Happy Families.

[Dristan de Archer]

It had been a long time since a market had ceased to mean anything challenging to Dristan. Markets meant crowds, food, chatter, noise and women. Dristan sighed and inhaled that familiar air which marked the ridiculous attempts of ugly women to seem at least slightly attractive to charming men such as himself. Dristan sighed loudly and pretended not to notice when a particularly potent specimen of hideousness looked up at him in askance.
Well, apart from the ugly ones, women were actually the most important parts of markets.

(Sorry this was all i had time for).

[Caitrin de Archer]

To say that Caitrin was paranoid was probably an understatement. She had been incredibly reluctant to come to Camelot at all after what had happened upon her last visit. Of course she was referring to her actions with Griflet. In retrospect it had been one of the more fun rides she’d had in some time, she now didn’t trust herself with him. Now of course, in the bustling market, every time she heard a voice which could be his, or garments which looked like his her head spun round to check if it was Griflet or not. She breathed out slowly, telling herself that she was being silly and that Griflet would probably have forgotten about her by now.

The marketplace, par usual was a hub of activity. Caitrin hated the crowds but she hadn’t wanted to come in any earlier because then she would have been too easy to spot. The hood of her cloak was resting half way across her head and was her favourite blue cloak. Underneath, she was wearing a green dress with long sleeves and tasteful embroidery. She was holding a small woven basket which held the herbs she had come to market to collect. Her Aunt had one of her famous headaches so her Uncle had nagged her to heal his wife for his sanities sake. Caitrin had of course been obliging; what choice did she have in the matter anyway?

She was nearing the end of the stalls and was now closer to the courtyard rather than the other market stalls. She felt like she was trying to rush her day but the last thing she needed was Griflet, with his smug ways to come and leave her with next to no control over her emotions again; she’d had enough of that last time. She wasn’t scared of him, she was just scared of what would happen with him. She fully believed he was that sort of man, and was therefore worried she would be caught up in his charms and wind up getting hurt by him.

Caitrin sniffed back, purchasing some ribbons for her hair, there was a ball in a few weeks time and Caitrin wanted to look her best for it. Thanking the stall owner she continued hovering around the end of the marketplace, looking for other bargains she might have perhaps missed the first time.

Timeline: 2 weeks after Caitrin meets Griflet, a few months after the dragon attack
Setting: Camelot city
Tags: Dristan de Archer
Music: Fun and Games- The Tudors OST

[Dristan de Archer]

Apart from his obvious discomfort at being so close to home Dristan was feeling particularly fine today. Right now it was as if the word irresistible had been invented for his own personal use. It was as if angels had personally crafted his face whilst God sat and nodded his omniscient approval. No woman could possibly refuse his charm. No Lady could possibly bear to walk in the opposite direction if he invited her for ’a glass of ale’.

As expected the market place was heaving. Women aplenty adorned every stall and the sound of many voices in unison bartering for better prices made it slightly difficult to think wordlessly. Dristan retreated a couple of paces closer to the market entrance where because of the lateness of the day the stalls there had been slightly more exhausted and there were only a few eager punters left. Strolling to the nearest stall he stopped and pretended to be examining the items on display. These were of course not the kind of ’items’ Dristan was hoping to pick up.

‘M’Lord is there anything I can help you with?’, The young woman behind the counter was slim and her hour glass figure made Dristan want to caress her curves and kiss her neck. But her nose was stupidly huge for a woman. No respectable sexual predator would want to kiss that.
As for the shabby display of clay jars and pots with which she was referring; well Dristan had seen better crockery dumped in the gutter. The engraved flowers decorating the clay were pretty though.
‘No’, Dristan turned away and looked across the market, searching once again for some unsuspecting creature to claim his attention.

There she was. She had the perfect body luckily with a pretty face to match. Full pink lips, doe like eyes and gorgeous long red hair! Dristan had never had a red head before but he was willing to venture into the unknown with this one. It was said that women with red hair were more fiery and feisty behind closed doors, but that was likely to be at least a couple of hours away. This one was a noble woman and therefore she would require more patience and charming than a woman born into a lower class family. Noble women unlike commoners weren’t excited by the prospect of going to bed with a handsome and important Lord because they would encounter them all the time at court. This Lady however had not encountered Dristan before and Dristan was not just some ‘Handsome and important Lord’.

Dristan straitened himself up quickly ruffled his hand through his hair and slung his finely woven red cloak over his shoulder. Around his wrist he had tied a small ribbon for occasions just like this. Holding it out between his thumb and forefinger he sauntered over and tapped her lightly on the shoulder.

‘Excuse me my Lady, but did you drop this?’

[Caitrin de Archer]

Looking over the stall in front of her, Caitrin was finally starting to relax. She felt as if Griflet would have made himself known to her if he was indeed here; as was his way. What had she been expecting to happen anyway? If Griflet was the sort of man who she expected he was then he would hardly be keeping a keen eye out for her would he? Caitrin mentally slapped herself, another thing she needed to start doing was to stop thinking about him. She hadn’t even really dwelt on their exchange whilst she had been at home and had the distraction of her Uncle shouting from the other room at her every few moments. Now however, in the hub of society, she found herself thinking on him more and more. It was stupid, he probably hadn’t given her a second thought since their ride through the forest, even though he had made her promise a second meeting.

