Happy Families.

[Dristan de Archer]

Dragon Lady Caitrin looked different in light of this new information. Most of her attractiveness wavered away into nothingness. Dristan could still see of course that his cousin was still strikingly beautiful, however, thankfully its effect on him was completely different. He slowly begain to see slightly similarities which would have hardly been noticeable if the information about their kinship had not been known. The tones of red in her hair echoed a much stronger version of some of the stray red hairs he had seen in is own. Her delicate face seemed almost to be the feminine to his masculine. True, she was beautiful. But rather than giving him so much of an urge to see her naked in his bedchamber- urgh- it made him ever so slightly more bigheaded about the wonderfulness of his own genes.

Although he felt slightly uncomfortable about it all, the look on her face made him laugh slightly and he reflected slightly on his earlier feeling of comradeship. It could not only be their genes that made them almost natural comrades- their fathers proved that family needn’t keep in touch- perhaps their personalities were not too different either. Obviously, Dristan thought, his mind would be infinitely more dirty than young dragon lady. But he could easily sort that. Give it a month and although Cousin fire might still have her virtue, she would be unlikely to be pure of mind. In a way Dristan liked that, perhaps he could come to see her as something like a younger sister. A younger sister who he would protect, but also stain.

To her words he nodded before replying, ‘Yes Lord Rouland is indeed my father’, he groaned for a moment at the thought of his father telling his cousin about him being married. If his father had not told the truth about Dristan’s true location to his own family then the whole of the Camelot must have for the past four years been living under the conclusion that Dristan was married to the big nosed, utterly boring freak that he had been betrothed too. Would he have to visit every household in the kingdom and deny his fathers lies. This information also opened up the possibility that his father was even more unhappy about the present situation that Dristan had through possible. On the other hand, his fathers lies could have been a face saving strategy to actually save his son from embarrassment. But that was highly unlikely. ‘And, no my father has lied to you. I am not married. Would you think me shallow cousin if I said that her nose would have made my children ugly and that her wits bored me to the nonce’s?’ he shook his head and imagined what his father must think of him, ‘I could not marry someone I did not feel compatible with so I left’, he paused for a moment before continuing, ‘I suppose I had better return home soon’.

He felt more at ease when she laughed, he was beginning to think that he had imagined the humour in the situation. Either that or he had imagined dragon ladys sense of humour. Her poke made him smile at the apparent friendship that could be found in the gesture. ‘I know! How could I have known?’ he laughed, ‘Although I am not ashamed to say that you have grown into an incredibly beautiful woman!’

[Caitrin de Archer]

Caitrin was still getting over the fact that Dristan was her cousin. She now felt stupid that she had not seen it earlier. How could she have missed the coincidence? A man named Dristan who had been away travelling for many years? She should have realised before he’d had to enlighten her. She supposed it came to some shock to him because by the time she had come to Camelot he had been long gone. He wouldn’t have even known his father had taken on her wardship. Caitrin had never known how willing Rouland had been in accepting her wardship, in her earlier days she had thought he had accepted it merely because of the money. However, now she was growing to love him as more of a father figure she believed that maybe he had been lonely, although he would never admit it of course. Now Caitrin knew that she and Dristan were kin it seemed stupid that she hadn’t noticed the similarities in them before. They had odd features which were only noticeable if you knew they were related.

They had similar jaw lines, and although their hair colour was different she could spot some ginger stray hairs within Dristans brown mess of hair. She also suspected they had much in common personality wise. From his clothes she could see that he probably valued appearances as much as she did. Although she had always possessed that trait, living under her Uncle’s roof had done nothing for her vanity. They had also proved that they were no strangers to the flirting game, though she had no shame in admitting that Dristan was probably a lot more practised than she was, and probably had a lot more luck than she did.

Although she already had four elder brothers, Caitrin imagined Dristan being more of an elder brother to her than a cousin. Although her brothers had been kind to her during her upbringing and had taught her skills like archery she had never been particularly close to anyone. She had been the youngest and no one had been particularly close to her. She smiled up at him, perhaps he would become just like a close brother. That was what she wanted to imagine fondly and she was determined that it would be done because she already knew that hers and Dristan’s personalities were very similar. They would get along famously, she was sure of it.

