This Charming Man [Vivian]

[Torrin]

It was a rather nice day so Torrin had decided to try and spend most of it outside. The majority of those people in the castle worth speaking to seemed to appreciate the sun so they'd all be enjoying the weather rather than sitting in the gloom of the castle. As well as being rather warm and bright, it was also one of those days where there was no feast or particular celebration so Torrin had nothing to do except wander around aimlessly until he found himself either hungry and so venturing off to the kitchens, or found himself someone to entertain.

Today, that seemed to be Lady Vivian, a rather fine specimen indeed. She was sitting by herself, something Torrin was rather happy about. He'd heard what happened to people, well, men that tried...well, what Torrin was probably going to try. Needless to say it didn't end well. But far be it from Torrin to be deterred by an over protective father. It would just add to the fun. Or leave him with several broken bones, but he was more than willing to take that risk.

As he didn't have any official entertaining to do he wasn't wearing his full jester's costume, instead he was wearing his simple every day clothes - rather more sober than his costume but decidedly more flattering and it meant he didn't jangle whenever he moved his feet. This, unsurprisingly, made it a lot easier when he was trying to approach people without them noticing - not that he did that often.

She was certainly a pretty thing, perhaps a little too obvious in her beauty though, and she knew it too. Beautiful women always did. More often that not they tried to use it to twist men around their little fingers. Well, it would take more than a little beauty to make Torrin bend to the will of a women. If anyone was going to be bending it would be Vivian, and yes, he did mean that in every sense of the word.

Just before making his presence known he brushed down his shirt - it would be no good to appear untidy at a time like this. Satisfied that he looked his best, he stepped into her line of vision. "My Lady Vivian!" He grinned at her before dropping into a low bow. "How pleasant it is to find you here and be in your company."

Tagged: Vivian
Timeline: During Sweet Dreams
Location: Castle gardens

[Vivian]

Vivian was bored. Bored of everything and everyone here. But not so much that it was reducing her to tears (so the expression went). No. She had to make like she was actually interested in Camelot and it's 'wonders'. Also, Prince Arthur hadn't left her alone, and now she'd taken refuge in the gardens to get away from him. If he so much as brandished another flower in front of her, then she would cry wolf - then her father would step in and Arthur would be sorry. It was almost as like he wasn't getting her rejection methods at all.

She'd taken to picking at the grass and occasionally would let out of the odd sigh of boredom. She wanted to be back in Lyonesse again, bossing her maids around and having what she wanted at th click of her finger. Of course her father was far too busy with the peace treaty to even bother giving her what she wanted.

"My Lady Vivian!" Vivian looked up and raised an eyebrow at the person who had used her name in such a manner of expression, that it was almost hard not to ignore him. Oh goody, it was a man... "How pleasant it is to find you here and be in your company."

Vivian stood up as the man bowed and brushed herself down, she wasn't in the mood for this. "Pleasant for you perhaps" she huffed, "However I would hardly describe the situation as that from my view". If this was some kind of trick (of which Vivian was unsure of at this time) then she wanted to make it known now that she was not in the mood for any funny business whatsoever.

[Torrin]

Well someone was in a good mood. Luckily Torrin was there to save the day, as per. He looked down at her, lips pressed together and arms folded against her chest. He'd never spoken to her before but she was a rather large presence in the castle at the moment so he had a fair idea about her. Of her spoilt and stubborn nature he was certain, but there must be something else, something he could exploit. There had to be some streak of rebellion that came hand in hand with her image of her father's perfect daughter. All he had to do was find it, that couldn't be too hard.

"Well maybe you're not looking hard enough." He said with a small chuckle. Normally his tone would have had that hint of suggestion and a smirk would already be forming on his lips, but Vivian was hardly a delicate creature and he had to win her over before trying anything a tad more...risqué.