Forcefully now she decided to put him from her head, it was hardly good form to come out on such a fine day as today and spend it dwelling over the past; no, today was for living, and Caitrin was now determined to change her mood, and she engaged with the items on the stall in front of her. They were pretty little bracelets, mainly for attracting children, or women wanting to spruce up an outfit, but Caitirn was content to look and not buy; her Uncle indulged her enough anyway. He always believed that the best way to show ones wealth would be to ensure their garments, and everything public about them, was always to the finest fashion and taste. Caitrin disliked it in a way, her Uncle’s vanity was not something she shared, although she appreciated the need to look her best when she was in court, after all, that was where husbands were gained. She picked up one of the bracelets, a small blue on and ran her thumb over it aimlessly. She had no intent to buy it, but it was nice to think on other things for a while rather than of him. Caitrin placed the bracelet back, much to the disappointment of the store holder and went to walk away as she felt a tap on her shoulder. She didn’t jump, she had been expecting something like this and turned around cooly, placing a hand on her hip and expecting Griflet to be facing her.

‘Excuse me my Lady, but did you drop this?’ The hard glare Caitrin had been preparing was replaced by a soft glance at the man in front of her; it wasn’t Griflet that was for sure. He was taller than Caitrin with wild brown hair, and his garments were as finely made as Caitrin’s were. She furrowed her brows at his question, her hand still on her hip and shook her head,

“I did not my Lord.” She said slowly, carefully watching him, she wasn’t sure what she was expecting him to do, but she was sure her answer wasn’t sufficient enough. There weren’t any other women about her to deflect his question onto so Caitrin was left with an odd situation that needed resolving sooner rather than later, “But I’ll have it off you my Lord, if your offering of course.”

[Dristan de Archer]

The red head whirled round in a blaze of flames, and for a moment even that exquisite face held fiery annoyance. This was intriguing Dristan had merely patted the lady’s back lightly and even this tiny miniscule amount of contact had unleashed the dragon that he had suspected lurking behind that smouldering mass. What would this woman be like locked in a room with him?
The annoyance lasted for less than a second before surprise and then a curious frown settled upon her features. Surprise? Evidently this annoyance was not meant for him, perhaps another suitor was behind this. Easy, Dristan had come across many suitors blocking his path to the bedroom in the past, but none of them had been able to live up to his enormous…. Incredibly talented… life saving, regard for himself.

‘I did not my Lord’, her voice was soft, that was unexpected. Dristan had expected something more hardy and dragon like- not that voices mattered when it came to serious business like unlacing a dress- rather than the voice he would have expected out of a blonde haired, blue eyed innocently minded lady. A woman with such bright hair could not possibly always think of innocent things.

‘Ah, ok’ he said, in reply to her blatant refusal. Dristan gave sensual dragon lady his most charming smile and waited for a moment hoping that she might continue the conversation herself, it was such a drag when in these situations he had to make so much of an effort to maintain flow. ‘But I’ll have it off you my Lord, if your offering of course’. Dristan held back a laugh, he definitely wanted to give her something and the ribbon in his hand was not it. This was exactly the kind of response he had been after, a response like that hinted at low morals and high passion. If she was good it was even possible that he might give her two goes on separate occasions! Which was rare because usually he was finished and bored with his catch after the first.

‘Oh, I’m offering my Lady’, Dristan gave dragon lady a wink and held out the ribbon for her to take before offering her his arm.
‘Will you walk with me?’

[Caitrin de Archer]

Caitrin had half hoped, with his short reply, that he would leave her alone. If finding the owner of the ribbon had been his sole intent then he would have left by now but as was Caitrin’s luck he did not, and was still in front of her. Right well this one would take more persuasion to get rid of, her attempts with Griflet hadn’t worked so perhaps she would just have to go along with this mans game and then reject him when he went to claim a kiss, or more, depending what kind of a man he turned out to be. So she played along with him and smiled politely back at him, her eyes scanning over him, he really wasn’t that bad looking. If she was going to spend the afternoon in someone’s company it helped if they were good to look at.

She didn’t blush at his wink, her eyes remained on him casually, and she raised both eye brows in a more seductive than accusing manner and replied, “Your offer is most humbly accepted my Lord.” She lowered her eyes to the ribbon, which she now took between her fingers and smoothed over it softly, looking up to him before she placed the ribbon in her basket. Caitrin was amused in a way at the introduction he had given himself; he was charming yes, and handsome defiantly, but neither would probably work their magic on her. He would probably be expecting her to fall at his feet with a flash of his smile but it wasn’t going to be that way, Caitrin wasn’t the kind of woman to be charmed into feelings, she’d learnt well enough to keep her heart out of playful flirting.