She felt embarrassed as he set her right. She had known that he had not been married because he was not acting like a married man would, but now she was lost to why her Uncle had lied to her. Perhaps he did not want it to seem like Dristan had dishonoured the family name and just simply run off. Caitrin thought little of it, she had wanted to run away many times and although she hated to admit it, it was because she was a woman she had been unable to. She would have lost her dowry and all her connections, and she would have starved at fates most kind hands, and perished at their most cruel. Caitrin laughed as he described his betrothed and she then mockly scolded him,

“I think it is very shallow indeed cousin.” She pointed a finger accusingly at him before waving her scolding off, “I think you were right to not marry someone you did not, agree with.” That was the most polite way she could put it and she gave him a smile, “My father tried to marry me off to someone I did not know or like either.” She wrinkled her nose, sure he would want more details but she wasn’t going to surrender them just yet. She perked up as he said he would have to return home, “I am sure my Uncle will be glad of your return.” In truth Caitrin had no idea how Rouland would react to his son turning up on the doorstep after all this time. She imagined he would be angry, but the extent to his anger was yet to be seen.

Caitrin was still reeling from the fact that Dristan had been flirting with her and at the same time she was embarrassed she had been flirting so dominantly with him as well. “Well I must be beautiful as I caught your eye.” She raised an eye brow but smiled at the compliment, “I suppose I am much changed since we last met. I must have only been four or five.” She looked at Dristan carefully and intimately and smiled at him, “And you cousin are much more handsome than the scruffy boy I remember.”

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[Dristan de Archer]

Another memory flashed through Dristan’s mind, it was very old and unclear, the image lasted only a couple of seconds and was of a baby with a shock of startlingly red hair, a soprano voice wavered into existence, ‘Father, whats wrong with it?’, Dristan remembered feeling wonder and surprise. He had been so young, he had never seen a red haired person before so he had thought that the baby was horribly ill and would soon die. Of course people with red hair were not ill and it was startlingly obvious that Caitrin was not dead now. She was very much the opposite, living and breathing in fact. The next time that he had seen her had probably been that time when her father had heavily scolded her for running down the stairs. In truth Dristan had hardly met Caitrin’s side of the family. Secretly Dristan had always thought that there was some one thing so similar about the two men and if they had been close then they probably would have been the best of friends and their separations would have probably been more likely to last weeks or months rather than years. But because the two brothers had never been close, their similarities had made them feel repelled from the other one.

Dristan attempted to look ashamed at her comment about him being shallow, however all he thought that he managed to do was fail miserably at it. He was glad when she supported his decision not to marry the woman though. And when she mentioned that she had once been betrothed Dristan thought that he may have truly found a person how understood his predicament. ‘You were?’ he asked, he waited a moment but expected that he would not get much of an answer in return. She was a woman, he would have to earn some kind trust from her before she gave up that information he thought.

It was well known that the nobility did not marry for love. Love was for the peasants. Because the peasants did not have wealth or connections they were allowed to therefore marry for love. As a nobleman it had been drilled into Dristan from a young age that when he was to be married he must marry for the good of his family. To further their connections. In a way Dristan did feel honour bound to do just that. However why could he not marry into a good family, whilst also feeling some kind of attraction and companionship towards the girl also? That wasn’t too much to ask from his father was it? If the girl was anywhere near attractive and if she had some kind of personality, he expected that he could settle down with her and be faithful at least most of the time.

When cousin refereed to his father it made Dristan think about what his father would be like upon his return. Although Dragon Lady’s words had been reassuring, her tone of voice had been slightly less so which hinted that she thought that Lord Rouland would perhaps veer more towards anger than joy at the return of his prodigal son. ‘Hmm yes’, Dristan’s voice was slightly sarcastic but he smiled kindly at his young cousin in gratitude for her kind words. Even if she thought he words were untrue, it was the thought that counted.

‘I have never been scruffy… well not very scruffy anyway’, Dristan laughed, ‘My mother always made sure that I was well dressed’. Dristan remembered sometimes wishing that he was a peasant as a young boy. Because then at least he would have been able to play with the other young boys of the surrounding villages all the time. Instead Dristan had had to play with the children of his fathers few knights and soldiers. The children he had been able to play with were few and they had always been wary because he was Lord Rouland’s son and any wrong move might have had them in big trouble. Dristan knew that the children he had played with had always been heavily warned by their fathers not to play how they normally would with each other. ‘I remember my father once mentioning that if there had been a speck of dirt, you would have found it’.

[Caitrin de Archer]

Caitrin, as a young child, could never understand why her father and Uncle had never got on. The only time she had questioned it her father had roared at her and Helgund had taken her out of the room to prevent any other harm done. As she was older now she could see that both men were probably as stubborn as each other not to like each other, therefore no progress was ever made. She had only that memory as her cousin when they were younger, she was sure there were other instances of them meeting but she had been very young and could not name any of them.