He was still watching her, trying to read her, his head slightly tilted to one side and an expression of curiosity across his features. She was not going to give in easily, that much was obvious to anyone but then that just made her more fun - that made her a challenge. "I have a message from Prince Arthur," he began, it was a lie of course but he had to have some reason for engaging her in conversation. "But I'm not sure whether you should hear it or not."

[Vivian]

Not looking hard enough?! Oh he had not just said that! and to her of all people! Did he really have no idea who he was talking to? Well obviously he did because he wasn't leaving her be. But to speak to her like that! She had a good mind to go and find some of her father's men to set themselves on him. Vivian glared at him. "Leave me alone!" she snapped, "I was enjoying my day and unfortuantly it has been spoilt by some...some...silly man!". She didn't care whether it sounded pathetic or not. The look she was giving him now certainly made up for it.

"Who are you anyway?" she demanded, wanting to know the name of her stalker so as she could inform the guards later, should he choose to provoke her some more.

Great. He had a message from Prince Arthur, he hadn't left her alone either - then again, she couldn't help that she was beautiful. "You're right..." she said, getting up and brushing her skirts off, "I don't!" and with that, she turned, flicking her hair as she did so and walked away - hoping that this man would get the picture and leave her alone.

[Torrin]

Torrin didn't seem to be getting anywhere with her, something he wasn't used to. Women either swooned or flirted back, but Lady Vivan wasn't giving him anything. Unfortunately for her that just gave him more incentive to carry on. She might be royalty, but there was no one around apart from them, no one to enforce to rules of heirarchy upon them. He cocked his head, watching her with interest. Maybe she really wasn't interested...no. He just wasn't trying hard enough, or trying too hard, either one. He decided a change of tone would be best. "Well tell me who the blagard was and I shall see that his villainy is put to an end." Of course he knew that she was talking about him, but he was too busy being gallant, and besides, he wasn't going to make it easy for her to make him leave. If she wanted him gone she was going to have to work for it - royalty or not.

He grinned as soon as she asked him who he was - finally! Although he was slightly put out that she didn't recognise him. He had provided the entertainment at last night's dinner but obviously not well enough. He dropped into a bow. "My name is Torrin Fletch. I am Camelot's jester. You might remember me, from last night." He winked - that was just too good an oppurtunity to pass up.

Torrin wasn't surprised when Vivian began to walk off, the only thing he was surprised about was that she'd left after Arthur was mentioned. That was interesting... he didn't stop to think any more about that though, he chased after her. He was now stood in front of her, trying to block her path, although that wasn't terribly effective in such an open space. "I would you would stay, my lady." It probably wasn't going to work, but worth a try.

[Vivian]

He was starting to become so irritating that he was almost causing her to have the urge to run him through herself! "I'll put an end to you in a minute if you don't stop following me!" she snapped and put her hands on her hips, looking at him down her nose. "and you're giving me a headache, and when I get headaches then you really don't want to be near me." Vivian told him coldly. Obviously this man was increadibly stupid, or just plain annoying - she suspected it was both.

"My name is Torrin Fletch. I am Camelot's jester. You might remember me, from last night."

Vivian looked at him blankly. "Why should I remember you?" she asked, "You're just a jester? and to be fair you're not really a good one at the moment." Vivian liked to laugh, at other people yes and not on her own expense, this Torrin character really wasn't living up to his occupation. "So go on...make me laugh" she ordered and now folded her arms waiting for him to do something that most likely wouldn't impress her. Not that she wanted to be impressed - it took a lot.

She waited for a few seconds before turning and walking again. "See...perhaps you should find another job, and another person to annoy." With the flick of her hair, she flounced off in the direction of the castle.

[Torrin]

Torrin found himself laughing at Vivian's words. She was clearly quite the delicate flower... Of course he wasn't going to listen to said words, that would be far too boring and, regardless of whether he wanted to leave or not, he wasn't going to strictly on principle. Vivian clearly didn't want him here - although he suspected this was just because she didn't understand quite how much she actually did want him there - so that was just going to make him all the more enthusiastic about staying. He had a knack for annoying noblewomen. "Oh I beg to differ." He said, still grinning at her, and rather enjoying the whole exchange. "I think I'd want to be near you whatever the circumstance."