Caitrin scoffed, one hand still resting on her hip. As was the usual this man was proving to be another charmer; she seemed to be attracting a lot of them at the moment. She raised an eye brow as she looked at his arm as he offered it to her. She should really be getting back to her Uncle, but perhaps this man could be of some amusement before she chased him off with words. “I shall walk with you,” She paused to wait to see the look of triumph on the mans face, they all made that face when she agreed to dance with them, or join their conversation; to them it was like they had just caught her in their charms. It, however, couldn’t be more from the truth. She held up her hand to his gesture swiftly and spoke frankly, “But I can walk without your support, thank you my Lord.” And kept her arms very much at her side, one of her arms of course still holding her basket of herbs. She gestured with her eyes for him to commence the walk, it was after all a fine day, and it shouldn’t be wasted moping around the corridors of her Uncle’s home. She looked across at him and amused herself at the fact she didn’t even know his name yet and took the liberty of introducing herself before he even bothered to ask, “My name is Caitrin by the way my Lord.” She bobbed her head to him before asking the same of him, “And what may I call you?”

[Dristan de Archer]

The fact that dragon lady hadn’t blushed at his wink disappointed Dristan but didn’t surprise him. He sensed that this woman was proud, not the usual simple minded woman he came across. He did think though that it was a shame that she hadn’t given him the picture of her painted face to match her ridiculously colourful hair. In a moment of madness Dristan wondered why God had decided to create this particular colour of hair when colours such as green or blue had not been chosen. This colour signified something more devilish than saintly. Dristan couldn’t imagine a woman with such fiery hair being particularly pious. If this colour hair had been created by the devil at least there could be some hope that dragon lady might have morals to match. If he could be patient and persistent perhaps he would succeed tomorrow instead of today. He doubted that any woman would have the perseverance to last against his sexual charm longer that that.

It was a good quality ribbon that Dristan handed over to the dragon lady, good quality green silk that he had purchased somewhere in Brittany. It had been travelling with him for about 3 months up until this point and although he hated to admit it to himself, he was actually quite sad to see it go. In those 3 months he had grown attached to that pretty green bangle.

The flash of defiance in her eyes was evident after Dristan had offered her his arm, when she accepted his offer to walk he attempted to construct the most innocent smile he was capable of. Unfortunately innocence was not Dristan’s strongpoint and he was not even completely sure how to come across so. While his smile may have held a semblance of innocence, he could not help keeping the humour at her reaction to his offer out of his eyes. Once again he was not surprised when she declined to take his arm and decided not to reply, resisting the urge to provoke her. This woman was becoming easy to guess. And with this familiarity it would become so much easier to get her into his bed.

‘My name is Lord Dristan my Lady’, starting to walk in the direction of the courtyard slowly, he continued, ‘ I have only recently returned to the kingdom, I have been absent travelling for some time’.

[Caitrin de Archer]

Although Caitrin was quite a well-travelled woman for her age and rank, she had not heard many people go by the name of Dristan apart from one other. She knew she had a cousin by that name, but her uncle had told her that he was married before she even came to Camelot, and he seldom hears from him. Caitrin had never asked many questions about her cousin because her uncle didn’t like to answer them, and usually never did. She’d never really wondered about him before now, but this couldn’t be him could it? After all, he was supposed to be married, and she doubted anyone living under the same roof as Rouland for so long could become so charming and humoured.

She decided to put those thoughts to rest anyway, it would be rude of her to ignore the man leading her on her walk whilst trying to lead him on. She smiled back at him, straightening her dress with one hand. At the same time Dristan was a disappointment, she had at least expected a mild argument with him, most noblemen tried to provoke her and came off worse, even she and Griflet had been at each other’s throats. Perhaps Dristan was brighter than he looked and had decided not to pursue that path of socialisation with her, and chose the more formal route instead. She was disappointed she couldn’t put her dictionary of put down’s into use, but waiting would only make the victory all the sweeter.

If he was only recently returned then he had probably missed all the business with the dragon, and the Lady Morgana going missing, but it was all news he could gain acess to from any guard in the foregate, and it made for dreary conversation. Instead, in line with her plan to lead him on she feigned interest in his travels, raising her eye brows and replied with, “You must have seen many more interesting things whilst travelling than one could hope to see in Camelot in a year.” She commented humorously. “Well, you mustn’t leave me hanging my Lord Dristan, come now, indulge me with your stories.”

[Dristan de Archer]

‘You must have seen many more interesting things whilst travelling than one could hope to see in Camelot in a year’, Dristan smiled and ran his fingers through his hair, although she refused to link his arm she wished to know the details of his travel? It was of course possible that dragon lady was actually curious about his comment about travelling, although Dristan supposed that most of the details that he could actually remember about his time away- as copious amounts of drinking had taken place most nights (and days for that matter)- would not be suitable for conversation.

‘I find that highly possible Dra…My Lady since I have been absent from Camelot for about 4 years’ he replied, fighting the urge to grin openly at some of the most potent memories that were flashig through his mind. ‘Interesting’ didn’t even cover it.