Caitrin could see that Dristan was not particularly bothered that she had deemed him as shallow. She wasn’t too bothered as she had only meant it in jest anyway and would have been more put out if he had been offended by her words. Caitrin knew he would be shocked that she had been betrothed; everyone was shocked when she told them. “I was, when I was sixteen.” She shuddered slightly at the thought of being wedded and bedded by a man who was thirty when she was only at the tender age of sixteen. Although Caitrin was only nearly twenty now she felt as if she had changed a lot in the last few years. “And that was just before I was sent to Camelot to live with my Uncle.”

Through all her Uncle’s nagging about marriage and its duties, Caitrin hoped that her Uncle would never force her to marry. It had always worried her, and now hearing that Dristan had been almost forced into marriage made her even more worried. However, Rouland had the pick of suitors for Caitrin from Camelot and he had made no move yet so she hoped that he was letting her pick her own mind on that issue at least. She didn’t believe in love particularly, but she wanted to marry someone who understood her, not someone who was just marrying for her dowry and lands. She honestly could not stand the thought of someone just looking at her and seeing how much she was worth. Perhaps she should get a move on with her suitors rather than let her Uncle dictate a marriage for her.

Caitrin sensed that she hadn’t given Dristan much reassurance, but she had no idea how Rouland would react. She’d never been in a house with either of them at the same time before so she wasn’t sure what kind of relationship they had had before Dristan had left. She supposed it could have hardly been the best father son relationship ever but perhaps he had a better relationship with Rouland than Caitrin did with her own father. “I’m sure everything will be fine.” Caitrin’s words were now firm and she noticed a strand of Dristan’s hair was poking in front of his ear so she brushed it behind it, “When do you plan to visit us?”

Caitrin had never really thought she would have been mentioned by her Uncle before he took on her warship. As it was, Caitrin had only met her Uncle a few times, and she had never seen him in her teenage years. Her father had always told her she was Rouland’s favourite whenever he came to visit but she had never taken much notice before now. Although she had not known it, her wardship had been considered for a long time, even before she had been betrothed. That was why she was able to come to Camelot so quickly, it had been in the making for quite some time. She had even occasionally received letters from her Uncle inquiring after her health and studies. She smiled softly, he was right, even as a child, through all her unruly behaviour, Caitrin always prided herself on her appearance. She hadn’t been able to stand it if anyone around her was dirty or was not wearing their best robes. Caitrin didn’t like to admit she was vain, she put it down as an inherited trait and left it at that because it was probably true. “I have always prided myself on my appearance, and the appearance of others” She smiled softly and then gestured to her dress, “As does your father, he bought me this, and others to go with it.” She had always been taught to be humbled by gifts but her Uncle gave them so freely that it was hard to take them with such gratitude every time, she was in fact incredibly spoilt by the man in his own way. "Tell me cousin, do you think I am vain for thinking so much of appearances?"

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[Dristan de Archer]

The idea that Dragon Lady had been betrothed still continued to shock and intrigue Dristan slightly. Other than himself he had not known of any other individual that had actually gotten out of a betrothal. Then again as he thought about it, most of the other people he had known who had been betrothed had either been happy about it or had not cared enough to want to change their situaton. He sensed that Caitrin would not be willing to give up too much more information about her prior betrothal so he left it and did not make any more comments. Dristan unlike Caitrin had not really gotten out of his betrothal, he had more run away from it and hoped that it would just disappear. He hadn’t just run away from his betrothal really, he had more likely run away from everything. From his responsibility, his father, but mostly he had run away from his grief for the only woman who he had loved, Hawaise.

It still pained him to think about her. But it was inevitable really, there was nothing good in the world that didn’t end in pain. In a moment of spontaneity Dristan voiced his thoughts, ‘Let me tell you something young cousin. Here is a piece of advice. Never become too attached to anything’. Dristan knew that what he had said was random. That cousin Dragon would not understand what he was talking about. At least now he had gleaned the information that perhaps cousin had come to live with his father because of family feud. Perhaps over the betrothal. Dristan smiled and shook his head to try and lighten the mood a little.