Ouch. He obviously hadn't been quite up to standards last night, or she was just a very good actress with an incredibly impressive amount of self-control. Either way, he was rather shocked by her reaction and just stared blankly for a few seconds. She was such a polite and friendly person.

He folded his arms against his chest, unimpressed by her rather rude tone. Normally he would gladly show off his comical skills, but now it was rather the opposite. "I don't think you deserve it." Torrin replied firmly, and then ended up regretting it as she started walking away. He half-ran after her, standing in her way in order to make her stop. "Why would I want to find anyone else?"

[Vivian]

"Oh do you?" she glared at him, raising her chin slightly to show she had a far greater power over him than anyone else. She walked towards him and circled him, her glare still constant and fixed on her brows. "Well then, you'd best keep one eye open at night, because my father isn't going to be happy when he hears this, and i'm not so bad with a knife in my hand myself." If he was going to be all big headed and smug then she was certainly going to let him feel the sheer horror of what extreme's her father would go to, just to keep her safe.

She wasn't going to stand there and be spoken to so rudely by a mere jester. "Obviously your experiances at addressing royalty are limited too." she raised her brows, " I suppose the term 'jester' is appropriate." she just shrugged and carried on walking. "Why would I want to find anyone else?"

Vivian stopped in her tracks and spun round to face him. "Why are you still following me?" she demanded, "Haven't you got anything better to do? Such as juggling some fruit?" Vivian was becoming impatient with him now and wanted nothing more than a nice carefree stroll without any interruptions, no matter how unwanted.

[Torrin]

It shouldn't amuse him so much when she raised her chin, but it really did. It was that act of defiance, that attempt at looking in control. It was rather endearing really, as most things she did seem to be. For someone who didn't really have much too her - except a lot of blonde hair, and he meant a lot - she could probably cut quite the imposing figure, if she didn't look quite so much like a mouse trying to argue against a cat. "Yes, I do." He grinned, stepping towards her, trying to close that gap between them but not wanting to go too far. She was still royalty, after all, and her father was still rather imposing.

He probably shouldn't have found her words quite so inappropriate - but at least she'd said the word knife and not something like weapon, which had been used far too often for cheap innuendo. Even so, Torrin was managing to find the inappropriate undertones in her speech and trying not to laugh because of it. She might think he was laughing at her when he was merely laughing at her unfortunate word choice. "Is that the only thing you're not so bad with?" It was rather cheap, but it amused him. He probably couldn't say the same for her though.

Ooh, she had some bite. Turns out she wasn't just a pretty (angry) face. But, unfortunately for her, the more she became annoyed, the more she endeared herself to Torrin who really wasn't used to someone being so open about their contempt. Normally women were throwing themselves at him, or trying to outwit him. She was just shouting. He rather liked it. "You must forgive me, Your Highness. As you say, I do not have that much experience with conversing with royalty. Perhaps you would take it upon yourself to change this?" Maybe a change of tacticts was called for, or maybe this would irritate her more. Torrin wasn't entirely sure which outcome he preferred.

He merely shrugged at her question. He really didn't have anything better to do. No one needed him, and he wasn't hungry enough to go and torment the kitchen servants. At the moment there was only Vivian - wasn't she a lucky girl. "Not really, no. You don't mind, do you?"

[Vivian]

Was he smirking at her? Did he really think this was funny?! Vivian didn't like being 'funny', what was so amusing that he had to look at her like that? She glared at him even more. What a disobediant man, not showing her the respect that she deserved. Mind you, she had been far from impressed when she had first arrived in Camelot, so nothing really would surprise her now.

"Is that the only thing you're not so bad with?"