‘Well you mustn’t leave me hanging Lord Dristan, come now, indulge me with your stories’, Well there had once been a lovely German heiress who had been able to manoeuvre her legs into some very awe inspiring positions which made the whole experience incredibly pleasurable indeed. She had told him that her maids were very talkative and ungodly. Dristan dropped his eyes for a moment as if to examine the hem of Dragon Lady’s dress. He wondered whether Lady fire was able to do anything interesting with her legs.

‘I don’t know whether I could think of anything suitable that would interest you my Lady’, Dristan also remembered meeting an aspiring novice who had practically no gag reflex. He supposed that after that experience she would be more of an aspiring courtesan than a nun. Besides, no woman could possibly control her reflexes that well without practice.
‘I did rather enjoy the foreign food’.

[/color]

[Caitrin de Archer]

Caitrin noticed Dristan stumble onto his courteous words and raised an eye brow at him. It could have been a simple error or perhaps another woman’s name? It was all possible but it wasn’t completely fair of Caitrin to just assume the worst of Dristan because that’s the kind of man she assumed he was. She had seen enough of them at court to know their type.

His words shocked her. Four years was a long time to be absent from a place, then again, she had been absent from Mercia for nearly as long, and although she missed her homeland she was sure if she left Camelot she would miss it just as much. “I only came to Camelot around three years ago, do you find it much changed?” That was a genuine question, she couldn’t imagine much had changed because it was the same king and the same laws; even the same enemies according to her Uncle Rouland.

She wondered if he was jesting with her or not about the food comment, perhaps it was a euphemism for women or something like that. However, Caitrin pushed those thoughts quickly to the back of her head for fear of laughing. Instead she remained composed and gave a small nod to him,

“Was there enough variety on the continent to suit your tastes?” She grinned at him and then looked ahead, wondering where he was taking her. Having not been in the area for some time Caitrin hoped he would not get lost because she suspected he was the type of man to not admit they were lost, and they could be roaming around the same streets in the city for hours without any hope of getting back to normality. She stepped slightly in front of him, blocking his path slightly and forcing his gaze onto her rather in a stroke of genius. “Where are we going?” She asked, twiddling a piece of her hair aimlessly between her finger and thumb and awaited his reply.

[Dristan de Archer]

The information that Dragon Lady had only moved into Camelot 3 years ago was intriguing to Dristan and he wondered what caused the move. He knew that it would be rude to ask, but Dristan had never been one for manners when curiosity overruled them. Besides, he was a man, his social standing was high, and he was completely full of himself. Compared to that manners were irrelevant.
For a moment before answering her enquiry Dristan reflected on her comment about whether much had changed? Since his arrival back in Camelot a couple of days earlier he had heard snippets of information that suggested that Camelot was the same on the surface, but fundamentally changed underneath since his last residence. Something about a dragon attack and Lady Morgana- Dristan had long dreamt of seeing her under garments. But that was only tavern talk and when a man was drunk his tongue was not the only thing that was loosened. When a mans wits were also loosened anything that he said could be completely false, so Dristan had no idea whether what news he had heard was drunken folly, or hard fact.

‘Three years ago? Do you mind me asking where you travelled from?’ Obviously he was genuinely curious why someone would ever want to move to Camelot, Dristan had lived there for 18 years and the only thing that made him nostalgic was that it had been his home, Camelot was nothing special as far as he was aware. His face solemn, he continued ‘To answer your question I’m not completely sure, I sense that since the last time I was here something fundamental is different’, suddenly he smiled mischievously, ’Most of the women don’t seem to have changed much though’. He wondered how she would react to that comment, obviously it was a joke, and in the past many of the women he had met he’d interpreted as having a fake sense of humour where they would only laugh because they thought they should, not because they found it funny. Dristan had developed a good ear for the fake laugh since he entered his manhood. On the other hand there was a chance that Dragon Lady might have found it offensive. But in Dristan’s opinion that would have been petty, and she didn’t seem to be the kind of fragile flower that would be affected by something so insignificant as a joke.

In relation to her next enquiry Dristan smiled. He expected that Dragon Lady’s idea of variety was completely different to his own.
‘My Lady, I had a different meal almost every night’, of course there had been the occasional time when he had encountered a particularly fine specimen the night before, and indulged himself another time the next night but that had been rare. Often the women he had encountered had been dull to talk to and unimaginative behind locked doors. There had been many exceptions though.

[Caitrin de Archer]

Caitrin was pleased she seemed to have at least challenged Dristan into a reply. He’d fallen silent for a few moments so Caitrin took it at her pleasure to look over the man. His garments were as finely woven, and of such expensive material as were her own. She didn’t usually come across anyone who was that overt about their wealth, well apart from her Uncle that was. He wasn’t bad looking, Caitrin would border on saying he was more handsome than some men at court, but not all of them of course. The richness of his clothes was already reflected in his personality and he obviously thought highly of himself. Caitrin never liked to admit she thought too highly of herself, but because of her family’s wealth, she often caught herself with snobbish thoughts she could have probably done without.