‘I honestly do not know when I should visit. I know that I should visit but I don’t know whether I want to or not’ he laughed although laughing was one of the things that at this moment he actually didn’t feel like doing. He wanted to visit his home. He wanted to see his mother and father again. Although he had advised cousin earlier not to become attached to anything he was aware that it was too late for his parents. He loved them and he had already felt pain for feeling thus. The guilt that he had felt when he had left Camelot had weighed down upon him for four years. The only times he had forgotten it was when he had given himself up to oblivion. Although yes he had enjoyed his time away immensely, he had seen things which he parents could not even dream of seeing and experienced the most wonderful sensations. The true fact that he had let down his family still pained him. It pained him so much that sometimes he wished that he had never felt any kind of positive feeling towards his parents.

Dristan thought about her comment about appearances, he knew himself to be quite vain. Not particularly in the way he dressed. Although today his clothes were incredibly fine and tailored he knew that he was just as comfortable in less expensive cloth. Not that he would willingly dress as a peasant. Their clothes did not smell appealing or even look remotely appealing. No, Dristan was vain because he knew he was handsome. He liked turning the heads of women and to hear them whisper behind their hands. He enjoyed the sensation of seeing a pretty young woman’s face turn tomato red through self consciousness if he chose to speak to them. ‘Being vain is not much of a sin Cousin, I shall not taunt you today for it’.

Dristan was getting weary of being so distant from Dragon lady. He decided to address humorously the topic of their separation ‘And now cousin, not because you need holding up or supporting’, He smiled and suppressed a chuckle before continuing, ‘But out of friendship and family bond, would you possibly consider taking my arm so that we may walk and find out more about one another without this cold gap between the two of us?’. Dristan once again offered his arm. Thinking back he realised that it had been over four years since he had offered his arm to a woman in a genuinely non sexual way without any intent to entice her somewhere dark and intimate. ‘Who knows, perhaps we can make some young men jealous’. He smiled knowing truthfully that every young man- taken or not- that was out today and saw himself and young dragon lady strolling together would feel more jealous . Who knew, perhaps he could even make a few ladies jealous as well.

[Caitrin de Archer]

Caitrin looked down to her feet awkwardly after speaking about her previous betrothal. That had been one of the few times in Caitrin’s life that she had felt true fear. She remembered her father had told her about her betrothal, it had all happened rather quickly. Her sisters had been told of their matches before her and they had both been distraught at the prospect. Caitrin had been more composed at first, but as it had turned out there had been no reason to cry, and within the month she had instead been sent to Camelot to live with her Uncle, another man she had not met that much but at least she didn’t have to marry him. Caitrin wrinkled her nose, she could imagine her Uncle wanting to marry Dristan off at quickly as possible, quite like her own father. She shuddered, she honestly didn’t want to even imagine what would have happened if the boy hadn’t have died. She’d probably already have a small brood of children and a man in her bed who didn’t love her, she preferred her life as it was now; she was in control of it and that was important. She looked back to Dristan, that look of intrigue people usually held when she mentioned her betrothal was present in his features. She gave him a soft smile, if she were speaking to anyone else she would have said nothing but he was her cousin, and he would probably find out the truth soon enough anyway. “Being so polite does not suit you cousin.” She said half teasingly and settled her gaze on him, “Do you want me to enlighten you to why I was sent to Camelot?”

Dristan’s words stumped her for a few moments and she watched him carefully. That was an odd thing to say. Dristan’s whole body language had changed and she sensed there was something dark in the pit of his memories which had caused his words. Perhaps she was seeing too much into it. The corners of her lip twitched and she put a hand on Dristan’s shoulder and smiled up at him. She was sure she wasn’t going to get anything more out of him on that topic, and she hardly wanted to upset him. She removed her hand as he lightly smiled at her and she nodded in a quiet understanding, “I know.” Caitrin was under no illusions, now after speaking to Dristan that her Uncle would probably try to marry her off to the most advantageous suitor. Therefore she had always kept her feelings to herself, and had tried not to be governed by them. As a woman it was difficult, there was a part of her which needed and wanted affection, but then her reasoning head told her that she would have no choice in her marriage and therefore should keep her distance from male affection.

The mood of the conversation was somewhat lifted by Dristan’s words about coming to visit his mother and father. She was smiling at his words, despite the fact he was wondering whether he wanted to visit or not. She looked up to him, using the same eyes she had used with her elder brothers in Mercia when she had wanted something, “But you must come and visit!” She protested. She would love more company at home, Rouland was not amazing company as he was usually locked up in the solar or the study, as for her aunt she was a very proper woman and despised of Caitrin’s boyish pursuits such as riding and archery so they did not get along much either, “Come now cousin, would you condemn me to even more time alone with your father?” She was jesting of course, but if Dristan was restored to Rouland’s favour would he reside with them at the de Archer estate or would he take off again? She would love him to stay, from what she had seen of him so far their temperaments were much alike.