Vivian wanted to slap him, but she wouldn't allow him that satisfaction - after all, it would make him all the more eager to follow her, and Vivian needed to be rid of him as soon as possible. Instead she gave a small 'hmph!' and began to flounce off. "You must forgive me, Your Highness. As you say, I do not have that much experience with conversing with royalty. Perhaps you would take it upon yourself to change this?" Vivian stopped in her tracks and turned with a devious smirk. "Oh really?" she said, not meaning it as a question, but more of a statement, "Well dear Torrin, for someone like you it's going to be hard" she mused, "and I fear that you are quite a lost cause..."

Did she mind him traipsing after her like a lost puppy? of course she minded! "Leave. Me. Alone." she told him patronsingly.

[Torrin]

A lost cause? Torrin was starting to think that was true. Unfortunately for her, the more she became angry the more fun he was finding the situation. He wasn't going to leave her alone, well, maybe if she asked very, very nicely. And even then it wouldn't the last she saw of him. No, he'd quite made up his mind that after this particular meeting he'd be seeing her again. She was rather fun and Torrin was finding himself quite liking her.

Vivian was smirking at him, which wasn't really helping her any because it just amused Torrin even more. He couldn't quite decide whether he preferred her smirking or shouting, either were good with him. "Surely that just makes me all the more...attractive?" He asked, the suggestion in his voice evident. Weren't women supposed to like that sort of thing? A man they could fix? Well, Lady Vivian could fix him any time she wanted.

Surprisingly, his charms didn't appear to be working on her. Or maybe she was just extremely good at playing hard to get. Hmm, yes, that must be the reason. Torrin was quite the catch, any woman could see that, even one as full of herself as Vivian. "Why on earth would I want to do that?" He was still stood fairly close to her, but resisted the urge to step forward. He didn't want to go to far and have her storm off. "When we're having such fun together."

[Vivian]

Vivian kept a blank face at his mention of being attractive. Goodness, did he really have that much of a high opinion of himself? Vivian thought that he must have, after all - who'd want to be a common jester and have nothing to show for it?
"I hardly think so" she replied rudely, "What could possibly be attractve about a jester?" and she really wanted to find the answer to it, but of course there would be none, as expected. "You amuse me Torrin, but for all the wrong reasons" she looked him up and down, "Attractive indeed, in fact you almost made me laugh"she clapped mockingly and looked distinctly unimpressed.

"Ok jester listen to me" she turned around and snapped, "we are NOT having fun. I really don't know what is classed as that around here, but I certainly haven't experianced it yet." Her eyes narrowed slightly, "Now juggle on back to your fruit and try to entertain someone else, because I have better things to do." As much as he was trying to keep up with her, it only made Vivian's pace increase.

[Torrin]

What couldn't be attractive about a jester was a much more fitting question, in Torrin's opinion at least. He was handsome and funny and well, he was Torrin Fletch. That should be answer enough. Clearly Lady Vivian's eyesight wasn't very good, if it was she wouldn't need to ask such a simple question. He was still telling himself that this was all just Vivian trying to play hard to get because nothing else would explain why she hadn't just thrown herself at him. She must have amazing self-restraint. It was really quite admirable, but also completely unnecessary. She might be insane, but she was rather attractive. Very attractive, very...well, Torrin wouldn't say no.

"Would you like a list?" He asked, grinning at her. He could very easily provide her with a list of all the qualities that made him attractive. It would be rather long but wonderfully informative. Maybe after being presented with such a thing she would stop telling him to leave her alone and just accept the fact that she was quite obviously picturing him naked right now. If she wasn't...well, she would be once the list was completed.