His question took her by surprise, it was unusual for a man to be so overt and blunt in the first few lines of a conversation. She ran a hand through her hair again and smiled as she answered him, “I travelled from Mercia. But it was not out of choice, my wardship was sold within Camelot.” Now that she had answered him, she took a moment to reflect on her own words. She wondered if she would have been more willing to come to Camelot if she’d known it would be so different to her Mercian home. It was different, and more enjoyable living under her Uncle’s roof instead of her fathers because they were like minded in some respects. They shared a similar sense of humours. Caitrin had disliked her fathers home because he was constantly bringing home his favourite warriors who would always try their luck with his daughters after Payton retired to bed. She remembered once one of them had succeeded with one of her elder sisters, her father had been furious, not with the man, but with her sister. However, it was under such conditions that Caitrin had developed her quick sense of humour, so her tutoring was not all bad.

Caitrin raised her eyes at his comment about women being unchanged. She had hoped for a more educated answer than that, but if that was what he preferred then she would have to go along with that. “Well I hope you exclude me in your stereotype my Lord,” She gave him a grin, “As I was not here the last time you were in Camelot.” She wasn’t offended by his comment, instead she was impressed he was so overt with his views on women, most men in the same frame of mind hid behind charms and poems, at least Dristan had the sense to show his personality to her.

If they were still on the topic Caitrin thought they were then she was shocked at Dristan’s words. She still didn’t believe they were talking about food at all, more like women. She suppressed a giggle and calmed herself before answering, “Such fine taste’s and yet you still return to Camelot my Lord?” She said softly, “And what taste’s do you hope to sample here?”

[/blockquote]

[Dristan de Archer]

He could tell that she had been taken back by his question because she waited a moment and pushed her hand through the fire on her head in a familiar gesture before she answered. The fact that she had had no choice in her relocation to Camelot was understandable. Her answer also hinted at rich origins. Her family must have been important and high up in the social standing of the kingdom for her wardship to be sold to the highest bidder. In a moment of curiosity at her roots Dristan examined her attire and for the first time actually realised how fine her clothes were rather than focusing on what he imagined to be underneath. The dress was a rich green colour material with stylish hanging sleeves. Her attire was befitting of a person of his own social standing. He sensed that although dragon lady tried to hide her feelings of vanity, looking good was still slightly important to her. Dristan had met some of the most vain women in all of Christendom so he could recognise the signs.

Dristan suddenly smiled at the dragons comment, ‘My lady, even if you had been here when I was living in Camelot you would not be included in that stereotype. Your too… erm’, sexy? No, Dristan had met many women equally as attractive, ‘ah’. Independent? No, Independence in a woman might be hard to find but Dristan had encountered it. ‘Different’. He laughed and shook his head at her, different was a broad term and he hoped she didn’t take offence from it, but different was right, there was something not quite normal, silly, stupid, girly about Dragon Lady.

When fiery hair continued on the subject of food, Dristan got the feeling that she may have caught on to the true adjenda of the conversation,
‘I wouldn’t say that I had an acquired taste, I would probably describe it more like gorging myself on what looks good’, he paused a moment to gauge her reaction before continuing, ‘Of course every so often I did discover a particularly tasty morsel’.

This woman was becoming dangerous, a woman inquiring about what tastes he wished to sample in Camelot was either playing him or she was a complete whore. Dragon Lady didn’t look like a whore, but Dristan had been wrong in the past. Very wrong.

‘Something new hopefully’, although he was a proclaimed bachelor Dristan knew that in the future- possibly the near future- he would have to marry someone, he would have to visit his father and he would have to marry someone that he approved of, but one thing was certain, whoever he married would have to be amazing, in and out of the bedroom. ’Something special…. I don’t know’

[Caitrin de Archer]

Caitrin considered the situation, and decided that she enjoyed stringing Dristan along, even if he wasn’t yet aware of it. It gave her an air of control which she had longed for with her conversation with Griflet but had failed miserably in. She perhaps should have tried to string Griflet along, but she wasn’t sure she would have trusted herself to stop. She had feelings for Griflet, there was no denying that, but she wasn’t quite sure what those feelings were made of yet, whether they were those of attraction, or just of pure disgust and hate. She hadn’t stopped herself from kissing him in the forest for whatever reason, and as long as she could convince herself it wasn’t because she had feelings for him then that would all be alright.

She laughed as he called her different. She did consider herself different, after all, she was a Mercian noblewoman who possessed and practised sorcery in the heart of Camelot. She hoped that the least she was, was different. “I take that as a compliment.” She grinned as it was true, she didn’t ever like to think that she was simply one of the crowd. Even down to her red hair Caitrin often stuck out like a sore thumb. She then considered him for a moment, leaning slightly on one side of her body and cocking her head to one side, biting her lip, “And for your part too my Lord, I declare that you are also different.”

Caitrin was sure now that they were not talking about food, and she was sure he knew it too so she was surprised at his bluntness but didn’t let it show too much. She instead slipped some of her hair behind her ear and flashed him a small, but knowing smile, “Well I hope you find enough things to satisfy your... tastes... within Camelot my Lord.”

He seemed a bit more dreamy than she had expected with his latter words and Caitrin played along with it. After all, he was playing right into her hands and giving her ammunition to fire back at him in playful teases. She wasn’t physically attracted to him, despite his pretty face, but she could still toy with him. “I am sure you will find something my Lord.” As she said that she bit her bottom lip and raised both her eye brows softly, hoping he gained her drift.