Caitrin found herself laughing at his words. Not much of a sin? She was glad he thought so. She would have just called him vain, or some such insult, if he had accused her of being vain as his clothes were as fine as hers. They did stand out from the crowd but her Uncle never let hr our unless she was finely dressed, ‘what’s the point in being richer than everyone else if no one knows it?’ Was always his excuse when handing her a new gown or cloak. He had probably given her more in three years than her father ever had, then again most of her gowns in Mercia were hand me downs from her sisters. “Then I shall look forward to your taunts on our next meeting, I may even don my finest gown for the occasion.”

Her cousin extended his arm to her again, how their conversation had changed since he had last completed that action! At first she raised her eyes at his offer and raised her arm, but didn’t give it him just yet, “So long as you mean the gesture in true friendship dearest cousin.” Satisfied that he probably did mean it as a friendly gesture she took his arm and began to link with him; her baskets of herbs resting in the crook of her free arm. He was only a bit taller than her so she didn’t need to put her head up too far to look at him as he continued speaking. She pressed her lips together and grinned, nodding at his words. “What do you mean perhaps?” She challenged and gave him a soft wink. She believed that between them they were a handsome pair, after all they were de Archer stock weren’t they? Her pride and proud nature always shone through most vividly when she felt content with herself and this was one of those times. Griflet swam back into her thoughts and she couldn’t help but give a small smile and wonder if he would be jealous if he saw her walking with Dristan? She however shook it from her head and continued to walk at Dristan’s pace, “Who knows how many people we will make jealous, perhaps even some ladies will leer at me for being the one to hold your arm dear cousin.”

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[Dristan de Archer]

Dristan could tell that Caitrin still felt a bit awkward about telling him about her previous betrothal.. However Dristan sensed that it was more that she still felt adverse to the whole situation rather than the fact that she had told him. Her next words surprised him slightly because he hadn’t expected that she would have wanted to continue talking about it. He supposed that it was a good thing that she was willing to confide in him because this meant that she found him comfortable to be with and a companion. At first he wasn’t sure exactly how to answer. Although he was intrigued and expected that even if he didn’t question her further he would probably divulge the intricate details anyway when he finally did get around to visiting his family. He didn’t want to pry and make her tell him because she thought that it was the right thing to do. Dristan discounted the latter thought. If she had asked him whether he wanted to know more then the fact probably was that she felt like she wanted to tell him. Plus a previous betrothal was something that they had in common and if as a family talking about it was going to make them closer then he had nothing to loose. Even though she was a woman, Dristan knew that if he was going to be staying in Camelot for any length of time then he would need at least one friend. He would especially need a friendly companion when he presented himself to his father.

‘I expect that you weren’t sent here because your betrothed had an extremely large snozzle were you?’ he smiled humorously and waited for her answer. Upon looking back on his own previous betrothal, he expected that the way he pictured her now it would probably be exaggerated. As her picture shimmered in his mind he began to be overwhelmed by the size of her nose. Surely no woman of respectable noble standing could possibly have a nose that large and be expected to marry him. Dristan had never seen a woman with a nose so large in his life, not even could he have dreamt about it. No, time must have exaggerated her nose to him. His father could not have possibly decided that the right thing to do was to marry his son off to a nose with a body attached for transport.

He could tell that Dragon Lady was surprised and taken back by his words, after a moment she answered him though. She didn’t seem like she understood his words, more that she was trying to convey that she understood his feelings? Feelings? Ha! Feelings were for girls and strange men. Dristan did not need feelings. The only feelings that Dristan needed were the ones that women felt when they decided that they wanted to have a little bit of fun with him. If he could transfer those feelings into ever woman he deemed good enough then his job would be made a lot easier. Not that it wasn’t easy at the moment. Most women weren’t exactly difficult to convince. Besides, sometimes the charming part was the most fun…. What was he thinking? No it wasn’t! The bed sport was the best every time!

She was smiling, which was a good thing in a way. It at least meant that she wanted him to come to the de Beaumont lands to see his parents. He expected that if his father didn’t outright throw him out then he would be expected to stay there for the whole of his visit. He didn’t even know if ths was a visit, for all he knew he wouldn’t want to or get the chance to leave again. He supposed that if his father forgave him then he wouldn’t leave them. They deserved that much at least. Except if they decided to betroth him to someone completely unsuitable again. Moderately large noses Dristan could cope with, but enormous ones were out of the question. ‘I will visit. I have to for the sake of my parents. They probably think that I am dead at the moment since I haven’t managed to send them a messenger in about four months’. Dristan couldn’t even remember what he had said in his last letter to his parents. The only thing that he could remember was that the letter had been rather short, and incredibly vague.
‘And if you shall don your finest gown, then I shall wear my finest clothes also’ he answered her. In truth, he expected that if he did wear his finest clothes to his first meeting with his parents, his father would probably see it as an insult.