How tempestuous she was! One minute she was saying he was amusing and the next she was shouting about how much fun they weren't having. She really was keeping him on his toes, and he rather liked it. He rather liked her. Well, in so much as this was fun. He didn't like her, just the situation. The situation of being with her. No, that wasn't right either. It was her or being with her it was...it was something not related to her at all. It was also a very unconvincing argument. This was a rather unnerving thought. Here he was, mid-argument and all he could think about was how much he was enjoying himself and how much he quite liked Lady Vivian. What on earth was wrong with him? This was not Torrin Fletch at all. He'd only known her five minutes! He mentally slapped himself. He was just getting...caught in the moment. Yes, that was the only explanation. Another five minutes and all would be back to normal.

While he'd been having a somewhat mini-crisis, she'd been increasing her pace so he had to quite literally run after her. He was quite sure he'd never physically ran after any woman in his life. There was something decidedly not right going on here. "What better things could you possibly have to do?"

[Vivian]

"No I would not!" Vivian yelled back in response to his question about the list, "and anyway, It most likely doesnt supass one quality to call it a 'list'." She folded her arms and glared at him. What was it with this man? Why didn't he just toddle off and 'amuse' someone else? Instead of standing there gawping at her. Vivian looked him up and down, "Stop looking at me like that" she snapped, "and stop following me around like a lost puppy - I've already told you to go away so why dont you?!"

"What better things could you possibly have to do?"

Vivian huffed. There were lots of things that a princess needed to do in her day! And one of those was most certainly not engaging in conversation with a mere jester. "I have to brush my hair, then decide what dress to wear for the fest this evening - those are much better than being here" she told him and flicked her hair, "and then I need to find my father - and if he sees you talking to me then he will have your head on a platter."
That much was most likely true, although Olaf hadn't gone to that extreme on one of Vivian's suitors yet. Torrin was no suitor - why had she even just classed him as that? No...stalker! That was the correct term, yes 'stalker' would suit him just fine.

[Torrin]

If Vivian did not want a list it could only mean that she had already compiled one of her own. How sweet. It was obviously rather long, and therefore quite a lot to remember, but he was touched that she had taken the effort to do so, especially as they had only just met. He must have made quite the impression on her...well, he knew he'd made an impression on her, just not the one he'd been imagining only seconds before. She was hardly subtle, but then neither was he - and it seemed they were as stubborn as each other two. Therefore they were the perfect match.

He couldn't stop grinning at her, and the angrier she became the more he quite liked her. She was...well, angry and stubborn and loud, that much was obvious. But she was amusing as well, and just genuinely fun to be around. And he was rather good at annoying her. "Stop looking at you like what?" If she wanted him to stop she was going to have to spell it out for him. She really should relax more...but then she wouldn't be making such delightful faces at him. So maybe she shouldn't relax at all. No, she definitely shouldn't. She just stay like this, stay Vivian.

How thrilling a life she led! He was definitely a ray of sunshine. He was also unable to help himself and before he realised what he was doing, his mouth was open and he'd said, "Well if you need any help with dressing...or undressing for that matter." He would have continued with that thought but she'd gone and mentioned her father. He'd completely forgotten about...him. Well, that had killed the mood somewhat. King Olaf was known for being...over protective over her. Hmm. That was probably too much of an understatement. He was getting the feeling that anything to do with Vivian was an understatement. "Now why would you say that? Especially as we're getting on so well..."

[Vivian]

Vivian could really feel her blood boiling now, obviously this Torrin thought it was all one huge joke! Well how very wrong he was. "Stop looking at me like a lost puppy!" she yelled, "because for your information, I don't like dogs!" she finished. Why ws it so hard to just go away? They were two understandable and simple words, but it seemed Torrin was more of an idiot than she first thought.

"Why wouldn't I when it's true?" she smirked, "If my father caught you saying things like that then he would certainly not let you forget it." She slowly turned on her heel and glided away, "In fact, I might just go and tell him now...about how some lowly jester is harassing me for the most awful of things." Glancing over her shoulder, Vivian looked at him again innocently, "and then what's left for you? It's not as though anyone would care if my father decided to try and run you through."

Hopefully that would get the message across, at just how menacing her father could be.