She then became more intrigued by his being here in Camelot than she had previously been. Caitrin prided herself on knowing most of Camelot’s going ons so she wanted to know what had brought Dristan back to Camelot after so many years. “So, what has interrupted your travels to bring you back to Camelot my Lord?”

[/blockquote]

[Dristan de Archer]

Dristan liked this woman, probably not his kind of marriage material but as a friend to talk to he supposed that they could possibly become good friends. It was a shame that he was going to sleep with her and the never contact her again, it would have been nice to have a confidant again in Camelot. Especially since he wasn’t sure how long he was going to stay. That made him think about his parents. It had been four long years since he had been at home. Occasionally while he had been away he had paid messengers to send his parents news and letters telling them about the things he had been doing- but not going into enough detail to include a description of the people that he was doing. He expected that if he went home to visit he would either one of two reactions. Happiness or anger. He liked to fantasise that his parents would be so relived to see their only child whole and safe that his parents would be blissfully happy and completely forget the fact that he had run away from his betrothal and left his parents for a time without any explanation as to his whereabouts or any reasons for his sudden disappearance. He wondered whether that large nosed little girl that he had been supposed to marry was still unmarried, and he shuddered to think that she might still be out there waiting for his return so that she could still marry him.

Dragon Ladys words pulled him out of his revere. This woman was indeed strange, the word different did not often imply a compliment. He watched her as she shifted her weight to the side and then laughed at her so called ‘compliment’ to himself. It really was such a shame that they would be loosing touch in a couple of days. If only there was a way to befriend this woman. But alas that would only be possible if he did not pleasure her beyond any earthly measure. ‘I thank you also for your compliment my lady’.

The look on her lovely face made him know without a doubt that fire breath knew exactly what the true course of the conversation was. Her movements had become seductive, usually when a woman acted in this kind of way Dristan knew what to do, but with dragon lady Dristan wasn’t completely sure whether she was just doing it to lead him on before she dropped him.
‘I am sure that Camelot will be able to cater to my every need My lady’, deciding that she might in turn be leading him on he couldn’t resist smiling before lifting a finger which he stroked it softly down her arm. Dristan bit back a small laugh once again feeling remorseful for the friendship they could have had.

It seemed her curiosity had gotten the better of her which Dristan supposed was fair enough, because he had enquired upon her reasons for coming to Camelot earlier which she had kindly answered, he decided that he would be equally charitable and answer her questions.
‘I suppose I would have to say that I feel slightly guilty for being away so long and not returning home to visit my parents’. He paused for a moment to push his fingers through his hair before continuing, ‘I kind of left in a hurry you see, and I haven’t really had much contact with them in the past few years’.

[Caitrin de Archer]

Caitrin, as strange as it was, was enjoying Drsistan’s company. He was proving to be a bit of challenge which was more than she could say for much of the male population of Camelot. No, they were too predictable, she always knew what was coming next with them, usually a whole heap of sweetness and charms followed by a dance and that was it. Griflet had done as Dristan was now doing, he broke the norms that Camelot had got her used to, and it intrigued her. She didn’t feel the same about the two men, she could imagine becoming friendly with Dristan but nothing more.

As he thanked her for her compliment she bobbed her head dutifully. She knew he probably didn’t appreciate it, and was just being polite. However, the fact he was being polite was a big thing in his favour she felt. She didn’t reply back to that because it tied off that bit of the conversation. Anyway, Caitrin was having too much fun speaking out about his tastes and how they must have varied in Camelot to anywhere else. Caitrin knew there were women at court who would throw their morals away at the drop of a hat. Caitrin prided herself on not being one of those women, she would flirt and kiss yes, but she never ventured further than that.

Caitrin figured that Dristan must have already figured out she knew exactly what she was going on about. She decided to continue her more seductive and suggestive poses because they were fun and they suited where he was trying to drag the conversation. Plus, it would make him more embarrassed when she eventually dropped him from a great height. “I’m sure it will my Lord.” Raising just one of her eye brows, one hand dropping to her hips and she bit her bottom lip, “You just have to know how to look in the right places.” Her arm shuddered slightly with an unfamiliar touch. It didn’t bite through her like when Griflet had brushed his hands past her cheek or brushed her hair behind her ears. She, deciding not to let him away that easily, brushed one of her fingers over his cheek from his ear softly and gently winding up at his jawline before dropping her hand.

She furrowed her brows at his reply to her and thought over his words. At least he had the choice to leave his home, she had been near enough forced to come to Camelot. True enough she did enjoy life in Camelot, and now would not trade it for anything, but she had not known that at the time and it had always been something which ailed her. She wondered who Dristan’s parents were, if they lived in Camelot she had probably come across them at least once or twice.

“Do you miss them?” She asked softly, then continuing with, “I’m sure they will be pleased to see you, families are rarely at ease with each other all the time.” That much was true enough in Caitrin’s case. She was always arguing with her Uncle Rouland; her aunt usually left them to it for she knew she could not intervene on either’s parts and it was a safer option to just leave them to it. She felt like she was asking too much but he had lighted a spark of interest and she wasn’t about to let it burn out, “Do they live far from here?”