‘What other meaning could it possibly take dear cousin?’ he laughed now at what before had felt rather awkward. When she took his arm they resumed walking, although Dristan was not completely sure where their destination was going to be. ‘Ok, perhaps was possibly not the best word. A better word I think will be definitely’. He laughed. To compare the completely different meanings to the two different kinds of conversation that they had been taking part in was ludicrous. Before the only thing on Dristan’s mind had been how to charm dragon lady into his bed. Now, although eighty percent of his mind was focused on the innocent conversation at hand. Twenty percent was still staring at and picturing the various pretty women in the crowd with their clothes off.

‘The thought hadn’t even crossed my mind’ Dristan said innocently with a devious smile. The juxtaposition between his voice and his facial expression was painfully obvious.

[Caitrin de Archer]

Caitrin smiled up at Dristan after mentioning her previous betrothal then fell silent for a few moments. Her mind often wandered back to her betrothal, how different her life would be if her father had his own way. She’d be forced to show affections for a man who probably didn’t deserve them, as well as that she’d probably have children, or at least be carrying them. She shuddered, she wasn’t ready to be a mother, she didn’t even want to think about anything like that. Then again, she probably was being unfair to the man, he might have well been the nicest man in the world. She had always envisioned her betrothed as being somewhat like her father, large and brutish. He could have been the most attractive man in the world, with the biggest heart and Caitrin knew she still would never have been able to love him. Again she was probably being unfair to the man, but it was just how she felt. She found herself more able to talk about her previous betrothal because Dristan had been there as well. True, he’d run away from his betrothal rather than Caitrin’s luck of her betrothed dying, but still. It was probably easier to talk to Dristan as well because he could probably emphasise with her situation rather than talking about it with some random noble in the courts who would try to show her sympathy but no one who had not been in that situation could not imagine what it felt like to be traded like a slab of meat.

She laughed at Dristan’s words and shook her head quickly. That would have been amusing; her running away from a betrothal because she hadn’t liked the size of her betrothed’s nose! She hoped to god she never became quite that vain! “No, a combination of my betrothed dying and my defiance led to my ward ship being given to your father.” That was exactly how it had happened. As soon as her betrothed had died Caitrin had sworn she would never marry her father’s choice again, her defiance, as her father had put it, had led him to a letter to his brother. Caitrin then began to wonder if she would ever marry, no that was a silly thought, of course she would have to marry, but to whom? She would rather it be someone who she knew and was fond of rather than a total stranger.

Caitrin became excited as Dristan said that he would indeed visit his family home. Perhaps he would even stay on at the de Archer estate afterwards. He would be excelled company, Caitrin was sure of it. She smiled up at Dristan, then wondering just how her Uncle was going to take it, would he be angry, relieved or just bewildered? Probably a mixture of all three. “Then you must visit us all soon, do you wish me to keep our meeting today private?” She asked him softly, wondering if he would rather surprise his parents as apposed to Caitrin blurting it out over the dinner table. Caitrin nodded at her cousins words about his clothes for his arrival at his parents home. “Then we shall look a charming pair will we not?”

Caitrin raised an eye brow, keeping her arm linked with his and giving a short sharp laugh, “I’m sure, cousin that you could come up with a few meanings for it.” She gave him a wicked grin and a laugh. Even though they had only known each other for a short amount of time Caitrin was sure that Dristan could think of a few other meanings to his words, he was anything but innocent of mind she was sure of that. As she began to walk down the busy marketplace with Dristan holding her arm she could feel womens eyes running over her in some jealousy. She wanted Griflet to see her and become jealous. And then she didn’t want to think about Griflet at all, because he was nothing to her was he? He was just some nobleman who had gone a step too far in her temper. True he had got a kiss from her lips but she had broken it off. She shook off the thoughts of Griflet and looked back up to Dristan, she didn’t believe him of course but she decided to pursue a different topic. “Are you currently attatched to a woman? Or are you merely seeing what Camelot has to offer?” She asked, merely meaning did he have a sweetheart in Camelot or anywhere else, she was sure his reply would be interesting.