousand who wouldn’t. This wasn’t even him being a cad, this was just him being inconvenienced and in need of a favour. All in all it was very poor.

And now she was laughing at him, it was hardly helping the situation. “Well usually I do.” His reply was said with a tone of annoyance. Before continuing he scratched his neck, something he always did when he was beginning to feel uncomfortable and explained the situation further. “I left in a bit of a hurry and wasn’t allowed my horse. Moving on.” Hopefully that information would suffice so he left it at that and followed her to find a horse.

The stable boy quickly handed him the reigns so he began to inspect the horse. He didn’t really know exactly what he was looking for in terms of horse quality but liked to give off the impression that he did. He must have been staring at the animal for quite some time because the next thing he heard was Caitrin wondering why he wasn’t being more proactive, especially as he had spent so much energy convincing her to let him accompany her in the first place. What was he doing now? He was staring at a horse. He mounted the animal easily enough, he had had far more than his fair share of experience at mounting horses quickly – they were his preferred mode of escape. Caitrin was once again looking at him with raised eyebrows, was she ever impressed? “Funny.” An idea occurred to him so he turned away from her, it was always a good idea to look in the direction one was going to be riding in, and with a grin said to his companion, “I’ll race you to the woods.” Before awaiting a reply both rider and horse had already set off.