[Dristan de Archer]

Once again her stance was seductive which made Dristan even more convinced that this whole situation was a charade. For a moment Dristan thought about coming clean and laying it out on the table for Dragon Lady to take the way she wanted to. The caress down his cheek made Dristan both disregard and prooove the thought to himself. A woman who acted this way in public towards him after this short amout of time should either be a whore or a moral-less peasant, not a lady of high social standing. Although, Even if this woman was faking it, that didn’t make the conversation any less fun. Plus the fact that dragon Lady hadn’t completely rejected him outright still gave him hope that if he was persuasive enough, he might still be able to unbuckles his breeches through her willing hands later on. ‘Oh, believe me my Lady I know the places to look in.’ He smiled his charming smile at her, ‘However, sometimes you can find what you have been looking for in the most surprising locations’. Although he could still feel the line that she had traced along his jaw line, Dristan noticed it was nothing special. He was just highly sexualised because he hadn’t had a woman for over 7 hours.

Because she was a woman, her tender voice and words didn’t surprise him, however he did appreciate the apparent concern in her, even if it was only because of her curiosity. Dristan considered her words before replying for a moment. He supposed that in a way he did miss his parents, not only because they loved him and because he loved them in a way in return. But because it was nice to know that you weren’t completely alone of people who truthfully cared for you in the world. It was true that thought his travels Dristan had encountered countless bed mates who kept the sheets warm and were glad for the few pennies he gave them to help care for their families. But as far as he was aware no one he had come into contact with actually cared whether he lived or died.

‘Yes I suppose’, he laughed, ‘Unconditional love does that to you’. He hoped that his parents would be pleased to see him. He expected that they would but that he probably wouldn’t see much of the happiness or relief from his father until some time had passed since his return. Because so much time had passed since his departure he hoped that any anger his family may have felt would have been much reduced due to the passing of time. ‘I dearly hope that they are pleased to see me’. He paused for a moment and then pointed in the general direction of home as he remembered it, ‘A couple of miles from Camelot, you just follow the road roughly from the front gate’.

[Caitrin de Archer]

Caitrin felt a bit put out he did not return her public sign of affection. Even if he knew what she was up to it was downright unsporting not to play along with it. He seemed willing anyway to her affections, and she was sure that Dristan hardly thought highly of her. She wasn’t really acting as her status dictated, if she had have been, she certainly wouldn’t have touched him like that. However, Caitrin was tiring of social norms, they dictated everything about her, and anyway, this man would probably be gone soon and with it all her behaviour towards him. Caitrin had to try incredibly hard to keep a straight face as he spoke. He wasn’t incredibly good at subtly saying what he wanted, she knew if he had his way she would become the longest in a line of women. Unfortunately for him, Caitrin had all the flirts but would never dare go further than that. She looked up at him suggestingly and licked her bottom lip, “Well my Lord, I hope you find exactly what you are looking for.”

Dristan actually seemed to be mulling over his thoughts and it gave her a few moments to think over her family. She would go as far to say that she was closer to her Uncle than she ever had been with her father. She had never had much friendship or love for either parent. Being in such a big family, Caitrin’s birth was hardly anything of any great importance and she had always been shoved to the bottom of the pile. Helgund had been the only person in her childhood to take a direct interest in her, herself. She hardly wrote to her father now, but dutifully she supposed she did love him, although she felt now that she would never return to Mercia.

She smiled at his comment about unconditional love, she supposed everyone had to love their parents no matter what they did. Blood was thicker than water, so they said. Now however Dristan was confusing her as he pointed out where he lived. She thought it odd that he lived so close to her and yet she had never heard of him from any surrounding noble family before now. “I live in that direction as well.” She said softly, “I’ve lived on the de Archer lands for about, oh four years now.” She shrugged softly, “It is odd that I have never heard about you my Lord.” She smiled, now thinking that it had possibly been the best thing which could have happened to her. Aside from the fact Camelot had no love for magic, Caitrin had never been happier.

[/blockquote]

[Dristan de Archer]

He could tell that she was disappointed at Dristan’s lack of outright affection- obviously he hadn’t given her enough to tease him with later when she expected she would be dropping him. Dristan sighed quietly and mentally rolled his eyes before reaching out and brushing a strand of escaped hair behind her ear. If he had any chance with this small fire ball he would have to change his game slightly. Polite noble gentleman was not a card he had had to play often in the past but obviously Dragon Lady wasn’t convinced that she needed to sleep with charming Dristan. Dristan braced himself mentally for a moment and suppressed the imaginings of what it would feel like to cup her superbly fine curvatures. Thinking about things like that did not encompass charming Dristan. ‘You had a stray hair’, he explained.

Being in charming Dristan mode, he didn’t verbally reply to her outright statement and instead laughed and nodded his head as if he felt the same- which obviously he did. Dragon Lady was becoming more trouble than he usually liked to usually deal with during his wooing sessions. He was beginning to think that it might be more profitable if he politely left her and found out where she lived so that he could try again on another day. But this woman was just so intriguing that in a way he didn’t mind for the time being the light flirting that was going on. The fact that if she was naked he expected her hair would nicely compliment the flush of her body after vigorous exercise was almost irrelevant.

The first thing that alerted Dristan that something was not quite right was the confused look her features took when he motioned to where he lived the De archers were surely still well known in Camelot so her confusion could not have been caused by not knowing the lands he gestured towards. Although her confusion was explained through her next two statements, Dristan wasn’t completely sure what to make of her words. She now lived on her fathers lands and if her words earlier proved to be true then that would mean that Dragon Lady was Dristan’s fathers ward. Dristan ruffled his hair uncomfortably.

Generally the wardship of a young woman would either be given to a prospective older suitor or a family member. Because Dristans father was already married this lead Dristan to the conclusion that fire hair must be kin. What was her name? Catherine? After mentally labelling the woman in front of him as dragon lady since they had met earlier in the market, it took Dristan a moment to remember her name. Caitrin, Dristan faintly remembered the memory of a young girl running down wooden stairs only to then be scolded heavily by a giant of a man. Dristan had only ever met his fathers extended family a couple of times and he had never had a good opinion of his uncle Lord Payton, However, that probably had more to do with Dristan’s own fathers opinion of his brother.

That would make Dragon Lady his cousin? Dristan coughed and shook his head. He had been fantasising about feeling up his family? Although it was well known that many cousins actually did marry, the idea of it did not appeal to Dristan, the idea that their grandparents had been the same people just didn’t sound completely right to him. Besides, if he had deflowered her then the repercussions would have been severe. He may have even been forced to marry a red head! He stepped back slightly and tried to make a joke out of it by raising his arms slightly and shrugging.

‘Well then I shall call you cousin, and as my cousin I shall cease to try and woo you seriously’.

[Caitrin de Archer]

Although Dristan remained ignorant of it, he was mirroring how Griflet had acted in the forest. He too had brushed her hair behind her ears. The irritating fact was that the two men, though they had completed the same action, made her feel two different things. With Griflet, it had been an incredibly soft and gentle touch, but with Dristan she knew it was more forced. Although she had been sure Griflet had just been trying to charm her on their first encounter, she still had feelings for him which was cemented because she had no feelings as Dristan brushed through her hair. “Thanks.” She said quietly as he pointed out why he had completed his actions.

She didn’t feel as guilty as she thought she would whilst leading Dristan on, perhaps he even knew that she was stringing him along. If he did then he was doing a fabulous job of hiding it. Caitrin hadn’t really encountered many noblemen who were so blunt and forwards, then again she seemed to be developing a talent for attracting them at the moment; maybe it was the hair. She had to say she was enjoying Dristan’s company. Playing along with a man she hardly knew was an odd way to spend a morning, but an interesting one nonetheless. She would only be going back home later to her Uncle’s comments about her never being at home and she of course had her Aunt’s headache to contend with.

Dristan looked at her in a confused way and for a moment she felt like she had said something wrong. She stopped and looked up at him as he fell silent, as if in deep thought. Why should he be so concerned about her family name? De Archer was hardly a common name but she was sure her Uncle hadn’t offended that many people for even Dristan to dislike the name. He coughed and she jumped slightly, mainly because he had been so silent beforehand. As he spoke she could hardly believe it and she was visibly shocked.

Cousin? She knew she had a cousin named Dristan, but this surely couldn’t be the man? Her Uncle Rouland had told her he had already been wedded and bedded by the time she had arrived in Camelot. She had often asked if she could visit him but had always hit a brick wall with her Uncle and he always made up some excuse. Now at least she knew why, and it made sense in a way. He hadn’t been married off, he had instead been travelling, and she guessed it had been against her Uncle’s wishes, as most things were.

She blinked again, “Cousin?” She asked him softly and decided to confront him with what her Uncle had told you, “Are you my Uncle Rouland’s son? He told me you had already been married off.” She could hardly believe this, she had been flirting, quite overtly with her cousin. She groaned inwardly, now praying that he wasn’t going to tell her Uncle quite how she behaved, he’d never let her out of the house again.

She had vague memories of Dristan from when she was a very young child living in Mercia. She remembered once, when she was only four or five, they had visited the house. She only remembered it so vividly because her father had been in such a bad mood for weeks before, and after the event, that Helgund had actually had to step in the way of them to stop him hitting her one morning. She hadn’t done much wrong, she questioned him about something and he hadn’t liked it obviously. She remembered seeing Dristan vaguely though, he was only a few years older than Caitrin. She could see a small boy with scruffy hair looking resentfully next to her Uncle and Aunt. She wasn’t sure how much of her memory was truth but that had been the only time she had ever seen Dristan, well until now.

Now she was over the initial shock the revelation that they were indeed cousins had brought, Caitrin could see the more humorous side of the conversation. She snorted and poked Dristan in the arm, somehow feeling closer to him in a friendly way than she had moments ago, “You were flirting with me. Your own cousin!”